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I love shrimp and this place delivers, you can get almost everything with shrimp here, huge portions too.
This place has some of the biggest salt water dumplings in Chinatown, and delish pot stickers. Parking kinda sucks when its busy. I'd go to Golden Dragon for a more pleasing interior/exterior. But if I'm alone and that doesn't really matter, ABC is the way to go.
My mom visits their to-go counter religiously because their combos are about $3 a pop. Their thin noodles and salted fried shrimp, as well as green beans are good if greasy, but I've noticed any refrigerated leftovers are rancid by the next day. This can not bode well for the overall food quality. I don't believe their food grade of "A" is legit but who knows perhaps their kitchen is pristine.
As for their sitdown restaurant my sister and I settled in excitedly for a weekend dimsum feast. And then the carts started coming by looking all grubby. We got about 5 or 6 dishes and just barely picked through them each one unpalatable to us. We spent $30 and we declined doggie bags. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to this saying perhaps it's in a chinese cooking style where unused to, you know, like BAD.
Cafeteria style store to get Chinese food to go is located on Ord Street. Super cheap. For $3, you can get 2 entrees and your choice of carb: steamed rice, fried rice, 3 different kinds of noodles, or a combo of the carbs.
What I usually do is grab the food and go to the Music Center of Los Angeles to eat. Great view. Cheap food!
Leaving this restaurant after dim sum, I looked pregnant. Somehow, I managed not to lapse into a food coma though. I instead spent the rest of the day smiling contentedly at inanimate objects and dreaming about sticky rice in a lotus leaf.
English speaking staff a major bonus.
5 bucks for a 2 item combo, 2 pork buns and 2 sesame balls? Flavor that stands above any other grease pit or panda express? Within biking distance of my place?
I like.
Yeah, it's filthy in the waiting area but they got an A, so either the kitchen is clean or they know how to grease the health department. Can't beat 'em, join 'em.
A seafood Restaurant in Chinatown that has an "A" from the health department?? I think its either a fake one or they paid they're way to get that "A".. lol, Just kidding!
We came here for a late dinner and was my first time in that restaurant. We also bought their left over dim sum at their togo counter for a very cheap price. 3 items for $1!
I do give their food a 3 star but service from weird waiters are bizzarre.
They only want you to order the most expensive items on their menu, or their live fish and seafood with the *seasonal price* list.
And when you order the less expesive ones, or in our case, we ordered 3 items for 4 people, they give you a weird wibby jibby vibes.. not good!!
I probably won't be back even if I have to starve.. sorry!
I love, love, love their food! Their portions are big and cheap. I like this place a lot better than the CBS Seafood on the next block. Granted, this place does look a bit ghetto, but whatever, I still keep coming back. The exterior is nothing to look at - its just a small, plain, white building next to a parking lot. The inside does look a lot better however. I try to come whenever its not too packed because parking is a b*tch. (Its $4 flat rate at the parking lot next to it; whenever I'm really craving dim sum, I gladly shell out the extra cash). The bathrooms are super-gross though, I guess that would be my only gripe. I went in one time, turned back around, and never came back again. I like everything I've eaten so far, but my boyfriend ordered the fried squid and did not like it. Do not order it, I'm sure you'll find better tasting ones some place else. Overall, I would definitely keep coming back here.
Do not come here if you're allergic to Crustacean.
Almost e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g contains shrimp!
It took me awhile to realize that the restaurant's entrance is on Ord Street. The restaurant is much smaller than CBS, Empress, and Ocean; I guess that's why they got rid of the carts. The menu is non-Asian-friendly. There's a picture to each item and for the most part the food matches up with the photo. My biggest problem with the menu is that it doesn't list all the ingredients. For example, the pork dumplings, why the hell would I think there's shrimp in them? In fact, all the dumplings contain shrimp in them. The wrapped sticky rice had shrimp. Needless to say, my food options were running thin...
I had the beef noodle dish. The 1st plate was lukewarm - gross. One would think that the food should be hotter since it's coming straight from the kitchen...The 2nd came out hot -thank goodness. The BBQ pork and Steam Chicken buns were good. The egg custard was lukewarm. The sesame ball's paste was orange-brownish...I thought it was supposed to be red bean paste? The baby bokchoys were ok. Hmm...I think that's all I had and paid $15? I was told that the duck was really salty.
Service was lacking...it was tough tracking a staff down, and when I did, I had to make sure it was the right person. The staffs who wear red only handle the food. If you want a drink, you need to find someone wearing a suit/ white shirt. I was constantly asking the staff to take the empty dishes away.
