They are one of the best Taiwanese restaurants in Los Angeles. Recent experience is kind of disappointing as the pork chop was extremely salty and it came with almost all end pieces and only 2 center pieces. Never happen before. They should be one whole pork chop with only two edges/end pieces. Hope they look into their quality control. Really love them for ages - hope they don't change. read more

Kind of the best boba spot in the area, the teas are of high quality you can taste it. Formosa and jasmine milk teas are one of favorites to order here but recently tried their caramel(brown sugar) and it's yummy. One of my regular spots when I'm feeling like Taiwanese food as well. Portions are great! Food is quality! Employees are very matter of fact and not really warm but maybe it's just my take, who really cares anyway. read more

8 years later and I'm still frequenting Why Thirsty for their basil chicken rice and spicy cucumber. To be honest, I'll come back for the spicy cucumber alone. Their menu is unique enough to set them apart from your run-of-the-mill boba shops, and that's why I love it. Nothing has changed for the worse in the 8 years I've been coming here and with 8+ years of consistently serving the same quality of foods, what more can I say? read more

3.5. Limited seating. Open late. Service is a little slow sometimes. Offer both tea and food. Famous for the Railroad Pork Chop. Huge portion with tender pork that was fried then tossed in sauce. It is the Taiwanese railroad bento style pork chop, not the deep fried crispy kind. I grew up with both style and I love them both equally. Hehee... Some dishes here were a little too sweet for my taste. But they were all fresh and flavorful. Loved the side dishes as well. read more

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Had the rose tea with creamy top. The tea had real rose flavors and rose petals. The creamy top is very rich and makes the whole drink enjoyable. I had it quarter sweet which is enough for me Also had sauteed veggies, tofu, satay vermicelli with soup, and pork chop rice. All very flavorful. Came here on a Sunday lunch hour. Very easy to find parking and get a table read more

Food is fine. We dined in and the food were served to us using take out utensils and containers.Awful.

*** Minimum $10 purchase for credit cards *** [Pros] * A HDTV playing Taiwanese pop music videos * Free Wi-Fi (password is posted at the cashier counter) * Stamp card (buy 10 get 1 REGULAR drink free; additional $0.50 to upgrade to large or add a topping or additional $1 to upgrade to premium drinks) * Drink refill @ 1/2 price (dine-in only and no share or split) * High quality drink (I say slightly better than A Plus Tea House in San Gabriel) * One of the best popcorn chicken in the SGV (San Gabriel Valley) [Cons] * $3 minimum order per person (almost 95% of items on the menu exceed $3) * Really small cafe (fewer than 8~10 tables) * Not a great place to study - the overall atmosphere felt more like a casual restaurant * Close on Sunday [Order] 30. Assam Milk Tea ($3.49 but free with stamp card, regular sweetness + extra $0.50 for boba): I highly recommend this drink. Regular sweetness was just right and 50% sweetness would make this drink tastes like water. [Conclusion] I approve Assam milk tea and popcorn chicken. As for their rice plates and noodle soups ... well, good luck on trying those items my fellow foodies. read more

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Why Thirsty? Exactly...don't be thirsty if you have a place like this around. I'm most often here weekly and the drinks are always so refreshing. Popcorn chicken always hits the spot too. Best local mom and pop shop find for Taiwanese food. read more

If you want bang for your buck this is the place. They have great portion sizes for the price and everything we had was tasty. The butterfly drink was not super sweet and it lasted me through my dinner and on my drive home. I got the Tawainese Lo mein and my friend got the fish filet plate. We both had leftovers to take home. The fish filet was two big pieces nice and crispy with a flaky middle. The lo mein was tasty and flavorful and tasted hot and fresh. It's true there are so many places in the San Gabriel valley but this one takes some traditional favorites and adds some different takes on a variety of choices. They have other tea flavors and options also if you don't want to try the butterfly tea but if you want a pretty instagram pic def worth getting it. There is parking the the strip mall plaza and if that's full you can try one of the side streets around the block. read more

