10053 Valley Blvd., #2 El Monte 626-350-0188
Type: Dumpling
Quality: !! Price: $-$$ Ambience: **
The food here is a conglomeration of Northern, Sichuan, Shanghai, and Taiwanese cuisines. Indeed, the owners are Taiwanese, so it rather makes sense that the food comes from diverse regions in China. The dumplings here are decent but not spectacular. The Sole Fish with Leeks Boiled Dumplings were a bit bland--I think the boiling removed much of the flavor. The Salmon Steam Dumplings (yes, it should be "Steamed", but that's how it's listed on the menu) were OK; they were made with farm-raised Atlantic Salmon, but they were generally rather forgettable The Beef Steam (stop bothering me about the spelling) Dumplings were good. Pot stickers were pretty good (aka Pork Fried Dumplings). Overall, it was decent, but I've had better dumplings in other places, though not necessarily under the same roof.
710 W. Las Tunas Dr. #4 626-282-8695
Type: Dumpling
Quality: !!!! Price: $ Ambience: *
This is one popular place. They basically make a finite number of dumplings each day. When they've sold out, they close the restaurant. I kid you not. The patrons lucky enough to eat there will sneer and scoff at those poor souls who couldn't make it in. I'm kidding about this part, but they really do close the place. Make sure you get there early. I'm not a big fan of the noodle soup, which were decent, but every dumpling we tried was absolutely delicious. If you want, try the dumplings and noodle combos--they're pretty good deals. If you can't read Chinese, ask them to translate for you. The menu is very limited (less than page), but they are very good at what they make. This is a real hole-in-the-wall, albeit a clean one. They can seat only about 15 patrons at a time. So, why is this here instead of being grouped with Northern restaurants? I heard the kitchen staff talk in Cantonese. I know it's a flimsy reason, but this is my restaurant review, so there!