Oh, you need to buy (2) dinner entrees to get that lobster special John S. noted.
A
Bad
Chinese restaurant.
Ok, now I have to try NBC to finish all the "TV networks" dim sum restaurants.
So, I've had the pleasure of coming to this restaurant for both dim sum as well as for dinner and I haven't really been disappointed in any of the food. Their prices are always affordable and they have good selection. The parking lot behind the restaurant seems like an accident waiting to happen, but not to worry at night there's usually street parking and on weekends there's a parking lot behind the building for $3.
They've since changed their dim sum style - to no longer have the passing carts, rather, they provide you with a menu in the beginning and you order which items you'd like - luckily it comes with pictures. I actually like it better this way because you get to look at all the items they have to offer rather than having to hunt down the cart with whatever food you may be looking for.
With dinner you have the typical Chinese restaurant menu. I don't really believe I've had anything bad here. I've been to a few other eateries in Chinatown and yet we still keep coming back to ABC!
Service... is the type of service you'd expect at a restaurant like this, for this price... enough said.
We normally go to CBS for Dim Sum on Sundays, but since we saw that it was super crowded, we opted for ABC.
Okay, after sitting their for 20 minutes like "dumb sh-ts", I was like- WHERE ARE THE FREAKING CARTS?? We finally called a waited and he tried to explain to us that "u nee to oda! fru hee (as he pointed to the pictures) "
Being with my mom & all... I tried to be nice. We oda!-ed a lot of the things that looked familiar to us... but, I still prefer the carts going around and picking whatever looks edible and regretting it later.
Plus, they charge you for tea!!! And good luck with parking!
I get off the subway just to come here to get a bite. In the ABC take out area I get my lunch. For as little as two bucks you can get broccoli beef and chow mein and rice. Fro another buck you can add an entree.
They have all sorts of concoctions here. You can choose from orange chicken to fried pork chops and king pao this mushu that. Then there is the mystery meat dishes they have I do not know what goes into it but try it if you dare to . There is also a dim sum section and bbq ducks and pork that hang. This place is not the cleanest but for 10 bucks you can get like 4 course meal that could cost over 20 at a restaurant but the portions would not be as big but you would have variety. Not bad for a single person to get their meal to eat alone.
I've been coming to ABC for years now, and have been lucky enough to have tried a multitude of things there. It's generally our go-to dim sum place in Chinatown on Sunday mornings with the family, and to be honest, I don't think I've ever had anything bad there! The good food doesn't just go for the dim sum menus. I don't think I've ever had anything to complain about the dinner menu food either!
With such good food, why only 3 stars, you ask? Lemme tell you - Yes. The food is pretty good, but the service...sometimes not so good. Granted, my not being able to speak Chinese could put me at a disadvantage, but it never fails that there'll always be one of the servers that just doesn't look like he wants to be there. C'mon now - I know you don't want to be working at that moment, but don't ignore me because of it! The last time I was there I asked if they had chopsticks for my 4 yr old nephew, and instead I got chopsticks they put in the to-go boxes wrapped in plastic. Hmmm...I'm not sure what that meant...So service that may not be the best - minus 1 star
That other star - have you been in the bathroom there? Save yourself the trouble and hold it. It's not the best place to go.
The food doesn't usually take too long to come out, and it's always still hot and warm. There's nothing like some authentic Chinese food from Chinatown! Like I said before - haven't had a single bad thing there. Plus, it's always reasonably priced - the last time we were there we fed 18 people for under $200! Definitely can't beat that!
First off let me say that my inlaws are crazy when it comes to food. They order enough plates every time we go out to feed a small army and yet they and their friends are all still thin as rails. Secondly, they tell me that if you know the right people in a Chinese restaurant you get better food, so your experiences in some of the places may vary.
We met up with them and a load of their friends at ABC for dinner tonight. Walking in I did a double take, I've always heard that if a Chinese restaurant is empty you should run.... and there was no one in the place save for our table. Apparently Chinatown has turned into more of a dump than it used to be and there aren't alot of people staying around after dark. Turns out, all the better for us. The family is hooked up with the owner, so we get good stuff here.
The food was pretty good, not quite the double happiness of recent meals at The Kitchen but very very good. And there was a lot of it:
Started with Dried Scallop Soup - good and tasty with a dollop of vinegar.
