King Hua is such good dimsum that the Hedonists had to hit it up for a mega brunch extravaganza…
Archive for dimsum – Page 2
Restaurant: Sea Harbor Seafood Restaurant
Location: 3939 Rosemead Blvd. Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 288-3939
Date: June 11, 2014 & January 2, 2015 & May 17, 2021
Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum
Rating: In the top 5 SGV Dim Sum
This is a compilation of both a birthday trip my brother and I made to Sea Harbor Dim Sum, the latest in our crusade to visit all the best Dim Sum joints in the San Gabriel Valley, and a in force 20 person assault on the place later with my hedonist group.
I think Sea Harbor has been around for a long time and is one of the mainstays.
The interior is pretty typical.
On 5/17/21, not long after the lockdowns, they were also serving outside on the patio.
One of these nice color photo menus. The paper “checklist” you order with is only in Chinese, but we just use the numbers. This is made to order dim sum, which is much fresher than the cart style.
The sauce plate (like everything else, on request).
Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Brut Grand Rosé. AG 92. The Brut Rosé Grand Cru is bold, richly textured wine that literally bursts from the glass with impressive concentration. This shows gorgeous inner perfume yet remains a decidedly extroverted, singular wine. The weight of the Pinot comes through in spades. Readers who want to understand why the Grand Cru vineyards of Bouzy are so famous for Pinot and Rosé should start here.
Cucumber with garlic and spicy sauce.
Jellyfish with GongCai. Apparently the green stuff is “tribute vegetable.” I thought it was bits of asparagus or something. Jellyfish was good.
2013 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. 93 points. No real sign of oak although it is fermented in mostly neutral oak with a bit of stainless steal. Wonderfully balanced, I want oysters with my next bottle! Great alternative to so many oaky Cali chards out there.
Chicken feet with Angelica in Meat Broth.
Spareribs in black bean sauce. Hideous, but they taste great.
From my cellar: 2012 Tenute Sella Coste della Sesia Majoli. 90 points. Deep red in the glass. This is a rosé with some weight, quite different from some of the nimble, mineral driven rosés from France. Dominant cherry tones, with a touch of Luden’s cherry drop. Clean finish. Potentially this could stand up to a more medium bodied dish, outside of the typical realm for other rosés. This is an unusual bottle, not often encountered – I’ve never seen Tenute Sella rosé for sale, anywhere.
Har Gow. A top version of the classic.
Siu Mai. Pork and shrimp dumpling. Also classic. These are the “normal” (non jumbo size) and tasted great.
Siu Mai with Truffle. I think the truffle is actually a negative.
196x August E. Anheuser Riesling Spätlese Kreuznacher. 78 points. Fallen in cork. A color light like muddy oily rainwater, but surprisingly still sweet and vaguely drinkable.
Bean curd skin roll with seafood. These always look ugly, and they have a funny texture, but I tend to like them.
Ginger chicken & pork bun. These are stuffed with a meat ball that has a very pronounced ginger flavor. Interesting and quite good.
1979 Morandell Grüner Veltliner Trockenbeerenauslese Ruster. 98 points. Not totally sure of the year, certainly from the 70s, but this amber bit of syrup knocked our socks off. Spectacular nectar.
Fish roe with scallop dumpling. A very elegant seafood dumpling.
Steamed shrimp paste with corn and pea dumpling. The two of us were split on this fellow. I liked them, as they had a dense texture and a nice corn/pea taste. My brother wasn’t a fan.
2002 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. Delicate scents of fresh strawberry, lemon, honey and vanilla. Bright and tingling in the mouth, with the sensation of fresh strawberries right down to their tiny whiskers. Quite refreshing yet adamantly slatey in the finish.
Pork, peanut & celery dumpling. Interesting. A little mild, with steamed peanuts.
Juicy pork bun (XLB). A nice version of this most awesome food.
2011 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. IWC 90. Elegant aromas of cherry, acacia blossom and pine nut. Succulent and creamy on the palate, tinged with nuances of herbs, nuts and vanilla. With fine balance, this spatlese finishes with an underlying sense of slate.
France style baked BBQ pork bun. I have no idea what is “France style” about these, but they had a delightful, light, and crispy outside (slightly sweet) and were filled with a yummy sweet BBQ pork mix flavored with cilantro. Very unusual and very good.
Thai Style Tofu with Chicken Broth. Awesome soft fried tofu with a sweet and tangy sauce.
2009 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Kabinett. IWC 90. Delicate aromas of peach, candied lemon and nut oil. Glossy and quite full-bodied but elegant, this riesling tastes crisp and pure. The clean finish features lime and discreet slate. A textbook kabinett and one of the finest of the vintage.
