Dai Ho Restaurant

The inspiration

Dai Ho began as My Kitchen, which Jim and May Ku opened in Alhambra in 1987 after emigrating from Taiwan in the mid-1980s¹ . Eleven years later they moved to nearby Temple City and changed the English name to Dai Ho Kitchen, keeping the same Chinese characters¹ . The name translates to everybody gets along¹ .

Who's behind it

Jim and May Ku are the founders and longtime owners^1,2 .

What to order

• Sesame dry noodles: a nutty, slightly sweet sauce that clings to thin noodles, especially good with chile oil .^5,6,4
• Soy sauce eggs and spicy cucumbers: salty boiled eggs and vinegary pickles from the deli fridge that cut through the richness of the noodles .⁵
• Beef tripe and pork shank: cold-case Taiwanese-style plates, with the tripe simmered in spice and paired with dried bean curd .^3,1,2
• Pork bean dry noodles: minced pork in fermented bean sauce, a good reason to bring friends .^1,4

What people are saying

Time Out agrees that the spicy, complex soup is one of the better versions around, and says the sesame dry noodles could convert even reluctant fans of dan dan mian⁴ .

Why you should try it

Dai Ho holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and works from a famously short menu of about eight dishes, executed with real care^3,1 . If you are staying nearby in the San Gabriel Valley, it is a lunch-only Taiwanese noodle house that critics across LA consistently rank among the area's strongest^3,5,4 .