Then Chicken Feet - It was good but I still find it more work than it's worth.
Fish Head - Not really a fan, it's like eating fish bones but hey whatever floats your boat, the batter was similar to how Chinese places cook Crab.
Clams - Kindof disappointed, they were good but not stunning, although they looked like they were going to be awesome.
4 Lobsters - Always love the flavor of Chinese style lobster, but it too is so much more work than American style. It was really good though, fresh, lots of meat. Lobster makes me happy, 4 lobsters was happy happy joy joy.
Beef Cubes - Vietnemese style, really tender and good seasoning, quite good.
Big Eye Fish - don't really know the name, but it was delish.
Flounder - Fried in batter, thicker meat than the other fish but still good.
Poached Chicken - one of my least favorite dishes, but everyone else loved it.
2 types of veggies - don't really eat chinese vegetables, can't tell you if they were good.
Mango Pudding - huge cups of it, and really good. I never understood how a culture that can make such wonderful food can suck so much at dessert but asian desserts are so not interesting. This was the best mango pudding I've had.
Requisite Orange Slices.
That's a lot of food, fed 12 with enough left over for another 12. The bill was $300 which is pretty amazing considering how much food there was. A bargain by any standard.
The service was impeccable, but as we were the only ones there for most of the meal it should be. Still, they were very attentive and friendly. I'll have to try the place without my inlaws to see if it's always that way, or just because they know the right people.
Decor is typical, looks like a thousand other similar restaurants.
Food - A-
Ambience - C
Service - A
Value - A
We have tried other dimsum places in chinatown - CBS and Empress, but this continues to be our favorite. It is a family tradition to come here for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or just because it has been a couple of weeks.
We are not chinese, but they always make us feel welcome. Since we come here fairly often, we are now greeted with warmth.
A while back they got rid of the carts and instituted picture menus. We miss the carts (though i am not sure why...) but the food is much fresher now, and you can always get your favorites. I suspect this is why they have an A rating. Though in the years we have been coming, they keep popping from A to B to C, and back again (we joke that is what their name means)
Yes, it is pretty dirty in the front and back areas, but I have eaten here at least 100 times, and never been sick from it (I did break a tooth once from a rock in the rice, and their insurance paid for the dental work.)
I have only come for dimsum, never for a menu meal!
Can't go wrong with dim sum in the heart of chinatown right? Well .. I take that back, you can go wrong with dim sum in chinatown.
We ordered about 5 plates total. None, none were memorable. Well they were memorable because they were not delicious. And it seemed like the other patrons were enjoying their food as well. Maybe I just don't know what to get at dim sums?? errrrr. We shoulda gone to another place since there seemed to be a ton around there.
I'll give it a try another time, I suppose ..
Hm, I think anyone who judges that Empress has better dim sum than this place is judging by their eyes and not their palate. Sure, ABC is dingy, has some oddball servers, and no longer has carts but these are the things that make me love it--that and the delicious, cheap dim sum.
My man and I come here once a week to gorge ourselves for $20-$25 and we always have enough leftovers for another meal. When we stick to the $20 range we still have some leftover for snacks. The great thing is, all our favorite menu items are in the cheap "A" category or similar. Har gow, fun quor, shu mai, shrimp rice noodles, baked bbq pork buns, pan-fried dumplings, magic rice wrapped chicken.
My favorite is probably the shrimp rice noodles, the dough almost always has this lovely, gooey, stretchy, freshly made consistency that lovingly wraps around the juicy shrimp and soaks up the sauce. We dip the har gow and shu mai into the same sauce as well, jealously guarding the empty (save for the sauce) plate from hawk-eyed servers. The magic rice wrapped chicken has bland rice-chicken-chinese sausage-gook that gives a nice balance to salty dishes like the shu mai and pan-fried dumplings. The fun quor is fragrant with coriander, cinnamon?--cloves?--whatever its ingredients are, it brings something different to the table. Baked bbq pork buns: I try to save them for dessert, but somehow they inevitably get gobbled up during the course of the meal.
But no worries! After we're done with our epic brunch, we head next door to the take-out section and grab baked bbq pork buns for the road.
As for the servers, they're fucking awesome! There's that guy that always seems to be arguing / conversing vigorously with a large table of customers for ten minutes at a time, but sits down at their table to share their food in mid-diatribe. There's the extremely competent thin man with a managerial air, and his twelve-year-old lookalike, who seemed constantly confused as to whether he was working there or not when we first started going to ABC, but lately has become frighteningly efficient--he really is very nice, just has a brusque manner.
