Used to be quite a fan of this location of Northern Cafe when it first opened, and you could tell how popular it was by the crowds. But this recent visit was the first time in a long time, and a lot has changed. The menu is abbreviated, and they're selling more of the generic dishes such as orange chicken. Noodles are still made in house, but we got two noodle dishes - one the cold sesame paste noodles (absolutely bland and tasteless, and the noodles were overly thick and chewy more in a "not cooked enough" way than in a good way); plus the chili oil noodles (these were okay, but not really a dish we'd get again). We also ordered one beef "burger" and it was sincerely the most tasteless dish ever - the beef has no sense of being marinated, there was zero sauce, or any garnishes, and the bun was a hard flat disk that was not flakey at all - more just leaden dough. We pointed these out to the waitress and her only response was "well it's summer time so perhaps they marinate it less" - to which I say ???????????????? The staff was nice enough, but very inattentive - halfway through our meal the entire staff broke for their own lunch, which is fine, except that meant that none of them paid any attention to the 4+ tables of customers who were still there. We finally had to walk over to the staff table to get our check and takeout boxes. read more

Came here spontaneously with a friend since we always go to Kotohira in the same plaza. The food here is pretty flavorful. We had the House Special Beef Noodle, Chicken Nuggets, and Beef Sandwich. The noodles were great; the appetizers, not so much. The noodles definitely carried the rest of the meal since they were very delicious. On the flip side, my personal issue is that there's a lot of dishes that are spicy and salty. Yes, the food is delicious, but that's after you get past the spice and salt. The service was kind of mediocre, we received our noodle soups but with no spoons. After we asked for spoons it took about 10-15ish minutes to receive it. Definitely coming here for the noodle soup only. read more

Food is great. Been going for quite awhile maybe once a month. Tonight I walked in at 8:20. Place closes at 9:00, but the new girl said no dining in after 8:15. Seems odd when that gives me 40 minutes. I'm fine with that but she said it very dismissively and rude. I said that I'd been coming for years at this time. She again said it was a new schedule. Again, I'm ok with it, but she was very dismissive to a regular customer. I will not be returning. Hope the manager contacts me, but I doubt it. read more

I ordered Thai Hot & Sour Seafood Noodle Soup, so I figured this is somewhat similar to Thai Tom Yum Noodle Soup... my God! It's not even close, totally no sourness to it and very bland...the broth taste like hot water, told the server about it and she gave me some vinegar and salt -so I add those to see if it will improve the taste but it didn't, taste really nasty! What a waste of money, ate some of it since I'm really hungry and left. The photo below is totally different from what they will serve you. The noodles are good though. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

The customer service has gone downhill. The food is still great! Potstickers and xiao long bao are made fresh. The atmosphere is not as welcoming as it was before. The hours on Yelp and on the store front is not consistent. My boyfriend I went at least 1 hour before closing ate inside, we ordered some noodles but they forgot about it and they said they already closed the kitchen, The storefront said it closed at 9:30, and it was only 8:45. I am willing try again because it may be a bad night. read more

Open for dine in. Lots of parking. This is a chain. There's multiple locations, one up in 626 and another in West LA. Comparable flavors to Northern Chinese food in the 626. Only thing is that it's little more on pricer side. Ran out of Xiao Long Bao when I was there. A1- beef noodle soup with brisket and tendon. (10.99) pretty good flavor. Has options to get regular hand pulled noodles which are good or the flat noodles. I really liked the flat noodles bc good texture. Shrimp, Pork, chive egg- pan fried- (10.49) excellent flavor. Pork Chinese cabbage- pan fried (10.49)- decent flavor. Cold dish $3.99 Wood ear mushrooms were good, frsh and crispy. The chili beef was also pretty good. Lamb skewers (4.99)- good cumin flavor. Meat quality wasnt good so it was tough. I would pass on this. Noodles with Chili Oil and Beef- pretty good flavor. (10.49) Beef roll (9.99)- good flavor. I'd come back for the hand pull noodles. I would get the spicy beef noodle soup next time. read more

