elite restaurant

elite w/ jason & kelly
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#25 on my 101 in 1001 list (19/143)
my friend jason is in the area teaching at caltech for a semester, and his wife was here visiting. we had to go out for dim sum, since she had never had it before. there are so many dim sum places in san gabriel, and plenty of good ones to choose from. i had heard good things about elite, so we ended up going there on a sunday morning.

except for a few misses, the dim sum here is quite tasty and fresh. there's a homegrown comfort with lots of flavor quality to the food here. some of the classic dim sum is quite good, but the more unusual items stand out. overall, this place is near the top of my dim sum list.

MISSES
egg custard - had some burnt spots, and the crust tasted day old

har gow - looked big and plump, but was a little fishy, and i never complain of fishy. i like fishy, but there was something off about it.

seafood fried rice - the rice was dry

OK
chinese broccoli w/ oyster sauce - crisp greens with a thick sauce

sticky rice in lotus leaf - mostly ground meat filling

shrimp w/ almonds - a tad bland

HITS
roasted pork - crispy skin, a thin layer of fat, and lean, just the right amount of saltiness meat

xiao long bao - succulent, only complaint is not getting enough ginger

shrimp rice noodle - one of the better i've tasted. with large pieces of
shrimp, crunchy greens. what made this great was the wrapper

fried turnip cake - buttery, with a crispy edge and slightly spicy

pork & shrimp shui mai - great chewy texture and flavor

it's not a huge banquet hall like some places, and due to popularity, there's usually a wait. the earlier you go, the better. we went around 10:30am, and waited about 15 min. i was a little annoyed at having to sit in an awkward area where there was lots of foot traffic, but we quickly forgot once the food started arriving. the service is pretty good. you order from a picture menu rather than carts. i'm guessing it's because the resto is small, and it would be difficult wheeling carts around in this place.