Dan Modern Chinese

After a several-year lull – and a growing focus on hyper-regional Chinese restaurants – Southern California has recently seen some expansion again in Chinese-American restaurants, including openings from New York-centered Jiang Nan, Las Vegas-based Everspring Modern Chinese, and flourishing LA chain Tigawok, to name just a few. Another noteworthy option is Dan Modern Chinese, which debuted in Pasadena early in November 2018, expanded to LA’s Sawtelle neighborhood (near Bacio di Latte, Coffee Tomo, Giant Robot, and Tigawok) during the pandemic, and since 2023 has been available just outside Orange County at Long Beach’s 2nd & PCH (near Telefèric Barcelona and Van Leeuwen).

Influenced by Chinese, Taiwanese, and American cuisines, Dan offers a compact menu and “nice but not fancy” vibe that remind us of Taiwanese chains Chef Hung and Seven Grams – steps above fast-casual, steps below Din Tai Fung. One side of a large laminated menu card spotlights “signature” soup dumplings (typically $2 each, served three or five to a steamer); gyoza-like dumplings (~$6 to $12) that can be steamed, chili oil-soaked, pan-fried, or crispy; chicken, oxtail, and/or noodle soups (~$7-$18); small plates (~$5-$17) including pickled cucumber and popcorn shrimp; large plates (~$15-$23) such as beef and broccoli and mapo tofu; wok-seared garlic vegetables (~$8-$17); dan mein, dan dan, and sesame noodles (~$9-$23); and rice dishes (~$15-$23). The highest-priced options typically use either beef short rib, shrimp, or dungeness crab as proteins, with veggie-only, tofu, and chicken towards the lower end of the range. Teas – with or without boba – as well as soft drinks, wine, beer, and sake are also available, though the Thai milk tea ($5.50) we attempted to order was not actually available; we settled for basic ginger ale ($3.50) instead.

Everything we ordered was in “pretty good” or “good” categories – nothing was either bad or particularly great. We started with three pork and crab xiaolongbao soup dumplings ($7.45), which were each a little more expensive than Din Tai Fung’s, similarly delicate, and roughly as crab-flavored, though not quite as well-filled with meat. On the other hand, a plate of five crispy pork and shrimp dumplings ($12.75) was a little less expensive and more nicely balanced in thick, crispy bottom shell than DTF’s, while also served with a thick hoisin sauce and fresh scallions for stronger flavor impact. Pork belly buns ($11.25/two) were made with pan-fried scallion pancake wrappers and stuffed with more scallions and all but forgettable fatty minced pork, all adding up to texturally interesting crispy mini-sandwiches with oilier and less distinctive flavors than expected.