Best for (1) Har Gow and (2) Shoyu Ramen?

[dimsumfan]

Refining my food search from a previous posting.

(1) Looking for dim sum in Chinatown or more likely Monterey Park/SGV. Who's best for har gow (shrimp dumplings)?

(2) Lots of ramen places, but looking specifically for the best shoyu (soy sauce) ramen. Suggestions?

Thanks!

[ipsedixit]

Har gow: Mission 261. Consistently offers the tastiest fillings and the lightest and most delicate wrappers. Sea Harbour has better overall dim sum, but for any of the shrimp-type offerings, go to Mission 261.

Shoyu ramen: Orochon. The other place that is supposed to be very good is Asa, although I have never been.

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Orochon Ramen
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St Ste 303, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Mission 261 Restaurant
261 S Mission Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776

Cafe Ahsah
18202 S Western Ave, Gardena, CA 90248

[SauceSupreme]

Asa's quite good, but ain't nothing wrong with Santouka in my book.

[nakni]

For shoyu? That's the last thing I'd order at Santouka. Asa was VERY good. I didn't think it would be worth the hype going in, but I loved it.

Our resident ramen guru also likes Gardena Ramen across the street from Asa. The broth is great, but I thought the toppings are subpar. Go to Asa, but be prepared to wait unless you get there before it opens. If you don't want to deal with the crowds, then you won't have to worry about it at Gardena.

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Gardena Ramen (CLOSED)
1840 W 182nd St, Torrance, CA 90504

[mstinawu]

Gardena Ramen is very basic. Their ramen noodles and soup broth are EXCELLENT. Their egg is simply a plain hard boiled egg which is a little disappointing, but I'd go there if I was hankering for some good ol' shoyu ramen. I thought the chashu in the noodles was tender and delicious as well. Asa, across the street is also great, but I find their "dark" soup base extremely salty though I simply cannot resist the pork fat bits.

[mrhooks]

By shoyu ramen, do you specifically mean ramen with a clear, light shoyu broth? Santouka's is a shoyu-tonkotsu broth, which is different. IMHO Santouka's shio ramen is better anyway.

Gardena Ramen's one of the only places that serves a really good "classic" clear-broth shoyu ramen. The shoyu broth is excellent, but the toppings could be a bit better. Asa (they call it assari ramen, I believe) beats GR easily on the toppings, but I haven't actually tried their assari ramen, as I always get the kotteri ramen there, which has a shoyu-tonkotsu broth. If they use the same noodles in both of their ramen, that's another point of difference: GR uses the "standard" curly yellow noodles, while Asa's are thinner, straight, and white, more like Hakata ramen noodles.

rameniac is the god of ramen around here. Check his website for info: http://www.rameniac.com/

[dimsumfan]

Yes, looking for specifically shoyu - not tonkotsu or shio. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Anyone else w/opinions on har gow? Between Sea Harbour and Elite, either place better?

[exilekiss]

Hey dimsumfan,

I personally enjoy Sea Harbour's Har Gow (and overall Dim Sum) more than Elite. IMHO, still the best Dim Sum in L.A. :)

[notmartha]

I think they are really similar. But you don't just go to dim sum and get 1 thing only. Overall Elite has more interesting variety, so that's more my preference lately.

[ipsedixit]

Good point about just getting one thing.

But, if you are only going to get one thing (like the har gow), might as well go to Yum Cha Cafe. Turnover there is so high you're guaranteed fresh shrimp and wrappers.

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Yum Cha Cafe
1635 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776

[dimsumfan]

Thanks, folks. Really, it would be foolish to think of going out to dim sum and getting just one thing. I think har gow (and maybe chicken feet) are the best tests of a kitchen's competence for dim sum, and since it happens to be a personal favorite, I've been looking for and appreciating thoughts on who does it best, especially as my decision was coming down to Sea Harbour vs. Elite.

[Chandavkl]

If you want to save yourself the time and expense of a sitdown dim sum meal, the har gow at the CBS Seafood takeout in Chinatown is very good and is something like $1.60 or $1.80 for an order of four.

[Lov2Eat]

I went to CBS Seafood in Chinatown yesterday and although the har gow and shu mi were good all other items were cold and greasy. The service was VERY rude, and management was even worse. I WILL NOT be going back.