Beef ball in superior soup. These reconstituted beef balls had a spongey texture that I liked, and a very nice beefy flavor.
Deep fried pork dumpling. Tasty, but as usual for this type, too little filling.
2012 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulees Vieilles Vignes. Burghound 91-93. A strikingly complex nose features notes of Vosne spice, black cherry, plum and sandalwood. There is first-rate intensity and verve to the beautifully well-detailed medium weight flavors that display plenty of minerality and dry extract on the firm and austere finish that delivers marvelous length. This is also an exercise in harmony allied with finesse.
Ginger Chicken & Pork Bun.
Classic steamed pork bun.
Pan grilled spinach pork bun.
Never seen this one before, but it was pleasant.
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce.
2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard. Burghound 92. An attractively layered and fresh ripe red berry fruit and overtly floral nose offers excellent complexity that continues onto the rich but elegantly rendered medium-bodied flavors that possess a seductive texture and perfect balance on the lingering finish. This should age extremely well as everything is in perfect proportion.
Sautéed sichuan runner beans with minced pork. A decent version of this classic. The beans were crunchy and the pork tasty, but it was hard to get on the chopsticks!
Steamed rice noodle with BBQ pork (aka “pork slime”). Almost certainly the best pork slime I’ve had — and I’ve had a lot.
Steamed rice noodle with shrimp.
2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Precious Mountain. Burghound 90. The nose possesses very impressive aromatic complexity with a lovely mix of both red and blue berry fruit notes, spice hints and a gentle touch of wood toast that does not continue onto the supple, round and vibrant flavors that display good mid-palate density on the slightly dry and tangy finish that does not really detract significantly from the overall sense of balance. We’ll see how this turns out but it appears to have the dry extract to round out the finish in time.
Crystal noodle with fresh shrimp. The shrimp were tasty. This dish was fine, although not outstanding. The noodles had this worm-like slippery quality.
Sticky rice wrapped with lotus leaf. An okay (but not spectacular) version of this. The rice additives could have used more flavor.
Sticky rice with preserved meats. Awesome salty and complex flavor.
Fried rice with dry scallop and egg white. A nice salty rice.
2013 Opolo Vineyards Zinfandel Mountain Zinfandel.
Assorted seafood fried crispy noodle. I love this dish, and this version didn’t disappoint. It was probably a 8 to Elite’s 9, but still great.
Deep fried durian puff. Not for everyone, but interesting all the same. Inside, lots of durian with the texture of rotten banana and the flavor of… petrol? Seriously long and complex finish. Weird!
Steamed Preserved Salty Egg Yolk Bun.
A house specialty. Eggy goodness inside. More sweet and sticky than salty. Mostly. Very tasty.
Overall, Sea Harbor was very satisfying, but perhaps a tiny notch below some of the others we have been trying recently like Elite or King Hua. Except for a couple stellar dishes like the pork slime or france style bun are so good, it makes you wonder. Certainly this place is great and you can’t lose.
An update from May of 2021 shows that Sea Harbor, even post pandemic, still has a top notch dim sum kitchen. The interior is in a bit of disarray, and they were out of a few things, but the food quality was still excellent.
They also might have laid on the MSG because I got an outsized dim sum coma that lasted for hours. Granted, dim sum always gives me a head buzz, but this was a little more than usual.
Location: 500 West Main Street Suite A, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 308-3222
Date: April 29, 2014
Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum
Rating: Excellent
My brother and I continue our epic quest to sample all the top San Gabriel Valley dim sum restaurants. I’ve actually been to Lunasia before, for a big Cantonese Banquet, but this is my first trip here for dim sum (which is really their specialty).
Pictures are helpful, even for a dim sum veteran.
Jumbo shrimp har gow. As good a version as I’ve had.
Jumbo pork siu mai. Perhaps more succulent and tender than many.
Spinach shrimp dumplings. I’d swear these also had scallops in them. Interesting (and tasty). A different mealier texture to the skin.
Baked chicken bun. Full of meat and flavor, probably a bit better than at King Hua.
BBQ pork buns. Excellent rendition. Shanghai #1 might have the best of these.
Pork dumplings. This is the sticky fried mochi variety. They are slightly sweeter and have a wonderful texture.
Shrimp rice noodles. Great sauce and a nice version of this dish too.
Crispy Shrimp Roll. These have a lovely light crunchy texture. They came with a mayo! But I thought they went better with the sweet duck sauce.
Shanghai pork dumplings (XLB). The inside of these favorites (and we got 3 tins) were filled with really solid little pork balls. They tasted great, but Elite’s were certainly better (with a lighter thinner skin).
Hong Kong Roasted Duck. Tasty, but a little boney.
Duck sauce for the duck.
Sticky rice wrap. The classic lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice.
