99 cent dim sum and then some...

[monku]

Thanks to CH's for this jewel in the SGV.

"Yum Cha Cafe" in the San Gabriel Superstore on the corner of San Gabriel Blvd. and Valley Blvd. in San Gabriel. Look for the Indian casino buses parked on Valley Blvd.
Opens 8:00am. Located inside the southeastern corner of the store.

No carts here...kind of like McDonald's. Looks like mass confusion, but take a number walk up to the counter and point & pick or use the fill-in menu to place your order. They'll ask you if you want to take out (lots of people taking out or taking on the casino bus) or eat in and they'll put it on a tray (plenty of tables).

Most of the dim sum items are 99 cents/order and more variety than you'll see at any dim sum restaurant. Their steamed black bean spare ribs(99 cents) are meatier (with no pieces of taro filler) than any of the high end dim sum places. Granted some of the items may be smaller and may not be up to the standards of the high end dim sum places, but for what it lacks you make up in savings. Sure you're going to eat off of styrofoam plates and use disposable chop sticks. Definitely not the kind of place for a family gathering, but a place to go if you want a good cheap dim sum fix. For less than $10 two people can easily have a dim sum feast.

Tea is 25 cents (jasmine or black)...but I see the "regulars" who order the large bowl's of soup ask for an extra styrofoam bowl and use that to get their tea.

I say "then some" because they have a variety of soups(w/regular noodles or rice noodles) and jooks for $2.99 and the are bowls big enough for two. $3.99 and up and they have plate lunches with rice and BBQ items like chicken, duck, pork or roast pig (I noticed everyday they bring out a whole pig). They've also got a take out section for duck, chicken, BBQ pork and roast pig. Also a counter that probably opens around lunch time that sells Bahn Mi, Asian drinks, deserts and ice cream.

The San Gabriel Superstore main anchor tenant is the grocery store which compares in size and selection to a Ranch 99 and many other boutique stores selling everything from cell phones to perfumes.

[Will Owen]

The grocery part is one of our favorite markets, a bit up the scale from the Hawaii Supermarket west of it (at Del Mar), but with much the same kind of low prices on produce, meats, seafood and frozen stuff. We didn't know about the dim sum at the cafe - do they serve it all day or just in the morning? We usually go there mid-afternoon on weekends, and have just gotten the typical steam-table items for a late lunch or two.

[monku]

To be honest I've never been there past 9am. I didn't see a time on their dim sum menu. I just know they open when the Superstore opens at 8am 7 days a week.

[Chandavkl]

I've seen the dim sum there fairly late in the afternoon. They have stacks of metal trays with dim sum out front.

[ipsedixit]

Best part of Yum Cha Cafe is the brown sugar rice cakes. So damn addictive.

My prior post: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/354555

[liu]

Hi, ipsedixit!
What do these brown sugar rice cakes look like?

Are they gelatinous, rectangular tan cakes? I think this is something I would like and I have probably seen them many times -- without really seeing them! -- but I am not sure I know what to look for.

[monku]

Color is the same tan as the border around your posting. Yes, gelatinous rice cakes. Just ask for the brown sugar rice cake and they'll know what you want.

[ipsedixit]

Yup, gelatinous, a bit sticky, and closer to dark brown than tan in color. Sort of like a tacky Jell-O with air pockets.

See pic below from the web.

[monku]

I had both the white and brown sugar rice cake when I was there once and they weren't as dark as your picture shows. I didn't notice a really brown sugar taste so I'm wondering if maybe they use light brown sugar and not dark brown sugar. Also I saw a lady today buying a big box of the brown rice cakes to go...so they are good.

Ask for "bok tung gao", and you'll get rice cake.

[liu]

Thanks for noting the distinction in color, monku, and also thanks for the proper name: "bok tung gao." This makes it easy!

[cfylong]

Yum Cha's steamed pork rice(pai guk fan) is huge for the price, and their noodle meat soups are popular. Some of their dimsum, especially the hargow, can be a little old, so make sure they haven't been out too long. Otherwise, this place is an incredible value!

[monku]

Maybe the shrimp hargow sits around too long because it isn't really shrimp that's inside, but they use those shrimp balls as filling and those knowledgeable shoppers know that too.

[cfylong]

No, it's probably real shrimp inside. Shrimp balls generally have a preservative that keeps it from smelling foul. I suspect either the shrimp sat a while before being steamed, or it's simply old, because it tasted foul.

[monku]

I've been eating har gow for 50+ years and I know when I see shrimp in a har gow. Unless you've had one of their's don't be the judge--it was made from a shrimp ball.

[cfylong]

It may be more helpful to point out a couple of places that serve real shrimp in their hargow with those that serve shrimp balls in theirs to distinguish the difference. Certainly there are no whole shrimps at Yum Cha, but there are obvious shrimp pieces in there.

[eileen216]

OMG! Thank you so much for the info. I live in the area and never knew a place like that exist. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow morning. Thank you~~~~

[liu]

WOW -- This place was hopping today (Saturday around noon)! What fun!!!! I had been here several times before, but I never noticed this dim sum area...is it rather new-ish?

I did manage to get three shades of "bok tung gao" (sweet rice cake with different sugars) -- three different pieces, all for 99 cents! Delicious! And thanks for this tip!!!!

