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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra (Closed)

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 1

I had eaten dinner at Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine in Alhambra several times actually before I ever went there for dim sum. The first dim sum visit was May 2008, when cousin Q's older brother was in town with his wife (then girlfriend) and her sister, Salah Jonger. That's when I found out she reads my blog!

Anyway, as I said before, Triumphal Palace joins Elite Restaurant - Monterey Park and Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant - Rosemead as the new wave of smaller dim sum houses with nicer decor and no pushcarts.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 2

Small plates were $1.98, medium $2.98, large $3.98, special plates were $6.28 and $7.50. The only problem was that few plates were priced as "small" and basic dim sum items such as chicken feet and spare ribs were more expensive than at other dim sum restaurants.

Can't remember what this dumpling was. Looks like hom suey gok (Chinese fried sticky rice flour dumplings) but might have been the deep-fried stuffed meat dumpling for $1.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 3

Char siu bao (Chinese barbecued pork bun) $1.98 and deep-fried taro cakes $2.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 4

Chicken feet $2.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 5

Spare ribs in black bean sauce for $2.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 6

Pan-fried turnip cakes in XO sauce $6.28.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 7

Shrimp rice noodle $3.98 and vegetarian bean curd wrap $2.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 8

Sticky rice in lotus leaf $3.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 9

Hmm. Can't remember what this dumpling was, but it was priced at medium or large.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 10

Har gow shrimp dumplings were $3.98. That's almost a $1 per shrimp!

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 11

Pan-fried turnip cakes $2.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 12

Dan tat (Chinese egg tarts) $1.98.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 13

Steamed crystal buns $2.98. Green tea, taro, and almond if I remember correctly?

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 14

Jasmine and chrysanthemum teas.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 15

I returned back once more in November. We got the standard stuff and my brother wanted the fried smelt with spicy salt $6.28.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 16

I can't remember what these dumplings were either.

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra 17

Overall, I had thought the dim sum was good, but overpriced. I much preferred Triumphal Palace for dinner. At the time, Mission 261 was still open and it was my favorite dim sum restaurant because the quality and prices were better.

Still, Triumphal Palace had been doing pretty steady business so I was surprised when I saw the sign taken down a few weeks after my last visit. It went out of business? What was going on?

That's because Triumphal Palace became Lunasia Chinese Cuisine. And guess what? The quality of the dim sum went up.

Other dim sum restaurant posts:
Capital Dim Sum & BBQ - Monterey Park
CBS Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Los Angeles (Chinatown)
Dim Sum Express - Monterey Park
Elite Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Lunasia Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra
NBC Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Ocean Star Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Rosemead
Yum Cha Cafe - San Gabriel

Triumphal Palace Chinese Cuisine
500 W Main Street
Alhambra, CA 91899
626-308-3222

*****
1 year ago today, money tree plant.
2 years ago today, a repurposed vinegar bottle as a vase for some roses.

7 comments:

  1. I never made it to Triumphal for dim sum, but I did go there for a wedding banquet. Glad to know that I didn't miss much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I went to Triumphal once, but the waits were so long back in the day. We actually went twice, but once the wait was so long we hit the Vietnamese restaurant next door.

    The last photo should be some pan fried buns filled with pork and shrimp and maybe a bit of veggie. Just guessing though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, and the clearish dumpling is sometimes called "chiu zhou fun goh".

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was going to be the first one to leave a comment and telling you the chiu zhou fun goh too but now I figured out not only I have to sign in to Gmail/Goole first, the firefox browser on my Mac doesn't work either - I have to switch back to Safari on my Mac. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have only tried dim sum once (thanks to my brother). I'm in love with turnip cakes and shrimp dumplings. I just need to find a good place in the Silicon Valley to feed my turnip cake cravings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely dim sum photos! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WeeMo,
    It was good, but I think Lunasia does things a lot better. Even though one of the owners bought out the others and kept all the staff. Weird, huh?

    ETE,
    That's because it got written up in the LA Times. That was a while ago so traffic's died down since. VNese restaurant next door? You mean across the street? Sahee? I've never eaten there.

    Trieu chau dumpling, right? I was trying to remember if it was that or pea tips, then got too lazy to even write that. Ha!

    Nick,
    Glad you figured out how to comment!

    Dominique,
    Only once!? I'd miss dim sum if I couldn't have it every once in a while.

    Galley Girl,
    You're welcome!

    ReplyDelete

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