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| - Having given up on Dim Sum upon my move to Las Vegas six years ago, I had done all my mourning of not being able to drive to Monterey Park from West LA for a Sunday post-clubbing ritual. I was not expecting much when I arrived at Ping Pang Pong this past weekend, but began to fan little fires of hopes when I saw a restaurant filled with Chinese people and outfitted with a long line also filled with Chinese people.
When they served us a steaming pot of Chinese red tea (forget the stereotypical Jasmine green), my hopes went from little flames to a pretty sizable campfire. When the cart arrived and I had to explain to the Chinese cart-tender lady what I was looking for since she only spoke marginal English, I felt like I traveled through space and was suddenly in Arcadia.
My favorites, Siu Mai and Har Gow, more than passed the test. Siu Mai was surprisingly topped with fish eggs, which added a much-welcomed dynamic in texture. Har Gow was delicious due to fresh shrimp fillings and a properly-made dough that didn't dry up after five minutes on the cart like the other Vegas Dim Sum joints. My new adventure, Rice Paper-Wrapped Youtiao (Chinese fried bread stick) filled with Pork, was a perfect combination of tastes, textures, and ingredients.
Our late arrival cost me my Dim Sum must-have: egg tarts; which provides me with a good reason to come back and visit this Sunday. In the future, I will no longer avoid restaurants that are in funky casinos like the Gold Coast. I could be missing out on a lot of yummy egg tarts.
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