Hop Li Seafood Restaurant526 Alpine St
Los Angeles
213-680-3939
There are some good Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, you may have to go off the beaten path, to find them. Hop Li, isn't on one of the major streets of Chinatown; Broadway and Hill, but it has very good food.
I went to Hop Li during lunch and they have a lunch special menu, with prices starting at $6.75 and $7.75. Since Hop Li is a seafood restaurant, I wanted to try some seafood items. All dishes include rice, soup, and a cookie.
But, one of my warning signs that a Chinese restaurant, in the LA area, isn't good, is when I see mostly white people like at Panda Express or Pick Up Stix. When I first walked into Hop Li, it was filled with white people, not a good start. But, I figured I'm already there and I would try it. Good thing I stuck around.
The soup with all lunch special dishes is an egg flower soup with some small pieces of pork. Thickened with cornstarch, and filled with lots of egg whites, it was served hot and was pretty good.
Squid with spicy salt, $6.75. This was perfectly fried, with a light crispy outside and a new tender inside. But, this was too salty. Yes, I know it is a dish called spicy salt, but it wasn't spicy, it was just salty. If they cut down on the salt, it could be a very good dish.
Scallops with snow peas, $7.75. I loved this dish. Fresh scallops in a light sauce with fresh sweet snow peas, awesome. The snow peas were cooked perfectly, had a nice snap and was so sweet. The scallops were also fresh and in that sauce was perfect. I would order this again.
Chicken lo mein, $7.25. I loved this dish. The noodles were cut short, they weren't long noodles and they were cooked perfectly. The chicken was tender, moist, and perfectly seasoned. There was some bok choy, that was also cooked perfectly. For the price and the large portion, this is a great deal.
Service was great. You are greeted the moment you walk into the door. The server is very nice and friendly. He makes sure you have anything you need, to make you dining experience a good one.
I would come to Hop Li anytime!!
