PINGTUNG Eat-in Market

We ordered a lot so I think I got a pretty good idea of what their food was like.
We got: shanghai steamed buns, pork & shrimp shumai, hainan chicken, beef rolls, and a pork chop plate (pai ku rice).
Everything was pretty decent, but not really great. I think my favorite was the shanghai buns because I think the consistency of the bun was the most similar to an authentic dish. However, the fillings was pretty bland so I dipped it in their dumpling sauce.
I think as authentic chinese/​taiwanese food, this just can’t pass as it. But if you want decent chinese food in LA and not have to go so far to san gabriel valley area, this one will pass. But then again… most chinese food of this menu is supposed to be pretty cheap and this restaurant wasn’t exactly cheap. Especially their dim sum items (which is double or more of what I can get in SGV)

I’ve been wanting to try this place for quite sometime and see what this eat-​in market is all about. First of all its barely a market, when I think of eat-​in markets I think of places like Samosa house, this place kinda just had their supplies on the shelves — I say this bec I actually saw them pull form the shelf and bring it to the back — so yay for us and for them, at least we can see some of their ingredients.
The UPSIDE:
Good mix of Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian goodness. The menu truly is a fusion amid various Asian countries and I’ll always welcome a joint like this in this side of town.
The place is quaint, you won’t really feel like you’re eating in a market, you just feel like you’re eating in a very casual place, with good service on Melrose.
The DOWNSIDE:
A menu is a little too ambitious by trying to cover too many Asian countries that it actually misses the spot and loses authenticity. Perhaps my expectations were too high based on the ratings, but just as much as the menu fusions Asians countries –it definitely fusions North American flavors as well, like Nebraska, Alaska and Saskatchewan if you catch my drift. I tried several items off the tops of my head, pea shoots, soup dumplings, shu Mai, pork bao, crystal dumplings, ramen, tuna roll, I can’t remember the rest. But yeah there are less trendier places around this side of town that lend a more authentic flavor, with a much more moderate price. Prices matched the Hype of this place and both were a bit too much.

yikes… I never write such low star reviews but I feel like i need to warn some people…
don’t come here if you’re looking for authentic Chinese food. they also have Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese dishes. I think that’s kind of a red flag to have so many different types of cuisines, as I wasn’t sure if any of them would be strong dishes and I was proven right. also, most of the other customers there and staff were not Asian, and that’s a pretty big indicator towards authenticity.
we ordered the following:
1. Thai Iced tea ($ 3.50) — waaaay too watered down. none of that Thai tea taste. not sure if there was even any condensed milk in it. :(
2. fried scallion pancake ($ 4.95) — probably the best thing we had. the only thing I would knock is the size. it’s pretty tiny.
3. pork and shrimp shumai (4 for $ 6.95) — mediocre. would not order from here again
4. soup dumplings (4 for $ 5.95) — now, this is what we really wanted to eat and came for. and they were pretty disappointing. the taste didn’t even compel me to finish 2 of the 4 dumplings. :(
overall: too overpriced for the quality and taste. two stars were for the service, they were very friendly and attentive. unfortunately, the food was a big let down.

After some trouble finding parking we were able to make it in. I wondered as to why «market»? You can literally buy all sorts of items from soda, shrimp chips, chili sauce, etc… It definitely made for an interesting décor. Oh and of course they also serve food! Dim sum, ramen, rice bowls, sushi… The selection was wonderful. We tried the mushroom dumplings, delicious! Fresh, well cooked, and tasty. The shrimp dumplings were just as good. I went with the spicy miso tontuka ramen… The flavor hit the spot, the egg was cooked fully which was great for a change, and the broth was just right. They also served thai iced tea, soda, and alcohol.
I wish this place was closer. Although its a straight shot from my place, there is always traffic down to Fairfax and Melrose. The location is in the middle of Melrose which made parking hard to find.
I have to admit, the only reason I knocked it down a point was the check service. Although they were nice, we had just ordered our food, we were told that they were leaving and we wanted to close out. Why would I want to pay before even getting my food in front of me? We ended up paying and adding a tip before finishing our food because this indivisual needed to leave. Other than that, food was great, we’ll be back.

