Road Trip: Happy Harbor Restaurant - Rowland Heights(Los Angeles)

A few months back I read Elmo's post on Sea Harbor Restaurant on His wonderfully written Food Blog, Monster Munching. I even made to sure to stop by on a earlier visit, just to check it out and could not believe the crowd. A few months ago I heard that Sea Harbor had now become Happy Harbor, but that the Dim Sum remained pretty much the same. I emailed Elmo, and he confirmed that from He understood, Happy Harbor had retained the entire staff. So Happy Harbor became a "must try" on this trip.

We arrived before 10am and were silently "waved to" out table, and handed a picture menu and order sheet. The Dim Sum at Happy Harbor is done "menu style", so there was no jostling around, waiting around for carts "only-the-strong-and-hungry-will-survive-every-table-for-themselves" Dim Sum battles. Also, because the Dim Sum here is ordered off the menu, all Dim Sum strategy is thrown out the window. The key strategy being "timing", which is to plan your arrival early enough to beat the major crowds, but late enough so that the "good stuff" has already made it onto the carts. Arriving too early would often times mean that much of the "good stuff" would not have made it's way onto the carts yet. None of that today for us, since we're assured of getting whatever we wanted no matter how early we arrived.

There are some interesting menu choices at Happy Harbor(no Duck's Tongue, though). Happy Harbor serves up what I call "New Style" (or Nuevo) Dim Sum, the sometimes innovative and interesting dishes that other popular Dim Sum places such as New Concept and Mission 261 now serve up. We placed our order and the server silently walked up, and picked up the order sheet and whisked it away. I could not get over how quiet the combination of sleepy looking customers and totally silent, stoic, Servers were. Somebody on another table sneezed, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to the Missus and told Her, "I feel like I'm having Dim Sum at the library", fully expecting to be "shushed" by some ruler wielding Spinster.

Soon enough, our dishes started arriving. The first item arriving were the Vermicelli Noodles with Taro and Duck($8.80). I thought it odd that the noodles were served before everything else:

Fried sticks of taro, and slices of duck stir fried with vermicelli, the taro providing a sometimes unexpected "chew" to the dish. Not a bad dish, not oily, though nothing really great about it.

Shrimp and Chive Dumpling:

The shrimp was very, very, fresh, having retained a wonderful mild crunch, and flavor slightly sweet and briny. I could have used a bit more chive, but call it my crude desire for a bit of "oomph". The dumpling wrappers were on the brittle side, though this was a perfectly fine dumpling. Not Earth-shattering, but good.

Shrimp Cheong Fun:

The Missus and I looked at this when it silently floated to our table, and the first thought in our collective minds was; "geez, it looks like the plastic food in the windows of ramen houses". The sweet soy sauce, was delivered on the side, which I thought was a very nice touch. The shrimp was again top notch, no overt gummy cornstarch texture and flavor. The noodle severely lacked "pull", I want my cheong fun to have some pull, and a bit of chewiness to it. This version tore too easy.

Xiao Long Bao:

The Missus enjoyed the Xiao Long Bao, though I thought there was too little soup, and too much meat. The flavors were very nice; sweet and rich porky goodness. I wish there was more broth. This was served with simple black vinegar on the side. I liked the thickness and chewiness of the wrappers; not too thin, not too thick.

"Shark Fin - Phoenix Eye" Dumpling:

This reminded me of Terry Malloy from On the Waterfront saying; "I coulda been a contender." And it truly would've been. First off, most "Shark Fin" dumplings, do not have real shark fin, bean thread or something similar is used. This baby had strands of Shark Fin on it, though this amount of shark fin would not really affect the dumpling much, it provided some nice "eye candy". Under the shark fin laces was a wonderfully sweet slice of scallop, below which was a fairly large amount of perfectly cooked(again!!!) and very fresh shrimp. Talk about delici-yoso!!! The wrappers were the problem, they were very gummy, and sticky, tearing and sticking to everything, it was impossible to remove them from the dish intact, thus the dumplings never made it to our mouth in one piece, but a series of bites which detracted from what would have been one of the best Dim Sum dishes I'd have ever had. It coulda been a contender......

Pan-Fried Spinach Bun with Chicken and Shrimp:

The most interesting looking dish we had all day. A spinach steamed bun, is pan fried. Dig the groovy green! I thought it rather strange to be served with sweet-sour sauce, but it did work! The bun was so nice and fluffy, and not too sweet, with the caramelizing providing a nice mild crunch. I really couldn't taste spinach, but the filling of chicken and shrimp, though on the mild side, worked in conjunction with the sweet sour sauce. Go figure! These were very good.

And the grand finale, Szechuan Style Goose Liver Wontons ($16.80 for 12):

Silently brought to the table and served. I don't know quite what to say, other then delici-yoso!!! Each wonton was comprised of large half slices of shrimp(yes, again), with two to three little slivers of powerfully rich goose liver. Anymore goose liver would have made them too rich to eat. The broth was a simple stock flavored with chili oil, and there was an interesting amount of Sichuan Peppercorn as well(the little black dots). So rich, we could only finish 3 wontons a piece.

The only thing I'd do differently would be to order the "French style" Goose wonton, instead of the Szechuan style. I think simpler, clear broth would be better next time, and there will be a next time!

All told our bill came to $48, and the noodles and wontons comprised half of the bill. But I'm not going to give up those wontons. As we left the restaurant, the noise level had picked up, since tables were starting to get filled. But the strange thing is, from walking into the restaurant, to the delivery of take-out containers, to paying our check, not a word had been uttered to us by any Employee at Happy Harbor.....I guess they must be happy beyond words??? All hail silent Dim Sum service, another first for me courtesy of Happy Harbor.

