Chef Tony - Monterey Park

Chef Tony

Monterey Park

Inside the Courtyard by Marriott Monterey Park.

Menu at Chef Tony.

Char siu bao in the style that Tim Ho Wan made famous.

Better than the Tim Ho Wan USA locations, but not as good as the OG ones in Hong Kong.

Ham sui gok were okay.

Needed veggies.

Chicken feet were plump and decently flavorful, but lacking in black beans.

Har cheug fun not bad.

Pai gut also not bad, but again, oddly light on black bean sauce.

Bean curd rolls were legit.

Milk custard was blah.

Lo bac guo we thought were pan fried, but were way thicker than expected.

Deep fried tofu was meh. Nicely crispy and just salty enough, but still not interesting.

Scallop dumplings were okay.

Har gow skins were terrible, where's the folds? And why so thick? Cake.

Cake.

Chicken and shrimp ginger baos were massive.

Xiao long bao kind of sad.

Shu mai were pretty solid, but ultimately not remarkable.

Ditto for the beef ball. Inside.

Inside.

This is one fancy Courtyard by Marriott.

Taro smoothie with grass jelly at Half and Half.

Ophelia pulled off the win.

Sea Salt and Paper is a fun, quick little game.

Located inside a new and very fancy Courtyard by Marriott in Monterey Park, Chef Tony's second (?) location in 626 is a bit fancier than the run of the mill dim sum place, complete with extensive garage parking (thanks Courtyard by Marriott) and included 3 hour validation.

The food itself is okay, and the menu is a bit more limited than expected from such a well-known dim sum restaurant. Their french baked char siu bao is their take on Tim Ho Wan's version, not the same, but possibly the best item on the menu. The rest was mostly average/undistinguished, such as the ham sui gok (deep fried pork filled glutonous rice), feng zhao (chicken feet), shu mai, wood ear mushrooms, and cold cucumber with garlic; all not bad, but not memorable.

The har cheung fun were probably second to the char siu bao, with almost-thin-enough skins, although the shrimp tended to fall out. Third was probably the chicken/shrimp/ginger baos, which were quite large and tasty. The pai gut were nicely cut but a bit light on the black beans, ditto for the bean curd wraps (seasoning please?) and the ngao yuk (steamed beef ball). The milk custard tarts were terrible and the xiao long bao sad, the lo bac guo were overly thick and not all that tasty. Deep fried tofu mostly seemed to be lacking in flavor despite looking right and being perfectly fried, which was pretty sad. Har gow and also the scallop dumplings were also both misses, mostly being not all that tasty as opposed to actually being bad.

Verdict is a skip, maybe try the Arcadia location in the future as that one is supposed to be better? A quick stop by Half and Half after dim sum redeemed the visit to Monterey Park at least, as Half and Half is always tasty.

Board games after were a lot of Dune: Imperium, with Ophelia pulling out the win at the last minute, plus a few rounds of Sea Salt and Paper, which is quick and light, but a pleasant bit more complicated than Sushi Go.