Dim Sum & Hong Kong Seafood Specialist - Sea Harbour

The term tofu got printed on the menu cuz shopowners probably wanted a term the customers were already familiar with.
And that “awful” red bean soup can be sublime when prepared properly and served in the right setting.

Yes. I would say the best meal I’ve had in the SGV is dinner at Sea Harbour. That was a while back.

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The secret to a fantastic red bean soup aside from the beans and cooking technique, is the aged dried orange peel, and it has to be specific and in quality. There are high end Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong that source and use specimens aged 20 to upwards of 30+ years and a small bowl of the dessert at such a place can be very, very expensive.

I’ve had “no age statement” good quality dried orange peel bits in a steamed beef patty (Cantonese style) that was crucial to the overall experience, absolutely sublime.

Also almond tofu is much much less interesting than the egg white almond “tea” (more of a grounded Chinese almond milky paste, the el cheapo places use powder instead of grinding it themselves)

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Glad you like the minced pork/pork patty dish. It’s a classic home style dish. Looking at the menu, they also serve steamed eggs with scallops, another homey dish. (clams is more common). Over white rice it should hit the same comfort feeling.

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Thanks for the rec @JeetKuneBao. :slight_smile:

I saw that steamed eggs dish, but wasn’t sure how good it was. I’ll definitely order it next time. :slight_smile:

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My younger but very hearty eater brother was in town, and happy to join my husband and I on a dim sum extravaganza. A third, hearty eater helped me not get those stares I usually get when I drag one friend and order enough to feed an army.

We got there around 11:30 on a Friday and had a 20 minute or so wait.

Finally, someone who would share the chicken feet with me - good little bro! The only thing about these were they were a tad under cooked. Not raw by any means, but the cartilage not meltingly tender.

These french style buns were the perfect combo of sweet, the topping, and salty pork filling.

The last time I had this dish, fried cartilage, was at Chef Tony Seafood restaurant, and that was like cartilage crack! This was cooked, but again, not cooked to until properly tender.

Not shocking, but the tripe was also not as tender as most, but still good.

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Really enjoyed this eggplant dish!
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We all enjoyed this truffle dim sum.

For me, this dish was too sweet, not like the french pork bun.

These were all good!

Liked these ribs, even though they could have been more tender!!

These sticky rice tamale-like dim sum were good, but don’t think I would order again. They are too filling, so filling to flavor ratio too high. Got to think strategically :grin:

I do wonder if I came on a bad day for the kitchen, in terms of the tripe, cartilage and chicken feet tenderness. My husband thought Chef Tony was better, overall. My brother was just happy to partake.

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When done ‘perfectly’ the eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste is one of our faves. But it pretty much has to be cooked to order. IMO :slight_smile: And I’ve never thought to ask what the difference is between the chicken feet like you had and the ones we get that are ‘brown’/caramel colored.

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I think we got the one with chili. I just looked at the menu on Yelp and I’m pretty sure it was that one. I remember the broth was addictive! For some reason, the word Angelica sauce keeps popping up in my mind, but maybe that was a different resto.

were the chicken feet served with a vinegar sauce? i noticed when prepared that way, the chicken feet tend to be what you described as undercooked but they are perhaps going for a different texture? asian cuisines do tend to look to complement textures with flavors more so than typical western cuisines.

as for the deep fried chicken knees, i’ve had them similarly firmer on the inside. now that i think about, the crunchy exterior with a creamier interior would have been interesting, but i liked the crispy/crunchy contrast the way they were.

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It was more like a super salty chicken broth.

The not super soft cartilage didn’t stop me from popping them into my mouth!

i’ve had that dish before at sea harbour and that’s how they were done; and that version is done similarly at king hua as well. i’m pretty sure that’s the intended texture.

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Now that I think about it, it was the tripe and tendon dish we got. And for me, like the knee dish, the tendon was not as super soft as say Raku, where it melts in the mouth. I know that this just might be my preference and you are right, this is the intend degree of tenderness, though the version at Chef Tony was super soft, also, which made me think this might have been a mistake.

At Parks BBQ, the tripe is way to chewy for my taste, but I know that they serve it that way on purpose.

Chef Tony’s chicken are braised/stewed; the Sea Harbour ones are steamed/poached. This will account for the difference in texture.

As to the tripe, never had crunchy tripe at Sea Harbour (or Chef Tony).

Fried cartilage is great, washed with a cold beer!!

I don’t see knees often. The cartilage trimmed off the frame seems more common,at least in Taiwan. Never had any cooked tender, always to a soft crunch.

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As I child, I LOVED to gnaw on chicken cartilage and I remember my father always disapproving, mostly of the sound, I think. Being able to order it in a restaurant is like having your childhood dreams come to life!!

