South Bay Chinatown? 6/14/99

No one calls this area the South Bay Chinatown, not that I know about. It could be called a concentration of Oriental restaurants or maybe the Oriental Restaurant Row, whatever. Follow along on a map, if you have one.

Anyway, the South Bay Chinatown extends for almost two miles along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and is centered in Lomita, CA. There must be a dozen or more oriental restaurants on this strip; mostly Chinese, but also some Thai, Japanese, Indian, and Korean. The Indian spice store, two Chinese restaurants, and a Yoshinoya have closed in the last few years. I've tried most of them, and most were at least ok, several outstanding. Many of these restaurants are full of oriental customers, at least at lunch, and that's a good sign for me.

• The eastern limit starts about a mile west of the 110 Harbor Freeway at the intersection of PCH and Normandie Ave. in Harbor City. The south east corner is the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. The north west corner was a Ford dealership. The north east and south west corners are home to four Oriental restaurants. Yes, there are a few to the east, but not much.
  
  
• The western limit is the intersection of PCH and Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance. Yes, there are several other good oriental restaurants to the west, such as the China Buffet and the Sea Shore. And, I'll get to them also.

I'll be listing their names and doing reviews. So far, at the same intersection, I've reviewed Tin Yuan, Lotus B.B.Q & Thai Chinese Food, and King Genghiskhan Japanese/Chinese Seafood Bar B. Q. Buffet House.

Places I'll list but may not go: BZ Teriyaki, a take-out/sit-down place on the same corner as Lotus B.B.Q & Thai ChineseFood and King Genghiskhan Japanese/Chinese Seafood Bar B. Q. Buffet House (see those reviews for location).