I went there 11:30 Monday and they are full. Had we waited table would have been available around 12:15. Turns out they open at 11:00, close at 8 PM. We wind up eating there at night. The place is 3/4 full at 7 PM. No one sits at the patio.
The place is call Lunasia Dim Sum House. So dim sum is available all the time. Food is light on oil and salt, and that’s a good thing. The beef chow fun is very good, although it could use more wok chi. Overall we are glad Lunasia is here.
Btw they haven’t incorporated Yelp booking fully into their system. So online reservation and order can be a mess.
At least OC has Mozza… Tony’s Little Italy… Rances… Fuoco… The South Bay doesn’t even have good Post Soccer game Pizza Party Pizza… Prime isn’t even in my top 5 slices places in L.A… but it’s an excellent option for the area (And a short drive from the office for me!)
Pizza is a mediocre scene here. I do like the pan slices at Riera’s. Sicilian that isn’t too grease-laden. I also enjoy the pizzas at Gaetano’s. Wish they had more topping options but the crust is solid. Outside of that, it’s slim pickings. My kids like Burratino although that is more due to their choice of toppings AND you have to like the crispy, thin crust style. In a bind, we’re members at Rolling Hills CC and the pizza there is surprisingly good as well!
Seems like South Bay Japanese scene has been pretty stagnant. Other than Carlos Tempura (that’s was a few years ago) seems like there is not much opening in the way of Japanese.
Hasu was super solid during COVID in that outdoor patio, can only imagine it’s improved by sitting indoors. Unusually good seafood for an LA izakaya/yakitori spot.
My wife and I have been. It’s a bit far from us so not in our regular rotation but Kevineats covers a lot of the good stuff we had. The skewers are definitely more charred than other spots which I enjoy. The fruit-based dessert was excellent. And it’s a nicer ambience than Torihei / Koshiji, for when my wife and I want a nicer date night - not that the other two places are dives, but Hasu is a more modern interior and just feels less crowded / hectic. It’s not good enough that I’d choose to drive the extra time past Torihei but it is very well executed and delicious.
Just went to Lunasia for dinner. No pics it was a quick in and out. Happy to report we have a very good sit down spot for Chinese food now in South Bay and they serve dim sum all night. This will 100% replace the hole that dim sum 101 left.
All dishes were well prepared and cooked. Highlights were the garlic bok Choy tender but not over cooked and with serious amounts of wok hei. The chicken feet steamy and gelatinous but not completely falling apart and the turnip cake crispy and with large chunks of turnip. Enjoyed how every dish was not over salted which occurs frequently at many Chinese restaurants.
Only thing I didn’t love was how the food just comes out so quickly. A tip would be to stagger your ordering so the dishes don’t pile up. You can order from your phone which is also really cool.
I went to Lunasia again this weekend because I decided to take my parents this time. I arrived at 10AM on Sunday and the place was already full by 10:10AM. If you want to avoid waiting an hour, I recommend arriving when they open. I need to try the garlic bok choy, that sounds delicious. During opening time, the food didn’t come out that quickly because they were so busy and just opening. I loved the turnip cake too, it was a dish that was missing at Dim Sum 101 that I wish they had before. I love every dish.
Finally made it to Fishing With Dynamite. Solid meal, but it may have been hyped so much in my mind that I was disappointed…
Peruvian scallops - Pricey at ~$4 a piece but delicious. Sweet, succulent scallops topped with finely minced peppers, salt and a wedge of citrus. I had 3 but could have had 30. Without exaggeration, one of the best bites I’ve had in the South Bay. So simple, subtle but perfectly balanced flavors. Can’t rave enough about these!
Grilled shrimp tacos - Hadn’t seen many mentions of this but I wanted a lighter meal. Although if softshell crab or spot prawn were still in season, I would have opted for one of those! These were meh. The corn tortilla was fine, but fell apart, most likely because the taco was stuffed with a ton of cabbage. To the point where the shrimp, which were nice marinated, were practically lost. It was tasty in bites, but the quantity of shrimp was lacking and the ratio of shrimp to filler was just off. It did come with some nicely fried chips and guac / green salsa that I quite enjoyed.
Koshihikari rice - Had I been been in the mood for a heavier meal, I would have gotten this, which my buddy did. In retrospect, I would have offered to split this and then gotten a second light entree. This looked incredible - almost like a thick congee with the richness of risotto. At $39, they didn’t skimp on seafood and it appeared chock full of crab, shrimp and uni. All topped with a brilliantly orange, soft yolk. This is on my hit list next time for sure.
Key lime pie - This is what I was here for. I love the Hiho burger version, though its a bit sweet (both the filling and meringue) for my taste. And I can still taste the strawberry passion creme pie at Republique. But I’d heard so much about the Key lime pie here, I had to try it. IMO, it was a mixed bag… Perfect ratio of meringue to filling. Meringue was perfect sweetness and stiffness. The filling was also bright, tart and not too sweet. The crust was buttery and crisp, just as I like it. BUT… it must have come out of cold storage because the middle of the pie was oddly cold and the filling was almost too solid, like you had to apply a fair amount of pressure to cut through it. And similarly, the crust was almost impossible to break through until with enough pressure, it would shatter and spray! Don’t know if this is usual or if I just got a bad piece. I definitely want to try this again to see if I have a better 2nd experience.
Yeah, it was odd and we were in a bit of a hurry so I didn’t bother asking for a new piece. I can see how the pie otherwise would have been amazing but the temp definitely seemed off. In retrospect, cutting through the filling with my spoon had the same feel, as you got to the middle, of cutting through cold butter.
So, I know the South Bay is abuzz with Lunasia hype. And 101 had a good rep. But, I would be remiss to not put in a small plug for the oddly named Szechwan Chinese Restaurant on PCH. The website says they serve Live Seafood (makes sense, sort of, but they don’t actually serve any) & Dim Sum (?!?).
It’s become a staple take-out lunch for my wife and I during the week and our standard meal is super simple but quite satisfying. Pork and preserved egg congee - reasonably sized bowl of congee for $5, generously appointed with chunks of pork and thousand year egg and the rice is a perfect consistency. Turnip cakes - these are really well done. They always come out nicely fried, the cake texture is smooth and slightly bouncy with flecks of meat and large chunks of turnip throughout. Easy thing to mess up but when done right (which they do here) is excellent. Finally, the custard filled bolo buns. Sweet, molten custard in a typical Cantonese bread with a well-done rendition of bolo aka pineapple top. I just tried these and was pleasantly surprised.
Anyways, Lunasia is clearly the gold standard in South Bay, but Szechwan is a nice one to have around so wanted to spread the word!
I love the local mom and pop vibe of Szechwan but we got some dim sum from there recently and did not really enjoy it. It was ok.
We ordered sticky rice w/ chicken, cheung fun bbq pork, and the congee with pork and preserved egg. We felt both the congee and the cheng fun were not very good. Specifically the pork in the congee was very stringy, and the egg was kind of hard, and overall it did not have the standard pork and preserved egg flavor that you find at most congee shops. The best was was the sticky rice but even that the rice was oversteamed.
We might return back at some point but not in a huge hurry as of now.
