九龍燒臘小炒
Ruby B.B.Q. Food
Ruby B.B.Q. Food (九龍燒臘小炒) is a no-frills Cantonese BBQ and stir-fry shop on Garvey Ave in South El Monte, run by two people: one chopping meat at the window, one taking orders. The roast pork is the reason to come, with crackly five-spice skin over meat that is tender and not too fatty, and the roast duck is one of the juiciest in SGV. The two-item rice plate is the smart order, and the kitchen also turns out home-style dishes most restaurants skip, like fish paste stuffed peppers.
Start withTwo-Item BBQ Rice Plate (Roast Duck & Roast Pork)See what to order →Go here if
- →You love Cantonese roast pork with real crackling
- →You want a cheap, filling BBQ rice plate
- →You like hole-in-the-wall spots where the food does all the talking
Skip it if
- —You want a polished dining room
- —You are watching fat and salt, since the best dishes here are an indulgence
- —You need to pay by card without a second thought, since cash is preferred
What to order at Ruby B.B.Q. Food
Don't overthink it.
Photo: Eat in SGVTwo-Item BBQ Rice Plate (Roast Duck & Roast Pork)
Start with thisPick two from roast duck, roast pork, or char siu, served over rice for $17.99. The roast pork has a crisp, five-spice skin that crackles without wrecking the roof of your mouth, over juicy, not-too-fatty meat. The roast duck is not Peking duck: the skin is seasoned and roasted, crisp and chewy at once, and the meat is very juicy. Spoon the duck juices from the bottom of the plate over the rice.
Photo: Eat in SGVMacau Special Pork (澳門燒腩仔)
Fried pork covered in crispy garlic bits, with skin somewhere between Japanese fried chicken and chicharron. It comes out piping hot, is more garlicky than salty, and does not taste oily despite the frying. On the fatty side, so it is a treat-day order. $14.99.
Photo: Eat in SGVFish Paste Stuffed Peppers
Off the menu: look for the "Chinese stuffed peppers" sign and the window display. Eight jalapeño halves stuffed with fish paste flecked with dried shrimp, pan-fried until browned, for $14.99. The peppers stay crunchy with a little heat, and the filling is savory without being salty. A labor-intensive, home-style dish that is hard to find outside of dim sum.
What we'd do at Ruby B.B.Q. Food
"On a first visit, get the two-item BBQ rice plate with roast duck and roast pork. Ordered by the pound, the roast pork runs $21.99, so the $17.99 plate is the better deal and gets you both of the kitchen's best meats over rice. If you have a second person, add the Macau Special Pork for the garlic crunch, and check the window for the stuffed peppers. Bring cash, expect leftovers, and walk two plazas down to Garcia's Fruit for a $3 sherbet after."
Eat in SGV team
The basics
- Address
- 9561 Garvey Ave, South El Monte, CA 91733
- Price
- $ · about $20–30 a head (Google)
- Cuisine
- Cantonese BBQ
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