lunasia

lunasia
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

here's a tip. if you're a hardcore dim sum lover, you arrive early. I'm talking 9am or whenever the restaurant opens. it's never too early for dim sum. besides, doesn't the early bird get the worm? our large group of 8 had no problem getting a table because we arrived early. no fuss. no wait. they even started seating us before the entire party arrived.

i'm surprised to see this place received such poor reviews. after trying 25 or so of their dishes, i found the food to range from good to excellent. there was only one dishi didn't think was good, the xiao long bao, but this is not a dim sum specialty, so i'm not surprised. ordinarily, i wouldn't order this at a dim sum restaurant, but we love dumplings so much we couldn't help ourselves.

excellent:
tofu with abalone sauce - fried tofu, softened by a flavorful sauce stuffed with a seafood ball
pork & shrimp siu mai - large, plump, juicy
vegetarian rice noodle - crunchy, tasty vegetables rolled into sheets of rice
shrimp rice noodle - delicious, springy freshness to the wrapper
salt and pepper chicken wings - crispy, slightly spicy & so good
salt and pepper tofu - the vegetarian version consists of super crunchy small cubes of tofu
green onion pancake - crispy
roasted pork belly - crispy strip of skin, nice balance of fatty flavor with lean meat
roasted duck pie - a flaky pastry filled with sweet, marinated duck
wolfberry jello - light, refreshing

good
har gow - plump shrimp dumplings in a glassine skin
cilantro rice noodle - not as strongly flavored, but good
bbq pork buns - perfectly cooked, sweet and juicy
pumpkin pie - sweet pumpkin dumplings filled with red bean & sprinkled with sesame seeds
sticky rice wrap - sticky rice with a filling of pork & mushrooms, wrapped in a banana leaf
steamed rice noodle with pork spare ribs - nice flavor to the meat
sauteed eggplant - sweet, spicy glazed stir-fried fresh japanese eggplant
chinese broccoli with oyster sauce - fresh greens, rich oyster sauce
fro gura (foie gras) dumplings - a little strange to be eating a dumpling filled with foie gras, but it was good, though kind of rich.
mashed dumpling - typical
pork meatball

don't recommend
xiao long bao - lacking in soup, and kind of dry
taro cake with chinese sausage - kind of dry

one of the nicer, cleaner dim sum places i've been to in sgv, lunasia's dim sum was solid. although the carts can be fun, ordering from a menu means the food is hot and fresh when it gets to the table. you can also get what you want right away instead of hoping it will show up on the next cart. service was pretty good.

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.

din tai fung

din tai fung
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#25 on my 101 in 1001 list (10/143)

how do the juicy dumplings at din tai fung compare? i thought they were tasty. they're better than the ones you generally get at the dim sum houses. the crab & pork leaned more towards crab, than pork flavors, which was interesting and different than the fattier, slightly more flavorful ones i had at mei long village. there was soup to be found, though not a lot, and overall, it was a lighter dumpling with a delicate skin.

the restaurant is clean and newish, and the menu is simple, but you have a variety of options as far as dumplings. we also had the vegetarian dumplings which were stuffed with glass noodles, mushrooms and greens. we also had the shrimp fried rice and baby bok choy. both were standard and properly prepared.