Waiter Steven Sum heads toward the entrance of the Beijing Pie House, which has squeezed its tiny operation into a defunct Monterey Park bakery. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Pumpkin with pork and shrimp dumplings. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
The juicy, meaty contets of a beef pie are revealed at the Beijing Pie House. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Owner Ming Yang makes hand-pulled noodles at the Beijing Pie House. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
For the pork homeland meat cake, thin dough layers alternate with spice-suffused minced meat. Baked to a shimmery burnished gold, every bite yields a mouthful of kaleidoscopic textural contrasts. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Among the restaurant’s comfort food options is the northern-style lamb hot pot, where the lamb is cooked at the table by the customer. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
For the sweet course, the Beijing Pie House offers the Rolling Donkey. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
