Grand Harbor :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Grand Harbor

Dirty Dozen semi Grand

Feb21

Location: 5733 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 280-2998

Date: July 24, 2022

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Solid Cantonese

It has become traditional for the Dirty Dozen (our blind tasting group within a group) to do white wine lunches over dim sum — but this time we mixed it up slightly and combined with Sunday night dinner into a Cantonese banquet Dirty Dozen White dinner. I think this was originally white Burgundy themed, then opened up to Rose Champagne for this event.

Grand Harbor is a relatively new Hong Kong place in Temple City from Jackie Zhou, having opened in 2012. It is part of the NBC Seafood Restaurant group, which has several other locations throughout the Los Angeles area.

The restaurant was designed to provide an elegant and upscale dining experience, with a focus on fresh seafood and high-quality ingredients. The owners of the restaurant were inspired by the traditional seafood restaurants of Hong Kong and wanted to bring a similar experience to the United States.

Since its opening, Grand Harbor has become a popular destination for diners seeking delicious seafood dishes and a luxurious dining experience. The restaurant has received numerous accolades and positive reviews from food critics and diners alike, and has become a go-to spot for special occasions and celebrations.

The dining room is huge and opulent in that chintzy Chinese way. I would have thought from all the overzealous cove lighting that the space was built out in the 80s, but apparently it’s only a year or two old!

Real marble blends non-so-seemlessly with faux-alabaster. They have wine too like many of the new high end places. Mostly big young red wine like Bordeaux which totally fails to pair with Cantonese Chinese, but it’s the thought that counts.

We had a private room — pretty much a necessity given the crowded main room.

Peanuts.

Smashed cucumbers. Slightly spicy sweet sauce. Not sure what the deal with dumping this kind of spring roll sauce on top of the cucumbers is.

We had the champagnes in flights but I’m too lazy to do anything more than present the photos of them in the order they were served.

And thus ends the champs.
Cold appetizers. Jellyfish, roast pork, pork belly, roast duck. Roast pork and duck were good.

Sauces for the cold apps. The hoison like one and sweet duck sauce.

Walnut shrimp. Lightly fried, very mayo, a bit sweet, and quite delicious.

“Peking Duck.” Skin is a bit soft and mushy and there are buns, but still tasty. This is “pseudo peking duck” like most of the Cantonese restaurants server. For more legit versions, check out my Peking Duck Guide.
Condiments.

Scallops in XO sauce. Very nice, not super strong.

Lobster steamed with garlic. Nice light prep.

Duck meat as lettuce cups. Good texture.

Pork belly with preserved vegetables. Mild and very fatty but very good. Mild is a theme tonight.

Fried pork chops. Very fried but not super salty.

French style beef with mushrooms. Super tender but why, why do we keep ordering this dish?

Bok Choy. Lightly flavored.

Everything fried rice.

Plated.

Truffle chicken. Chicken itself was very tender but the truffle was canned truffle with rancid truffle oil. I could only handle one bite.

Pan fried noodles with beef and egg whites. Topping was pretty good but noodles had a slightly odd flavor. Overall pretty mild (aka under seasoned).

Double Mint Oreo — Base made with Fresh Spring Mint infused milk and then laced with Crushed Mint Oreo Thins and Chopped Valrhona 70% Chocolate! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — lovely strong mint flavor and color is all natural — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #mint #valrhona #chocolate #oreo

My gelato is DOTN (dessert of the night) by about 5 orders of magnitude.

Light honey and plain sponge cakes.

Sweet soup with sesame mochi. Sweet egg drop anyone?

The gang.

The results.

By July of 2022, Grand Harbor had come most of the way back since it’s immediate post pandemic low, but it’s still not quite as good as it was before 2020. The dishes look good, but there was a slight but consistent under seasoning that made a little one dimensional — except for the truffle chicken which was disgusting. Say no to truffle oil! Still, one could always bring some a shaker of “flavor” (MSG) and Grand Harbor a very solid Cantonese with top notch rooms and service. From those who have visited more recently I’ve heard they have rebounded even further.

