Newport Seafood Group Inc - San Gabriel

Newport Tan Cang Seafood will make you rethink how lobster should be served at other places. Last week I attended a Pleasure Palate event hosted by Cecilia. I saw all the positive reviews on Yelp and realized that if I didn’t go then, it would be a long time before I would visit this place on my own since its best to visit this type of restaurant in a group. The restaurant said that it gets crowded and wanted us to be there by 6:30 PM, even though our reservation wasn’t until 7 PM. However, when we arrived, the place was almost empty. Empty enough, that the servers suggested that our party of 10 take up seating in one of their private rooms. We took them up on their offer. We were also told that all their 6 chefs were present that evening, and they encouraged us to order as many house specials as we can to take advantage of each chef’s specialty dish. I was a little irked at having to rush there from the West LA, after seeing all those empty tables, but the clean and modern decor pacified me. I could tell from my other foodie friends that we weren’t expecting the place to look so nice. Someone in our group was gracious enough to bring a bottle of wine. the corkage fee is $10. I think 2 people in our party ordered Tsing Tao beverages which cost $3.25 each. I didn’t try the wine or the Tsing Taos, so have no comment on them. They start off the dinner with a plate of complimentary fried cashews and peanuts. It was very greasy and rather unsatisfying. Good thing that appetizer was not indicative of the rest of the courses. The first dish to come was the crab and fishmaw special soup $18.95). It resembles congee, but is since it has egg whites, its very similar to your run of the mill egg flower soup. You could taste crab and the even feel the cartilage like texture of the fish maw, but the soup was a bit on the bland side. You’ll probably find yourself adding sauces and spices to it like my dinner companions did. The next dish we ordered was the Newport Lobster $15.95 per lb, so total was $75.76) – their signature dish. Definitely a different way to prepare lobster compared to American/European style establishment. Rather than broiled and served without the head, this lobster is fried in a garlic based sauce and served chop up with the head included. The lobster definitely is packed with seasoning and spices that make it a very different type of lobster most people are used to with the typical lemon butter preparation. I grabbed the head because I love the lobster guts and fat, but noticed it was mostly empty of its contents. I was wondering where all the good stuff was, and I noticed my dining companions digging in to the the vegetables that served as a garnish the lobster was placed on. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the lobster guts and fat were mixed in. I took a bite of the veggie mix and it was delicious. Needless to say, we gobbled up all the veggie ‘garnishment’. The next course that arrived was the Black Seatrout 412 per lb, total was $39). The fish looked like it was sculpted. It was covered with a sweet and sour like sauce. I loved the crispiness texture of the skin, but the the meat was very mushy. I liked the dish, but wish that the flesh was more firm in texture. After the fish, we had the Spicy Clams $10.95). I was a bit surprised by how large the manila clams were. They normally aren’t served that large because as they get larger, clams become more tough and chewy. This was the case with this dish. It had a nice lobster like sauce with a hint of ginger, but the sauce wasn’t enough to makeup for the chewiness of the clam meat. The next dish we had was their LocLac French beef $11.95) . This dish really caught me by surprise – it was very tender and almost had a slight gamy taste to it like venison. Absolutely a stand out dish that should be always be ordered. The next dish we ordered was the Kong Pao Chicken. I wasn’t impressed by this dish. It was boring and bland compared to the other seafood and meet dishes that we ordered. Its a ‘safe’ dish to order for those with less adventurous palates. Following the chicken, was Vege Deluxe, which was mostly bok choy with some baby corn and typical veggies you see in most stir fry dishes. It was fine for what it was, but nothing I would describe as exceptional. The final dish that we ordered was the Salt and Pepper Pork Chop $9.95). It was greasy and overcooked and definitely on the salty side. I can prepare better pork chops myself at home. A side order of white rice for 10 people cost $5.00. Overall, I enjoyed the lobster, fish, and LocLac beef dishes and would order them again when I eventually return. Instead of the lobster, I would recommend trying the either the rock or Dungeness crab instead, since they would be a lot more affordable than lobster. The restaurant has a large parking lot.

