Ding’s Garden

CLOSED!!! I was looking forward to finally getting some steamed stinky tofu, drove 45 minutes just for this restaurant, only to find that they had changed owners three days ago. I still get upset thinking about it. It’s now a SiChuan noodle/​rice place.
Boo one star for being closed :(
Anyone know any other places where I can get steamed stinky tofu?

Best spicy pig’s ear! $ 4. Omg. I’ve eaten cold cut pigs ear many many times, but this is so good. it’s cut thinly and nicely so it’s not too hard. I also love cilantro and the ma la spiciness. Just the perfect amount. Definitely one of those things I am going to start craving now!
The xiao long bao was alright. $ 5 It’s better than a lot of other places, but it’s still too thick for me. It’s bigger and meatier than din tai fung, but so far, NO PLACE in the US has beaten dtf in xlb for me.
I got the spicy beef tripe handmade noodles. $ 6 and the noodles were too thick for my liking. i will stay off handmade next time. ample thinly sliced beef tripe. it was rather spicy, as i requested. not for the faint of heart, but the right amount of spiciness for me to enjoy my noodles, and the ma la soup that numbs you slightly. I also tried my boyfriend’s green onion noodle. It reminded me a little of bamboodles, but their noodles was less firm. It was tasty with garlic and green onion. However, I need my meat!
Their honey green tea tasted different, it tasted more like sweet chinese herbal tea with honey. It was still good though and is free refills!
***
Tips: Pigs ear! Cash only and drinks are refillable.
Favourites: Pigs ears!!! Perfect ma la spiciness for me without grasping for water.
Do not want: Thick handmade noodles, although that is standard.
Last words: Pig’s ears with cilantro! I’m coming back for more of that!

I had a huge craving for stinky tofu and searched Unilocal to find a place close by to pick some up. First of all, the place is really clean and the woman who waited on me was very pleasant. Parking might be tricky, but since it was 3pm on a Friday, I was able to park with no problem. The stinky tofu hit the spot– it’s hard for me to say if it was really excellent, since by the time I got home it had cooled down a bit. So– to be fair– I’ll have to eat them hot off the stove (so to speak). There were other items I did not try– but I will definitely go back and review the other food. Great little find!

im suprised that this little joint packs a lot of flavor and punch in their dishes. I ordered the spicy beef noodle with the knife cut noodles. The soup was really good, but what made this dish over the top was definitely the noodles. It was cooked al dente and absorbed the beef soup so each slurp was so yummy! You get to choose your spiciness level and medium spicy already had me sniffling. I would say this was one of the best spicy beef noodles I’ve had in a very very long time!
The slb was very tasty, but wheres the soup? Over half of the slb had no soup in it, which was kinda disappointing because that’s my favorite part. I picked them up with my fingers too so that I have better control of them when I peel it off the paper. Usually when i use my chopsticks its a pretty big fail! Did you know that eating with your hands makes everything taste so much better? More added flavor! haha jk! The ones i did get to try with soup in it were very tasty though. Maybe each slb is a hit or miss!
Of course being the good Unilocaler that I am, I looked at the reviews and the pictures before coming and knew I wanted to try the tofu, pigs ears, and intestines spicy cold dish. It was not bad! I like pig ears and tofu, but not so much intestines. The flavor was yummy and it was pretty spicy, but for me it was still missing something, so I’m not very sure.
I would definitely come back for sure!

I’m giving this place one star because they served me a cold seaweed dish that was so past its due date that it was rank. I smelled it and thought, «Oh God» — but wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, took a bite — never again! I’m half tempted to believe that they knew it was rank and served it anyway, thinking we wouldn’t know the difference since we weren’t Chinese. If they really did know, that’s pretty awful. If they didn’t know — well, that’s pretty awful too. In either case, how can a restaurant have so little pride?
We also had the cold tofu dish with the five spice powder taste — okay tasting but pretty bland. And the noodles with bean sauce (ja jiang mien), which was tasty.