My neighborhood Asian spot– and boy am I lucky. A great mix of food from all over the east. The rice and chinese sausage dim sum is spectacular. The shrimp wontons too. I also eat the ramen often.
Only bummer– they don’t have descriptions of any of the menu items which is a pain. I end up looking here for photos. lol.

First off great location.
The plan is you pre-​game, go to melrose umbrella co, and stumble over.
I had been waiting to try this place out and Friday night was the night. We sat in the patio area which I recommend.
We ordered the usual dim sum dishes we get in SGV or at BAO in Beverly Hills and others:
— Crystal Shrimp Dumplings
— Pork and Shrimp Shumai
— Pork Belly Slider
— Wild Crab Dumplings
— Lychee Shochu (Pitcher)
I would say the only miss was the wild crab dumplings, I just didn’t enjoy it whatsoever.
We didn’t even drink the pitcher which they ended up comping us for. To be honest it was good, we just had too much to drink and were ambitious when ordering. I appreciate them doing that though and the great service they provided during the meal.
I plan on coming back soon.

I keep giving this place so many chances, but the last time did it for me. The shumai was cold inside as if being reheated from being frozen. Also, I crunched on some sand in the stems of my bok choy, which was not only disgusting but also ruined my appetite for the night.
I really want to support Asian restaurants but things like this give them a bad name! I do wonder if they make everything in-​house or if it’s frozen then reheated… seems more like the latter.

Great gyosas, below average glass noodles with beef and average banh mi… AND
Terrible service, waitress was rude, music too loud and stressful, lights in restroom not working.
We asked to sit in the courtyard, the waitress told us it was closed. Another waiter told us we could sit there… Then the waitress snapped at us saying:“I told you it was closed!!”.
Not coming back…

Mediocre at best. Started off with the seaweed and bean curd salad, which I thought was spicy but addicting. The price, however, is pretty ridiculous (almost $ 6 for a tiny appetizer that costs about $ 2 – 3 in 626 and $ 1 or less in Asia). But this is Melrose so I guess it’s normal?
Now moving onto the main dish, they recommended the tonkotsu ramen, which is the most popular option here. My bf got the same thing but neither of us enjoyed our ramen. In fact, it was the first time that I wasn’t able to finish my ramen at a restaurant!
I also had to order a dim sum dish because that’s apparently what they’re known for, so I ordered my favorite BBQ pork buns. $ 5.95 for 3 buns haha ok I can get that for $ 1 in 626 so no thanks… I won’t be back. Overall, I think this is a pricey place and not worth the drive. If you’re looking for some authentic and reasonably priced dimsum/​taiwanese food/​ramen, you won’t find it here.

The dim sum here are surprisingly good considering how I grew up munching this stuff! It’s just on the expensive side compared to the awesome dim sum that you can find in the 626. I generally find that siu mais are a good reflection of what a dim sum chef can do – check!
I recommend eating in their back patio. It’s huge and gorgeous! This place also has a large selection of Asian snacks! :)

Pingtung is one of those places where it’s kind of hard to say what type of food they serve.
«Oh, it’s an Asian place.»
«Do you mean Vietnamese? Or Japanese? Or Chinese?»
«Yes»
”…“
Usually this is a red flag to me. It’s a little like having a place that sells burgers, but also pasta, and also a deep breakfast menu — it CAN be good, but they’re going to lose out to specialists.
In Pingtung’s case, this isn’t entirely untrue. Have I had better Hainan Chicken? Sure. Is this one of those places you can go to just for the ramen? Not really.
But in spite of not quite hitting truly excellent, Pingtung settles for VERY good, which I hesitate to call settling at all. Every dish is something I’d be interested in ordering again, but it’s all just good enough to make me curious how good every other item on the menu might be, too. It’s a weird feeling to not really have a «favorite» at a restaurant like this, but also strangely liberating to be so comfortable moving around in the menu.
Portions are more than fair and the prices are reasonable.
Finally, the service is friendly, if a hair slow. Every time I’ve come there has been a pretty good staggering between the delivery times of the dishes, leading me to believe they just send out whatever is done as soon as it’s cooked. This has the huge plus of making sure all your food is SUPER hot (seriously, careful on this one, a lot of these dishes are straight from the wok), but the downside of facilitating those awkward «oh don’t worry, go ahead and start eating, my dish should be out soon!» moments. Still should be okay with a date since they’ll only be cooking for two, but be prepared to have a few people waiting awhile for their food to arrive.

