Sinbala: Pork Chop Rice

TSGV RATINGS:
Eye Candy: 3/5 Stars
Smelloscope: 2/5 Stars
Taste Test: 3/5 Stars
Wallet Breaking: $$
Recommend-ability: 3/5 - Give it a Go

I originally wanted to actually write about Sinbala's sausage rice since they are supposed to be famous for their sausage. This was the second time I've been to Sinbala and I'm still not impressed or interested at all in their original sausage. I just didn't want to write about it, so I decided to write about their pork chop rice.

Honestly I am not the biggest fan of Sinbala, it really doesn't do much for me. But a few of my friends today from the west side wanted to have Chinese food, more specifically Taiwanese food, so I happily obliged. I'm a team player when it comes to dinning. I will join anyone anywhere if they say they want it with very few exceptions.

(Sinbala: Pork Chop Rice - $6.25)

I do like pork chop rice and I've had a lot of pork chop rices around the valley. Sinbala's pork chop rice is authentically Taiwanese. It's deep fried and a little on the sweet side. Taiwanese food tends to be slightly more sugary than Cantonese foods.

The pork chop itself is half sliced up to both keep the piece of pork chop intact, as well as to make it easy on the customer to rip out individual pieces to eat. No knife is present so my friends and I had to resort to our fingers to tear apart the pork chop. The pork chop was thin and so was easily torn apart. There really isn't a more civilized way of eating this dish unless if we ask for a knife. I suppose, when in rome...

The batter on the pork chop was crispy and hard, similar to the crunch on most popcorn chicken and pork chops in the area. The only notable difference is that Sinbala's version is definitely sweeter than most pork chops I've had around town. I personally am not a big fan of this blatant use of sugar, but I'm certain many others feel otherwise making Sinbala a rather popular joint.

(Sinbala: Pork Chop Rice - $6.25)

The dish also came with rice, broccoli, scrambled eggs and mixed peas, carrots and corn. The scrambled eggs felt homemade. It felt like something I would scramble at home but yet done perfectly. It was crude but yet tasty. It felt like something out of a mother's kitchen. Though it certainly wouldn't be my mother's kitchen since she doesn't cook. Come to think of it, it felt more like it's from my grandmother's kitchen instead. It just had a homemade aura.

The eggs and the broccoli were lightly flavored, which was great in countering the sweetness of the pork chop. It helped lightened up the dish, especially for a hot summer day. The rice was mushy as expected for a Taiwanese restaurant. The sweetness and the usage of Japanese rice is a reminder of the influence of Japanese culture in Taiwan.

The look of the dish is simple. There's nothing fancy, but the giant pork chop is beautifully laid over what would otherwise be a boring dish. There's not much of a strong smell coming from this dish. With the combined smell of all the other dishes served in the restaurant, it's hardly noticeable.

It certainly is not the best pork chop rice I have had in the San Gabriel Valley. I am certain I will be writing soon about what I believe to be the best pork chop rice in the valley. It does however cater to the niche market of those who like a slightly sweeter version of deep fried pork chops. It is inexpensive and will fill you up. The only catch to the whole experience is the long wait on a weekend lunch hour.

Sinbala

651 W Duarte Rd, Ste F
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-0886


Pork Chop Rice - $6.25

Spring Wave: Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs

TSGV RATINGS:

Eye Candy: 3/5 Stars

Smelloscope: 3/5 Stars

Taste Test: 4/5 Stars

Wallet Breaking: $$

Recommend-ability: 3/5 - Give it a Go

I didn't have anything to do for lunch on Independence Day. When my friend Christine texted me that morning to see what I was doing before the BBQ I had at my friend's place later in the evening, I decided to hang out with her. Of course our definition of hanging out in San Gabriel is basically eat.

Spring Wave had a new owner, who was a friend of her boss. Christine had to pick up a to-go order for her boss, so we decided we may as well eat there out of convenience.

The owner happened to be in today because she forgot it was a holiday and was understaffed. She was kind to give us suggestions to eat. She eventually recommended me to try the Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs. This was a very Shanghainese dish, which I don't eat on a regular basis unlike my friend. So I said why not, let's give it a go.

(Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs - $9.95)

The pork was fatty pork, beautifully marinated and braised. Each piece was diced into small square chunks and the five layers of color of the pork were very clearly defined. The sauce as sweet. The little bits of chive garnishing gave what would be an all brown dish some brightness and color. The stewed eggs were deep fried and covered with the same sauce.

I'm not a big fan of sweet entrees, but fortunately the braised pork was well marinated and not overtly sweet. When eaten with white rice, the pork had just the right amount of flavors and a good balance between the fat and the meat. Certainly this is not the healthiest dish around, but it was the forth of July, and my system deserved a bit of indulgence.

I was good to only eat a few pieces of the pork since I knew I had a BBQ coming at night. I also only ate one egg since egg yolks are so high in cholesterol. The eggs had a slightly chewy skin from having been deep fried then braised with sauce. The marinate did penetrate the egg lightly and reached into the whites and even the yolk. I personally like my eggs just a tad bit more flavored on the inside, but the heavy sauce on the outside more than compensated in flavor for the inside.

It's really a dish I wouldn't mind having again, but only on special occasions if I happened to be around here. In the end there's no avoiding the fact that this is a heart attack on a plate. So once in a full moon a year, it's ok to indulge into so much fat and cholesterol.

Spring Wave
140 W Valley Blvd, Suite 209
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 571-1178
Braised Pork with Deep Fried Stewed Eggs - $9.95