Wendy B.
Yelp
There are very few places to find dim sum in all of San Diego, but your best chances for success are on Convoy St. in the Clairemont Mesa community. We were on the hunt for steamed baos.
From my experience on Yelp, I learned it takes quite a bit of sleuthing to find a good steamed bao in this town! Yelpers are fickle and the number of bakeries and restaurants appear to be slim pickins. This small Chinese bakery/deli, attached to the restaurant of the same name (Jasmine), came through for us with the right tastes and a decent amount of filling. The steamed bread is slightly sweet, very traditional. It was also nicely tender.
We purchased steamed char siu baos and chicken baos and found both were delicious. Good enough to order a boxful to bring home as a peace offering to the family, all dim sum aficionados. Jasmine also makes baked baos that are brushed with a sticky sweet glaze. Same good bbq pork filling, but not my personal favorite, finding the glaze too sweet. We also sampled some other types of pastries, filled with sweet red beans or savory pork, meeting with a lackluster response.
This little deli has no tables. It is for to-go orders and is stocked from the main kitchen of the restaurant, so baos and pastries are not the only foods offered. You will find a selection of hot, typical Chinese foods, plus hanging duck, roast pork, to name a few.
Parking is horrific, especially noting the number of other Far East food establishments, large and small, that must all share the same parking lot. This particular business shares real estate with a very well known, popular dumpling house that dominates the strip mall during the dinner hour, so plan accordingly.