Taking the Bao Road Through Monterey Park: Mama's Lu, Dean Sin World, Giang Nan and Shau May Restaurant

Pork and Crab XLB from Din Tai Fung

In 2008, I did a Xiao Long Bao (XLB) Crawl that started in San Gabriel and ended at Din Tai Fung in Arcadia. Click here to read that post. However, Monterey Park also boasts some XLB goodness which I've been able to experience since that time and thought I'd share some of those meals in this post, starting with Mama's Lu Dumpling House. Mama's Lu is actually the first stop of an XLB crawl that I did in 2009. Yes, I know it's a late post, but hopefully, it's still relevant.

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At Mama's Lu, we shared two different kinds of Xiao Long Bao. We started with the Pork XLB. The wrapper was reminiscent of what you'd find at Din Tai Fung in that it was thin-skinned, although not as much as DTF's XLB.  The XLB at Mama's Lu were also quite juicy, so they definitely did the job, but there were two ways they differed from DTF.  First, there was a little hard knot of dough at the top of the dumpling and Mama's XLB didn't fit as nicely in the soup spoon. In fact, I've found that DTF's Xiao Long Bao are always smaller than everyone else's.

The other XLB we tried had a Pork and Crab filling. Unlike the Pork XLB, they were served individual aluminum tins, which I didn't quite understand unless it was the restaurant's way of being able to tell the difference between the two of them. Of the two XLBs, the Pork and Crab XLB was a little juicier.  Perhaps that explains why the wrapper skin was a tad thicker than the Pork XLB. The filling also had a nice crabby taste, which you shouldn't take for granted. I've had Pork and Crab XLBs in the past that was missed that crab taste.

From Mama's Lu, we made our way to Dean Sin World. At the time, you really had to know where this restaurant was because there wasn't any kind of signage that indicated "Dean Sin World" anywhere in front of the restaurant. That did change later on.

At Dean Sin World, they only offer a Pork XLB, so that's what we got, along with some other items, which I'll mention later on. One thing to note about DSW is that they apparently supply Xiao Long Bao to a lot of local restaurants, which means you could have previously had a XLB from Dean Sin World and not have even known it.

As for that Pork XLB, the skin was a little thicker than the Pork XLB from Mama's Lu Restaurant. Then and now, I like the Pork XLB from Dean Sin World and it's certainly better than other XLBs I've had at other restaurants, but it's not the first place I'd go to for an XLB fix. There are about 2-3 places I'd go to ahead of DSW and if you want to know, they would include J&J, Mama's Lu and Din Tai Fung.

Another Bao that you can get at Dean Sin World is their Fried Bao and it's pretty tasty. The bread is soft and spongy on the surface, but has a crispy bottom. I also liked the addition of the chopped green onions to the pork filling. By the way, there is no soup in this Fried Bao. The liquid on the plate where the Fried Bao was sitting is left over from the vinegar and the Pork XLB.

While we were at DSW, we also had Red Bean and Daikon Pastries, Fried Toast and Pan Fried Pork Dumplings. I liked the Red Bean Pastry, but didn't care too much for the Daikon Pastries. It reminded me of a sauerkraut that somehow wasn't cooked properly.

The Fried Toast were a bit greasy, but I liked its buttery crunch and the Pan Fried Pork Dumplings were just okay.

After Dean Sin World, we strolled over to Giang Nan, where they only serve one type of XLB which is their Crab and Pork XLB.

Before the XLB arrived, we snacked on Seaweed Battered Fish, which was light and airy, if a tad salty.

As for the XLB at Giang Nan, I've actually tried it a couple of times and each time, I was pretty disappointed.  I don't even think this dumpling should be called a Xiao Long Bao.  There was really no soup to be had and the meat filling was a hard ball.  Another issue was that the flavor was inconsistent.  Sometimes, you'd get a taste of the crab and other times, not so much.  In their defense, XLBs aren't their specialty, but their other food is pretty darn good.

Our final stop was actually at a restaurant called FC Shanghai that has now closed. Remember, that I mentioned earlier that Dean Sin World sells their XLBs to other restaurants. Well, our entire group actually felt that we were having a Dean Sin World XLB Redux. They tasted the same. See the pictures below and let me know what you think.

Pork XLB from FC Shanghai

Pork XLB from Dean Sin World

FC Shanghai was actually the last stop of that crawl, but I couldn't end this post without talking about Shau May Restaurant, which I visited November of 2010. I first read about Shau May in a Squid Ink post by Elina Shatkin and when I found out about the Sheng Jian Bao aka Shanghai Pan Fried Small Bao, which aren't actually small at all, I knew I had to try it out. This also became a small bao crawl because we hit Dean Sin World afterwards.

According to the article, not all Sheng Jian Bao have soup, but the one at Shau May definitely does. One little bite and it practically all poured out and I loved it. I have to admit it was a challenge to eat, but oh so worth it. I also enjoyed the slightly chewy skin and how the bottom of this bao was crispy and browned.

While at Shau May, we also checked out other things like their Watermelon Juice, which I found to be really watery, so I wouldn't order it again. The green beans were just green beans, tasty, but a bit oily.

