Monterey Park Restaurant Busted For Selling Rogue Dumplings Made Off Site

Dumpling stories

Well-known Monterey Park restaurant Mama Lu’s Dumpling House was briefly shut down this month, after a health inspector discovered a worker bringing in resealable freezer bags filled with soup dumplings. Per the Pasadena Star-News, an entire shopping cart full of unmarked xiao long bao were discarded when it was determined that they came to the restaurant from an “unapproved source,” and were meant for consumption by the paying public. There were other issues with food temperatures and vermin as well, leading to a shutdown on August 7 and a reopening on August 9.

Club update

It looks like West Hollywood is moving forward with plans for Gwyneth Paltrow’s Arts Club, a British members-only club development on the Sunset Strip that will also make room for restaurants, an art gallery, retail space, and much more.

Bar party

Hippo in Highland Park is turning up the heat, offering a new happy hour deal Tuesday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The bar bites and drinks come in a variety of ways, and all at or below $10 a pop.

The outlet

LA Magazine has a nice story out on Fisherman’s Outlet, the longstanding Downtown seafood marketplace that is still frying up shrimp and fish are close to 60 years in the game.

All in a row

Food & Wine tackles LA’s best “restaurant rows,” those serious dining stretches that offer some of the city’s best restaurants within a short block or so. There’s Fairfax, Highland Park, Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, just to name a few.

New names

The Downtown location of Big Wangs has apparently shifted focus and decor, and is now called Wangs Tavern. In truth the menu is much the same, but the rebrand effort is underway regardless.

Melisse continues

Upscale Santa Monica restaurant Melisse is extending its anniversary dinner deal until sometime in October. The meal is a relative bargain at $99 a head for multiple courses from the Michelin-starred restaurant; an opening menu is below.