Yeah, there are better places in the sgv (and certainly better looking ones just in Chinatown alone), but ABC is that convenient restaurant you go to all the time: it's the only restaurant I have consistently attended every week over the years, and the food holds up.
We give this place a 4 1/2 stars -- just can't figure out how to do that on the rating scale...
half a point off for the dated decor and grungy looking building, tacky pink paint job, that hides a tacky bathroom green paint job and a ceiling so low -- it kinda weighs the place down.....and walls covered with mirrors, maybe the ceilings were too?
But aesthetics aside -- the good tasting food makes up for the sad taste in interior decor. And it certainly beats any dim sum we've had in our old stomping ground of Boston...hands down ..... er.. chopsticks down!!
And the prices are decent. We spent under $30.00 for the two of us, in all of our piggish-ness. We really needn't have ordered that much food -- could have easily cut the bill down to $20 -- or what we ordered would have been perfect for 4 moderately hungry people. Or 3 ravenous ones.
Today was a "satisfy your craving for dim sum day"....and we went back to ABC Seafood -- even though we've been trying not to go to places a second time -- while we are in the nubie-newcomer-to-LA-adventurer mode -- and are using food as our purposes for traveling, then after a full belly -- setting out to explore the neighborhood.
But this time around -- we lolly-gagged at home for way too long --- and didn't get our act together to leave a little earlier - to make dim sum for before the 3pm hour -- when all dim sum carts turn into congee.
But since we had a super-ly good experience the first time around (one of the first first welcome to LA meal adventures, when we arrived) -- we decided to go to somewhere familiar which was only about 15 minutes away from where we live.
And no -- it didn't fail us...not in the least.
We got all our favourite delicacies -- the shrimp har gow, shrimp and chives dumpling, steamed shrimp rice noodle, sticky rice in lotus leaf, fun kor, meat in the bean curd wrap -- all as usual, plum and stuffed with fresh, juicy seafood, the key word being Fresh and Plump!
It really fills you up -- cos it's so stuffed with goodies.
My favourite today was the fun kor/quor -- it was exceptionally tasty -- a nice blend of crunchy and juiciness -- I think it had ground pork, finely shredded daikon, cooked peanuts, and maybe chives, maybe ginger -- (I could be totally off in terms of what was really in it -- but this was my mouth's estimation).
We ended off the meal with my favorite from kiddie-hood --- tau fu fah - or they called it sweet tofu here. It was Ok -- not as silky smooth in texture as it could have been, but I can overlook that little shortcoming and adapt to the slight soft-lumpy-silky slivers this once...
As usual we our eyes were bigger than our bellies -- and we over ordered -- very bad, very bad....
and now we have half our dim sum delicacies follow us home and are now sitting, waiting for us in our refrigerator --- mmmmm. very, very good! :)
guess what's fer dinner, folks?
I came in here with my girlfriend during a down time. She's Chinese, but speaks no Cantonese or Mandarin. Useless. Un-regardless, she knows her dim sum. for 11.42 we got baked baos, some shu mai, some pot stickers, and something else I don't remember. The pot stickers were what surprised me. They had coarsely shredded wild mushrooms inside, which showed an attention to detail in cheap dim sum places that you don't see very often. This place won't have Sea Harbour or Elite shaking in their collective boots but it's pretty good and relatively cheap. And it's not clear the hell out in the San Gabriel Valley either, which is a definite plus.
Hmm I remember the first day I stepped foot in this restaurant. The noise of the locals talking and enjoying their food. This was 10 years ago. I still visit this place mainly for dinner to show guests that want to experience China Town. I usually go for the yang chow fried rice, some fried noodles, steamed chicken in ginger, salt and pepper shrimp, and pork chop in spicy salt. They have never done me wrong. Place is not as nice as it used to be. But I don't come here for the audience but for some authentic chinese food priced right..
I remember when this place first opened and it was a shiny new restaurant. After only a few years, it rapidly deteriorated and now I wonder how it could possibly still be open.
There's a tiny, teeny parking lot next to it. You're better off paying for the large parking lot next door or trying to find limited street parking.
Walking in, I noticed the ceilings are somewhat low. I'm not excessively tall but I am taller than the average chick so I feel like my head is going to bump into the ceiling.
The last time I went was after grad night in high school so this was a while back. All I could think after being harassed by Chip and Dale, actually I think it was just Chip, was dim sum. We got back to LA and headed to this place where the only thing I liked was the chicken feet.
