111 N. Atlantic Blvd., Ste. 350, Monterey Park 626-300-8707
Type: Cantonese Seafood/Dim Sum
Website: http://www.empressharbor.com
Quality: !!!! Price: $-$$$$ Ambience: ***
On the northwest corner of Garvey and Atlantic Blvd., on the third floor of a monstrously ugly building, is one of my favorite dim sum places. The dim sum is very tasty here. All the usual suspects are great: Phoenix claws, tripe, siu mai, ha gow, pineapple chicken buns (they have a passing resemblance to pineapples, much as I have a passing resemblance to Tom Cruise), etc. The dinner menu is superb. The winter melon soup is served in a half-winter melon; it's one of the best renditions I've had. But you pay for what you get here--it's not one of the cheaper places around. Fortunately, in the case of dim sum, if you get your check before 12 noon, you get a 20% discount on your bill.
700 S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park 626-282-9998
Type: Cantonese Seafood/Dim Sum
Quality: !!!!! Price: $-$$$$ Ambience: ***
We celebrated Mother's Day here, so we went all out. In other words, I was forced to spend more than $5 per person at this restaurant, but it was worth it. Elite is one of the newer types of Cantonese restaurants that go beyond the traditional dishes that can be found in most other similar restaurants. The Dry Scallop with Egg White Fried Rice was sublime, though it may be a bit bland for many non-Chinese palates. We also ordered Minced Fish with Chinese Broccoli, Sauteed Beef with Garlic & Black Pepper as well as Stir Fried Scallop with Mango. Everything was absolutely delicious--good quality and cooked with a mimimum amount of oil. Dim sum is ordered from the menu. The dishes we chose were exceptional--some of the best dim sum I have ever eaten. I can't single out any particular dim sum dish because all of the ones we tasted were fantastic.
Elite is certainly a notch above your usual Cantonese restaurant both in quality and price. Speaking of which, if you check out their banquet menu, they have one menu (feeds 10 people) for $2,288! Yes, the comma is in the right place, and we're talking U.S. dollars here. Never in my life have I seen such an expensive banquet option.
Expect a long wait during the dim sum rush. Dinner waits aren't too bad. I highly recommend this restaurant.