In fact, the Green Onion Pancake and the Jing Dong Meat Pie were also a bit oily, but I still enjoyed chowing down on them. The Green Onion Pancake was interesting in that it was a little thicker than I've seen a Green Onion Pancake before; yet, it still had a nice crispiness to it.

When the Jing Dong Meat Pie came out, I kept looking at it and thinking if I've ever had anything similar to it and I can honestly say No. It was like a pizza shaped "egg roll" and I really enjoyed it. The only thing I would have changed is to add more vegetables to the filling. Those egg roll slices were actually a good size, so it felt a little too meaty at times.

After we were gone grazing at Shau May, we walked over to Dean Sin World. As you can see, they added a banner to identify them.

While the Pork Xiao Long Bao were steaming away in the kitchen, we snacked on the complementary seaweed peanuts, which are very addicting as well as bamboo shoots which had an anise taste to them.

Finally, our tin of Pork XLB came out.  On that particular evening, they weren't as soupy as they usually are, so I was a bit disappointed. However, every restaurant has off nights, even Dean Sin World.

I hope you enjoyed this Bao-Heavy post and if you'd like to walk the bao road for yourself, check out all the addresses below.

Mama's Lu

153 E Garvey Ave

Monterey Park, CA 91755

(626) 307-5700

Dean Sin World

306 N Garfield Ave #2

Monterey Park, CA 91754

(626) 571-0636

Giang Nan

306 N Garfield Ave S

Monterey Park, CA 91755

(626) 573-3421

Shau May Restaurant

104 N Garfield Ave

Monterey Park, CA 91754

(626) 571-2727

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"Xiao Long Bao Journey" to Mei Long Village

My search for delicious "Xiao Long Baos", or soup dumplings finally took me to Mei Long Village, known for serving some of the best XLBs in San Gabriel Valley. I was certainly more than willing to put them to the test.

Taking my first bite into the pork & crab XLB, I really liked the dumpling wrapper. It wasn't so thick that I had to chew my way through that first bite nor was it so thin that you didn't feel like you bit into the XLB at all. The wrapper was just right. As for the soup within this XLB, it was fantastic. It was plentiful, which is important, given the type of dumpling an XLB is and it was also flavorful. I also found the crab and pork filling very tasty. Overall, I can see why Mei Long Village gets raves for their soup dumplings.

Other than XLBs, we also ordered 6 other dishes. Following the dumplings came the Braised Fish Tail. What I liked about this dish is that the brown sauce had good flavor, but didn't overpower the delicate fish meat, so everything balanced well.

After the Braised Fish Tail, we savored the light, crispiness of the Radish Pancake. It's a very mild-flavored food, but I enjoyed the texture of the radish filling and I also liked the fact that it wasn't oily.

Two other dishes enjoyed by the table included the Pork Pump and the Lion's Head Meatball in Brown Sauce. The pork pump meat was tender, juicy and absolutely perfect. My tastebuds were quite happy. The Lion's Head Meatball was also a hit due to meat that was moist and also had some kind of spicing that I was unfamiliar with, but is probably what made this dish uniquely delicious.

As for the last two items we ordered, they were the Jade Shrimp and Shanghai Spareribs. These were actually my two least favorite dishes. While I thought the shrimp was cooked just right, I felt that the sauce for this dish was quite bland. It looked pretty, but that was about it. As for the spareribs, again, the meat was cooked well, but I found the sauce to be a little too sweet for my palate.

Overall, I really loved the XLBs, and I enjoyed the majority of dishes we ordered. I would definitely make a return trip to MLV, if nothing else, just for their soup dumplings.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600201227086/

Mei Long Village
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 308-9238

"Xiao Long Bao" Journey to J&J

Being a Din Tai Fung fan for a couple of years now, I didn't realize that there were quite a few other restaurants that also served excellent xia long baos or for short, XLBs, until I read Chowhound posts on J&J followed by another post ranking the restaurants with the best XLBs. With my curiosity aroused, I decided set up a restaurant series where I'd take my dining group to both J&J and the other restaurants listed in ipsedixit's message.

But first, a little explanation about XLBs, which I took from wikipedia.org. So what exactly is "Xiao Long Bao?" To start, xiao long bao (literally "little basket bun"; also known as soup dumpling) is a type of baozi (filled bun or bread-like item) from the Southern provinces of China, including Shanghai and Wuxi.

XLBs are traditionally steamed in bamboo baskets, hence the name. It can be filled with hot soup and meat and/or vegetarian fillings, as well as other possibilities. The fillings are wrapped in something like a jiaozi wrapper that turns almost translucent after being steamed. Shanghai steamed buns can be recognized by their unique design, as the filled wrapper is gathered up into fine folds at the top, prior to steaming.

To eat XLBs, first take the dumpling and deposit it into a Chinese soup spoon and if desired add the vinegar and soy sauce. Some places may also have shredded ginger. Take a small bite of the skin and suck out as much of the flavorful broth as possible. Then eat the rest of the dumpling from the spoon.