I actually can't decide which place I hate more; ABC or Empress. Actually, no I still would come to this dirty shop worn dim sum restaurant than Empress.
At least this place does a busy take out next door. I've gotten the usual BBQ meats there and it was fine.
ABC Seafood is about "average" for dim sum (at least for chinatown). Its order at the table, which kind of kills the fun out of ordering off the carts.
Roast Duck- a bit greasy. the sweet plum sauce was ok, but i've had better.
Shu-mai- the wrapping on the edges was more orange than I'm used to but it was not bad.
BBQ Pork Buns (baked): my favorite at any dim sum. it was pretty good.
Shrimp Har Gaow: more gelatinous than usual.
It was a good experience though...about middle of the road for Chinatown Dim Sum (San Gabriel Valley blows it out of the water though)
loved the decor though. retro chinese shit.
ABC is okay but not great. San Gabriel Valley (and definitely Hong Kong) offers much better places for dim sum and Chinese food.
Hong Kong has given up the carts and opted for made-to-order dim sum years ago because it comes out fresh and hot, not sitting around on the cart like unwanted animals at the shelter.
Today we got something quick from the take-out section. Quick it was not: 3 people cut in front of me in the long line because i didn't move forward fast enough. Sheesh.
The staff: most of them are friendly but there's always a bitchy one anywhere you go, and all of them speak OK-English. It'll help if you speak Cantonese. The butcher is nice and will give you lean char siu (bbq pork) if you ask for it. Some people like it semi-fatty for tenderness. He'll even ask you if you want it chopped or leave the piece whole.
The food: The variety and quality are much better than Panda's for sure, yet i still consider this fast food quality. It's super cheap: The Combo A includes chow mein, fried rice and 1 item. Their quantity provides more than enough for one person. And it only costs $1.99! They have 3 kinds of chow mein to choose from. You'll have a hard time picking just one item for your combo.
We got garlic string beans with the combo A, a half-pound of char siu, and two egg tarts. these are a few of J's fa-vour-ite things. see photo.
Total was under $10 and it was good for 1.5 meals for 2 people.
For Chinese "fast food," this place gives a good deal. For taste, it's a little msg-y but that's what you get with $1.99 food.
I tried so hard to follow the advice of past Yelpers, but after asking "What??" a dozen or so times I just gave up and said yes to anything that remotely sounded like it had Pork in it (the safe white meat in my book).
We showed up around 2pm on a Sunday which seemed just right. There were just a few tables (mostly local families) and three carts making the rounds (surprisingly, all were friendly, attention and smiling- I felt a little ripped off by this!)
The decor was sparse and a little worn around the edges, but we didn't really have too much of a chance to check it out given we were immediately affronted with cart service before we even sat down.
Since I couldn't understand the official name of anything, here is what I THINK we ate:
1) Sticky pork rolls- these were the sticky kind of bready consistency with BBQ pork inside. I thought we were ordering the famed Pork Buns but I don't think this was it. It was okay- nothing mind blowing but good because it set our expectations short for the remainder of the meal.
2) Bok Choy- okay so this isn't pork but I thought she said pork! This was a huge serving and nicely prepared. I'm not a bok-choy fan (too green for me) but my brunch companions ate it up in seconds
3) Beef dumplings- these were huge slippery dumplings that made you look like a fool with chopsticks. They were a little gummy but definitely tasty and a nice portion for three of us.
4) Pork Bun- I think these were the famed pork buns. I saw them on a bottom shelf of the cart and asked for one hoping it would give me something to rave about and I wasn't disappointed- these things were great! She took them away to heat them for us and brought them back steaming. The bread was super fresh and the BBQ pork inside was just sweet enough to make you crave more.
The service was extremely attentive and polite and we walked away stuffed and rich after spending just $5 each on brunch!
I don't know if I'll come back here but it was definitely a unique experience I would recommend to others. If anything, this is your dive-bar alternative to dim sum. A good place to go when you don't feel like a lot of effort or a lot of expense.
Awesome dim sum, and as any good dim sum place should be, cheap as hell. I tried lots of things and wasn't disappointed with any of it. I especially loved their shrimp shumai and their egg cups.
