China is a huge country with many provinces. Because of the differences in geography, climate, and natural resources, regional Chinese cuisine varies widely. In the United States, Panda Express has popularized Mandarin cuisine, but until Ruiji Sichuan Cuisine opened, Sichuan dishes were mostly confined to restaurants in San Gabriel Valley.
Ruiji Sichuan Cuisine opened about two years ago and is located in a strip mall on Pacific Coast Hwy in Lomita. I live in the South Bay and I’ve been encouraged to see the number of recent Asian restaurant openings featuring quality offerings there.
Their menu is presented in a binder with more than 100 items listed. What I appreciate about the menu is the fact that they list dishes the way that they are meant to be prepared. This differs from many South Bay Asian restaurants that offer the dish with a choice of tofu, chicken, beef, or shrimp.
Crispy scallion pancakes
Scallion Pancakes, also known as green onion pancakes are a popular Chinese street food. They were lightly fried, slightly crispy and aromatic. It is an excellent way to begin a meal and pairs nicely with hot tea or in my case, a Tsingtao beer.
Sichuan Beef with Knife Cut Noodles
Sichuan Beef with Knife Cut Noodles is an example of a dish you won’t find at any South Bay Chinese restaurant. Noodles are sliced by hand and are wide like Italian pappardelle. They had excellent texture and were slightly chewy. Because the noodles were wide, the soup base nicely clung to them adding extra flavor. Being a traditional Sichuan dish, I expected this dish to be a lot spicier.
Steamed Whole Fish topped with fresh ginger and cilantro
Perch is a flat saltwater fish and based on the appearance of my steamed fish, I doubt that is what I received. The fish was steamed and prepared Cantonese-style. I appreciated how tender and moist it was. It was draped with fresh cilantro and ginger. I would have preferred additional ginger to boost the fragrance and taste.
Dan Dan Noodles with chili oil
Dan Dan Noodles is one of my favorite Chinese noodle dishes. It is served with a well-seasoned pork meat mixture and spicy chili oil. I expected more out of this dish. I mixed everything so that the chili oil underneath would permeate the noodles, but there wasn’t enough meat mixture and chili oil to really enhance the noodles.
Because their South Bay presence saves a trip to the San Gabriel Valley, Ruiji has garnered a number of local fans. Some of their other popular dishes include their dry pot, toothpick lamb, and brown sugar roasted duck,
The better Chinese restaurants in LA don’t feature food to go. I was surprised to learn that Ruiji Sichuan also advertises food to go. Ruiji to go is available at ruijisichuancuisinetogo.com
With over 100 items on their menu, it is not surprising that some items don’t create the wow factor. Nevertheless, Ruiji Sichuan Cuisine does a great job at preparing a number of delicious Chinese dishes that you won’t find elsewhere unless you take a trip to the San Gabriel Valley.
Ruiji Sichuan Cuisine, 1949 CA-1, Lomita, CA 90717; 424.263.5195
ruijisichuancuisine.com