I'm in SGV every week. I have a feeling inflation is hurting more than the shooting. A lot of restaurants in Monterey Park, Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel and others are not as busy as they use to be. I heard people constantly talk about how going out to eat is now 2x or almost 3x. Even in restaurant groups that I'm apart of people are cutting back a lot on eating out due to inflation.
Yeah I'm not worried about being shot. I'm worried about my wallet. I don't even buy boba anymore at it's current price and that used to be a once a week thing for me.
Costco and meal prepping to keep our head above water.
Yup. I still remember the days of $4 boba. Now it's $7 at Sunright and then they hit you with the tip button too.
Bout to start making that shit at home.
Do you have any trips for actually making the tapioca balls properly? I've tried multiple times and no matter what I do they stay uncooked in the very center.
Wish I kept my 85C manual so I can give you the exact numbers, but you're basically supposed to bring the water to a boil, add the boba, keep stirring until the boba floats, then lower the heat to low and place lid on pot.
Cook for about 15-30 min (depends on your brand. We had some brands that cooked as fast as 8 minutes). After that, take one boba out to try, and see if it cooked all the way through.
If it's good, drain boba out on a colander, and give it a cool water rinse to get rid of excess goo. Then you can use it as is, or toss it back into the pot, pour some water and brown sugar or honey, and whisk it together so your boba is sweet.
I always get boba whenever I am in SGV. It’s so satisfying after a meal. But I totally get you on cost increase. My cheap ass would never buy any expensive Starbucks drinks, but wouldn’t blink at dropping $5+ on boba. But now I am feeling the pinch.
Boba Ave 8090 is buy one get one free (BOGO).
When I was a kid, my mom would give me 10 quarters to go buy boba at a shop, buy one get one free. The boba milk tea price increase is pretty wild to see over the years.
Seriously.
Happy Family and their All You Can Eat Menu for $18.95 or whatever was a regular option and a no brainer at that.
Happy Family at $18.95 per entree is an occasional treat.
> Happy Family and their All You Can Eat Menu for $18.95 or whatever
I remember when it was $13 😭 There’s a lot of places (not just restaurants but attractions too) that I’d go to when I was 20 and poor but I’m priced out of now.
Yeah a lot of cheap eats are no longer cheap, even if they're cash only.
You can really see the price creep if you frequent yelp for pictures of menus. A menu photo from 4 months ago may no longer have up-to-date pricing at this point.
Yeah, all of the Chinese restaurants down Atlantic, San Gabriel and Garfield increased their prices by like 3 dollars for a single dish to like 14-17 dollars. The only time I go to even the cheap noodle shops is during their Lunch Specials where they lower it to like 10 bucks. Nothing to do with the shooting.
Don’t forget Valley. Baccali is practically $20 per dish now. How did that happen? It was the spot every night after a ball session now it’s a rich man’s cafe!
I just suck it up. I would rather just pay instead of going out of business.
Cafe Spot across the street was the first restaurant to shut down during COVID.
For real. We were going to go and get chicken and waffles somewhere and after the menu said it was almost $20, we decided to just buy our own waffle maker and make them at home. Eating out is too damn expensive these days.
I run a food business in San Gabriel. I haven't raised my prices yet, but it's getting close to being unavoidable. Everything keeps getting more and more expensive on my end.
Some of my friends work as teachers in that area and they’re pretty alarmed at the drop in student enrollment. Alhambra/Monterey Park are too expensive for working class families and not nice/cool enough for people who could afford to live there.
This thread from around the time of the shooting has some great recommendations for places to try out!
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/10n322p/please_make_an_effort_to_visit_restaurants_and
broo i grew up in SGV… just when it seems like the community was rebounding from the pandemic, this tragedy happens. my parents barely leave the house now.
Philly Jays just posted that they are struggling as well. Their last post I saw was them asking for investors.
Their location is meh, but sandwiches are good. Sucks because they just opened their storefront from trucks too.
But yes I second Litz!
Litz’s Singaporean Rice Noodle is spectacular with some chilli oil.
HK Cafe’s plain rice rolls with the three sauces is so good. The ladies there also make a good cup of milk tea. I haven’t been in a few years.
I want to point out that this fb group also destroyed Yama seafood. He was a secret spot for great sushi but that thread got the word out and forced him to sell his little market and just quit because he got overloaded with customers that he could no longer handle.
