Fuji West Restaurant

Came here with my boyfriend’s Japanese/​Taiwanese family (I’m Burmese).
His relatives had the Japanese options (they didn’t look very satisfied), while he and I had the Burmese food. He had the night market noodles and said they were good/​decent – I didn’t know if he was too scared to offend me haha ^_​_​^;;
I had the chicken curry noodles (my favorite childhood dish), and the flavor was good, but too weak to my liking. :(
Also, it was hard to scoop up the soup with the extra fancy type of dish they served it in. I would just say I wished there was Burmese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley dedicated to Burmese food and only that!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: Awesome
Food: 3 :(

This restaurant replaced the previous Tokyo Lobby.
I’ve never had Burmese food so my mom and I decided to give it a try and boy am I glad we did.
The service here is very good. The waiter always came back to check on us and refill our waters. The food was good as well
I will definitely be back to try new dishes.

We’ve been here for at least 7 times. Ever since we came back from our vacation in Burma, we’ve been craving for some good Burmese noodles, tea leaves salad and curry. Fuji West offers excellent selections of Burmese food.
The service here is great too. The waiters always make sure everything is good. They also like to share about their Burmese cultures experience with us. We feel we are going to a Burmese friends house for good and chatting about their amazing culture.

Best plate of food under $ 10! Ive been coming here. for years. They recently chabged to this name but it’s even better!

This place has a serious identity crisis BUT if it stuck with its specialty Burmese cooking it would be a unique addition to the Valley’s stock of Chinese restaurants, and I would give it another star.
We came here for my nephew’s birthday lunch. This used to be the iconic Tokyo Lobby and I’m sure they’re trying to hang on to a loyal following by serving Japanese comfort food, which is mediocre. But why do something average? They have superb Burmese dishes like the fish stew we had with the crunchy bits that were magnificent. Or the fried whole fish with a delicious sweet sauce that reminded me of my Mama’s cooking. The hubster had a great pork mango curry that was fragrant and deep; there were so many flavors in there that blended well. Then we made the mistake of ordering what we thought was a Spider Roll (it said «Spider Roll») but it was what most places would call a Special Eel roll. Again, please stick to what you know, Fuji West.
The owner and staff were nice enough, and the owner did assure me that they’re revamping their menu to accentuate their Burmese roots and even changing their name, so fingers crossed this was just a transitional blurp.

Great place. Clean restroom (the cleanest restroom I have ever used in all of the Asian restaurants I have dined). Food is great too.
Try ordering pickled mango pork curry. Delicious dish.
We loved it so much that we went back again the next day.

Joined my boyfriend and his Burmese family at Fuji West on a Sunday evening. The restaurant was really only 5−10% occupied when we arrived at 5:30pm. Ordered 2 tea leaf salad and 2 tofu salad as appetizers for our table of 9 people. The tea leaf salad didn’t have much of the tea taste. This was my first time trying this dish so I really can’t compare it to other Burmese restaurants quality or taste. The tofu thoke was good — I liked that they gave an option of whether you wanted it spicy or not. My favorite tofu thoke still remains at Daw Yee. The portions are bigger and the dish is more flavored.
Did not like the timing of each dish. Dishes came within a 5 – 25 minute time range. By the time I received coconut chicken curry, everyone was basically done eating. We had to ask the waiter 2 – 3 times where it was because it took long and it was just. mediocre. The coconut chicken curry came out warm, not hot. The sauce to meat/​potato ratio was horrible. Not enough sauce to use on the rice. 2 small pieces of potatoes. Do not recommend this dish. Tried some of the bfs ohn no khao swe and that was the best thing I tried thus far. Also ordered the faluda for dessert — again, first time having it so I can’t compare it to anything else but I did enjoy how it wasn’t overly sweet.
Yes the price is cheap, but portions are very small. The appetizer and entrée dishes are almost the same size. Service needs to improve — they put our in the seperate room and couldn’t see us when we needed something. The timing per dish should improve as the entire party should receive their meal around the same time.
Not sure if i will be back since Daw Yee is closer to home with higher quality food and service.

