We’ve been in an underwhelmed sort of state about Dim Sum, ever since our last trip up north. But hearing @chandavkl talk about a new Dim Sum specialist opening up raised our hopes that there might be something special. Xiang Yuan Gourmet has an odd claim to fame when you walk up, stating that it’s a Hong Kong Dim Sum specialist along with serving “Traditional Hunan Cuisine”(!). 
Rather odd / interesting…
The interior decor is fine, with a modest attempt at trying to make the space look more grandiose than it actually is. From the menu presentation and pricing, they are trying to target the Sea Harbour crowd, those looking for a nicer, fancier place to eat (vs. pure value seekers).
Chrysanthemum Tea:
Their Chrysanthemum Tea is fine, lightly floral and easy drinking. 
After seeing the 21 types of Tea offered at Dragon Beaux (and what we had was amazing), it’s kind of hard to go back to just 4 or 5 selections, and generically listed at that (no provenance or specialist type of Tea). 
Xiang Yuan Gourmet follows the trend of the Order Off The Menu-type of Dim Sum (No Carts).
Pork Siu Mai:
One of the classic dishes at Dim Sum, Xiang Yuan’s Pork Siu Mai are the largest Siu Mai we’ve ever seen! It’s probably ~150 - 175% the size of normal Siu Mai / Shumai.
Biting into it, it’s not too salty, and has some fresh-tasting Shrimp and some Marinated Ground Pork. However, we figured out why it’s so big: There’s a lot of “filler” in there. I’ll leave it up to @ipsedixit @chandavkl @beefnoguy and others to chime in, but it looked like and tasted like… Radish Cake / pasty filling inbetween the Ground Pork and Shrimp.
The overall taste had an almost “creamy / smooth” texture at times, but if you can overlook that part it was fine. Sea Harbour’s is definitely better.
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce:
The Chinese Broccoli was OK. The stems were still crisped and firm, but the leaves portion tasted a bit stringy (as if they used older Chinese Broccoli). The greens at Sea Harbour are definitely better.
Pan Fried Turnip Cake:
This was a solid rendition of the Pan Fried Turnip Cake, having a decent sear on the outside, slightly crisped. A touch oily, but otherwise tasty.
Crystal Shrimp Har Gow:
Another classic offering at Dim Sum, their Crystal Shrimp Har Gow had nicely steamed skins on this first visit: Toothsome, not overcooked and the Shrimp on the inside was zesty(!). As if they used a bit too much Black Pepper, but overall it was delicious.
Shrimp Rice Roll:
Their Shrimp Rice Roll was outstanding! The Rice Roll exterior was tender, slippery, but not overcooked, with some nice texture & density still.
Chicken Knee with Salted Duck Egg Yolk:
This is one of the first dishes that seemed to show flashes of creativity, breaking out of the norm, as they offered up Fried Chicken Knees (Cartilage), tossed with Salted Duck Egg Yolk(!). Which sounded really delicious.
Sadly, this dish was emblematic of a key misstep at Xiang Yuan: Namely a lack of finesse and execution. Here, every single morsel of the Fried Chicken Knee had not only the Cartilage (what you want), but chunks of Bone as well! 
So you had to spit out the hard Bone portion. It was really distracting and really undermined the dish. Besides that the actual flavor of Salted Duck Egg Yolk mixed with the crunchy Fried Chicken exterior was tasty.
To make matters worse, this dish was $15 (+ tax & tip), which is pretty pricey when considering Dim Sum.
House Special Egg Tart:
Their Egg Tarts arrived surprisingly crispy. The outer pastry shell had an almost deep fried texture, really firm, crispy and slightly crunchy. It wasn’t bad at all, but unusual compared to most of the local Dim Sum places. The Egg Tart Custard was creamy, and generally pretty good. I think we liked Jim’s Bakery’s Egg Tarts more, as well as Kee Wah Bakery’s version. But this was fine.
Baked Almond Cream Bun:
This sounded really interesting, but FYI to everyone, it turned out to be a typo for the English translation: This was actually a Taro Bun. 
But luckily I love Taro, so it was still fine, but a surprise, as we were expecting it to be “Almond Cream” per the menu. (When we asked the waiter, he confirmed that this was the correct order, and that yes, it’s supposed to have Taro, LOL.)
The actual Bun was slightly toasted and crisped, warm, and the Taro inside was fragrant, lightly sweet and delicious!
2nd Visit: We wanted to give it another try, and brought along a friend of ours from the SGV.
Water Spinach in Preserved Tofu Sauce:
The stems were a bit uncleaned and could’ve been trimmed more, but otherwise, this was pretty tasty with the Preserved Tofu Sauce, offering something a bit more unique than the usual veggie offerings at Dim Sum.
Sticky Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaf:
I love this dish for Dim Sum, but as we opened up the Lotus Leaf, we noticed the utter fail (just like at Lunasia and a few other Dim Sum shops around here): They wrapped everything in a separate waxed paper, and then Lotus Leaf, which means there was no flavor of the Lotus Leaf seeping into the actual Sticky Rice and dish.
