Alan Lam and wife Grace prepare a short list of boiled Chinese dumplings, but their specialty is undoubtedly pan-fried pork dumplings. The thin skins caramelize in the pan, locking in luscious ovals of ground pork. Each table holds pitchers of soy sauce and vinegar, plus a container of chile oil, not that the dumplings need any flavor boost.

At her family's Afghan restaurant near Cal State Northridge, Naseema Qayeum steams ethereal leek, chive and coriander dumplings (ashak). She then blankets her ravioli-like creations with tangy yogurt sauce folded with garlic powder, ground beef, dried mint and paprika to complete her colorful dish.

This stylish Little Saigon spinoff of Quan Hy restaurant features numerous Hue-style dishes from Ton family matriarch Kim Toa Tran, including bánh ít ram. The pleasantly gooey Vietnamese "pot stickers" are stuffed with diced pork, shrimp, scallions and strips of black tree ear mushroom, then set on crunchy fried rice cakes and topped with more scallions and finely chopped fried onions

Wallaporn "Dang" Vattanatham introduced pun klib at her Pasadena Thai restaurant in 1993. The glutinous steamed dumplings contain a peppery crumble of chicken and peanut. Pinches of sugar and salt heighten the flavor, along with a topping of minced fried garlic.