Dolan’s, 742 W Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91803
Dolan’s specializes in Uyghur cuisine. The Ugyhurs are Turkic and practice Sunni Islam, with nearly 12 million living in China, mostly in Xinjiang. The menu includes traditional dishes like Uyghur polo (rice with lamb), laghman (hand-pulled noodles), big plate chicken with hand-pulled noodles, kebabs, manta (dumplings), samsa, as well as vegetarian dishes, soups, appetizers, and desserts. The meat is halal. I overheard that you can’t adjust the spice level of the dishes.
Uyghur goshnaan ($18.95): this was a stuffed meat pie, similar to Chinese meat pies but as big as a Chinese scallion pancake. The shell was fried to a golden brown, thin and crisp, though the bottom was wet with juices. The ground beef, onion, and peppers mixture was mostly beef – lightly spiced. It tasted a bit gamey to me but they said it was beef. It wasn’t salty.
Homemade yogurt ($5.95): thick, creamy – not the pot set kind. I think it was strained and made with whole (cow’s milk). It comes with raisins, honey, and crushed walnuts. I asked for no raisins and honey and walnuts on the side. The yogurt came topped with honey and walnuts. The yogurt was not sweetened and it looked like a lot of honey, but when it was mixed together, it wasn’t crazy sweet. The walnuts added a bit of texture and yogurt. It was like regular yogurt only a bit thicker. Fairly large portion, larger than the usual 5.3 oz yogurt cup.
It’s not the most exciting cuisine, but it’s also hard to find. The restaurant has a fancier feel with white tablecloths, colorful glass pendant lamps, Uyghur art, and fancier chairs. It smelled like spices inside. They played lively Uyghur music.
3.5 out of 5 stars
By Lolia S.
