So where would you suggest dining?
Ji Rong, Beijing Restaurant, Hunan Mao, anywhere Cept seafood/dimsum canto houses
just drove by elite and shi hai; the “asinine” thing would be to wait in line with the throng and suffer shit service/stupid crowds on Christmas.
Also, right now, 12:07, there is exactly one table left (4-top) on the patio at Szechuan impression. Cuz it’s freezing in LA.
TonyC -
Well feel free to mock me, the hubster and I waited at Capital Seafood for dim sum today. Why? We wanted to try a totally different dim sum place from our norm (King Hua or Hong Kong Palace, and yes, we knew it would NOT be fancy) plus, I had a Kee Wah Bakery groupon I needed to use up and it was right there.
Good news? As it was just the two of us our wait was short - maybe 15 minutes. While my husband waited, that gave me time to check out 99 Ranch Markets prices on live lobster - wow, Gelsons is cheaper then them right now!
Definitely not a “must go back immediately” but decent and fun and they had a shrimp and greens dumpling that was excellent. And I got two bags full o stuff from Kee Wah afterwards : )
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it might help to consider that as recently as a few years ago, if you were thinking of a SGV christmas meal, your options were largely established cantonese places (which include dim sum) as the large majority of the non cantonese places were mom & pop holes in the wall which may not have met a certain standard for holiday decorum (even for california). that is no longer true, and for the most part, the places tonyc listed in this thread and in a recent article reflect that.
I can confirm that Chang’s was, and is, open today.
Make apologies to no one.
Eat what you want. Eat it with aplomb. Then give the middle finger to anyone who gets in your way.
Life’s too short.
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exactly. especially on a day that is about spending time with friends and family and having fun.
my friend that i spent the afternoon with (who doesn’t like spicy food) loved her meal of chicken satay, spring rolls and pad thai. while i would have preferred a different restaurant and different dishes, we had a great afternoon catching up, eating lunch and seeing a movie.
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I like to use the expression “destination restaurant”, and Din Tai Fung aside I think it took Chengdu Taste to break through the Cantonese wall for that category of restaurant in the Los Angeles area.
I hope you found a good meal.
Elite was open; and when we got there at 9:55, we were seated immediately. But when we left, there was a line and people were taking numbers.
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Dai Ho perhaps belongs in that category.
Been around longer than DTF, as well. And to this day, despite the maturity of the OC Chinese food scene, people still drive from the OC, as well as Vegas, for their grub. And the mah-jong ladies would probably starve to death without this place around.
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What are the must-try/famous items at Sea Harbour for dinner? I’ve been for lunch, and want to try the dinner soon. Thanks.
for a holiday, i’d up the ante somewhat; for me a ‘destination’ place merely denotes that it’s worth traveling for, but is not necessarily a ‘formal’ place.you know, cloth napkins, wait staff that wears the same uniform, etc.that i’d personally would equate as being more appropriate for a holiday meal. but that’s me; i went to a mid-tier dim sum place last year on christmas day, and by and large the non–chinese clientele were dressed business casual or better.
Spicy liver salad
Well, I couldn’t convince anyone to drive far, so we ended up at Ushuaia for Argentine steaks. 5 minutes from home, they were pretty much the only restaurant open - never before been there, and will definitely be back (and soon). It was very good, and ideal for our group.
Thank you for all of the suggestions, we may try for Chengdu Taste for lunch today!
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Oh, if you’re on “this” side of town, Takuma was also open on Christmas (for future reference).
Glad Ushuaia worked out. What did you get there?
I had the Grilled New York, others had the Rack of Lamb, the grilled Salmon, the Paella and the Filet. Everyone was so happy with their orders, and are still talking about it, today. I bought the chimichurri that they make, happily they bottle it. Better than others I’ve had. Truly my new favorite steak house - super smart of them to be open on Xmas so that we could discover it.
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You may want to compare it charcoal yogachick. Particularly if you liked the chimichurri. charcoal’s chimi was great.
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Ipse -
Thank you.
The day after Xmas Day, we are still enjoying our dim sum leftovers. Really enjoying our Kee Wah bakery treats - yes gads that mango mousse cake thing is light, not too sweet and good. And the sliced coconut bread? Gift worthy.
And as I fight back a cold from the holiday stress (Bake! Candy! Can! Shop! Ship! Repeat!) I am nourished by my neighbors turkey with cilantro soup, his guatemalan tamales- and the friendship that compelled him to share it.
And you guys.
Yay food. Yay folks.
(And yay my hubby, but that’s a given. It’s nice I can get his support - and more! : )
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