Fiona T.

從小到大經常接觸台灣料理，今次是我第一次體驗八道菜品嚐套餐。 每一道菜都巧妙結合亞洲風味與現代料理技巧。 從北海道帶子到鮑魚到茶燻鴨，都能感受到主廚對食材與味道的用心。 精心搭配的 pairing 亦提升了整體的味覺層次。 無論擺盤、服務還是用餐氛圍，都令人留下深刻印象。 Having grown up enjoying Taiwanese cuisine, this was my first time experiencing an 8-course tasting menu. Each dish beautifully combined Asian flavors with modern culinary techniques. From the Hokkaido scallop and abalone to the tea-smoked duck and dessert, every course reflected the chef's attention to detail and balance of flavors. The carefully curated pairings further elevated the overall dining experience. From the presentation to the service and ambiance, every detail left a lasting impression. Price: $88 for the 8 courses tasting menu (+ $88 for the wine pairing menu) IG: socalhkfoodies

Aileen H.

They say third time is the charm. This was definitely the case for last Sunday when I visited Blue Magpie with my family. We were there to celebrate a birthday and booked the private room. Since we had a large party, I got the chance to sample more of their dishes this time. We ordered more than 15 dishes and these were my favorites: 1. Taiwanese braised pork belly with fried eggs and rice - The pork belly was perfectly cooked; tender in texture and flavorful in taste. The rice soaked up the savory and sweet soy sauce. It was so delicious! A must-order. 2. Lobster - Succulent and tasty. Fresh. 3. Taiwanese fried rice noodles - The texture was perfect: not too dry and not oily. Moist and delicious, could use a tad less salt and white pepper. 4. Truffle poached chicken salad - This was a fusion dish done right. The truffles were not overpowering. It was refreshing yet flavorful. 5. Chicken soup - this was almost better than the chicken soup at Ding Tai Fung. It's different and just as good in a different way. 6. Scallion pork with crispy scallion pancake - This dish looked like tacos with the scallion pancake serving as the taco base. We also ordered the coffee short-ribs. Some pieces were dry. The lamb chop with broccolini was good. The duck was pretty good as well. The steamed fish didn't taste fresh. We had several chicken dishes, I liked the three cup chicken dish with mushroom the most. Service was good until they forgot one of our drinks. The presentation was refine. All in all, I do hope they stick around. There were some outstanding dishes.

Tony C.

One of the high end Taiwanese restaurant in SGV. First of all, food was amazingly good. We basically ordered almost every dish on the menu. The Crispy-Skin Roasted Duck Breast, Pan-Seared New York Strip, and the Sour & Spicy Parchment-Baked Branzino stood out the most. Service was excellent as well. Ambiance was well decorated given its high end atmosphere.

Claire S.

Came here for lunch on a Friday. It's easy to make a reservation on Yelp for the same day. When we got there, only 2 other tables of guests were there so it's not crowded at all. We ordered Cured Pork Carbonara, Sesame Oil Chicken & Poached Egg Risotto and Sweet & Sour Fried Chicken Waffle. Some very distinctive and classic Taiwanese flavors came through in the dishes. I appreciate the chef trying to accentuate the essence of Taiwanese food. However, some combinations seemed a bit forced. Like the pink sauce in sweet and sour chicken and waffle is reminiscent of the pink sauce on Taiwanese "meatball". But when it's on the fried chicken with popcorn chicken seasoning, it doesn't really go together. The classic Sesame Oil Chicken & Poached Egg Risotto is very generous in the ingredients and the sesame oil chicken flavor is spot on. But the menu says "risotto" and the actual dish is like porridge with the rice kernels broken apart. We all thought the cured pork in Cured Pork Carbonara is overpowering the carbonara and lacking the creaminess from the egg and cheese sauce. The service was excellent. The waiter came multiple times to refill our water. The moody interior is beautifully designed. Even the bathroom is well appointed with Aesop hand soap. Again, I applaud the restaurant for elevating Taiwanese food but the flavors could use some tweaking so it's not so forced. It's nice to have a delightful space for a Taiwanese forward cuisine that's not a hole in a wall. Pro tip - their menu and hours change periodically. The happy hour menu and time we saw on their instagram post from a month ago is no longer offered.

Stewart L.

