dan modern chinese

Reviews

• Brandon P.

  star star star star star 27 May 2026

  dan's dumplings, particular the pork XLB were phenomenal. A big surprise that a lot of chinese restaurants mess up on is the scallion pancake, some places put too much/little scallions, but dan puts just the right amount that made it fantastic.
  
  also shout out to our server Raylene, she's the real MVP!

• Jennifer T.

  star star star star star 24 May 2026

  Guys..dan might be the best Chinese restaurant in Pasadena! I was skeptical at first, but the positive reviews have been proven to be true and this place is actually amazing.
  
  We had the pork & shrimp xiaolongbao (xlb, or soup dumpings), steamed chicken dumplings, crab fried rice, and oxtail beef noodle soup. Everything tasted absolutely delicious. My favorite was probably the xiaolongbao and crab fried rice. Xlb was flavorful but very light, and the filling to skin ratio was perfect. When you pick it up, the bottom of the dumpling droops which proves that it's freshly made. Crab fried rice was incredible as well. You can taste every grain of rice and there were no clumps of rice! Oxtail beef noodle soup was amazing too. If you like very traditional Asian soup that's made from chicken stock, you will like this.
  
  Overall, a solid 5/5 for this place. Service was good but a little slow, perhaps because they were quite busy. I can't wait to come back and try other things!

• Kristina B.

  star star star star star 22 May 2026

  I've been here about 3 times already and my initial impression was 3 stars, but every time I come it goes up another star so now here we are at 5! For some reason, every time I come here I am always on a time crunch...however, dan has ALWAYS been able to make it work.
  
  I love the fast service even when I order their crispy dumplings (minimum 30 min. to cook). Our waters are always constantly filled, they are generous when we ask for more ginger and chili oil, and the food comes out hot and fresh! They really do a great job, thank you dan staff!
  
  Coming here 3 times, I have now developed a "usual" order which includes:
  -Dungeness Crab Fried Rice: Absolute favorite; one of their more popular items. Always has come out perfect!
  -Crispy Shrimp & Pork Dumplings: Ordered this 2/3 times and now will not go without ordering these again.
  -String Beans with Garlic: So crunchy! Even when we take leftovers home. The String Beans are still so yummy.
  -Snow Pea Leaves with Garlic: Just tried these on my last visit and yes, this will be added to the usual order.
  -Pork Xiao Long Bao: Solid. Not the greatest, but the other dishes really make up for it. On of the occasions all the bottoms leaked out so easily, it was quite disappointing. However, on the last visit it had gotten A LOT better. We'll see what happens next time...
  
  If you don't want a long wait...definitely go to dan. They have dishes that Din Tai Fung doesn't have that are just as good. I do like Din Tai Fung's XLBs better, but everything else was amazing. They have items that I have developed cravings for and now will come back for every so often.
  
  Note: There is no validation for the structure. Try to find street parking along Lake Ave. or park across the street in the large parking lot.

• James B.

  star star star star_border star_border 20 May 2026

  3.5 Stars
  Dan Modern Chinese is located in the Commons Pasadena next to Sugarfish and Lemonade. It serves up delicious modern Chinese food in a nice, bright, clean environment.
  
  Food: 4 Stars****
  To sum it up, it's a less greasy/heavy/salty version of many of the Chinese spots you probably have experienced. The flavors are not as bold as some of the other Chinese restaurants in 626 because of the smaller about of oil and salt used in their cooking.
  
  1) String bean - probably the best that I've tried at a restaurant, Chinese or other. Sooo delicious!
  2) Scallion pancake - so light and crispy! Almost Chip-like
  3) Oxtail noodle soup - small portion, but very light. Tastes very healthy and reminds me of Korean sullungtang broth. If you prefer a stronger flavor, this soup isn't for you.
  4) Xiao Long Bao - thin skin with juicy filling. Definitely recommend.
  
  Service: 2 Stars**
  Super slow and seems like most of the servers seem to have short term memory loss. I had to ask several times for chili oil, waters, and order. It wasn't even busy but I felt that they didn't know I existed.
  
  Parking:
  Paid lot in the back, or street parking.

• Andy H.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 6 May 2026

  What a shame, we really wanted to try out Dan!  Unfortunately, the hostess was not trained properly on how to manage the wait time or add parties to the wait-list.
  
  First off, have a sign and a designated hostess stand.  It's confusing for the customers. There are two doors at this establishment with one labeled "takeout only." There was a line of customers at the front door (facing Lemonade) waiting to add their party to the list but the hostess kept adding customers walking through the  "takeout only" door.  When she did get to us, she told us the wait time would be about 10-15 minutes.  
  
  We ended up waiting about 20 minutes before asking how much longer before we could sit.  The hostess then proceeded to tell us she said "15-30 mins" and that I misheard.  Mind you I have hungry kids with me so knowing the precise wait time impacts our decision to wait or not.  We ended up leaving but kept our "spot" in line to see how long it would have taken.
  
  Yup...close to an hour to be seated at Dan for a group of 4!  Not sure if their dumplings would have been worth the wait and probably won't ever know - what a shame.