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BEST THING I EVER ATE
Season 8 | Episode 6
UGLY DELICIOUS
Season 1 | Episode 7 | Fried Rice
MEDIA PUBLICATIONS
“The house-special lobster is the dish to get” at this midpriced Chinese chainlet incorporating Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai influences into its “excellent” menu; “massive crowds” “are the only downside”, but “service is prompt” once you’re seated and the settings are “tasteful”too; P.S. “bring a large group so you can try as many dishes as possible.”
Certificate of Excellence (2014-2019)
Rated #1 of 152 Restaurants in San Gabriel
TripAdvisor gives a Certificate of Excellence to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers.
50 Best Chinese restaurants in the United States
Newport Tan is one of the most acclaimed Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, especially known for its house special lobster. It’s smart to come with a large group so you can order a variety of seafood, such as fish with basil-and-walnut shrimp. If you’re craving red meat, the filet mignon cubes are outstanding.
LA’s 23 Most Iconic Restaurant Dishes – Spring 2018
A legendary dish that draws crowds every night, this stir-fried lobster, pulled live from massive tanks in the front of the restaurant, is a classic Cambodian-Chinese showstopper with green onions, ginger, and garlic. Everyone will fight for the tails and claw, but the true aficionados go for the the head, best eaten with some sauteed greens and bowl of fresh rice.
The story behind the spicy lobster at Newport Seafood
In today’s chef-driven culture, significant attention and praise are given to the culinary brains behind the stove, and here that credit belongs to Lam’s husband, Ly Hua, who developed the restaurant’s signature dish, a massive Maine lobster blasted in a wok with green onions, jalapeños, black pepper and clarified butter.
99 Things to Eat in LA Before You Die
Newport Seafood’s Spicy Lobster — There are other things on the menu at Newport Seafood, and some of them are even good, but the Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant, which occupies a remodeled Marie Callender’s, might as well have no menu at all: The throngs, most of which have waited a couple of hours for a table on a Saturday night, are there for the house-special lobster, a mammoth beast fried with chiles, black pepper and scallions, a dish as essential to Newport Seafood as chili dogs are to Pink’s.
99 Essential Restaurants
“The lobster of Newport clocks in at 5 pounds or more; it comes out fried and fiery red, showered with black pepper, chiles and scallions and not so much placed as heaped on a plate. Most tables, you’ll notice, also have a spread of clams, shaking beef (bo luc lac), pan-fried pork chops and fried rice, all of which are very, very good and, as it happens, pretty much represent all that is wonderful about eating in the San Gabriel Valley.”
Taste Test: Newport Seafood
“The seafood was good quality, and the lobster looked amazing, so it would be worth another trip to try it. The bill came out to $20 each for the five of us, including tip, with just tea to drink– not bad for very satisfying six course dinner.”
Alive with Pleasure by Jonathan Gold
“First among equals, of course, is the spicy lobster, which is as essential to Newport Seafood as chili dogs are to Pink’s. People take Newport lobsters home to Saigon, Taipei, Tokyo and Phnom Penh, the waiters boast. The lobsters are like the ones at Crustacean in Beverly Hills, they say, only twice as good and half as expensive…Did the lobster live up to the dream? Yes, I confess: It did.”
Best Los Angeles Seafood Restaurants
At this family-run restaurant, the menu — in English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai — expresses the cultural blending that is the experience of the Chaozhou Chinese, who migrated to Southeast Asia in the 1850s. There are influences from Cambodia and Thailand, resulting in seafood fare that is refreshingly light.
Newport Seafood is an SGV classic. It’s an upscale restaurant, popular with families out for a nice Sunday lunch. And when you’re out for a nice Sunday lunch here, you should be ordering the whole lobster. It’s covered in spring onions, chilli, and ginger, and the smallest one you’ll be offered will be at least four pounds. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the rest of the menu – the peppery, slightly sweet Beef Lak Lok needs to be ordered too.
YELP
Newport Seafood Restaurant
2892 reviews- Newport Seafood should be one of your go-to spots for large groups or get-togethers because they not only have large tables, but there are so many delicious items that you need a large group to enjoy everything.
During this crazy 2020 year of Covid, the dining area is closed, but they were open for takeout service, so call ahead and make an order! Support local businesses.
Food Take out Edition: All of the following are super delicious!
Newport Special Lobster - get this with the noodles. It will not disappoint! This is a must get for those special occasions with groups.
Beef Luc Lac - A favorite of my loved ones. Juicy flavorful pieces of beef.
Basil Clams - I don't always order clams, but when I do, it's at Newport Seafood. Fantastic after heating it up shortly when getting home. My friends love this dish as well.
Salt & Pepper squid - It got soft and slightly soggy on the drive home, so I recommend air frying it for about 7-10 minutes before eating.
Honey Walnut Shrimp - Love it! Not too saucy and yet still flavorful.
Salt & Pepper Pork - I absolutely love this dish in the restaurant, but it doesn't preserve well on the drive home. I'll order it when dining area is open but not for takeout - Got there 5.5lbs Lobster for Thanksgiving, me and my coworkers enjoyed it. One of the best I had in a while.
