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Owner Joyee Fu tells Eater that she will be opening another outpost in the 4S Ranch community by June 1. The 1,300-square-foot restaurant is replacing Rubicon Deli in the 4S Commons Town Center. A little bigger with a more substantive wrapper than the ones you'll find at Mante House, the Monta at Su Be'oreg can be ordered by the oven-ready tray, so you can get the party started when you're ready...
Kimchi Steamed Dumplings at Dumpling House
And not almost burning them and ending the party prematurely. Old Village is famous for their khinkali (pictured), but it's also one of the only places you can get pelmeni in Los Angeles. The boiled Russian dumpling resembles tortellini in size, and it's topped with sour cream, mustard or vinegar and it's traditionally eaten with vodka (I'm not taking the bait on that punchline). Well, if you're the type of person who's into that type of thing (and don't worry, there's a ton of us), Los Angeles is your dumpling mecca. From Chinese guo tie, to Japanese gyoza, to Korean mandu, to Georgian khinkali, to Himalayan momo, to Russian pelmeni, to whoever's going to take credit for manti, seriously. A favorite location for delicious chinese food.
Gogi Mandu at Naemamdu Mandu (Inside Zion Market)
Myung In dumplings are the standard by which dumplings are judged in the L.A. Their famous pleated dumplings are crafted with exceptional care and where other dumpling houses might go a little too bready on their wang mandu, Myung In strikes a nice balance by having a thinner skin. The contrarian's xiao long bao hideout in Monterey Park serves as solid a rendition as you'll find of the soup dumpling, but the spicy wonton proved even more remarkable on a recent visit. Red pepper and coriander deliver a show-stopping punch before the juicy pork filling rounds out the experience with a satisfying, savory finish. Din Tai Fung enjoys mythological status in the L.A. Area, owing in large part to its perfectly hand-pleated xiao long bao.
Pan Fried Dumplings at Luscious Dumplings
This small corner mandu shop inside the Zion Market appears to be a one-lady-operation. It currently features possibly L.A.'s first stunt-dumpling (corn cheese dumplings, anyone?), but don't be fooled. Traditionalists rave about the standard entries including the kimchi wang mandu and what some call the best gogi wang mandu (meat bread dumpling) in Koreatown. It matches Myung In's optimal wrapper-to-filling ratio and ups it with a savory filling that's neatly balanced flavor-wise. Anthony Bourdain picked himself a true OG in the Korean Dumpling game when he visited this hole-in-the-wall.
With a thicker, almost leathery wrapper, you're supposed to sip the soup with a straw and dismantle the rest of the dumpling as you eat it. SGV OG Clarissa Wei described Luscious Dumplings' rapid hand-made dumpling process in a feature on Eater, but don't mistake the speed with which they're made as impugning on their quality. The pan fried guo tie have a bronzed, crunchy bottom that's unlike any other you'll run into, with regions of Maillard-ized goodness running along the edges like glorious borders to flavor country. Though I never really understood kimchi dumplings, they have an ardent following. One of the standout qualities of Dumpling House's steamed kimchi dumplings is their beautiful circular construction that evenly distributes that extra al dente bite of the steamed wrapper.
Boiled Sole Dumpling (Chinese Parsley) at Qing Dao Bread Food
I can see why they have a lot of good reviews.
Juicy Pork and Crab Bun at Long Xing Ji
The soup is visible through the impossibly thin wrappers and each little delicate bite is famously consistent, whether you've had two pieces or 2,000 in your lifetime across multiple international locations. Georgian dumpling king TKF gives khinkali the white-tablecloth-and-full-bar experience it so thoroughly deserves. In the case of the khinkali, however, you're not supposed to eat the area where the pleats meet (called the "kudi" in Georgian), just the dumpling underneath.
Also, feel free to ditch the fork and use your hands, as is the custom. What started out as a weekend-only stand is now a 7-day-a-week operation (still cash only, amazingly), and for good reason. Nikuman-Ya is running the gyoza racket in Gardena, and that should really say enough. Sure, the cheese-pork-bun sounds a little stunt-dumpling, but the original gyoza is gingery, juicy goodness that's just seared on the bottom and warrants a taste if you're in the area. The hui tou potsticker is unlike any other potsticker I've ever tasted, owing to a strong taste of white onion that sticks around throughout. It's a welcome taste that plays nice with the juicy pork filling.
Chinese doughnut it's cheaper to buy it here than the 99 ranch market. Fresh fried and crispy made to order instead of cold and soft at the ranch market. In June 2020, the restaurant launched a second location in Poway that finally started dine-in service last fall. Now, a year later, Joyee’s is expanding again in North County.
The tightly folded, flattened box shape gives it optimal surface area for pan frying, which lends it a slightly crunchy exterior. Mante House treats its thin-skinned miniature mante like pizzas, and the analogy isn't that far off, to be honest. Both are considered primetime party food (I've never been invited to one of these mante-having parties, but I imagine they're rather lit). At Mante House, they come in pizza boxes of pizza-sized diameters (14" for $14.99 aka shut up and take my money) and can have toppings like Hot Cheetos and nacho cheese. Possibly the worst English translated name dish on this list, the Juicy Pork and Crab Bun at Long Xing Ji is actually a tangbao, the xiao long bao's basketball-playing cousin.