And I do like Rose Champ with Chinese food.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: blind tasting, BYOG, Cantonese Chinese, Champagne, Dirty Dozen, Gelato, Grand Harbor, hedonists, SGV, Wine

Grand Harbor, but less grand

Nov19

See the full write up here

Lobster w/ Ginger and Scallion and noodles — noodles were fabulous

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Grand Harbor

Dirty Dozen Grand

Dec07

Restaurant: Grand Harbor [1, 2, 3]

Location: 5733 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 280-2998

Date: October 14, 2018 and June 27, 2021

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very good Cantonese

Grand Harbor is a relatively new Hong Kong place in Temple City from Jackie Zhou.

We had a private room — pretty much a necessity given the crowded main room.

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero. BH 90. The color is paler than that of the regular brut rosé. A pretty and slightly more elegant nose features a similar aromatic profile but with more evident yeast character. There is fine intensity to the delicious and vibrant flavors that are supported by a firm and definitely finer mousse, all wrapped in a bone dry and youthfully austere finish where a hint of bitter cherry pit appears. This won’t be for everyone as the dryness is pronounced; I happen to like it but it would be fair to say that this is not a charmer. With that said, a few years of bottle age should serve to round off the austerity and add a bit of depth as well.

Crispy taro chips. Like crunchy French Fries.

Marinated cucumbers. Very good, nice crunch and a bit of heat. These were so good we ordered them again.

Peanuts.

2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. VM 95+. Pale yellow-green color. Manages to be both explosive and reduced on the nose, offering strong notes of lime peel, seashell, spices, mint oil, white flowers and smoky, flinty minerality. Extremely backward on the palate, showing hints of smoked ham and dusty stone. Less silky and tactile today than the C o te Bouguerots but this will ultimately be the more complex wine. The extraordinary palate-saturating finish is like chewing on rocks today.

2004 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. BH 95. Stylistically, this closely resembles the Valmur with its ultra elegant and pure aromas featuring white flowers, oyster shell and subtle spice notes that perfectly complement the round, powerful, rich and full-bodied flavors that coating the mouth and culminate in a saliva-inducing, incredibly intense finish that reminded me more than a little of a great Corton-Charlemagne. This just oozes minerality and the texture is minerally to the point of this resembling a block of stone. A great Les Clos.

Suckling pig. Really nice one with crunchy skin and great piggy flavor.

Sandi, Stefano, and the manager.

Cantonese style peking duck (with the buns). We’ve had a rash lately of these Cantonese ducks. Good, although not as crispy and delightful as the real Beijing style.

Scallions and hoisin for the duck.

2014 Marc Colin et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne. BH 92. Discreet touches of reduction and wood still allow the ultra-fresh pear, white peach and lilac-inflected aromas to shine. There is both good volume and richness to the solidly well-concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess a textured mouth feel before terminating in an energetic, balanced and mouth coating finish that exhibits a bit of youthful austerity. This chiseled and citrusy effort is definitely in need of at least a few years of bottle age first as it’s presently quite tight.

2002 Jean Boillot & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère. VM 94+. Lemon, lime, spring flowers, nut oil and minerals on the vibrant nose. Dense and sweet, with penetrating flavors of peach, spice and minerals lifted by a captivating floral character. Broad, classy and extremely long on the back end. Already showing terrific personality, but this will be even better for five to seven years of cellaring.

Roast pigeon.

Duck, second way, chopped up with veggies.

With the lettuce cups.

And nestled inside one. Way better than PF Changs!

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières. VM 97. The 2011 Meursault Genevrieres is emotionally moving. Deep, layered and explosive, the Genevrieres bursts from the glass with an utterly beguiling combination of fruit, minerality and structure. Layers of rich, vivid fruit flow to an effortless, kaleidoscopic finish of exceptional grace. Pierre-Yves Colin makes a number of fabulous wines, but none goes straight to the heart like the Genevrieres does. The 2011 is another spectacular version. Readers who can find the 2011 should absolutely not hesitate.

