Chef Tony

The dim sum by me closed down, so I was really happy to see that Chef Tony opened down the block. When I first saw it, I thought, Oh, another average dim sum place. I was so wrong! It really exceeded my expectations. The service isn't great but that seems to be the common theme amongst most Asian eateries is how much the servers cannot be bothered to be there. While it has standard menu items, there are also twists on the classics, like the Squid Ink Shrimp Dumpling. It drives me crazy that they're constantly out of certain items. But the flavors, creativity and freshness on the dishes can't be beat. I love the aesthetic and presentation. Their shrimp is literally the cleanest and freshest I've ever eaten at any dim sum place. It is hands down the best dim sum restaurant and has become my favorite as well.

This is a higher end dim sum/Chinese spot located in Arcadia where the original Din Tai Fung used to be located. Prices are slightly higher than normal dim sum spots but not outrageous. No push carts here, you order off the menu and everything is made fresh to order. The menu has a lot of pictures if you aren't familiar with the dishes which is nice. They offer all the basic dim sum and a full menu of regular Chinese dishes like noodles, fried rice, veggies and stir fried meat dishes. The best dish I tried was #8, savory deep fried Chinese donut. Basically, it's shrimp paste stuffed inside a deep fried Chinese donut with a dollop of mayo on top. These are fried to perfection, light and crispy! Delicious! Definitely a spot I'd visit again!

3 of us came here for lunch today. They took over the location from Din Tai Fung. It took a few minutes before someone greeted and seated us. We ordered: - shrimp wonton w/ house spicy sauce (best, compared to DTF and Lunasia) - shrimp & pork dumpling w/ black truffle (Lunasia is still best) - squid in scallop dumpling w/ XO sauce (good) - French baked BBQ pork bun (the buns too doughy, prefer the one at Tim Ho Wan) - eggplant stuffed w/ shrimp paste (pretty good) - deep fried pork dumpling (meh) - deep fried durian pastry (excellent, real durian pulp, not processed, not too sweet, a bit greasy)

I would highly recommend this place for dim sum. However, I must mention that the deep-fried pandan bun (斑斓生煎包) falls below the standard. Nevertheless, every other dish is definitely worth trying. It's a popular spot, the shop is not big so expect to queue before getting a table. The service is average.

Haven't been here in a while, came back since they closed their other location in Monterey Park. Like that space better as it was a bit more fairly and nicer being in the lobby of a hotel. The food is still excellent. The duck was a bit rich this time, but good. Not a fan of the tightly arranged tables.

Dim sum off a check list. Get the sampler, decent deal. Also the cheong fun with shrimp is really excellent. Fresh, steamy and chewy. Prices are par for the course but the portion for the steam rice rolls I thought was generous and the sampler platter was also good