Nature Pagoda

Salted fish with ground pork, 2pieces of broccoli, and crispy rice from a clay pot. I liked this dish even though it smells funky.
Chicken, short ribs, mushrooms, bell peppers, rice with black bean sauce– the sauce is what makes the dish. Chicken was alright, ribs was so chewy. This was also served in a clay pot.
This is the only place I know that serves food in a clay pot. I think their specialty is frog but I will not eat that.

Coming from a Cantonese family, this place reminds me of my parents’ hometown. I agree with a lot of the comments below that say that this is probably not the best clay hotpot they’ve had but honestly, it’s so delicious!
Keep in mind that the restaurant is pretty small and it takes time to make a clay hotpot (~20mins).
I’m a super fan of their ribs + preserved sausage pot and if you pay an extra $ 1, you can get extra taro (wohoooo!). Their pan fried veggie dumplings are amazing as well, but I’d definitely come back again and again!

Old Asian people love coming here for there soup which taste like herbal medicine. There soup taste is hard to describe if someone not familiar with Asian culture and cuisine. There clay pot rice is pretty awesome. I keep it safe with there chicken soup. The other soup like turtle soup is too exotic for my taste buds.

Take note that is is a very small place. It’s busy and gets quite packed.
I arrived with a group of 5 around 7pm-​ish. We ordered first while we waited for a table since it does take a while for the clay pot rice to cook. We got seated approximately 15 – 20 minutes later.
We ordered one of their chicken and beef skewer appetizers. It was okay. The meat was soft and tender, but I think it could have been more flavorful.
The clay pots we ordered: ribs + preserved sausage (?) and a chicken with mushroom. These dishes are perfect for this oncoming cold weather. And the crispy rice at the end when you scrape it off the pot is probably the best part. Overall, it’s enjoyable. I feel like the clay pot dishes could use some more flavor or some alternative kick to them.

This restaurant specializes in Cantonese specialties like rice pots and stewed soups. We came here for lunch on a weekday and the place was half full at noon.
The rice pots are $ 5.50 each for the common variety of options like mushroom and chicken, preserved meats (Chinese sausage I’m guessing), spareribs, etc. We got the combination pot which had a mix of pork, Chinese sausage and vegetables (like a sautéed dish) on top of the rice. I didn’t have any of this. I got the mushroom and chicken. The flavor is good enough but the major flaw is that there wasn’t crispy rice at the bottom. We even asked for it to be cooked longer so it would crisp up and they said sure but boo, no crispy rice at all. Oddly enough it tastes like charred rice on the bottom but didn’t look like it.
We also got the black chicken and ginseng soup for $ 7.95. It was filled with herby goodies like gogiberries, dried longan, etc. Too bitter for me but you’d like it if it is your thing. They gave us a complimentary order of dumplings (you can choose steamed or fried). I didn’t have any but they smelled good.
They also make their own guiling gao. It was quite bitter (also supposed to be that way) and costs $ 6.95 for the one with coconut milk on top. My mom said it is made from turtle. What!!!
I got an order of this classic herb tea (ha goo cho). Love it. Soothes the throat.
If you think very homestyle classic Cantonese food, this is the place. It’s small and kind of a hole in the wall but unique in this stretch of San Gabriel for their offerings.

Awesome play pot place! I got the sausage with ribs (number 17) and it was delicious. I read a couple of reviews and the common issue was no crispy rice/​time. Maybe I got lucky but my rice definitely was crispy. The rice in the middle itself was a bit wet but not wet enough for me to feel the score should be lowered. Pricing wise the sausage and ribs were 8 dollars and I have had cheaper but this honestly isn’t that bad.
The service also was good. Literally my tea was always filled and im a big tea drinker. I tried their herbal ginger chicken soup and it tasted very good as well (I think the taste for it is acquired it doesn’t taste like american standard chicken noodle). Wait time was 30 minute but that’s expected. Cooking rice at home takes about that time

There are so many types of Chinese cuisines and dishes that it’s hard to explain to someone not familiar with the food what they all are and how they’re different. Clay rice pots are a sub-​cuisine that have enough variety to fill a menu. There are many versions, including chicken and mushroom, preserved meat, and pork ribs. I’ve found these to be the best. At under $ 6 a pop, it’s pretty affordable.
There are also a variety of soups, but I’ve only tried the chicken and ginseng. The others are too exotic for me.
If you’re over kung pao chicken and beef with broccoli and want to get a little more advanced in Chinese food, give this a try.

Meh. I’ve had better clay pot rice, but I think at least this isn’t as greasy and heavy. On the same token, I must also possess a bottomless pit stomach, as the lunch was quite light.
I got some herbal tea to start with– it was authentic because they don’t add sugar and has the taste of really legitimate «ha fu cho» (the name of the drink in Cantonese). For about $ 2.25, not a bad deal at all.
Onto the clay pot rice– the salted fish and tofu was not like your regular, but not necessarily in a good way. If you’re used to salted fish and shrimp paste tofu, this is more salty oyster sauce and some ground meat with salted fish and tofu. It’s different, but the salted fish wasn’t fragrant at all, so it was ok. I think my dad could make a better one at home.
I got the chicken, bamboo shoot and mushroom clay pot rice. This had a generous amount of chicken but the rice was the same as the other pot with more rice than entrée. But it IS lunch special. The bamboo shoot was a thick chunk sliced thinly and the mushroom just one mushroom cut into thirds or quarters. I wish I had more, but oh well.
Both clay pots came with a sort of oyster sauce that wasn’t too salty to pour over your mixture. I found myself relying on it to make the dish more flavorful.
Yes it’s cheap, yes it took a long time for the food to come out. And yes, service is also meh. But at least their soup tastes good!

The best Steam Egg and Milk in the SGV, great soups and clay pot rice place. Good service, staff was attentive, ample parking in the rear. If you don’t like their desert, there is always Blackball next door…
Their best food is the Steam Egg and Steam Milk…