Still stuck on the Dan Dan. Al dente, with juicy pork, crisp bok choy, and a little sauce with a little kick. The Cold Dishes here are alright. All pack a little heat except the tofu and the potato. 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. The Pork Chow Mein is simple, but the hand-made noodles make the dish. There's a distinct flavor from the dough, and the texture is terrific. My new favorite dish...tied with sesame noodles and dan dan, the Braised Chicken, Potato & Pepper with Sliced Noodle. It's a three-day tray of steaming-hot comfort because it will take that long to get to the bottom. Chunks of chicken, giant hunks of noodle. I don't think you'll find better noodles in the South Bay, and Northern Cafe is a fantastic place to go. The soups are slurpable, the noodle quality is undeniable, and dumplings are delicious. read more

When I'm in the mood for delicious noodles, I immediately think of Northern Cafe. I love their hand-pulled noodles! Located right next to Boiling Point, this restaurant doesn't get the recognition it deserves. Maybe it's better that way because there's typically no waiting here. I get a kick out of eating my delicious noodles and then gazing outside the window and seeing hungry people waiting for Boiling Point. Most of the time, I'm in-and-out of Northern Cafe before people even get seated at Boiling Point. Anyhow, the noodles here are authentic and superb. My go-to is the hand-ripped noodles with special sauce. I love the texture of the noodles... so chewy! The home style chow mein is great as well. If you're a fan of thick, chewy noodles, you'll love this place. Not to mention, the prices are completely reasonable. There's also a section where you can get various cold dishes for appetizers. I would suggest venturing over to see what you like. You can choose a variety and I think it's a great idea to try a few. I enjoyed the tripe/beef belly coated in chili sauce. I hope Northern Cafe is here for a long, long time because I'll definitely be back! read more

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It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I really enjoyed my food, and it was all because of the noodles. The noodles are made fresh, in house. You can see the guy in the back pulling the noodles. I ordered the cold spicy noodles with pork in garlic sauce, and it was really good. It was the freshness and texture of those long noodles, along with the garlic sauce, that made all the difference. If I'm in the mood for carbs, I will definitely be back again. It's a lot of food, and I had to take half home with me. However, I recommend you eat it all while you're there because the noodles get soggy and lose their firmness. Parking: Always crowded, but free, shared parking. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

I wasn't impressed with this place. The pancake lacks the scallion and I wished they made some special sauce for it. If just using soy sauce then I can just make this at home. Chowm mein has some flavor but seriously do you see shrimps in my plate lol? The noodles have great texture but the broth was just OK and again, the meat portion is tiny and it wasn't even flavorful. read more

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Finally, a decent Chinese restaurant in the South Bay! Growing up in the 626 area, I was super spoiled by the selections of yummy Chinese restaurants. It was never hard to find a place to eat some legit Chinese food when you just drove down Valley Blvd or simply paid a visit to Arcadia. However, when I started to frequent the South Bay more often in recent years, I realized, despite the large Chinese population in Palos Verdes, there were absolutely NO PLACE TO EAT LEGIT CHINESE FOOD (just trying to make my point) until I found this hole in the wall place - Northern Cafe. Northern Cafe, as the name stated, specializing in the northern Chinese regional cuisine. Most of the food are a bit salty (soy sauce based), more meat and wheat based. So I ordered the following dishes: Chinese Hamburger (funny way to call this dish since it is more of a meat pocket) - I ordered the pork one and it was yummy! The juicy tender pork inside of a warm bun was definitely a must order dish! Lamb Skewer - the northern cuisine was heavily influenced by Mongolia, so the lamb skewer is definitely a must try if you like lamb. However, I would not order the lamb skewer again at Northern Cafe since the meat quality was not so good and they added way too much cumin seasonings. Braised Beef Noodle - I picked the hand pull noodle as my noodle selection. It was pretty yummy and the soup was not salty at all. The menu has a little pepper next to this dish, but it was not spicy at all. In fact the soup was pretty mild. Cold Noodle with Hot & Spicy Sauce - this dish reminded me of my childhood eating cold clear noodles as a street dish. I asked the waitress about the name since I forgot the actual name in Chinese. So she told me this one was the most popular one and I assumed that should be the clear noodle. However, it turned out to the same hand pull noodle but in cold noodle version. (hmmm) It was good, but a bit disappointed since I got two dishes are literally the same thing except the temperature. The little cubes are 100% gluten, so for all the gluten-free folks, please don't eat it or don't order this dish. The cubes are very chewy and flavorful since it soaked up all the sauces (vinegar and soy sauce). Overall, this dish is more on the oily side and a bit spicy as well. Customer Service - waitresses here were really nice and friendly. They were quick on their feet so whenever I asked them for something, they brought them to us right away! I am definitely coming back here again since Northern Cafe has no competition in the South Bay in terms of decent Chinese food and especially being the only one serving northern cuisine. read more