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There's two kinds of people: born to be fire, and born to be water. I am a fire person who doesn't need much water in my body and avoid drinking water or teas. However this tea is incredible. So fresh and real. My friend and and I visited once to have a tea after shopping nearby shopping mall to quench our thirsty and have relax before the dinner. It was very mom and pop restaurant which is relatively small, hole in the wall restaurant selling Taiwanese food and drinks. There's few people occupied eating early dinner but we ordered the teas: one was a black tea and mine was a rose tea. Even my friend praised the quality of tea in here, I was disapprovingly nodded to agree with her while waiting. The tea came out with ice inside. There's cold outside and I was feeling cold. I put the straw over the plastic lid and sucking a good amount of tea and VOILA!!!! OMG!!! Amazing!!! It was so fresh and deep flavor which remained for many hours after finishing the tea. I have to go back as soon as possible. read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Why Thirsty is a small cafe/restaurant with great food and great drinks - and that's all I need to keep coming back for more! FOOD: Braised Pork Chop Lo Mein ($8.75) is my go-to. The Lo Mein dish is pretty hefty. It may look small, but I end up feeling full after finishing it. Plus, their food is not only delicious, but it's affordable too! DRINKS: Drinks have been good too. You can taste the tea flavor and they don't make their drinks overly sweet. I recommend the Assam milk tea! PARKING: Generally easy to find a parking spot. I like Why Thirsty because they keep things simple, yet they're consistently good. read more

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My favorite Taiwan noodle spot. Very unique taste of the noodle soup. And good portion for the price

Holiday hours:) Closed on 12/31 and opened on 1/1 Good authentic Taiwanese foods and drinks read more

Why Thirsty - New Years schedule for 2018!!!!! - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Tried this place with my mother (Taiwanese) as it came highly recommended by a friend. Came to the verdict that I like Sin Ba La better (another taiwanese place), but this place is pretty good too. I would definitely suggest asking them to go lighter on the spices! I love flavor as much as the next girl, but it can get just a tad salty! Everything was super fresh and came out piping hot. I think the side that come with the entrees could have had a little more flavor, but maybe I was just recovering from the salty appetizers. Also they have a cool bathroom and a huge parking lot (maybe a selling point for some people aka me LOL) read more

The railroad pork chop rice is pretty big size. Credit card can be used after $15. Taiwanese causal food. Came here in April. Pork chop is prepared differently, not like fried ones. Something was off, but I'm not a huge fan. Its okay food if dying for Taiwanese food and really really close by. Portions are good though. read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

This Taiwanese/tea spot is good, but the place is small and the wait is long. If you can't wait a while to eat, go elsewhere. The order took long also. They are known for low mein. Half the people I came with ordered pork chop low mein and the other half we ordered chicken basil with low mein noodles They give you sauce choices. Sesame sauce was good. I would compare these noodles to Dan Dan noodles with a peanut butter taste. The chicken basil was good. I also ordered bean curd on the side and that was a mistake. One order of food and tea is enough! I was so hungry when I placed that order. The tea I ordered was regular Osmanthus Jasmine Tea and it was good. I asked for less ice and less sugar because that's what I prefer. Total for 3items basil chicken low mein, bean curd, and tea came out to $16. Geez. Price is okay. I enjoyed my food. read more

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I came here for the name. The picture on Yelp all look very delicious. The food was average but I was a little concerend about how quick it came out after the order. 5 min? And the food came out even faster than our drinks. That can't be fresh everything. But still, it's a nice place to come once in a while. read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Huge servings for much the food costs, you never leave this place hungry. Every dish I tried here over the last few years has been great, as well as the drinks. They don't have the busiest place, so go support them! read more

This is one of my family's favorite places to eat. Great Taiwanese food/snacks, good quality tea, and friendly service. I've been a loyal patron for as long as I can remember, and the staff know my kids. My favorite item is the bean curd rice plate (I'm not sure if it's on the menu, but if you ask for it, they'll know!), and my kids love the popcorn chicken. I'm also partial to the basil chicken, the squid balls, and pork chop fried rice. It's one of the few places that includes fresh sauteed veggies too. Why Thirsty is always in my weekly rotation. read more

This is THE SPOT to be for Taiwanese food (or authentic tea/boba). Ever since I was introduced to this place, I'd come here over any other Taiwanese place. All of their fried appetizers are great and I love all the noodle dishes. They have cold noodles in the summer, so grab them while you can! I was sad when they told me they didn't have them in the winter. All of their teas are really good. If you like authentic tea, give this place a try! I like the High Mountain Milk Tea and my boyfriend likes the Assam Milk Tea. The teas aren't overly sweet either. FYI this place is not open on Mondays. read more

I came here looking for a good old Taiwanese meal and that's exactly what I got. It brought me back to eating authentic street food in Taiwan. I got the Fried pork chop with rice. The fried pork chop was fried really nicely and thin on the outside and it was giant piece as well. Could've had a little bit more substance in the meat but overall done well. The meal comes with a good amount of rice with sauce, a huge portion of vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, half a hard-boiled egg, pickled spicy pickles, and and a classic corn + egg mix on the side. The best part was that nothing was overly salty like a lot of other Taiwanese/Chinese places. It tasted healthy and I didn't leave feeling super thirsty! Will be back the next time that craving hits for other good meals and snacks. read more

