dan modern chinese - manhattan beach — Restaurant in Manhattan Beach

So the food itself is pretty average. Noodle dishes are not bag but it's a place where you should expect one or two xiao long baos in the tray to be popped by the time it comes to you given carelessness. Would give 3 stars on this

But the reason I'm giving it one star is because I've experienced here that I've NEVER experienced anywhere else.

We're at a table thats 3 smaller tables pushed together with 3 adults and 4 kids. We've just finished most of our order but, while we were eating, ordered a few additional dumplings and were waiting on it. I'm standing up holding a baby so one part of the table has a bunch of empty dishes as well as a jacket, my car keys, and a bag of kids stuff.

Someone who I assume is the manager (not a server, hasn't come by before) comes by and says "can I clear this?" and points to the one side of the table that has all the empty dishes. We say sure. She proceeds to take the jacket/keys/kids bag and put it on the other side of the table (still live with some food and pretty messy given...kids), clears off the table she pointed to, and then pushes that entire table to another party. She doesn't see that she puts my personal items onto a part of the table that has soy sauce and my stuff gets dirty.

So I'm left standing, I don't have a table to sit back at, and I have my stuff with soy sauce on it. I'm in shock so when she comes by again I just tell her she got my stuff dirty and she says "i'm sorry" and wipes it off with the table rag (its already soaked through) and walks away. Never asks if we were still eating or if food was coming, doesn't ask about my personal items, and just walks away. She doesn't clear the rest of the table so its not like they thought that we were finished. No other interaction with the manager rest of the...

I know about Dan from the one in Playa Vista, I think I like both but prefer this branch better. In terms of the restaurant setting, this one is very spacious, clean and well-lit (not too bright nor dark). 👌 Customer service was top-notch, very polite and knowledgeable about the menu. I much prefer that the waiters/waitresses know if there are onions on any given dish, and this branch didn't disappoint. Thank you for training your employees well. 🌟 In terms of pricing, I thought they did price their dishes fairly, so cheers to that!

Anyhow, it's time to talk about the food! These are what we ordered on our last visit (I will state if I recommend the dish or not:

Dan Dan Noodles: flavorful, noodle textures are chewy and tasty, mushrooms and steak are juicy. (Recommended)

Popcorn Chicken: Good appetizer, crispy and flavorful. The sauce taste kind of like honey mustard mixed with mayo? Yummy! (Recommended)

Pea Sprouts w Garlic: This is my dish of the day. Pea Sprouts are hard to find (in grocery stores as well as restaurants), so I was hoping this would be great and it didn't disappoint! (Recommended)

-Shrimp Fried Rice: What makes a good rice plate? Not the soggy ones. Thankfully these aren't, very flavorful and I enjoyed the shrimp! I enjoyed their fried rice so much that when there were 2 spoons worth of fried rice left I still asked for to-go box for it. 😏 (Recommended)

Pork and shrimp dumplings: Taste pretty good. My girlfriend loved it. I just personally find dumplings to be alright. However if you love fried dumplings, this is awesome! (Recommended for dumpling lovers)

Overall, my dining experience here was great and if you happen to be shopping at the Manhattan village, you must try this restaurant and then you would be coming...

This place is amazing! I came here on a weekday, by myself for the first time, I’m young and have never tried solo dining and I was very nervous about it. The host and the server were both incredible though. It’s been a couple weeks since I ate here so I don’t remember their names sadly. They were both young, 18-21 I’m guessing and both girls. The server complimented my overalls. I informed her that I have dietary restrictions and she made sure to ask if the vegetables were okay in the plates that I got. And she made sure that the cooks wouldn’t add the ingredients I couldn’t eat. I really appreciated that since it could make me really sick if I ate certain veggies!

I ordered the pickled cucumbers, the shrimp Dan mein noodles, and the pork & shrimp XLB. All of them were incredible. The cucumbers had a great level of spice. I was worried it would taste like pickles since it’s “pickled” but it didn’t, just had a vinegary taste so I really enjoyed them. The noodles were amazing!! If you eat here, you have to order them. I didn’t finish all of the noodles so I brought them home and they reheat well. And the XLB were super good also. Great broth, the filing was great, and you could tell they’re made in house. All the items I got were big portions, very hot, and not over or under seasoned!

So long story short, the staff is incredible. The food is insanely good. I can’t recommend this place enough! I really enjoyed my dining experience here and I hope if you read this review, you have the same...