Best Dim Sum?

[Schielke]

Wait a sec...Klink, sic your tivo on that shit and eat dim sum.

Ben

[col klink]

Unfortunately, the Packer game isn't televised on Q13, they're airing the Saints-Falcons game thus I need to go to the Packers bar to watch it. But don't worry, after the Pack when the Super Bowl, nearly every one of their games will be televised ALL OVER THE US!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!

And I will be able to tivo it as suggested.

OR . . .

Since I know that the Pack will slaughter the Vikings, I suppose I can go to dim sum without too much worry. Hmm, I'll double check with my brother.

In the meantime, what do you call a Minnesota Viking with a Super Bowl Ring?

A thief!

[tighe]

You can pencil in scrat68 and myself. I'm pretty sure we're going to be able to make it.....

[Jim Dixon]

Fong Chong in Portland was the best dim sum between San Francisco and Vancouver, BC

I've been guilty of writing those very same words (maybe I should check this guy's site and see if anything else sounds familiar). But it's mostly my Portland chauvinism talking, since I've never eaten any dim sum in Seattle ever.

If I was there I'd be with you at Jumbo's...we should drive up anyway, since the guy who did our kitchen floors (very nice old growth fir installed when the house was built in 1924) tells us that even though he's done we need to let the finish cure another 3 days without touching it, then another 10 days of very gentle treatment...which means my stove and refrigerator stay in the dining room until next weekend.

My friends Marco (of Basta's here in P-town) has been telling me about the amazing dishes at Fong Chong that aren't on the regular menu or the Chinese menu, but are made for the kitchen staff and a few regulars who are insistent enough with the servers. He says if you ask enough, they'll bring you crispy quali that will make you weep.

Next time I visit Fong Chong, I'm going with Marco.

Jim

[LaurieA-B]

Matthew and I are planning to join you for Jumbo. See you tomorrow.

(nightscotsman, please do not ever post anything like that ever again.)

[Blue Heron]

I don't think I can make it to dim sum tomorrow. However, if you see me, then I will be there though.

NSM - I have never seen anything like that before!

(And, you may continue to post photos like that).

[Human Bean]

Looks like I'm definitely not going to make it - have to work, in fact, I have to drop by work every 12 hours or so for the next week. Joy.

So, have fun, and have an order or two of chicken feet for me (that's 'gai gauk', in very rough phonetic Cantonese).

[col klink]

I was planning on ditching the Pack but I remembered that it's my brother's birthday! I can't think of anything better than celibrating a Packer victory with family, especially on his birthday. Hopefully the Pack won't relent to the stats that say they don't do well on turf and they remember the fact that the Vikings are only 2 and 7. They have to win! The Super Bowl is on the line!!!

Sorry folks, the Colonel won't be able to make it.

[malarkey]

hmmmmmm dim sum at 11am.... hmmmmm.

[Schielke]

Allright! See ya all there. I am about to head out.

Ben

[col klink]

Arggghh, I think I should've gone with you guys. The Pack lost to the Vikings, but it seems that no matter how good the Pack is, they always loose in the Metrodome. Arggghh.

However, I went to a new Packer bar over in Ballard, right next door to a male strip club! The food was much better than the place in Bellevue I usually go to. I ordered the "Packer Rush," 2 eggs (sunny side up in my case), hashbrowns and 2 brats. Mm, mm, good!

[nightscotsman]

Arggghh, I think I should've gone with you guys. The Pack lost to the Vikings, but it seems that no matter how good the Pack is, they always loose in the Metrodome. Arggghh.

However, I went to a new Packer bar over in Ballard, right next door to a male strip club! The food was much better than the place in Bellevue I usually go to. I ordered the "Packer Rush," 2 eggs (sunny side up in my case), hashbrowns and 2 brats. Mm, mm, good!

Yeah, but how were the strippers?

Dim sum at Jumbo was very good, if a little uneven. Some good dishes, some great dishes, and some I wouldn't order again. I think the the selection would have been a little more diverse if we had been there an hour or so later. The price however, cannot be beaten with a frozen milk fish! We ate like pigs for over an hour and ended up paying $8 per person including tax and tip.

I had a great time and I hope we do this again soon and often.

[Schielke]

However, I went to a new Packer bar over in Ballard, right next door to a male strip club!

Heh heh heh...Katie would like to add that she has *never* set foot in that place....ever...umm... yeah.

Ben

Edited November 18, 2002 by Schielke (log)

[nightscotsman]

NSM - I have never seen anything like that before!  

(And, you may continue to post photos like that).

Just be thankful I didn't post the one that was a cow's head... that "moooos" when you push the special "button".

I kid you not.

[trillium]

Fong Chong in Portland was the best dim sum between San Francisco and Vancouver, BC

I've been guilty of writing those very same words (maybe I should check this guy's site and see if anything else sounds familiar). But it's mostly my Portland chauvinism talking, since I've never eaten any dim sum in Seattle ever.

