Country Bistro, Rowland Heights

Country Bistro is a hidden gem that specializes in Taiwanese food and herbal soups.

Personally, I am a big fan of soups. I like Asian style clear soups. Western style, or Americans, prefer having their soups thick. Asians, mostly Chinese, like soups clear, broth-like or like a consume. These clear soups boost a lot of flavor. They are often cooked a long time. Southern Chinese, from the Guangdong province, will cook soups often for 24 hours at a time. Bone will dissolve into the soups. Broths will turn white from the white bones. Anyways. . .

How to find Country Bistro with their English Signage.

Country Bistro appears to be a typical Taiwanese restaurant that you’ll find in San Gabriel valley or in Rowland Heights area. But alas, their secret sauce is their soups – herbal soups, in fact. They have their regular Taiwanese favorites with fried pork chops and scrambled eggs with shrimp. But it seems everyone comes here for the soups.

I had to go over the soup menu a little longer than our waiter and my dining friends wanted. In fact, my friends were quite patient. I wanted to try several different soups, but I only got to try 2 – #8 bitter melon with pork ribs soup, and #5 Ginseng Chicken Soup. My friend got #9 Sweetened Snow Jelly & Lotus Seeds Soup. We also had the pork chops and scrambled egg with shrimp.

My 1st soup – the bitter melon with pork ribs, each served in a single cylinder bowl, came cover with foil with the #8 sharpie’d on top. The menu indicates that this soup helps promote digestion, promotes yin and lowers body heat – which is I guess they pre-make all their soups and keep them covered before serving. Soups don’t have to worry about heat lamps ruining the consistency or chemistry of food. That’s a good thing. As you pull off the foil you see a large bite sized piece of both the bitter melon and the pork ribs. You want to taste it, but you have to be cautious since the soup is pipping hot. Taiwanese people like their soups to be pipping and scalding hot. You then let it rest and go after the meat. The pork ribs were cooked so long that the meat would fall off the bones as you bite into it. The bitter melon, is by nature – well bitter, but you don’t notice the bitter taste, yet ever so lightly you do. This strange combination of a slight bitter flavor mixed with a subtle savory and oily feel gives it almost an Umami flavor.

My next soup – the Ginseng Chicken Soup is a favorite of mine. As you pull of the foil wrapper you see the chicken and ginseng. The ginseng is the star of this show – even before you open it up. On the menu, the claim is – Lowers body heat and helps prevent dehydration, promote reproductive system. As you can see Ginseng has multiple medicinal remedies. I think these soups are piggy-backing on the idea of drinks having secondary health benefits, like those from Jamba Juice, Robeks, and even vitamin water. I think soups are a great conveyor of their types of health benefits.

I wish I had a chance to try the Sweetened Snow Jelly & Lotus Seeds Soup. I know this, some Chinese dishes are served sweet and soups are no different. I could smell the aroma of the lotus seeds. This soup is said to – Helps Support The Respiratory System.

I would like to come back and try all their soups. They even have $1 soup specials. Anyways. . .

Their full Chinese Name.

Their English Menu for their Herbal Soups.

The Chinese Menu for the Herbal Soups.

The standard Chinese menu.

More of their Chinese Menu.

This is the how their soups are served. This is the #9 Sweetened Snow Jelly & Lotus Seeds Soup.

This is the Bitter Melon with Pork Ribs Soup. You can see the pork ribs. This soup is suppose to help promote digestion, promote yin and lowers body heat.