Kirin’s House Chinese Restaurant

The food is so delicious I got the chow pun the beef broccoli. You can taste the deliciousness in every bite.

This place is pretty good. Great food, good service, ridiculously cheap prices. Food was very tasty. A definetly must try if you’re in the area and want a quick bite to eat.

Love, love, love. I’m 32 and have been coming here with my family for so many years. I would say at least 20 years. My mother had been coming here longer. She used to work nearby and that was over 25 years ago. The food is great, the people are very friendly. It’s a small restaurant which gives it a comfortable feel. The best dish is the Egg Drop soup. The best of any Chinese restaurant I’ve had. It’s a nice place for a lunchtime meal as well as a family get together.

Been coming here since I was a kid. Used to frequent more when I lived out here. We usually get it when we are in the area. That being said this is your standard fare of Chinese eat-​in food. Classic hole n the wall that hasn’t changed much other than showing its age. Even if it isn’t a visually appealing place in the best neighborhood the food more than makes up for it. It has survived for this long and keeping their prices relatively low has to account as some proof of the quality.

I’ve been here a few times and haven’t been disappointed. Lunch special is great. comes with egg drop soup to start with fried wonton skin crisps and you can order a full order with steam rice or fried rice or upgrade to add chow mein. Yummy!

Everthing I wanted veggies and protein white sause just ask… fried rice young chow fried style and the coldest tsingtao beer!

I have been coming here for so many years. Their food is good and their lunch specials are very affordable with plenty of food for a lunch serving. There egg flower soup is the best… I have yet to find another place that compares with their soup here. Yes the interior is outdated and could use remodeling, but that does not take away from the good food they are serving here

As we walked through the door we were welcomed by an older man who greeted us and sat us at our table. He brought out hot tea as we looked through the menu. Food was inexpensive and tasted great. Plates come with soup, rice, chow mein and ur choice of entrée. Garlic chicken, orange chicken and beef and broccoli tasted amazing. Portions are very big, good to share. Service was great.

Mom and I tried Kirin’s today because she was in the mood for egg drop soup, and Unilocal customers liked it here. It did not disappoint! She loved the soup (two bowls!) and the fried wonton strips that were served with it. We enjoyed dishes from the lunch specials menu. Mom’s sweet and sour chicken was a HUGH portion, tasty and full of beautiful fresh vegetables. Her leftovers filled a styrofoam to-​go box! Her fried rice was also delicious. I ate eggplant with garlic sauce and steamed rice, which was delicious and such a large portion I have enough left for lunch! Kirin’s has very modest outside in a tiny strip mall, but friendly service and great food inside!

Lived next to this place for over 20 years and each time i’ve tried was just not good.
The place hasn’t changed one bit. they should really do a make over. make it more appealing.
as for the meal, ordered the lunch special had Kung-​Pao chicken and rice it just wasnt appealing in anyway.
i’ll come back in another 5 years and see if they changed anything up.

Very delicious Chinese food been here with my love several times and were always leaving in a food coma. They start you off with an egg soup which taste soooo good! You won’t be disappointed leaving this place.

This amazing little location is tucked away in a very small plaza. It has been in operation for well over 25 years, I have been coming here for just about that long and I can honestly say that the quality of the food and the flavors have never, ever wavered! It is so hard to find a location that will be so consistent as they have been.
Their lunch special is awesome. They have 2 different sections to choose from. One or the sections is $ 5.95 and the other us $ 6.95. Each of the lunch specials comes with yiur entrée and fried or steamed rice, egg
drop soup and fried wonton noodles. You honestly can get full with half of the meal and have enough to fill a to go box that is enough to be a whole other portion to feed another person! They also have a combination plate that also has 2 different sections, one is $ 8.75 and the other $ 10.25. They include your entrée, egg drop soup, steamed or fried rice, chop suey and an egg roll. To go orders to not receive soup. The difference in price for both sections is typically because the more expensive sections include a large choice of seafood dishes.
Every single time I arrive here to dine in or take out, I am promptly greeted and served. You walk in and a fantastic aroma of onions, ginger, scallions and garlic is wafting from the kitchen, very enticing and always makes my mouth water. If you dine in, after you’ve ordered you will promptly receive you drink and will be brought some amazing egg drop soup with fried wonton noodles. I love this soup as most other Chinese food restaurants never make it properly. It usually has a film of oil and is flavorless or taste of artificial chicken broth. Here, it is light and flavorful. You receive you’re entrée HOT! Veggies are always crispy and fresh, flavors are on point and portions are never lacking. Trust me, this will leave you with a food coma but in a good way.
Don’t be deceived by the location, walk in and experience the best Chinese food that El Monte has to offer!

