Special lobsters so simply cooked
MILLIE: One of the highlights of our recent trip to Los Angeles was dining at a restaurant that specializes in lobsters called Newport Seafood Chinese Restaurant in Rowland Heights. I’ve dined there at least thrice but never with Karla so I made sure that, this time, she would finally get to experience it. Luckily for us, my cousin Pol had an appointment with his accountant, who lived in the area, so Karla and I tagged along so we could enjoy a late lunch treat of lobsters.
It was my friend Verne who first introduced me to this restaurant. We came with her husband Hector and their friend Emmy Mendoza from LA, and my cousin Pol Chavez. The lobsters were so unforgettable that, on another trip to LA with my brother Gerry, I asked Verne to take me there again. This time, since Verne was in Manila, I asked Pol to take us and, in fact, gave him a list of must-eat places without sounding like I was imposing. I’m glad Pol obliged.
I only had one dish to order in my mind: the Newport special lobster! Cooked with chili, green onions and black pepper — as simple as that — but believe me, it was unforgettable!
KARLA: As soon as we were ushered to our table, Papa Pol kept asking me what I wanted to order. So as usual, I took my time reading the menu and ordered Yang Chow fried rice, kung pao chicken and Chinese broccoli just so we would have variety. Before the food came, I stood up to go to the restroom, and while walking, I looked around at the other tables and what they were eating. It’s a habit I got from my Lolo Joe as he used to do that a lot. Sometimes he would even go up to the table and ask what they were eating or would ask a waiter what that particular table ordered because it looked good and he wanted to order the same.
So as soon as I sat down, I told Mom and Papa Pol to make an additional order, pointing to the platter at the table next to us. I told them that all the other tables had ordered it and that it looked good. Mom and Papa Pol laughed at me, saying that we had ordered the same. They didn’t look like lobsters from afar because they were cut up into pieces.
Finally our orders arrived and, although the chicken and vegetables were good, I barely had the chance to attack it as my attention quickly shifted to the lobsters. It was very meaty and the sauce was so good I was licking my fingers in between. I was never really a big seafood fan until a few years ago, when I started to enjoy eating shrimps, prawns, crab and lobsters. We ended up taking home the chicken and vegetables because honestly, the lobsters were more than enough to make you happy.
I recall going to the dampa in Macapagal with my mom two years ago to buy crabs. At that time I was never really fond of lobsters but was so amused at how big they were. I asked the lady handling the stand if I could carry the lobster just to be able to experience it and she obliged. As soon as I held it by its sides, its tail curled up. It’s one of the indications that you are buying a live lobster. Most people recommend that you cook lobsters live, headfirst in a pot of boiling water with salt. Others find this cruel and that the meat may toughen up, so another alternative is to put the lobster in the freezer for an hour, which slowly puts it to sleep until it freezes up. Then it is recommended to boil, steam or grill the lobster, but I imagine that the Newport lobsters we ate were cut up into small bits, cooked over a high fire, and sautéed in the chili sauce.
Lobsters can live three to five days away from its natural habitat if placed in a saltwater fish tank. If it’s already cooked, you can keep it in the refrigerator for two days or up to a month in the freezer. But then again, I don’t think anyone would have that much lobster left over. Leftover lobster would be perfect for a salad or sandwich for lunch the next day. Or perhaps you can make lobster bisque using the shells as a base for the soup stock.
MILLIE: The sautéed pea sprouts were also good, something Verne normally orders but was not available this time. Another favorite dish of Verne and Hector is the beef loclac, which are pan-fried noodles with seafood. The restaurant also serves elephant clams cooked Newport-style, deep-fried oysters, clams with hot and spicy sauce, and deep-fried soft-shell crabs!
We took home the remnants of our lobster and my cousin Gigi cooked it with rice and ate with gusto the lobster meat she painstakingly extracted from the spikes.
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Newport Seafood Chinese Restaurant is located at 18441 E. Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. For inquiries and reservations, call (626) 839-1239.
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