UYE Reintroduction of Dim Sum Panda Cuisine

I feel bad for writing a 3 star review, especially after all the work Val Y put into making this happen. If I could just give 5 stars to Val and everyone at the UYE, I would. I’ll give myself 3 stars for being late. Ha!
The UYE was terrific, I got to meet Unilocalers who I have never met before. You cannot put a price on that at all.
What made it 3 stars total is that it is exactly what it is: A-​Ok. I applaud owners John and Cindy Liang for bringing dim sum to their restaurant. It is a huge endeavor for a Chinese restaurant to start dim sum service as there are lots of things to consider and prepare. As of all dim sum restaurants, there will be ups and downs. It is hard to be consistent and sometimes, you won’t get it perfect every time. Also, dim sum is not something you perfect (even if you have a dim sum chef) overnights. They have some winners, and they have some that needs work on.
Breaking it down by actual dim sum pieces:
Ha Gau (Shrimp dumplings) — As I’ve said before, it is a dim sum staple that restaurants are judged by. It is actually good. The skin is perfect, shrimp is fresh. Would be a winner if it was hot. B
Watercress Gau — Great skin, above average filling. Same problem as Ha Gau, it wasn’t steaming hot. B
Chicken Feet — I’m kind of torn about this because the flavor is COMPLETELY different from traditional chicken feet. There are more Chinese spices here, which to me is interesting. Initially it did taste good, then the after-​taste set in and it became weird. The chicken feet wasn’t that juicy inside and out. D
Xiao long bao — Great. Better than most Chinatown places. The juice was perfect temperature to eat. Just be careful and blow on it a bit so you don’t burn your mouth. It is hard to get this good, and some places aren’t so good at it. A
Tripe — Hard to mess it up. Tasted the same as usual. They do give less than other places though and was cold. C
Durian tart — One of those items that could actually define this place. For durian lovers, it is underwhelming, but for those who never tried it or don’t like it, it is mild enough where you can enjoy it. B
We had a communal dish where we chipped in for a regular non dim sum menu item and we got the $ 7.99 friend fish. It tasted good, but they no longer give soup along with the items. They also had one bowl of rice. In the past, they gave soup and a covered tub of rice. Sad to see that’s no longer the case anymore.
Service was a little rough. I understand it is a Chinese restaurant so everything can be lost in translation (not literally, since I speak Cantonese). Prices are a bit odd since they don’t do the conventional small, medium, large format. We didn’t get our 10% off discount at first and we had to chase the wait help for it.
Every restaurant can improve and it looks like Panda could too. As long as they improve on some of the dim sum that needed improvement and maintain that consistency, they will be on their way to matching the quality of the past Panda Cuisine. Big thanks for everyone who came and Val who organized this!

Thanks to Val Y. for organizing a great event. It was nice meeting other Unilocalers and trying new dim sum. i was on the other table that had the deep fried flounder which was good as usual, but it was disappointing to find out soup was no longer a part of the lunch special. The soup was usually very good.
As other Unilocalers have stated the dim sum was good. We had mochi rice wrapped in lotus leaves, pan fried bean curd roll, shrimp with chives dumpling, durian flaky pastry, pumpkin (kabocha) flaky pastry, watercress with shrimp dumpling, pan fried (Shanghai?) chicken buns, shrimp dumpling, and pork dumpling to name a few. I also tried the chicken feet and it was spicer than I expected. I agree it would have tasted better if it was steamed longer so it would be hotter inside and they arrived at the table closer together.
Appreciated the 10% discount from owner. The service needs to be improved. It would be nice if they had a broader selection of dim sum like salt pepper calamari which I had in Los Angeles and twice in Honolulu. Looking forward to them improving their dim sum selection and service. There are always kinks to be worked out when one starts new service.
Please note, I wasn’t the last person to arrive, but apologize for being late. It’s better to eat the flaky pastries when they are hot and not when they are cold.