I eat here so often, the ladies recognize me. I’ve also brought someone different each time I’ve eaten here, so what they must think of me, I’m not sure. But I make sure to leave a big tip because I like this place THAT much.
I used to come to buy their bao tze, but that was before they stopped making them. They said making them was too much of a hassle. I almost cried when my dad finally broke the news to me :[ Goddamn, you don’t understand.. .those baos were as big as your face. The dough they used for the bun was soft, light, fluffy, and slightly sweet and the meat they wrapped inside was the same as in their xiao long bao/​pan fried dumplings. .. meaning it was incredibly flavorful and juicy.
I ALWAYS get the jiao-​huo-​jiao-​huo (pin yin?). The literal translation is — mixed up or something. It’s a cold dish plate of soy bean, cow stomach and pig ear. They toss the tasty bits in some sesame oil, hot sauce, and top it all off with chopped green onions (and cilantro, which you can ask them to hold off on.) I can proudly say that I can eat this plate all by myself.
My mom complains that their panfried dumplings aren’t made the «correct» way (they’re supposed to be rolled long, like flutes) but I don’t give a damn because the skin is super crispy on the outside and the meat is juicy!
I also order the wenzhou big wonton soup. The soup base is egg flower with seaweed. The wontons are slippery and filled with minimal meat, but the soup is really tasty and keeps you warm on a cold, wintry day/​night.
I also get the green onion/​oil noodle dish. It seriously tastes like scallion/​green onion pancake but in noodle form. It’s sooo fragrant, I literally inhale the noodles and don’t even bother to chew. So if you’re a fan of GOPs, then you should definitely order this dish!
My mom always gets the niu jing mein. The soup base is kinda spicy and really full-​bodied and meaty tasting. You can ask for their home-​made noodles, which taste like phở/​rice noodles.
We also get this other dish.. .it has wenzhou in the name. It’s a «dry» noodle dish (meaning not soup based) and it has an egg on top. They also put minced meat and bean sprouts on it and use vinegar in the sauce, so it tastes kinda sour, but it’s one of my favorite dishes to order.
Finally, I always order the XLB. I think it’s better than Din Tai Fung because the meat just tastes better! The skin they make is thin, but it’s doesn’t have the stretchy consistency DTF has, so you have to be careful when you peel the baos from the wax paper underneath, because they have a 50% chance of breaking and spilling all the precious juice inside :[

Food is very cheap and good. They have a few Wenzhou style dishes and I recommend the Wenzhou wonton soup.

I think the best part of my meal was the cold seaweed. So much garlic, so much sesame oil. Just how I like it. And not seaweed-​y, if you know what I mean.
Anyways, I like this place. Not in the way that I would necessarily come back because nothing really stood out, except for the hand pulled noodles. They were very chewy and had a great consistency. Other than that, the spicy beef noodle soup lacked flavor. I mean it was full of spiciness and spices but it didn’t quite come together for me. Perhaps it’s the visits to Taiwan and the soup noodling in RH that’s got me high with the expectations. The beef was melt in your mouth soft.
The dan dan noodles were good but I wasn’t slapped in the face with the delicious stick the way I do at Ding’s garden in RH.
The cabbage dumpling… well, I make it better so sorry if I’m a dumpling snob. And my grandma even more. So perhaps you shouldn’t take my word for it.
Not bad, not superb. Good for a meal but so many other options out there.

As with many Chinese restaurants the English translated name isn’t always correct. Like Mike L. says it has two names (Ding’s and Savory). But let’s say Ding’s is correct. Then you only have to decide which Ding’s you’re looking for — one here on E. Valley and another on W. Valley! Very confusing.
This place does the classic pig’s ear with cilantro– sounds odd, but the chewy, crispy texture that has soaked up the sesame oil and soy sauce dressing and is refreshed by the cilantro is hard to beat. It’s just more-​ish. But that’s not why this place is good. It has some home made noodles and various meats. And it specializes in salty duck too. It’s reminiscent of wind-​dried duck (the one looks like it’s been flattened by a truck.)
I love the limited menu and pride in what they do serve up. The waitress is happy to advise on what is home-​made and what is good.