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Pretty authentic place. Of course now that it has several locations, the authenticity might go down. Big portions. Service can be better but nice staff. We took a lot of food home so good money spent. read more

Fantastic food. Excellent service. Delicious dumplings especially XLB. Try the cucumber salad for sure. We are coming back the next time we are in LA. read more

Bumping it up for the service. I agree with other reviews that Northern Cafe is a hit-or-miss with some of the dishes. The hand-pulled noodle soup dishes are phenomenal: thick and chewy. The Dan-Dan noodles were pretty good, but the sauce could've been thicker for more flavor. Lamb skewers weren't anything to write home about, as the meat wasn't super tender, and the cumin over-powered the lamb flavor otherwise. The chive dumplings weren't bad, but they were essentially fried Hot Pockets wrapped in a large wonton. Strangely enough, what really stood out for me were the small dishes. Definitely order up to three small dishes, including pig's ear. Prices are decent, and portions are generous...just the taste consistency could use some work on. read more

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Came here for the first time with my friend to have dinner since we were both in the mood for noodle soup. Apparently there are multiple locations in LA, but this one was closest and just opened a few months ago. It looked spacious and clean. We were seated right away, and the our server told us we could order through through the electronic app on the table which had food photos...can you say "soup-er" helpful? We each got the chicken noodle soup, and ordered juicy pork dumplings and sauteed green beans to share. The chicken noodle soup came with baby bok choy, and although the broth was clean the flavor was very bland. There were no sauces or condiments on the table, so we had to ask for soy sauce and chili sauce to add to our soups which made all the difference. The soup dumplings was okay, as I thought the dough was a little thick. Somehow it never compares to the *insert well known restaurant for soup dumplings*. The green beans were great and the most flavorful dish. My friend and I were not so impressed with the food, but staff were friendly. I'd be curious if their other soups are better, but otherwise not tempted to visit again. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

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This used to be our go-to place for noodles in the South Bay before the pandemic. We waited patiently for more than a year before returning here last Sat. We arrived at dinner time and it's not busy inside. A few tables scattered around. We were greeted by the most friendly host and seated right away. We got cold dish combo, Xiao long bao, pot sticker, spicy noodle soup, and Chinese hamburger with juicy pork. The food were as good as we remembered. The hand stretched noodle are what makes the dish. It makes all the difference. What I am most impressed on our visit is their supreme service. The server was friendly and attentive. After we ordered they got busy with many online orders. Our server was swamped but she still come over to check up on us plenty of times. She overheard I was talking about wearing braces makes it hard to bite down and offered to cut the noodle and hamburger for me so it would be easier. I really appreciate that. She was smiling the whole time and even taught us a few Chinese phrases to say thank you. We had a great time there. read more

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I admit I came here since I was starving and the line was way too long for the hot pot spot next door... But boy was I happy I did! I've had Noethern Cafe before but this one was Much better than the others I've been to! Tried the Golden Beef Boodle Soup (don't be tricked since it's not red, there's plenty of spicy kick) and a Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, 小籠包 (soup dumplings) and an order of tripe. All were Really Tasty, especially the Live Noods as they were hand pulled (there was literally a dude in a glass windowed kitchen pulling live nudes). All everything tasted so good!!! read more