Happy Harbor Restaurant
1015 Nogales St
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Here are some really lousy menu photos:

Comments

[Kathy]

Everything looks awesome, Kirk! Goose liver wontons are definitely something different...I'm a sucker for any type of liver (my poor heart!) How many days did you spend in Rowland Heights? It appears like you got so much eating done!

[Joseph E]

So, no wait at 10 am? I am usually just getting past breakfast at that time on most days, but it looks like you beat the fiendish lines Elmo reported on his blog. I can't wait to hear if the food lived up to the beautiful presentation. We're missing out, down here in San Diego. How do you manage to make so many quick trips up to LA?

[elmomonster]

My god, how many restaurants can you hit on one weekend in Rowland Heights? I'm in awe! I can't wait to hear the commentary that goes with the pics.

[howie]

Goose liver wontons! Wow, that sounds fantastic (and decadent)! The Xiao Long Bao look great too. I still haven't found a version of that in SD that I'm totally happy with.

[ccwu]

That restaurant had a good rep for dim sum, but the dinner fare was slightly disappointing. It was very expensive and the portions were very small. I had one dish that was $12 and consisted of five small pieces of fish.

[gravy]

i have never had dinner there but that is my favorite place for dim sum. the best time to hit it, i've learned, is on saturdays around 11 am, b/c that's when you beat the crowd and the kitchen is starting to "get in full swing". i've been on sundays and it's just a mad house, so many people in line! p.s. i live in SD and think it's totally worth the drive just for dim sum. kirk, can't wait to hear your thoughts!

[Kady]

Ooo, bright green dumplings! Looks good. What's in the shark fin-phoenix eye dumpling (besides, I'm assuming, shark fin)?

[clayfu]

when they were new harbor they had the best dimsum next to samwoo in rowland heights.

now i have yet to try it, i just like the fact that you dont have to flag people down to get your food and you get to order it off a menu =)

[Joan]

Those green buns look so weird- but yummy! Is this in the plaza w/ 99 Ranch? I may have to try it next time I'm in the area (if your reviews live up to the great photos)

[Jack]

Wow Kirk, you and your wife are machines...in a very good way! I haven't had a chance to check in for awhile and see that I'm behind a half dozen or so posts. Can't wait to hear about the dim sum. Goose liver won tons...sounds decadent.

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - We stayed over-night, but managed to get in a "few" good meals.....

Hi JosephE - We did an overnight stay, so managed to "hit" a few spots.

Hi Elmo - Let's see 3 meals, and 2 snacks....if you call the Pork Rectum a snack.

Hi Howie - Boy are those wontons rich, but soooo good!

Hi ccwu - Thanks for the info - I'll stick to the Dim Sum here.

Hi Gravy - Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Happy Harbor has been added to our list for our visits.

Hi Kady - There's shrimp and scallop in those dumplings.

Hi clayfu - Yes, no flagging people down and always getting what you set out for has it's benefits. And sometimes, minimal contact with Staff is sometimes a plus as well! LOL!

Hi Joan - Yes, it's on the psychotic corner of Gale and Nogales.

Hi Jack - Can you tell we really enjoyed this overnighter?

[dietchilicheesefries]

kirk,

you've done more for Rowland Hgts in one weekend, than Rowland Hgts has done for itself in decades...

they should give you the key to the city... or some free Tommy Burgers...

[Jo]

wow... wow... Kirk, I so wish I was with you! I love the notion of using shrimp to compliment such a variety of flavors. I've been using a lot of chicken stock to accentuate flavors in my cooking. Something I've "notioned" up from Chinese style flavorings. Shrimp would be another logical choice for a "balancer" of both flavors and textures. I particularly like the spinach buns. Such wonderful colors! But I would have been happy beyond words with any of those dumplings or noodles!!

[clare eats]

Ooh that all looks so good!
I am not ready to come to the party on the shark's fin but that is not from a taste point of view.

I think the green buns look great!

[milgwimper]

Ahhh I wish I could have eaten with you both. I need Dimsum now! LOL the spinach buns were colorful, and everything looked too good!

[Kirk]

Hi DCCF - I think I woulda taken the burgers... ;o) I'm also thinking you should give us the DCCF tour of San Dimas.

Hi Jo - The freshness and quality of the shrimp were excellent - and those wontons!

Hi Clare - A very nice change of pace Dim Sum experience - and some really good stuff.

Hi Mills - Those spinach Bao really do get your attention, don't they?

[Jo]

The goose liver wontons? Oh yea, those really got my attention big time! I have to wonder how the goose liver would compare to foie gras. Although I believe (but I'm not positive) that foie gras is done with both ducks and geese. One of my cuinary goals is to try pure foie gras. One lovely, succulent slice, seared to perfection, garnished with the thinist slice of marinated purple onion...

[Passionate Eater]

I want dim sum and wontons now, sooooo bad! The pictures are killing me! (Like that guy from the mattress store in Los Angeles that says, "You're killing me Larry!")

I'm actually visiting family down here in Southern California now, and I showed your site to my Mom, and she loved it!

Her response: "I need a son-in-law like this guy!"

My response: "Not again Mom!"

[Emily K]

What an amazing choice of dim sum and those green dumplings do look excellent. I also think the menu photos are fine, after all you can't really ask them to put in special lighting for photographers :) and most importantly when I click the photo the print is clear enough so that I can read what the items are. In other words, the information value outweighs minor aesthetic concerns.

[dietchilicheesefries]

kirk,

believe it or not a couple of my friends drive down from irvine and torrance maybe a couple a times a month just to eat at our local pizza place (Michaelangelos)... its pretty good pizza... couple of other decent places nearby as well..

lemme know when you're in the area and i'll give you the tour..