Hands down probably the best dimsum I’ve ever had! So awesome that they serve this late at night, too! Really good prices as well. I paid about $ 25 with tax for a lot, a lot of food (when I could have probably stopped after 2 dishes; my friend was especially hungry that night, so I went along with her meal game plan).
We got the shrimps, crab (I liked the touch of the roe on top cause it added a nice lil crunch) dumplings, pork buns, and gyoza (I’ve never seen it prepared that way, with this crunchy pancake on top). Everything was so succulent and full of meat! We also got some tea, which came in this cool infuser, so we had multiple cups from it. The server was also very nice and helpful. They also have this really cute lit up patio in the back. I’m definitely coming back to take more friends! Some of the best food I’ve had all year!

LOVE THIS PLACE! I cannot believe it has taken me this long to write a review on one of my favorite spots in Hollywood. This place is on the corner of Vista and Melrose, there’s pretty ample street parking on Vista. It has a really nice airy vibe and they have a comfortable patio in the back. They have a great selection of all sort of treats to buy like Green Tea Kit Kats! The potstickers are amazing! And the veggie dumplings are delicious! They also make a killer Bahn Mi! I highly recommend coming with a big group of friends so that you can dim sum it up!

Very fusion-​y.
Spicy Miso Tonkotsu Ramen was too unique for me. Broth was a bit creamy, kinda tasted like a Thai curry. Not bad per se, but not really tonkotsu nor miso so know what to expect.
Fried pork/​shrimp buns and bbq beef banh mi were both excellent. I would definitely stay on this side of the menu if you are more of a purist when it comes to things like ramen and sushi.

A bit confused about the great reviews…
I had Blu Jam locked in my books after visiting Universal Studios (with relatives of course) and to my dismay, we just missed its business hours by a slim few minutes. Quickly, I used Unilocal in hopes of finding a somewhat decent meal nearby and PINGTUNG looked reliable. Sadly, I was quite disappointed. I should have just skipped my meal in exchange for some scrumptious ayce bbq later that night.
The Gyoza was a bit overdone for my liking. The waitress said that it was a hot seller, but I’d like to believe otherwise. My Tonkotsu ramen was just average. At least they didn’t use that cheap/​fake instant noodle for the ramen and the base didn’t taste like it was from powder.

Hubby and I came here during the week and I loved the fact that there was no long wait. We didn’t sit outside, but you must! Next time I go I shall sit outside. They have a really great outdoor patio.
I ordered the Tan Tan Mein ramen — omg so good but be advised that it is a bit spicy. I also ordered the crystal shrimp dumplings, omg also so good!
Service was pretty good and prices are average. I will be going again! :)

Where to begin?
This spot is very very «hip», from décor to food! I ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu chicken ramen and it was outstanding. Perfect amount of spicyness kick you’d want in a soup (for those spicy lovers of course). The ramen in general was very flavorafle and definitely left me wanting much more. Also had the Crystal Shrimp Dumplings and those were amazing as well. If you are in the area and not sure where to get your next soup fix (and many other things), look no more!
Try to get a seat in their back patio which is awesome on a great weather day (we live in California so thats almost every day).
They also sell an assorment of other items you wont find anywhere else.

