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.
