In February, Capital Seafood was the second place I visited as a part of my 12 month odyssey checking out a different Dim Sum restaurant a month all over LA County. Compared to Triumphal Palace, which was the first in the series, Capital Seafood is all about the carts. No ordering off the menu at this ornate Dim Sum Palace. Instead, it's a rush to arms - literally, as you try to wave down as many speeding carts as possible. When you prevail, you almost want to do a little happy dance. But do you? Heck no. That would take too much time from getting to the next cart coming down the pipeway.
Anyway, enough trash cart talk, let's get on to the food. For the outing at Capital Seafood, we tried out 15 different dishes. We had the standard fare of shrimp har gow, egg rolls, pork shau mai, spare rib, which were all quite tasty. However, there were some items that I personally never had at Dim Sum before so I'm going to speak to those specific dishes.
First, other than Chinese broccoli slathered with oyster sauce, I rarely see other veggie items at Dim Sum, but12 month odyssey checking out a different Dim Sum restaurant a month all over LA County. Compared to Triumphal Palace, which was the first in the series, Capital Seafood is all about the carts. No ordering off the menu at this ornate Dim Sum Palace. Instead, it's a rush to arms - literally, as you try to wav this time around, our group picked up a record two non-Chinese broccoli items. One of them seemed to be a plate of pickled baby cucumbers. I wasn't sure what the other veggie dish was, but it reminded me of nopales. Both veggies had a great crunch and really added a fresh new dimension to my dim sum experience.
Speaking of crunch, something else I tried for the first time was a deep fried taro and pork dumpling. The deep fried taro coating reminded me of French fried onions and I really enjoyed the reedy crispy texture in my mouth. A couple of other things to note were the pineapple chicken bun and the mango shrimp. The pineapple was actually more of dried powdery substance on the top of the bun itself, which I didn't think added anything to the chicken bun. In fact, maybe, if there was pineapple mixed in with the chicken, the pineapple chicken bun would have been more appetizing, but as it was, it was dry.
The mango shrimp, which was rolled into a sesame topped wrapper, on the other hand, was really good. The sweetness of the shrimp and the slightly tart, juiciness of the mango were a perfect combo. I'd actually climb over carts to make sure that this dish hit my table.
After having gone through 13 Dim Sum dishes, we even managed to fit in dessert. One was the green tea ball and to be honest, I don't remember what it tasted like, but I'll never forget the sight of this glowing alien green ball on my plate and
I think it tasted okay, too. Then then there was the dreaded (for some) durian pastry. Durian is known as the "stinky fruit" and is a definite acquired taste, but being a durian lover, any form it comes in, I'm happy to partake in.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food at Capital Seafood. Not only were there things I've never tried before, they also tasted great. Since new and good don't always go hand in hand, I really do look forward to checking out Capital Seafood another time to see what else this restaurant has to offer.
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594561005651/
Capital Seafood
755 W. Garvey Avenue
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-3318
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