After a satisfying lunch at Manie’s Restaurant, we drove around the neighborhood, and decided to drive down to Pasadena, where the Missus managed to scratch Her shopping itch at Anthropologie. As we headed back to the car it started pouring, so instead of dealing with the parking lot that is the 210 Freeway, we decided to take Colorado Boulevard, made a right turn on San Gabriel, and a left on Valley(of course). All the while ogling all the restaurants we passed.
As we passed through El Monte my stomach started rumbling so we decided to make a stop at Dumpling 10053 for a "small snack".
Now, the Missus who is from Shandong province would never, ever have Jiaozhi at a restaurant, since She can whip up a few dozen on short notice, or perhaps if She’s in the mood. Plus my Mother In Law makes really great dumplings. But once in a while the Missus will humor me. Dumpling 10053 is one of several Chinese dumpling/noodle houses that gets regular mention on Chowhound.
Even though it was 230pm on a rainy afternoon Dumpling 10053 was nearly half full.
Not being very hungry, I "just" had two orders of boiled Jiaozhi.
I had an order of the "3 meat dumplings"; Pork, Crab, and Sea Cucumber boiled dumplings (10 pieces – $5.95):
I thought the thickness of the wrapper was perfect. I’m not into really thin wrappers, for me, the wrappers are a good 50% of the dumplings, adding texture, and helping to "temper" the flavor of the filling. The texture of these wrappers were a different story, I felt they didn’t have enough "chew and pull", being a bit on the brittle side, and too easy to tear.
The plump dumplings’ filling was excellent. The pork and crab melded together to add a rich, sweet and salty flavor. The use of Chinese celery in the dumpling also added a nice texture and flavor; something we made note of, I think we’ll try to use them in a future batch of dumplings. Simply dipped into a vinegar – soy sauce mixture, the dumplings were very good. I’d be happy to have them again!
The Rock Cod boiled dumplings ($6.95 – 10 pieces):
I was pretty excited about trying these since I’ve read about them for a while. The wrappers were the same as the previous order of dumplings. But I really didn’t care for the taste, which I liken to a pretty lousy fish ball, and with a mushy, grainy texture. The Missus couldn’t finish one. I tried one using the standard vinegar soy sauce "dip", which made it taste like a sour fish ball. The Missus finally told me to sprinkle the dumpling with white pepper, then dip them into soy sauce, which made them more palatable. I still only finished 3 of them; and if/when I return, I think I’ll avoid these.
If I make a return visit, I think I’ll try the steamed beef and pork dumplings. We watched an old Gentleman scarf down 4 orders of these dumplings while we ate ours.
The service at Dumpling 10053 was typical San Gabriel Valley, detached and perfunctory, but not rude, nor were we rushed. I walked back out into the rain satisfied from eating those "3 meat dumplings".
Dumpling 10053
10053 Valley Blvd.
El Monte, CA 91731