Here is the inside. I know it’s not the loveliest, but it was good.
Pan-fried vermicelli Singapore Style. My brother and I got this dish as kids — and it’s still just as good.
Egg yolk buns. Like Chinese Cadbury Eggs!
Sweet yolk inside! Kinda different, and very sweet.
Macao Egg Custard. This version was a little eggy.
Overall, another fabulous dim sum place. It’s hard to say which is best among Shanghai #1, Elite, King Hua, and this, as each has certain dishes they do better. Really just an embarrassment of riches.
For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.
Restaurant: King Hua
Location: 2000 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 282-8833
Date: April 14, May 15, and August 2, 2014
Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum
Rating: Maybe the best yet in town
My brother and I continue our epic quest to find the best dimsum in Southern California. King Hua was one of our top picks so I also brought my Hedonist friends by. This post combines several meals for an epic review of the cuisine. Wines are from the August 2 Hedonist lunch.
The menu (with photos!)
2002 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Millésimé. Burghound 91. A relatively high-toned nose of green apple, baker’s yeast, floral and citrus peel hints precedes the distinctly effervescent, even slightly foamy flavors that possess good depth on the bone dry finish. This is clearly still on its way up as the focused finish is still compact and while this is certainly refreshing and there is enough depth present to make for an interesting drink, it will be better in due course. In sum, there is good development potential and will especially please those who prefer very dry vintage Champagne.
BBQ pork. I like this kind with the sweet soy sauce.
Roast chicken. Moist and succulent.
Jelly fish. Crunchy texture and a bit of a kick. What isn’t to love. Check out the jiggle below.
Chicken salad bun. One might wonder what’s in here exactly:
Chopped up chicken and stuff. Tasted good though. The outside was sweet.
From my cellar: 2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru en Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis. 93 points. I’ve been drinking a lot of this wine. Really fabulous young 1re cru. Lots of acid and strong vanilla notes.
Baked BBQ pork pastry. Pretty much flaky bun stuffed with sweet BBQ pork!
Steamed shrimp and scallop dumpling.
Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf.
Poached mustard green. Good thing Foodie Club co-founder Erick’s wife was there to order a vegetable.
2012 Gilbert Picq Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros. Burghound 90-92. A beautifully well-layered nose features notes of mineral reduction, green fruit and ocean breeze nuances. There is impressive scale to the concentrated and powerful medium weight flavors that are both intense saline and mineral-inflected on the mouth coating and lingering finish. As is usually the case this is less refined than the Vaucoupin but there’s better underlying material.
Shrimp and Pork Dumpling (Shu Mai). Erick’s 4th grade daughter dubbed these “meat popsicle” (she eats them impaled on a chopstick).
Chicken feet in black bean sauce.
Pork dumpling supreme. With a title like that, who could refuse. Both the dumplings and the broth were delicious.
Here is a bowl of it.
Pan Grilled Pork Bun w/ dried scallop.
Mixed filling in here.
2004 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese. IWC 89. Apricot, lemon oil and a hint of flint on the nose. The succulent tropical fruit flavors are nicely balanced and framed by mineral salts. More appealing than complex on the finish, but makes for excellent drinking.
Shrimp dumpling (har gow). Excellent classic.
Steamed dumplings with pork, peanuts, and veggies. Yummy.
Another dumpling, not sure what was inside, but it was good.
Steamed dumplings with chestnut and shrimp. Really awesome, with a nice crunch.
Steamed shrimp and pea tips dumplings.
Lobster and shrimp dumpling. Really tasty.
Pork & Shrimp dumpling in broth. Very tasty, but hard to split.
Interesting seafood and mushroom inside.
2003 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. 90 points. Apricot preserves, gardenia, quince and honey in the nose. On the palate, quince and honey are accented by brown spices. Fat and creamy but buoyant and elegant. Long and refined on the finish, with its high residual sugar admirably buffered.
Steamed pork dumpling (XLB). Add vinegar and happily burn one’s mouth. These are the bomb, although perhaps the ones at elite are a hair better.
Deep fried durian puff. Hmmm.
Steamed Chinese sausage bun. Like Chinese pig in a blanket.
Baked BBQ Pork Bun. Awesome classic.
Shrimp rice noodles. Good version.
Rice Crepes with Steamed Spareribs. This was different than I expected. The meat is pretty hideous, and quite fatty, but boy, did it taste good. Really succulent. The rice crepes rolled this way feel a bit thick, and not as soft and pleasant as the enchilada style.
Deep fried shrimp roll w/ seaweed. Pretty awesome, like a fried shrimp California roll.