OSMANTHUS JASMINE WITH BOBA & SWEET POTATO FRIES MILD, PLEASE! -inserts fries emoji- I always order that every single time I come here. Its my favorite! Perfect combination for both teas. I wasn't a fan of Osmanthus because it was too strong of a tea. BUT mixed together with jasmine tea, DELISH! I can't find any places that has this! (If you know, please let me know because I'd love to try it!) Their boba is always good and chewy when I come. Their sweet potato fries are worth the price (a bit pricy) but they give you a lot! I DEVOURED them delicious fries! I also tried their noodle soup and it's good! The noodles are not too soft and not too hard. I'm not a fan of soft soft noodles. Customer service varies. I sometimes feel pressure when I'm looking at the menu because there's a lady there stands there and stares at me even though I let her know I need some time. Most places would to their own thing until I stand right at the register ready to order. But when the lady is working here, nope. She still stands there and looks at me and looks back at the menu. The guy who works here however is always super nice! Just a smile can change everything. Thankfully, I usually go when he's working! I believe their minimum on card is $10. So I suggest bring a friend and let them Venmo you while you get the rewards on your credit card. Hehe. (To my friends reading this, I'm kidding [not really]) hehe. Parking is easily to find when I come! I have no problems with it. read more

I'm always looking for a great Taiwanese spot and this is one of them! Both the service and portions are great. Fried Pork Chop Rice: We ordered the "pork chop rice" and they brought us the pork chop fried rice, but what we actually wanted was the fried pork chop rice. We ordered in Chinese and left out the word "fried" so I guess they assumed we wanted the fried rice. They were happy to change our order without any issues which was fantastic. The rice plate come with a big slab of fried pork chop, corn, veggies, and a little minced pork on the rice. The outside of the meat was crispy and the inside was tender. The sides were good, nothing bad to say about them. Popcorn Chicken: We also ordered a side of popcorn chicken and it was so delicious. The coating was nicely seasoned and perfectly crunchy. The meat was nice and juicy. Shaved Ice: Couldn't resist getting a Taiwanese shaved ice so we had to get it even though we were already stuffed. For the price we weren't expecting such a large plate of shaved ice! They are also very generous with the toppings so it was a struggle to finish it with only 2 people. This would be great to share between 3-4 people. read more

I came here to try this place out. It's just around the corner of my house. I tried the beef stew soup and it was okay. I asked him to make it less salty because the waiter suggested us to get it less salty in her opinion it was salty. To me I think the chef made it less salty by adding some sugar so it tastes kind of funky but overall the beef noodle soup taste okay. The beef was very tender and delicious that's the best part the noodle was typical. I like how they provide us with the pickle sour mustard leaves period that enhance the flavor. I also order a drink called premium milk tea it was very delicious because it was freshly made period they poured in fresh brew tea and topped it off with heavy cream on top so as you drink it and mixes it on its own period it's became one of my favorite drink I've been coming here at least twice a week. I'm going to try another dish next time and I'll continue the review I really recommend the drink because it's freshly made! All the teas I've tried taste very wonderful. It does take a while to make so please be patient. Also this restaurant is very small. They also provide some cards for the drinks. Buy 10 get 1 free read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Very disappointing place. Three stars for the service and environment. Octopus Tots are much smaller than other pictures and it's a little bit too salty. Railroad pork rice plate, the only nicer one is pickles on side. The pork taste interesting and not like other braised meat, kind of wired. Other side dishes are corn and broccoli, which are not good as well. Super disappointing. Onion Lo mein has no taste except soy only. Much worse than other Taiwanese place read more

I come here every once in awhile for lunch when I am in the area and it has never failed me! This is a pretty small mom and pop store but they are able to whip up plenty of good stuff in here. They serve your standard taiwanese style food along with your various teas and milk teas to choose from. I have not had the chance to try their drinks yet, but the entrees here are really delicious. The most popular one is the Railroad and with the thin cuts of pork along with rice and mixed vegetables that will make you feel happy once you step out the door. I also tried their Popcorn chicken and rice and it is pretty decent. I have not been disappointed the couple of times I came here for lunch. The only thing that felt guilty was my stomach afterwards because it was so much food. This parking lot used to be packed when Trader Joe's was still here but since they moved down the street, parking is plentiful. Come try out the lunch entrees here and you will see what I mean. read more

