Northern Cafe UPDATE - Gardena

Location, location, LOCATION. Make sure you have the correct LOCATION!

Choose 15486 S Western Ave, Gardena on Ubereats and make sure you have the numbers right! The Northern Cafes are close together, and most of the food is close enough, but the difference is in the Dan Dan. The real deal is al dente, with juicy pork, crisp bok choy, and a little sauce with a little kick. The imposter bowl is a soup with the flavor and aesthetics of liquid mud.

The Cold Dishes here are alright. All pack a little heat except the tofu and the potato. The beef has a little chili, the fungus has a bunch of garlic, and the pork ear cleaves in sheets. 

I'm cool with the cold plates, but I'd skip those for the Cold Noodle with Sesame Paste. Not a fan of sesame paste, HUGE fan of this sweet and earthy sauce. 

There's no substitute for labor, and in the Pork Chow Mein it shines. A simple noodle stir-fry at surface-level, but the hand-made noodles make the dish. There's a distinct flavor from the dough, and the texture is terrific.

Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy because you need a vegetable. Not why you're here, but a necessary side. 

My new favorite dish, the Braised Chicken, Potato & Pepper with Sliced Noodle. It's an entire, three-day tray of steaming-hot comfort. Chunks of chicken soaked through with a soupy spice, giant hunks of noodle. 

Imposters beware, Northern Cafe in Tozai Plaza is the real deal. The soups are slurpable, the noodle quality is undeniable, and dumplings are delicious.

Northern Cafe - Gardena

Every kind of Chinese noodle, in every delicious iteration. All handmade. 

The Dan Dan is probably my fave, deceptively simple ropy hand-pulled noodles with tender ground pork and bok choy, shrouded in a surround-sound spice.

Hand-pulled noodles work both hot and cold, and this mix in sweetly-chilled Sesame Sauce may be the absolute best dish they make. 

Their house special Beef Noodle Soup is divinely light in a barely-there broth with ribbons of knife shaved noodles. 

Hand-ripped noodles are a wider, flatter, belt-thick option. They slither with a spicy Special Sauce and shreds of beef. The texture is the most satisfying chew. 

The combinations are endless, and every preparations is its own kind of awesome. What could possible be left? STIR FRY. They'll whip up a Chow Mein of your wildest dreams using hand pulled or sliced noodles. These are hand pulled, but there is wrong answer here. 

The noodles are the reason we're here, but they do have some other not-bad things if you're willing.

Their XLB have thicker wrappers, 

the Beef Roll is okay, 

And the Lamb Skewers are a brief homage to street food. 

The Shrimp and Pork Dumplings are the real show-stealer here. Get them pan fried and let some of the juice drip as you crunch through a just-right wrapper and get into the tender bits beneath.

You can even go for a tray of perfectly battered Orange Chicken with zero shame - they make theirs far better than any fast food you’ve ever tried.

And never forget the cold dishes to cleanse and cool the palate. The chili oil slices of mixed beef and offal are my favorite. They have chili pig ears for those who like their cartilage, and strips of tofu or cold potato are the equivalent of an authentic Asian salad. 

Plenty of loves on this menu, generous portions for sharing at lower prices than they deserve. Every noodle-y bite is a delight, and even if I tried every dish on this menu, I'd probably still come back for more.