MJ Valley Restaurant: Authentic Cantonese Seafood in Alhambra, CA

Found this gem of a restaurant on Christmas for dinner. We ordered the chicken in black bean sauce and the pan fried lamb chops w basil. Both were outstanding. The lamb chops tasted as good as rack of lamb at a high end restaurant. Smothered in tasty onions and basil for a subtle burst of flavor. The chicken was smothered in black bean sauce with red and green peppers. Delightful!

This is a fairly new Chinese restaurant. We were curious about the mixed reviews and decided to give it a try. The lunch special menu has a wide variety of selection from $9.99 up. We ordered 6 dishes for 5 people and plenty of food left to take home. The food is decent, overall good for typical Chinese food. The preserved veggie with pork belly was the best. The flavor was very authentic using the 南乳(red bean curd) and the pork belly melt in your mouth. I wished there was more preserved veggie that soaked up the flavor, perfect to eat with steam rice.

Food good. Service good. Ambiance good. However, don't look in the kitchen when walking to the restroom. Came here on Christmas Day with group of seven. It was my first time and the place was big with many tables and booths. The service was good and friendly. We ordered: - Chinese Green in Supreme Soup - Salt Pepper Pork Ribs - Salted w/ Tofu - Fried geoduck - Geoduck veggie mix - Lobster w/ garlic noodles My favorite was the salted chicken w/ tofu - perfect savory sauce on rice. The day was going great until the last moment. As I made my way to the restroom, which was not the greatest cleaning, kitchen is open to look when walking down the hallway. Lets just say I am on fence to go back here after seeing that kitchen. While most of us are not surprised since traditional asian restaurant, kitchen could still be better. Now I'm curious whats really salted in my favorite dish...

Not a bad place to go to for some Chinese food. Disclaimer: I only visited here with family and we had an entire set course dinner menu, so it's not a typical experience. But the service was great and the food was pretty good overall. One downside is that the parking lot is quite small, so if you come during peak hours, you might not find a parking spot. You would have to find a spot on the street or another alternative. The interior is also a bit cramped; seems like they tried to cram as many tables and chairs as possible to maximize the limited space they have. But overall, the food was good, the service was great, and I would come back here again.

The lunch specials come with rice & soup and the portions are pretty huge for being a lunch special. The quality is decent and good. There is plenty of parking as well.

The parking lot is tight and can get packed during peak hours. Where cars coming out are stuck as cars trying to find spot are in a gridlock. The lunch special is a great deal with lots of dishes to choose from. Portion varies, some dishes are super generous, some dishes are small, some are dishes are average in terms of portions. Since the lunch deal is very affordable we tend to order a few extra dishes instead for more variety. This restaurant can accommodate large groups or big tables so sometimes smaller group will have to wait longer. This is mainly because the larger Chinese group also have seniors most of the time with mobility issues, so the waiting sequence is not always first come first serve. The soup of the day is generous in portions and piping hot. Most customers will take the to go boxes and plastic bag themselves in the shelves with drawers instead of asking for the waiters. Overall, the service can be slow as the number of waiters versus number of tables ratio is quite overwhelmingly understaffed. Even the cashier/manager is working on the floor during peak hours. So be very patient.

My wife and I popped in MJ Valley Restaurant on. Weekday for lunch, a popular Chinese restaurant with a curious name and a long line to match. Their lunch specials are incredibly affordable, with over 100 dishes under $13. My personal favorite is the fried whole fish — crispy on the outside, tender on the inside — and the stir-fried string beans with minced pork, a comforting classic done right. The wait was about 30 minutes, and while service was fast, it wasn’t especially friendly — pretty typical of many traditional Chinese spots. This location has changed hands several times, but hopefully, this version will last. It’s not a huge place, but it seats about 100 and delivers great value for the price. A satisfying reminder that even in a simple meal, there’s grace to be found.

OMG, food taste great. Big dishes, price are great, too. Service are good. I will definitely go back and will recommend to friends.