I also bought some fruited beef jerky (one spicy and one regular) from the huge dried foods area. Although it was about $16/lb., the cashier was extremely generous and tossed several complimentary items to try into my bag with a "I hope you will return soon" good-bye.

Finally, I had the best sugar cane juice at the juice bar that I have ever had! It was very flavorful with a lot of syrupy froth, but not too sweet. The server put the cane through the machine twice, each time at different angles. I pretty much doubt if this made a difference; I think this piece of cane was just superior!

I look forward to my next visit to the San Gabriel Superstore!

[Chandavkl]

Yes, I was there around 1 pm today and it was especially crowded. Yum Cha Cafe is the third eating enterprise that has occupied that space since the San Gabriel Superstore opened in 1998. The first was an unnamed deli, which I recall focused on noodle soup. This was replaced by the next year by Maxim BBQ, which, if I recall, had a smaller selection of items than Yum Cha, though I believe the total counter space was the same. Yum Cha opened up in that spot late last spring and really ramped up the dim sum and other items available.

[liu]

Thanks for all this exact information, Chandavki! I was beginning to get down on myself for not noticing such a feast -- how could I miss! -- but actually, we haven't been in this market for a while, probably since Yum Cha got going!

As you can tell, I had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to next weekend! Oh, I think we just missed you by only a few minutes + one day!

[yclops]

Thanks for that background info. That cleared up some confusion. I recall going there a few years back (must've been Maxim then) and the dumplings, etc, were inedible; one bite and they went into the dumpster. Happy to hear that Yum Cha is a new place; I was starting to suffer cognitive dissonance...reading these positive posts and remembering the bad dim sum.

I'll have to swing by the "Lollipop Store" as my pups call it (I bribe them to be good with Chupa Chups from the candy/snack vendor in front) and check out Yum Cha.

[eileen216]

I went yesterday around 3pm. It was really busy. I got 7 dim sum and the Sparerib on Rice all for $10. I highly recommand (1) House Special Bun, (2) Shrimp Shu Mai, (3) Brown Sugar Rice Cake and (4) Sparerib on Rice. I took some pictures. You can view them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eileen21...

[monku]

Great pix's--you got the essence of the place and guts, I'd feel stupid taking pictures there.
Especially the color of the brown sugar rice cake.
Only thing I disagree with is the shrimp shu mai looks like the shrimp har gow.

[eileen216]

haha you're right. The shrimp shu mai looks EXACTLY like the shrimp har gow, but it's bigger! I still don't know the difference between these two. They tasted exactly the same as well. Or parhaps the worker gave me the wrong thing??

And yes, I did get stared for taking pictures. I did it all for Chowhound! haha....

[monku]

Yeah, they gave you the wrong thing. Shrimp shu mai looks like a pork shu mai but with shrimp filling, which I still contend their's is from a shrimp ball and not real shrimp. When we were kids har gow was called "shrimp bonnets" because they looked like little bonnets.

Again, I give you credit for the photos. I've always got my digital camera with me but sometimes don't have the courage to do a "photo shoot".

[smak34]

Went there yesterday....phew...crowded is right. Place is bizerko! Thanks for the tip though. I dont think there is a place that sells dim sum for the price. Sure, its not the high end, but the turnover is constant, so the food stays pretty fresh in my opinion. BTW, I found the manager there and she told me that that the Har Gow is 100% shrimp. She mentioned the shrimp filling is mixed a tad more on the "pastey" side because its easier to mold by hand. She also said they make so many pans of har gow, that they try to find the fastest way to make them.

Fantastic Pics eileen216....keep up the good work... :o)

[monku]

That's possible. I went there this morning to get an order of har gow looked inside and looked nothing like the ones you get at most dim sum restaurants-where you can see there are pieces of shrimp. I saw them making something from a huge bowl of what looked like a mashed up seafood and they must have been pre-making fish or shrimp balls for soup with it. But to me it's a step away from being a shrimp ball. Maybe that's what the mixture looks like. I'm sure there are short cuts otherwise they couldn't sell it at the prices they do. I still swear by their steamed black bean pork ribs...meaty and plenty for 99 cents.

Asked the owner and hours are 8am-8pm with dim sum all day everyday.

[liu]

Thanks for posting the hours, monku! I wonder if they are ever NOT busy...four or five deep along the entire counter???

[monku]

Weekday mornings are tame. The Sunday I went at 9:30am it was like you described, but after taking a number we didn't wait any longer than 10 minutes to get waited on. The counter people are pretty calm and efficient considering all the pointing and ordering going on. Make sure you take a number if you see any number of people standing around and fill in the menu ahead of time. Bring you own writing implement. The moment people saw I had a pencil everyone was borrowing it.

[liu]

Exactly what you describe I witnessed on Saturday morning just before noon. We had about a 15 or 20 digit wait and it took about half an hour to get through those numbers. Many customers are ordering "tons" to carry out, so sometimes the numbers don't move too quickly. But I enjoyed all the activity and I was sipping the best sugar cane juice I had ever tasted...lots of froth!

[wilafur]

thanks monku! i am so there. its catty-corner to my optometrist!