The lure of knife-cut noodles is strong, especially for a Chinese food lover like myself, so it’s a wonder I didn’t make it to JTYH sooner. I finally got my butt out to Rosemead this weekend, and I am so glad I did. You know it’s a good sign when you walk in and the entire staff is rolling out handmade dumplings in the dining room. And the dumplings were the star at this small Northern Chinese restaurant, despite its reputation for noodle making. To be honest, I actually found the knife-cut noodles in lamb soup to be a little bland—the broth had the look and flavor of bathwater, I suppose it was the pasta liquid. My recommendation would be to order up as many dumplings as you can fit in your stomach. I tried both the pan fried dumplings and the steamed veggie dumplings, and they were really divine. These are not the delicate, precious xiao long bao you’ll find at Din Tai Fung and other Cantonese establishments. These dumplings are fat, dense and chewy like a Polish pierogi, and irresistible. I usually make my boyfriend do the heavy lifting when it comes to the clean plate club, but I ate nine enormous JTYH dumplings. Nine.

The pan fried dumplings have a crunchy crust on the bottom with the consistency of a parmesan fricco, which is something I haven’t seen before on a Chinese dumpling. The steamed veggie dumplings are filled with a curious and delightful mixture of egg, crunchy cabbage, chives, wood ear mushrooms, and cellophane noodles. I’ve never had anything quite like it, and I absolutely loved them. Pictured below is an aerial view of these beauties. Now doesn’t that make you want a vegetable dumpling immediately? And the best part: 10 juicy dumplings will run you a measly $5.25. Just do it, order 30 dumplings. You’ll eat them all.