February 9, 2013
Dear Diary:
Today was the day of my «UYE — Reintroduction of Dim Sum at Panda Cuisine».
I organized this event because I thought it would be a great way for Yeepies to meet each other; and for all that attended, it would be chance to experience the return of dim sum to Panda Cuisine.
To my surprise 14 people checked «I’m In» and 15 people actually attended.
People started trickling in from about 11:03 A.M. and as always, Vince B. was the first person there.
The owners John and Cindy Liang were ready for us and setup three tables in a very private part of their restaurant. It was a great location for comfortable dining and delightful conversation.
I broke down the group down into three person teams because a typical dim sum order has three pieces. This way, each person would have one piece of a dim sum order. In the end, each person tasted at least eight different kinds of dim sum.
We setup a $ 2.00 community pot at each table where each person contributed $ 2.00 and the group ordered a family style dish to share.
Our table ordered the deep fried pork chops; and another table ordered a deep fried flounder from the $ 7.99 lunch special menu. [1] I must say, the flounder was big and looked fabulous.
[1] Everything on the $ 7.99 lunch special menu is the real deal!
I was lucky to be on a table that liked exotic dim sum. Our kinky dishes from the dim sum menu were:
#8 — Peppered pig stomach — $ 3.50
#38 — Baked Durian filled tart — $ 3.50
#60 — Cold jelly fish — $ 7.99
One dish that really stood out was the:
#1 — Juicy pork dumpling (Xiaolongbao) — $ 5.50
You get five pieces in an order. You have to be very careful when you pick up and eat this dumpling because the inside is filled with soup. This dumpling is meant to be eaten whole and not in pieces. John N., a connoisseur of Chinese food, thought it was one of the best he ever ate. I have to admit it was delightful!
Diary, believe it or not our table was so happy with our lunch selections; we all stood up and did … Gangnam Style… Op op op op!
John (The owner) was gracious enough to give us a 10% discount off our bill. I think each person spent about $ 12.00.
From the standpoint of the food; well the food was delicious. But I do hope they work out the kinks and bring the dim sum out a little more hot. Lukewarm dim sum is so meh!
Diary, the best thing about this UYE was that it brought people together for enjoyable conversation.
I got see old friends like Quijana B, Judith H., Karla M., Russ M. and Vince B.
I got to meet some very cool Unilocalers that I never met before.
Jo and Marv Y. are a wife and husband Unilocal team. They are easy for me to relate to because they are Baby Boomers, just like me.
Aldora K. and Aimee A. are cousins. I have to say Aldora is «adorable» (see her profile) and Aimee is in psychiatry. I sat next to her and she was definitely psychoanalyzing me. I spilled shoyu on my napkin and she asked me to tell her what I saw. I think she came to the conclusion that I was somewhere been a dirty old man and a dunce. [2]
It was a pleasure to finally meet John N. He is very charismatic, knowledgeable and knows how to pick a woman.
Erica L. is very cute, has a very friendly personality and knows how to pick a man.
Heidi H. came late and needs a new watch. I just wish I had more time to talk with her.
The UYE ended at about 1:50 P.M. I think everyone enjoyed the socialization more than the dim sum.
Diary, all in all, it was a great UYE. I think for my next UYE I will make it mandatory musical chairs. That way everyone will have a chance to talk with different people; instead of being unlucky like Aimee and Jo; stuck and sitting next to a man like me. [2] See above.

Good dim sum, poor service.

UYE’s are all about celebrating the awesome uniqueness of Unilocalers. I am always pleased and impressed to meet my Unilocal friends IRL. Each one has an interesting background and story behind them. Five Stars to Val Y for creating an opportunity for us to get together! I love it!
Dim Sum: This has just been introduced at PC and it is good. I got to try at least 12 items and was enjoyed each one. I only avoided the chicken feet but everyone else seemed to love them. Try this place out. You wont be disappointed.
Flounder: Heide H suggested this as a main dish and it too was a winner. Lots of nice white fish but no bones. Very easy to eat because you didn’t have to worry much about bones.
Carts: I guess I’m old school. I prefer carts that come to your table so that you can see what you are ordering. But, it seems ordering off a menu list is the trend these days.
Service: Yeah, but this is a Chinese restaurant with lots of staff who barely speak english and who are most comfortable dealing with primarily Chinese customers. There were some issues and confusion. On the other hand we had a large group with some people arriving late etc. Not an issue for me and never has been here. I’ve been here a few times. I’m good.
94 Items: Most were reasonably priced in the under $ 3 range. Bill for our group of 3 ordering 9 items was $ 31.

