Morning Nights is unlike any other dim sum destination in town — and possibly in the world! — in a multitude of ways.
First of all, its name is universal enough for it to be…anything. It doesn’t say “Chinese food.” And it certainly doesn’t say dim sum — though it does suggest that it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the fact that it’s open for dinner — till 10 p.m. every night — also sets it apart from the dim–summeries that serve breakfast and lunch, but never dinner.
Then, it’s not really a restaurant. Morning Nights is a stand inside The Hangar — a window, really, where you place your order from a small menu, and patiently wait to gobble your dumplings and noodles at one of the numerous tables surrounding the complex — including a patio hidden down a passageway adjacent to the stand, at the end of which is a red door.
Open the door, and you’re on an outdoor seating area next to a bar serving exotic cocktails, along with sake, beer, wine and soft drinks. The only tea is unsweetened Brisk iced tea. Since dim sum is traditionally served in tea houses, this is in itself a radical departure from the norm. Of course there are no dim sum ladies pushing carts; they’ve been supplanted by à la carte dim sum at numerous destinations.
And then, there’s one more notable point of difference: the dim sum at Morning Nights…is vegan. Traditionally, dim sum dumplings are built around pork, beef, chicken, shrimp…and more pork. (This is a very pork-centric cuisine!) More often than not, the choices are meat uber alles. But that said, the menu at Din Tai Fung, for instance, has vegan dumplings, vegan buns, vegan wontons and vegan noodles. With its branches in massive malls around town, Din Tai Fung offers a choice for those of the meatless persuasion.
But Morning Nights goes full tilt, leaping in the meatless dim sum steamer, but with a limited menu of just five vegan dumplings and cakes. It’s always tempting to say that, golly gee, you can’t tell the difference. But pork is one of those meats that announces itself loudly and proudly; pork tastes like pork. The vegan shu mai are packed with “plant-based protein,” mushrooms and carrots.
The menu does tell us what plant the protein is based on. Whatever it is, it has a bit of a grainy texture, and a seemingly neutral flavor. I taste the mushrooms and the carrots. I taste the soy and the chili sauce. I don’t taste the protein.
The xiao long bao soup dumplings contain the same protein — but also ginger and scallions. They come with more ginger and black vinegar, with its musky, slightly sweet flavor. It’s a nifty creation, though it’s not a culinary object of desire as are numerous of the other soup dumplings around town. We love our soup dumplings. And we want them to have the pork funk that plant-based protein can’t give. Still, if you’re a vegetarian or a vegan. This is a fine alternative.
And an even finer alternative are the spicy wontons, which don’t bother with plant-based protein among their ingredients. When it comes to the wontons, the filling is oyster mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. The flavorings are cilantro, sesame seeds, scallions and spicy Szechuan chili oil. Everything tastes better with spicy chili oil; it’s to Chinese dumplings what ketchup and mustard are to a hamburger and a hot dog. It’s an essential taste.
There’s more: Scallion pancake rolls. Daikon cakes, with something called Omnipork, which sounds like a multi-national pig product conglomerate. Perfectly good vegetable fried rice. Nice intense salt-and-pepper oyster mushrooms with Thai basil and five-spice powder. The dan dan noodles are made with “plant-based protein ground,” which is not an appealing phrase; I’d prefer more of those tasty mushrooms. The walnut shrimp…well, it’s not shrimp. I like shrimp too much to pretend that plant-based is the real thing. Though the candied walnuts are tasty.
I ate my dumplings and noodles on the patio — humming the Rolling Stones line, “I see a red door, and I want it painted black.” — wondering what beverage goes best with vegan dim sum.
The cocktails had names like Lychee Rum Punch, Cucumberita and Garden of Zen (made with butterfly pea infused gin?). There was Pepsi too, diet and not. There’s a lager called Lucky Buddha, which sounded just right. The other beers are all from Trademark Brewery in Long Beach. The dim sum is an amalgam of cuisines. The beer is all ours.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email [email protected].
Morning Nights
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Address: The Hangar, 4150 McGowen St., Long Beach
- Information: 562-421-7777; www.morningnights.com
- Cuisine: Vegan dim sum, served from a stand in the eclectic culinary world of The Hangar, with a sweet outdoor patio accessible through a red door, plus a bar with much drinkable exotica.
- When: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day
- Prices: About $18 per person; no reservations
- On the menu: 5 Vegan Dumplings and Cakes ($9-$14), 2 Vegan Rice Dishes ($10), Walnut Shrimp ($12), Salt & Pepper Oyster Mushrooms ($13), Dan Dan Noodles ($13), Mapo Tofu ($12), Taro Egg Rolls ($6)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)