- Omg this place has such a very good food!!
We ordered special lobster , clams with basil soup, beef loc lac, green beans and white rice
All was delicious and big portions to share !! Also they offer to choose a Robert Mondavi wine with your order!!! - I came last night to place an order of lobster and clams, they gave me a number and told me to come back in 15 mins. We walked around and went to a liquor store to pick up some drink and some dessert. When i came back the food was ready. Service was nice. The food was on point and very fresh, i love how the noodle soaked into the sauce and tasted so goo, they have a promotion of free wine for order from $150, pretty cool deal for family size orders. Wish i have a big family so we can order a lot of food and share
- Newport seafood is the go to place if you're craving some Chiu-Chow style seafood. We always get the house special lobster and now you can add the yi-mien (noodles) on the bottom to soak up all the gorgeous flavors. The basil clams, salt and pepper shrimp, beef cubes and pea sprouts are always a nice addition to any meal. If you want to do a simply lunch, the lunch specials here are super affordable and delicious (lobster is unfortunately not on that special menu, but you can get all the other dishes recommended on the lunch special). Best place for lobster in 626.
- Picked up some lunch from Newport over the weekend and they prepped in record time (15 min).
The food is absolutely delicious: Newport Special Crab, Beef Luc Lac, Pea Shoots (small leaf), and rice. Everything was piping hot and eaten as soon as we got home.
The staff is efficient and super-friendly. Highly, highly recommend. - The prices are great, the portions are huge, very authentic, very fast service and always busy. Great Chinese seafood. Restaurant gets very crowded, people start to line up 30 minutes before it opens. Good thing they move people in and out pretty quickly. If you are in the 626 area, you must at least try Newport Seafood once in your lifetime.
- Ordered this same order during this pandemic and the service and food were still as exceptional as if we were dining in. I mean literally all the way down to packing several oranges for us (when dining in they serve you oranges after your meal)!
You guys please be sure to support local businesses if you can! I really love this place and hope to see them again when all of this blows over! - Surprised I haven't written a review for this place yet! Newport Seafood has been around for a while. The exterior structure still reminds me of the Marie Callendar's that it took over more than 10 years ago. The interior doesn't look ANYTHING like one of course, thank goodness.
On our most recent trip to visit my family and friends, I took my spouse here as I told him "asian lobster is the best lobster"! We ordered the staple dishes here:
*Lobster with Ginger & Green Onion - Although a 2017 LA times featured highlighted the Newport Special Lobster (green onions, jalapeños, black pepper and clarified butter) as their bread & butter, I LOVE the ginger & green onion combo. We opted for a medium size lobster and it OVERfed the 4 of us.
*Clams with Basil - If you like thai food's Pad Grapow (Thai Basil Chicken) flavors, you'll likely enjoy this! Generous with the basil & very flavorful! No sandiness from the clams whatsoever!
*Beef Loc Lac (Shaking Beef) - It's sweet & savory & 10000% delicious! Highly recommend ordering this!
*Pea Shoots - Had to get some greens in! Note - they offer both big pea shoots (大豆苗 and small pea shoots (小豆苗).
By the way, the lunch pricing is very reasonable. Not all the dishes above were on the lunch special men -- only the clams & pea shoots. But, lunch goes with complimentary rice & soup. Our soup was hot & sour soup, which had really great flavors..despite the over cornstarching! - This is our first time coming to the restaurant and we were very impressed with their efforts to space guests out for indoor dining and provided hand sanitizer at every table. Additionally, they provided disposable cups for water and tea to ensure safety for their guests during COVID.
We ordered the house special lobster, thai basil stir fried clams, spot prawns, and steamed fish. The house special lobster was super fragrant from all the aromatics and also had a light but buttery finish. The lobster was savory and tender with a sweet finish. The steamed fish was super tender as well and was steamed to perfection. We also really like the stir fried clams because all the clams were super fresh and the thai basil rounded out the flavors very well. We were very satisfied with our meals and you can tell they put a lot of care into their food! - This restaurant was very nice and spacious. There were a lot of people but the employees thrived and was very friendly. There was a lot of food options so i definitely recommend eating here!
- Visited Newport Seafood on a weekday afternoon.
We called in an order:
-House and Seafood Crispy Noodles
-Honey Walnut Shrimp
-Salt & Pepper Pork Chop
-Steamed Rice
*All items were in the lunch menu except for the walnut shrimp, but it's a must order for us anyhoo.
Once you walk through the door, you'll notice signs encouraging social distance and directing you where to stand. Entire team was wearing masks and gloves. Quick transaction at the register and completed orders are placed at the table on the side.
Highly recommend and will definitely be back. - I came here to pick up some food for my birthday a couple of days ago and I think we all know this place is such a GEM! My parents used to take me to their older location just up the street in the same plaza as Bopomofo.
I tried to call in my order way ahead but I kept getting a busy dial tone, so I ended up going there to order. If you're having trouble getting through just drive there, it's faster than wasting your time trying to get through. Once I placed my order the food came out within 10-15 mins. Amazing service!
