The ABCs (and NBCs) of dim sum

No visit to a big west coast city is complete for us without at least one dim sum brunch. We’ve tried many of the recommended places in the San Gabriel Valley (Ocean Star, Sea Harbour, Elite) but NBC in Monterey Park is the one we keep going back to. It seems to have the right combination of carts, size, variety, and, for us, the added advantage of location. Our base in southern California is Alhambra, and NBC is just down the road. On this trip we had thought to revisit an old favorite from when we lived in west LA, ABC Seafood in downtown’s Chinatown (yes, there is a CBS too). But when a couple of Alhambran family members talked about joining us - one of the cardinal rules of dim sum enjoyment being to bring as large a party as you can gather, so you can try more stuff - we opted once again for the nearby NBC. As it turns out, I’m glad we passed over ABC as I have since learned it no longer has carts. We love carts.

For the uninitiated, dim sum are like Chinese tapas: small plates of little things like dumplings, turnovers, tarts, or dishes of meats or vegetables that can be shared and enjoyed in small amounts. Servers have an assortment of items on a tea cart; in some restaurants they call out the names of their wares as they roll by. You just need to flag them down and point to the things you want (unless you are a native Mandarin speaker or were raised by expert-level white people, in which case you can just ask). The server will put the plates or steamer baskets on your table and stamp the card that was put on your table by the host that seated you with a mark indicating the price of the items. When you’re all done with your meal you will need to get the attention of one of the supervisors who will tot up your bill for you. Generally speaking the stuff that is premade on little dishes is the cheapest, at $2.00 to $4.00 per plate. Items that have to be prepared by the cart operator – like Chinese broccoli, which is cooked at tableside – cost more, as do “specials” that are hand-carried by servers and offered to your table. The pricing structure remains something of a mystery to me, because in my experience there is far more work involved in making har gau than boiled broccoli, but that’s the way it is. Our bill for five people (and we had a LOT to eat), including 9.75% tax and the tip, was $62.

The best places, like NBC, are usually great cavernous rooms. Dim sum is normally served for breakfast and lunch – 9 to 3 are typical dim sum hours. Often a restaurant has a dinner menu as well, but it won’t be dim sum. It’s a good sign if there are customers waiting, and if the place is big then the turnover is usually quick. It’s best to go when it’s busy – Sunday late morning is very popular – because that’s when the kitchen will be bringing out the most variety, and the food will be freshest. We waited about 25 minutes to get a table for five. In general, don’t go to a dim sum restaurant unless it is full of people.

It’s hard to say exactly what to recommend – there is an almost endless variety of dim sum dishes, and the choices are a little different every time we go. My advice is to pick what looks good and try it. Many items contain shellfish and/or pork so if you can’t eat these things, you might run into trouble as many of the servers have very limited English. Otherwise don’t worry too much about what exactly is in a dish. If you’re too timid, you might miss something really delicious. Go with a crowd of adventurous eaters and chances are you’ll find plenty to like.



NBC does great shrimp noodles (cheung fun), siu mai, and fried scallop dumplings. The most popular dim sum are probably the har gau (steamed shrimp dumplings), siu mai (steamed pork and shrimp dumplings), and steamed char siu bao (those fluffy white buns with barbecued pork inside) – I’ve never been to a dim sum restaurant that didn’t serve those three items. Other dishes you are likely to see are chicken feet, taro cakes, fried turnip cakes, sweet sesame balls filled with red bean or lotus paste, pork spare ribs, egg rolls, miniature custard tarts, and tripe.

My husband always likes to start his dim sum meal with a bowl of rice porridge (congee - sometimes you have to ask for it), to which you can add a variety of savory toppings. “Kane kalo” he says – “it’s good for you.” Personally I’m not a fan of this bland dish - I like to save my appetite for steamed scallop-and-spinach dumplings and the shrimp rice noodle.