Best Dim Sum
I have only been to Vip Harbor Seafood on Wilshire. How about others
lisamp29
May 11, 2007 06:11PM
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I have only been to Vip Harbor Seafood on Wilshire. How about others
lisamp29
May 11, 2007 06:11PM
almost any place in SGV
888
NBC
Kitchen
New Capital
Sea Harbour
Elite
etc....
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CBS Seafood, 700 N. Spring St., L. A., Chinatown
Excellent selection, fresh and delicious, always.
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Would you say that CBS Seafood is better than Empress Pavilion? I'm new to dim sum; I've only had it once, at Empress. Some things were really great while others fell a little flat.
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Empress is really bad, in my opinion. The SGV is worth the drive from the westside.
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I agree with SauceSupreme completely; Empress Pavilion is not one of the better dim sum joints. CBS is much, much better than EP and is arguably the best dim sum in Chinatown.
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I had been to Empress Pavilion many times and finally stopped because of huge crowds and long waits, and the dim sum wasn't worth it. Then we discovered CBS where the longest wait, if any, is less than 10min. The dim sum is always fresh and hot. If it isn't hot, the waitress will take it to the kitchen. They are very accommodating. Good food, good prices. Not long ago we went back to Empress Pavilion and Ocean Seafood 1 time each to see how they compare to CBS and each was a bad experience. Poor service and food, and expensive. CBS wins every time.
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If you want to stay in L.A. proper then CBS and Empress are only passable, with Empress maybe slightly better than CBS, although unbearably crowded.
No place in L.A. can compare to any of the places just east of L.A. in San Gabriel Valley as mentioned
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Very true SGV beats any other place. We ate last Sunday at Elite (former New Concept) and it was great all was tasty. We actually like this one better than Sea Harbour now which was our fave for the past two years or so. Sea Harbour on Rosemead seems to have slipped lately....And the service has gotten a lot worse...
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Seem like Elite in SGV got mentioned a few time... where is it located at? I've been to all mentioned (888 / NBC / Kitchen / New Capital /Sea Harbour) but Elite :-)
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Elite Restaurant
700 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park
626-282-9998
near NBC...
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Yeah, Elite's a fantastic place. Apparently, the guy cooking there is the original chef of Triumphal Palace. You'll spot alot of similar dishes like his sauteed mushrooms, vegetarian duck meat plate and the excellent egg white fried rice with shredded dried scallops.
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He (Chef Chan?) does not do the dim sum dishes, however. At least not when he was at Triumphal Palace.
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Seriously, drive another 2-3 miles to SGV. The closest places are just off Atlantic.... New Concept, NBC and Ocean Star (crowded). The wait at Empress Pavilion can be worse than a regular day at the DMV.
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definitely NOT 888... terrible service and dont bother going in after 1pm where they clean up quite early.
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Agreed! We were not impressed by 888 or empress on last visit. Ugh!
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I love Ocean Star but you have to show up before 10:00 am or you will have one hell of a wait.
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I just had dim sum at Top Island seafood on Valley BLVD in Alhambra between Garfield and New. I didn't get to sample a lot of the dim sum dishes (only had the Su Mai, Har Gow, Chicken Feet, and the Bean Curd Skin) but what I got to eat was pretty good.
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Do any (or most) of these places serve dim sum at lunch time during the week? We are going to be in town for the holiday weekend but our only free day might be Monday before heading to the airport. Is it possible to stock up on dim sum, then head down to Long Beach?
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I believe in Monterey Park etc... they all do. I would be surprised if they didn't. Call the places you're interested in and make sure. I'm pretty sure they do...
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Not that we keep track of this, but we've always assumed that the popular restaurants known for serving dim sum do this seven days a week... We've yet to have been shut out and during the week is so much easier to do... NBC, Ocean Star, Mission 261...
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Don't know of any place in either the Los Angeles or Bay Area that doesn't do dim sum during the week if they do it on weekends. Weekend only dimsum is usually limited to cities where the Chinese population is dispersed and Chinese patrons are drawn to the restaurant on weekends from outside the restaurant's immediate radius, or Chinese patrons are otherwise not likely to be in the area on weekdays.
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Let me ask then -- for us Anglos from the west side that have Memorial Day Monday May 28 off, is that going to be a good day to go trekking for dim sum in the SGV?
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Since the Chinese and their families all get Memorial day off too, I'd think that it would be similar to a saturday or a sunday. Get there by 11:00 and you should be OK.
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If youre patient and you dont mind crowds, by all means, go for it. Holiday wait times can vary, but usually take anywhere from 30-50 minutes. However, the bigger your party, the faster you get a table. Good Luck!
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Thanks! However, I've been told by a friend that SGV is not exactly on the way to Long Beach from Santa Monica. Is there somewhere close in or on the way that is really good? And by really good, I mean that I want to be able to whine to friends at home that our dim sum can't even compare to what we had in LA.
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The answer to your question is no.