Our first "XLB" journey took us to J&J. By the way, what we may refer to as XLBs shows up as "Steamed Pao" on their menu. We didn't know that until we asked the waitress. Our group ordered a total of 9 dishes. Two them were the Steamed Pao with Crabmeat and the Steamed Pao with maybe a Pork/Crab mixture? I honestly don't remember, but what I did remember was that both were tasty

In general, here's my take on the J&J's XLBs. The thing that I didn't like was the thicker, chewier wrapper. It just seemed more difficult to bite into it the without the broth already starting to come out. Maybe, just a little bit thinner? I thought that the fillings were great - very meaty, very juicy, not as refined as you would find at Din Tai Fung, but more rustic, something a Mom would make in her kitchen. That somehow gave it more appeal. Overall, I liked the XLBs at J&J and it's nice to have more than one alternative for certain foods that you like.

As mentioned, the XLBs weren't the only items we ordered. There were 7 more dishes that were a part of this meal. Standouts for me included their Green Onion Pancake which was light, flaky and with lots of great onion flavor as well as the Eggplant in Brown Sauce, which had a sauce to die for.

The pan-fried dumplings were also amazing with a meat filling that was just as juicy and flavorful as the XLBs. Finally, the Fried Crab Shanghai Style was finger-looking good and the sauce had a nice hit of heat without being overwhelming.

The XLBs at J&J are definitely quite delicious and apparently, some of the other items on the menu are tasty as well. I'm just glad that J&J isn't too far from me because I certainly want to make a return trip sometime soon to check out some of their other dishes.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600014889640/

J&J
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91804
(626) 308-9238

Dinner at Green Village - CLOSED

After hearing all the raves about Green Village, I finally made it out to dinner there last month. The "fanciness" of the restaurant interior with its gold and orange color scheme lost some of the elegant feel with the addition of flat screen TVs on the walls. What is it with flat screen TVs at Asian restaurants? Shouldn't the experience be about enjoying the food and the company as opposed to watching various Asian variety shows? Oh well, I digress; let's get on to the food.

After being seated and having settled down a bit, we were given the menu. This menu was no short story. It was an epic saga. Endless pages and pages of dialogue or in this case, various columns of Chinese characters on one side and maybe, an English translation on the other side listing the various menu items available for ordering. This was the time when I wish we had a native speaker in our midst to help decipher those items that didn't have any translations.

But we made do and proceeded to place an order for 11 different dishes. For this particular meal, there was definitely more "Yays" than "Nays," more "Oooohs" than "Boooos." Our delectable sojourn into Shanghai cuisine started with a cold appetizer, the Nan Jing Soya Duck. The duck had a soy sauce glaze that was very thick and amazingly enough, its flavor had a duality of sweet and salty. A little surprising, but quite delicious nonetheless.

After the duck came the Shanghai Sautéed Shrimp, which was a hit, but it was the Preserved Vegetables with Bean Starch Sheets that captured my interest next. When looking at the dish, the sheets looked like wide-shaped pasta noodles, but they had a light-chewy texture that really made for interesting eating with the vegetables they were mixed with.

From the Bean Starch dish, we went on to another unique-looking dish, the Hang Zhou Steamed Pork with Sweet Rice. Looking top to bottom, you see square chunks of pork (including the fat), surrounded by peanuts flattening a mound of brown rice. It was a very pretty dish although none of us had a clue as to what the dish was initially when it arrived at our table. Finally, one of us braved a forkful of meat, nut and rice and what was experienced was a first bite of both sweet, salty and savory – a wonderful melding of flavors. That first bite was soon followed by a second one, a third one and more.

After the Hang Zhou Pork dish, out came the Shanghai Fried Crab, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and the Fish Fillet with Sweet Wine Rice Balls in quick succession. I didn't try the crab, but I sampled the other two dishes. The sauce for the eggplant was bursting with flavor between the garlic, green onions and red chili peppers while the fish fillet was mild and had a nice buttery texture, although for the life of me, I don't know where the wine rice balls were in that bowl because I certainly didn't see them.

Our tasty Shanghai travels ended with Sautéed Eels, Shanghai Style Fried Flat Noodles, Shanghai Pork Spare Ribs (House Style) and the Deep Fried Yellowtail. The eels didn't interest me and the fried noodles reminded me of Filipino noodles, so I skipped over those two; however, the pork ribs and the yellowtail were absolutely delicious.

The glaze for the Shanghai Pork Spare Ribs was spicy-sweet and the meat was cooked just right and the Deep Fried Yellowtail was amazing in that the batter was very light and yet, even with a more delicate batter, the fish meat was tender and moist and didn't get over-fried. This was dish our waiter actually recommended to us and we're glad he did.

This culinary adventure to Green Village was definitely a trip worth taking and I look forward to making a return visit so that I can taste even more unique Shanghai dishes from their extensive menu. Hopefully, you'll visit Green Village soon and see yourself that it's a restaurant being worth being "Shanghaied" to.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594468530823/

Green Village Restaurant
250 W. Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA, 91776
(626)576-2228