Restaurant: Blooming VIP Restaurant
Location: 8118 Garvey Ave A, Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 280-2288
Date: October 7, 2022
Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese Dim Sum
Rating: Solid
This was sort of the first of a new series we called DimSumQuest, in which a bunch of us actively hit some of Southern California’s vast array of Dim Sum places in short order (1-2 a week over several months) in order to suss out their relative merits. Technically speaking, at the time of this visit we hadn’t yet conceived the nefarious plan, but it was the same crew and in the same timeframe so this was pretty much visit (ground) zero.
Blooming VIP, horrible name aside, is a recent opening of a typical Cantonese palace. It’s even helmed by our friend Ben who used to be at Grand Harbor.
I’m not sure if it’s brand new or took over a previous Cantonese Palace but it has some serious (overwrought) build-out.
Who doesn’t love a dragon medallion.
And the main room has to be seen to be believed.
The highlight are these video screen Chinese columns! Animated seafood scenes roll around them continuously!
The manager, Ben and Yarom.
Le menu.
Honey BBQ Pork.
Five Spices Beef Shank.
Imperial Cold Chicken.
Roasted Duck Hong Kong Style.
Seafood Pan Fried Noodle.
Chicken Feet with XO Sauce.
Short Rib with Black Pepper Sauce.
Bean Curd Skin Wrap.
Steamed Beef Balls.
Shrimp and Mushroom Sui Mai.
Beef Rice Noodle with Green Onion.
XLB.
Shrimp Chives Dumpling.
Har Gow.
Pan Fried Chives Pastry. I love these when I see them.
Tofu with Thai Sauce. I love these too, kind of a guilty pleasure.
Shrimp Egg Roll.
Deep Fried Shrimp Ball.
BBQ Pork Bun.
Salty Meat Sticky Rice Wrap. A bit of an unusual look to it, with lots of filling.
Overall, I remember that this was solid but not amazing Dim Sum. Now don’t get me wrong, if you aren’t jaded like I am with SGV Dim Sum, it might be the best you ever had, but in that rarified world, it’s just “doing a good job.” They have a great classic “Palace” setting, they have a full menu of all the usuals and a few less usuals, they have the BBQ meats, they allow you to order off the bigger “dinner” Cantonese menu if you like (not so recommended during the day), and they have awesome service. So, yeah, it checks all the boxes. Specific Dim Sum execution was just good, not amazing. Unfortunately, not only was this the zero’th DimSumQuest visit but I didn’t take the ultra-detailed notes that I did on later visits, so not much (almost no) commentary on which dishes were specifically great.
When the rest of the DimSumQuest crew returned (without me) in Jan 2023 (due to their incessant zeal) they thought “Blooming VIP in Rosemead was solid. Everything was good… but nothing stood out as excellent EXCEPT… the fresh live steamed Norwegian Langoustine/Scampi….so sweet & delicious! But off course, fresh Norwegian Scampi is not really considered DimSum!” — for me the biggest standout was the giant column TV screens, never seen that before.
