Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

1108 S Baldwin Ave

Arcadia, CA 91007

(626) 574-7068

Best known for its juicy pork dumplings, or Xiaolongbao, Taiwan-based restaurant, Din Tai Fung, commands long waits at its Arcadia outpost every weekend. With restaurants located in Taipei, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tokyo, Din Tai Fung has established a reputation for its Shanghai style cooking throughout the Pacific Rim. As the only outpost in the United States, the Arcadia location has become a delicious mainstay for the Asian (and often non-Asian) communities of the San Gabriel Valley.

Upon entering the restaurant, a glass wall by the entrance reveals workers in full motion; mixing, folding, and steaming Din Tai Fung’s famous dumplings. Watching these workers pull long sheets of white dough, mix delicately balanced fillings, and pinch perfectly shaped dumplings, all at lightening speed, is a truly mesmerizing experience. The dumpling making experience at Din Tai Fung is both a calculated and refined process, with each step critical to the creation of a delicate, yet succulent Xiaolongbao.

Xiaolongbao are to Shanghai, as pastrami sandwiches to New York, or fish tacos to Ensenada. Steamed within bamboo baskets, these dumplings produce a juicy center that when bitten into, often scald the mouth. In fact, within many Western countries, Xiaolongbao have been dubbed as “soup dumplings.” A juicy filling, or “soup,” forms inside when a type of meat gelatin within the dumpling skin melts during the steaming process.

My favorite dumplings to order at Din Tai Fung are the pork and crab filled dumplings, which when fresh from the steamer, burst with delicious juice and flavor. These dumplings taste best when dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and finely sliced pieces of ginger. Although the dumplings are often the main attraction at Din Tai Fung, the non-Xiaolongbao dishes are noteworthy as well. Specifically, my favorites are the garlic sautéed string beans, tofu and bean sprout appetizer, Shanghai rice cakes, and sweet sesame buns. For some people, the dishes at Din Tai Fung represent an exotic culinary adventure, but for others (like myself), a habitually satisfying experience in Shanghai style comfort food.

Yi Mei Chinese Pastries

736 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 284-9306

Sometimes I’ll wake up with a craving for some good old fashioned Northern Chinese style breakfast—a steaming bowl of sweet soy milk (dou jian), freshly pressed onion chive pancake (tsong yo bing), and a crisply fried Chinese doughnut (yo tiao). In Shanghai, street vendors often sell fresh soy milk and onion pancakes to the rush hour crowd as they wearily trek to their nine to five’s each morning. As a student studying Mandarin in Shanghai, I became immediately addicted to the oily morsels of fried dough and sweet cups of soy milk, sold for a mere 10 cents each outside the subway station. For my roommate and I, these simple street snacks became our on-the-go breakfast; a quick morning fix, which allowed us to temporarily “blend in” with the other Chinese commuters during the 45 minute subway ride across town to our school.

With my fond memories of dou jian and tsong yo bing, I took it upon myself to find a place in the Los Angeles area which served these deliciously nostalgic breakfast items. After some quick preliminary research on Yelp, it became clear that I needed to try Yi Mei Chinese Pastries, located in Monterey Park (aka Asian foodie’s paradise). I had high hopes for this place, and became enamored with the idea that the moment I tasted the perfectly fried pancake and sweet soy milk, I would be overtaken with flashbacks of Shanghai’s busy streets, with its seemingly steroid induced skyscraper communities and bucolic peasant street vendors hawking everything from the latest American movie releases to exotic fruits and vegetables. Yes, I had high hopes.

Upon entering Yi Mei, I gave my order to Chinese woman who nonchalantly barked the request into a microphone, just like a fast food restaurant. The menu in Yi Mei was written completely in Chinese, but luckily I knew how to pronounce the items that I wanted to order (sadly, the extent of my Mandarin these days). I sat down at one of the scattered tables and in about 10 minutes a lovely Mexican lady brought out my breakfast. “Dou jian,” “fan tuan,,” “tsong yo bing,” she mutters. Absolutely fabulous! I love Los Angeles! Even my traditional Chinese breakfast is prepared by Mexican chefs.

The dou jian was just as I had hoped. Subtly sweet, with a hint of the bean texture so reminiscent of the milk sold outside the subway station in Shanghai. The tsong yo bing was lightly fried, but a little less doughy than my typical Shanghai pancake. The last dish was a Taiwanese item, called “fan tuan” and consisted of a layer of rice, packed with Chinese pickles, dried pork, and a crisp Chinese doughnut (yo tiao). This dish in particular ended up being the most surprisingly delicious, and conveyed the right balance of salty and oily flavors. The Chinese doughnut was fried to perfection and when bitten into, cracked with a savory crunch.

Much of my experience at Yi Mei reminded me of Shanghai--cleanliness included. Despite the hygiene issue, this hole-in-the wall produces one of the best and most authentic versions of a Northern Chinese breakfast I've yet encountered…well, at least this far East of Shanghai.

*Last two photos borrowed from Yelp