Savoy Kitchen in Alhambra

My husband accuses me of having some special search criteria when I'm looking for a restaurant on Yelp or Chowhound. He notes that my special criteria probably include "difficult parking", "long wait", "overcrowded" and "hole-in-the-wall". Now I must admit I do have a certain fondness for Asian dive restaurants, but I categorically deny the other factors.... unfortunately, they just come with the territory.

So we were in Pasadena and wanted a quick, early dinner before my parents headed to the airport. I looked on Yelp for Alhambra (just south of Pasadena and a treasure trove of Asian restaurants in the Valley), and found Savoy Kitchen. It was noted as serving Hainan Chicken Rice that people drove for hours to have. Chicken Rice is one of my most favorite foods on the planet, which is saying a lot. My kind of place!

It was a Friday night, but only 5:45 pm - how crowded could the place be?! As we came around the corner, I saw groups of people massed in front of a small corner shop... so I hopped out to hurry and put our name in.

After a 15 min wait, we were seated in the outdoor area. And it was all worth it! This place did not disappoint. It had a very eclectic menu, kind of like an Asian coffee shop - the chicken rice was the star of the menu but they also had pastas and pizzas, seafood casseroles, various Singaporean noodles, curries, shrimp spring rolls and oddly enough, some excellent escargots in a rich garlic sauce. Plus some very good, freshly brewed chrysanthemum tea.

The chicken rice was the best I've had in a very long time. Possibly the best outside of Singapore. The chicken was poached just right and the rice was light and fluffy, with a subtle ginger flavor. And while I didn't really care for the chili sauce (too spicy!), my dad thought it was great. I loved the minced ginger sauce though - had to get a refill.

The only downside is that this place is 400 miles away from where I live...