King Hua

Dim sum has to fall into the same category as sushi, for it's lack of varying descriptors.  Also, while all sushi looks the same, all dim sum looks the same as well.  As a result, dim sum isn't all that exciting to blog about, but I still do it because good dim sum deserves some attention.  King Hua isn't the best, but it's pretty good.  Maybe I don't know what the best is anymore, since my favorite place Sea Harbour Seafood has faltered in quality just a tad.  LoMa-Linda recommended some new places for me to try since the prices and wait times are high at Sea Harbour.  I agreed to try King Hua mostly because they serve milk buns, and I refuse to eat dim sum unless I can have my milk buns!  This meal was a special occasion since The Gunner (who needs a new name) and Perpetually Underwhelmed were visiting me from Portland.  I wanted to show them what was good about SoCal, and ain't nothing better here than the Asian food.

Siu Mai
Porky, juicy, plump.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake

Crispy exterior with bits of Chinese sausage smattered between chunks of moist cakey turnip.

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Kirin

Shanghai River was delicious, but I was really looking forward to the dim sum since that's all people talk about when it comes to Vancouver.  I recently had an argument with Weeners about how disappointing the dim sum was compared to my very favorite dim sum restaurant in Rosemead, Seafood Harbor.  She has almost certainly lost ALL credibility with me by dissing my favorite dim sum restaurant and actually saying the stuff in Vancouver is worth the trip.  The dim sum was solid for sure, but I guess I was expecting fireworks in my mouth.

Turnip Cakes
Standard far.  Not as hot as I would have liked.

Chinese Brocolli
Fresh, snappy, but pretty standard.

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Hong Kong Lounge

So after many wonderful meals in San Francisco (Gary Denko, Ferry Building, Bottega), the H.o.P. was honestly itching for something else.  The H.o.P always gravitates back to our one true love, the complex multi faceted cuisine of Asia.  What better way to satisfy that craving than with some good ole dim sum.  Hands down, Seafood Harbour in Rosemead has got to be THE best dim sum this side of the Pacific.  I haven't had dim sum in Hong Kong, but the rest of the H.o.P. can confirm this.  So far, my experience with dim sum in the Bay Area has been just ok.  Better than anything in Orange County, but nothing that knocks your socks off.  A true dim sum experience cannot be complete without some rude, pushy, and loud Cantos.  You know what I'm talking about.  They smell like mothballs and old closets, they squawk and squabble like wild chickens, and shoving and cutting you off comes as second nature to them.  Haha, I joke, right?  These are the people of Dumpling Man.  He says my people live 10 people to 1 room and are ghetto beyond all ghetto.  Ah, to each his own...

Xiao Long Bao
Tasty and pretty juicy.

Har Gow
Pretty large pieces of shrimp.

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Sea Harbour Seafood

I was fortunate enough to work with a family medicine physician in the San Gabriel Valley back in the day.  It was great, because I went home at noon everyday and on some days I got to taste some of the best food in the SGV at the expense of some pharm reps.  Sea Harbour Seafood (or as I like to call it, Seafood Harbour, because that's the name I was told and it's stuck ever since) was one of the restaurants I was fortunate enough to try.  It has to be one of the BEST dim sum restaurants in Southern California.  Please correct me if you think there is something better out there.  But when you serve fresh meaty shrimps bigger than my eyeballs, you can only be known as the BEST in my opinion.  Even Ludo Lefevbre and his wife are fans.  I saw them take a gigantic bag of takeout from here one Sunday.   It's a wise decision to get take out, because the wait here is RIDICULOUS.  A few years ago, I'd wait for over an hour to get a table.  Nowadays, the wait isn't as bad, probably because the place is pretty pricey and times have changed.

Chinese Greens in brine
You just can't beat the vegetables from the good Chinese restaurants.  It's like they get the pick of the crop and the rest of the mid quality vegetables goes to market.  Whenever I try to make vegetables at home, they never have that same freshness or clean taste.  Here, they are cooked in a tasty brine with some slivered radishes.  Today's version was a bit olier than usual, but still delicious.


Chicken Feet
I never really eat these, but not because I don't like it.  I do, but it is just a lot of trouble to eat with all those little bones.  Mama H.o.P. and Smooth Obturator love chicken feet so they gobbled it all up.  Smooth Obturator says "This is the BEST chicken feet I've ever eaten!"  I forgot to ask why, but he's pretty critical.

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