A Modern Chinese Restaurant with an outdoor patio seating so you can bring your dog. Service: Very good. The servers were knowledgeable about most of the dishes and doesn't make up anything if they are not sure of a certain dish. I appreciate that honesty. Food: The wagyu Fried Rice is so good!. It's a must try. I give it 5 stars. ***** Short ribs are crispy and the fried garlic goes great on the ribs. I'd give it here because of the seasoning. It could use a little more. I give this dish 4 stars **** Crispy Stuffed Chicken. This is what we came here for. The crispy chicken was super crispy and un expected. Although, the oil they used may be a bit old? I can taste that oil taste when it's being used too much and have a certain smell. It can also have a bit more seasoning on it. The sauce that came with it was just ok. I think if the chicken had a bit more seasoning, sauce is not necessary. Over all, I would give this dish 3 stars ***. A bit disappointed to have to give this rating to a dish I specifically came to try. Overall, I would comeback and try their other dishes and dim sum. read more

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I have been wanting to try this place for awhile. They have a great lunch menu and were busy with on site service and take out. The food was good but the service was dismal. It may have been due to inadequate staffing but also seemed to be inattentiveness. We made eye contact and gestured to the server several times but were ignored. Other tables did better but there were others that were like us. I don't think we'll be back. read more

This is my all time favorite brunch place before pandemic. I have not been here since COVID started. I have been calling their phone number since a year ago to see if they were opened. However, their phone number is either busy, no one picking up, or letting me know their voice mail is not set up. I went on yelp last night and saw that they updated their hours a month ago, so I decided to come in for brunch on the following day. I tried to join the yelp waitlist before I head out even though it says "under 5 minutes wait." However, it kept giving me an error message. When I got here, the host told me that their yelp is not active, and my wait is 20 minutes. I mentioned about their phone, and she was dismissive and told me, "I don't know what to tell you." Waited for 40 minutes before we were seated. Waitress was very friendly, and a guy was helping her to serve us drinks. He knocked down a drink on our table and was very apologetic, and the waitress kept apologizing to us even though we kept telling them it is ok. We ordered our food and it came 20 minutes later. We ordered soyrizo scramble and pain Perdue. The food was as good as it used to be! I miss the taste. Both dishes were very flavorful! After sitting in the restaurant for so long, I noticed that there was only one waitress working. They advised new customers that they were not seating anymore parties after 12:30pm. With all the things that gone wrong today, I salute to the only waitress working today as they were understaff! Took away 1 star for the slow service and understaffing (not the waitress fault as she was doing her best). read more

Colette - Pain Perdue - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

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This new Colette started in November and serves up some of the best Hong Kong style food I've come across. The former Colette was more Hawaiian style, but closed awhile during the COVID pandemic. I really enjoyed the fried tofu, shrimp and fried chicken Hong Kong style with a laid-back atmosphere both inside and outside. The food is moderately priced but worth it, as the serving size is generous and the taste remarkable. If you like dim sum, that can be had too, as there is a special menu for the brunch/lunch time food prepared from a chef with a strong talent for Cantonese food originating from Michigan! read more

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A really good Chinese restaurant in the Hastings Ranch neighborhood of NE Pasadena. Their food is outstanding and you can't beat the lunch specials. Definitely recommend Collette's. read more

Food was incredible loved it!! Small quaint atmosphere great service as well. Every dish was tasty

Cool spot nestled between Sierra Madre and Michillinda Blvds. It's got a modern vibe while still retaining quite a few common dishes you'd find at Cantonese-style restaurants. Staff spoke English and Cantonese. We picked up our orders to-go (called in advance) but I wouldn't mind dining here. They have some outdoor seating with heat lamps. In order of most to least impressed: + black truffle chicken salad: strong amount of truffle sauce so if you like truffle, don't skip on this dish. The top favorite and surprise for all of us. Great appetizer! + crispy stuffed chicken: if you like shrimp, get this. Loaded with shrimp and it's a pretty unique concept. Make sure to eat right away cause the chicken skin will get soggy quick. + black truffle mushroom noodles: solid dish. Noodles were a good thick texture and the dish isn't overly dry. + golden short ribs: I expected more out of this dish... on its own, the ribs could've used a little more flavor but was a little better with a bit of sauce. Tender enough though. + dry braised scallops with pepper: pretty standard dish. Not saying it was bad but this is a typical dish you'd find at other Cantonese-style restaurants. Satisfied with the size of the scallops. + kung pao chicken: note we ordered this non-spicy, so probably not a fair judgment of this but I did wish the peanuts were crispier. Alright but I lean on passing to try other dishes over this one. Overall price point is high if you're comparing to other traditional Cantonese style restaurants, but there are a few dishes that warrant paying a little more for its uniqueness. Worth a try. read more

