Kneeling Before the King Hua - Alhambra

We went crazy over food trucks last year. Suddenly it seemed like everything edible could be put on wheels, and it seemed like everything edible WAS being put on wheels. Soon we spawned a subsection of food that could roll away, and people acted like it was the greatest invention since the wheel.

Sorry people, but like most things, the Chinese did it first. They’ve been doing it long before you conceived of it, and they’ve been doing it long before you were conceived. Dispensing small, steaming-hot ready-made ramekins of the good, the better, and the even better is a tried-and-true brunch tradition also known as dim sum.

It's a widely accepted fact that the best dim sum lies buried deep in the folds of the SGV, and it's no surprise that the hills that harbor the model minority are overachievers in their own cuisine.

King Hua seems to be one of the veritable kings of SGV dim sum, heralded as one of the top 10 in all of LA by the Weekly. I haven't had quite enough SGV dim sum to know if it's true, but since all Asians are good at math, the Rice Noodle with Shrimp does have a pretty good shrimp:noodle ratio for starters…

The Juicy Pork Dumplings had a sweeter soup, and though they weren’t as good as Bao, I really can’t complain…

I’m not as into Shrimp and Pork Shumai, but they’re a favorite of my mother’s so I’ve had a lot of them in my lifetime. The keep the heavy pork mixture light at King Hua, and I never thought I’d say this, but maybe my mother was right.

As all Asians know, I grew up with a tiger mom. And anyone who grew up with a tiger mom would never leave the table without finishing their vegetables first. It’s just that I never ate my vegetables with any pleasure until I started crunching into green, leafy stalks of Chinese Broccoli that can only be found at dim sum for some reason.

Sometimes, I wasn’t even allowed to touch my favorites dishes until my vegetables were gone, which really sucked when my favorite Crystal Shrimp Dumplings were on the table. The ones at King Hua were as good as it gets, but when you’re a true Asian, good is never good enough. In the style of over-achieving Asians, let's kick it up a notch with the Shrimp & Scallop Dumplings and top an already-amazing ball of shrimp with a succulent scallop and a little pinch of roe.

There is always room for dessert, and people always say it’s the best part. It’s the worst part of dim sum for me because it means my meal is over. But I can think of worse ways to end than with the classic Deep Fried Sesame Balls filled with smooth red bean paste.

Not all good food is on wheels, and thanks to the aftermath of food truck fever, we learned that not all food on wheels is good…unless it’s dim sum. Sadly, King Hua forgoes the carts in favor of an order slip, but I’m okay without the thrill of the chase. LA Weekly names King Hua among the top 10 in dim sum, but I personally haven't had enough dim sum in the SGV to call King Hua king just yet. Then again, after a meal this good, I think it’s earned at least a knighthood.