From my cellar: 2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir. VM 92. A statuesque Burgundy, the 2011 Meursault Les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir is all class. Nothing in particular stands out, so impeccable is the wine’s balance. The depth and intensity of the fruit is apparent, but readers will have to give the 2011 at least another year or two before the elements start to truly come together. The 2011 is impressive for its depth and stuffing.

agavin: a bit corked. sigh. Second time I’ve tried to use Roulot to just power through to the win and had a corked bottle. sigh.

Salt and pepper shrimp. Eat the shells!

Garlic lobster.

2014 Kongsgaard Chardonnay. VM 94. Kongsgaard’s 2014 Chardonnay is a crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures. Expansive, rich and super-expressive, the 2014 is surprisingly accessible at such a young age. I am not sure how well the 2014 will age, but it is exceptionally beautiful and inviting today. Slate, candied lemon, vanillin and a hint of reduction infuse the striking finish. This is a terrific vintage for the Napa Valley Chardonnay.

agavin: Grr. fake chard!

2015 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Chardonnay Generations.

agavin: two of them in fact!

Chicken Knees — yeah little cartilage bombs. Really yummy.

Ultimately fried fish. All crispy and delicious.

Greens. Colon sweeper.

2008 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers. VM 91. Good bright medium red. Enticing, very pure aromas of cherry, raspberry and flowers. Quite juicy and precise; not a fleshy wine but intensely fruity, taut and pure. Impressively long, rising finish. Gregory Gouges told me he finds most of the family’s 2008s to be agreeable now and probably best drunk early for their youthful fruit. He’s not convinced that the wines have enough dry extract for extended aging.

2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 93. Vivid ruby. Spicy, finely etched red berry and cherry aromas are complicated by fresh lavender, herbs and minerals. The palate offers tangy raspberry and cherry skin flavors, with gentle tannins adding shape. Impressively pure, even delicate, with outstanding finishing clarity and length. This beguiles rather than brutalizes; I underestimated it last year.

Fried sweet and sour pork chops. All sticky and chewy and delicious.

Shrimp fried rice. Bits of pork in there too.

Compressed noodles with beef — looks like barf but tasted great! Really interesting chewy texture to the noodles too.

Sweet mysterious Chinese dessert soup.

Sweet buns. From the dim sum collection and pretty good.

Pecan Pie Gelato – Tahitian Vanilla Bean Base with Mom’s recipe Pecan Pie Filling layered in — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato.

In the bowl.

My lousy notes.

Overall, Grand Harbor had really nice Cantonese banquet — color me impressed. Lots of fabulous dishes.

Service here was amazing too. This time we had the private room and they really took care of us. They kept trying to bring us more stuff, all of which was delicious.

Very fun night as always.

June 27, 2021, right after the lockdowns

So we came back to Grand Harbor again in June of 2021 and they were still — as many places are — in a weird transitional state after the disruptions of 2020 and 2021.

They have this much reduced menu which we had to order from, and even to get the live seafood we had to call way ahead.

Pork belly and Jellyfish — Jellyfish was spicy, pork salty but good.

Here’s our reserved live seafood, squirming in the bucket.

Live Crab Typhoon Style.

Lobster w/ Ginger and Scallion and noodles — noodles were fabulous.

“Flounder” Sichuan Hot Pot style — not really spicy, maybe not our flounder. Really wouldn’t matter what kind of fish you spiced up this way.

Roast Quails — good.

Scallops with Snow Peas — great texture.

Cantonese Roast Duck.

Walnut Shrimp — Delicious.

Stir Fried Beef with Egg and Tomato.

Salt and Spicy Pork Chop.

Yangchow Fried Rice.

Bok Choy with Garlic.