If you are looking for authentic burmese food, come to Fuji West. They have that traditional taste that I was looking for. Their faluda is delectable and their goat curry is deliciously tender. Not in the mood for burmese? Well you’re in luck, they also have japanese food. Also, you get a free iced tea with your purchase if you check in. I would deeply recommend trying out their coconut cake. It’s soft and smooth with the scrumptous taste of coconut. Also, it ends the meal well with the feeling of satisfaction. So come try this place out, it will be worth it.

Ordered Fuji Ramen with chicken. Huge portions, gave about 12oz of chicken. Taste was mediocre, comes with a side of tempura.
Second item was coconut chicken curry. Portion was small, taste similar to Thai curry. Taste was mediocre.
Third item was Rangoon night market noodles. Borderline bland, need hot sauce to liven it up. Mediocre again.
This place is puzzling… tries to do too many cuisines… the owner was super nice and attentive though.

I usually love this place for the Burmese food, but today for some reason (only today, the waiter said) they did not offer lunch specials. My father and I ordered the Mohinga while the rest of my family ordered other things. The portions were noticeably smaller than before, especially the amount of noodle in the Mohinga. Other than not being able to get lunch specials and the smaller portion size, the food tasted great as usual.

It seems that Burmese/​Myanmar food is becoming the new fad in the SGV. Fuji West is a Burmese-​Japanese restaurant which serves food from both cuisine, but is not a fusion of each other. It’s located in the old Tokyo Lobby space.
This was my first experience with Burmese food, and its pretty good. We didn’t bother with the Japanese part of the menu as the owner told us the chef making the Japanese food was the old Tokyo Lobby cook.
I really liked their chicken satay as it was flavorful yet still juicy and moist. The noodle dishes were pretty good. The food isn’t as spicy as I thought the usual SE Asian food would be. Overall, pretty good experience. If you check in on Unilocal,you get a free order of fried tofu!
Service: The waiter was attentive. Though the space is pretty big, so I have a feeling that service won’t be as attentive if the entire space was packed.
Parking: Free parking lot shared with the entire plaza, including 168 market.

Ah, the once mighty Tokyo Lobby in San Gabriel has become Fuji West. Fuji West is an Asian fusion restaurant that serves Japanese and Burmese food. Interesting combination…
We came here for their lunch special. Each dish is between $ 6.00-$ 10.00. Not too shabby. We ordered the Chicken Teriyaki plate served with Tempura and California Rolls, Mango Curry Pork Belly, Rangoon Night Market Egg Noodles, battered cucumbers, and I got a free appetizer of fried square tofu just for checking in through Unilocal.So you guys remember to check in if you’re a first timer for a free appetizer. The lunch special is served with either miso soup, or lenten bean soup for you to pick from.
The Chicken Teriyaki plate was good. Not that it reminds me of Tokyo Lobby, but the chicken was not dry. The California rolls was okay… just imitation crab meat with its usual cucumber tightly wrapped in rice and seaweed. The tempura was a bit overly fried since it looked a little burned. The Mango Curry Pork Belly was a bit disappointing. The meat itself was hard and it was probably 80% fat… which a typical pork belly is probably 50% fat. The chunks of pork was tough to bite into. The sauce was okay though… A bit on the spicy side which gives it a nice kick. It’s a bit too greasy for me, so I couldn’t really enjoy it. The Rangoon Night Market Noodles was delicious. We ordered it with pork. I like egg noodles, and that’s probably why it was so good. I had to overcome the fish smell because it was quite potent. I couldn’t figure out where it came from since I got pork. But I assume it was their fish sauce. The few pieces of pork was really flavorful. Yum! The battered fried cucumbers was just alright. No big deal since it was just fried like tempura. It’s served with a sweet and sour sauce you can dip into. And the tofu appetizer was just okay too. They were small squares of tofu that was also fried. It’s served with hot sauce. Not bad.
My experience with Fuji West was good. The service is supreme… since the waitresses keeps checking up on us to make sure we’re satisfied. It seems to be a family run business.
The interior looks quite nice since it’s nicely remodeled and decorated with Burmese landscape wall paintings in one dining room, while the one we were in was more Japanese. The Japanese lanterns, the paintings, the golden mural as you walk in looks beautiful.
The food here is average, but it is a nice place to enjoy a decent non-​extravagant meal.

