Like Lisalee, I am of Asian decent, from LA, with a childhood that regularly consisted of dim sum on Sundays. I can even remember when Chinatown was flourishing, before it ""collapsed"" due to many authentic Chinese restaurants opening out in the suburbs, leaving little room to spend a whole Sunday driving to LA, then waiting an hour and a half for a table. When I lived in NYC for a while, I could never get used to the shared seating, so we barely went. When we moved here 9 years ago, Westword recommended Empress, but it was highly disappointing (any dim sum place that has a picture menu, rather than carts milling about is automatically written off my list). Thankfully, we found King's Land, which we visited regularly for a couple of years. We didn't know Super Star Asian had opened in the same shopping center until a Taiwanese friend told us how authentic it was. She was right. The portions are smaller and more expensive than King's Land, but we could never order/try as much as we do at Super Star Asian b/c of it. Servers are definitely much more personable than those at King's Land. The only thing I don't like at Super Star is that there's a lot more sugar in their baked and steamed Char Siao Bao (bbq pork buns) - so much that I'd prefer to skip it. Otherwise, all the dumplings are steamed perfectly, not oily; the egg custards are always perfectly crispy, not soggy on the bottom; the eggplant with fish cake and black bean sauce is a must-order when I go there (never had it anywhere else). What's nice is if you go during the week when there's not nearly as many options on offer, they'll make it for you if you ask. That would never happen at King's Land (where the food is cold during the weekday lunches). We make sure to either go during the week, or arrive just as it opens on Sundays. The food might start coming out at 10am, but the real variety starts at 10:30am. Also, the place really does fill up by 11am.
Pros: Authentic Dim Sum
Cons: Abnormally Small Dining Area for Dim Sum restaurant
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