Luscious Dumplings, a San Gabriel Valley staple that received a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation in 2021, will be opening a Beverly Hills location this year. Originally founded in 2001 by Alan Lam and Grace Li, the restaurant has been serving Chinese Shenyang Province-style dumplings and other delicacies to great critical and commercial acclaim: last year, the eatery opened a new location in Philadelphia, and this year it will be expanding into Texas.
Along with Mason’s Dumpling Shop, which is run by the founders’ daughter Michelle Wu and her husband Ker Zhu, the franchise currently has six active locations in three states, with Chula Vista and Beverly Hills locations to follow soon.
According to the official website, the ingredients for the dumplings are locally sourced each morning from produce marts and butcher shops. The dumplings are folded in-house by the staff, and include pork, pan fried fish, steamed soup and vegetable versions. The restaurants also offer mouthwatering soups, including Angus steamed beef noodle, pork belly noodle, shredded Szechuan pickle, and mushroom meat sauce noodle.
For many Angelenos, the Taiwanese-founded restaurant Din Tai Fung has long been a well-known place to satisfy dumpling cravings, if you can manage to get a reservation. Although massively larger in size with over 20 locations in the United States alone (and outlets in 13 countries), the five-time Michelin Star winning purveyor first rose to prominence with its version of xiao long bao, also known as soup dumplings, made in the style of the Jiangsu province. Perhaps Luscious Dumplings, which also offers diners the option of ordering their savory fare for delivery, may well be on its way to becoming an international standard.
