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BEST THING I EVER ATE
Season 8 | Episode 6
UGLY DELICIOUS
Season 1 | Episode 7 | Fried Rice
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“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 (2014-2017)
Rated #1 of 205 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
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Newport Seafood Restaurant
2778 reviews -
Two words: House Lobster. Two more: over noodles.
You don't need to know much more than that to have an amazing meal at Newport Seafood. It's in an unassuming building on Las Tunas that offers free valet parking (such a rarity in LA!).
The first thing you see when you walk in are the live seafood tanks containing the largest king crabs I've ever seen; I mean, these are the crabs that ate Pittsburgh. That was a good sign; after all, this is a seafood resto.
The next thing you notice are the humongous platters of lobster on every table. Yes, every table. Yes, humongous.
We sat down, and were given complimentary cups of perfectly serviceable hot and sour soup and a pitcher of hot tea. We were then offered off menu appetizers from a cart; sesame/chili cucumbers, cold seaweed salad, boiled peanuts, a bowl of XO sauce, and others. We were not tempted; we were there for the lobster.
About 10 mins later, the server dropped off a complimentary pot of white steamed rice and took our order. We ordered a "medium" house lobster over noodles, shaking beef, clams with basil, and sautéed pea tendrils.
The beef arrived lightning fast. It was a perfect example of this dish; cubes of tenderloin quickly wok seared and cooked to medium rare. The beef was so delicious and tender that we didn't complain that the tomato slices it was served over were only about half ripe.
The clams showed up next; littlenecks cooked just to the point of doneness, with basil, slices of red and white jalapeños, and a sauce reminiscent of fermented black beans. It was wonderful.
The pea tendrils arrived next; cooked till tender, but still had a crisp bite.
Then the lobster. Oh, that lobster. A medium looked to be about 5 lbs. The claws were the size of my hand. It was chopped, flash fried, and then sautéed with aromatics (garlic, green onions, shallots and Newport's house special sauce which is sold by the jar at the register). The chunks were very manageable, but it would have been nice if they served the dish with lobster picks. The meat wasn't as tender as a steamed Maine lobster, but the flavor made up for any shortcomings in that regard. The lo mein noodles under the lobster soaked up all the delicious lobstery goodness; what a dish!
We finished with a large plate of quartered california oranges; an excellent end to a great meal. Total for 4 people with leftovers for a week was $220; highly recommended! -
My friend and I were visiting Mission San Gabriel and were getting hungry, so we checked her phone and I suggested we try this place.
The food was good and the lunch menu was really affordable. The only issues I had were my own problems - while I know how to use chopsticks I've never used metal ones before so I had trouble with that, and I didn't expect the salt and pepper shrimp to come needing to be peeled. (In fact, I ate the first couple without realizing the shell was still on. OOPS!)
But hey, I've never eaten here before, so how would I know?
I only wish the shrimp had been a bit spicier. I'm known for liking things so spicy that consumption of them could cure the common cold - or at least unstuff your nose for a few hours.
Service was also something I wasn't used to. We had soup served to us before we even ordered. But hey, I only had Pop Tarts for breakfast that morning so I was REALLY grateful for that soup.
All in all I'd probably eat here again if I ever got up that way and I'd be better prepared for certain things. -
Best Kung pao chicken ever. My typical items that I order include: kung pao chicken no peanuts, basil fish fillet, and pea sprout vegetables. If I'm feelin ballin or on a special occasion we'll do an order of the lobster. The lobster has a special batter and taste that they use, it's so damn good. But you can't go wrong with the kung pao chicken and lobster here.
P.S. there's usually a long wait, go to the cashier and order a beer and make waiting more bearable. Valet parking is complimentary, you should tip though because they work hard. -
Our family always makes a special stop at Newport in SGV each time we come to the USA (... and we live in Asia!) The lobster noodles are out of this world - juicy, sweet and so delicious!! For the price, very good value for money. My personal favourite cooking style is with ginger and scallion, but the rest of my family prefers the signature style. The large pea sprouts with garlic, and walnut shrimp are also out of this world. We've tried other Newport outlets but the SGV outlet is by far the best. Definitely worth the drive in from Downtown LA.
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Lobster is excellent. Sauce is so good. Very busy on a Saturday so definitely make reservations.
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Okay. The hype is definitely real with this one. This place has been bookmarked and stored in my Yelp for quite sometime. Decided to check it out... lunar new year and all.
Lobster - ordered the medium (125.00) fed about 5 adults. With plenty to go around. It was delicious and the greens that came with it paired with the rice well.
Fried shrimp- also tasty and served enough for 5 people.
Beef loc lac- super tender and flavorful. It was definitely a hit with our table.
The staff was friendly and also don't mind explaining the lobster situation for new comers. -
5 Stars for this place
Nice service. Foods were good and nothing to complain.
This is my first time trying this restaurant but I'm totally falling in love with it
Will come back again for sure! -
Ok, the hype is real, this place is hella good! After Disneyland my friends and I were starving and wanted something fulfilling to end our day so we decided to go here for dinner.
Here is what we ordered to share between four people.
Special lobster with garlic noodles (+$10) -5/5 stars
Beef broccoli - 5/5 stars
Catfish soup - 4/5 stars
Basil clam - 5/5 stars
We obviously came for the lobster and it did not disappoint. The sauce was good and the lobster was perfectly cooked. However, the garlic noodles were too soft and bland IMO. Besides the lobster the beef broccoli was my second favorite, so much flavor! The catfish sour was on the sweeter side which I did not like and the basil clams were slightly spicy. Overall, it was a delicious meal and I definitely want to come back. -
Hands down this is one of the best sea food restaurants I have been to. So far everything on the menu has not disappoint! I'm not a big lobster lover but this is one of the few places where I do eat the lobster. Everything is fresh and full of flavor and just so good.
I'm not sure how others hear about this place if you're not from the San Gabriel area but it's usually always packed, especially during dinner time. There's valet parking so don't forget to tip! -
Come as early as possible, because it WILL get packed and you WILL wait at least 45 minutes.
There's usually street parking if you don't want to deal with waiting for your car in the free valet that they offer.
Service is great, and the food is good!
I've been here twice and have tried the Newport Special Lobster, beef loc lac, house seafood soup, clams with spicy hot sauce, baked crab with salt and pepper, kung pao chicken, chinese broccoli and steamed whole fish.
The lobster was good and one order can feed a good 3-4 people depending on how hungry you are. Lots of green onions and jalapenos in that sucker, so I loved it.
The beef loc lac was ok...but it's not a must have. It was kinda tough, but had good flavor.
The house seafood soup, clams with spicy hot sauce, baked crab with salt and pepper, kung pao chicken, chinese broccoli and steamed whole fish come in the $108.00 combo, which makes it very worth it. My favorite were the kung pao chicken, broccoli and the steamed whole fish. I felt the crab didn't have much meat in it, so it was meh, but that steamed fish was really clean and delicious.
The combo was enough to feed 6 of us.
You have to order rice separately, and they give it to you in a covered bowl that can feed 3-4 people. They also have a cart that comes around with appetizers. I've only gotten the cucumber salad, which is a similar style to the one they have at Din Tai Fung, just not as good, but worth getting anyway.
I will definitely be back to try more things! - See More