I visit every time I crave pig ears – big fan of their pig ear cold dish. It has tofu, cilantro, and various other parts I don’t care to ask about. Spicy and refreshing.
Dan dan noodles and beef noodles are of average quality.
I also tried the fried stinky tofu the last time I went. It just wasn’t stinky & offensive enough…

Seriously, what’s in a name? It was confusing at first because the sign on the outside with lights said Ding’s Garden, but the menu said Savory Garden. It was some what confusing at first looking around the place trying to figure it out what type of cuisine it serves. After a while, I decided to ask Lao Ban Niang (Chinese term for lady manager).
She explained it to me there was a few regions of China that influence the dish with a little Taiwanese adage. I don’t know whether or not she added Taiwan in there because she is trying to cover all base with me, but I could give a little latitude on that since they did have some appetizer dishes and the deep fried stinky tofu to back that up. As in for the name of the restaurant, let’s just say she stressed that it’s not the same owner of the restaurant with the same name in Valley Blvd & Garfield Ave intersection.
My friend and I wanted to come here to taste test out their stinky tofu. There are a few types they have here to suit your liking. If you are not familiar with stinky tofu, the odor can resembled the stinky smell of a sewer or a garbage can. The tofu is often fermented for days to months depending on the preference of preparation. It can be cooked in deep fried, steamed, or stewed with sauce.
My friend wanted to order the steamed version of the stinky tofu
where the smell would stand out. He is on the money when he said the smell will be strong, but it was not as stinky like a sewer kind of smell. More like a bad body odor kind of smell. I did came back to order the popular version of stinky tofu when it is deep fried. It was mildly stinky, but very crispy for that delicious taste.
The obscure dish of the night was the Meicai Shrimp Egg Fried Rice
. Meicai is a re-​hydrated dried mustard greens. In our dish, it looked like a preserved vegetable seeds that tasted very good in the fried rice mixed with a bit of shrimp and egg.
We also gotten fried rice cake noodle that mixed with vegetable and beef
that was quite delicious. The noodle dish that get the most attraction in this place is their beef tendon noodle soup
. What I appreciated about this place’s beef noodle soup is the subtlety of how the soup was not too greasy. It doesn’t cloud the taste of the beef and noodle with unnecessary chili where you can add it to the soup on the side. The tendon was tender and melt in right in your mouth. The noodle was also a huge complimentary team member to complete the entire bowl.
I also can’t resist coming here without ordering Xiao Long Bao
(Pork Juicy Soup Dumplings). Made to order and comes in fresh right at your table. Eat those little suckers while it’s hot because the skin would be still fluffy but trapped all the delicious juice inside the dumpling.
Very casual dining place with not much of an ambiance or décor to speak of. Majority of the main dishes are cheaply price at $ 4.99 to $ 5.95. Appetizers are lower than $ 5, except for the salted duck.
Very happy in coming here for casual dinner or lunch. The fuss about the name of the place was gone by end of a very satisfying meal. It’s a three person operation with Lao Ban Niang holding down the fort in the front where she made the service goes smoothly in this place.
Made the repeat trips worth while on any given night

this place has really really good steamed stinky tofu. it’s probably the first time i had «non fried» stinky tofu. the steamed one is much better. for a few reasons– it stinks much more than the fried ones, it’s spicy, it’s «tofu» not hollow «tofu». just for the tofu itself is worth 4 stars.
other stuff i ordered was steamed pork n veggie bun and beef noodle soup. the bun wasn’t good — too less filling and the bun was a lil tasteless. and the noodle is just alrite. good value for the price.