Pingtung is probably one of the better Asian eateries on Melrose. It IS a restaurant. By the name, I wasn’t sure at first whether it was some sort of outdoor market where you buy food from a stall but they are indeed a brick and mortar place. And the décor is pretty nice at that, too.
They offer a variety of Asian dishes from various countries which makes it quite the smörgåsbord of culinary delight.
If you’re in the mood for ramen, they have that here. Dim sum you say? Yup, got that here too.
I had a chance to sample their Kuro Ramen, Chicken Potsticker, Chicken Bahn Mi sandwich and Chicken Gyoza.
Everything was pretty tasty and on point. The ramen was probably the least favorite dish I had since it lacked authenticity in terms of flavor and I felt was a little off. However, it does the trick if you’re in the mood for some hot soup with noodles especially since they are fairly generous with the ingredients. The Báhn Mi was good as well. I also liked the dumplings although I did prefer the gyoza to the potsticker even though it had a cool design. They both weren’t too mushy so no Trader Joe’s dumplings were used, lol.
There’s a pretty cool area toward the back of the restaurant that has a covered open air dining looking out onto an open patio. If you prefer to dine indoors, there’s plenty of that up toward the front of the restaurant where it’s somewhat spacious.
The staff was amiable and seemed to know what they were doing which is a good thing especially with a menu full of a variety of dishes. Our server seemed to be well-​schooled of the ins and outs of the menu as she was able to answer any questions we had about any of the dishes.
It goes without saying but parking can be a bit rough on busy Melrose so it’s either meter, if you are fortunate, or one of the parking structures in the neighborhood.
One cautions is they are a pet friendly restaurant so be advised just in case you’re not too keen on that sort of thing whilst dining.
It’s a great place to nosh family-​style on some tasty Asian comfort food and share a bunch of plates. I’d love to try some of the other offerings on the menu so I’ll most likely by returning to Pingtung in the future.

Japanese (edamame and ramen), Taiwanese (Paiku pork chop, shaved ice), Cantonese (dim sum), and Vietnamese (banh mi) cuisines all in one restaurant … AND with a full bar. You know what’s the biggest downside about trying to be a Jack-​of-​all-​trades? You’re going to get some hits and misses.
I didn’t realize what Pingtung meant until I saw «Pingtung, Taiwan» on their webpage. Pingtung is the most southern city/​country in Taiwan and it is famously known for its «Black Pearl» wax apple and Kenting National Park (the oldest national park in Taiwan).
Parking — $ 6 Valet parking or free street parking. Just remember that you are in Melrose area, so finding a street parking spot might be a bit cumbersome.
I came here around dinner time and the restaurant was pretty empty. Service was fairly average and the staff basically performed their minimum duties — took my order and delivered the food. Lots of Asian potato chips displayed on the shelves (e.g. shrimp chips, Koala’s March, etc). It was also interesting to see a shaved ice machine at the bar counter.
***
Crispy scallion pancake ($ 4.95): Crispy texture, but tasted pretty plain. Apparently, my other friend tried the same dish and he told me it tasted sour. (what?) (2.5÷5)
Crystal shrimp dumplings ($ 6.95): Super sticky skin and just didn’t tasted right. (2.5÷5)
Pork and shrimp shumai ($ 5.95): Flavor did not hit on the spot. (2.5÷5)
Tonkotsu ramen ($ 8.95): Excellent chashu pork (almost melt-​in-​my-​mouth) with light & flavorful broth + chewy noodle. It was an unexpectedly good ramen bowl. (4.5÷5)
Others — I only sampled a small portion of chicken roll (flatbread, $ 6.95) and I thought it was pretty good.
***
Personally, dim sum at PINGTUNG Eat-​in Market were average at best (and not to mention expensive price tag). For the same amount of money I am paying, I would rather go to Bao Dim Sum House instead (higher quality and made-​to-​order). However, I think tonkotsu ramen was definitely one of better ramen bowl I’ve had in the Southern California.
In short summary — get ramen, try beef/​chicken flatbread rolls, and avoid dim sum.
P. S. — The health score just recently got bumped up from C rating to A rating about one month ago.

Dim Sum, Scallion Pancakes, and Ramen in one restaurant? Uh oh.
I usually stray away from restaurants that combine different types of cuisine because
1. If you can’t master one type of cuisine, why do so many?
2. When chefs can’t decide what cuisine they want on their menu, how can I?
3. Quantity is never as good as quality.
We came here for the half off ramen deals.
Takoyaki — You could tell these were fresh. Hot and huge portions! I could taste the octopus in every single bite.
Tonkotsu Ramen — The broth was earthy — a mushroom taste to it. The noodles were too chewy for me.
Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen
Portions were a bit small for the price. 3 stars.