Ocean Bo

Featuring a counter for takeout alongside tables for dine-in service, this efficient, no-frills dim sum joint in El Monte caters to all kinds with classic dishes like barbecue pork buns, chicken feet in black bean sauce and fried taro puffs, plus turnip and taro cakes. I also enjoyed the shark’s fin dumplings (though at the price point, it’s almost certainly made with imitation vermicelli) and the pineapple buns here come with a generous portion of the crumbly, bright yellow sugar crust. Not a single item faltered in terms of quality, and compared to the other dim sum restaurants I visited, Ocean Bo was also the cheapest, with most items uniformly priced at just under $5 apiece.