Besides lacking any fragrant Lotus Leaf flavor, the actual Sticky Rice was overly glutinous and really stuck together. This was pretty mediocre.
Green Tea Baked Meal Package (a.k.a., BBQ Pork Charsiu Bao):
The waitress mentioned they have a special today, not on the menu, which was a Green Tea Charsiu Baked Bao, which sounded really neat. We were hoping this was some of the innovation that might make Xiang Yuan stand out from the other Dim Sum restaurants locally.
First, visually, the color was a frightening Pastel / Abnormal Green. Mixing in Green Tea into the Dough to make a Baked BBQ Pork Bun shouldn’t look like this. 
But taking a bite, it was like a sugary Charsiu Baked Bao (maybe 150% sweeter than the usual Charsiu Baked Bao at most places). It was OK, and more for the novelty of the visuals I think (and not even close to the execution or taste of Dragon Beaux).
Preserved Egg & Pork Congee:
Their Preserved Egg & Pork Congee was solid. Not too thick or thin, it had a nice consistency, and the chunks of Pork were nice and meaty and fresh tasting. The Thousand Year Old Egg matched nicely with the rest of the ingredients.
Crystal Shrimp Har Gow:
We had to order this again on this 2nd visit to make sure it was consistent. Sadly, this visit’s Har Gow were a touch overcooked, steamed too long, leading to the skins breaking easily and the Shrimp falling out.
Beef Tripe in Satay Sauce:
Their Beef Tripe in Satay Sauce was really bad. It was the worst dish we had in both of our visits. The Tripe was undercooked, supremely chewy and firm.
Pork Siu Mai:
The 2nd time ordering Pork Siu Mai was the same as the first visit: It’s nice and meaty, and huge, with the same filler material inside, besides the chunks of Shrimp and Marinated Ground Pork. It tasted fine (a respectable version), but not as good as Sea Harbour.
Mushroom Bun:
Visually, I have to admit Xiang Yuan did a great job: This looks like a real Mushroom! But note that this is actually a Chinese Steamed Bun(!).
That was really cool, but it was about the taste: Taking a bite, it’s soft and pliable like a Steamed Bun, and the center is filled with a Brown Mushroom Stew mixture. It seemed “tasty,” and yet also oddly familiar…
Then we all looked up at each other, and my friend blurts out, “Doesn’t this taste like Campbell’s Beef Mushroom Soup?”
!!!
IT DID. LOL. 
Seriously, after she said that, it totally clicked: It tasted like some version of Campbell’s Mushroom Soup or something.
It’s not bad, but after the visuals, there should be more inside than a pre-made Soup/Stew mixture. It reminded of the times we used to eat at some random Hong Kong Cafe that my friends took me to years ago: When they served generic “Cream of… (Corn, Mushroom, Chicken, Random Item)” Soup! LOL. They all tasted so generic and pre-made.
This could’ve been an amazing, creative Dim Sum offering, but after getting part of the way there, Xiang Yuan fails, and cuts corners (the actual filling).
Crispy Seafood Roll Wrapped with Rice Paper:
This was delicious! 
Their slippery, but toothsome, Rice Roll exterior surrounds an interior of Deep Fried Seafood Mixture. I tasted some Shrimp, some Mushrooms, and my friend said the menu in Chinese said there was Crab Roe (that might’ve been the (good) brininess that I tasted, besides the Shrimp). So you got this silky, soft exterior, and a crunchy interior.
Definitely a standout item.
Egg & Seaweed Roll:
And just when we thought there might be a breakthrough, the Egg & Seaweed Roll arrives. This was another “creative” menu item, which turned out to be Seaweed wrapping up some Marinated Ground Pork, Egg Whites (that were a bit slimy), and… Canned Corn.
Seriously, generic Canned Corn Kernels.
The whole thing tasted no bueno. The Seaweed was soggy and stuck together and chewy, the Marinated Ground Pork was the only decent part, and you got some slimy Egg Whites and then disconcerting Canned Corn. Awful. 
Service was pretty haphazard, and definitely a step below Sea Harbour (let along Dragon Beaux). And for price, it turned out more expensive than Sea Harbour(!), running on average about $30+ per person.
Xiang Yuan Gourmet is a solid Dim Sum restaurant if you’re in the area: They make a respectable Shrimp Har Gow and the Pork Siu Mai are fine (if a bit overstuffed with filler). Their Rice Rolls (Shrimp Rice Rolls, and the creative Crispy Seafood Rice Rolls) are outstanding, and worth trying, along with the “Almond Cream Bun” (actually Taro Bun).
However, while some of the dishes they have seem to exude some creativity on paper, in execution, they are disappointments: The Green Tea BBQ Pork Bun, the Mushroom Bun, Seaweed & Egg Roll and many others are just lacking the execution and skill and taste to make them anything but disappointing.
Sea Harbour still reigns in So Cal, but even that falls far short of the stunning Dragon Beaux. Here’s to hoping we get a branch of Dragon Beaux in L.A. soon.
Xiang Yuan Gourmet
9556 E. Las Tunas Dr.
Temple City, CA 91780
Tel: (626) 286-6788