What a great sampling of delicious dim sum and lunch entrees selected by 15 enthusiastic Unilocalers at the UYE Reintroduction of Dim Sum at Panda Cuisine! No rolling carts; just order via the menu.
It was hard to choose from the extensive menu of dim sum choices (94 in all) + a selection from their $ 7.99 lunch special menu for each table (Great strategy by Val Y. to order from both menus to make it a substantial meal by itself). And when the orders came out, it was not only a sampling, but also a feast of delectable Chinese dishes and delicacies. There were three tables, and these were some of the dishes that were ordered by Unilocalers on our table:
Black Bean & Garlic Spareribs — most Chinese restaurants just steam them plain, but Panda Cuisine also adds black beans and garlic, which made the spareibs very savory.
Shrimp & Chive Dumplings — the shrimps and chives very much complemented each other, making this dish a very tasy one.
Juicy Pork Dumplings — also known as xiang long bao, these delicious dumplings have soup enclosed in the dumpling wrappers and served with vinegar sauce — eat it whole or the soup will gush out; a dish originated and made famous by Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
Deep Fried Shrimp Puffs — flavorful and ono fried mochi with shrimps and water chestnuts.
Deep Fried Taro Puffs — great tasting mashed and chunks of taro in this lightly crisp taro gok.
Mochi Rice in Lotus Leaf — perfectly steamed and seasoned mochi rice with minced meats, with subtle flavoring from the lotus leaf.
BBQ Pork Buns — delish char siu bao.
Cold Jellyfish — very good jellyfish which was crunchy and mixed with carrots.
Pepper Pork Intestines– nice and chewy delicacy, which was flavored with pepper.
Pan Fried Chestnut Cake — similar to soft mochi with a subtle taste of chestnuts.
Char Siu Fun Roll — always one of my favorites, char siu embedded in look fun and served with a sweet soy sauce (still trying to figure out what’s in that sauce).
Assorted Seafood Rice Soup — creamy jook filled with shrimp, fish, and squid.
Baked Durian-​Filled Tart — yes, durian! Who would have thought of using durian, when even Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods won’t eat it. However, this was delicious, creamy like custard and very palatable; would certainly order it again.
Salt Pepper Pork Chops — generous portions of lightly salted and peppered, crisp pork chops.
Overall, the dim sum selections were very good and flavorful. We’re glad that Panda Cuisine has decided to bring them back; after all, they were always known for their dim sum under the previous management. Many of their dim sum items were served lukewarm instead of piping hot; however, we can understand that the restaurant is still working out the kinks, as the serving of dim sum only started less than a week ago on 2÷4÷13. The dim sum should be a popular venue for them; although it is only served during the day until 4:45 p.m., I would imagine that demand will extend it through the evening hours in the near future. In addition to their dim sum, their $ 7.99 lunch specials are a great bargain with many items to choose from.
We had a private room in the back all to ourselves and stayed for a little more than two hours. We all had a great time socializing with each other, with some of us meeting fellow Unilocalers for the first time. With good food and good fellowship among Unilocalers, we were not rushed to leave.
Service was very good — the servers were very attentive, as the dim sum orders came quickly, tea/​water refilled promptly, empty serving plates taken away, and special requests (e.g., cutting the dim sum with scissors to allow more Unilocalers to try them; bringing hot mustard, shoyu, and chili sauce) were accommodated with a smile.
Thanks to owners John and Cindy Liang for hosting this UYE so that we could experience their new dim sum menu and provide us with a 10% discount off of our bill! Thank you also to fellow Unilocaler Val Y. who did a great job in organizing this event! And finally, food and fellowship make great partners… so, thanks to all Unilocalers and their guests who attended this UYE, as everyone appeared to have a good time: — Quijana B., Vince B., John N., Erica L., Judith H., Heidi H., Aldora K., Aimee A., Val Y., Marv Y., Russel M., Karla M., Kamil S., and Haoin K..

Delicious dim sum and delightful dining companions worked together to make this a great UYE. Thank you to Val for organizing the event, and to the owners and staff at Panda Cuisine for inviting our large group in to discover the joys of the new dim sum menu.
I honestly can’t even list the delicious items we ordered. Luckily, Jo Y. has created a wonderful list in her review. I was seated at a separate table, and so ate a slightly different meal, but will say that it was a great combination of steamed and fried dumplings along with two baked dishes.
The baked dishes were similar, and yet so different. One was a pumpkin tart, and was exactly what one might expect of a tiny pumpkin pie. The second tart was filled with durian, and was not at all what I was expecting. Sweet and custardy, the fruit was more flavor than smell, and was not unlike soursop in texture. I know that I will try this again when I return to Panda Cuisine.
Val also suggested that we order something from the regular lunch menu. My table decided to order the deep fried flounder. This turned out to be an entire fish, battered and expertly fried. I’m so glad that I ordered this in a group, as it was a sizable fish!
The best part of any UYE is the chance to meet with other people who enjoy dining out and trying new things. I was lucky enough to know a few of the other attendees, and even luckier to meet a few new faces. What a great way to experience a new-​to-​me restaurant!
Thank you again, Val. I look forward to your next UYE.