1976 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive. 94 points. A testament to what a great vintage 1976 was for the top alsacians. This wine has kept all the fruit flavours but is now no longer sweet, more off dry. Super complex and just perfectly balanced. Really hard to put the glass down as the fantastic nose lures you back. Notes of honey, nuts and exotic fruit.
Deep fried pork dumpling. Delicious almost sweet interior with a chewy outside.
Here you can see the porky inside.
Sticky rice on lotus leaf with shrimp and XO sauce. Pretty awesome actually.
Bean curd with vegetables. Delicious.
Fried tofu. Hot, soft, and tasty.
Deep fried tofu in abalone sauce. I like the sauce. This was a bit heavier, but tasty.
Deep fried dumplings with shrimp. Sort of an amazing shrimp empanada!
1996 Champalou Vouvray Trie de Vendange. 93 points. Rich gold and really nice.
Fish balls in curry sauce. The squid-like things are noodles. The sauce was very strong.
Fried Noodle & Vermicelli with XO sauce. An excellent version of this Singaporean classic.
Fried Spareribs. Really, really amazing. Gross looking, yeah, but tasted oh so good. The fried balls on the left were some kind of fried custard. Bizarre but yummy.
Roast pork belly with jellyfish. Odd combo, but the jellyfish are good and the pork nice and moist.
Mango pudding. Weird thick texture, but very mild and refreshing.
Coconut and almond jelly. I like this stuff, kind of like cookies and cream jello.
Custard egg tart. Yum again.
King hua coconut roll. Like a sweet roll stuffed with coconut custard. Awesome.
I have to say, King Hua was awesome, even by the competitive standards of the SGV. I’ve tried lots of good places, but on average, this might be one of the best so far. There is real variety here, and everything is very fresh. If you like dimsum, don’t fear the drive. What we have in LA proper just can’t compare.
Restaurant: Elite Restaurant [1, 2, 3]
Location: 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-9998
Date: April 8, September 22, October 29, 2014, April 18, 2015, August 22, 2015, February 21, 2022, and many other times
Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum
Rating: 31337
This post is a composite of several trips to Elite (necessary to get a true handle on its greatness). These include two 2015 Hedonist blowout brunches (with wine) and several with my brother (who is also a dimsum fiend).
Elite is clearly one of the top 2-3 dimsum places in the SGV (and hence all of Southern California). Many of our group think it’s the best one. Everything is made to order.
Elite is at the top of many people’s list.
The interior is upscale, but hardly the most modern. There are tanks hidden in the corner and they serve upscale Cantonese banquet in the evening.
Yay pictures!
A controversial thing about Elite is that they charge for sauce. $0.75 for the mustard on the left and $3 for the XO. The restaurant is so cheap, it hardly matters.
Spicy jellyfish. Not bad at all.
Chicken feet in house sauce. Not my thing, but some like it.
Har Gow (Crystal shrimp). Excellent versions of the standard.
Pork Shui-Mai. Also great versions of the classic.
Dumpling. Not sure which dumpling this was, but it had a blend of shrimp and veggies and other yummies all fried together inside.
Scallop Dumpling. This was one of the best scallop dumplings I’ve had. There are all sorts of trefy goodies in there.
Meat and Mushroom dumpling. Another cool shape. Delicious too.
Shark’s fin and red clam dumpling. Hopefully no actual sharkfin (feel bad for those finless sharks). However, this was a delightfully clammy dumpling.
Dumpling. This one had peanuts and some other seafood bits inside.
Fried shrimp dumpling. There is a mild white sauce behind. This dumpling had an interesting coconut flavor to the interior.
Shanghai Style Steamed Bun. We love XLB, and these particular examples were awesome. My brother and I snarfed a tin each on at least 2 trips.
“Free” Sauces. A sweet one on the left (for duck and the like) and the XLB sauce on the right.
Tofu wrap. Mostly vegetables wrapped in bean curd. Hot and soft and delicious.
Shrimp with chow fun roll. Basically one of the chow fun “slimes” cut into a cut roll.
Spinach pancake?
Golden Corn BBQ Pork Rice Noodle. Historically in our family we called these “slime.” This was some excellent slime.
Shrimp Rice Noodle. One of the most classic of the “slimes.” An excellent one too.
Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle. I’ve never had a “slime” like this before. There was a big shrimp in here sort of Chinese tempura fried. Delicious.
Shredded Pork Rice Noodle. Not the best of the set.
Elite BBQ Pork Bun. Like a jelly donut, just filled instead with porky goodness!
The bun interiors.
Baked chicken bun. Delicious slightly sweet crunchy exterior top filled with chopped seasoned chicken meat.
Fried Meat Stuff Dumpling. With a title like that, I had to order. This was the chewy fried rice coating with sweet ground meat paste inside. Kinda delicious except it was fairly hollow (not enough filling).
