Drive along the San Gabriel Valley’s endless boulevards, and you’ll be hit by a riptide of noodle houses and dim sum halls. The smell of toasted garlic and chile wafts through its more than 300 square miles, in an expanse known for decades as a regional and modern Chinese food mecca.
Of all the staple foods, one delicious, juicy entity arguably remains king of this land: dumplings. Found in all shapes and sizes, they can be enjoyed over breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sometimes they have lacy, crispy skirts, and sometimes they are chewy, broth-filled bombs of delicious joy. Either way, you’ll find the best dumplings in Los Angeles among the neighborhoods that make up the San Gabriel Valley.
This up-to-date guide was crafted by two dumpling-obsessed experts in the industry who also reside in the San Gabriel Valley. If you live there, too, this guide can act as a gentle reminder not to take the scene for granted. If you are a food-obsessed person, this guide will surely help craft the dumpling crawl of your dreams. From minced fish to chopped shrimp to tofu-filled to an oversized XLB, there is a dumpling for everyone here.
Here are the best ones. — Javier Cabral
QINGDAO BREAD FOOD ~ MONTEREY PARK
When it comes to “best” fish dumplings in the SGV, the debate is down to two: You Kitchen and Qingdao Bread Food. Either are great choices, but a very slight nod goes to this O.G.’s pan-fried sole with leek (also available with parsley).
As old school as it can get, Qingdao Bread Food’s small space is like a step into an earlier time in the SGV, in a good way. It is the ultimate dumpling house experience. A written order sheet bridges any language barrier.
While there are other items, dumplings and baos dominate, served with a killer garlic sauce. It won’t kill you, but the aftermath might kill your friendships. And if any of your friends are vampires, it literally will kill them.
The omnipresent caddy of black vinegar, soy sauce, and chile can substitute for the garlic averse.
301 N. Garfield Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754
HUI TOU XIANG ~ SAN GABRIEL/HOLLYWOOD
For more than a decade, Hui Tou Xiang has served its unique-looking take on dumplings. Their namesake hui tou is a tubular dumpling, drawing descriptions ranging from Jonathan Gold’s “Chinese blintz” or burrito to a “long XLB.”
We’d compare it more to a long shen jian bao with a dumpling wrapper. Filled with a finger length mix of minced pork and onion, pan-fried to a crisp, golden brown and juice-filled. Keep this in mind as the piping hot juice can squirt or splash out. We’d recommend not eating it in a hurry.
A splash of black vinegar, or a mix of black vinegar and soy sauce, really sets off the pork filling. The flavor is very onion-forward, so be forewarned. It also comes available with beef. Much like Qingdao Bread Food, the 22-seat restaurant in San Gabriel is spare and small, and everything a dumpling house should be.
704 W. Las Tunas Dr. Suite 5 San Gabriel, CA 91776
HAPPY NOODLE ~ TEMPLE CITY
Another long-time spot, Happy Noodle has operated nearly 20 years in an older, tucked away building, just off of Lower Azusa Road, a road less travelled for many SGV food seekers.
While you can’t go wrong with any of the dumpling options here (including a unique steamed dumpling with squash), the pan-fried lamb dumplings are a standout. Lightly browned in the pan, filled with lamb meat, onions and shredded carrots, upon first taste they remind one of the flavors one might find in Uyghur, Afghan, or other Central Asian cuisines.
These aren’t spectacular, they aren’t earth shaking, they are simply a solid choice for lamb filled dumplings.
In the past, we’ve had pan-fried dumplings here served with a photogenic, crispy, crunchy lace-like skirt created by a slurry, but unfortunately this time it wasn’t ready for its close-up.
4815 El Monte Ave. Temple City, CA 91780
SPRING DUMPLINGS ~ ROSEMEAD
Historically, one of the least represented regional cuisines in the SGV is Fujianese. Yet, one of the most unique dumplings in the SGV is a Fujian item at Spring Dumplings, located at the back of a Rosemead strip mall.
Even more specifically, there are Shaxian dumplings from Shaxian District in Fujian Province. Steamed, with nearly translucent, pleated skins that resemble leaves, and filled with a mix of minced pork and carrots, the dumplings are served with a traditional, thick dipping sauce of peanut and sesame. The flavor of the filling is unlike any other dumpling we’ve run across, and the texture provides a chewier mouthfeel.
If you find yourself in the Eastern San Gabriel Valley, you can find these at Shaxian Snacks in Rowland Heights, where they are called Willow Leaf steamed dumplings. Another unique dumpling available here is the rarely seen, pescatarian-friendly mackerel dumplings from Shandong Province.
