A Canadian powerhouse quietly opened its doors in a forgettable strip mall along the PCH. Redondo's Riveria may be gentrifying left and right, but the small beach city itself still has some buried treasure left. Jiayuan Dumpling House just dug a little hole in the wall between a Mathnasium and an empty shop, and they let their cooking speak for itself. Staffed by a small crew spanning multiple generations, this little mom-and-pop place was wholly unprepared for the publicity they would receive.
The wait time for take-out is at least an hour if you go during any time a reasonable person would eat. Don't even think about calling in - their phone rang off the hook so much that they had to take it off the hook. My advice is to order for pick-up in several hours and spend that wait time at the beach or chatting over ice cream at Handel's.
Worth the wait? Very.
Every Dumpling is exquisite, a pocket full of savor. Every filling is so juicy that each bite is a sip of soup. The Chicken Corn is delicate with a sweet surprise, and the gamier Beef is neutralized with wisps of carrot and daikon. Pork seems so common, yet their filling is so much better than all the others. The meat is impossibly tender and sweet. Even the Shrimp is subtle, with chicken to offset the shellfish.
I haven't seen Fried Chicken Stuffed Eggplant outside my mother's kitchen, and it's a deeply traditional dish worth trying. It's a pain to make at home, and here they do an admirable job keeping the eggplant light with a golden batter and morsels of juicy ground.
Get a Fried Noodle if you’re craving more carbs, but they shouldn't be the reason you’re here.
I wish they'd make it easier to order, but it is worth the trouble and the wait. The South Bay had no great Chinese food until Muodu so Jiayuan brought their dumplings during a time of sorest need. Go and get them - they fill a void and a craving you didn't know you were missing.
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