Where to find the best dim sum in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond

Dim sum is one of my all-time favorite meals. It’s a style of dining that originated in Canton, now Guangzhou, in southern China, where my family is from. It involves a series of small dishes, including dumplings, typically eaten for breakfast and accompanied by pots of hot tea. But really, any time is a good time for dim sum.

It’s a meal I often share with both the Chinese and Jewish sides of the family. Many weekend mornings are spent at round tables in the grand dining rooms of Monterey Palace Restaurant, Atlantic Seafood and Dim Sum Restaurant, NBC Seafood Restaurant, Lunasia and Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant, to name a few.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant is also a favorite for Lily Rosenthal and Olivia Sui, guests on this week’s episode of “The Bucket List: Dumplings.” The two started the Liv a Lil food pop-ups during the COVID-19 pandemic, pairing chefs for collaborations that benefit charities.

We visited Sea Harbour together for a morning filled with shumai and har gow (the two dumplings associated most with dim sum), sweet pork buns, soup dumplings and steamed rice rolls.

“When I was a kid, dim sum was this special-occasion brunch,” Rosenthal said. “Every time I would go to sleepaway camp, the first thing I wanted when I got back was always dim sum. There is just something so comforting about this style of food. We love it.”

“Growing up, every Sunday after ballet class, this is where I was,” Sui said, referencing the crowded dining room at Sea Harbour. “It has a cultural aspect where it’s like Sunday, you get to spend time with your family, and it’s right before school and work, and food is such a language of love in Asian culture.”

Later in the episode, I visit Lunasia in Cerritos with my frequent dim sum companions, my mother, grandmother and uncle. The dim sum restaurant, which also has locations in Pasadena, Alhambra and a new one in Torrance, is known for its jumbo shumai and har gow. There, chef Woo Yip teaches me how to make the restaurant’s signature dumplings.

Why are shumai kept open rather than folded closed like most other dumplings? How many orders of shumai and har gow does chef Yip make every day? Why are the dumplings at Lunasia considered “jumbo” and larger than other varieties you’ll find around town?

All your dim sum questions will be answered in this week’s episode.

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