Baked BBQ pork dumpling. Little flakey. pastry triangles stuffed with the usual red BBQ pork.
Fried shrimp ball with almond. This is the usual shrimp cake but coated in almond. It really added a nice texture. Quite fun.
Beef ball.
Macau style pork belly. What it looks like!
Chicken wings.
House Roasted Duck. The duck does not suck. In fact, it was great. There was that usual authentic Chinese bone factor, but the taste was first rate.
Spare Ribs. The fatty creepy-looking spare ribs.
Beef short rib in pepper sauce. Like a bulgolgi pepper-steak.
Pork “leg” with lotus root and peanuts. “leg” turned out to mean feet. Ick.
Soy sauce chicken. The usual mild and tender chicken.
Chinese Broccoli.
Some other slightly different green.
Buddhas delight.
Spicy mushroom caps. Just mushrooms in brown sauce. Didn’t seem spicy.
Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap. Also excellent. Full of goodies.
The rice interior.
Salty Fish Fried Rice. Not for everyone, but quite delicious to my taste (very umami).
Elite fried rice. A bit of everything.
Seafood Chow Mein. Those crispy little noodles I love soaked in a seafood sauce. Great noodle dish.
Beef chow mein. Excellent, although I liked the seafood a bit better.
Salt and pepper prawns. Eat them shell and all giant prawns. Yum.
The Lobster Noodle was only $16. Unfortunately, it was the weakest dish. The meat itself was okay, but the sauce was bland and the noodles over cooked. We barely ate the noodles (although we did finish the lobster).
Durian bun. One of the best Durian buns I’ve had. With a really creamy mushy (banana texture) interior with that weird but yummy Durian flavor (rotten bananas with pineapple and petrol?)
Macau Egg Tart. Nice custard pies. Just a smidgen inferior to Shanghai #1’s version, but still fabulous.
Milk Buns. Filled with almond creme filling. Scrumptious.
A custard filled bun.
Almond milk pastry. Under that pastry shell is a sweet almond soup.
All in all, Elite really lives up to the name, serving some seriously tasty classic Cantonese Dimsum. They also have a great banquet menu for evenings. Some of the set banquets even go up to $2800 (a table?) and involve all sorts of epic dishes like suckling pig with foie gras!
A large percentage of my fiends who go to dimsum think it’s the best in the SGV. I personally think it’s about tied with King Hua. Certainly Elite, King Hua, and Lunasia are at the top, and there is a tier slightly below including Sea Harbor and maybe Shi Hai.
For more Chinese dining reviews click here.
On our April 18, 2015 brunch we had three tables in a private room and a lot of wine. Since it’s pointless to “pair” it, I’ll just list the bottles.
NV Angéline Godel Champagne.
1998 Deutz Champagne Blanc de Blancs. JG 92+. Tart and crisp. Clean and refreshing but not a lot of subtle aged champagne flavors poking out.
NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Réserve. VM 90. Light, bright gold. Fresh red berries, orange zest and white flowers on the perfumed nose. Juicy and precise, offering energetic redcurrant and blood orange flavors that show good concentration and a supple texture. A mineral nuance adds bite to the finish, with the floral note echoing.
NV Taittinger Champagne La Française Brut. Burghound 88. An overtly yeasty nose speaks of apple and a hint of petrol. There is good verve to the delicious if only moderately complex flavors that are underpinned by a medium level of effervescence on the clean and reasonably dry finish. This is one of those wines that has no faults but no major attributes either.
1996 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch. VM 94. Green-gold. Extraordinarily penetrating, musky, Burgundian aromas are a cross between Chassagne truffle and herbs and Meursault roasted grain and toasted nuts (and the structure is akin to that of a Puligny). Great purity and intensity of fruit in the mouth; sharply focused and restrained today, with near-perfect fruit/acid balance. Finishes with terrific grip and palate-staining persistence.
2013 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia. 87 points. Aromatic nose with barrel notes and lemon. Medium weight textured palate emulates the bouquet, fairly pure fruit leads to a medium plus finish. Very toasty but fruit has some elegance.
2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Compagni Portis. VM 91. Melon, white pears, green pears, mint and jasmine lift out of the glass in the 2012 White Compagni Portis Heritage, which emerges from a site planted in 1954. This crisp, beautifully aromatic white field blend is an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years.
2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Golden Slope. VM 92. Light yellow-gold. Heady, complex scents of poached pear, lemon curd, toasty lees and iodine, with a bright floral quality gaining strength with air. Sappy, penetrating orchard fruit and candied ginger flavors stain the palate, with notes of anise, honey and smoky minerals contributing complexity. Powerful yet lithe chardonnay with superb finishing focus and spicy persistence. I’d bet on this wine as a cellar candidate.