I stated in my previous review that I wanted to try Blue Magpie's Happy Hour in the future, so here I am again. To summarize some previously stated facts: the restaurant opened in June 2025. It's an upscale Taiwanese place; the name is Taiwan's national bird. The restaurant's exoskeleton is not at all "Asian", but there are lovely Asian design details in the decor, design, and serving-ware. They have a small parking lot, but street parking can be a challenge. Happy Hour is offered Tues- Fri 3-6 pm and Sat/Sun 3-5 pm (closed Mon). There are 12 dishes on the menu and they are half-off during HH. Non-alcoholic drinks are half-off the second drink. When I came at 3:00 on a weekday, the place was quiet. A young man who looked like a proprietor or manager remembered me, maybe because I take a lot of photos; it's the Yelp way! He answered all of my questions and was more proficient in English than the waitress. I ended up ordering 7 of the 12 dishes. Each dish was well-prepared, beautifully plated and presented. Niggles about particular dishes are based on my personal taste and preferences. First off, be aware many dishes are garnished/topped with greens, which usually was cilantro shoots/baby cilantro. Their appearance isn't as distinctive as mature cilantro leaves, but their taste is just as potent and can easily overpower any dish. I picked off all of these greens, because just like my idol Ina Garten, I can only withstand cilantro in small doses. Here are the HH dishes I tried: 1) Seared Scallop with Aiyu Jelly. The scallop was seared, but sliced and combined with the jelly, had a soft texture. The jelly is a Taiwanese dish made from the seeds of a type of creeping fig plant. 2) Silken Egg with Sakura Shrimp and Seafood. Basically a chawanmushi, a warm egg custard with seafood. The custard and seafood within were delish, but the dish was topped with petite whole shrimp that had the taste of dried shrimp that I recall, not fondly, from my childhood, plus cilantro. So the 2 toppings were no's for me, bad dreams from a Chinese-American childhood. 3) Scallion Pork with Crispy Scallion Pancake. This dish was on the DineLA lunch menu. It's a soft taco topped with pork, pickled onions, corn and other things, including cilantro. Very nice, sans cilantro. 4) Drunken Shaoxing Shrimp. Whole shrimp in a Shaoxing wine "broth". Tasty, but very messy to eat since you have to behead, de-shell, de-tail and de-vein each shrimp. Yes, cilantro. 5) Golden Shrimp Toast & Pineapple. A modern and delish take on traditional shrimp toast, it's basically an open-faced shrimp salad sandwich. Very similar to their lobster and pineapple salad sandwich that was on the DIneLA menu. The bread was thick toasted slices of brioche (I think) topped with the shrimp salad, a squiggle of a sriracha aioli and chives (no cilantro!). 6) Chicken Pate with Crispy Youtiao. Another delish dish. Squiggles of chicken liver pate atop traditional fried Chinese donuts, topped with something that looked like pork floss (?) and chives. Again, no cilantro! 7) Crispy Fried Tofu. The tofu cubes were indeed fried but still soft. They were topped with a pickled slaw (cabbage and carrots) and alas, cilantro. Tasty, but I wish the tofu had retained some crispiness. My drink of choice was a Sparkling Fruit Refresher, very refreshing. Overall an excellent Happy Hour, great service and ambiance. I must return to try the other 5 HH dishes. My top 2 dishes from this visit: the shrimp toast and chicken pate.

Tina K.

I gave it two stars because we like the service, the waitresses are very attentive, very polite and the atmosphere was nice. I'm actually very excited to try the restaurant but I'm actually quite disappointed. Now onto the food which is the main point, I'm sorry but the food here simply does not justify the price. Out of all the fish that we ordered, I would say only the fish taste ok, everything else was just either plain or not good. The two dishes that I like to point out, the bamboo shoots were extremely tough -- almost impossible to chew. We asked them to replace the dish, and although they did, the new one was still not very satisfactory. I think you can buy this from the supermarket and just get cheese to spread on there and it would taste better. For the chicken, I don't even know where to begin The chicken was very dry and lacked flavor. The soup that came with it was also bland. It's hard to believe this dish costs $50 -- honestly, even the one from Costco tastes better. The four of us spent over $300 on maybe 5 dishes. That's about $75 per person, we didn't order lobster or steak, just veggies, fish, chicken etc. What I'm saying isn't even about whether the food was worth the price -- it's simply that the food itself just wasn't very good.

Karen F.

Have been wanting to try this place and decided Dine LA was the perfect time! Went on a Friday for a late lunch and the place was pretty full with folks also doing the Dine LA menu; small lot in the back was completely full, as were the immediate street spaces, so we ended up parking on Santa Anita, just before Huntington. Restaurant was very pretty and the bathrooms are quite lovely. The service was a mixed bag; the owner/manager guy was nice, the other waiter guy with the native level English was great, and the rest of the staff was friendly, but seemed frazzled. Food came out in a weird order, seems rhetorical kitchen was also frazzled, but we enjoyed what we ordered; portions were pretty big. We also added on a Taiwanese sausage, which was good, but a lot less sweet compared to traditional Taiwanese sausages. Won't say too much about the food since there are already a lot of reviews for the Dine LA menu, but I think the shrimp salad was better than the duck, and the wintermelon lemon drink is a lot less sweet than a traditional one. Also, some reviews saying the dessert was a bit bland, but we really enjoyed it. TBH, would probs not be back for a dinner if I was paying for myself, but would probs pop in for a lunch or take lunch. And, we do want to return and try happy hour.

