Living in the SGV, I'm spoiled with such vast selection of Asian food. And the low prices for SGV food are sometimes unbelievable. I've taken many non-Asian friends to eat and I've watched them rub their eyes and do a double take on the menu. What? How do these people live? Same thing I wonder everyday. In SGV, you can get dim sum as low as $1.60 per dish. You can have a family style lunch for four, for under $20. You can get almost any soup noodle for under $5. To me, this is wonderful. And I have money left over to buy things like Asian face visors, pirated vcd/dvd's and rims. You know, the good stuff.But over the past years, there's been a new wave of higher-end restaurants that make Asian people rub their eyes and do a double take - particularly dim sum/banquet style restaurants. The new wave dim sum-style basically mixes traditional dim sum with Western/Pan-Asian ingredients. It was only a matter of time that Chinese would head towards the fusion trend in LA (aside from HK-style cafes in SGV). There's Mission 261 in San Gabriel, Triumphal Palace in Alhambra, Seafood Harbour in Rosemead and New Concept in Monterey Park. Well New Concept has a new owner and has reincarnated as the Elite Restaurants - same chefs, same staff.
I was called upon by the powers of the Los Angeles Court, to serve as a juror last week in Alhambra. Oh joy you assholes. Sitting in the jury assembly room, I stared at the clock and counted the minutes. If you're a true foodie, you're mind never strays away from food. When you wake up in the morning, you're already thinking about breakfast. After breakfast, you're thinking about lunch. After lunch, you're thinking about a snack. After dinner, you're thinking about the next day's cycle. Insane, I know - but you know it's true. I wanted dim sum but didn't want to try the ones I usually frequent.... mmm, how about Elite? I had heard so much about it from friends and on Chowhound.
I arrived at Elite to find that it WASN'T decked out in red wallpaper with the cliche Golden Dragons of Double Happiness mural. Instead, the walls were dressed with yellow wallpaper and framed images of their culinary gifts to us. This place was packed to the rim when I got there at 12:30. As I waited for my table, I snagged a menu and started pre-ordering. *Note: fancier dim sum places will not have the old ladies wearing jade bracelets pushing carts. The food is brought to you buy a server after filling out your menu form. My eyes lit up in excitement as I filled out my lunch order. I couldn't wait. I flipped the other side of the menu and almost fell over the chair. Elite also serves banquet dinners ranging from $388 to $1,688. The Chinese love the number 88 and 888 (eight is pronounced as 'baht') because it sounds like the phrase... "get rich" (faht choy). Elite might want to consider changing their prices if they want to "get rich". Not many people can shell out $1,688 for a family dinner unless they sell their left kidney.
Elite Restaurant InteriorNo red wallpaper, dragons and jade-bracelet equipped cart-pushers. Hope I didn't mistaken this place for Panda's Inn?
Macau Roasted Pork (Oh Moon Seew Yook)
This was awesome! Beautifully roasted pieces of pork back or belly and perfectly fried skin. I love pork belly! This is served with a dish of salt and hoisin sauce. For those that have never heard of Macau, it's an ex-Portuguese colony southwest of Hong Kong. Although the architecture is reminiscent of Portugal's, there are cantonese-speaking people everywhere. Macau is also considered as the Vegas of South Asia. $5.98
Spare Ribs with Chili & Black Bean Sauce (Pai Gwut)
The only difference in this and traditional 'pai gwut' is that the ribs are steamed on top of sweet potatoes, which do nothing for this dish. I've had better 'pai gwut' at traditional dim sum joints. $1.98
Congee with Pork & Preserved Egg (Pei Dan Sao Yook Jook)
A must-have when I eat dim sum. I expected to get a small bowl here but I was wrong. It came in a huge white soup bowl. Like the 'pai gwut', I've had better. Good deal though, for only $5.08.
Scallop Steamed Rice Noodles (Dai Zee Cheung Fun)
Oh man. I've never seen this and when I saw it on the menu I nearly flipped. I love scallops and I love steamed rice noodles. This was excellent. Scallops were perfectly steamed and the noodles were beautiful - not hard at all. The sauce was so so, but still, great overall dish. I would order this dish again. Maybe even two. $2.98
Shark's Fin Dumpling in Supreme Soup Stock
Whenever I have the chance to eat shark, I will eat those bastards. I hate them. I'm amused by the National Geographic and Discovery Channel specials, but those bastards are out of control. Jaws was served in a huge dumpling - almost like a pouch, in a golden broth. I broke the dumpling in half and out came the remnants of Jaws. This was delicious but I felt that the Supreme soup stock was way too sweet. Anyway, I helped out some seals and walruses by eating this dish. $5.98
Pork Shu-Mai (Seew Mai)
I don't know why they call this a pork shu-mai because they all come with large pieces of scallop sitting on top of them. These were definitely the largest shu mai I've ever seen and they were delicious. Because of the satellite dish size bowl of porridge, I couldn't finish this. $2.98
Pan Fried Turnip Cake with X.O. Sauce (XO Jeung Loh Bahk Go)
When I was mini-ED&BM, I used to eat turnip cakes all day long. I call these Chinese hash browns because they are crispy. Elite's version includes X.O. Sauce which consists of minced dried shrimp, dried scallops and chili. The cakes were fried nicely but there wasn't much of an X.O. Sauce-taste. I barely dented this. $5.08
As you can see, I ordered way too much food. My favorites were the scallop steamed rice noodles, Macau pork and shu mai. If you do try Elite, try dishes you wouldn't normally try - they've got a huge list of things I've never eaten. I'm going back again and ordering entirely different dishes. But overall, I prefer traditional dim sum houses like 888, New Capital, Ocean Star and Hop Li (my favorite). I love the anticipation of seeing your favorite dim sum cart approaching you down the aisle. I love seeing what goodies I can eat immediately. Sometimes, traditional is the way to go. I got back to the jury room and freaking knocked out. I was so full I almost puked. Good times. Thanks for reading.
Elite Restaurant
700 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-9998