In the late 1980s, Chinatown’s Empress Pavillion was a top LA restaurant for dim sum. Since then, the San Gabriel Valley has become the de facto standard for Chinese food, including LA’s best dim sum eateries. Empress Pavilion was known for its wide selection of dim sum served by Chinese women pushing carts throughout the restaurant.
In 2016, ixlb Dimsum Eats shattered the pushcart tradition, introducing take-out dim sum in Hollywood. Gloria Shi owns the restaurant, but 77-year-old father, Tony Ying, is the restaurant’s face. Three generations of his family have operated Chinese restaurants since 1942 in New York City.
Shi recently opened ixlb Dimsum Eats’ second location in UCLA’s backyard, Westwood Village. In the 1970s, Westwood was where young adults frequented bars and restaurants and viewed first-run movies like Superman, Star Wars, and Jaws. The area is slowly making a comeback with some appealing, diverse ethnic dining options.
“i” sounds like the Chinese word “ai,” which means “love,” as in “love xlb,” and ixlb is short for I love xiao long bao. Many diners quickly became familiar with “xlb” after Din Tai Fung introduced diners to their signature 18-fold bao stuffed with Kurobuta pork.
The restaurant is modern and quite striking from the outside. Don’t expect to be handed a paper ordering sheet with a pencil to place your order. The inside is fast-casual, complete with a self-serve touch-screen ordering system. Lunasia is among the first to offer a digital tablet dim sum ordering experience.
Their menu is much broader than I expected. Popular items such as Har Gow, Siu Mai, Won Ton, Bao, Sesame Balls, and Dumplings are available. I was surprised to find Scallion Pancake, Tea Eggs, and Pan Fried Turnip.
For kids and the less adventurous types, they include mainstream Asian offerings such as Pork Fried Rice, Shrimp Tempura, Chow Mein, Spring Rolls, and Edamame.
I found the selections to be hit-and-miss. Unlike many places where the siu mai is small, dense, and sometimes dry, their Pork Siu Mai ($4.25) was plump and juicy. Bao filled with honey-roasted pork instead of Chinese-style barbeque pork makes the Baked Cha Siu Bao ($6.00) somewhat of a misnomer.
It’s difficult to rate their Xiao Long Bao ($6.15) when the Dim Tai Fung sets the bar so high. The ground pork dumpling is mixed with scallions, cabbage, ginger, and garlic. Nevertheless, the taste was certainly there, but they weren’t as delicate and juicy as DTF.
My favorite that day was their Smiling Fish Bun ($6.75), prepared as an open bao that you grab with your hands. It’s an Asian spin on a fish taco with fried whitefish, pickles, cabbage, jalapeno, and an abundance of spicy mayo – make sure you fetch extra napkins! Pork and chicken are also available for the same price.
Sauce packets (e.g., ketchup, soy sauce, hot sauce) are typically free at most restaurants, but ixlb Dim Sum Eats charges between $1.75 and $2.65 for their to-go containers. To their credit, they state that their sauces are “house-made.”
While most of their customers picked up to-go orders, my friend and I dined on their front patio. Since the table and chairs are movable, it’s easy to facilitate groups greater than four and even young families.
ixlb Dim Sum Eats is located on the southern edge of Westwood Village. Since the Hammer Museum is just steps away from the eatery, consider making a day out of it. The museum features both contemporary and historical pieces. Best of all, admission is free.
ixlb Dim Sum Eats, 10905 Lindbrook Dr, LA, 90024; 310.824.8215; ixlbdimsumeats.com