Dim Sum & Hong Kong Seafood Specialist - Sea Harbour

Did your friends like the chicken feet? I find, generally, that if I can get someone to try one they like them. And the rice flour rolls with beef we far prefer to shrimp. Great pix too.

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Hi @catholiver,

Thanks. One of our friends was OK with it. The other friend took a nibble and gave it to her hubby, LOL.

Last summer my then 5-1/2 y.o. grand-boy had a nibble also :slight_smile:

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In a Cantonese restaurant serving dim sum, literally no one can hear XLB screams. People are talking too loudly. :slight_smile:

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you can hear them at lunasia then.

I know this is from last year, so prices change, but the live spot prawns at 99 Ranch this week were also $30/lb.

Even though I frequent SGV, I’ve never been to Sea Habour because of their ridiculous wait time. That changed this morning. There wasn’t a wait since I got there right when they opened. :sunglasses:


Unusually calm and good service for a dim sum joint.


Your usual chili oil, hot sauce, and yellow mustard for dipping.


Perhaps a little too much for a party of 2? :joy:


Milk with Egg White Custard Tart
Mildly sweet and custardy center. However the tart was only decently flaky but the bottom of the tart sitting below the custard got a touch soggy from sitting out of the oven for too long.


Baked Mix Mushroom Custard Tart
I’ve never seen this anywhere else!

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How was it? Outer crust was, again, decently flaky but chopped mushroom filling was quite bland.


French Style Baked BBQ Pork Bun
This was excellent! :heart_eyes:


The soft, sweet, and savory BBQ pork filling contrasted very well with the slight crunch of the sugar(?) crust atop the bun.


Deep Fried Sesame Ball


For those you who frequent dim sum restaurants, you can probably tell from the picture that the sesame ball was below average. The entire ball was filled with dough and sweet lotus seed puree so there was 0 air pocket which made it quite heavy when it should’ve been light.


Pork & Shrimp Dumpling with Truffle Sauce / Siu Mai
Exemplary! Definitely amongst the best I’ve had despite the sloppy presentation. :yum:


Shrimp Dumpling / Har Gow
Another mighty fine example of har gow! Truly excellent. The dumpling skin had just the right amount of thickness and elasticity so it gives you that oh-so-satisfying mouthfeel. The shrimp filling got the perfect amount of snappiness and, oddly enough, I tasted a touch of truffle oil in the midst of oceany flavor. It all worked quite well!


Sticky Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf


As you can probably tell from the picture, this rendition is mediocre at best. Fillings were used sparingly. Moreover, it lacked the usual “lap cheong”/Chinese sausage and a slice of abalone that you would find, as you should, at higher end dim sum restaurants.


Fish Roes with Scallop Dumpling
Another hit! It’s much like a har gow with succulent shrimp filling inside the elastic rice flour skin except that it’s now topped with perfectly steamed scallop and dollop of savory fish roes for flavor, popping mouthfeel, and elegance.


Steamed Plain Rice Noodle
Fantastic cheong fun! Layered, soft, smooth, and supple! It’s the best I’ve had at a dim sum restaurants but still a notch below the perfect ones at Hong Kong Cafe.

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Deep Fried Purple Sweet Potato Ball


This was mediocre. It’s got a nice and mildy sweet flavor from the purple sweet potato. However, the filling was overly dense which gave it a bit of an overly gooey mouthfeel.


Date Pudding
Layered with good dried date flavor but it’s again a touch too gooey.


Overall, Sea Harbour had some excellent dim sum but others were just mediocre. However, do note that this review was critically written based on that fact that Sea Harbour is often described as “the best” dim sum joint around. I wouldn’t dispute that fact if we’re only comparing steamed items (sans sticky rice wrapped with lotus leaf) and the baked BBQ buns. However, I find the rest of their items rather pedestrian compared to other top-tier places like Wing Lei, Elite, Lunasia, and King Hua.

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You seem to really like the sweet items. I wonder if that could affect your overall opinion. For instance, we NEVER have anything sweet. Just a wandering comment :wink:

I like em all whether it leans savory or sweet but I generally shy away from overly sweet items/desserts. It’s all about finesse! :yum:

Ah, okay. I guess we differ on what’s “sweet.” How do you feel about chicken feet? lol.

Who doesn’t love sucking on chicken feet?! :sunglasses:

Even my 6 y.o. grandson tried them with us.

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The key is to expose them to all kinds of weird food and flavors when they’re young so they won’t find them “weird” when they’re grown up! You’re doing an excellent job!

Actually his other grandmother started it. For every ten new foods he tries she takes him to the toy store. After he tried squid with us I got an email from her asking me to “verify” that. LOL.

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Chef Keller, is that you?!

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Now that you mentioned it, I think I did read something similar from the TFL FB/IG posts! Hahaha!

Actually I think it’s all about good/great food. F**k finesse :wink:

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They go hand in hand across all cultures though. For example, a really rich dish that has acidity cutting through the richness, adding salt to boost a dish that’s served cold, or adding sweetness to counter a salty dish. I consider these balancing acts finesse.

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And I consider that good cooking. It’s what, for me, constitutes “good cooking.” I wouldn’t use “finesse” to describe great BBQ or mac n cheese or… But that’s just me.

I guess we just apply the word finesse differently since I see the need in finesse in creating a great tasting BBQ sauce or Mac N cheese sauce too. :rofl:

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