We just ate lunch, spaghetti with meatballs, if you’re wondering, so we really shouldn’t be hungry, but then Brainiac came across our colleague Brad A. Johnson’s updated list of the best Chinese restaurants in Orange County, and faster than you can say “mu shu pork roll” the appetite is back.
For Westminster and Garden Grove we’re much more likely to think Vietnamese or Korean cuisine as local specialties, but the list by Johnson recently published in the Orange County Register does have a handful of restaurants from our cities that cracked his Top 20.
Peking King is the Westminster restaurant on the list, a Beijing-inspired menu prepared by chef Jerry Chen, according to Johnson. “Expect the service to be bossy but sweet,” he writes of the restaurant located at 8566 Westminster Blvd. that he notes has the best beef-and-scallion pancake and best honey walnut shrimp in Orange County.
Garden Grove makes the Top 20 with two entries, including Ta Chen, which Johnson notes bills itself as a Szechuan and Mandarin restaurant, though the latter is where it really shines. Best bets include the house special “dry braised beef” and Brainiac’s favorite, mu shu pork rolls “as big as footballs.” You’ll find it at 6082 Chapman Ave.
Also in Garden Grove you’ll find Tan Cang Newport Seafood at 10541 Bolsa Ave., which apparently does a fantastic wok-fried lobster. “Take some friends,” Johnson says. “Order the 7-pound platter of Newport Special lobster.” Well, OK, if we must!
And finally, we’ll give you a Chinese spot in Fountain Valley. Fu Wing Low, at 16545 Brookhurst St., is a throwback kind of place, Johnson says, noting it reminds him of the ’80s movie “Big Trouble In Little China,” and serves all that good stuff you remember from classic Chinese joints: Mongolian beef, egg-drop soup, and beef chow fun are, well, fun!
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If you’re like Brainiac you open your medicine cabinet one day and think, “Where did all THAT come from?” That being old prescription medicine that never got used, isn’t needed any longer, and presents a problem as you consider how to get rid of it.
Flush down the toilet? Not good for the environment. Neither is throwing it in the trash. That’s where your local police department might be able to help now that it’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day once more.
The Garden Grove and Westminster police departments in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency will accept your expired or unwanted medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. In Garden Grove, just go to the lobby of the main police department, 11301 Acacia Parkway. In Westminster, look for the official collection area in the parking lot for City Hall and the police department at 8200 Westminster Blvd.
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Finally, one of the good spots in town, the Magnolia Park Family Resource Center, will celebrate 18 years of working with families in Garden Grove with a free community event called Celebrating Everyday Heroes.
It will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 at Magnolia Park, located at 11402 Magnolia St.
” ‘Celebrating Everyday Heroes’ is an opportunity to recognize the groups and individuals who directly contribute to the success of the center and continually go above and beyond to ensure families are stronger and healthier,” said Claudia Valdivia-Alvarez, director of the center, in a written statement.
The center typically offers programs such as counseling for individuals and families, parenting classes, domestic violence support groups, and various other services for young people, families, and anyone, really, who could use some help in a variety of categories.
For more information, visit the Magnolia Park Family Resource Center website at www.ci.garden-grove.ca.us/commserv/familyresource/magnoliapark or call 714-530-7413.