Nature Express - San Gabriel

Always one of the top restaurants in the valley. They use high-quality ingredients combined with great skill to create delicious dishes with perfectly balanced flavors. Food: 5/5

The restaurant appears to be run by three efficient individuals: a cook and two hostesses. The service is what you'd expect from a mom-and-pop shop—reasonable and friendly. We ordered the classic ginger black chicken soup, reminiscent of how my dad would make it. The blend of ginger and chicken was perfect, offering generous portions for two to four people. I loved it so much that I even ordered an extra bowl to take home! Next, we tried the traditional clay pots, which included Chinese sausage with pork rib, salted fish with beef patty, and catfish with black bean sauce. Each dish came with a generous serving of rice and a small bowl of classic sweet soy sauce. - **Chinese Sausage with Pork Rib (4/5):** This dish was tasty, but the vegetable accompaniment was two broccoli stalks, which was a bit puzzling. I expected bok choy and mushrooms instead. - **Salted Fish with Beef Patty (5/5):** This was a delightful surprise! It tasted amazing with bits of chopped jalapeño and julienned ginger. The combination was rock solid! - **Catfish with Black Bean Sauce (3/5):** Unfortunately, this dish was the least satisfying. It had potential, but it was let down by a couple of thin slices of catfish, bland broccoli, and an overwhelming amount of bean sauce. Overall, I left the restaurant happy and already planning my next visit in the coming weeks to try more of their soups!

I ordered the pork ribs with soy bean sauce clay pot rice, and it arrived at my table sizzling! It was incredibly delicious. They also offered extra soy bean sauce, but I recommend waiting to use that until after the rice at the bottom has become crispy. It's best to savor this dish slowly. Additionally, I tried their summer herbal mix tea, which was very soothing. I highly recommend checking out this place! For more information, take a look at the review by the late Jonathan Gold from the Los Angeles Times: latimes.com/food/jonatha…

The service in this restaurant was horrible the old lady asked if we wanted the clay pot rice and I said yes very clearly and later when we ordered our food she asked us again if we wanted the clay pot rice and what flavor we wanted for the rice as if she never asked us the question, she had also asked another customer if they wanted the clay pot rice too. She didn’t even pay attention to what I had said to her, she had just ignored me. Another complaint is that she ignored the customers that are outside and told us to wait but let two other old customers that she knew in to eat first, like what kind of service is that? Serving the old customers first that just came and ignoring the customers who had waited outside for at least 15 minutes already. Such a disappointment for this restaurant.

This place gets packed really quickly so if you miss the 11:30 opening time it's hard to get a seat. Restaurant is small, only like 7-8 tables. You would have to wait 1-2 hours if you arrive around 12 pm. Saw so many yelpers leaving great reviews, I just had to come and try it myself! I was feeling tired this whole week because of jet-lag so I was feeling something hot and soupy. The herbal soup was perfect for the situation. Ordered the ginseng with black chicken soup, spare ribs and Chinese sausage casserole, water spinach, and for dessert got the steamed egg with ginger sauce and taro sago . Let's just say I was stuffed but a happy camper. I would definitely come here again !