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Recently, my family started ordering their dishes to-go on a frequent basis. While this isn't my favorite spot for Taiwanese food, Why Thirsty definitely boasts a wide selection of authentic finger food, ranging from pork cutlet lunch sets to popcorn chicken. My favorite part is sprinkling the pickled daikon to everything! Really adds distinct flavor. I also recommend their Oolong tea with aloe vera, at 25% sugar. :) read more

I like Why Thirsty! It is a nice Taiwanese cafe. And if you are ever in a rush, Why Thirsty is a great place to stop by to grab some snacks and milk tea. I used to work closeby and would go for lunch occasionally. If you have not been, I highly recommend :) read more

I like their dry noodles and rice plates. Good amount of food. Reasonable price. Drinks are good as well. Just a small restaurant.

Authentic Taiwanese food! Has been my favorite since it opened years ago but just haven't wrote a review. Their pork chop rice is superb n so are their drinks. This is THE spot for popcorn chicken! read more

Why Thirsty - shaved ice - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

I have never given one star to any restaurant let alone a restaurant that in my opinion makes one of the best popcorn chicken. I ordered their beef stew noodles to go - worst mistake ever!!!!! Don't order this dish. Even instant noodles tastes better... Stick to their popcorn chicken or fried pork chop. My beef noodles had a burned after taste and smell. I wanted to call the shop back to complain but what's the point? (Anyways I would give them 4 stars for their popcorn chicken and pork chop rice. read more

Service here is very nice and friendly! Portions here seem to be rather generous as well.. but it's definitely not the most authentic Taiwanese food in my opinion but there's tons of options on the menu so perhaps my friends and I didn't try out the right dishes. We tried out the spicy beef noodle soup, minced pork rice, and a side of the seaweed kimchi. - Seaweed kimchi was a pleasant surprise! very delicious and perfect for a hot summer day. - Spicy beef noodles were alright. This is one of the most classic Taiwanese dishes so I was slightly bummed out that the broth didn't seem to be seasoned properly. Although the beef pieces were nice and tender still :) - The minced pork rice was the most disappointing of all because we were the most excited about it. Traditionally this dish should be made with finely minced pork belly but instead it came with big chunks of really dry pork. The sauce was good but texture was definitely compromised. It also came with a very generous side dish that had eggs and corn, steamed veggies, and tofu strips. The steamed veggies had absolutely no seasoning which threw me off a little but everything else was pretty good! Verdict: Wouldn't go out of my way to come back but if everything else was closed in the area and I'm really craving Taiwanese food then sure. read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese braised pork rice - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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What an interesting name. This little place not only serves teas but food (Taiwanese Style) as well. Limited seating in the dinning area. They're located in a plaza with Trader Joes, Petco, & next door to an Indian Deli. Parking is ample but can be difficult when it's busy time. We ordered Lavender Black Tea. Deep strong tea with a floral scent. Interesting flavor. Passion Green Tea was good. Strong tea & passion fruit flavor w/ the seeds. You can ask for less sugar if you prefer it not as sweet, or less ice. They brew the teas when you order. They have lunch specials. Menus are in English & Chinese. We ordered Spicy Cucumber, good flavor, not too spicy nor vinegary, you can taste the sesame oil. Still has a crunch. Kimchi Seaweed wasn't as good as the cucumbers. It was pretty firm, long strands of Wakame. Pretty garlicky & a bit on the "ocean" side. It wasn't too spicy either. Spicy Beef Stew w/ thin egg noodles were good. Clear broth, had good flavor & depth. Meat was tender, blanched vegetable wasn't over done. Served with preserved mustard greens on the side. The chicken basil soup w/ thin egg noddkes looked interesting. The chicken is served on the side. The Railroad is an interesting dish. Pork cutlet ontop of steam rice, corn, preserved radishes, veggies, & a Braised egg. read more

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Taiwanese food is authentic! One of my favorite dish is railroad pork chops rice/noodles. I highly recommend!