8508 E. Valley Blvd. Suite 101 Rosemead, CA 91770
MIAN ~ SAN GABRIEL/WEST ADAMS
When Chef Tony Xu opened acclaimed Sichuan eatery Chengdu Taste in 2013, it’s fair to write that his restaurant changed the entire SGV dining scene.
Xu followed that up in 2016 with Mian, a Chongqing-style noodle concept that featured a menu once limited to noodles, wontons/dumplings, and appetizers. While that notoriously small menu has expanded in two of those areas, the five wonton/dumping options remain from before.
The standout here is the chile oil chao shou: Sichuan-style wontons/dumplings (both terms fit), filled with pork and served in a bowl atop a restrained pool of bright red chile oil. This restraint is appreciated, as some Sichuan places tip the chile oil bottle a bit much. Spiciness level is up to the diner.
301 W. Valley Blvd. Suite 114-115 San Gabriel, CA 91776
P.P. POP ~ MONTEREY PARK
Taiwanese snack spot P.P. Pop has long been the favorite for budget xiao long bao. Wait! Aren’t xiao long bao Shanghainese? Yes they are, but world XLB leader [REDACTED] is also Taiwanese, so get over it.
You won’t find chicken or Kurobata pork fillings at this busy spot. You also aren’t going to get ones as refined as that mall chain place, which means you might get a couple that stick, tear their skins, and lose their soup. Be aware of this going in.
What you will get is a basic, solid, flavorful pork filled XLB. P.P. Pop has been hailed for years as the best QPR for XLB, and it remains a leader in that category. Another XLB favorite, Shanghai Dumpling House, was closed at the time of publication. They are on their summer break and re-open on August 1st.
127 N. Garfield Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754
SINGKAWANG CAFE ~ EL MONTE
Easily one of the most interesting and unique dumplings served in the SGV is available at a regional Indonesian restaurant in front of an El Monte badminton club. This is appropriate, as badminton is the national sport of the island nation.
Singkawang Café specializes in items from Singkawang, a port city on the west coast of the island of Kalimantan (formerly known as Borneo).
While Indonesian cuisine in general is a diverse mix of many different influences, both local and from international trading partners, Chinese immigrants from Teochow particularly influenced the local cuisine. This could not be more apparent than with choi pan.
With almost translucent wrappers made from rice and sago flour, these steamed dumplings are filled with chopped jicama and chives and cooked with dried shrimp, topped with fried garlic and served with a very spicy dipping sauce.
10404 Valley Blvd. El Monte, CA 91731
***WENDY ZENG STARTS HERE (not sure how we wish to note the transition between writers)
LUNASIA ~ ALHAMBRA/PASADENA/CERRITOS/TORRANCE
Sit down at any dim sum spot, and har gow is often the first item listed on the menu—this is the “litmus test” dumpling that sets the tone. Lunasia hits all the notes of a grade-A har gow.
The wheat starch wrapper is translucent enough to see the blushing shrimp glowing through it like a jewel, but strong enough to hold its shape when picked up with chopsticks. No tears or gumminess, just delicious chew with a slight bounce.
Averaging 11-12 pleats, it is clear somebody in the kitchen took the proper time. Whole succulent shrimp, still snappy, savory, and fresh—all of what you hope every har gow could taste like.
We couldn't help ourselves and also got har gow’s goth twin, the mala har gow, which arrived in a black sheen with a beautiful gold streak down the middle while the shrimp filling tasted like a Sichuan spice blend.
We recommend getting here early or on a weekday, or get ready to be humbled by the line.
500 W. Main St. Alhambra, CA 91801
MONGOLIAN PIE ~ MONTEREY PARK/ROWLAND HEIGHTS
When the steamer basket hits the table, these shaomai look nothing like the cylindrical pork meatballs in yellow wrappers people recognize from Cantonese dim sum. This Northern version is the OG, before its popularity spread to Southern China and evolved into the Cantonese version that made its way overseas first.
Born to the climate and lifestyle of Mongolian nomads, these small yet hefty parcels deliver a rich and savory depth that was built to keep the people of the vast mountainous grasslands filled. The wrapper is paper-thin but holds the dense meatball without breaking and comes together at the top layered for a satisfying al dente chew.
The move is to eat it in a soup spoon so you catch all the juice. When you devour these shaomai dipped in ginger, vinegar, and chile sauce, marvel over just how far certain Chinese foods travel and evolve across regions before landing on a plate in the SGV.
500 N. Atlantic Blvd. Ste 110 Monterey Park, CA 91754
CHONGQING SPECIAL NOODLES ~ SAN GABRIEL
Many famous Sichuan snacks are named after the chef or family that created them and Zhong dumpling ranks one of the most iconic as well as a personal favorite.
