Kat's 9 Lives

Another day, another restaurant is opening in Rowland Heights. After seeing the massive amounts of advertisements in the Chinese newspaper, I was forced to accompany my Mom to try Tasty Station. They just opened on Wednesday and they were packed. I guess all that advertising did work because there were tons of people waiting there to try something new. They were packed and the interior reminded me of Yogurtland. Their menu covers are hot pink and the interior was white with bits of neon green. We were led to their small room away from everyone. At first I wondered if anyone would actually come in to serve us or take orders. Eventually they kept coming in to check on us, but I think it was because they needed the space and really just wanted to kick us out – Asian style.
I understand that they are super busy because they just opened and everyone is coming to try a new place, but for me to wait 25-30 minutes for my food to come out is RIDICULOUS! Most Chinese/Cantonese restaurants can prepare the food in less than 5 minutes and be out in a flash. I will give them a sort of pass for being new but the wait time is way too long and I will have to dock them. The food for other tables as well as my own kept getting one dish and then 5-15 minutes you would get the next dish. You better be prepared to share or someone in your party will be sitting there watching you eat while they wait for their dish to come out.
Lucky for them and for us is that the food was not bad. Still, I am docking points for wasting a good part of my Saturday night. I ordered the House Special Soy-Sauced Prawns and they were definitely the best of the night and the only redeeming factor. The price was a little high for my comfort in this area, $13.50, but at least the portions were decent. I really enjoyed that the prawns were half de-shelled and super flavorful. Salty goodness on the outside, but I wished there was just a little bit more sauce or flavor on the prawns themselves. The flavor is reminiscent to the ones you’d see on house special lobsters or crabs. They lightly batter the outside shell and sautéed the full flavor in. Nonetheless, I can see why this is one of their specialties and I would definitely order this again.
Another go to dish for me is the French Style Filet Mignon. They did use very tender chunks of meat laid upon a bed of vegetables. There was a decent amount of meat on top, but it can be very deceptive how much you really get. I wished they had raw white onions below instead of cooked ones. The onion loses its pungency when it is cooked so long and I think it was more steamed than sautéed. As for the flavor, I thought it was more on the sweet side and there wasn’t much oomph emanating from the beef. They probably should have heated the oil higher and throw the onions, garlic, black pepper, and chili peppers in to infuse the strong flavor. For $11.95, I could live without this dish. I’d recommend just ordering two of the House Special Soy-Sauced Prawns instead.
All in all the food was not bad and at least with those prices you get free steamed rice. They got another bonus point for giving away a new pair of chopsticks to each customer in celebration of their Grand Opening. I liked the chopsticks and will definitely use it, but I do hope they get their act together so that customers won’t die of starvation while waiting. Since the prices are a bit higher than what I would expect in Rowland Heights, I am a little hesitant about coming back but I did enjoy the prawns. Maybe the next time I am in the area for lunch, I will hit them up. The prices seem much more reasonable for lunch, under $10.

Tasty Station
19035 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 810-3600