2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. VM 92. The 2012 Chardonnay White Hill is bright, focused and tightly wound. Lemon peel, crushed rocks, pear and smoke jump from the glass as the 2012 shows off its energetic personality. The style is focused and taut, especially with the style of the Sta. Rita Hills. Imagine a Chablis like sense of energy with the depth and radiance of California. If that sounds like an appealing combination, well, it is! the 2012 was done mostly in neutral oak, with some of the wine seeing only stainless steel.
2012 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet. Burghound 89. Here too there is enough reduction to push what appears to be ripe fruit to the background. The pure and well-detailed middle weight flavors possess a highly seductive mouth feel along with lovely balance and excellent persistence for a villages level wine. The class of a fine Puligny is very much in evidence and this is worth your attention.
2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. VM 91-4. Pale straw-yellow. Lemon, chamomile, vanilla, ginger and a faint lactic nuance on the restrained, minerally nose. Pliant and sweet in the mouth, offering good concentration and fat to the vinous lemon, guava and grapefruit flavors. Very minerally on the long finish, showing lingering notes of peach, vanilla and coconut. This should age splendidly and will probably be at its best between 2020 and 2035.
From my cellar: 2010 Domaine de Saint-Just Saumur Chateau Brézé – Clos David. 90 points. A geeky dry Chenin I wanted to try with dimsum. Turned out to work well, bright and floral at the same time. Peach and pear.
1999 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Medium yellow in color. Lovely aromas of sweet summer orchard pit fruit compote, lemon-grass, flint, hint of petrol and honeysuckle. A thick, viscous palate shows good depth to the quite cooked yellow fruits, creamy vanilla poached pears and minerals on a long and sweet finish.
2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. VM 93. Exotic bouquet of passion fruit and mango, lifted by fine floral nuances. The wine’s luscious peach pit flavor and velvety texture are given shape and verve by a finely chiseled minerality. Dense yet airy, this spatlese boasts great refinement and stunning length. One of the stars of the vintage.
2013 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese. VM 91. Brilliant aromas and flavors of apple, cherry blossom and oyster shell enlivened by herbal spices. At once dense and juicy, with finely chiseled acidity refreshing the palate. This delicate, well-balanced Riesling finishes in its own pure and invigorating style. While this is often my favorite Spätlese at this estate, my nod this year goes to the Hermannshöhle.
2006 Louis Guntrum Niersteiner Rehbach Riesling Spätlese. 85 points.
2010 Domaine Joseph Roty Marsannay. Burghound 88. Moderate wood still allows the ripe aromas of black cherry, cassis and a hint of underbrush to show through. There is a lovely vibrancy to the cool and delicious flavors that possess solid depth and length in the context of the appellation. This should drink well early on if desired yet reward mid-term cellaring as well.
1976 Bonneau du Martray Corton. 93 points. Very mature, but with a good bit of fruit and all sorts of secondary and tertiary complexity.
2012 Freestone (Joseph Phelps) Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards. Burghound 89. There is a trace of menthol to the notably ripe aromas of essence of black cherry and plum scents. The medium-bodied and solidly well-concentrated flavors possess a lush and very round mouth feel before terminating in a dusty and generously proportioned finish. The supporting tannins are well-integrated and while there isn’t great depth at present the underlying material is such that more should develop with a few years of bottle age.
2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine. VM 90. Vivid ruby. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of cherry skin, raspberry, licorice and lavender, with a bright mineral topnote. Juicy and incisive, with sappy dark berry and bitter cherry flavors. Supple tannins add grip to the spicy, floral finish.
Supervising the remains. The two of us ate EVERYTHING pictured above!
A sign of of the authentic Chinese kitchen
Shanghai #1 Seafood Village has some of the best, freshest dimsum in SoCal, after 5+ visits I’ve compiled an ever growing catalog of this copious and delicious bounty…
Restaurant: Shanghai #1 Seafood Village [1, 2, 3]
Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 282-1777
Date: August 10, September 3, & November 10 2013 and June 19, 2022 (and more)
Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum
Rating: Very authentic Shanghai style
The San Gabriel Valley is a veritable treasure trove of Asian dining, particularly regional Chinese. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village is the LA branch of a high end Shanghai chain. But today it’s time for dim sum!
The decor is Stark meets Chinatown. Interestingly, as cheesy as it is, it’s fairly authentic.
This time around we have come for dim sum. Yum!
2011 Domaine Collotte Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. This is one of my go-to roses, as it’s all Pinot Noir from Burgundy. A wonderful sunny weather wine, it paired very nicely with the sweet and sour tones of the Chinese. There were a few rose-haters as usual, but this really is a great wine, bright and full of strawberry flavors.
