Night Out in the Valley: Mandarin Deli & Get Shaved

Let's face it, the dining options in the Woodland Hills/Canoga Park area are pretty limited to your chain restaurants and well... that's it. I haven't found any hidden treasures yet, so my dining life in the valley is pretty non-existent. Since I've been staying in the valley a bit more now, I've been bugging J about hitting up Get Shaved in Northridge. I've only had the truck and I was craving shaved ice ALL day. To shut me up, he remembered a place he used to frequent during his CSUN days that was near Get Shaved. SCORE!

During the drive, I was obviously more excited about my dessert than my dinner. I just really wanted to get through the average meal I was going to have and jump right into dessert heaven. We arrived around 9 p.m. and there was only one other party in the restaurant besides us. I didn't know if it was a good sign or not... we came in an hour before closing so that might have been it.

J said that he always gets the beef noodle soup - a popular dish at this restaurant. So, ordering that was a must. While J is a noodle-lover, I am a rice-lover. So, naturally, I had to order fried rice. Along with that we ordered the scallion pancakes.

beef noodle soup

I didn't think we ordered that much food, but once the big bowl of noodles came out I knew we'd have fried rice as leftovers. The bowl was filled with noodles and soup that smelled amazing! The friendly, older Chinese waitress split the noodles into two smaller bowls, which looked less intimidating. The noodles were chewey and easy to slurp. The soup was a tad oily but really flavorful. The beef was super tender and so good. This bowl of soup is what you eat when you want your soul to feel good. Yes, I said soul.

shrimp fried rice

The fried rice was also delicious. It had ample amount of shrimp and scallions for that extra crunch and onion flavor. It was even better as leftovers, especially when you're drunk at home and watching korean dramas on the computer while your boyfriend is too busy playing COD to notice you're eating all of it. SCORE again!

scallion pancakes

I was already full from the noodles and some of the rice, but I couldn't say no to these pancakes. As a Korean, I really love Korean pancakes, seafood or kimchi, you name it. It's so simple and easy to eat, but has so much flavor. These scallion pancakes definitely reminded me of that same concept. I love scallions, so liking this pancake was an easy guess. The pancake alone is pretty mild in flavor, but when dipped in a little bit of soy sauce, the combination is really great. Simple and honest food - my favorite kind.

monkey brains

After our meal, we headed over to Get Shaved and was happy to find that it was on the next block over from the restaurant. Whenever I order from Get Shaved, I always think I'm going to try all of their different flavor combinations. Unfortunately, I never do. I always cave and stick with my favorite: monkey brains. Monkey brains consist of strawberry and banana shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk. Yum. Honestly, the condensed milk just makes it that much better. I wish I could carry a bottle of condensed milk around with me without being judged.

My night out in the valley wasn't filled with fine dining or elaborate cocktails, but it was a night that was satisfying on a different level. It was homey and comfortable. Comfort food and great company is sometimes all you need to make a night special. Now I know I need to find more of these hidden gems in the valley, so please send me your suggestions!

Mandarin Deli

9305 Reseda Boulevard

Northridge, CA 91324
(818) 993-0122

Get Shaved
9255 Reseda Blvd
Northridge, CA 91324
(818) 439-1053
http://www.getshavedice.com/