Dim sum predilections ebb and flow in L.A. One week, a restaurant’s top notch. The next week, a chef’s gone or prices rise and customers flee. Some places that led the pack upon my mid ’90s arrival to L.A. are still around, like Ocean Star and 888, but nobody in my food-crazed community mentions them anymore, as if they were specters. Only one dim sum parlor has maintained standards for an extended time span: Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant.
Tony Ho opened a Sea Harbour branch in Rosemead in 2002, building upon the chain’s initial success in China, and beginning in 1999, Vancouver. There was also a short-lived Sea Harbour at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, but it closed, perhaps because they avoided crowd-friendly dim sum in favor of higher priced Cantonese fare.
Twin roosters used to stand sentinel in front of the Rosemead entrance, but no more. People still line the benches and stand on the white and yellow tiles. Inside, the sprawling space has white clothed tables and a formidable wall of seafood tanks in front of the kitchen. Sea Harbour serves plenty of dim sum standbys, including dumplings, bao, cakes and egg custard tarts, plus some more unusual offerings.
Sea Harbour has been consistent throughout my many years of dim summing there. They use checklist menu service, so the food’s made to order and generally fresher than cart service proponents. The restaurant also charges a premium compared to bargain alternatives in the SGV, but at least the ingredients are clearly of a consistently high grade. I’m convinced that it’s worth the slightly higher cost. Just beware of the waits. Sea Harbour isn’t exactly a secret, so visit during the week, or arrive before 10 a.m. on weekends.
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