Delicious pickled radish (probably Daikon). Crunchy, sweet, extremely enjoyable complex flavors.
2010 Servo Suo Prosecco. Very nice.
Special pickled fresh cucumber. Crunchy, with a bit of heat.
Old Shanghai stewed duck in Soy Sauce. Sweet and very smokey/ducky.
Old Shanghai baked spareribs. Amazing Chinese-style ribs.
A different kind of pork rib, almost certainly the same cut as the above BBQ, but steamed. Tasty, but not AS tasty as the BBQ version.
Old Shanghai Smoked fish. Nice smokey tea flavor with a bit of sweet.
Chicken feet with Black Bean Sauce. Eeew!
1974 Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour. Parker 88. The wine’s color revealed amber at the edge, a roasted, herbal, sweet, spicy nose, loosely-knit, jammy fruit, and some hot alcohol in the finish. Lots of coffee and tobacco. Actually, although nearly gone, it was kinda delicious.
Peanut Pork & Chicken Celery Dumpling. Nice and fresh.
Beef ball with Orange Peel Sauce. Like a giant Chinese meatball, but almost tartar (on purpose). Very tasty and interesting.
2011 Prager Riesling Wachstum Bodenstein. A lovely dry riesling with a strong mineral component.
Cold chicken in sweet sauce. Not bad, but def tastes like chicken.
Deep Fried Turnip Pastry.
This is a kind of fried mochi stuffed with meat. Interesting chewy texture and a fairly tasty meat.
Baked chicken bun. The pasty has a light fluffy quality.
Here you can see the chicken, which was tasty, but pork probably would have been even better.
A sort of kung pao tofu (tofu and peanuts with a slightly spicy sauce). It was okay, with an unusual firm texture. I’ll still take a genuine Ma Po Tofu any day.
Shanghai rice cakes. These are pan fried rice cake with scallions and sweet soy. Odd soft texture, but delicious.
2001 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese. 93 points. Apple, peach and apricot, zest of citrus, ginger, gunmetal and hint of straw. Very ripe and deep. Sweet, but balanced.
House No. 1 Baked BBQ Pork Bun. Wow! They are right about the House No. 1 bit, as these are the best pork buns I’ve ever had.
Shrimp dumpling with chives. Nice.
Squid with shrimp dumpling.
Broccolini. Very nice and not over cooked at all.
2009 Meyer-Fonné Pinot Gris. 90 points. Unfortunately, this bottle was corked.
Stone Hot Pan Fried Rice with Pork. Stunningly good fried rice.
Classic lotus leaf wrapped steamed sticky rice.
But this one has abalone (fresh from Santa Barbara) in it. As usual with this place, a top example of the type.
Special Taro Cake. This was the unanimous “winner” of the “worst dish” vote. I suspect it’s excellent for what it is, but taro is so bland and pasty.
Har gow (6/19/22). Classic shrimp dumplings.
Spicy shrimp dumplings (6/19/22). Nice bit of mala inside and squid ink dough.
Some other seafood and green dumpling.
And yet another seafood dumpling!
Steamed veggie bun.
Vegetarian dumpling.
Bean curd with sticky rice. The rice is inside. Very mild and pleasant.
Bean curd with vegetables. Very tasty.
Special Soup Dumpling. Quite the dumpling! Full of shrimp and other goodness in a very pleasant broth.
1974 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa.
Steamed Shanghai Juicy Pork bun. Full of juice and oh so yummy!
Pork and shrimp shu mai.
Shrimp and squid. Sort of a Chinese gefilte fish (plus shrimp).
Pan Fried Shanghai Style Bun. Wow again! These are tremendous.
Shanghai Style Pan Friend Noodles. Not my favorite, as they are sweet and a bit too soy-ish.
Simple pan fried noodles. The kid version.
More chicken feet! Double eeew!
Steamed rice noodle with Beef. Yum. The beef was again sort of medium rare — and very tasty.
Steamed rice noodle with Shrimp and snow pea. Good examples of this type.
Steamed rice noodle with tofu and scallop. Interestingly soft. Kind of soft on soft on soft.
Rice crepe with crab. Wrapped around imitation crab. Pretty good though.
Sweet baked bun filled with taro.
Shanghai sweet cake? Another fried rice ball with a bit of some sweet mild fruit in the center. All about the texture, with a pleasant mild flavor.
Macau Style Baked Egg Custard. Triple wow. Best custard buns I’ve yet had, like creme brûlée.
Mango Pudding. Pleasant, mild, sweet mango flavor.
Pineapple buns (6/19/22). Pretty yummy.
Sweet cake. This pound cake is striped with sweet bean paste, which was pretty mild.
