An SGV Dumpling Powerhouse Is Now Slinging Xiao Long Bao in Chinatown

Eater has confirmed that SGV-favorite Mama Lu’s Dumpling House is now selling its crowd-pleasing wares at CBS Seafood restaurant in Chinatown (700 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012). The partnership was first reported by David Chan, a chronicler of local Chinese restaurants. The two establishments officially joined forces on Tuesday, May 2, and are offering a more robust menu that includes a mix of standards from both concepts. Expect to find Mama Lu’s signature soup dumplings, beef rolls, spicy wontons, and scallion pancakes, alongside CBS’s Cantonese hits and dim sum on the menu. The restaurant will be extending its hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily to accommodate an evening crowd.

CBS Seafood opened in 1999 and is a Chinatown stalwart amid a rapidly changing neighborhood experiencing gentrification and shifting demographics. Mama Lu’s currently operates two locations in Monterey Park and one in Rowland Heights.

Cheese, please.

Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery in Pasadena just launched a cheese club. Membership starts at $75 and registration is available here. The quarterly haul promises under-the-radar cheeses from small-scale, independent cheesemakers, accouterments, and a cutting/serving guide. The restaurant is hosting a launch party on Saturday, May 6 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. that is open to the public.

Honoring preserved Mexican recipes

LA Plaza Cocina, the first museum dedicated to Mexican gastronomy in Los Angeles, will open the Recetario para la Memoria exhibition on Saturday, May 13. The exhibition consists of 15 large-scale photographs by Spanish Argentinean photographer Zahara Gómez Lucini. The images are based on Lucini’s two cookbook collections featuring the favorite foods of people who have forcefully disappeared in Mexico, as remembered by their families; more than 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 1964. The exhibit runs until November 19.

Zahara Gomez Lucini

Where one chef likes to eat

Los Angeles Magazine’s Heather Platt gives a rundown of chef Teresa Montaño’s favorite dishes in town. When she’s not behind the stoves at Otoño in Highland Park, find the chef digging into the crispy rice salad at Bone Kettle, the focaccia di recco at Chi Spacca, and the “Overboard Platter” at Found Oyster.

Doughnut kid portraits in Malibu

For those who missed the Donut (W)hole exhibition at Self Help Graphics last year, the prints are traveling to Pepperdine University and will be displayed at the Payson Library from May 2 to September 10. The artist Phung Huynh examines how identity is informed by both the past and present through a series of portraits printed on unfolded pink pastry boxes.

Japanese curry comes to Old Pasadena

Champion’s Curry is opening a second LA location in Pasadena (2-E Union Street #120, Pasadena, CA 91103) on Monday, May 8. Chef Yoshikazu Tanaka opened the restaurant’s first branch in Kanazawa, Japan in 1961. In addition to the signature curry, the menu also includes sandwiches, salads, and combination platters.