Ves S.

Came for DineLA! We got the lunch DineLA menu, which comes with a mini pork taco, choice of crispy shrimp salad or tea-smoked duck salad, an entree of either chicken and waffles or lobster brioche, and a choice or specialty drink with panna cotta dessert. The inside is nice and upscale, though there was a bit of an open area near the bar that could use some blockers. Bathrooms are really nice, they're all-gender but have clean private stalls. We enjoyed our taco and salads! They were refreshing and just enough food and flavorful to get started. The lobster brioche was filling and hearty. The bread was nice and toasted on the outside and still soft. The lobster was tasty with some crunch (maybe pineapple?). It came with shoestring fries. The chicken and waffle was pretty substantial. It could be for two! The waffle was already sweet so no need for syrup. The chicken portion was huge! It had the same taste as Taiwanese popcorn chicken with the five-spice flavor and crispy outside. It also had a runny fried egg to put it all together. Parking is available in the rear lot or on the street. We enjoyed our lunch! Service was quick and they cleared our plates promptly and packed our leftovers in a neat package.

Miranda O.

It was an amazing meal during DineLA week, tomorrow is the last day for this special menu. I might come back tomorrow to try the other selections! Today, the appetizer was a scallion pork taco made of scallion pancake, scallion oil, chipotle mayo, greens and pickled red onions. I had the tea-smoked duck breast salad, mandarin orange slices, pickles, delicately seasoned dressing with the smoked flavor on the duck, for the salad. The main course was a pineapple lobster salad brioche with a side of salad and French fries, quite tasty and with a crunchy brioche. The dessert was a boba tea panne cotta, nicely decorated with tiny boba pearls. Overall, a very nice menu for DineLA week.

Tiffany C.

​DINELA to try list: I finally visited Blue Magpie, Taiwanese modern fine dining, in Arcadia for Dine LA. The ambiance is a classy upscale modern. As soon as you walk in, the stunning wall of tea pots and sleek marble tables create such a gorgeous backdrop for photos. ​While the 45 dollar price tag is a bit of a splurge for lunch, the atmosphere makes it feel like a special treat. We enjoyed the Scallion Pork Taco and the Pineapple Lobster Salad Brioche, but the absolute best part was the Tea Smoked Duck Breast Salad. The duck was tender with a unique smoky flavor tea infused, that stole the spotlight. You also must try their drinks because they were fantastic! ​We finished with the silky Boba Tea Panna Cotta which was delightful. Service was wonderful and attentive. If you are looking for a fancy spot with great vibes to treat yourself, this is the place!

Ethan P.

If you're looking for a quality spot with excellent service, this is the spot! I want to start off by saying the waiters were on top of their stuff the entire time. Not only were they fast, but very thoughtful and observant 10/10 service. Decor was nice. Personally I would replace the white light with warm light and lean in to the culture more by playing eastern music instead of western pop but that's just me. I had some extra time and got the pi pa gao cocktail which was a fun combo since the base is the Chinese herbal couch syrup Prices are on the higher end but justifiable with top notch ingredients and big portions. The Hakka style pork belly and salted pork jowl were our favorites. Def want to try the mala popcorn chicken, beef noodle soup, and lobster next time.

May C.

A beautiful restaurant with very nice and friendly staffs. Their foods is very excellent and very tasty. I didn't have a chance to try their drinks. But we will be back very soon to try their Happy hours and lunch specials. Very nice place to celebrate birthday, anniversary and more. I think our server's name is Sean? He is very good and helpful. We will be back.

Ernest Y.

I actually thought most of their food were pretty solid but it's honestly way too pricey. They also give a fried burdock root in the beginning which I was personally addicted to (coated in salt and pepper ). I tried all the drinks (except one) and they were all pretty good. Personally liked the moonlight blossom the most because of osmanthus but all of them were all on the lighter end. Food wise, I personally like the pork belly rice the most. This might not be the same thought on everybody because it reminds me more of the canto style pork belly than the taiwanese style(love both btw). The cabbage which I thought was ok but personally loved the dried shrimps on it. The duck was pretty solid and I liked the skin and overall it wasn't dry. The mapo Lobster was ok for me. The Lobster itself was fresh but I'm not sure if that's the combination I want on my lobster BUT I do like how they already deshell it. The chicken appetizer was ok...I personally wouldn't get it.... I honestly thought the food and drinks were pretty good but the price range of this place is prob the hard no for me. It's good to come try it once but I personally can't imagine myself coming back solely on the price range. The service was definitely on the better end. They were all pretty friendly and always there to clean plates and even open door for customers.