A new Chinese restaurant has opened its doors in Mount Pleasant, bringing handcrafted soup dumplings, Cantonese dim sum and wok-fired dishes to Johnnie Dodds Boulevard. Loong Yan Dim Sum is now serving diners at 341 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, filling a space that had sat empty since its previous tenant closed.
The opening was confirmed by WCBD News 2, which reported the restaurant's hours as 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, with lunch and dinner service from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. The station also noted that the Town of Mount Pleasant said Loong Yan is bringing a whole lot of flavor to the area.
According to the restaurant's own site, loongdimsum.com, the location sits at 341 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, and the menu features handcrafted dim sum and soup dumplings. The site describes a wok menu that includes Mongolian beef, kung pao chicken with pine nuts, Yangzhou fried rice and dan dan noodles, giving diners a mix of steamed classics and stir-fried comfort food under one roof.
A Second Act for a Charleston Dim Sum Favorite
Loong Yan isn't the owners' first venture into Charleston-area dim sum. The restaurant is an extension of Chef Loong Dim Sum & Soup Dumplings at 1662 Savannah Highway in West Ashley, according to The Post and Courier. That original location opened in West Ashley in 2024 and has been described as a smash hit since its debut, per the same outlet.
Owners Emely Yan and Yupeng Lin took over the former White Duck Taco Shop space for the Mount Pleasant expansion, a location that closed in 2024, the Post and Courier reported. The pair planned a restaurant with more than 150 seats, a significant step up in scale from their West Ashley original, and said they hoped customers could get in and out of Loong Yan for $25 to $30.
Word Spreading Beyond the Restaurant Reviews
News of the opening has also made the rounds on social media. A Threads post from @ashley_cashon called Loong Yan Dim Sum the sister restaurant to Chef Loong in West Ashley, noting that fans of the original will recognize the focus on handmade soup dumplings, noodles and Chinese comfort food.
With its larger footprint and expanded hours across five days a week, Loong Yan gives East Cooper diners a dedicated destination for the kind of handcrafted dumplings and dim sum that built a following on the other side of the Ashley River.
