Elite Restaurant - Monterey Park

Real dim sum, some of the best dim sum, without getting run over by carts. 

The Shrimp Hargow are perfect, 

The Shumai are dense and intense. 

They also make a signature Scallop Dumpling that is to die for, purses of delicate skin encasing a six/pack of succulence.

I can’t find a good Bean Curd Roll anywhere but here. The bean curd is chewy so you can feel every lovely layer, the soup is a viscous savor, and tbe pork filling is delicate mince. 

Tripe with ginger and onion is a chewy, heavily textured stew. Simple seasoning makes it a solid dish, but it’s not a standout among these superstars. 

Pot Stickers are another porky pocket. Pretty and every element hits, but among the greats, this stuff doesn’t stick.

Beef Short Ribs are more spunky with black pepper sauce to pep up a marbled meat.

Regular Spare Ribs are juicy and sweet. 

But all other meats can go - this platter of Macau Roasted Pork is all you need. You can see the juices, running rivulets, each pink-pearl piece flanked by a fillet of fat. The skin is a crackling-crispy as it looks, and a swift swipe of sugar and sauce makes it complete.

Shrimp Rice Noodle is another sweet n’ salty staple, 

But if you haven’t tried their Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle you haven’t truly lived. Shrimp-stuffed sticks of Chinese fried dough keep their crunch as they uplift and add life to a more shy rice noodle. 

And then there were Turnip Cakes. More like turnip latkes, and easily Elite’s defining dish. The stacking of shreds and a serious deep frying turn a do-not-eat into the most coveted dish there is. 

They have a lot of standouts, but the real magic is in their pastry. 

The Elite BBQ Pork Bun is perfection,

And the Macau Egg Custard is unforgettable, 

But the Egg Custard Bun takes the cake. Crispy pineapple crust so thick it crumbles in chunks with a creamy egg-lava inside, there is nothing more decadent than this. 

And if it’s cake you’re craving, don’t skip the House Special Golden Cake. Each bite is both gelatinous and fluffy, dense and airy, sugary and light. 

The devil’s in the details, and that’s what it comes down to with dim sum. There’s very little wiggle room on this well-established cuisine, and it takes a certain creative brilliance to maneuver successfully within these stipulations. Elite has both that brilliance and mastery - it’s what makes Elite elite.