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Sea Empress in Gardena is on the way, and I believe I've heard that their dim sum is quite good. I've been meaning to try them myself.
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Sea Empress is good. Better than any of the westside/LA dimsum places by far. Comparable to Chinatown for most dishes but not as good as SGV.
It is on the way to Long Beach from Santa Monica, 10 East to 405 South. But, it may not leave you whining to your friends, you need SGV for that.
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I went several times over the last couple of years. Pretty good for cart type style, and better than the Empress Pavillion in downtown, but can't compare with the top couple of order off the menu dim sum places in SGV.
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If you want to do whining with credibility then make the trip to San Gabriel Valley (SGV). Without a doubt, it's the epicenter of great Chinese foods of all sorts - and a huge epicenter at that... You can take the 10 freeway from wherever you're staying in Santa Monica out to SGV which will probably take you about 30 to 40 minutes if traffic is decent. After you're through, you can jump on 10 heading in the opposite direction , catch the 710 (this is the Long Beach Freeway) south, and you'll be in Long Beach in about 25 minutes - again, if the traffic is decent. Alot of the eateries in SGV are relatively close to the 10, so if you go early for dim sum, say by 10AM, you could realistically be in Long Beach by noon. I'm not sure on the hours of most, but I believe alot open at 10AM but some open pretty early - you could call ahead, or maybe some other posters know the hours. The caviat about going early is the selection may not be as good as noon time, when things are in full swing...
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Often make the trek from Gardena to SGV on the weekends. I have never experienced a traffic problem with the 10W-710S route on the weekend. If your heading to the LB airport, get on the 405 S from the 710 S and its a few more exits.
I personally would try Elite, but if you want a cart experience, then you need to choose one of the other ones.
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There are a number of restaurants very close to the 10 freeway in Monterey Park (south of the 10 freeway on Atlantic Blvd.):
Empress Pavilion
Ocean Star
Capital Seafood
NBC
Elite
It takes about 30-40 minutes to get to Long Beach from there, depending on traffic conditions.
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I'm not sold on Elite. I don't think there offerings are as good as Triumphal Palace or Mission261. Mission261 is a little further East off the 10 but in a very quaint little area in San Gabriel. If you are thinking of going towards Monterrey Park I suggest going the opposite direction (North on Atlantic Ave) to Triumphal Palace. I think the stand bys are superior to Elite (har gow, shu mai, pork buns, ribs in black bean sauce, shmrip rice noodles) and their other dishes off the dim sum menu are top notch (beef chow fun, chinese sausage sticky rice). All 3 of the places mentioned above are menu dim sum (no carts).
If you like the experience of the carts I would opt for 888 or New Capital. My preference is ordering off the menu and getting hot fresh dishes.
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Thank you for all the advice! We ended up going to Elite, which was excellent, although I have to say the thing I love about the carts is the ability to be far more adventerous. THe food was great, especially the huge shu mai and the roast duck. I will definitely plan another trip there as soon as I am back out in LA. Also, it only took about 20 minutes to get to the Long Beach airport from the restaurant!
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I've never been to Elite either and I frequent the dim sum restaurants pretty often. How does Elite compare to NBC/Empress/Ocean Star?
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Hard to compare directly since Elite is part of the new wave of places like Sea Harbour and Triumphal Palace which serve more delicate and innovative dim sum (e.g., durian puffs) than your traditional stuff from Ocean Star or NBC.
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Triumphal Palace in Alhambra is pretty good. They're very English speaking friendly as well.
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I can see how experienced dim sum lovers would prefer to order off of a menu. They have their favorites and they can spot the unusual offerings. But if I am accompanying folks who are near novices, you gotta love the carts. That is what made dim sum so unique and exciting in the first place. Sure you missed stuff and got persuaded to take some dishes that weren't your favorites, but that is part of the experience. There are dishes I love and never get enough of -- crispy crispy fried potstickers -- that never seem to come around enough, but that is part of the gamble. I also want to order and eat at my own pace, and not be inundated with the food all at once. Carts forever!!!
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Actually, I find the pacing to be better when ordering from the menu. The food tends to come at a smooth pace, usually one item every 2 to 4 minutes, rarely getting 2 items at the same time.
With carts, I've found myself getting 5 or 6 items at once, because I don't know if the cart will be back in the next 10 minutes or not. When you have 1 or 2 carts servicing the entire dining hall, other people will grab the popular items, and you'll end up waiting longer to get what you want.
I went to Elite for the first time last weekend, and it was very good, despite the 45+ minute wait to get a table (it had been 2 years since I went there when it was still New Concept). I'd rank it better than Ocean Star, NBC, and Capital Seafood. I'd rank Elite pretty close to the best, just behind Sea Harbour and Triumphal Palace.
One standout dish at Elite that I'd never seen or tried before was called "snow bun w/almond flavor". Also outstanding was the "shark fin soup dumpling", which I also had at Triumphal Palace before.