Prices are cheap! The lunch special is even better. This place has been here for years. I absolutely love the egg soup (that comes with won tons), it is my favorite. It tastes the same since the first time I had it which was more than 15 yrs ago. I always get the chicken and broccoli lunch special. Wouldn’t recommend coming on the weekends tho, they only have one waitress who I think might be the owner, and when it gets busy she’s still alone, so she dsnt keep up with my refills on my water, cause she’s running all around taking food orders and brining out the food.

There are so many PRO’s and CON’s about this place that 3 stars is truly a fair star rating. First off, the lady (maybe the owner?) serving in there is a true angel. She gives the best service and is so friendly. Upon being seated I received some hot tea, egg-​drop soup and some wonton crisps. The egg-​drop soup is heavenly. The crispy wonton crisps are fried perfectly. All this good build-​up and I was ready for what I thought could be a cheap version of a Pei Wei Diner (not that Pei Wei is the best Chinese food, but thought that maybe I could be stoked on the flavors as I do at P-​Dub)! And then, disappointment. I ordered the Orange Chicken lunch with Chow Mein and Fried Rice. The Fried Rice was more like soy sauce and rice. The Chow-​Mein was good but I felt like it wasn’t wok’d enough, and seemed like soy-​sauce was just poured over the noodles instead of being cooked into it. The Orange Chicken was a mix of awesome with no awesome-​sauce. The chicken chunks were big and filling, with not a whole lot of breading. The sauce on it was disappointing. Hardly any Orange flavoring and only a hint of sweet hitting the senses.
The décor of the place really needs some work. The tables make me feel like I’m in a public school. Bottles of TAPATIO on every table?! C’mon, let’s get some Chinese hot sauce on there guys! Walls are boring and I wish they were some kind of Chinese Red to keep it «real» in there. Once you look up and see the drop-​ceiling you might get grossed out. The plates the food comes out in seem like they’re out of some Chinese-person’s home (Some nice and shiny square ones would be nice). Maybe a little bit of garnishing on the plates could complete the presentation?
Man, I sound like a douche writing this review, don’t I?! Sorry, I had such high hopes, only to come to a place that needs some obvious improvements, and they aren’t doing anything about it. Well, it is in El Monte and everything in El Monte kinda sucks. Sorry El Monte-​ans!

Amazing food for the price, however the man who works the front desk is not the best person to communicate with… also I put in a order and had to wait 40 min+ for my food and it spilled in my car because one of the covers wasn’t closed properly. The restaurant is small, kind of dirty, however I would go back because it was so good. Also I am crossing my fingers the kitchen is cleaner than the restaurant however I could see a ice scoop above the freezer in the kitchen covered in layers and layers of dust…

Bf and I went here, because Yummy was closed. That was a mistake. I feel bad dishing out my critique, because the Chinese lady (prob the owner) who waited on us was very nice. But nice doesn’t mean that she can make great Chinese food. It’s SGV! How do they survive???
My bf got some kind of combo stir fry. It came with a slightly salty, gravy-​like sauce. I got a bamboo shoot and mushroom dish, which was more of an every veggie in the kitchen stir fry. I was expecting bigger, fresh mushrooms, but it looked like she just dumped some straw mushrooms in a can into this veggie mix. The sauce was virtually the same as my bf’s sauce, but with chili oil. It was bleh – something I could have thrown together at home. Will not be returning. Sorry nice lady.

Not a good meal.

Yaiks… how did I end up here?
I had a bad feeling the moment I walked in… not a single asian person… well, you got little choice when your co-​worker picked the joint and raved about it before hand. classic!

I was looking for a nearby restaurant to meet my boyfriend for lunch and since this place had good reviews, I figured we could go here anyway. There was plenty of parking spots since the mini plaza was really quiet. We were greeted by a really friendly lady who served us fried wonton strips and tea. The lunch menu prices were so cheap for such a big portion. Even dishes from the regular part of the menu was really cheap as well. When we got our food, it was really good! I’m not just saying that either because I’m just super picky.
We couldn’t finish our lunch and had enough to bring back home. Plus, we ordered more things for our dinner. Even though we don’t come to El Monte … ever, really, we would definitely make a trip to come back here. This place is a hidden gem!

As you walk in and pass the aquarium with koi, you will be seated and given a menu. A pot of hot tea will shortly arrive. I typically select from their lunch specials; a Chinese dish with fried rice (or steamed rice), egg drop soup and fried Wonton chips – they also have good dinner combination and individual dishes. Along with my lunch special, I incorporate a shrimp with snow pea pod dish. Both dishes can be split between two individuals, or opt for a second lunch special, which should be more than enough for two. Also, ask for chili oil, and dribble a bit over the food for an added kick. When I opt for my own dish, I ask for the kitchen to make it spicy.
A plus in my view is the beer license, their food goes well with a cold Tsingtao. They also have canned sodas. After finishing up, you will be given a bill with a fortune cookie (s). They accept cash and credit card.
Why the 4-​stars?
The décor is a bit dated and the food is good but nothing that would blow your mind, which would satisfy a 5-​star rating. A good go-​to establishment for lunch.