Eva M.
Yelp
MonGa has been around for several years, located in the busy shopping plaza that also houses Asian Family Market. Parking is challenging in this plaza. I park as soon as I enter to secure a spot and walk the rest of the way. They completed an expansion recently. The interior is pleasantly spacious and simply decorated. They are understaffed for this expanded space. Three people take orders, while two people deliver food and clear tables. Getting the attention of any one of them is difficult. They are running around being very busy, so I don't fault the staff for the service. The food overall is quite good, which is confirmed by the groups waiting by the door and outside when we left. Thank goodness we came early.
A tip: I noticed the online ordering has options that are not verbalized to us while we ordered nor is it included on the paper menu. I recommend cross-checking the online ordering to see if there are tweaks you want. For example, the pork burger can be fatty meat or lean meat.
The Food:
S1 - Pork Burger, 美味刈包, $6.49 - 4 Stars
Hubby's eyeballs went very big looking at the thick slab of fatty pork belly. It has to be the thickest I have seen in a while, even though it is all fatty (see photo). Meanwhile, I feel my arteries tightening just looking at it. Well, he said it was delicious.
B3 - Beef shank and tendon noodle soup, 半筋半肉麵, $14.49 - 4.5 Stars
Flavorful beef broth, even if visually a bit thinner than other places. Hubby said it was good and the meat and tendon are tender.
D2 - Noodles Topped with Vegetarian Meat Sauce, 香菇素肉麵, $11.49 - 4.5 Stars
The English name doesn't say it, but the Chinese name says this dish is Chinese mushrooms and house-made vegetarian meat noodles. This dish is surprisingly tasty. The photo is pre-stir. The sauces are at the bottom and are plentiful to coat the entire dish.
S3 - Popcorn chicken, 酥炸鹽酥雞, $9.99 - 4 Stars
This is a perennial Taiwanese favorite dish. Their coating is lighter/thinner than most places. The simple salted flavor comes through well. They use dark meat, which is the traditional style.
Triangle Fried Tofu, 三角油豆腐, $6.49 - 2 Stars
Why is this wet? See photo. It makes no sense. They run off as soon as they put the dish down, so I just kept it since it's not expensive. It tastes ok, just not what I expected or wanted - which is crispy fried tofu. This was my backup after they said the stinky tofu is sold out. Bummer.
Tieguanying Tea Latte, 鐵觀音拿鐵, $5.99 - 4 Stars
With a surprisingly mild tea flavor and the Chinese style of not-too-sweet, this warm latte is quite milky and yummy.