Laguna Hills, once part of a cattle ranch and now the province of planned communities and strip malls, has one sneaky good international dining option. Wok & Dumpling is a Chinese restaurant with cream-colored walls lined with colorful paintings of subjects like panda, koi, and dandelion puff. The original owners are no longer in place, but the opening chef apparently remains, and they make dumplings in-house that more than satisfied my cravings.

I enjoyed Wok & Dumpling’s xiao long bao, which rank behind only Din Tai Fung in my Orange County hierarchy. Still, Pork and Shrimp Wontons in Spicy Sauce ($8.65) were the most impressive dish I tasted that relies on deft handiwork. Wontons with juicy cores and thin-skins luxuriated in a menacing pool of chile oil that imparted tongue tingling ma la. I would have gladly bought a bag of 50 dumplings to bring home to L.A., if I had a cooler handy.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.