The chile oil aroma hits your nose as soon as you walk in. The dumplings are served in generous portions tossed in toasted chile oil, Sichuan peppercorn tingles, grated garlic, a touch of sugar, and vinegar, keeping the spice level craveable instead of attacking all your senses.
The wrapper deliberately skips the pleats and opts for a thin pork filling to produce the satisfying al dente chew associated with the Zhong dumplings. Infused with aromatic ginger, scallion, and peppercorn water, the pork is anything but bland. The sauce and the starch from the wrapper bind together, forming a creamy, gravy-like coating that’s really the star of this dish.
As a Sichuan native, eating the Zhong Dumpling from this spot feels like a homecoming.
708 E. Las Tunas Dr. San Gabriel, CA 91776
GOOD ALLEY ~ ROSEMEAD
You know the drill. Pick up the topknot with your chopsticks, the wrapper should be thin and fresh enough to move it with the broth inside, but strong enough to survive the journey from steamer to sauce bowl to spoon without splitting.
Good Alley delivers on that XLB experience and then some. Inspired by XLB’s predecessor, the Guan Tang Bao from Kaifeng, Good Alley’s soup dumplings have a slightly thicker wrapper and a richer, more concentrated broth than the XLB at that popular chain that shall remain unnamed.
They offer a variety of fillings (pork, each stuffed with matching, protein-specific bone broth jellies (pork, beef, chicken). Pork is the original, but I’m putting the lighter, chicken-filled XLB to the test.
Biting off a small hole to let the steam out, a thick broth filled my soup spoon releasing an intense chicken aroma. Even with chicken, the richer broth still delivers on that satisfying XLB craving.
8450 E. Valley Blvd. #108, Rosemead, CA 91770
LUSCIOUS DUMPLINGS ~ MONROVIA/BEVERLY HILLS
Is it a Chinese chopped cheese dumpling? Perhaps a burger dumpling? It doesn’t know or care. It just knows that juicy beef, caramelized onion sweetness, and melty cheese pulls are delicious together even if nobody’s grandma was doing it back in the day.
This Crazy Rich ABC dumpling didn’t completely throw ancestral wisdom out the window. It nods to tradition by hitting all the proper notes of a good guotie (posticker)—crispy on the outside, deeply browned skirt on the bottom and chewy on the inside.
A 3:1 vinegar-to-soy sauce ginger sauce dip ratio melds together to cut the richness. It’s comfort food meets comfort food, across oceans, in this unassuming restaurant in an SGV strip mall.
The challenge is to eat it while still hot so the cheese stays melty, but not so hurried that the juices squirt all over your shirt. Makeshift napkin bibs recommended.
919 W. Duarte Rd. Monrovia, CA 91016
LONG XING JI JUICY DUMPLING ~ BALDWIN PARK
The “xiao” in xiao long bao means small, which is the exact opposite of the specialty here. Though they also serve XLB, Long Zing Ji's juiciest dumpling is their giant soup dumpling, which comes with a straw, because a bib is not enough.
A single dumpling fills an entire small steamer basket and jiggles when it lands on your table. The wrapper is thicker and stretchier than a regular XLB to hold all that soup. I’ve never had a hot soup dumpling this big, so I approached it with natural trepidation, for fear of the filling spilling everywhere.
The integrity of the wrapper held impressively well and you get a savory, crabby richness in bisque form. The pork creates the rich base while the crab roe brings out the natural sweetness of pork while adding that distinct, briny depth on top. Split it open after a couple of sips and eat the rest of the dumpling or share family-style.
1628 Puente Ave. Baldwin Park, CA 91706
LUCKY 1 ~ ROSEMEAD
This cash-only, to-go dim sum spot located next to a Mexican supermarket has been a staple of the neighborhood for years. I came here twice before getting to try the scallop dumpling because they sold out early both times.
Their specialties are the usual dim sum suspects (har gow, shumai, black bean ribs, bbq pork buns), but don’t sleep on adding the lesser known scallop dumpling in the mix.
Similar to the restaurant’s classic har gow, the gem-worthy steamed dumpling comes with two pieces of shrimp and a whole bay scallop wrapped in translucent, chewy, wheat starch dough. The savory, oceanic flavor combo is more intense than shrimp-only hargow, making it perfect for seafood lovers.
No need for any fancy sauce combinations: a simple vinegar and ginger dip mellows out the briny notes and brings out the sweetness of the fillings.
Since this is a to-go spot, plan to eat curbside or in the car when it’s still hot, maintaining the fresh snap of the shrimp and scallop.
7637 Garvey Ave. Rosemead, CA 91770