Their lunch special menu was off limits since it was the holiday weekend.
Regardless, their portions are very generous 🙂 And the lunch special also has some really good items.
Here are some things I love off their menu:
Clams w/ Basil Sauce: Heaven!! I love the taste of the basil leaves and garlic mixed in with their clams. A must try!
Shrimp Cashew Nut: Like chicken cashew nut but even BETTER! If you're a seafood lover that is. It's topped with mushrooms, baby corn, snowpeas, carrots, bamboo shoots and this delicious garlic sauce all mixed in.
Honey Walnut Shrimp: Because who doesn't love this? 🙂
Lobster with their Garlic Noodles: A MUST, no questions asked!
Sauteed Peasprouts & String Beans - 2 different items on the menu, but my go to veggie dishes
Bo Luc Lac (Filet Mignon Cubes): A favorite for everyone!
Spicy Salt Pork Chops and Spicy Salt Calamari: Mouthwatering and so flavorful tossed in green onions and garlic. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Enjoy! - Every time I go here it's so consistent and always super tasty. We always order all the "staple" dishes which are pretty much the ones with the pictures in the menu. Lobster, crab, salt and pepper shrimp, XO beef, the braised tofu, and clams with black bean sauce. Would go here all the time if the wait wasn't so long. But consistently at the top of my Go-To Chinese restaurants.
When it opens back up, be sure to get the XO sauce. It's so delish and goes with so many dishes. I always have a backup bottle in my fridge and eat it with my fried rice and even add it into my stir fried veggies.
Use the leftover sauce from the crab and lobster with green onions and sauté it with white rice for an amazing at home meal.
Parking is easy. Either on the street or they have valet in the lot for a very reasonable price of $2 or $3. - Here's what to do. Order the Newport Special Lobster, and make sure you get a six-pound lobster so that there's enough meat. Also, get it with noodles, and don't worry if you don't see noodles on the menu. They'll know what to do. Remember to get Beef Loc Lac, Shrimp with Walnut, and Sautéed Pea Sprouts.
The lobster is fried with a sauce of garlic, scallions, and sometimes chilies, black pepper, and butter. The lobster chunks are firm and sweet. The sauce is insanely tasty. You will want to pick each bit of scallion just for another taste. And when no one is looking, you will lick the shells. There are also some tidbits of red lobster roe. The noodles also soak up all the flavors really well.
The Beef Loc Lac are tender morsels of filet mignon cubes that inspired by French cuisine, namely lots of butter and black pepper. - The best special lobster in all of LA! My family's go to place when we are in the area.
- Ordered the Newport special lobster w/ garlic noodles. We got the small size, which ended up being a 3.25lb lobster and the meal cost $123 with tax and tip. While we ordered this for 2 people, it could've easily satisfied 4 hungry bellies. We had plenty of leftovers.
These are the best lobster noodles I've ever had - tons of flavor with just the right amount of kick and generous chunks of lobster. The hype was definitely worth it and I look forward to my next trip here! - Hand down, these are the best lobster noodles that I have ever had. This restaurant is open during the COVID pandemic and you can order for pickup. Their phone lines get busy, so keep trying to call until you get through. It is worth it.
They have a large parking lot and everyone working there was wearing a mask and taking the proper safety precautions.
You can ask for the smaller lobsters 3-4 pounds or the large one at 5-6 pounds. The smaller lobster with a portion of garlic noodles is more than enough to feed 3, maybe 4, people comfortably. The sauce they use is amazing and has some great, great flavors.
It is not a cheap meal, we end up spending about $120 every time we eat here, but it is worth every penny. Please support them, they are awesome! - First time having Newport takeout during covid, but I have been here many times pre covid. I ordered over the phone Monday afternoon and they said the order would be ready in 10-15 minutes. They still do their lunch specials which come with rice but no soup. I ordered the lunch special Kung pao squid, Kung pao chicken, and pea sprouts. I also ordered the dinner price for beef loc lac. Food is packaged in microwave safe plastic containers and the rice is packed in to go paper containers. The food is the same quality as before and tastes delicious. I had just some of the extra sauce from the Kung pao squid with rice and it was great too!
- Thanks to the corona virus, there was no wait to be seated on a Saturday night for dinner at 6:00 PM for 7 people!!! Woot Woot!! My family and I were in Socal hanging out and watching Ugly Delicious on Netflix when Newport Seafood Restaurant was featured. Naturally, we headed over to taste all the good food that had us drooling!
What we tried:
1. The House Lobster - The reason we drove an hour to get here! We ordered the large. It was amazing, you should get it. Every table ordered this dish.
2. The Salt and Pepper Crab - So So good! You can't go wrong!
3. The Beef Loc Lac - The beef was so tender and flavorful.
4. The Garlic Green Beans - Can't eat carbs at dinner bc I gave it up for Lent. This was a great substitute.
5. Pan Fried Noodles with beef - this was for the kids. Everyone ate it up.
The bill: $296 - Totally worth it! Glad we ate good food with family! - See More