Buko Pandan Gelato — Infused the milk with fresh Pandan Leaves and then crafted it into a dairy coconut base as my take on the Filipino favorite. Unusual and soothing. — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #buko #pandan #coconut

Thai Red Curry Sorbetto — I made a version of this in 2017 and it was a dismal failure, but haunted me since and so this one is redemptive. Made a (no salt) red curry paste from scratch (chilies, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, Asian shallots etc) and then cooked it into a pure Thai Coconut Milk base. Sweet and Spicy! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto#Thai #red #curry #spicy

Honey and Almond Sponge Cake.

Today’s meal was not Grand Harbor at its best. Although execution on the dishes they did have was pretty good, and service was excellent, the limited menu and near empty dining room was a touch sad. Still and great kitchen and hopefully they bounce back quickly.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese, Cantonese cuisine, Dirty Dozen, Gelato, Grand Harbor, GYOG, SGV, White Burgundy

Fake Chard at Grand Harbor

Jun25

Restaurant: Grand Harbor [1, 2]

Location: 5733 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 280-2998

Date: May 20, 2018

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Solid B+ dim sum and Cantonese treats

It has become traditional for the Dirty Dozen (our blind tasting group within a group) to do white wine lunches over dim sum — which is by far my preference given some alternatives because despite the timing problems with wine tasting and Chinese Food, I just always love good Chinese food. And so one year exact to the day after our last visit to Grand Harbor we return.

The wine theme today was New World Whites — ick.

Grand Harbor is a relatively new Hong Kong place in Temple City from Jackie Zhou.

XO sauce on the table to start, which is a nice touch.

This time we had a private room — much better. Today was a small crew too, only 7 of us, probably because of the lame New World White theme.

From my cellar: NV Ruinart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 92. Light yellow-gold. Smoky citrus and orchard fruits on the deeply perfumed, mineral-tinged nose. Offers broad, toasty orange and pear skin flavors with an undercurrent of dusty minerals. Picks up floral and ginger nuances with air, along with hints of iodine and tarragon. Rich yet lively blanc de blancs with powerful back-end lift and finishing grip.

agavin: my favorite wine of the day. lol. and it wasn’t even part of the official set.

Marinated cucumbers. Very good, nice crunch and a bit of heat. These were so good we ordered them again.

From my cellar: 2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault. JG 90. All of the vineyard plots for this new villages bottling hail from the former Domaine Emmanuel, with the lion’s share having been the old Clos de la Baronne bottling. This is a very deep and classy AC bottling and a welcome new addition to the Roulot lineup, wafting from the glass in a blend of apple, tangerine, nutskin, a very pretty base of soil and just a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite classic, with a very pretty blend of soil and pure fruit, nice framing acids and very fine length and grip on the open and classy finish. This is not a particularly minerally example of Meursault, but it has all the charm and early generosity one would like to see in a villages bottling, and this will delight right from the start, but I would be inclined to give it at least a year of bottle age to allow its secondary layers of complexity to emerge.

agavin: Jen allowed me to slip in a ringer because I hate new world whites (and barely have any) and because I had the theory that even a village Roulot would blow them away. Unfortunately, the bottle was mildly corked and therefore very short on fruit. Even so it came in #4 (middle of the pack) despite being corked. Sigh.

Brian brought: 2013 Aubert Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard. VM 95+. The 2013 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard is one of the most tightly wound wines in this range. White pepper, crushed rocks, smoke, mint and lemon peel gradually open up, but only with great reluctance. Today, it is the wine’s energy and tension that stand out above all else. A vivid, mineral-drenched finish rounds things out in style.

agavin: the winning wine (Brian again taking the title). Today turned out to be an Aubert tasting.

Scallop & shrimp dumplings with dried roe. Nice dumpling with a bit of a different vibe.

Har gow. Crystal shrimp dumplings. Nice.

Chui Chow style dumplings.

Shu Mai. Shrimp and pork dumplings. Nice version of the classic.

Shanghai style XLB. solid little bags of goodness. These are the classic soup dumplings stuffed with pork and hot broth.

