My money always seems to go to J Zhou these days. Dried scallop fried rice, fried chicken knuckles, shrimp rolls.
Elite has been so mediocre while at the same time raising prices. The steamed turnip was dreadfully bland.
Lunasia is still solid, I wouldn’t hesistate to go there again.
SN1 is just bad now. Inedible in some respects.
King Hua has been bleh, and really greasy fried foods. Not too mention waits exceeding many of the aforementioned.
They’re not expensive, per se. They’re just expensive for the quality (or lack thereof).
how 'bout: you can go elsewhere, but admitting to it here will result in endless derision, most of it warranted?
i mean, there are places in chinatown that are ok, but i wouldn’t go to any of them from the SGV. can’t speak to the quality of the OC based alteratives.
happy harbor (?) opened fairly recently, but other than the fried chicken knees/knuckles, i found their offerings underwhelming in relation to the price,
if i wanted the cart experience i personally prefer ocean star & 888.
for menu driven: price no object, seafood harbor, otherwise king hua or china red. as for lunasia, i just find it jarring that the predominant dialect spoken there is mandarin.
Okay, tomorrow is Presidents Day. I will go. Is anything open on a Monday?
Hi @Bookwich,
Are you asking about any (great) Dim Sum for tomorrow, since it’s a holiday? Or places closer to the Westside / DT only?
If it’s anywhere, Sea Harbour (our favorite, and great Dim Sum) is open at 10:30 a.m., which means, you should get there by 10:15 - 10:20 a.m. ideally to get a table during the 1st seating.
Every place serving dim sum will be open tomorrow. SGV, or not.
Rosemead it is, because I trust you immensely. And I’m bringing along some children and at least one elder person. Cuz dim sum is always better like that. 
Hi @Bookwich,
Ooh nice! I hope you have a good meal there. 
If you didn’t see the Sea Harbour thread, here it is for reference. Make sure you save room for the French Style Taro Bun (or Sweet Potato Bun depending on which is on rotation). It’s a fantastic recommendation from @ipsedixit.
These things always seem to devolve into a sort of weird "Best of . . . " list, with most of the experts begrudgingly participating.
What I would find helpful, if those with deep knowledge would be so kind as to oblige, would be some information outlining some special selections at the heavy hitters that the average diner looking for shumai, gai lan, and chicken feet might not know about. I know that I feel like I get the same maybe 8-12 classic Items every time.
For instance, Sea Harbour is kind of just all-around awesome, but are there a couple of dishes that they have a unique or just superbly executed take on? If I do go to Lunasia instead, what dish would the average diner without a fully informed knowledge of dim sum or Lunasia’s menu miss that he or she shouldn’t?
Maybe that is a query that would be of interest to our board experts? I feel like Eater will tell me the top 5 dim sum restaurants, but only FTC would help me do the restaurants right.
Yes! More of these posts, please!
I just read through your posts in that thread and ipse’s responses. I think that info ought to keep me busy for a good long while.
Cheers!
Great thread, thank you.
So I will bring a multiple of three with me, or eight, but definitely not (“gak”) twelve. And order baked French buns and Chinese broccoli.
Thanks so much for China Red req. chowed and went to the arboretum
Big up to Pork Belly for coming through so fast. This site proved once again it’s value to me. Line was long but worth it.
really lovely, tender, fatty chicken rolled up in bean curd, in a chicken broth, whole family tore these up
Chaozhou Dumplings were hardest to identify. They’re quite interesting with veg and some pork i think inside but they’re in skins that are very different from others, soft and chewy and oily. pretty fun to eat.
really awesome sticky rice rolled in seaweed, tons of flavor from dried seafood, nuts etc.
This big ole fish maw dumpling in a gorgeous gingery consomme. This dish i’m never not ordering again.
chive dumplings (with pork if i recall) are also really cool. it’s a popular item there. i think it was scallion though not chive
you know
really awesome dessert made of Ube. Crisped up on the outside, decadent and soft inside, and with oozing sugary yolk. Fantastic
i’d def go here again next time at the Arboretum
Hi @Nemroz,
Thanks for the report. What were your favorite dishes and what did you think overall?
What’s the dish in the first pic? 
Chicken wrapped in bean curd, really nice. More when I’m on front of a keyboard tomorrow
I have a soft spot for NBC. First of all we started dim summing in LA at this place, secondly they’ve upgraded and built up a lot more. But mainly it’s because of how busy and bustling this place is. It is the dim sum experience we fetishize with the ladies with the steam carts and pointing at food and eating it seconds later. Food has always been better than average but not best around obviously. It’s still loads of fun though and when I take any dim sum noob out to eat, we usually go there.
Siam Sunset is a staple of ours. Definitely appreciate it and hype it up to people. I’ve sent many people there and rave reviews every time. Not dim sum though
Been going to NBC since Pirates Cove first opened up in that strip mall.
#DatingMySelf
Yes, but do you remember the Chinese restaurant that preceded NBC at that location?