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This restaurant is perfect for your family. They have outdoor seating, and they serve family-style dishes. You can call in and pre-order your food if you have food allergies. They can accommodate a big party. Just make a reservation. They have a parking lot, and it's free. read more

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Absolutely fantastic food, nestled on the far east end of Pasadena. Everything from the dim sum to the entrees was a pleasing experience to behold. The soup dumplings & char siu buns each have unique preparations (the soup dumplings are served within individual spoons, and the char siu buns are more clumps of dough, rather than traditional bao shape, but with a wonderful filling). The standout is clearly the crispy stuffed chicken (crispy chicken exterior, surrounding shrimp interior). We couldn't get enough! The golden short ribs have an umami flavor that is divine. Service was quick, and the dining room has space for 40 inside, and around 50 in an enclosed patio, so plenty of space, even without reservations. Worth the drive! read more

Went here to pass time and grab some dinner. Dim sum was delish. Not the biggest selections, but very delish. Cozy small spot. Food is fresh and tasty. read more

Colette - Seafood speghetti- Delish, feeds 2-3 peeps. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

Absolutely terrible service, full of double standards. From the moment we walked in, the staff's attitude was already bad. They seated us outside but refused to turn on the heater. We waited half an hour just to order, and even after repeatedly asking, they still wouldn't turn on the heater. When my friend went to ask again, they rudely shoved him aside like he was in their way. Then the food came--undercooked and bitter. We ordered stir-fried loofah with salted egg yolk, but it was raw and inedible. That was the last straw. I went straight to the front desk to complain, and the moment they saw me angry, their attitude did a complete 180--smiling, nodding, and apologizing, suddenly eager to offer a refund. But the bad service didn't stop there. Even when we asked for the bill, no one came for ages. I had to storm back to the front desk again, and this time, the cashier was shaking as they handed me the receipt. I made sure to write 0 for the tip right in front of them, and they didn't dare say a word. So that's how it is? If the customer stays quiet, they get treated like dirt, but if you get mad, suddenly they're all respectful? And they clearly treat people differently--when my friend politely asked for service, they ignored him, but when I raised my voice, they immediately changed their attitude. If a restaurant only respects customers who fight for basic service, then it doesn't deserve any customers at all. Avoid this place at all costs."** read more

After seeing this place on Instagram, we were excited to try but it just didn't live up to the hype. Must order: char siu and the chicken with shrimp paste We didn't order the crab but that also looked amazing. Everything else we ordered was relatively average. We ordered the black truffle fried rice, xlb, spare ribs and garlic broccoli which all were just okay There is decent parking and the restaurant is simple but nice enough read more

