Tianjin breakfast at Garage Restaurant

A typical Tianjin breakfast (Clasrissa Wei / For The Times)

May 6, 2013 12 AM PT

Garage Restaurant in Monterey Park is a tribute to the deep-fried, doughy cuisine typical of northeastern China, which relies heavily on preserved foods and buns because of the long winters.
Read more: At Garage Restaurant, the difference is in the details

Fried dough with brown sugar. The Chinese name is tang pi. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

The bulk of the dish is silken tofu, but the steaming, glutinous broth is more than enough to carry one through a cold Chinese winter morning. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

A dish of gabacai is composed of mung bean flakes drenched in a thick gravy of chili oil, light soy sauce, fermented milk, sesame sauce and parsley. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

Tianjin-style buns are filled with seasoned pork. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

Inside a spongy egg crepe is a thin layer of mung bean and youtiao, a Chinese version of a fried cruller. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

A Tianjin feast of Chinese crullers, jianbing guozi, pork-filled buns, tofu “brain” soup, drenched mung bean crepes and a large fried doughnut covered in brown sugar. (Clarissa Wei / For The Times)

Food