For real? You think Fong Chong has better dim sum than SF and Vancouver? I haven't gone because the word on the street is don't bother. I have trouble believing it really is better than Vancouver, but if you are convinced it's really that good, it's worth trying. I think I've been to a few places in Seattle over the years, and thought all the ones we tried in the ID sucked, but I hear there are some ok ones. There was a pretty good one in Redmond for a while, East Ocean, I think they must have had a hakka chef for a while. The dim sum was terrific, but the last time I went, the chef was gone and it had slipped to mediocre. It's closed now. I think the owner has a restaurant in the ID still.

Condolences on your kitchen floor.

I want Ranch 99 to move to Portland (but not for the dim sum).

regards,

trillium

[mamster]

I think he meant "between" in the sense of "north of the SF border, south of the Canadian border." Right, guys?

[tsquare]

I think they must have had a hakka chef for a while.

If Hakka is of interest - there is the place on Aurora, just south of Larry's, that serves Hakka - and Dim Sum...

[Schielke]

Please expound on Hakka. I am merely a country bumpkin.

Ben

[MsRamsey]

From one bumpkin to another:

Here's a March 2001 article from the PI about the Hakka place on Aurora.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/rest02x.shtml

We went once (2? 3? years ago) with high expectations after reading many glowing reports, and were pretty disappointed. I don't remember what we had, but I remember the food being very bland. I'd be willing to try it again if I knew specifically what to order.

Kathy

[Blue Heron]

I see I ate there exactly 1 year ago. I didn't order correctly either, and have almost gone there a couple different more times to try their hakka cuisine, but one time the parking lot was so flooded after a rain I decided not to get out of the car, and I forget what happened the other time.

These were my remarks from a year ago...(from the thread on where to go for lunch in the northend)...

"I was up in the north end this weekend, and hubby and I stopped at Doong Kong Lau for lunch (thanks for the tip, mamster). We liked this place. We shared a bowl of 'Roasted Duck in Soup Noodle', which was good, especially the nice large pieces of roast duck. We also ordered a couple of things from the cart that came by. One was a side dish of gai lan w/oyster sauce and the other was an adventuresome plate of small whole fish (anchovies) fried with peppers and garlic. We realized after we ordered that the specialties of this restaurant are the Hakka cuisine items, so we will return to try some of those, ie. Hakka Salt Bake Chicken, or Prawns in shell, or the Tofu Seafood Hotpot, which is also supposed to be really good. The service at this family run business was friendly and good."

[trillium]

We went once (2? 3? years ago) with high expectations after reading many glowing reports, and were pretty disappointed.  I don't remember what we had, but I remember the food being very bland.  I'd be willing to try it again if I knew specifically what to order.

From what I know of Hakka food (and it's from my partner, an ethnic Hokkien Chinese guy from Singapore) it isn't supposed to be very spicy, but simple and pure which requires very fresh, good quality ingredients. The Hakka were migratory, so dishes changed depending on where you lived. I think of the dishes as down home country cooking, Chinese style. The dishes are accented with things like yellow bean sauce (the soy bean equivalent of fermented black beans used in a lot of Cantonese dishes) and preserved turnip and salted fish. Famous dishes are things like the salt-baked chicken or any sa-po (clay pot) dish that blue heron mentions. The most famous sa-po dish is probably yung tau fa, or stuffed tofu, which is huge in SE Asia. Salted fish fried rice is a pretty wonderful hakka dish, so is a stewed tripe. Hope this helps.

regards,

trillium

[Jim Dixon]

I think he meant "between" in the sense of "north of the SF border, south of the Canadian border."  Right, guys?                  

You are correct, sir!

Trillium, this was also a case (as I tried to explain) of local chauvinism and a bit of journalistic license. Of course I overlooked Seattle (and anyplace else in our neighbor to the north) because we Oregonians generally feel smugly superior to Washingtonians. And there probably isn't any dim sum between Portland and SF, unless it's like the sushi joint in Arlen TX as portrayed on a recent King of the Hill rerun (the chef says things like, "the salmon is still thawing out," and, "the tuna smells a little funny, but hell, it all smells funny to me," and serves French fries and gravy, too).

Floor finally done, most of the stuff moved back into the kitchen...I did nearly blow the house up when I reconnected the gas line and heard this loud swooshing sound...realized that the flex house, on my old Wedgewood for the 20 years I've had it, finally spit open. Took me two trips to the hardware store to get a replacement.

Jim

[Blue Heron]

I'm a week late, but I finally made it to Jumbo for dim sum today.

I agree with nightscotsman, some dishes are very good and others just so so. Everything was very fresh, but I didn't have anything that really knocked my socks off, or that seemed innovative. However the dish I thought I would like the least (the sticky rice in the lotus leaf thingy), was the best I've ever had anywhere. There were all sorts of goodies in it like shrimp, pork, and chicken, plus the seasoning in it was just right for me. Another favorite of mine were the shrimp balls fried w/tempura coating (although very rich I could only eat 1). I think we ordered 6 dishes in total, and took some left overs home (which I am re-heating right now for a snack). We went at 1pm and they were really busy. Service started off slow, but once they got going they were spot on. I'd go back to try some other things and a couple more of what we had today.

Edited November 25, 2002 by Blue Heron (log)