Dim Sum in NJ

[Jason Perlow]

Some shots of Dim Sum we had today at Silver Pond in Fort Lee:

Yuba Bean Skin Mushroom Wraps

Fried Seafood Dumpling

Pan Fried Pork Dumpling

Fried Shrimp Balls

Duck

Spring Rolls

Shrimp Paste Wrapped with Bacon

Scallion Pancake

Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce

Pork Siu Mai

Steamed Char Siu Bao

Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls with Red Bean Paste

Nor Ma Gai (Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf) Exterior/Interior

Superior Soy Sauce Noodles

[dumpling]

Just shared a lovely Christmas/Hanukah dinner yesterday with friends at the Silver Pond.

Seafood Beancurd Soup

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Peking Pork Chops

Beef with sliced Gai lan

Crispy Chicken with lots of chopped scallions, crispy garlic on top and salt taste on the bottom of each piece-mmmmmm

Steamed Whole Fish with Ginger and Scallion

E fu noodles with black mushroom

Lovely lovely dinner! Everyone scarfed everything up. I barely got a noodle it went so fast! The beef and gai lan was wonderful- the gai lan just incredibly fresh. First time I ever had this type of chicken. Similar in some respects to the crispy chicken served with salt that is often served at banquets. But there was a little broth and the salt on the bottom of each piece came as an unexpected suprise. Multilayered flavors and textures combined with the garlic and scallions, was very nice. And lots of pieces; I managed to snag the leftovers because I have nice friends.

Also had dim sum a couple of days before. This is a Chinese dim sum house; screw the decor, just serve me up the dumplings. Rah!

Edited December 26, 2005 by dumpling (log)

[BrianYarvin]

Hello Everybody:

Reading this thread once again reminds me of how things change so quickly.

When I made my earlier posts, I found the 1-9 Seafood Restaurant to be terrific, but I can recall meal by meal how the place became more and more bland. I'm sorry to see things go downhill, but glad to see the record set straight.

I'm going to stick by the Wonder though, it remains very good and offers dim sum service every day.

Sadly, no other Cantonese place has opened around here, but with the Wonder for big events and the China Bowl for Noodles, Barbecue and rice plates, we're not exactly suffering.

Rosie - I'm delighted to hear that King's Village hasn't closed for good. I can still find their great breads in the local Chinese superstores, so I never really gave up hope.

[Jason Perlow]

Also had dim sum a couple of days before. This is a Chinese dim sum house; screw the decor, just serve me up the dumplings. Rah!

Silver Pond is a consistently solid dim sum place -- I haven't been there for dinner in a while, but their Cantonese seafood stuff is excellent. I prefer China 46's style of cuisine, but I have nothing bad to say about Silver Pond's dinner menu -- its classic Hong Kong food, albeit a bit pricy at dinner though.

Its a bit of a toss up to say which restaurant is better for Dim Sum -- Silver Pond or Dim Sum Dynasty. I think DSD brings some interesting new things to the table that Silver Pond doesnt have, and some stuff they hit a home run on (like their Char Siu Bao) while others are just OK (like their rendition of Nor Ma Gai sticky rice -- the Silver Pond version is superior). Its definitely good to have choice and to be able to alternate between the two.

[markk]

Wow !!! Did I hit Silver Pond on a bad day?

I went today at 1:45 pm, based entirely on this thread, and ordered 5 things to try prior to bringing some friends here, which I'm now hesitant to do.

Everything was really dull and "tired" tasting at best, and the pork siu-mai certainly didn't look as "alive" as in Jason's photo, nor did they taste it. But I digress.

The first thing to arrive though, was the Rice Noodle (Cheung Fun) with shrimp, and even though I was starving, the iodine-y taste of the shrimp was really off-putting. The Pork siu-mai, and the Har Gao were both dull and lackluster, although at least the shrimp dumpling had enough smoky taste to cover the iodine flavor. The Steamed Pork Ribs (black bean) were quite delicious actually, but when the Shrimp Siu Mai arrived, it was inedible, and I had to send it back. I got another pork siu mai, and let's just call it dull and lifeless.

Well, it was a Tuesday afternoon two days after Christmas. Any thoughts on whether they have significantly better days?

I must add that so far my favorite dim sum in NJ based on 3 or 4 visits is Wonder Seafood in Edison, although I sent a dim-sum loving friend from out of town there, and apparetnly he didn't give it the full rave I had hoped for; still, I'd recommend it to dim sum lovers not afraid of the trip. I've also been to Dynasty on Rt. 22 in Green Brook a few times, and it is definitely not worth the drive just to go there. If you're local, it's probably great to have, but as they say, there's no need to make a special trip there.

Anyway, I'm tempted to give Silver Pond another visit on a weekend, but I'd love to hear from anybody who's done that and can say it's better than during the week.

[Rachel Perlow]

I've only been to Silver Pond during a weekday for lunch once, and then I ordered from the lunch menu. I've never attempted to have dim sum there during the week. I'm sure you'll have a much better experience if you go on Saturday or Sunday and arrive around 11:45. By 12:30, there will be a long wait, so try to get there before noon. I wouldn't even bother going there if I were going to arrive at nearly 2 PM.

[Jason Perlow]

Wow !!! Did I hit Silver Pond on a bad day?

For Dim Sum, you want to go on a Sunday. That ensures a fresh batch of whatever you are getting and lots of turnover. I wouldn't go for Dim Sum on a weekday. That's just asking for trouble.

[Randi]

I'm going to stick by the Wonder though, it remains very good and offers dim sum service every day.

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Brian, is it best to go on weekends, even though they serve dim sum every day? And do you have any recommendations? Anything that's not to be missed?