This is a family owned restaurant by Burmese. I happened to work for them for couple hours for training. I quit right away. They don’t care about service. They only care about rushing food to customers and getting them to pay. Many customers complained about their food being too bland. There are only old customers eating there because it’s cheap.
And, they are rude. An old guy (part of their family) just walks around kitchen and FOH and yell their employees for small mistakes. So is the Cashier and waitress. Their way of communication is yelling.
When I was trying to quit and ask them to pay me minimum for the hours I worked. They refused to pay me the minimum of $ 8 according to the Law of California. They said they would only pay me $ 6 per hour and insisted on enforcing their own «LAW» without acquiring my consent or notifying me before employment. I told them in order to pay below minimum they have to have my consent first, and they refused. I am so surprised that they are actually America Born Burmese and regard themselves as American… Shame on you, people at Fuji West Restaurant.
When I was trying to let them know it’s against the law, two of the waitresses said something ridiculously racist. The scenario went like this. One of them asked the other, «what is he?» The other replied «Chinese.» Then the other said, «why would we even hire a Chinese?» Then they both shrugged and chuckled. C’mon! Get the image. It’s literally in Monterey Park and more than half of your customers are Chinese. WTF. One advice for your business, if you don’t want your fake Japanese, bland Burmese restaurant to go downhill, keep those ignorant little brats’ pie holes shut. Plus, enforcing on the law and acting according to it is the way of American. I’m Chinese American and I deserve my right just like every other American. If you don’t want to pay according to the LAW OF CALIFORNIA, then don’t hire people outside of your family. And, I bet that Amigo there is not getting paid minimum.
And, to all the fellow Chinese Americans, DON’T EAT THERE. These people discriminate against you and look down upon you. Who knows what they will put in your food. There are plenty good restaurants that serve better food and provide better service with competitive price.

Easy to get a table during dinner time. I ordered G10 noodles w/​shredded duck in garlic sauce was delicious. I am glad I tried something different.

4 stars – coconut chicken curry and rice. yummy
4 stars– greens
4 stars – miso soup
4 stars – golden fry tofu (free) check in!
4 stars – california roll and the ginger was good
5 stars – vermicelli with fish soup (rare soup) hard to find

Food: we ordered the red curry chicken and pork belly in curry sauce. Both were good but the fish dish was pretty good. The triangle tofu was very different and dipping it in the sauce made it tasty. Very interesting. The food tasted a mixture of Thai, Chinese and indo.
Service: service was good and the owner really wants to hear your input since it opened a few months ago.
Price: the lunch specials were $ 6+
Overall: I had a good experience and would like to try out their other dishes.