No longer an eggs, pancakes, crepes spot but many patrons seem to walk in thinking it's such. Maybe they should've changed the name or gotten a new Yelp page. Hit or miss dishes. Good service. Nice spacious patio dining available with heat lamps and indoor dining too with simple decor. Has a good selection of tea. We like the high mountain oolong. Here are items we tried: Dim sum: 1) Shrimp and pork siu mai is a must get dish. Piping hot with juicy pork and succulent shrimp. Probably our favorite dish here. 5 out of 5 stars 2) jumbo shrimp har gao has good shrimp but the outside wrap is not as QQ as I like. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. 3) pork juicy dumpling (Xiao long bao) is good but not as good as the ones at Din Tai Fung or Ji Rong Duck. 3.5 out of 5. 4) abalone sauce chicken feet is not the normal type of chicken feet 鳳抓 at dim sum. They come in a bowl of peanut soup and is not as tender as normal dim sum. Would not get this dish again. 2 out of 5. Main menu: 1) crispy stuffed chicken (half order) is a big portion already. This is their specialty dish and very picture taking worthy but sorta falls short on the taste. Don't get this thinking it's chicken. It's basically chicken skin on top of shrimp paste with a bit of crunch and a plum dipping sauce. Good for first timer but I won't get this again. 3 out of 5. 2) braised tofu with mushroom is a must try dish. It has nice egg tofu with a variety of mushrooms. I would've liked more mushrooms but def would get this again. 5 out of 5. 3) lobster with sticky rice is their off menu specialty. This has the potential to be a stellar dish depending on the freshness and flavor of the live lobster. They show you the live lobster and I would recommend a medium size one so you get some decent size meat. Unfortunately, the one they showed us looked sorta sickly with a claw missing and barely moving. I asked if they have another and was told that was the only one left unless I wanted a humongous one. I believe it's around $36 per pound and $20 for sticky rice. Ours was $146. The sticky rice has pieces of Chinese sausage, green onions, and egg. Lobster is lightly battered and not as flavorful as places like Boston Lobster or Newport Seafood. The disappointing part is that the lobster itself is not that tasty to begin with. So this dish's success really depends on the main ingredient...a fresh healthy lobster. The lobster also had pieces that were raw. I would not chance this dish as the price is pretty costly for mediocre lobster. 2.5 out of 5. Overall, I would go back to try some of the other dishes and for more siu mai and braised tofu. Good addition to the Sierra Madre Foothill area as not many authentic Cantonese restaurants near by. read more

Colette - Patio dining with heat lamps available with free parking - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

OVERPRICED and NOT worth it! Service was awful! If you're a good server you check on your tables throughout their meal. I don't want to raise my hand to get server's attention! Service should be attentive and it was not! Food is bland and expensive! Not recommending it and won't go back! read more

Brunch, Brunch, Brunch - literally my favorite meal of the day. Came here on a Sunday around 10 and there was no wait, which I love. Menu selection is great and service was amazing. There is indoor and outdoor seating, so choose to your liking. I ordered the Fried Chicken Benedict. I'm not really a Benedict type of person, but this was really good! Fried chicken was cooked perfectly the hollandaise sauce and eggs were perfect. I appreciated the potatoes as they were seasoned nicely and crispy. Definitely would come back and try their other items. Enjoy! read more

Colette - Fried Chicken Benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

Colette used to be an American brunch spot but now serves Cantonese cuisine made by the former Embassy Kitchen chef. I think the restaurant is benefiting from the hundreds of previously good reviews from the old establishment, because despite the food being very good, that was one of the worst dining experiences I've had in a restaurant. Long story short - our whole dining experience took 2 hours because of poor service, they practically forgot about us even though we had a reservation, and they really didn't seem to care about their customer service at all to even attempt to make up for their miscues. We arrived at 6:45 for the reservation we made and were told we needed to wait even though there were open tables. Apparently they were reserved for the boss.. This already made us feel uneasy. We were finally seated after a 20 minute wait. When we called for the reservation, they recommended we order the crispy stuffed chicken ahead of time. This is one of our favorite things to get from Embassy so we knew we wanted a whole one. When we arrived, they couldn't get their story straight between forgetting to mark that we ordered ahead or that they only had us down for half.. regardless, that's as much as they had for us. Also strange because when the bill came, they tried to charge us for a whole one. That was insult to injury after everything else that had transpired throughout the night. Dishes came one at a time. So literally we'd finish a plate and wait for 5-15 minutes before being served more food. This got annoying, especially towards the end when we were served RAW (not rare) lamb chops that we didn't even ask to be remade... just cooked to proper doneness and wasn't ready for almost 30 minutes. Aside from that, I do have to say the food was delicious. If you're ready for poor service and still want to eat here, my recommendations are the black truffle beef fried rice, black pepper diced beef, calamari, and crispy stuffed chicken (if you have luck getting any). Overall, the food is way too expensive to have been treated this way in a restaurant. You can easily go to Monterey Park / San Gabriel to get quality Cantonese cuisine for cheaper with better service (to be clear, that's how low the standard was here). I'm sure I'd give this place another try because the food was good, but restaurants are more than just about food and our bad experience at Colette really proved that. read more