So, three friends and I braved the holiday rush and actually dared to go to Newport Seafood on Christmas eve. I had called the restaurant to get a gauge as to a good time to come, and the dude told me that we should be there by six at the latest, preferably around 5. We weren’t able to get there until about ten to six, but I figured we’d be seated in half an hour or at the most, forty five minutes. Well, at around 20 to eight, we finally got our table. Yeah, I couldn’t believe we waited that long, and normally I wouldn’t, but it was kind of a Christmas eve adventure. I knew it would be crowded, but I didn’t quite expect the mob scene that was there. Fortunately, I was with good company, or I probably would have gone out of my mind. I think one of my friends, who I’m not convinced has ever been to a packed Chinese restaurant before, was shellshocked. (Admittedly, the hilarious sight of my friend’s eyeballs glazing over the crowds was the best Christmas ever, heh heh. The smell and sight of plate after plate of mouth watering seafood platters were killing us. We started joking about bribing the seated patrons for their dishes. I think my SGV rookie pal was about to if the waiter hadn’t called our number. Anyway, the food was amazing, as all the diners have said. It probably helps that we had to wait so long and so our appetites were fully awakened! (A strategy of the owners, perhaps? For the four of us, we got the house special lobster (4 lbs for $15.95/lb , clams with basil and garlic, steamed spot prawns (1lb for $29.99 , beef bo lac, and sauteed peasprouts. And indeed, these dishes are worthy of the praise that people sing. I was worried that the three seafood dishes might kind of blend into each other, the flavor combinations and preparation methods of each dish were distinct and memorable. I must point out that the spot prawns weren’t on the menu, but we had asked about them upon seeing the live prawns swimming in one of Newport’s tanks by the front. These fresh, sweet prawns are delicately steamed and come with a light dipping sauce (of soy, garlic, scallions, ginger, and chili . Some of the prawns were even pregnant and full of roe! I have to remove a star due to the fact that it is a madhouse here and they don’t take reservations. That said, I am dying to return to try their crab dishes (e.g. salt and pepper crab, crab with black bean sauce , and their whole fish dishes. Well, I guess the next time I’m up for a long wait (albeit hopefully not quite as bad! , I will make the trip.

I came here with my family for an early Saturday lunch with high expectations due to all the glowing yelp reviews. Overall, I thought most of the food was just blah. As I walked around the restaurant trying to soothe my overtired baby niece, I noticed that most everyone had the same dishes which is kinda weird for a chinese restaurant with an extensive menu selection. The HOUSE SPECIAL (Newport LOBSTER dish looked AMAZING!! It was finger licking good indeed, but not enough for me to obsess about going back soon. The sauteed PEA SPROUTS is one of my favorite staples I usually order at any and all Chinese restaurants. Theirs was tough and chewy and more stem than leaf. A sign that the pea sprouts weren’t fresh my sis in law proclaimed. This dish was more of a chore to eat than enjoy. CLAMS with SPICY HOT SAUCE were underwhelming as well. First, the clams were very small. Instead of being garnished with green bell peppers, I think this dish would have been much better with chilis, either green or red because it was not at all spicy. To its credit, this dish was still rather “gamey” with its clammy aroma. I dislike dishes that mask the true essence of food ingredients with “over” saucing. There were a few other dishes ordered which weren’t memorable for me. SERVICE was pretty amazing for a Chinese place I have to admit. My Caucasian friends in the OC (Susan! would have loved it! lol….because the wait staff came over without being summoned to take our orders, engaged in (cantonese and madarin conversation to explain dishes and specials, and constantly refilled our glasses and changed our dishes. DECOR was very clean and modern looking. Definitely not your typical chinese restaurant with the stench of seafood in the entry way and in the carpets throughout the dining area. The place definitely gets super packed, so it was a blessing that we messed up on our meet time by coming here early for lunch. We were seated right away at opening time. Great place to bring your co-workers of mixed backgrounds for a palpable introduction to Chinese fooding.