Dinner is a very different experience--more of a semi-fine dining atmosphere. The food is still excellent but the waiter we had was an oddball. We ordered wonton soup for the table, which comes out in a big tureen and the waiter ladels it out to each person. Words can't quite describe the surreal ladeling job he did--it was the slowest I've ever seen anyone move in my life. Seriously, time stood still. And you'd think that anyone who ladels THAT slowly would do so in order to perfectly divide the servings. So how then did I end up with four wontons while one friend had none, and yet another friend got all the shrimp? And one bowl was completely full while another was half-empty? After the waiter left we re-ladeled the whole thing. We would have laughed about it if our sanity wasn't in shreds from the longest, most illogical ladeling session in history.
But yeah, the point is, great food. Go here.
Lousy. We went here looking for a Chinatown alternative to Empress Pavilion which has pretty good dim sum but long waits and bad service. (Last time we went we were seated off to the side as the crowd thinned out and were basically ignored by everyone but the guys refilling our tea pot.) So we gave ABC a try.
Stereotypical bad, shopworn Chinese restaurant decor (lots of beveled mirrors, overly-elaborate lucite chandeliers, dirty carpet...), bad service, not-great food. We had a couple good dishes, but most were decidedly uninspired. The search for a great dim sum experience in Chinatown continues.
I'm not a fan of some of the dim sum places in Chinatown (I prefer places in the San Gabriel Valley, way more legit). However, this is one of the only places I'll eat dim sum at in Chinatown.
The decor and everything isn't super clean, so if you're one of those people who only eat a "A" grade restaurants, then this isn't your place. The food is good and staff is attentive. I love it because they come around with the carts full of goodies very often... so you're not sitting around waiting for food all day long.
Overall, it's a great place, pretty legit even if it's a little "shady."
been going here for years...
pros:
GREAT FOOD. Extremely de-lish.
No wait. Doesn't mean it's just not good.. just not easily appealing to the typical food snob.
Fast Dim Sum, fast dinner. Fast all around
cons:
no more cart ladies. (which is how it is starting to become in hong kong anyways...)
bad area
looks horrible... but comon.. its a chinese restaurant.
I love it here and will always recommend this place to home-ey like people. If you are from out of town, sure, go to the empress pavillion just like everyone else.. but if we were to do a taste test.. this place would win BY FAR.
If you are on a budget and in downtown, this is the spot. The take out section has amazingly cheap food. The staff fills up to-go boxes so you get your money's worth. Little cartons are 1$. If you have time to sit down, order the spicy pork chops. They're amazing fresh.
First of all the ABC Seafood Restaurant I went to was on Ord Street in Chinatown. I think this is the same place but I am not sure.
Wonderful tacky (big ass chandeliers and plastic sheet cushions - classic chinese eatery decor) place with solid Chinese food. I don't eat pork but the veg/shrimp dim sum was good, the lobster delish, but the Brocolli was yucky.
The first time I went to Dim Sum, I was surrounded by 8-10 of my closest friends. We laughed. We dined. We Dimmed. We Summed. It was a rose-hued memory, the kind that brings a smile to my face in times of turmoil.
Okay, the real story is they were 8-10 of my new coworkers, most of whom I was still getting to know. I was the new kid. The kid from Oregon residing amongst the cool LA crowd. The kid who was trying to convince everyone of how Cultured (capital C) she was.
Unfortunately for me, using chopsticks had never quite equated into my cultural upbringing. So, surrounded by the witty repartee and chuckling banter of my coworkers, I silently floundered.
The slippery shrimp slipped. The dumplings dimpled and dumped their contents all over my plate. I hoped nobody noticed the error of my ways.
Luckily, salvation came in the form of BBQ Pork Buns. Big, too big for chopsticks. Sticky! Warm! Filled with savory pork! I delighted in their hand-held goodness.
Since that initial encounter, I've dimmed and summed with those coworkers quite a few times. Thankfully, my chopsticking has improved greatly.
But I still have a soft spot for those pork buns. And ABC Seafood as the best of 'em: steamed, baked, hot, cold, covered in doughnutty goodness. However you like 'em, they have the ABC's of pork buns covered.
(I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out the FANTASTIC delicacy ABC offers that is, in my opinion, on par with the pork bun: banana-and-shrimp rolls. Not since sweet met sour has such a pairing been so delicious.)
Had dim sum here today ... overall, it was pretty scrumptious. I was lucky to arrive at the restaurant around 11:15, so I only had to wait a few minutes for a table.