Northern Cafe - 小籠包 soup dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

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Delicious! I'm from NorCal and eating here reinforced the idea that SoCal Asian food is just that much better that NorCal's. Came at almost 7 pm and only after we came did the shop begin to fill up with people. 1. House Special Beef Noodle Soup - This is the lighter version of the classic beef noodle soup and I loved the richness of the broth. It was so flavorful, full of that beef bone taste. Also really cool that they let you pick whether or not you want to try the thin, thick, or medium size noodle that a chef is pulling fresh in the kitchen. 2. Braised Beef with Pickled Vegetable Noodle Soup - The heavier version of the classic beef noodle soup and for me a little bit too spicy. Still extremely delicious but even for me, I have a pretty high spice tolerance, it was a bit too spicy. Definitely recommend if ever in the Gardena area. Or just a good pick-me-up before going to LAX. read more

Northern Cafe - Braised Beef with Pickled Vegetables Noodle Soup - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

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Can't decide whether you want dumplings or noodlesoups? Why not both? We split Xiao long bao (yum), one of the house noodle soups (huge and yum), and more traditional dumplings (fine but not as special) that ended up being leftovers. I'm a sucker for hand pulled noodles and XLB, so this place worked out really well. Not the absolute best at anything, but strongly above average. read more

This place was amazing. Food was GREAT. me and my friends did not feel bloated after eating. I recommend eating here. AND THE PORTIONS ARE SO GOOD and this is literally a ding tai fung dupe, and the service was great read more

So I had the Braised Beef Noodle Soup and The Juicy Pork dumplings, and BABY!! Everything was slamming good and delicious. I think I'll be dreaming about it tonight. The cafe is a nice sit down dinning area and the ladies helped me to pair great sauces with my lunch selection. Looking forward to trying their whole menu. Great service! read more

Northern Cafe - Braised Beef Noodle Soup - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

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Love this place the soup and the dumplings are the best in the area we have made this our favorite lunch spot

I had this place bookmarked for a while and finally tried their food. The interior seemed newly renovated and nice but the food was not what I expected. I probably didn't order the right thing. Had to rush so didn't get to check the popular dishes on Yelp...! If you are getting the knife sliced noodles, go for something other than the non spicy house beef noodles. The noodles were amazing. It's just the broth had no taste and the beef also didn't have any flavors so I added chili oil and vinegar but no luck. Orange chicken is fine but it does not come with rice so order separately. Overall, the service was ok but some people were complaining how they messed up the drink orders. I'm not sure if there is any cultural barrier. I love authentic Chinese food so this place seemed like the perfect place. Unfortunately, I do not feel like coming back any time soon. They do not take Amex. Parking in this strip mall is fine but it does get really busy around lunch time. read more

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Fresh noodles and vegetables. Easy for pick up, but really cool restaurant design tobsee into the kitchen too. I would eat here again!

Service was great. Dumplings are very good. I should have known better than to order Thai at a Chinese place, but DON'T order the Thai seafood noodle soup. The vegetarian oil spill noodles were tasteless as well. Texture of all the dough whether it was noodles or dumplings were perfect. Even the garlic broccoli and cucumber dish were seasoned. Probably only return for the chicken potstickers fried. read more

The food here was good. Prime beef noodle soup lacked flavor in the broth but adding their chili oil was game changing. I had it with the flat thick noodle that was perfectly made. I'm not sure if it varies in location because the Northern Cafe in Cerritos serves their beef rolls warm but in this location they served this dish with their meat cold. It wasn't that great. My search for hot and sour soup has finally ended as this place had the most flavorful, rich, and heavily decorated soup I ever had. The dumplings were good. And last but surprisingly not the least...get their chicken nuggets, plain! We ordered this for my son and my husband and I were more excited about it than he was lol. read more