Came here with a Burmese friend C, who was craving comfort memory food that her grandma used to make in her childhood. When we got here it turned out she’d grown up 2 blocks away from here and the restaurant was once a local Japanese institution called Tokyo Delves, so it took a certain amount of brain adjustment to see the new décor and menu.
I don’t know much about Burmese food other than having had a great meal in SF at Burma Superstar — the one restaurant I tried here in MPK was a weak example in comparison. So I decided to let my companion chose what she recognized from her childhood, and I’d add what attracted me.
Digression: I didn’t write down the items we ordered so I’m having a hard time recalling names. Problem compounded by the website menu only showing the Japanese items. No Burmese at all! Which brings me to the conversation we had with the owner, Patrick. They need to decide if they are going Burmese or Japanese. He’s only been here a few months and having taken over a local icon is creating problems as he doesn’t want to lose the old customers but wants to introduce a new cuisine to the area. Personally, considering the quality of the Burmese food, I say go for it and do Burmese only.
(I’m cheating by looking at Burma Superstar menu for reference)
Perusing the extensive Burmese menu I was impressed by the ambition showing. A lot of choices and it was hard to decide. We ended up ordering 3 noodle dishes, one the go to national dish Moh Hinga, a sort of fish chowder with noodles and vegetables, all ground up fine so only the noodles stand out visibly. C complained it wasn’t flavorful enough and it was a bit bland, so the waitress brought it back to the kitchen and when it came back it had more depth. (secret ingredient — more fish sauce).
Tea Leaf Salad was also selected. I’ve had this 3 times in 3 different places and it always tastes different. Another example that Burmese food is really «home cooking’ and regional, so although ingredients are the same, there will be more or less of them depending on the chef and the locale it comes from. Anyway, the flavor was good but I am the wrong person to judge this dish as it has nuts in it, ok chick peas in this case, but crunchy, and I’m not the person who likes nuts in his food. Never have. Get that Kung Pao away from me.
I ordered the lunch special, a curry fish dish with a tomato base, and I loved it. Burmese curry is unique, hard to recognize as such if you are used to Indian, Thai or even Japanese curry. This was rich and satisfying, with some vegetables and a lot of fish in it.
We were given some golden fried tofu as a freebie Unilocal check in, very nice, and we also ordered a «Night Market Duck» noodle dish that was too dry for me. I liked it better when I realized that I had to add a side dish of chopped veggies and spices, but it wasn’t something I’d order again. Also had Kkau Swea Thot — the third noodle dish that according to C was spot on perfect. I liked it too but unusual as it has a lot of flavors uncommon to the Western palate and slightly creamy so takes taking accustomed to. In a good way.
Talking over the menu with C and then with owner Patrick, who came by and chatted with us for quite a while, it seems that he is trying to adapt some items to palates that are not used to these flavors. Just from tasting the Moh Hinga soup before and after I say, go for the gusto and proudly introduce the flavors of Burma to the SGV. If the Asians there do not like it I believe the foodhounds from the Westside will head out there in droves. It’s a spacious restaurant and will accommodate large parties too.
Final note: Get rid of the Japanese menu. Not for nothing but with the history of Japan in Burma, why have those 2 menus together? Go full on Burmese and make a strong SoCal contender for Best in the West! Good luck. I will be back very soon!

Delicious Burmese food! Here are my recommendations:
— lemongrass beef curry with coconut rice
— shrimp balls (homestyle) — is cooked with onions, which is sooo good over rice
— noodle salad (a must)
— tofu salad (similar to noodle salad but the texture is unique; this was a little salty so i mixed in some rice)
They no longer serve falooda, but they do have green tea ice cream.
You can’t use both Unilocal deals (free app or dessert vs. $ 15 for $ 20) at once. Come on, don’t be cheap. Pick one or the other — this isn’t a free-​for-​all. If you want cheap, go to McD. I heard they have a Dollar Menu there.
There is a section at Fuji West where you can hold large parties. It’s not a private room per se but it’s set off where you can gather together.

