ELITE RESTAURANT

Wow. It’s true. Dim sum is much better in the San Gabriel Valley than Downtown Chinatown.

I don’t do dim sum often since I’m allergic to crustacean and always get screwed on the bill as it’s evenly divided and half of dishes contain shrimp, but luckily the total is never more than $20/person.

After a Sunday service, a group of us drove cross-town to Elite where it’s claimed to be the best dim sum in Los Angeles. They have a parking lot, but it fills up pretty quickly during “dim sum” hours. We waited patiently outside (bring a jacket if the weather is cold) with the other hungry hippos. Be sure not to sit under the speaker, as it’s very loud unless you wan to give yourself a heart attack.

Once seated we went crazy…

Beef Rice Noodles: Loved it, not as greasy as the Chinatown’s. (We also ordered shrimp rice noodles –looks like the beef just with shrimp)


Pork Shumai: They forgot to note that there’s shrimp in them…


Snow Bun (almond-filled sweet bread): Delicious! They make these fresh for every order.




Sesame Ball: It’s not red bean paste, but still pretty tasty and not as oily as Chinatown’s.


Baked BBQ Pork Buns: You must order this and then you will see why…



Steamed BBQ Pork Buns: Very good


Har Gows: Elite puts whole shrimp in the har gows, not chopped up shrimp.


Macao Egg Custard: The BEST egg custard in Los Angeles. It’s pretty close to Macao’s Portuguese tart.



Clay Pot Rice w/ Chinese Sausage:


Almond Shrimp Ball: Looks pretty and deadly (to me)


Sticky Rice: Once again, Elite didn’t note that there’s shrimp in the rice.


Ribs w/ Black Sesame: I was expecting the meat to be darker…closer to what my mom makes. You can skip it.


Pan fried turnip (I think..): I prefer it to be crispier, nonetheless, still pretty tasty.


Jellyfish: I don’t like “slimy” texture food. Plus, if it can kill you, why eat it?


Mystery dish: I forgot it was called…it’s made with rice, vegetables, and pork….? I think we were trying to order scallion pancakes, but got this.


Bokchoy: It's hard to mess this one up.


Sesame Pork/Shrimp balls:

I wanted to note that Elite’s set up is not like a traditional dim sum restaurant. There are no pushing carts and it’s set up more like ordering sushi where you check off the items, but there are staff carrying items on trays. Service was fine although it would be nice if the staff were more aware of what ingredients are in the dishes.

We ordered around 20 dishes for 7 hippos and it cost $16/each including tip.

The hippo shall return.

Address: 700 S Atlantic Blvd Monterey Park, CA 91754
Phone#: (626) 282-9998
Rating: 5 out of 5