The staff is very rude And long waiting time Very expensive for such a meal I will never go there again read more

Definitely a spot with good eats and a fun vibe. Stopped for some dim sum and loved that they had indoor and outdoor seating. The patio is lovely and such a great spot to enjoy with friends. Their service was great and their dim sum competes with the quality you would get in Monterey park or Alhambra. read more

Colette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

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We drive by Colette all the time and noticed it has changed to serve chinese food from an American brunch spot. We went there before the Eater article came out. The food was great! The ingredients are fresh and executed well and seasoning is on point. They serve some dim sum items and some Cantonese dishes. They were a little understaffed but service was friendly. You can also call ahead to reserve dishes that are not in the menu like lobster/crab sticky rice. They kept the existing interior from the American brunch vibe. Not exactly matching the food served but it's a relaxing space. I enjoyed it from the typical hole in the wall or Asian chinese restaurant ambience. Food is on the pricey side though. read more

I'm pretty firm on the idea that Cantonese food should not be turned into a fine dining cuisine. To me, it's good home cooking that should always be done family style. Colette brings a happy medium. Each dish is familiar but with a different element. I especially liked the sweet and sour strawberry chicken and the well done beef vermicelli. The dim sum was average as were the cola wings. The wings were definitely tender but not tender enough to stand out. Overall it was a good dinner that didn't break the bank. We did order the stuffed wings and they kept telling us that it was coming and then said they sold out. Sounds like they need to work on a few kinks in customer communication. read more

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They have really great Cantonese food. I like the pork and truffle chicken. Definitely will come back next time! read more

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The owner is so sweet! I made reservations for 9 and she was so welcoming and asked if we had any additional requests on food or otherwise. The patio was a great place to sit especially since we had 2 boys with us. Food was wonderful and they accommodated the vegetarians in our party. read more

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Stuffed chicken wing is stupid good i love it the food is amazing must try chicken well marinated and just awesome

Supringly good! Good, food, food, the flavor is so good, I believe both Chinese and Americans will enjoy this ver much! read more

Colette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

Did you know this Restaurant has been around for a couple of years in Sierra Madre? I didn't! So I drove up and tried their take-out lunch! I ordered the pork & shrimp Siu Mai, the chicken feet, the steamed BBQ pork buns and the taro cakes! It was so Delicious! Really tasty and the perfect textures! Next time it'll be a dine-in review, and to the many other plate dishes! The restaurant looks simple & clean so I think I'm gonna like it just as much! And they were very courteous while I waited for my food! I think it's a hidden GEM outside of the usual SG & Monterey Park Chinese restaurants! Try It yourself! read more

We were excited to find a new Chinese restaurant near us, but not after trying their dim sum. Their Har Gow is run of the mill, which is the thing preventing this review from being one star. Unfortunately, the egg rolls were very greasy, like they hadn't been drained properly after frying. And one of them had even blown out while cooking, so it had lost most of its filling. The Lotus Wrapped Sticky rice touts having "torched mozzarella cheese" on it (unusual, but I was interested). But instead of that, I was given a slice of American cheese, like a Kraft single. It was bright orange and did indeed taste like fake cheese. Why would you even have those in your Chinese restaurant? All of this was for higher than usual prices (and in the case of the sticky rice, smaller portions--only 1 instead of the usual 2). Maybe their other food is better and truer to the menu description, but I don't think I'll be finding out any time soon. read more

Colette - The Lotus lead Wrapped Sticky Rice ($7) that was supposed to have mozzarella cheese, but came with American instead... - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