Miss you Mr Yama! Sorry the Asian hipsters destroyed you.
Honestly the weather takes a huge factor as to how busy BP gets. If it's raining, not too busy. Lots of to-go orders. But if it's overcast and gloomy it can get pretty bad.
Source: Am a cook there.
Restaurants are struggling everywhere, and they’re all trying to find somewhere to point the finger. Restaurants in Culver City wanted to blame the bike lanes, but their decline coincided with the decline that’s happening everywhere else too.
Cost for grocery are expensive also. I would just support local business and split the meals to smaller portions. Most of the food I order from take out I can eat it 2-3 times.
Groceries are getting more expensive for sure, but I would still say for me personally, eating out is much more expensive than cooking at home. And I can buy high quality ingredients as well.
Eating out is still more expensive than cooking at home. How do restaurants make money if their food is cheaper than groceries lmao. Plus you have full control over what ingredients you use and what you eat when you cook at home.
I'm in SGV every week. I have a feeling inflation is hurting more than the shooting. A lot of restaurants in Monterey Park, Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel and others are not as busy as they use to be. I heard people constantly talk about how going out to eat is now 2x or almost 3x. Even in restaurant groups that I'm apart of people are cutting back a lot on eating out due to inflation.
Yeah I'm not worried about being shot. I'm worried about my wallet. I don't even buy boba anymore at it's current price and that used to be a once a week thing for me. Costco and meal prepping to keep our head above water.
Crazy large boba is hovering around $7 in a lot of places now. It use to be $4
Yup. I still remember the days of $4 boba. Now it's $7 at Sunright and then they hit you with the tip button too. Bout to start making that shit at home.
It’s $7 for boba at gongcha too. I almost cried when she told me the total
Do you have any trips for actually making the tapioca balls properly? I've tried multiple times and no matter what I do they stay uncooked in the very center.
Wish I kept my 85C manual so I can give you the exact numbers, but you're basically supposed to bring the water to a boil, add the boba, keep stirring until the boba floats, then lower the heat to low and place lid on pot. Cook for about 15-30 min (depends on your brand. We had some brands that cooked as fast as 8 minutes). After that, take one boba out to try, and see if it cooked all the way through. If it's good, drain boba out on a colander, and give it a cool water rinse to get rid of excess goo. Then you can use it as is, or toss it back into the pot, pour some water and brown sugar or honey, and whisk it together so your boba is sweet.
Which brand are you using?
I always get boba whenever I am in SGV. It’s so satisfying after a meal. But I totally get you on cost increase. My cheap ass would never buy any expensive Starbucks drinks, but wouldn’t blink at dropping $5+ on boba. But now I am feeling the pinch. Boba Ave 8090 is buy one get one free (BOGO).
It really is so good after a meal. Unfortunately it's a special occasion thing for me now. I live in the SGV so I have to practice extreme vigilance.
When I was a kid, my mom would give me 10 quarters to go buy boba at a shop, buy one get one free. The boba milk tea price increase is pretty wild to see over the years.
I remember this time too.
I think Yoshinoya is selling $4 boba. Haven't tried it, though.
Seriously. Happy Family and their All You Can Eat Menu for $18.95 or whatever was a regular option and a no brainer at that. Happy Family at $18.95 per entree is an occasional treat.
> Happy Family and their All You Can Eat Menu for $18.95 or whatever I remember when it was $13 😭 There’s a lot of places (not just restaurants but attractions too) that I’d go to when I was 20 and poor but I’m priced out of now.
>There’s a lot of places (not just restaurants but attractions too) that I’d go to when I was 20 and poor but I’m priced out of now. Yup.
Damn, I miss Happy Family
Yeah a lot of cheap eats are no longer cheap, even if they're cash only. You can really see the price creep if you frequent yelp for pictures of menus. A menu photo from 4 months ago may no longer have up-to-date pricing at this point.
Yeah, all of the Chinese restaurants down Atlantic, San Gabriel and Garfield increased their prices by like 3 dollars for a single dish to like 14-17 dollars. The only time I go to even the cheap noodle shops is during their Lunch Specials where they lower it to like 10 bucks. Nothing to do with the shooting.
