Alice Y.
Yelp
This dan location is inside the Topanga Village outdoor shopping mall. I'm not sure if parking was supposed to be free, but the ticket machine was out of order during our visit. Everyone drove past the gate arm that was propped up.
There was no wait for our party of 4 on a Sunday at 1 pm. I admired the sleek interior design featuring gold structures and wooden tables. Our server was decent. He took our orders quickly, but otherwise could have been more attentive. I think I had to get up to ask for the bill.
- Beef roll ($15.50 - 4 pcs). The use of oxtail instead of beef shank was an excellent twist. The meat was soft and flavorful, enhanced by the sear on it. I enjoyed the fresh cucumber, cilantro, and sauce. However, I disliked the pancake dough. Instead of having stretchy layers, it was crumbly and compacted.
- Steamed vegetable handmade dumplings ($7.75). These vegetarian dumplings tasted great! I liked them much better than the soup dumplings. The wrapper was chewy and generously stuffed with springy glass noodle and finely pulsed spinach(?). I enjoyed the umami, vegetal taste of the filling, which was not too wet.
- Pork xiao long bao / chicken xiao long bao ($7.75 - 5 pcs). While the soup dumplings were juicy and hot, the filling was overwhelmed by white pepper. It could have used more salt to bring out the flavor of the pork. The dumpling skins were thin and chewy, but the tops were dry and poorly constructed. The dumplings fell apart at the pleats, making them hard to grab. I don't recall anything noteworthy about the chicken xiao long bao.
- String beans with garlic ($15 full portion / $9 lunch portion on weekdays). The sauteed green beans were just alright. I tasted the garlic and salt, but the seasoning didn't penetrate the vegetables. Texture was decent, somewhat snappy.