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Yes, the shark fin soup dumpling is great and the broth is really something. I'd actually put Elite above Triumphal Palace. However, don't try Elite's Oatmeal bun--sounds interesting, but it's just dark sesame paste inside of a coarse bun.
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One item at Elite that was not very good was a varied version of the flat rice noodles that you usually get wrapped around either beef, BBQ pork, or shrimp, with the sweet soy sauce poured on it.
This version was called "rice noodles with crispy shrimp", which was deceiving, as I was expecting deep fried battered shrimp to be wrapped in the noodles. Instead, it was you tiao (yau ja gwai for the Cantonese-speaking crowd, the fried bread sticks that goes with jook for the rest of us) mixed with shrimp, and then wrapped around with the rice noodles.
I love eating that stuff with a big bowl of jook, but wrapped inside the rice noodles, not so good. First time I'd ever seen it done, though.
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Actually just the you tiao (no shrimp) wrapped in rice noodles is very typical and there's the mention of it in wiki. I too find it too filling/greasy/heavy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtiao
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That's interesting, because I think I've visited almost every single dim sum house in LA and OC, and I've never seen you tiao wrapped in rice noodles on any of the dim sum carts before. Shrimp, BBQ pork, and beef are the usual fillings inside the rice noodles that I've encountered.
Perhaps it is not a common dish for dim sum, but is commonly ordered off the menu.
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I'm guessing it first showed up on the carts at Ocean Star maybe 3 or 4 years ago and spread to a lot of the other places in Los Angeles since then. They do a pretty good version of it at Golden Dragon (!!!) in Chinatown. Clearly not as common as the meat filled rice rolls, and even Ocean Star doesn't have it all the time, but it is out there.
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I recall eating that dish even earlier than that, but I can't verify it. I just know I've eaten that for a long time. But as you noted, it's not that common, even in restaurants where I've had it before.
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Hum, I had it a few years ago at Hong Kong Palace in Rowland Heights. The server just carried platters of it around the rooms. It's not in the carts.
I also had it in Hong Kong in my youth many many years ago, but I don't think it's at a dim sum restaurant. It's more like cheapo places where you get congee and rice noodles for breakfast.
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Is Elite Restaurant(名流山莊) still considered to be one of the best by fellow chowhounder? :-)
I'm thinking which one I should try this Saturday with my fellow brothers and sisters, before we go to Pomona's Red Cross donation center.
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Sea Harbour in Rosemead seems to be the frontrunner these days....For whatever it may be worth to you, I didn't care for it myself, but I think I am literally alone on these boards in that regard....
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Sea Harbour... you have to order your dim sum on a piece of paper. They don't have those little cart pushing the yummy food around :-(
Sea Harbour used to have a branch in Rowland Height, but it has changed owner and I think it's now known as Happy Harbour
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hlVnGNrHA5o4c...
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I agree about sea harbour.
it costs a little more, and there are no carts, but the dim sum you order comes out so fresh and hot and it's absolutely worth waiting and paying for.
it's the only place my group of friends will go these days (unless the drive on the 10 is suicidal...)
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That's OK. We forgive you for your blasphemy. Just kidding. Actually, I agree that Sea Harbour is not for everyone. While I personally love it, I would usually prefer to go to other dim sum places, because Sea Harbour don't always make the dim sum dishes that I want to eat. If I want avant garde fare, it's a great place. If I want more traditional dishes, other places may be better.
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Ditto. I completely agree with both tuttifrutti and raytamsgv in re: Sea Harbour!!!
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Hey Kelvlam,
IMHO, Sea Harbor (Rosemead, near 10 Freeway) is hands-down the best Dim Sum in LA! (and this from someone who's had Dim Sum fresh in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and grew up on the "OG" places like the old Chinatown restaurants (most are gone now), and NBC and Ocean Star when they were first opening up).
Sea Harbor on Rosemead makes all their Dim Sum fresh-to-order, and the Quality of their ingredients really sets them apart.
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Elite is, for us, one of the best dim sum places at this moment. It does not offer the usual cart service, but there are many trays being passed around. If you prefer cart service, I would recommend Capital Seafood in the corner of the 99 Ranch shopping center at Garvey and Atlantic. While Capital might not have the best dim sum, the activity level is high and the entire experience is fun!
I have not been to Sea Harbour (or Happy Harbour) in Rosemead recently enough to comment. When we went some while back we were not impressed; perhaps we need to return to give it another try.
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There's a new place in OC called California Asian Bistro. Its on Harbor just north of Orangethorpe, in the site where Spoons used to be.
They're a different kind of asian restaurant, featuring some Chinese dishes ("Hong Kong Fusion Lunch"), some Korean dishes, Japanese food and a Sushi Bar.
Until 3pm each day, they also have Dim Sum. No carts, order off a paper menu.
I'm no great authority on dim sum, but what I had, I liked.
On the weekend (Saturday night), the clientele was largely asian, so I would
guess its pretty good?
I liked it, anyway.