Overall, this was another great meal. It’s probably the best dim sum I’ve had in LA, really first rate. Stuff was extremely fresh, cooked to order and not on the carts. Service was good. They did their best to slow down for us (Chinese food is usually a breakneck frenzy). [ NOTE: the above was written in 2013, but by late 2014 I’ve found 2-3 better places (Elite, King Hua, etc), still SH#1 is very good ]
Thoughts in 2022. The dim sum here is solid, but not amazing (there are much better places in the SGV). Dumplings are a bit thick and oversized. But you can also order the Shanghai dishes and it’s a nice room(s), so nothing too wrong with it.
Plus, there is a $15 an hour foot massage place right downstairs (NOTE: closed by 2022).
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Restaurant: Din Tai Fung
Location: 1108 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia,California 91007. (626)574-7068
Date: December 8, 2011 & February 28, 2012
Cuisine: Chinese Dumpling House
Rating: Amazing Taipei spinoff
I love dimsum so much I was willing to drive 45 minutes out into the wilds of Arcadia to try this place. And it was well worth the journey. The “juicy pork dumplings” alone were worth the price of admission.
Classical Arcadia was a place of legendary beauty, filled with bucolic green hills, lazy shepherds, and nubile nymphs. Arcadia Ca features strip malls.
The chefs hard at work in their little glass tank.
Din Tai Fung is so popular we had to wait 30 minutes on a random thursday at 1pm. But they are nothing if not organized. The staff all wear secret service ear pieces and our order was taken before we even sat.
The huge menu. And it has pictures!
Some stuff appears to be take out friendly.
The setup of chopsticks, tea cup, and ginger.
Marinated cucumber in a sort of garlic ponzu type sauce. Nice and crunchy, but I was saving room.
“Hot and Sour Soup (pork).” A well implemented version of the classic.
“Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar dressing.” Interesting “salad”.
Chicken and veggie bits over noodles. Looks bland enough but it tasted great.
“Juicy pork dumplings.” These are sometimes called Shanghai style “soup” dumplings. I’ve had lots of them but these were easily the best ever. These succulent little mouthfuls were superbly balanced.
“Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce.” This was absolutely delicious. The dumpling could have been almost anything as the sauce made it more about texture than flavor, but they would have been good plain too.
This sticky log of rice contained bonus roast pork. Yum yum. You’ll notice the DTF food is heavy on both the carbs AND the pork.
“Noodle with mince pork sauce.” This was yummy too, although I have had better of this dish — in Xian China.
“Noode with spicy sauce.” This was actually tastier than the pork ones as the sauce had this nice spicy vinegar tang.
“Braised beef soup.” You can’t see them, but the soup is filled with more of the spaghetti-like noodles. The beef tasted like short rib.
“Vegetarian dumplings.” These were some of the better veggie dumplings I’ve had. Still, they don’t hold a candle to the meaty ones.
“Shrimp Fried Noodle.”
“Pork and Shrimp Shu-mai.” Not only did these look great, but they tasted fantastic. These were my second favorite after the straight pork ones.
“Shanghai rice cake with chicken.” This tasted fine (like soy sauce, in a good way). The rice cake has a weird chewy texture, not unlike jellyfish. It was actually kind of fun.
“Pork buns.”
Unlike the typical BBQ pork buns, these just had the slightly spiced (buy yummy) pork balls inside, not the sweet red BBQ pork. Still good.
“Juicy Pork & Crab dumplings.” Like the pork ones, but with a slightly weird crab aftertaste. We all preferred the plain pork ones, but I still happily kicked back about 5 of these.
“Sautéed mustard cabbage with garlic.” Fine for what it was. Boring!
“Sauteed Bok Choy with Garlic.” You’d swear it was the same as the mustard greens, and you’d be wrong!
“Pork Chop Fried Rice.” Pretty much exactly what you’d expect.
Yum yum, drown that baby!
“Fish dumplings.” I haven’t had a lot of fish dumplings, but these were superb! Almost as good as the pork. Well not quite, but they were really good.
Now the dessert buns. First the “black sesame.”
This were really good, with a sweet nutty taste. The bun itself is identical to the pork bun.
Then two other experimental types: “sweet taro” and “red bean.” All were pleasant, but the taro was like a bun stuffed with whipped sweet mash potato and the red bean — well like red bean.
Some kind of specialty “sweet rice” with bits of fruit and red bean paste.
I actually enjoyed this dessert. It’s sickly sweet with a peculiar Chinese flavor and very sticky.
Overall, Din Tai Fun was awesome. I’m so hungry just writing up this post and I want to go back right away. I don’t want to drive the better part of an hour just this second, but I want the “juicy pork dumplings.” It’s also a good deal. Four of us completely polished off the above. And yeah we pigged out. And it cost like $65!
