Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling — Restaurant in San Gabriel

Long Xing Ji is probably my favorite Chinese Restaurant in SoCal. Little known and not as flashy as others in its area, it nonetheless offers affordable, delicious, and unique Chinese food with freshly made dim sum and almost never a wait.

Discovering Long Xing Ji is its own adventure. Situated on the second floor of San Gabriel Square, with its sign mostly in Chinese, most people won't even see it. But trust me, you want to. The place is nicely decorated and the staff is friendly and speaks English if you need it. The restaurant follows the mark-down style of ordering, where you're given a menu full of check-boxes and a pen to mark down what you want. And what a selection!

Long Xing Ji lives up to its Juicy Dumpling moniker with over 5 types of soup-dumpling (Xiao Long Bao/XLB) - from savory and sweet versions of the pork classic, to a massive, fist-sized crab version that comes with a straw. For my part, I just take the classic pork, non-sweet, which never fails to please (and for XLB persons, they don't spill too easily and usually come at just the right temperature). For those new to XLB - the sensation of biting into a dumpling filled with soup and pork creates the 'juicy' sensation of Long Xing's namesake, and is something you'll never forget.

But the selection goes beyond that. Their sesame noodle, topped with peanut and sesame sauce, is a steal at only 6 bucks, and comes in a huge bowl (compare to Din Tai Fung, who's portions are slightly smaller and price at least 3 dollars higher). Their fried rice is light and flavorful. Their green beans come with the most amazing ground beef that has a garlic flavor and a spicy kick. Their beef rolls are savory and crisp (though packed with cilantro if you're the sort to avoid that).

I could go on and on - there's really no way to lose at this place. From the experience of finding it, to the delectable food and decor (and did I mention you can actually watch their dumplings getting made through a glass window?) Long Xing Ji is a diamond in the rough - my personal highlight in a neighborhood already boasting the best Chinese food in the region. Next time you're in the area, don't miss your chance to try your own...

CHINA 🇨🇳 (Jiangsu) Eat the World LA review: Besides some of the pastel colors and that distinctly Californian-Mediterranean-ish architecture beloved by mall planners, it would be easy to imagine yourself in the suburbs of a Chinese city here in San Gabriel Square. The large mall is anchored by Focus Department Store and 99 Ranch Market, but more fun are the multiple staircases and landings, not quite an Escher experience but still providing a lot of options for navigating from place to place.

The other restaurants here offer the cuisines and experiences from Cantonese barbecue to Guilin noodles to hot pot. There are so many storefronts that you often see turnover and new openings are constant. Bake Code, which we visited in January, recently changed hands and turned into a Chatime. Long Xing Ji did something similar a few years back, as the space was occupied by a chain from Wuxi in Jiangsu province called Wang Xing Ji. When it made the switch it was because of a change in ownership, but the menu stayed the same and still features the same favorites from that city just northwest of Shanghai. Approaching the menu for the first time is best done by selecting dishes that say "Wuxi-style" in the name or have a thumbs up icon next to them, or both like the Wuxi-style spare ribs.

Another reason people come here is for enormous soup dumplings like the juicy pork & crab bun ($6.69), which comes in the size and shape of a heat bag. But do not under any circumstances try to pick this up and heal your pains, the dough is so thin it will burst under its own weight before it gets to the top of...

This is basically a Din Tai Fung at a lower price. They have everything and more of what DTF has. I first saw this restaurant on Mike Chan’s YouTube channel where he raves about the huge XLB at this place. He said that you have to come to try this out. So my wife and I visited this place today ( 5/19/2022).

Mike Chan was right, the xiao long Bao at this restaurant is just as good as DTF. The way I can tell is that the skin on the XLB tasted exactly the same as DTF’s. They also have potstickers and scallion pancakes. But the famous item is their huge Xiao Long Bao. It’s about 9 inches big filled with crab meats and crab eggs. It’s then steamed in a bamboo steamer to create juicy fillings. You suppose to drink the soup inside the giant XLB first with a boba straw. Then you can eat the skins with the crab meat. So delicious. This is a must order when visit this restaurant.

When I said everything are just as good as DTF, the only exception is the sweet and sour ribs. The texture is about the same but the sauce is not the same at level of taste. It’s not as flavorful. I believe the cooking process has not attained that culinary level yet. The vinegar level was missing on the ribs. However, the onion pancakes were excellent with the thin and crispy skins. The regular XLB was fantastic too. I can’t tell the difference between these XLB and DTF’s.

The prices here are very reasonable. For instance, their XLB costs about 30% less than DTF, although the decoration of this place needs renovations.

They used to have bad services here but now it seemed to be very good, fast...