Asian-Med fusion with a SoCal shake

NO question about it, the younger generation of some of Southern California’s longtime restaurant families is revitalizing the neighborhood restaurant scene. All over the cities and suburbs, an appealing new class of cafes is opening, spots that wear their multicultural creds lightly with menus that reflect the owners’ choice of dining “concept” (wine bar, bistro, coffee shop) while proudly and authoritatively blending family-roots flavors into the mix.

In the case of the 6-month-old Hot Stuff Cafe, a delightfully urbane oasis in San Gabriel, we’re talking the third generation. The cafe is descended from the now-shuttered Romantic Steak House, also in San Gabriel, which in turn traced its roots to Two-Cat Noodle Shop in Myanmar (formerly Burma).

And although it’s decorated with prints of Paris scenes, specializes in Chinese-style sizzling plates of steaks, has a sweet-drink menu that would do a boba parlor proud and offers some of the very few Burmese dishes to be found in local restaurants -- or maybe because of all these things -- Hot Stuff is truly, deeply Southern Californian.

It’s a spot where a sales rep between meetings can stop for a quick salad and iced tea, where parents and kids can bond over a weeknight supper of risotto, or where a gaggle of friends can work its way through a meal of crab cakes, short ribs and creme brulees with wine, espresso and all the extras.

The bonus is that the salad is a Burmese specialty of cabbage and chicken spiked with chiles and lime, the risotto is made with unagi (eel) and edamame, and the brulees are a trio flavored with teas.

Chef-owner Jimmy Wang not only cooked at his father-in-law Morris Tan’s Romantic Steak House, but also went to culinary school and worked as a line cook at the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, and other restaurants around town. At Hot Stuff, he turns out well-executed versions of Asian-Med fusion dishes at terrific prices. A tiny selection are Burmese-influenced; Burmese dishes are also featured as daily lunch specials.

Situated on an arid stretch of San Gabriel Boulevard near Broadway, Hot Stuff’s cheeky, comfortable decor hints at the pleasantly idiosyncratic eating to come. The room is divided into planes of color -- a baby blue wall, a peach wall, an aqua counter. Nat Cole and Frank Sinatra croon in the background as an earnest young server describes the day’s specials and takes drink orders.

If you get certain sweet or milk teas or a house special blend (such as a “snow angel,” a litchi and yogurt slush), the next thing you’ll see is your server behind the counter acting as bartender and shaking up the concoction.

The big array of mostly sweet drinks, in addition to a short list of wines and beers, is bemusing at first. But sip one between bites of one of several intriguingly spiced dishes -- curry beef stew, say -- and you’ll find the drink refreshing and tasty.

Lunch specials are a wonderful introduction to rarely seen Burmese dishes. Ask your server; they’re often labeled simply “house curry” or “house special noodle.” These dishes might have familiar flavors (the cuisine shares ingredients and influences with neighboring Southeast Asian countries), but Wang highlights their originality.

Signature garnish

MOHINGA, described as “Burmese fish stew” is actually more of a noodle dish, with rice vermicelli, an unusual fish cake sliced into matchsticks and a rich, deep broth sprinkled with fresh cilantro and a signature -- and delicious -- garnish: traditional Burmese sweet-crisp, caramelized onions.

What the menu called spicy red curry beef stew is not aggressively hot, but does employ chiles. Braised beef (tender and juicy) and chunks of potato are served in a shallow bowl in a rich broth with the kind of heat that sneaks up on you and is set off by the crunchy cabbage-cilantro slaw it’s topped with.

At dinner, an appetizer of fried calamari is fabulous, lightly battered outside, tender within, served with a lovely peppery soy-vinegar dip. Crab cakes are better than I’ve had outside a shoreline crab shack -- the crab is full of flavor, very fresh, lightly coated in panko and served with an array of crisp-tender vegetables.

Short ribs are outstanding, with a tasty port reduction. Sliced duck breast is served as rare or well done as you request it, enlivened with a coffee-scented sauce, happily paired with mushroom-studded grits and served with a thatch of stir-fried, bright-green pea shoots.

House-made desserts are quite good. The tea brulees are sturdy custards, homey and aromatic. Chocolate cake is refreshingly straightforward, a dark chocolate wedge with an apricot-citrus glaze. Wash it down with espresso -- or a logan and jujube tea, if you’d prefer.

susan.latempa@latimes.com

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Hot Stuff Cafe

Location: 315 S. San Gabriel Blvd., Suite A, San Gabriel; (626) 292-7975; www.hotstuff-cafe.com.

Price: Lunch specials, $6.95; lunch sizzling plates and entrees, $7 to $12; kids’ menu, $5 to $6; dinner salads and appetizers, $6 to $10; dinner sizzling plates, $8 to $12; dinner entrees, $10 to $21; desserts, $6 to $7.

Best dishes: Mohinga; spicy, red curry beef with cilantro cabbage salad; short ribs braised in port wine; coffee-scented duck breast with mushroom grits; crab cakes; hot “stuffed” chocolate cake.

Details: Open for lunch and dinner daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Beer, wine, espresso drinks, tea blends. Street and lot parking. Major credit cards.