Hi Ftcers- heading to the SGV tomorrow with my girl for a little dim sum. We typically crave the classic dishes and accordingly go to Sea Harbor, Happy Together, Lunasia, HK dim sum house, and back in the day Elite. Is there another classic type of spot that we should give a try?
Thank you for your suggestions!
Chef Tony and Bistro 1968.
I’m not a fan of Chef Tony in LA.
stick to Sea Harbour. Rest of dim sum in SGV is going downhill or already trash by good Canto standards.
Which is why I personally have stopped eating dimsum in the SGV. I’m still waiting for Palette to open up in Tustin.
Thank you all for your responses! We were leaning Sea Harbor and will stick to the plan.
Any dim sum places doing night time dim sum?
lunasia
No thanks something else?
only if you want bad dimsum.
Stop being grumpy and give me a bad dim sum rec @JLee thx! Or alternatively provide me with a good dumpling/pie/xjb rec!
To me, dim sum is brunch only. But I get that people like having pancakes for dinner.
Tradition is for curmudgeons! I’m def a breakfast for dinner person
I was pleasantly surprised by my recent dim sum at Bistro 1968. Hadn’t been since they went all you can eat, but it’s a solid deal for $26/adult. Everything came out piping hot, and quality was solidly above Lunasia, Capital level. Not quite Sea Harbour level overall, but we didn’t have to wait on Sunday at noon, so that’s a huge plus!
Reservations are now available for Palette for their soft opening starting this weekend.
Oh, I’ve had their food in San Francisco. Tustin, eh?
It’s good but pricey. Stuff I’ve eaten:
Palette Soup Dumpling “XLB” Sampler (5) $13.00 (so not shareable; mostly for Instagram, regular XLB are better)
signature dish
彩籠小籠包【Cǎi lóng xiǎo lóng bāo】“Colorful cage xiao long bao”
black: black truffle 黑松露 【black truffle】
yellow: crab 【蟹】“xiè”
green: kale 【羽衣甘藍】“Yǔyī gānlán”
white: original 【原來的】“Yuánlái de”
red: beet & beef 【甜菜和牛肉】“Tiáncài hé niúròu”
Fort Bragg Uni Dumpling (2)
海膽刺身餃子［Hǎi dǎn cìshēn jiǎozi］「Sea Urchin Sashimi Dumplings」
scallop, shrimp, Pea tendril, squid ink skin $16
Seabass “Koi Fish” Dumpling in Lily Pond (3) (these look like actual koi fish)
鯉魚餃［Lǐyú jiǎo］「Carp Dumplings」
sea bass & shrimp filling, supreme broth, herb oil $18
XO & Shrimp Dumpling (3) $8.00
XO 海鮮餃【XO hǎixiān jiǎo】“XO Seafood Dumplings”
Mango Pudding Supreme $8.00
芒果布丁【Mángguǒ bùdīng】“mango pudding”
coconut tapioca, popping boba, mango, & berries
Iron Goddess tea $3.00
鐵觀音皇【Tiě guānyīn huáng】“Tieguanyin Emperor”
Uni Yi-Fu Noodle $30.00
海膽刺身伊麵【Hǎi dǎn cìshēn yī miàn】“Sea urchin sashimi noodles”
locally harvested uni
Fort Bragg sea urchin (sashimi), crab meat, Kabocha squash sauce
XO Sauce Pan-seared Rice Crepe Roll $15.00
XO 煎腸粉【XO jiān cháng fěn】“XO Fried Rice Noodles”
XO sauce, dried shrimp, sweet corn, scallion
Black Swan Taro Puff (2) $10.00 (these are actually shaped like black swans)
signature dish
黑天鵝芋角【Hēi tiān’é yù jiǎo】“Black Swan Taro Horn”
Lobster Dumpling with Butter Sauce (3) $10.00
signature dish
龍蝦皇蝦餃【Lóngxiā huáng xiā jiǎo】“Lobster King Shrimp Dumplings”
Cherry Yuzu Trifle $9.00
櫻桃蛋糕:cherries:
【Yīngtáo dàngāo】“Cherry cake”
seasonal
cherry gelee, yuzu lemon custard, sponge cake
I noticed on the Palette website that it says a sister restaurant is Koi Palace.
I may be an outcast for saying this, but I didn’t love my one visit to Koi Palace. The food was a little too fancy, for my taste.
Look forward to seeing reports on Palette.
Well if you found Koi Palace too fancy, Palette might not be for you. Basically when Koi Palace set up Dragon Beaux and Palette they essentially froze Koi Palace in time, carts and all and channeled all their innovation to the new brands. Their premise was that if they made major changes at Koi Palace they would alienate their existing client base. And Dragon Beaux and Palette are indeed a step up from Koi Palace. Now enough time has passed such that Dragon Beaux and Palette have created a new norm, so Koi Palace itself is now in the process of updating,
I prefer Koi Palace to Dragon Beaux and Palette.
I shared the Tustin opening with my friend and he said Palette looked too fancy.