We are repeat customers and would like to support our neighborhood restaurant. But last night we felt being cheated. We ordered a lobster dish which the waiter said weighed 3-3.5 lbs. They never showed the live lobster to us. The lobster came out so tiny that we could hardly find meat in the shell. And the dish cost us $117. We didn't want to make a fuss to confront them. But any restaurant owner would know that success comes from food quality and integrity. What good is it that you cheat once and lose a customer forever. We went at 6:30pm and we ordered their popular dish 'crispy stuffed chicken'. A waiter told us it was sold out. We ordered something else, but then the crispy chicken was delivered. What confusion in service! Or again we wondered if it's some kind of scheming there. We feel bad that a favorite restaurant is going downhill. read more

A long awaited good Asian restaurant in our area. Even during their soft opening, they had good business. We sat at the outdoor seating, very pleasant with the heat lamp. We called in advanced, they allowed us to bring our puppy with us. The food was very good, service was good too. Manager Ken was very hospitable, helped us with our order. We will definitely come back to try their dim sum. read more

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New Cantonese fusion restaurant nearby! Dim sum is available as well! The food is great! We ordered the beef chow fun, crispy honey shrimp, sieu mai, pork Xiao long bao, crispy stuffed chicken, braised squab, Singapore noodles, almond beef cubes, short rib, steamed Szechuan style turbot fish, wagyu fried rice, and crispy rice roll. And ordered the Kubota and TOKUGETSU sake! Great service and selection of sake is on point read more

Colette - Sieu Mai - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Can't go wrong with their braised squabs! Tried out this new restaurant last Friday, lots of food&wine options from the menu. Orders a few recommended dishes and I like them all! They have a really big outdoor dining area, prefect for big group too, definitely will go again! read more

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This use to be a breakfast brunch spot. Guess it changed and now serves higher end dim sum/ asian food. It's a little on the pricier side. But the food was good. Service was quick. Like that they kept the outdoor patio so I can bring my pup with me. The roasted pork was good! read more

Ambiance - 3 Service - 2.5 Food - 2.5 1st impression - uniquely different. Located inside a stripe mall plaza like near the entrance of one side of the street. The meaning of the Chinese name of the Restaurant - Life is like a Play They have indoor & outdoor dining options. Servers can be more attentive, but there is a particular server the impression I received was unfriendly. There are two others were very friendly and smiling. The server who seated us was okay. Food looks appealing but dimsum quality/taste just so-so, and portion is enough for 2 to 3ppl on each (dimsum & a La cart) read more

Colette - All sort of tea options - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

Great service, comfortable outdoor seating, and great ambiance. Good for lunch and for outdoor strollers

The food is only okay and the price is too high the portion are very small. I wonder why they are so busy because there are better restaurants in Arcadia or San Gabriel area. Tried it and will not come back. read more

It's some very good, somewhat fusiony-takes on modern Cantonese food. Chef Peter Lai, formerly of Embassy Kitchen, continues his bang-up job on his shrimp-stuffed chicken (which no longer require a pre-order!). The well-done beef vermicelli is also properly pan-fried, embracing the pan shape (literally) in a way that works surprisingly well, although it is a bit too oily the second half. The salmon carpaccio also gets raves, although I wasn't quite as impressed as my friends were (to be fair, if you factor in the price I can understand the raves). Where I was much less impressed was with the dim sum. Seems to be too much attention given to the handful (less than a dozen) items they serve, and both the har gow and shu mai are pretty ordinary at best. Har gow skins aren't quite thin enough, nor are they quite there on number of folds, let alone the delicacy of the best places. Shu mai fare even worse on appearance but a little better on taste. The end verdict is tough. As a modern Cantonese restaurant they're very good for entrees, and credit to being waaaay out on the eastern edge of Pasadena, almost in Sierra Madre. But as a place that seems to get too much focus from social media and media on their dim sum, they disappoint. 3* seems too low, 4* seems high, but gotta choose one or the other... read more

