J&J

For all of those tired of the updates about Thailand, this one's for you...

The San Gabriel Valley has no shortage of dumplings.  In my experience, most of the dumplings are just OK, never really achieving that yum-inspiring lip-smacking deliciousness of Luscious Dumpling, which I am convinced has to use MSG.  Most taste like something you could have whipped up at home.  As for soup dumplings, Din Tai Fung simply reigns supreme.  J&J makes a good attempt at putting out regular and soup dumplings that taste better than something home made.


Snow Pea Leaves sauteed in garlic
I would love it if I were able to buy these vegetables in any market, Asian or non-Asian, at the same quality as the restaurants.  I've purchased these once in NYC Chinatown and while I did not prep them properly, they still did not have that same freshness or tenderness.  Here the veggies were plentiful, and although not top quality like at the pricey Chinese seafood restaurants, still pretty delicious.

Niu Rou Mian beef noodle soup
I thought the concoction at this particular place was a tad on the bland side but Dumpling Man likes his food to be tame and simple, while I tend to lean toward food with kick and punch.   The portion was certainly more than generous for the price, not an uncommon finding in the SGV.

Xiao Long Bao pork and crab soup dumplings
I was pretty surprised at the quality of J&J's xiao long bao.  They're neighbors at Mei Long Village have a heavy hand when it comes to the MSG, but these tasted much cleaner.  The dumplings were bursting with juice, as expected, and had a pretty good balance between the pork and crab.

Dumplings
I can't remember what sort of filling these dumplings had, but I think I liked them.  I remember the skins were on the thicker side, which is how I like my dumplings.

While J&J isn't on the top of my lists when I crave the cheap Chinese eats of the SGV, I will certainly be revisiting this place in the future.  Maybe I'll bring Smooth Obturator and Triple T here so we can order more and try other things that I may not be so familiar with.  It's so nice having a Chinese person in the family.  Note, Triple T is Chinese, but NOT from China =)


J&J
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776


View Larger Map