Northern Cafe - Golden Prime Beef Noodle Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Beef Roll, Juicy Pork Dumplings, Chicken Nuggets - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

I had high expectations for Northern Cafe when I stopped by recently to get take out dinner. After scanning a couple reviews, I chose to get their popular hand pulled noodles. My hand pulled noodles of choice was their chicken chow mein. I liked how they make the noodles fresh right after you order and the order did come out nice and hot. Serving size was decent. My disappoint however came when I noticed that the dish itself barely had any chicken. It was all noodles and not much of the other ingredients such as the vegetables or meat. The dish itself was bit oily too. For my first try for Northern Cafe, it was ok but not quite what I expected. I would like to try their other dishes and hoping for a bit more variety and quality. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

I loooove Northern cafe. This is definitely my favorite Chinese restaurant. My coworkers and I came here for lunch and they too were surprised at how delicious the food was so I was so happy that they liked it. We got the cucumber salad, fried chicken with hot pepper, beef roll, hot and sour soup, and shrimp dumplings. The service and ambiance was great. read more

Went in January 2021. I usually love Northern Cafe and I'm a huge fan of their fried beef rolls. This time, I got the fried beef rolls, beef noodle soup, and shrimp wontons. The beef rolls were really soggy and not cripsy whatsoever, and the cut of beef that they usually put did not seem right. It was very tendon-y and tough. Beef noodle soup seasoning seemed off and bland. Hopefully it was just an off day. read more

My friends and I enjoyed our time here in Northern Cafe. Both Linda and Dorothy were great servers, gladly guided us through the menu and we were delighted with their recommendations! Although we did order a lot, they teased us a little and you know what... we did order a lot but that only meant we were so full by the time we finish! Hear me out: their chili oil is good! Although it took away the experience of enjoying their tofu--to my friends that tried said it's an interesting dish, with a minty aftertaste. I forgot what's it called but the tofu was sautéed in some red sauce. I believe them, but unfortunately the my tastebud was number from the chili oil by the time it was served to the table. Their chow mein is very good! It had thick noodles, you'll need a scissor to serve it onto your plate. The restaurant had a premium feel to it, and cheekily on the side, you're able to order a fast food take out! This reminds me to add this place as an option in case if I want a fast Chinese food take out. Don't let this be a negative however, the place is great to eat in. There are desert places just a few feet away from Northern Cafe. All in all, we had a great experience eating here and I look forward to eat their food again. Did I mention their beef wrap is good? Or how about the salt chicken? Or perhaps the vegetable fried rice? No? If you're reading this I hope you're more inclined to eat here soon! read more

Orange chicken was so dry! There was no sauce at all! The chicken was not pull-apart soft, it was also very brittle in some areas and quite overcooked. read more

Northern Cafe - Orange Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

Food is typically very good, service not so much. Adherence to CoViD-19 restrictions almost non existent. They could offer a varied menu of drinks - virtually every drink offered (other than water) is loaded with sugar. If you have young children bring them to the kitchen window and let them watch the workers "pound" the noodles. read more

Hand pulled noodles are the best!!! Dan dan noodles to the braised lamb noodle soup. Both were delishous. read more

Northern Cafe - Braised lamb noodle soup. - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

I'm not gonna lie...I've only been here a couple times (despite coming to this plaza a million times) because boiling point usually draws me in more. But don't sleep on Northern Cafe!! It's honestly a great option with some solid authentic Chinese food. Most recently, my mom and I split the beef rolls, a Chinese burger, a wide noodle dish, and some dumplings. Everything was super tasty and we had sooooo many leftovers. Definitely will return because you can't find some of these dishes that often at other Chinese restaurants. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

