For the value and sheer spectacle of it all, New Capital Seafood, a mammoth, banquet hall–like restaurant gets the vote for best dim sum experience in the hotly competitive, heavily Asian, San Gabriel Valley. Located above a department store in a sprawling shopping center, hundreds gather here on weekends to take advantage of the $1.99 offerings brought forth in a seemingly endless procession of metal carts. The chaos of waiters and red-jacketed hostesses struggling to accommodate the masses becomes a pleasant part of the experience. With so many customers, they've got to be doing something right. If you don't speak Chinese you'll have a hard time figuring out what's in certain dishes, but here there's no great risk in agreeing to things you don't fully understand. At this price almost everything seems worth a try. Try the steamed pigs-in-a-blanket dumplings and sesame seed–crusted bean balls. 140 W. Valley Blvd., Ste. 4D, San Gabriel. (626) 288-1899.

—Nicolas Taborek

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