Yarom with the manager.

Larry brought: 2013 Aubert Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard. VM 96. The 2013 Chardonnay CIX Vineyard is another reticent wine, but there is plenty of depth, volume and raciness. With time in the glass, deeper, soil-inflected notes, graphite, chamomile and honey open up, adding considerable complexity and nuance. Bright, saline notes punctuate the finish. The CIX starts off slow, but then really accelerates with air.

agavin: ranked #2

Yarom brought: 2013 Aubert Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons. VM 95. The 2013 Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons is gorgeous. Lemon curd, white flowers, white pepper and mint lift from the glass. Effortless, gracious and lifted in the glass, the 2013 impresses for its brightness and tension, but there is plenty of the trademark Aubert richness in the glass. The Hyde finishes with notable energy and subtlety.

agavin: ranked #5-6, oddly cloudy (storage in Yarom’s guest room?)

Jen slipped in: 2016 Kirkland Signature Chardonnay Signature Series Russian River Valley. Tasted like oak.

agavin: fortunately came in dead last, keeping the balance in the universe.

Crispy fried chicken cartilage. Always a favorite and really tasty.

Beef rolls. Good versions of this dish (which isn’t generally a favorite of mine). Not as heavy as some.

Pork inside a chewy fried skin. Excellent version with a good amount of meat and not too greasy.

Tofu in tangy sauce. Nice soft fried tofu with a delicious tangy, hot, sweet sauce.

Lightly fried dumping. Can’t remember the filling but they were good.

Golden batter pork buns. Spectacular with the sweet pork inside.

Shrimp rice noodle. Known in my household as “shrimp slime.”

Green onion rice noodle. I think, I can’t remember what was inside for sure.

2016 Ovid Experiment W3.6. 92 points. Light yellow. Fresh and vibrant nose. Multiple grapes, changes every year. Rhone varietals, and nicely put together. Interesting . As it warmed up the Roussanne seemed to be the emphasis.

agavin: I liked this slightly floral white.

Ron brought: 2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin’ E. VM 94. a blend of 50% roussanne, 31% viognier and 19% chardonnay; 14. 9% alcohol. Pale-medium gold. Roasted, oaky aromas of peaty Islay scotch and smoke, with a strong mineral component. In the mouth, this offers a fascinating combination of a firm pear skin edge and lively acids on the one hand and superripe flavors of pineapple, peach nectar and honeysuckle on the other. The flavors suggest thickness but the wine’s phenolic edge keeps it brisk. Finishes very subtle, pliant and long, with excellent lift. A captivating, suave California white wine. I’d be more enthusiastic about Northern Rhone whites if they had the fruit of this one.

agavin: I don’t normally like white Rhones but I liked these two much better than the fake Chards

One of the managers really pushed these roast pigeons on us. I was skeptical, as I came for dim sum, but these were excellent birds. Juicy, with a lot of flavor and a nice crispy skin. We had two halves each and were VERY full.

Pork chops causeway style. Never had pork chops in this style, with the crispy garlic and some chilies, but it really worked.

Crispy pan fried noodles with egg and beef and cilantro. Really good, you could cut it almost like a pancake.

Pea tendrils with garlic. Excellent green.

House special fried rice. With the Chinese sausage. Yum.

“Pineapple” buns. Basically a custard inside.

I also brought a pair of Sweet Milk Gelati (that I made). Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate Gelato with optional house-made chili caramel (not shown).

and Pure Sicilian Sweet Almond Gelato with Scorza di Limone (candied lemon peel).

My bad notes.

The score card.

The lineup.

Overall, Grand Harbor had very solid dim sum, at the level just below Elite where a lot of good but not perfect places stand. I’d certainly happy to chow down on it again. They did seem to use a lot of MSG because I was HAMMERED by it about 45 minutes later. Non dim sum dishes were excellent and they have a VAST menu of them. Worth coming for an evening banquet.

