Rowland Heights, Rowland Heights, CA

Rowland Heights is a suburban food destination with a split personality: busy, restaurant-packed Colima Road below and calm hillside neighborhoods above. The community's Taiwanese business district helped earn it the Little Taipei nickname, and Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese kitchens still give the area its strongest identity. Housing changes with the terrain. Modest ranch homes and townhome communities cover the flatter streets near Gale Avenue and Nogales Street, while larger houses climb the Puente Hills with broad valley views. Most blocks are quiet and residential once you leave the commercial corridors. Schabarum Regional Park is the major outdoor asset, with trails rising into the hills and a grove of ume trees donated by a sister park in Japan. Rowland Heights Park and Pathfinder Park provide closer-to-home options for sports, picnics and everyday time outside. Eating is the main event. Tofu King is a casual Taiwanese favorite for cold noodles, KW Cafe serves Hong Kong-style breakfasts and fresh cheung fun, and Casa Alvarez has held down its spot on Colima since 1973. Tenju Tea House and Matcha Cafe Maiko make the drink-and-dessert decision pleasantly difficult. Grocery choices are equally strong, including 99 Ranch Market, Hong Kong Supermarket, GW Supermarket and Stater Bros. The 60 and 57 are both nearby, which helps commuters reach Los Angeles or Orange County. Nearly every errand still involves a car, and popular plazas can become parking puzzles on weekend evenings. Rowland Heights suits people who want a quiet home base without sacrificing a deep dining scene. The local joke almost writes itself: living here is less about deciding where to eat than figuring out which crowded parking lot is worth the wait.