Some years in the past, I took a visiting restaurant critic from New York to one of the grand dim sum palaces of the San Gabriel Valley, with a mess of rolling carts, and lots of tables of 10 or a dozen, with metallic steamers piled excessive in entrance of them, and larger nonetheless.
He appeared round and introduced, perversely, that he wasn’t within the temper for dim sum, and needed to order from the nighttime seafood menu. I defined to him that that wasn’t attainable, however he insisted it needed to be.
And so, he confronted one of many harried managers, demanding that he be served a feast of shrimp and lobster through the hours of dim sum. The supervisor checked out him as if he had requested to see the kosher menu, and instructed him there was no seafood until dinner. And so, the critic sat there in a snit, nibbling on the occasional dumpling, and muttering that this wasn’t what he needed to put in writing about.
New Yawkers…y’know what I’m sayin’? (As a former New Yawker, I definitely do!)
However the critic did contact on one of many primary guidelines of Chinese language delicacies. Which is that, for essentially the most half, dim sum is for breakfast and lunch — and every little thing else is for dinner. Or not less than, that was what the rule was. Till branches of Din Tai Fung began showing throughout city — with a brand new one opening quickly in Downtown Disney, of all locations! At Din Tai Fung, dim sum is served on a regular basis; it not vanishes in mid-afternoon.
And Din Tai Fung has impressed a world of all-day dim sum homes — together with Chef Tony in Arcadia and, extra just lately, the way more informal, although much more ornately named 101 Dim Sum Artisan, which is in the identical Lomita mini-mall as Kotosh Peruvian and Sushi. 101 is a café with some 30 dishes, eaten by many followers within the small eating space — and brought house by much more followers from the entrance counter, which may be piled excessive with plastic baggage able to go.
There are, in fact, no rolling carts — which appear to be a vanishing species of eating round city, helped alongside of their extinction by Covid isolation. However then, logistically, there’s no method there could possibly be rolling carts at 101; the aisles are barely broad sufficient to stroll to your desk! And anyway, the development nowadays is towards dim sum ready to order within the kitchen; à la carte eating had taken over the previous random choice of the carts.
That’s all superb with me, so long as the choice of dumplings and such is giant and by no means stops. Which, with a desk of hungry locals in a feeding frenzy, may be very a lot the case. There’s one thing about dim sum that causes even essentially the most dedicated dieter to mutter that they will all the time eat celery tomorrow — these dumplings are simply too good to let go.
For these conversant in the dishes of dim sum, there’s a lot tasty familiarity right here — and lots of of these previous familiars are important. (They reheat effectively at house. Although the steamed dishes needs to be re-steamed, and never microwaved. The micro tends to dry them out!)
There are 14 steamed dishes, none priced above $8.49 and most beneath $6 — making over-ordering straightforward, and never over-expensive. On the high of my record can be the dishes on the high of the menu — the steamed shrimp dumplings, 4 of them, all satisfying even when the shrimp has been chopped up greater than a bit of.
There are numerous extra tasties — the mushroom and shrimp shiu mai. The steamed soup dumplings. The steamed chicken-ginger bun, and the steamed barbecue pork bun. They are often onerous to decide on between. I counsel ordering each. I imply…life is brief and all that.
After all, the wontons with spicy sauce name out to me. As do the pork pot stickers, the shrimp spring rolls, and the garlic spareribs. Much less loud is the cry of the meat tripe with garlic, as a result of the attraction of tripe has by no means give up touched me, onerous as I’ve tried. I don’t know what to make of dishes just like the Cantonese sponge cake, or the sesame ball with pink bean paste. However there they’re. Ditto the deep-fried dough stick.
Which isn’t to say I’m complaining. A large and different assortment of choices is a part of the dim sum expertise. When the carts are rolling by, the cart women can get very aggressive, making an attempt to maneuver their metallic steamers, even if you wave them off. At 101, it’s all as much as you. As ever, the one beverage for me is tea. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
101 Dim Sum Artisan
- Ranking: 2.5 stars
- Handle: 2418 Lomita Blvd., Lomita
- Data: 424-263-5530; www.dimsum101lomita.com
- Delicacies: All-day Dim Sum
- When: Lunch and dinner, Wednesday by way of Monday
- Reservations: Wanted for giant teams
- Environment: Informal mini-mall café, with many followers coming by to select up takeout; à la carte solely
- Costs: About $15 per particular person
- On the menu: 14 Steamed Dishes ($4.68-$8.49), 2 Soups ($6.99-$8.49), 7 Fried/Grilled/Baked Dishes ($3.50-$5.68), 3 Noodle Rolls ($6.48-$7.48), 2 Porridges ($9.99), 2 Veggies ($7.99)
- Bank cards: MC, V
- What the celebrities imply: 4 (World class! Value a visit from anyplace!), 3 (Most glorious, even distinctive. Value a visit from anyplace in Southern California.), 2 (An excellent place to go for a meal. Value a visit from anyplace within the neighborhood.) 1 (Should you’re hungry, and it’s close by, however don’t get caught in visitors going.) 0 (Truthfully, not value writing about.)