This second meal we didn’t have nearly as many people and so didn’t get to try as many dishes unfortunately. What we had was very good but the previous time was epic.

Service here was fabulous. This time we had the private room and they really took care of us. They kept trying to bring us more stuff, all of which was delicious.

The smaller group was a lot of fun. More relaxed, less craziness, and it was a very enjoyable lunch. I wasn’t a big fan of the wines. Shame my Roulot was corked — as I preferred the Ruinart Champagne to all the official whites!

Overall, a super fun afternoon!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brunch, BYOG, Chardonnay, Dim sum, dimsum, Dirty Dozen, Grand Harbor, hedonists, SGV, Wine. gelato

Grand times at Grand Harbor

Jun21

Restaurant: Grand Harbor

Location: 5733 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 280-2998

Date: May 20, 2017

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Solid B+ dim sum and Cantonese treats

Grand Harbor is a relatively new Hong Kong place in Temple City from Jackie Zhou.

XO sauce on the table to start, which is a nice touch.

2007 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Le Mesnil. 91 points. Good, low nose, crisp and good structure, some yeastiness, med+ length. Good, not great.

The theme today was White Burgundy served blind in flights, but this Champagne was a started (not blind).

Cold Appetizers

Seaweed salad.

Chicken feet. How do feetless chicken cross the road?

Wood ear fungus. Pretty nice.

Peanuts.

Starch sticks. Probably taro. Needed salt as they had next to no flavor.

Marinated cucumbers. Very good, nice crunch and a bit of heat.

Macau style pork belly. Great stuff. Nice balance of fat and flavor.

Flight 1:

2014 Kirkland Signature Chablis 1er Cru. 91 points. shiny pale green hints; chalky, rocky, clean, lemony, high acid, good classic chablis character; stainless steel feel to it. Very good and opened up nicely! Killer deal if you can find it.

This was a ringer that Albert sent in with someone else. It did surprisingly well (finishing 2nd or third).

NOTE: tasting notes are mostly by Peter (one of our gang).

2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. BH 93. A gentle touch of wood highlights airy yet slightly riper high-toned and admirably pure aromas of white flower, pear and quinine that gives way to supple, sweet, mouth coating and impressively concentrated flavors that exude a marvelous intensity on the long, powerful and driving finish supported by a solid acid spine. Definitely worth a look if you can find it but unlike most ’06s, be prepared to have at least some patience as this is unusually firm for the vintage.

Shu Mai. Shrimp and pork dumplings. Nice version of the classic.

Shanghai style XLB. solid little bags of goodness. These are the classic soup dumplings stuffed with pork and hot broth. The garnish reminded me of gefilte fish.

Scallop dumplings.

Har gow. Crystal shrimp dumplings. Nice.

Pork rice noodle. Known in my household as “pork slime.” I usually love this dish but this particular version was heavy and short on flavor.

Flight 2:

2014 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. Peter 90. This had bright crisp minerality with good concentration on the palate, but a very soft entry. Decent, but kind of straight forward at this point. I suspect very closed, young, and needs a year or 2 to express itself a little more.

2007 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. Peter 94. Golden color; rich, powerful nose, golden apple, bags of rocky minerals, some delightful reduction going on, super long, this has it all. My WOTN and #1 wine overall. Killer.

2006 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. 91 points. Medium yellow. As was the case a few years ago, this had a lot of sulfur to accompany ripe yellow fruit and just a bit of seashell. Lush texture but inadequate acidity and shortened by the sulfur. Hardly recognizable as Chablis at this point, and a totally disjointed wine that is going nowhere. A major disappointment as I had hoped that somehow this would be spared from the flabbiness of the vintage, but there is no escaping it, even if you tried to mitigate that characteristic with excessive manipulation.

Roast pork bun. Nice rendition of the classic baked sugary bun. Very soft breading.

Sticky rice with seafood. I had hoped for more depth of flavor as the white sauce soaked into the rice.

