Best dim sum dishes to order and how to tell if they’re good

If you grew up anywhere near the San Gabriel Valley, you could probably write this cheat sheet yourself. I was lucky enough to spend nearly every summer morning seated with my grandmother at a big round table in one of the numerous dim sum halls in the SGV. This was back when nearly every restaurant serving dim sum had carts. Filled with metal steamers or glass windows boasting fried ham Sui gok or pan-fried dumplings, the carts would roll through the dining room, their handlers simultaneously dishing out helpings to diners while advertising offerings to the entire dining room.

Lo bak go never tasted better than when it was fresh off the cart, the edges of the turnip cake still sizzling. I used to look for the cart with the mountain of gai lan and request extra oyster sauce for the long, leafy stalks of broccoli.

If the dim sum was good, you’d likely be spending half the meal standing, head on a swivel, looking for the cart with your favorites. If I spotted it across the room, I’d wave it down. And if that failed, I’d get up to go retrieve the dish myself.

You can still find carts at some of the dim sum restaurants around town, but recently, I’ve found the most consistent offerings from the places that require you to check off what you’d like from a paper menu.

If you’ve never been, or just need a refresher, here are five dishes to look for the next time you order dim sum. There are dozens more dishes to explore. These are the five I order every time, the dishes that remind me of those summer mornings with my grandmother. I recommend that you bring friends and order it all.

Shumai

This is the dumpling I use as a litmus test for all dim sum restaurants. The filing is a combination of pork and shrimp, with bits of shiitake mushroom. A wonton wrapper is used to cradle the bottom of the filling, leaving the top exposed, and just enough surface area to crown the dumpling with a tiny dollop of orange fish roe. The pork, shrimp and mushroom create a meatball of sorts that should be juicy, with all three components present in each bite. And the wrapper should cling to the filling, so that when you pluck the dumpling from the steamer, it remains intact. Some places like to get fancy with a truffle topping, or maybe even lobster in the filling, but it’s difficult to beat the classic version of the dumpling.

Find the best at: Big Ma’s Kitchen and Sea Harbour

Har gau

Har gau from Lunasia in Alhambra.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

If I were to choose another litmust test (and the dumpling my colleagues deputy Food editor Betty Hallock and reporter Stephanie Breijo use), it would be har gau. Depending on whom you ask, these crystal shrimp dumplings are the most popular offering at dim sum. The dumplings are filled with plump, seasoned, coarsley chopped shrimp and encased in a translucent dough often made with both wheat starch and tapioca starch. The combination of starches gives the dough its crystal appearance and a chewy texture. The best har gau feature wrappers that are thin but sturdy, and filling that’s well seasoned.

Find the best at: Lunasia

Cheung fun

Special fried shrimp red rice rolls at Big Ma’s Kitchen in Rosemead.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

The rolls are made from thin sheets of steamed rice noodles rolled around a variety of filling including shrimp, barbecue pork, beef and green onion. The noodles should be tender and never tough, with enough sauce poured over the top to allow for easy separation. As for the best filling, that’s completely up to you. A favorite is zhaliang, a doughnut known as youtaio wrapped inside of cheung fun. The noodle roll should be silky around the crisp doughnut.

Find the best at: Big Ma’s Kitchen and Sea Harbour

Char siu bao

Tearing into a steamed char siu bao at Palette Dim Sum & Seafood in Tustin.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

Steamed or baked, you’ll typically find a barbecue pork-filled bao on every table at dim sum. The steamed variety resemble stark white clouds, with soft, fluffy boulders of dough around a sweet pork center. The baked are often golden and glossy, with a bready-er exterior that’s often sweet. Either kind should be warm when they arrive at the table.

Find the best at: Sea Harbour

Lo Mai Gai

Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, also known as lo mai gai, at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant in Rosemead.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

I often think of lo mai gai as a mini parcel. You unfold the lotus leaf-wrapped present to reveal a hunk of sticky rice crowded with hidden treasures. While bits of tender chicken thigh and mushroom are common, you can often find dried shrimp, rounds of lap cheung and salted egg yolk buried in the center. The rice is wonderfully sticky and a little sweet, seasoned with dark soy sauce. Depending on the size, lo mai gai can feel like a complete meal. It’s tempting to share, but then you’d have to share the salted egg yolk. And that could be a problem.

Find the best at: Sea Harbour or Longo Seafood