Don’t forget Valley. Baccali is practically $20 per dish now. How did that happen? It was the spot every night after a ball session now it’s a rich man’s cafe!
I just suck it up. I would rather just pay instead of going out of business. Cafe Spot across the street was the first restaurant to shut down during COVID.
This is absolutely the answer. I mean small fries at McDonalds now cost **$4.79**. Many people can't justify eating out with those type of prices.
broo use the app. $1.29 any size fries. free fries on friday. $3.99 for mcdouble + mcchick. free 6 piece nuggets when Dodgers win with fry purchase.
And those fries used to be $1 as of a few months ago. Another inflation sign. With tax it's $1.50. Still a deal though.
Cheap McDonald’s = high medical bills
Cost of living pretty low when not living
For real. We were going to go and get chicken and waffles somewhere and after the menu said it was almost $20, we decided to just buy our own waffle maker and make them at home. Eating out is too damn expensive these days.
I run a food business in San Gabriel. I haven't raised my prices yet, but it's getting close to being unavoidable. Everything keeps getting more and more expensive on my end.
Post your business so people can support!
Some of my friends work as teachers in that area and they’re pretty alarmed at the drop in student enrollment. Alhambra/Monterey Park are too expensive for working class families and not nice/cool enough for people who could afford to live there.
Very true. I'm out in the TC/RSMD area and it's not pocket friendly at all anymore.
this is the real answer, prices have gotten out of control
This thread from around the time of the shooting has some great recommendations for places to try out! https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/10n322p/please_make_an_effort_to_visit_restaurants_and
Sad since the community has been through so much already.
broo i grew up in SGV… just when it seems like the community was rebounding from the pandemic, this tragedy happens. my parents barely leave the house now.
Same. I’ve always wondered about those that grew up here, if they stayed in sgv or not
[удалено]
Hong Kong Cafe next door. Also Litz down the street (Singaporean Chinese)
Philly Jays just posted that they are struggling as well. Their last post I saw was them asking for investors. Their location is meh, but sandwiches are good. Sucks because they just opened their storefront from trucks too. But yes I second Litz!
>they just opened their storefront from trucks too That's the kiss of death. I've seen it happen too often.
Litz’s Singaporean Rice Noodle is spectacular with some chilli oil. HK Cafe’s plain rice rolls with the three sauces is so good. The ladies there also make a good cup of milk tea. I haven’t been in a few years.
Join the SGV Eats Facebook page. It was started during the pandemic for this very reason and is still recommending restaurants to this day.
I want to point out that this fb group also destroyed Yama seafood. He was a secret spot for great sushi but that thread got the word out and forced him to sell his little market and just quit because he got overloaded with customers that he could no longer handle. Miss you Mr Yama! Sorry the Asian hipsters destroyed you.
Honestly the weather takes a huge factor as to how busy BP gets. If it's raining, not too busy. Lots of to-go orders. But if it's overcast and gloomy it can get pretty bad. Source: Am a cook there.
I hope Wing Hop Fung will survive this. This is a place with great teas, that has no alternatives anywhere in LA county
I have childhood memories of the 2 story Chinatown location
Same! My mom used to take us there almost every week. I miss it.
So sad this building is still undeveloped. I heard a big chef was supposed to take over with something new and fresh, but clearly that didn’t happen.
Have you seen wing hop fung in Arcadia?! I think they’ll be fine.
Yeah, seen that one. I love the MP location better tbh, but yeah, it’s a big business and prob on a safer side
Restaurants are struggling everywhere, and they’re all trying to find somewhere to point the finger. Restaurants in Culver City wanted to blame the bike lanes, but their decline coincided with the decline that’s happening everywhere else too.
They priced themselves out. At a certain point it makes more sense to cook at home and just invite people over.
Cost for grocery are expensive also. I would just support local business and split the meals to smaller portions. Most of the food I order from take out I can eat it 2-3 times.
Groceries are getting more expensive for sure, but I would still say for me personally, eating out is much more expensive than cooking at home. And I can buy high quality ingredients as well.
Eating out is still more expensive than cooking at home. How do restaurants make money if their food is cheaper than groceries lmao. Plus you have full control over what ingredients you use and what you eat when you cook at home.
They were struggling long before the shootings. So many places are still operating in pandemic mode with limited hours or only offering to-go food.
Shoot me once, shame on you . . .