Tasting Notes: Cantonese cuisine's evolutionary leap in Los Angeles

During a dim sum meal, a Cantonese friend once casually mentioned that part of the Chinese characters that spell liu sha bao — the fluffy, springy steamed buns that ooze sweet egg custard — translate as “gold quicksand.” I loved that mental image,...

At Pearl River Deli, Johnny Lee’s tiny Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza, weekends bring revolving specials that expand his short staple menu of char siu, silky scrambles and sandwiches. Come Saturdays there may be Hainan chicken...

“I went for a chicken sandwich at Daybird, had breakfast at Destroyer, and swung by United Bakery and Pastry on a recommendation from a friend,” Lee F. Man was telling me. Man lives in Vancouver and was visiting Los Angeles over the weekend. He...

When chomping into the Macau pork-chop bun at Pearl River Deli, the first sensation that rolls over your taste buds is obvious: meat. Breaded, fried, appealingly nubbly meat. It takes about eight seconds before more intricate flavors start to sing...

If there's a category for restaurants like Wong's in Garden Grove, it's old-school. This is the Americanized Cantonese food that fed the Baby Boomer generation. Think chop suey, egg foo young, and “sweet and sour” everything. Now there's another...