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Hi @Xochitl,

Thanks for the report. Yah there are 2 different chicken feet dishes on the menu. The one in brown sauce is always cooked down / stewed to a really tender texture. :slight_smile:

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Update 3:

More friends visiting from out-of-town, and they were dying to get some Dim Sum, so off we went to Sea Harbour. :slight_smile:

Pork and Shrimp Dumpling with Truffle - Siu Mai:

There is only one option for Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings) at Sea Harbour these days. Normally adding Black Truffles to a dish is a good thing, but the ones at Sea Harbour taste like the Asian variety, nowhere near as fragrant and earthy and aromatic as Perigord Black Truffles. But besides that, the Pork & Shrimp Dumplings are juicy and tender and delicious as usual. :slight_smile:

French Style Baked BBQ Pork Buns:

These were a strange hybrid between the Baked and Steamed BBQ Pork (Charsiu) Buns (that are also on the menu). We had never tried these before, they were slightly crunchy, but they weren’t anything like the Tim Ho Wan-style famous BBQ Pork Buns.

Sticky Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf:

As wonderful as before: Sea Harbour still makes this dish with the Sticky Rice wrapped directly by the Lotus Leaves (vs. most places these days wrapping them in parchment paper and using cheaper, fall apart Lotus Leaves (so you get almost no flavor)).

The Sticky Rice, morsels of juicy Chicken and Duck Egg are delicious together. :blush:

Steamed Chicken Feet in Brown Sauce:

Cooked to a really tender consistency, it’s an acquired taste, but quite tasty, savory with just a touch of sweetness, and some bits of Chicken Cartilage with the soft stewed Chicken Skin.

Shrimp Dumpling - Har Gow:

Excellent. The Shrimp Dumpling wrapper is steamed just right, tender, pliable, but with a subtle nice mouthfeel. Plump, juicy Shrimp. :slight_smile:

Steamed Rice Noodle with Minced Beef and Chinese Parsley:

Their Steamed Rice Noodles are silky, slippery and cooked just right. The Minced Beef and Parsley filling tastes freshly cooked and nicely seasoned. :slight_smile:

Deep Fried Smelt in Spicy Salt & Pepper:

I love their Deep Fried Smelt! :slight_smile: Crispy, crunchy bites of Smelt Fish, nicely seasoned with Salt & Pepper and Green Onions.

Dry Scallop & Meat Ball Congee:

A nice consistency, not too thick, nor too watery, this is an excellent Rice Porridge, lightly salted with tender bits of Meatballs and a bit of pleasing brininess from the Dried Scallops stewed to a tender texture.

Poached Spinach Topped with Minced Beef:

A more decadent way to enjoy your veggies, Sea Harbour poaches a mound of Spinach with a Minced Beef Gravy, resulting in a delicious combination of tender Marinated Ground Beef and tender Spinach. :slight_smile:

Steamed Preserved Salty Egg Yolk Bun:

One of the best Desserts at Sea Harbour during Dim Sum, these Steamed Buns arrive piping hot, and make sure you carefully break them open, letting the trapped steam escape and cool off a bit before you bite into it.

Because at that point, you’re treated to this amazing oozing Egg Liquid Custard, a bit salty and sweet at the same time and SO GOOD! :heart:

Milk and Egg White Custard Tart:

This is an interesting take on the classic Dim Sum Egg Tart: Sea Harbour is serving one with Egg Whites instead of Egg Yolks. Visually it’s a bit shocking at first. Taste-wise? It’s OK. It tastes like a lighter, less egg-y Egg Tart, but a healthier alternative perhaps.

Deep Fried Purple Sweet Potato Balls:

Unfortunately @ipsedixit’s favorite (and amazing) French Style Taro Buns are currently rotated off the menu, :frowning: so we decided to try this newer Dessert. These are actually not very sweet (a good thing), and they arrive piping hot, freshly fried little Sweet Potato Balls with a Sweet Potato filling.

Service is as solid as usual, with our servers clearing dishes and replacing our plates from time-to-time and filling up our Tea without asking.

Sea Harbour remains our favorite Dim Sum in L.A., and they continue to deliver an excellent selection of Dim Sum classics and some newer dishes as well.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
Tel: (626) 288-3939

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Several weeks ago they had these amazing water chestnut and black sesame balls. Just amazing.

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!!! Why didn’t you tell us? :cry:

Was it for Dim Sum or Dinner? Thanks.

Dim sum.

The water chestnuts gave a nice crunchy texture to the black sesame filling.

In a strange way, it sorted reminded me of an Almond Roca, deep fried in glutinous rice flour. I know, sounds like a County Fair creation gone bad, but it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g

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