Le Meridien Pasadena Arcadia

Restaurants nearby

• Luscious DumplingsBib It’s hard to order poorly at this delightful retreat. The menu is concise, with half of the items dedicated to the eponymous specialty. Indeed, this narrow hot spot has been a city-wide favorite since it opened in 2001 and continues to draw lines so long that servers leave a sign-in sheet outside. The secret to their success? Discipline. While many spots make dumplings ahead of time and freeze them, this kitchen starts fresh every morning.It’s best to begin slowly with a tray of boiled pork and celery jiaozi—the wrapping smooth to the touch and boasting just the right amount of bite. Anything 1.9km
• LaoXi Noodle HouseBib The beauty of dining at this noodle house is that you don’t have to guess what they’re good at — the menu is brief, and everything you really need to know is in the name. This kitchen focuses entirely on slinging noodles inspired by the cuisine of China’s famed Shanxi Province. Start with pork and cilantro dumplings before digging into the “wife special” noodles, with their springy, toothsome texture mixing with bits of crisped pork belly and fermented soy sauce. House special fried noodles, as well as noodles with lamb, also deliver in spades.3.8km
• Dai HoBib Lines form long before doors open at this landmark Taiwanese restaurant, which has history dating back several decades. Once inside, things move quickly. A concise menu hangs above the cash register, though most already know what they’re here for: The spicy, wonderfully aromatic beef noodle soup is one of the very best in town. Other hits include sesame dry noodles and the beef tripe and pork shank. The food comes quickly, and you’ll be out in 20 minutes — but talking about your meal for weeks to come.4.8km
• Chef Tony Tony He may not be a household name, but dim sum enthusiasts know him from his work at Sea Harbour, which he opened in Vancouver in 1999, and then later in Rosemead. Just a few miles down the road in Arcadia, he offers a similar experience in a more casual setting with nary a fish tank in sight and a large window offering views into the kitchen. Steam rises at all hours as chefs prepare delicate bites, like steamed shrimp and scallop dumplings crowned with roe, or sticky rice wrapped in lotus root. Everything is ordered à la carte, so those hoping for roving carts should look elsewhere.2.1km
• Sushi Kisen Sushi restaurants can be as expensive as a mortgage and as quiet as a library, but this casual Arcadia hotspot is a wonderfully refreshing change of pace. The setting is more like Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, a frenetic intersection of customers lined up at the door, servers scurrying about, and chefs working like they are on a tight deadline. Counter seating or a table farther back? Omakase or a la carte? It doesn’t matter. The rice for the nigiri is reliably generous and lush in texture, and fish flies in from Japan on Monday and on Thursday. For this reason, Friday is often packed, as regulars2.1km
• Sea HarbourBib This beloved Cantonese restaurant could easily glide solely on its reputation, and yet, its devoted chefs meet the moment again and again. One of the first of its kind to offer dim sum à la carte, rather than by an actual cart, items arrive piping hot, fresh from the steamer. You really can’t go wrong, with each course seasoned and cooked to exacting standards. Bigger plates are all the rage at night — including sweet and sour pork, which finds elevation in this trusty kitchen's hands. Anything with seafood is a sure bet, but don’t miss the preserved salty egg bun with molten yolk. Families ca7.4km
• Bistro Na’s The shopping block exterior off Rosemead Boulevard might be unremarkable, but the expansive interior, splashed with red, gold and blue, is as comfortable as it is eye-catching. The culinary offerings are no less opulent, deriving from royal Manchu cuisine, first established in the imperial courts of the Qing dynasty, and boasting no shortage of luxury ingredients. The menu has a plentitude of options, but you’re likely to see many neighboring tables enjoying a signature lightly battered shrimp, fried together with their tender shells to an airy crispness, and diced black pepper Angus beef is s5.0km
• Sichuan ImpressionBib Long hailed as one of the top tables in the area, this Sichuan stalwart is settling into its new home just two miles away from its previous address in Alhambra. All of the usual hits are still in play—tea-smoked duck, big mouth ginger frog, mapo tofu—and the kitchen is still armed with its usual scarlet-red numbing oils and fiery, chopped chilis. One recent highlight was a cauldron of fish and rattan pepper boiled in a thrillingly complex broth rippling with numbing, spicy tones. A private room will serve large parties particularly well. All to say, the airy space, with its big windows and bri9.9km
• Newport Seafood Chinese, Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese flavors and cooking styles come together at this seafood-focused San Gabriel Valley restaurant. The menu is comprehensive but don't be overwhelmed, as the helpful wait staff will guide you in the right direction. From seafood-studded chewy rice noodles to salt and pepper crab, seafood is certainly the highlight, but don't overlook other offerings like their deftly cooked beef loc lac. Newport Seafood's portions are generous, so bring a group to sample several dishes.7.6km
• Good Alley This Rosemead restaurant may be slightly short on fuss, with a well-lit dining room with booths and banquette seating and ordering conducted via a tablet, but the Chinese menu with a variety of offerings is the real reason you're here anyway. Several items are musts, including the rou jia mo, a street food-style Chinese hamburger of sorts with your choice of a protein (order the Kurobuta pork that's slow cooked and sandwiched between a properly crispy flatbread). Other nonnegotiables include xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, and the braised beef noodles with tender and flavorful beef and sprin7.9km

Includes Michelin / Black Pearl / guide picks (reference quality, no prices); data from Overture, Michelin Guide and others.