meeting my dimsum needs at east gourmet

going to dimsum for chinese people is like a picnic of hamburgers and hot dogs for you americans, except we have chicken feet, tripe, and other awfully delicious, offalicious things to eat. it is also a great time to sit around with all the old people and have them ask you embarassing questions about your relationships, double chin, marriage, and for me, my old eggs in my dusty, ancient ovaries (how can the eggs be viable with ancient ovarian walls crumbling all around them you might wonder? yep, they wonder too). and yes folks, it just got personal. like monthly thanksgiving dinners that start off with feel-good vibes, the convo always turns a little wacko. why do family do that?

normally, my family stick to ocean seafood in chinatown, but once in a while, we brave the 10 east and find ourselves in rosemeand at east gourmet seafood restaurant. this place has sorry reviews on yelp, but it's also packed up to the hilt for dimsum during the weekends. i can't imagine a billion chinese people to be in the wrong about this (ok, maybe not a billion, but definitely not wrong). methinks the dimsum is rather tasty.

we always start off with ha-gow which is a dimsum staple. they are shrimp filled dumplings wrapped in translucent rice wrappers. this is probably my most favorite dimsum dish EVER and they usually go fast, thanks to me.

phoenix claws aka chicken feet. mmm, also a favorite of mine. the feet are marinated in soy sauce and black beans and then steamed until tender. nothing like spitting toe bones onto your plate to bring sexy back.

sliced pig ears with chili sauce. delicious cold dish with a lovely crunch. chomp, chomp, chomp went me chompers and oink, oink, ouch went the pigs.

curry beef tendons. this was a lovely discovery at east gourmet and i don't see them often, but when i do, they have my name all over it. the tendons are slightly gelatinous and do not appeal to all folks, but if it appeals to you, it is really a delicious dish to try.

veggie meat gows which are NOT good. ack. i took a bite and "accidently" dropped the other half on the floor. whooops.

and a family pic of tripe, cheung fan (rice rolls), steamed pork ribs, and black been ribs. yummy.

the best thing about east gourmet is that EVERY dimsum dish is priced at $1.88 which is awesome. if you didn't already know this, most dimsum places have different price points depending on whether it is a "small" or "big" dimsum item. no mediums since you ain't buying a jacket yo. anyways, i like this place and i suggest you get here before 10am because it gets crazy crowded and the parking lot is stressful. it's literally like dimsuming in china with the amount of people that frequent this shopping center.

East Gourmet Seafood Restaurant

8118A East Garvey Avenue

Rosemead, CA 91770

(626) 288-9128

price: $$

verdict: tasty, try it!