Colette - Patio. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

I had my hopes a little high because I found out that the chef from Embassy Kitchen has come here. The menu sounds amazing and almost everything sounded good. It personally might be a little too expensive for what it was but overall in terms of taste, it's pretty good. Some didn't hit the note, some were too expensive for how much was given , and some were very good. We got some dim sum and we got some main dishes. Just in general everything sounded very good, even including their hot tea. The hot tea had some fancy descriptions to the original names but honestly tasted very regular. We also came because we really missed Embassy's Crispy stuff chicken but it wasn't that same crispy stuff chicken anymore. Not that it's awful but there's actually no chicken to it except the skin. Not to mention, it wasn't even crispy...which is the major bummer to it all. It really is just shrimp paste with chicken skin on top. Order some regular dim sum(har gow, siu mai) - they were pretty ok, it didn't stand out but it was ok. Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice - prob didnt care for this at all as a person that loves my sticky rice. The cheese just didnt really went that well with it and honestly it wasnt that sticky either. I did like how it's like those taiwanese style beef on rice in it but overall, I prob wouldnt come back to get this. Egg roll and egg yolk bun - also pretty standard, wouldnt mind getting again. MY favorite is prob the traditional hakka bun. It's pretty special to me but it also has a lot of nostalgia taste. But I think in general their buns are pretty darn good. I personally think this was my favorite thing. going to the Appetizers: Crispy Rice Roll In XO Sauce / XO another one that sounded a lot better than it tasted. Overall, frying it just makes really oily and that was another bad thing to it. I wouldnt recommend this either. Cantonese Salmon Carpaccio - pricey but it honestly pretty good and refreshing. Honestly this one just really needs fresh salmon but I think this is pretty good. It's almost like Shredded chicken(canto sua si gai) but they used Salmon Capaccio instead. Salt & pepper calamari - It's not as good as the Embassy kitchen one but overall it's still something i like a lot. Hence kinda really made the Rice roll awful too. Also mentioned the crispy duck in the intro but yea it's not bad but it's just not embassy kitchen good. The noodle dish was very good(we end up ordering this one at the end). The dishes were all pretty small if you asked me. I honestly could have ate more too but anyway Im glad we end up getting the fried noodles dish(in pic). It was fried to perfection and has a lot of wok he. I would highly recommedn getting this dish. I give it a 3 but i think i wouldnt mind coming back. Some of the dishes sounded very interesting so I still have some interest. read more

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It's a no from me. Service and servers - ok. Food, absolutely NOT. It's not that the food is bad. It just has absolutely no flavor. Garlic broccoli - ok, not bad Crispy stuffed chicken half order - smh. Black truffle fried rice - meh Honey shrimp - no flavor. Bland AF Cabbage - ok, not bad. Blueberry crispy yam - must not be a yam. More like yucca or jicama and tasted like bad melon. Cola Wings - meh, so-so Presentation for everything was nice - but no compensation for bland and uninteresting flavors. read more

Wanted to like this place but there was a lot to not like. Char su was way too fatty for my taste, the shui mai were okay. The deboned chicken was forgettable, the lamb chop was okay. We wanted to order more food at 230 when it says they're open till three but they tell us the kitchen is closed. Soup dumplings were okay, but the real deal killer was when the two servers waiting on us were having lunch while serving us. This is really bad taste and likely against health department regulations. Won't be coming back! read more

Parking: Plenty of parking spaces in the parking lot. Exterior: They have a decent sized patio for outdoor dining. It was relatively clean. Service: The waitress was nice and came to check on us often. Food: I got a Cappuccino and Carnitas Breakfast Burrito. The burrito was pretty good but it felt lacking for $15 since it doesn't come with any sides. read more

Colette - Carnitas Breakfast Burrito - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Must go place for the freshest quality dim sum in LA. Their har gao, siu mai , shrimp egg rolls, soup dumplings , cha siu bun and lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice are so much better made than the restaurants with dim sum carts. All of the dim sum are made fresh with the finest ingredients once you order. Besides the dim sum, we ordered black truffle mushroom noodles and seafood fried noodles. I prefer the truffle mushroom noodles because of the flavor. I also recommend the crispy honey shrimp and crispy stuff chicken. Both are excellent. Lastly, for dessert, get the Hakka bun. The coconut, peanuts, sesame and walnuts in a multigrain bun are absolutely delicious. I'm definitely coming back here to order their garlic lobster. It's a perfect place to go with a group of friends. There's beer, sake and champagne and a huge parking lot in the northern, tranquil part of Pasadena. read more

Colette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Pasadena, California

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