The food was very good ... I was impressed with the shrimp and banana eggrolls, as well as the fried shrimp balls. Surprisingly, banana and shrimp go well together ... like peanut butter and chocolate. Shrimp balls? Never had them before today but plan on having them again. The pan fried dumplings had a nice texture, as did the crispy skin of the suckling pig ... yummm. Go piggy, go!!
Although the restaurant was a bit shabby, it had a nice, eclectic mix of people. The staff was extremely friendly, as well as attentive.
I love the ambiance of this place. It's very old school chinese restaurant. I actually wish they were a chain and they brought it to vegas. I think my favorite during dim sum is when they bring the food around and you don't know what it is. But they push it on you.
"Ya you try"
"It good"
"No it no move it hot"
Hella saleswomen!
I like the menu I usually order the seafood house special chow mein with the tentacles floating around a cesspool of seafood carnage. Yea. I know it doesn't sound appealing. But hey - thas how dey do it in da hood. In China!
One of the better places in China Town to get dim sum. Prepare to wait though if you get there during peak weekend lunch times.
Dinner there is somewhat average...
I haven't had dinner in the dining room - but have gotten the food to-go in their take-out section (which is on the side of the restaurant). You can buy some dim sum items (they have steam tables), roasted duck and other BBQ meats, and also fast-food style food.
Seriously - this is the best bang for your buck I've found in all of Los Angeles. For $3, you can get 2 items plus rice and noodles (chow mein, if you will). You can still buy $1 items, and there are also some bakery items too. $1 will buy you 3 cha siu bao (BBQ pork baked buns) which are as big as the span of your hands.
The food is decent (hey, its fast food!), but for the prices, it can't be beat and they give HUGE potions (like the take-out box actually bends!)
A Cantonese style seafood restaurant similar to CBS Seafood across the street, only smaller and a little shoddier in atmosphere. I had dim sum here about two times, and several comprehensive dinner meals with family. Overall, the food at ABC is fairly good, but nothing much more.
The dim sum is authentic for the most part: served with the alot of the typical selections and taste. Strangely, the dim sum here is huge in portions, so much to the point that it sort of takes away from the taste of the some of the dishes, such as the shrimp shumai, because it's wrapped with a lot more noodles than shrimp. The taste of the dim sum isn't really the best I've had, as the overall quality of the food is so-so and the taste is not as not as fine as some of the better ones I've had. As for the menu food, it's probably a much better bet. I remember having the beef chow fun, the steamed rock cod fish, chinese style curry chicken, roasted duck, mapo tofu, salted shrimp, among others. All of them were pretty well cooked and of fairly good quality. Not the best, but still pretty good.
In all, I don't highly recommend this restaurant, but I don't discourage it either if you have no other choices. It's not the best in terms of quality and taste, but ABC is still better than places like YOUNG CHOW and the other Americanized Chinese restaurants in LA.
Came to this place starving while walking around Chinatown in LA and left very, very full and pretty satisfied. We were planning to go to CBS as it sounded like the better option for the area, but they had a B rating. I like my seafood fresh, so we decided to look around and found ABC. Just a sidenote, does anyone know why so many restaurants in LA have B ratings? In SD it is very rare that any restaurant does not have an A, but it seems like many of the popular restaurants around here have Bs. Anyway, it was kinda a bummer that they didn't have the carts, but I think it was fresher since they made it to order...sort of. They also have a really helpful picture menu.
We ordered a lot of food, but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Also, the portions here are really pretty large for the price, so just be warned. We got the shrimp Har Gow ($2.20), BBQ Pork Bun ($2.20), Shark's Fin Gow ($2.20), and Steamed BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Roll ($3.30). We also wanted some Roast Duck ($6.50) and Fried Chicken Wings ($6.00). We really wanted to try the suckling pic, but there was no way that was happening.
The Har Gow came out first and was very good. They were pretty big and had pretty much two whole shrimp stuffed in there. Next, the Shark's Fin Gow arrived and were also large. The meat was pretty chewy and had a good fishy type flavor and texture. The BBQ Pork Bun was pretty much what I have had everywhere else in the world, pretty good though. The BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Rolls were alright. There was not enough meat in them and the meat was cut up really small. This made it really difficult to eat as there was not structure to the rolls. They weren't great, but not bad. The Fried Chicken Wings were just alright. My wife noticed that the flavor was a little off, so we figured they were probably cooked in batter that was used for something else as well. Not too bad though, but they did have a lot of batter on them. Very filling. The Roast Duck was pretty good as well. It was much meatier than most ducks I've had other places. There wasn't as much fat, so I guess ducks in LA must be getting more exercise. Then again who didn't make a New Years resolution?
