It's really hard not to order too much at Michelle's Pancakes. I mean, when you look at a menu where most of the dishes run under $6 – and a bunch are priced under $1 – well, it's hard not to lose control. And if you were wise enough to bring along a hungry crew, the temptation is to simply ask for one of everything. That would come to 38 dishes (not counting the specials, written in Chinese on the walls) – perhaps a bit much. But then, they do taste great the next day…for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

            In a part of the world where restaurants are famous for their barely pronounceable names, Michelle's Pancakes is a snappy exception to the rule. It's a bit like going to a joint named Joe's Pizzeria – and discovering that it serves Japanese okonomiyaki (which is sometimes described as a Japanese pizza, though it's definitely a pizza from an alternative universe). I love the simple eccentricity of giving a Northern Chinese restaurant a name that wouldn't be out of place in the American South. And yes, there are pancakes on the menu at Michelle's. Though I assure you that not one of them – not a single one – has been served at IHOP.

            Interestingly, the eight pancakes listed on the menu aren't all the same pancake. The flavorings and fillings are, of course, various and sundry. But so is the texture and form of the pancakes. Some are like Johnny Cakes, thick and puffy, while others seem to be made of an Asian version of filo dough. Some are like pita bread; another reminded me of the sandwiches I used to make using a press called a Toast-Tite. Though the Chinese ideographs on the menu may offer some idea of what type of pancake the pancake is, the English translation is a lot more succinct; you pays your money, and you takes your choice.

            I don't think you can go wrong. The smoked pork meat pancake reminds me of the waffles with bacon baked in served at Uncle Bill's in Manhattan Beach; they're the very essence of smoky porkiness. The scallion cakes are simple – and simply sublime, offering a mouthful of moist green onion in every bite. The beef, onion and carrot pancake is a chubby critter, fat and full of flavor. Indeed, there seems to be no end to the ingredients these pancakes can be made with – the model made with shrimp, long beans and radishes is a marvel. And the portions, I should add, are large beyond expectations.

            While the name of the restaurant may be Michelle's Pancakes, dumplings, buns and noodles outnumber pancakes by more than two to one. The dumplings are available both boiled and fried; I've found that if you don't specify, you'll probably get boiled dumplings, which are fine – though they all tend to look alike. In fact, in my experience ordering from the list of 11 dumplings, they're all identical. You need to take a bite to figure out what it is that you're eating.

            Which makes the meal a serendipitous experience. You never know, when you lift a dumpling tenuously with your chopsticks, whether you're about to dig into a pork and pickled cabbage dumpling, or a shrimp and leek dumpling. Whether it's codfish, pork and leek…or sea cucumber pork, leek and shrimp. And really, it doesn't matter. You take a bite, and luxuriate in the juices that gush out of the dumplings, and the well chopped flavors within. Once you enter into the realm of the dumpling feeding frenzy, little attention is paid to the subtleties; eating is all.

            There are fine steamed buns filled with string beans and pork, with radish and shrimp, with red beans. There are spinach and pork wontons – and some remarkably savory handmade noodles, each of which seems to be of a slightly different girth. And by all means, do not miss the cold appetizers – the cucumber salad, the tofu salad (the tofu sliced to look like spaghetti), the seaweed salad, which oozes sesame oil. Sadly, they were out of the dish called "All Flavors Eggplant," which sounds like a dish out of Harry Potter. I can't wait to get back – and see how many flavors "All Flavors" really are.

Michelle's Pancakes, 706 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel, 626-293-8098.

--Merrill Shindler