16083 Thu Jun 03 16:53:12 -0700 1999 13 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 43233 I'm going to be in San Francisco in July and I would love to have some excellent dim sum while I'm there. I've grown up eating NYC dim sum, and I would love an equal if not better experience. Thu Jun 03 16:53:12 -0700 1999 0 Kate 1 43234 Go to Ton Kiang on Geary (near 22nd Avenue). It is the best dim sum I have ever had, hands down. They have loads of dishes I have never seen anywhere else, and during two hours I spent there, I never saw anything twice. I have been dreaming of Ton Kiang ever since, and have even seriously contemplated a trip to SF just so I can go there again. Anyone know a place that comes close in L.A.? I have been searching with no success. Help! Fri Jun 04 13:17:26 -0700 1999 43233 0 Jane Tunks 2 43235 The two hands-down best places for dim sum in L.A. are Empress Pavilion in Chinatown and Harbor Village in Monterey Park, each of which is a grand, massive, marble-encrusted HK-affiliated banquet palace that moves a thousand people through on weekend mornings. If your idea of dim sum is a little inclusive, the Taiwanese breakfasts at Yung Ho in San Gabriel is swell for soy milk and such, and JZY in San Gabriel, a new branch of a century-old Beijing cafe, has exquisite Beijing-style snacks. Fri Jun 04 20:52:41 -0700 1999 43234 0 jonathan gold 3 43236 Jane: I, too, have been seduced by the outstanding charms of Ton Kiang. I would also recommend Yank Sing for excellent, familiar Hong Kong-style dim sum. Tue Jun 08 18:54:09 -0700 1999 43235 0 Aleece 4 43237 Yank Sing is somewhat more expensive than the other Chinese dim sum places, and not as good. And I think it is fast heading downhill (as with Harbour Village). Ton Kiang is still the best bet. Wed Jun 09 01:12:31 -0700 1999 43236 0 Gary Cheong 3 43248 I know that Jonathan and other L.A. food critics have had lots of good things to say about the dim sum at Harbor Village, but my experience there yesterday was disappointing. The selection was limited. Even standards like lo bak ko were not to be had, much less crisp-skinned suckling pig. Some items were luke warm, and seemed like they had been on the cart a bit too long. Otherwise, quality was good, but no better than the other Monterey Park dim sum palaces like Ocean Star and NBC, which in my recent experiences offered a much wider selection of items that seemed fresher from the kitchen. I'd be interested comments from other ChowHounds on the Los Angeles dim sum scene to see if I just caught Harbor Village on an off day, or if, perhaps, the place is slipping. Tue Jul 06 13:35:43 -0700 1999 43235 0 Tom Armitage 4 43249 Tom, I think there is a problem with Harbour Village. You didn't catch them on an off day. I have not been to this Harbour Village, but was at the one in San Francisco (I believe they are part of the same group) last year. I had a terribly disappointing dim sum lunch there. I think it's time to look elsewhere. Tue Jul 06 20:02:54 -0700 1999 43248 0 Gary Cheong 5 43250 There is a substantial problem at the Harbor Village in Embarcadero Center, and has been for years. The Monterey Park one has always been pretty good, although a mobbed holiday weekend may not have found it at its best. Tue Jul 06 23:32:44 -0700 1999 43249 0 j gold 6 43251 Thanks, Gary and Jonathan. It will be difficult to persuade my wife to return to Harbor Village ("why should we go there when we've had better dim sum elsewhere?"), but I'll try to give it another chance or two. I'm not sure about the "mobbed-holiday- weekend" rationale, Jonathan. My experience at all the major L.A. dim sum palaces on any given Saturday or Sunday is that they are very busy, with a reasonably substantial wait for a table. Even under the usual crowded weekend conditions, I've had some wonderful dim sum food at Empress Pavilion, Ocean Star, and NBC, and, a small notch down, at Regal Seafood in Torrance. The crowd and the wait at Harbor Village last Monday didn't seem out of the ordinary. Wed Jul 07 12:19:59 -0700 1999 43250 0 Tom Armitage 7 43252 Good dim sum houses are always mobbed. But still--there's something about the third day of a three-day weekend that always seems specifically to bring out the worst in dim sum restaurants--perhaps because they always run out of stuff that there's been no time to replenish; perhaps because they're dead on their (chicken) feet. I can't tell you how many Memorial Days or Labor Days I've shown up to ABC or Seaworld and found nothing but fried taro and those weird stewed pig tubes. When I don't get an order of dofu fa, I'm a very cranky fellow. Wed Jul 07 18:50:57 -0700 1999 43251 0 j gold 8 43256 The late response to your post, Jonathan, is due to the fact that I've been in New Mexico, partly to learn more about Anasazi culture, and partly to find the ultimate bowl of New Mexico Green. Anyway, your response is intriguing. I'll try putting it to the test. As you could tell, my response to my last experience at Harbor House (Monterey Park) was definitely "cranky." Sun Jul 11 20:45:36 -0700 1999 43252 0 Tom Armitage 9 43257 A P.S. to my previous post: I did have dofu fa at my last visit to Harbor Village in Monterey Park, and it was excellent. But, alas, not enough to assuage my general crankiness over the meagerness of the rest of the offerings. Thu Jul 15 13:01:24 -0700 1999 43256 0 Tom Armitage 10 43309 Just had a terrific dim sum lunch at Park Hong Kong Restaurant on Geary and 18th, used to be called Hong Kong Flower Garden. Highlights included sweet pork buns (if better sense hadn't restrained me I could have eaten five or six, instead of one and a half); fish cakes, sticky rice, pork-stuffed eggplant, dumplings, and oh so much more... an amazing lobster special passed by the table but we were so overcrowded with dishes at that point we didn't get a chance to try it. Mon Dec 13 01:24:55 -0800 1999 43257 0 Rachel Hope 11 43452 My favorite dim sum parlor is Yank Sing on Battery St. It's huge (2 floors), noisy & jammed but the food is super. They have never run out of anything when I've been there. They have another location on Stevenson St. Another good sign..the place is always filled with Chinese people and very few tourists. Tue Apr 04 22:34:32 -0700 2000 43309 0 Kit