Fried “crab salad” roll. These have a crab and creamcheese? filling and a nice crunchy exterior. They were delicious, I ate about 8.

Tofu in tangy sauce. Nice soft fried tofu with a delicious tangy, hot, sweet sauce.

Flight 3:

2014 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. BH 93-95. This is presently sufficiently reduced that it is impossible to fairly assess. The rich, powerful and beautifully delineated big-bodied flavors exhibit almost painful intensity as there is a plenitude of mouth coating extract that buffers the very firm acid spine that allows all of this size and weight to remain exquisitely well-balanced on the chiseled and moderately austere finish. This is not quite as complex or persistent as the Montrachet but it’s not far off and note well that this too is going to require extended cellaring.

2012 Louis Latour Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Peter 90. Kind of a disappointment, this was golden color (a bit too much gold for a 4.5 year old), had red apple, a bit loose knit but still quite powerful, medium acid, long, with what seemed like slightly elevated alcohol. Slightly disjointed. Still a good wine, but I expect a lot more from this.

2012 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Peter 91. This initially had a hint of caramel, apple skin, a little earthy, seemed just a little older than it was; tasted 1 hour later and it really showed nicely, with some of the funk blowing off–more red apple, floral, good concentration and with long finish.

2014 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet. Peter 93. Precise, with a touch of pineapple, pear, green and yellow apple, a hint of reduction, rocky chalky minerality, tight with plenty of zip, super long tangy finish. Killer. Girardin is making great some wines these days.

One of the managers really pushed these roast pigeons on us. I was skeptical, as I came for dim sum, but these were excellent birds. Juicy, with a lot of flavor and a nice crispy skin.

Fried fish. He pushed this too. It looks awful but it was actually delicious.

Dumplings with dried roe. Good stuff continues. All these regular steamed dumplings were quite good.

Pastry with BBQ pork. Good too. Can’t beat buttery pastry with sweet BBQ pork in it!

Flight 4:

Marcassin Chardonnay. Fake chard!

From my cellar: 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Peter 92+. gold amber color; this was somewhat earthy with a slight nuttiness, showing the most age of the group (more than the ’02 Marcassin) which gave it complexity; good lift, quite long.

2004 Jean Noel Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet. Flawed. Our bottle was corked.

Bean curd with vegetables and pork. Yummy.

Seafood with crispy chow mein. I love this Southern Chinese dish. This was an okay version but not nearly as good as some (like Elite).

House special fried rice. With the Chinese sausage. Yum.

“Shark fin” (I hope not) dumpling or similar. Delicious. These were really good.

Floral jelly. Yeah, had to try it based on that name. Had the nice jelly texture. Tasted like… chrysanthemum tea or something!

Mango pudding. Okay, not as intense as I like.

Milk bun. Sweet and milk. Very nice though.

Macau egg custard. Solid if not exceptional.

Walnut bun. Very nice. Nutty. A touch dry.

The line up. Wines weren’t the most impressive, but were enjoyable.

My bad notes.

Yarom and the manager.

Overall, Grand Harbor had very solid dim sum, at the level just below Elite where a lot of good but not perfect places stand. I’d certainly happy chow down on it again. They did seem to use a lot of MSG because I was HAMMERED by it about 45 minutes later. Non dim sum dishes were excellent and they have a VAST menu of them. Worth coming for an evening banquet.

Service here was fabulous. We should have requested a private room as we really needed it, but we didn’t. Still, they really took care of us. They kept trying to bring us more stuff, which is how it should be in good “Chinese” service. We controlled the flights by filling out 4 different dim sum cards and handing them in one at a time. Worked well.

Wines showed decently. Most bottles were in good shape. Amusing that the Kirkland did so well blind. This group has only 1-2 other Burgundy collectors and so people have to buy and there are a lot of bottle short cuts: too young, lame producers like Latour, Chablis (which is nice but cheap). No pile of good vintage Ramonet here. Still, dim sum makes everything great.

Overall, a super fun afternoon!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!