What sets apart this place is the quality and taste of their noodles. It's because they make their noodles from scratch and you can see the process live without any additional fees. The kitchen is open so you can see someone making noodles behind a glass window. So, if you like noodles, check it out. I tried their ground pork noodle but I think it's Dan Dan noodles on the menu. It was spicy with subtle hints of a peanut sauce. The noodles, well, were really good...chewy and cooked right. Slurp away! The pork dumplings were acceptable, but next time I want to try their steamed or boiled dumplings. The cold plate that we ordered was pretty good. We tried seaweed, pig ear, and beef. Everything was spicy, as expected, and tasted fresh. Service was timely and friendly. Parking can be challenging in the nearby lot, so plan accordingly. read more

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Amazing food and good service. The flavor of the beef noodle soup (spicy) and marinated eggs and beef wrap never disappoints. You can also get some decent steamed pork soup dumplings for a decent price. Reminds me of Taiwan and it's very nostalgic. There is only one restroom but the place is clean. The best part is you can see them make the noodles through the glass window. They only sell bottled drinks and cans of soda (water is free), which might turn some people off if they're not familiar with the Asian brand drinks, but it only adds to my nostalgia. read more

Constantly going to Furaibo as well as Boiling point, I've noticed Northern Cafe multiple times on my visits and decided to try them out and eat there for dinner. Being skeptical, my friends and I didn't know how to order and wasn't informed on the process of ordering since it was our first time there. It took us a while to begin ordering as we were scrolling through yelp to look at popular dishes because there weren't any images of the food nor descriptions. We didn't know much about the menu, but when we got our food, it was spectacular. Each item we ordered such as the beef roll, lamb kabob, egg/shrimp dumplings, chicken soup, and a beef soup were all really delicious. The service was okay, our drinks were constantly being refilled and whenever we asked for something the servers would kindly give us the item (ex. extra plates, bowls, napkins). Food was amazing and I would highly recommend trying out each dish. 4/5 read more

Northern Cafe - Beef Roll - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

After watching Anthony Bourdain in Shanghai the other night, I started craving spicy won tons. I remembered Northern Cafe in Gardena had good reviews and headed over for lunch. I got there mid afternoon and the restaurant had a lot of empty tables. I was greeted and seated with a menu. I didn't see won tons on the menu, so I started scrolling Yelp pictures to find the next best thing...Braised Beef Noodle Soup! I showed the picture to the server and he recommended standard noodles since it was my first time there. Not long after, my bowl of noodle soup arrived and it was picture-worthy! Of course, I snapped a picture for Yelp before diving in. The broth was a little zippy, but I got used to it as I started eating. I heard that they make their own noodles, although I wasn't sure if it applied mine. They were good nonetheless and the beef was very tender. The portion was huge and I didn't think I'd finish it, but I did. I thought the server was very pleasant and checked on me to see if everything was all right. I'll be back to try other items on their menu. read more

Northern Cafe - Nice and open - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California

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That beef roll is amazing! I can eat 3 orders of those easily! Ordered the spicy beef noodle soup as well. The amount of noodles it had was mind blowing. The soup is definitely good for 2 people read more

Delicious! This has been on my list for a while and I finally went with some friends who spoke super highly of it. We went family-style with a few different dishes: Tofu skin cold dish: long flat shreds of tofu skin with carrots and peppers. The texture was interesting. I don't think I've tried a dish like this before, but the texture was sort of like cold boiled chicken? Dousing it in chili oil gave it some flavor. Beef roll: Ahh this was *chef's kiss*. The pancake was flaky, and not too thick. Beef inside was good. I forgot to ask for hoisin sauce, so it was a bit dry without it. One of my favorite dishes in general, so I'd order it again for sure. Oil Spill Noodle: my friends were really looking forward to this, as it was one of their favorites when they lived in town. They said the taste changed, so they were a bit let down. I loved the flat noodles and I love that dry spice mouth burn. Beef noodle soup with tendon: yum! Went with the regular noodles but I do want to try their knife-sliced next time. Tendon melted in my mouth and was full of flavor! Lamb sticks: I could eat 100 of these in one sitting. Lol. Something about that earthy flavor with the spices makes it super tasty! Service was awesome too! read more

Northern Cafe - Lamb Skewer - Chinese Near Me - Gardena, California