Yang Chow

My first meal back in Pasadena. As you can see, the time stamp is literally one second after their posted opening time. 

The only people in the restaurant at the hour were seven old ladies. 

And me. 

I wrote this last year: If Yang Chow opened an outpost in Santa Fe, there would be a two-hour wait every night. 

I wonder if they would franchise a location to me. 

This salad was the best in town years ago when they added amazing pickled red ginger, as sweet as candy. But I'm guessing it got too expensive, because they have not used that in years. 

Here, look: 

(These are photos from a dozen years ago that I pulled off of a website called "An Immovable Feast." Hopefully I don't get sued.)

Spicy Szechuan wonton soup. 

Almost 30 years ago, my parents' had a Yang Chow calendar and each month included a recipe. I do not remember if it had this one. I would kill a puppy to have this recipe. 

Slippery shrimp. One of my five favorite foods in this world. (This recipe WAS on the calendar all those years ago - though it's a moot point now, as it is widely available on the internet.) 

Thank you, Yang Chow. 

It was good to see you again, old friend.