Happy Valley's dim sum - Oakland

[Robert Lauriston]

I happened by this place the other day and thought I'd have lunch, but they had just stopped serving dim sum. Anybody tried it?

They have a checklist a la Hong Kong East Ocean in Emeryville. Prices $1.80 small / $2 medium / $2.25 large / $2.60 special / $3.80 (more) special. Around 65 items total including some stuff I've never seen before such as "Malaya Paste" and "Japanese Eel w/Teriyaki Sauce."

The checklist says both 9am-2:30pm and 7 days a week 10am-2:30pm. They serve dinner as well.

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Happy Valley Restaurant
400 E 12th St, Oakland, CA

[shanghaikid]

tried happy valley's dim sum finally and it ranks very close to the bottom of my list.
tried:
-congee w/pork & preserved egg
-steamed beef ball
-pan fried turnip cake
-steamed bbq buns
-steamed shrimp soft rice noodle
-siu mai
it looks like dim sum but doesn't taste like it. no service at all. beware of street sweeping on thurdays, fridays, 12:30-3:30.
-yep, it's cheap, you get what you pay for.

[Chandavkl]

Well, value priced dim sum is understandably more prevalent these days and I think that so long as you know what you're in for, there's certainly a place for this kind of alternative. In its own way this kind of choice is preferable to mortgaging your house to go to Yank Sing.

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Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

[shanghaikid]

yank sing's dim sum is pricey but their dim sum lacks fat, msg, all kinds of additives and the meats used are fresh not frozen. haven't seen any evidence of fillers either.

on the other hand, so called value pricing is a marketing term.
some value dim sum should be labeled "as is":
as is:
-filled with fillers (flour, corn starch, little beef or little turnip or leftover char siu)
-made with frozen meats, factory second meats or sometimes tainted meat.(spoiled)
-all kinds of additives which can be injurious to one's heatlh.(baking soda to make shrimp crunchy for an example), sugar, salt, and potassium carbonate.....
-etc.

oh, bon appetit!

[sfeater]

Thank you so much for trying Robert, moved a couple blocks away recently, but was hesitant to try because it is always empty at night. Going to try for dim sum this weekend and will report back. Anyone else have recommendations on what to order?

[Robert Lauriston]

Tried today. Steamed cilantro soft rice noodle, steamed cilantro w/shrimp dumpling, dry scallop (mostly pork) dumpling in soup, some pan-fried noodle rolls with dried shrimp or dried scallop (not sure what it was called on the menu), and Chinese tender green w/oyster sauce were my favorites. Can anyone identify the greens? I liked them better than the usual Chinese broccoli.

Turnip cake, deep-fried taro dumpling, yellow chive & shrimp steamed soft noodle, and steamed spare ribs with black bean were not bad.

Would not order "Malaya Paste" (turned out to be steamed cake, see photo) or salt & pepper fried squid again.

Total bill was $28 for enough food for three or four people (there were only two of us so a ton of leftovers). Not as good as East Ocean Seafood in Alameda, but cheaper and there was no wait. Seems like you could eat really well here if you figured out what to order and what to avoid.

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Happy Valley Restaurant
400 E 12th St, Oakland, CA

[vincentlo]

That veggie must be listed under "Chinese Tender Green w/Oyster Sauce" on that menu. It's "choy sum" as known to Cantonese speakers, but is often called "yu choy" in large Chinese grocery chains. The stalks are thinner than Chinese broccoli, and the leafy vegetable bears a much milder taste.

Interestingly most dim sum restaurants serve Chinese broccoli instead of choy sum.

[Eugene Park]

Thanks for the tips/pointers. I may try to check this out with the family in the near future. What kind of capacity and decor will you find here?

[Robert Lauriston]

New and clean, lots of light, nothing fancy. Medium sized. I think it was mostly large round tables.

[Eugene Park]

Thanks! We will try and check it out soon, and report back.

[ML8000]

Don't know what Malay Paste is but the Japanese eel sounds like unagi.

[Ruth Lafler]

I've seen unagi at other dim sum places. East Ocean in Alameda is one -- it's a special so it isn't on the check-off menu there.

[Melanie Wong]

Malay paste might be something like balachung.

[dolcetto]

As a former Malayan (or Malaysia as she is now known) I can categorically deny the existence of Malaya Paste as a dish. Belachan is in fact a fermented shrimp paste with quite a bit of funk and considered an essential ingredient in Malaysia. I believe it translates loosely to "Malay paste" in Cantonese. It is still a condiment/flavoring though and used in many stir-fry dishes as in "Belachan Ong Choy", curries and the quintessential Sambal Belachan, akin to ketchup and a must-have on many Malaysian tables.
I agree Happy Valley is a great value with adequate dimsum.

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Happy Valley Restaurant
400 E 12th St, Oakland, CA

[rotiprata]

Malay paste could be the same as Ma Lai Go.

[Melanie Wong]

From the photo posted today, turns out you're right. I love malai go when it's fresh out of the steamer.

[Robert Lauriston]

What gives it that color?

[calny]

Happy Valley's is the place I go to most for dim sum. I prefer the dumplings at Hong Kong East Ocean in Emeryville, as the flavors are more refined, but HV works just fine for everyday dim sum. I like their stuffed tofu, fried tofu skin shrimp roll, and the various rice noodle roll options. The best thing about the place is how cheap it is. Pretty good food, very good value.

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Happy Valley Restaurant
400 E 12th St, Oakland, CA