Very quaint, mom and pops joint. I like it, but the interior set up could be better utilized. as far as service, they are great. One of the daughters helps sometimes and she’s an eye candy. Anyway… let’s talk food.
They have great appetizers and very cheap yet tasty food. I like particularly their Fish Pellet soup!
The food is great, yet it doesnt strike me like other places around the area have. The location is also pretty incovenient as parking may be quite difficult sometimes.
3.5 stars

Don’t let inside fool you. They may be empty, but it’s the realest! They may be small, but it’s the realest! They may not speak much english, but it’s the realest.
I ordered the Niu Roe Mien with the hand pulled noodles, then the dan dan mien and xiao long baos. Oh man, they were just so perfect. How can something so perfect be this cheap. Even mail order brides aren’t these cheap. I did small talks with the staff and mentioned my great grandparents were from china and they hooked me up big time! They added beef tripes in my niu roe mien (
), extra sauce in my dan dan mien and of course a lil more than usual in the xiao long baos (
). Best of all, damage control only came up to 17 after tax, what have I really done to deserve these good things, but keep them coming.
The spiced’s duck neck, gizzard and tongue and the spicy pig’s ear were so tempting and sometimes I wished I was Jughead, but but but were all I could come up with.

This joint has 6 tables. It’s ¹⁄₃ the size of Lu’s next door. The particular plaza is fast becoming one of my faves in SGV because of Ding’s and the newly opened Hunanese restaurant (but not so much that WEIRD macha green looking organic joint)
Facts:
Owner Coco (from Fuzhou? Or was it Wenzhou? Damnit it’s one of the Zhous) purchased the restaurant 2 months ago.
Same Shanghainese chef.
Same hand-​pulled noodles (Noodle Menu Item #1)
Not the same ownership as the other Ding’s in Alhambra.
Don’t do Shanghainese smoked fish. Or any fish.
House specials are duck items (Soy Duck, Duck feet, Duck this, Duck that)
The best gdamn Shanghainese pickled cabbage (think kimchi) I’ve had in maybe 10 years. Pungent cabbage with just the right hint of sourness and plenty of SZ peppercorn that’s a bit raw and not overly roasted. Better than the stuff my gramps used to make.
Stinky tofu prepped in a VARIETY of methods. One of which is my favorite, even more so than the standard Taiwanese Fried Stank Tofu. Picture to come. Requires a complete post on CH to discuss. Secret hush hush non-​menu item. Can’t talk about it anymore. Wait. I already did.
Subtlely pungent Beef Noodle Soup. Like phở? Phuck phở. This rocks phở. No extra fish sauce/​hoisin/​sriracha needed. The beef cubes are crack infused. House made pickled mustard greens sprinkled like little bits of emerald. There’s a subtle something-​ness I just can’t place. Basically it tastes better than any bowl of BNS i’ve ever made. Purportedly I make killer BNS. Coupled with the hand made noodles, it’s a gastronomical trump card.
Someone was asking for ja jiang mien? Same deal. Hand made noodled, chef’s OG Shanghainese recipe. A restaurant favorite. Coco also rec’d the dan dan mien.
Places like this (not the $ 10 foot massage joints) make me love the SGV.

Fantastic chinese food here, only authentic ingredients. If you are willing to try something new or are willing to venture forth and try some outstanding chinese food, this is the place to be at. The customer service is very good since it is a very small restaurant and the food is very flavorful. The beef tendon noodle soup is one of the best that I have ever tasted and the ingredients used for most of their appetizers are fantastic. Everything is made fresh in house and if you go at the right time, you will see that they are preparing something fresh right in front of you while you eat. Great ambiance and friendly service mixed with great ingredients equals a great place to eat. Every thing that I have ordered here has not disappointed me and is just packed with a lot of flavor. Go give it a try people, the parking lot is usually packed due to the other high quality restaurants in the same plaza, but this one is worth a try.