The waiter was very nice and helpful. We initially ordered the suckling pig, but then changed out minds and they didn't give us any hassle about it .They were very attentive to all of our requests. Overall, the food was pretty mediocre, but we really wanted dim sum and wanted to make sure that the seafood would not make us sick. There are plenty of other places in the area though that are probably better, so look around or do your research beforehand.
This place still brings back alot of good childhood memories. The long wait, the constant bickering on when the table will be ready. The fight to get the number to be call so that you can be seated. And last but not least, chow down as much mini pork chops as you can. Ahh yes, the Sunday Brunch for all Chinese!
I'm sure there's alot of great dim sum places spring up all over San Gabriel, Hacienda Heights, and Rowland Heights (New Age Chinatowns). This place still has the stuff that makes me go back once in awhile. The quality did suffered, but not to a point where I thought it was going to blow.
Nothing of that has changed. The egg tarts is still the best. The normal dim sum items are still freshly made. The lines on Sunday is still bad, but not to the point of the yesteryear. It's too bad that Chinatown has become a tourist attraction because it still have some institutions. This is one of the place that goes way back with me. Luckily I still go there once in a blue moon, but less now because there's just nothing else there that I want to visit.
We wander down the hill towards Chinatown from a friend's place with our focus on ABC. It was supposed to be good so why not? We find the front door and it's just take out. We wander over to the back to find a random door... we cautiously walk through it, we find the bathroom, make our way through the hallway into the dining room. Immediately the waiter is pointing at a table for us to sit down at. I'm thinking: hhmmm, we must have come in from the back.
The room is all mirrors, dimly lit, and reminded me of one of those run-down casino buffet places. It definitely wasn't my scene. It was about 1/2 full but we were also coming in a little late.
As soon as we sit down we get inundated with ladies pushing carts trying to sell us anything and everything. We got some bok choy, some pastry-type rolls with beef in the middle, and some other baked thingy with pork inside. I can't say anything really make a huge impression on me. I wasn't completely full but I wasn't ready to order more either. I was thinking that about finishing off my calories somewhere else with a boba tea or dessert.
As we get up to leave, I head towards what looked like the front. No, I was wrong. I guess we did actually walk through the "front".
Yeah, this place may have Empress beat for some quality Dim Sum. As Lawrence said, the pork buns and shrimp/bannana egg rolls are stand outs. Thanks to L for introducing this place to me.
It's certainly not as big or impressive as Empress, but you can't beat the quality and price. 7 of us went for lunch and came out under 70bucks with tip!
For every great experience someone comes away disappointed, and that would be me. I will first agree that ABC Seafood Restaurant is inexpensive and the parking in the back is quite convenient. However, had a meal there and won't be returning again anytime soon. The "B" grade in bold red with a recent addendum to the rating makes it clear that cleanliness isn't the first priority of the restaurant. Nor is the omnipresent smell of Sterno to fuel the ratty dim sum carts a major attraction as I found that I was getting nauseated and there was no air movement in the place to circulate the smell.
The carts arrived to a dismal selection of steamed fare that had zero creativity looking just like the dim sum of any other place, my fear being that it all really does come frozen just as you would buy from Trader Joes. I selected two items including a BBQ steamed bun, which was OK. My other choice being a shui mai with shrimp had been steamed for some time, had no fresh taste of any sort and was done with bay shrimp which I have never had before, just flat with flavor. When I asked for either red vinegar or chili sambal, I was met with glazed eyes nor did anyone go to find an English speaker to find out what I was asking for.
The gyoza I then ordered needed to be sauted to make crispy, but as the server put them into a cold pan with the oil and then placed it to heat, the crispiness factor just didn't come through.
Lastly, after trying to order either golden fried dumplings or fried sticky rice which was not offered, I let them bring out a shrimp dish. Had the oil been hotter when my shrimp with vegetables wrapped in a soy casing was fried, the oil would not have soaked the entire burrito-like affair served with sweet and sour sauce.
Needless to say I left with a disappointed, slightly nauseated tummy and a lack of satisfaction I was looking forward to in a breakfast of dim sum. I have eaten this cherished food across the globe for many years, but ABC Seafood failed to deliver. I will hold out for trips to Vancouver, B.C. and San Francisco to get my "jonesing" taken care of for dim sum.
Try our Noodle Soup!
Neighborhood: Chinatown
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San Gabriel, CA
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
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