The popcorn chicken was the best! So crispy and fresh! I tried the butterfly milk tea and it was great! Even my picky six year old loved it. I love the mom and pop feel. The customer service could have been a little better but we were satisfied overall. I'd definitely return. read more

Why Thirsty - Butterfly milk tea! - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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This boba is truly amazing. Soft and chewy, it's the perfect texture. I'm pretty sure they make it to order because it's always a little warm. Their milk tea tastes very natural and fresh and the food here is great. For its price, the Lo Mein dishes have a good portion size and various little sides. I would come here every week if I could :) Also great customer service -- when I came here once and they had ran out of boba, they gave me another choice of topping for free. read more

Why Thirsty - Ginger Onion Chicken Lo Mein - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Amazing. Drinks and food have a consistent quality. Their black and green teas are strong and you can tell it's made from brewed leaves. Love their dry noodles with the spicy sauce. Braised pork is so tender. read more

I randomly stumbled upon this listing on Yelp as I was searching for some new boba places to try. I bugged my guy to check it out. The reviews were right, if I hadn't read the reviews and known where to look, we wouldn't have found it. It's hidden in the Trader Joe's and Petco plaza on Rosemead, just before you hit Huntington (if you're going north on Rosemead). Once you see the Bella Italia sign, prepare to turn right into the plaza. They only have half of their sign up on the building haha... We came on a Wednesday night and we got there around 10:45pm. We were worried we might have been too late for food, but the girl was really nice and told us they would still make it. As we were eating, Brad came by to talk to us. Their ingredients are fresh and it's made to order...and we could tell! +Sausage fried rice -- pretty big portion, not too salty, great flavor +Popcorn chicken -- larger pieces of chicken that were juicy on the inside, not too greasy, and I like that you're not eating like 50% batter/breading +Rose Oolong with aloe -- their aloe is fresh...it floats in your drink! The flavor is balanced with the tea! I really appreciate a place that can give high quality tea + flavor. Plus there were flowers floating on top...pretty! The sweetness level was just perfect for me. I don't like super sweet drinks. +Customer service -- they'll adjust the sweetness of your drink and they come by to check to make sure everything's ok +They play Kpop/Cpop on the TV screen -/+ Cozy place...but this might become a problem as word of mouth blows this place up! I'm definitely telling my friends to come here =) Then came Saturday...we were hungry and we couldn't decide what to eat. LET'S GO TO WHY THIRSTY! So we found ourselves here again! +The Railroad -- tender pork filet lightly battered with great flavor, served with stir fried cabbage, bok choy, and rice --The pork was pretty tender, so I was able to cut through it with my spoon...I think I'll ask for a knife next time +Beef Stew Rice -- really tender beef pieces with stew on top of rice, served with stir fried cabbage, bok choy, and rice +Formosa (one of the special premium teas) with honey boba -- explosion of great fruit flavor (peach with other flavors) and tea. I LOVED it! The boba was really qq too, just the way I like it I want to try everything on their menu, the food and drinks are just really good. Nickname for this place: WHY SO TASTY?! read more

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Hello my Yelpies, First HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!! Let's see. AUTHENTIC AUTHENTIC AND AUTHENTIC. I am very grateful to have discover this place, thank you awesome friend who introduce it to me. Parking is very convenient since it is located right inside a plaza and there are many parking spaces so don't need to worry about finding spots. (They do accept credit card) I was a little iffy about the place since it is super tiny but hey, don't ever judge a book by its cover right? I saw that they are most famous for their "Railroad Pork Chop with rice" so I definitely have to try that because I miss authentic Taiwanese food so very much. So I got the railroad ($7.99) with waffles fries ($3.99) as for my boyfriend he got the spicy Basil chicken with rice ($7.99) with a side of creamy assum tea with boba, which is a different kind of black tea. I must say I don't usually give 5 stars but this place definitely deserve a 5 stars because of how authentic and we'll cook it was. Even though it took over 25 mins for our food but it was definitely worth the wait. Everything was super hot so I know they must have cooked it right after we order. The railroad pork was delicious, the pork was perfectly seasoned, the sides are also very well cooked, I love how the pork is soft and just melts in your mouth. So much better than those deep fried once where you feel like you're just eating oil. As for the waffles fries, we kind of regret it not because of how it was cooked but how full we were after our meal. I was very impressed by their season for the fries. My friend was also very happy with his meal, the spicy basil chicken was well seasoned, wasn't too salty or not enough. He loved how they put extra pepper because we both love that peppery taste. The only thing that we wouldn't get again would probably be the boba, it was a little hard for our taste but the creamy assum was definitely worth it. The service was good, I understand they are very busy so it can be a little slow but I do appreciate them working so hard and just doing their best to make their customers happy. Overall, 5 stars for service, 5 stars for food and drinks, 5 stars for cleanliness and 5 stars for environment and decoration. I must and definitely will come back very soon to try out their other meal, such as their noodle soup and other appetizers. :) read more

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The beef noodle is good but the sesame dry noodle is amazing especially you order the fry pork chop combos