Cheap Fast Eats visits Alhambra to find tasty bites on a budget

Alhambra has always been close to my heart. I have fond memories of visiting in my early teens and experiencing a culinary awakening at places like Noodle World, housed in old Bob’s Big Boy, with a statue inside just to remind you where you are, and 101 Noodle Express, next to a bowling alley, for sweet-tasting beef rolls.

Although it is technically in the suburbs, that’s part of its charm; it still feels very L.A. The reasonable rents and great walkability make it the perfect place to scout out cheap fast food.

While it offers a wide variety of noodles and dumplings, there are also oodles of other options, such as beloved Hainan chicken, Malaysian brunch items that go well with a nice cup of tea, and old-school L.A.-style pastrami.

This is Cheap Fast Eats Alhambra.

Kang Kang Food Court

Kang Kang food court

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Brian Feinzimer

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Wandering into Kang Kang Food Court feels like you’ve stumbled into an alternate reality. With a vast array of signs in Chinese and English and stark fluorescent lighting, it can feel a bit of shock to the senses.

But once you collect yourself, head over to the counter where daily hot and cold bar offerings are served cafeteria-style, and the real fun can begin. Let faith guide you into picking any of their combination plates, ranging from one item for $8.71 to a four-item combo for $10.91. I, of course, always looking to get the most bang for my buck, opted for a four-item combo, which that day consisted of chicken, fish, and a couple of sides of vegetables, which was more than enough.

If that isn’t your thing, try the sheng jian bao ($12.75). These pan-fried dumplings contain large, supple meatballs filled with soup broth. The broth is scalding hot when it arrives, so wait a few beats before taking a bite. It will burn you as it runs down your face and hands, so don't say we didn’t warn you. But if you're patient, you’ll be highly rewarded with one of our favorite dumplings in all of Los Angeles, packed with many flavors.

Shanghai Pan Fried Small Bao and combo plate at Kang Kang Food Court.

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Chef G on 4th Thai Street Food

We’re taking a detour off our beloved Valley Boulevard and heading to a section of Main where you can cozy up inside the small-ish restaurant Chef G on 4th, which offers various Thai dishes that always seem to hit the spot.

For value, we love the lunch specials, which include pad thai, green and red curries, and vegetable dishes. The prices range from $11.95 to $12.95, and they come with a side salad, soup, and jasmine rice. You can also add tofu, chicken, or pork. For a dollar more, you can get crispy pork belly, beef, or shrimp.

Chef G on 4th Thai Street Food

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Pad Thai at Chef G on 4th Thai Street Food

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A simple pad Thai noodle with tofu usually does the trick for my money. Its tight, well-constructed sauce with the sweet, almost burnt marshmallow flavor from the tamarind intermingles perfectly with the evenly fried cubes of tofu and bean sprouts, just as a good pad thai should. If you’re looking for a bit more to eat, make a combo for $13.95 - $14.95 with a one-item appetizer, a choice of cream cheese wonton, or a shrimp egg roll, for a bunch of extra creamy crunch that perfectly rounds out your meal.

The Hat (The Original)

Pastrami sandwich at gravy fries at The Hat.

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Of course, no trip to Valley Boulevard in Alhambra is complete without visiting The Hat, known for its world-famous pastrami, where the thinly sliced ribbon-like cuts of beef are steamed to its version of perfection. Don’t come here looking for the thick cuts of pastrami usually found at places such as Canter’s Deli or Langer’s; that’s a different genre entirely. At The Hat, the go-to is the Pastrami dip ($11.95) served on a wide, squishy French roll, lightly dipped in jus, with a thin layer of yellow mustard and a couple of slices of pickles tucked into the bottom. The sandwich itself is big enough to share.

Double your luck with an order of wet fries ($6.75) featuring a large order of medium-thick-cut spuds heavily drenched in dark brown gravy sauce. The salty-tasting sauce provides the perfect shellac-like layering between bites of your sandwich. It’s a simple meal that doesn’t require much thought and offers just the right amount of comfort.

The Hat

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Savoy Kitchen

Savoy Kitchen’s reasonably priced dishes, which draw from various influences, keep me returning. There’s one dish in particular that draws me back: the Hainan chicken ($11.95).

The simple dish, made of skin-on poached chicken breast, served with rice cooked with chicken broth, and a trio of dipping sauces consisting of soy sauce, grated ginger garlic, and a garlic chili sauce, is a damn near perfect combination.

Plates at Savoy Kitchen

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Savoy Kitchen

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You can also choose dark meat for a dollar more, which is my preference. Pair it with half a side of salad and a creamy ginger vinaigrette. There’s something to be said about dipping a piece of the smooth and velvety chicken into the sauce before following it up with some rich-tasting rice or a satisfying crunch from the salad.

Honorable mention goes to their daily specials, which include oxtail stew, baked pork chop, and chicken rice noodle soup for $11-$12.

Ipoh Kopitiam

Ipoh Kopitiam

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Ipoh Kopitiam is a Malaysian cafe on the bottom floor of a medical plaza building. Despite its rather norm-core surroundings, there's a wide range of delights to be had from a country with Chinese and Indian as well as Dutch and English influences.

Sip on a cup of Malaysian milk tea, known as teh tarik ($3.95), mixed with black tea and condensed milk. Its name means ‘pulled’, which means it's poured back and forth, helping cool the temperature before consuming. The warm, frothy drink has a subtle taste, containing sweet and earthy notes. And what goes best with a nice cup of tea? Toast, of course.

Start with some kaya toast ($4.25) with butter. A simple white bread sandwich that’s lightly toasted, containing a coconut jam spread — the sweet and slightly rich flavors work great together as a light bite. Another great pastry option is the Hong Kong-style bun, also known as the pineapple bun; it contains no pineapple flavors but instead references the appearance of the fruit, with a round bun that’s topped with a bright yellow ridged sugar crust, similar to the Mexican concha, that’s sliced in half and eaten with butter. The sweet-tasting bread with the creaminess of the butter is another excellent way to get a little taste of Malaysian cuisine.

Toast with kaya and butter, roti canai with chicken curry and Hong Kong style pineapple bun with butter

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I’d be remiss not to try some curry here, another cornerstone of the cuisine. I had the roti canai with chicken curry ($8.95). This soft flatbread is served with two sides of curry, one vegetable-based and the other stewed chicken, which makes for some great dipping.