A vast banquet-hall restaurant on the upper floor of Bamboo Plaza, Empress Pavilion has been the default Chinatown dim sum stop for decades. On weekend mornings the carts circulate through a dining room that seats hundreds — har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, turnip cake, and chicken feet for the brave — while families and church groups fill the big round tables.
It is not the most refined dim sum in greater Los Angeles; the San Gabriel Valley does it better. But for old-school Chinatown atmosphere and sheer scale, it is hard to beat. Go early on a Saturday or expect a wait for a table.