I actually came here straight from a birthday party and a housewarming party, so I was already stuffed and didn’t order anything. It could be a good thing, as I won’t be influenced by hunger. I did come with a large crowd that ordered from both the Japanese and Burmese menu, and sampled from various dishes.
Oh-​Noke-​Kaw-​Swe (Coconut Chicken Curry Noodle Soup) — This is one of my favorite Burmese dishes, so I have high expectations. I expect a creamy rich soup with a sweetness from the stewed onions. This was very broth-​y and not hearty enough for my tastes.
Chicken Kabobs — Very basic, dry rubbed spices. Meat was rather dry… I wouldn’t eat a second piece.
Tofu-​Doke (Tofu Salad) — This was pretty good, I liked it the best out of everything I tried.
Dishes that I personally didn’t try: teriyaki chicken and tempura shrimp and veg combo (my cousin said it was just okay), and La-​Pe-​Doke (Tea Leaf and Nut Salad) was the ‘wet’ kind, with fresh julienned cabbage (and corn?!), which my other cousin said was ‘pretty good and different’.
Décor: I like it! Mainly influenced by the Japanese side of the menu, it heavily features a bamboo separation wall and paper lanterns that bring a bright cheerfulness to the dining space.
I’ll close this review with a comment on service. It was awesome… I give it 5 stars. Seriously, we had so much attention, it was almost too much. From refills of water, hot tea, how fast our dishes arrived, I have no complaints about the service. We also got free ice cream sundaes for our birthdays and retirement that we were celebrating.
In short, average food, great service. Unfortunately, food matters more to me than service, so it averages out to 3 stars for me personally.

I’ve been looking forward to Fuji West’s opening since I read the announcement that it would have the same great staff and similar food to Tokyo Lobby. I have been a super big fan of Tokyo Lobby since I was young — my first Japanese food experience was at the Tokyo Lobby at Rowland Heights — and it definitely holds a special place in my heart. I was sad to hear about it closing down, especially the way it had to close down, but excited to give Fuji West a try to see if it would fill Tokyo Lobby’s void.
My parents and I were greeted by Samuel (I believe) who recognized us from Tokyo Lobby and warmly sat us down and explained the menus to us. It was definitely nice to see a familiar face working here, and he said that three of the cooks are back as well as a few other staff members. So for the lunch specials, there is a Myanmar lunch special page as well as the familiar Tokyo Lobby Japanese lunch special. It’s definitely an odd combination as it’s Japanese food and Myanmar food, but I suppose the new owner wanted to keep some of the old goodies as well as introduce a few new ideas. We stuck with the Japanese food. He assured us that the tempura was the same and just as good as before!
I was able to try the beef and the chicken teriyaki and they were just the same as before. Same great flavor and great taste and an even bigger bowl of rice! The miso soup was on point, although the salad dressing could have done with a bit more zest to it. The lunch specials with two items on it come with 2 shrimp tempura and the ones on the bottom with three items come with only 1 (if i am correct). The tempura was really tasty and honestly, I haven’t found great tempura since Tokyo Lobby. I have to say that this time, the tempura wasn’t as flaky and was a bit soggy already from having touched the teriyaki sauce. But the shrimp was really big and there was enough crisp to the rest of that shrimp to bring back the memories. I tried a California roll as well as some tuna sashimi and everything seemed pretty good. Overall, a very great and satisfying lunch!
A few pros and cons to the whole experience that weren’t mentioned above: smiling really does make a difference. Samuel was really friendly and welcoming, making us feel at ease. There was another waitress who wasn’t as open that made us feel a bit uncomfortable, but perhaps she is new? There are super large tea cups now with the hot tea (if you prefer tea over water), which was a plus. The owners of the restaurant are really friendly and nice. Though I didn’t interact with them directly, they were really sweet and even cleaned up some of the tables and filled water glasses because they were so busy. The restaurant is a lot better lit than before with tall (fake) bamboo poles that separate the front counter from the dining area. Rather than walking to the end of the front counter (where you pay), there is a podium immediately on the left where you can walk in to the dining area. The room that is in the back is now a curtained off dining area where guests can dine on their knees/​sitting on the ground.
I wish they would give out the complimentary cabbage again! The dinner menu is not as extensive as it used to be and prices have gone up a bit, but I know that rent for the location is not cheap. The tempura could have been crispier, but even though it wasn’t as good as before, it was still better than most restaurants I have been to.
tl;dr — Sorry for the extremely long review! I might have been a bit more biased than most reviewers, but in all fairness, I think if I went in without any background knowledge, I would have given this place the same amount of stars, too. The lunch special prices were fair and the amount and quality of food was good. Granted, I only tried the Japanese dishes, but I really liked what I tried!