THE BEST: Chinatown Dim Sum

[weinoo]

Why carts? Neither Dim Sum GoGo nor Sweet 'n' Tart have carts. Both do things to order and are recommendable. I haven't been to Oriental Pearl just north of Canal on Mott in quite a while, but they have carts.

Well, I was looking for carts because I've always felt that was the more "traditional" way to have dim sum...my last visit (within the past 6 months) to Sweet n Tart was fairly mediocre - I remember a much better meal at the Nice restaurant on East Broadway.

Anyway, we ended up at Yeah Shanghai Deluxe, which was very good.

Too bad there's nothing like Yank Sing here in NY - although I don't get out to Flushing often enough to comment.

[elyse]

Isn't Yank Sing the BEST? I was going to mention it after the London example, but decided not to.

[Ruth]

The dim sum at Ping's on Mott Street are extraordinarily good - always hot and delicious. Nor could I find fault with Dim Sum Go Go on East Broadway. Golden Unicorn is still very good as is Nice. There can be a problem with the carts though. You have to catch them as soon as they emerge from the kitchen, especially in the large "palace" type restaurants.

Edited May 10, 2003 by Ruth (log)

[jeunefilleparis]

New Green Bo on Bayard Street is supposed to be good-- excellent dumplings. I can't vouch personally though...

excellent soup dumplings!and super cheap too

[Bux]

Does New Green Bo do a real Dim Sum or does one order dumplings from the regular dinner menu?

Reports on Ping's seem to run hot and cold, as well as tepid. The dim sum seems to get better reviews than the dinner, but I recall some less than stellar reports.

I wonder if carts are traditional, or any more traditional than any other way. In Hong Kong, where the dim sum is way better than NY or SF, I've experienced carts, ordering from waiters and some sort of modified order at the counter service. Sometimes all three in the same restaurant for different dishes.

The best dim sum I may have had in the states, at least the best I'd tasted at the time, was at Ton Kiang in SF--the one way out in what appeared ot be a Russian neighborhood. We ordered from a menu. It convinced me that carts were not necessarily the way to go.

[jackal10]

Carts work where the turn-over is high enough. I prefer them because you can see what you are ordering, and I like the spontenaity - I must just have that jellyfish, or that deep fried prawn on sugar cane, or the beef tripe with black beans I see wafting before me, even though they weren't in mind at the begining of the meal.

The advantage of menus is for places with less turnover, where each is cooked (or defrosted) to order.

[Bux]

Even in restaurants with high turnover, I've learned to ignore fried foods on carts. Rarely are they fresh enough to warant trying. Steamed dumplings are another thing and do very well as does tripe stew and duck blood.

[weinoo]

Does New Green Bo do a real Dim Sum or does one order dumplings from the regular dinner menu?

Reports on Ping's seem to run hot and cold, as well as tepid. The dim sum seems to get better reviews than the dinner, but I recall some less than stellar reports.

I wonder if carts are traditional, or any more traditional than any other way. In Hong Kong, where the dim sum is way better than NY or SF, I've experienced carts, ordering from waiters and some sort of modified order at the counter service. Sometimes all three in the same restaurant for different dishes.

At New Green Bo, it's off the menu - no carts (nor enough room for them!). And I think it's more Shangainese, which isn't really dim sum.

I definitely think Ping's runs hot & cold, depending on where Ping is.

I think the carts, while maybe not the only tradional way to have dim sum, are a lot more fun and spontaneous - as jackal10 so noted. I remember some of the grander dim sum palaces when I lived in Northern Calif. would have 60 -80 different items on the carts on weekends - fresh chow fun, soups, etc. Do any of the "palaces" in Flushing do the same? Not been to HK, so can't comment, unfortunately.

The spareribs in black bean sauce (maybe pai guat), are a total weakness for me!

[Bux]

I can vouch the carts exist in Hong Kong, but I can't say much about how important they are to the local population's idea of dim sum. I wonder if they are more important in America. I wonder if they were here at the beginning of dim sum and how and when they were introduced. I think the carts are great for serving some things and less good for others. When introducing strangers to dim sum, the carts loom more important in my mind because they make for a more colorful experience and they allow those unfamiliar with the food to participate in the ordering.

[Pan]

I think it's more Shangainese, which isn't really dim sum.

Why? Are you saying that there's no such thing as Shanghainese dim sum?

[Pan]

Bux:

Big eating halls in Malaysia had the carts, too, but the small places didn't. The size of the place is a major factor, or at least it can be. I like the carts because they're fun, much like jackal10 explained, and despite the problems that have been mentioned.

For the record, I order fried shrimp/chives dumplings whenever I have the chance, and I've usually gotten them hot.

[weinoo]

I think it's more Shangainese, which isn't really dim sum.

Why? Are you saying that there's no such thing as Shanghainese dim sum?

No, I take it back, I was wrong saying that...however, I do think that dim-sum was once a southern Chinese way of eating.

As Barbara Tropp said in her China Moon cookbook,

"The first thing to understand about dim-sum - that genre of Chinese eating typified in the great pre-WWII tea houses of south China, but found in snack places in most every region..."

And, gleaned from an internet web-site about dim-sum:

Originally a Cantonese custom, dim sum is inextricably linked to the Chinese tradition of "yum cha" or drinking tea. Travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road needed a place to rest, so teahouses began springing up along the roadside...Today, dim sum is served throughout China, particularly in Shanghai. In The Taste of China, Ken Hom shares his memories of enjoying regional variations in "small eats": jiaozi dumplings in Beijing, pearl balls and spicy wontons (known as huntuns) in the Szechuan province. But he agrees with the majority that the best dim sum can be found in Canton, with its wide assortment of sweet and savory dishes ranging from meatballs to sweet cakes.

[snowangel]

Even in restaurants with high turnover, I've learned to ignore fried foods on carts. Rarely are they fresh enough to warant trying. Steamed dumplings are another thing and do very well as does tripe stew and duck blood.

The key is to eschew every table but the one closest to the kitchen door.

Every low-brow (read not high buck) dim sum place I ever went to in Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore always had carts. And, we learned early on to snag one of the tables closest to the kitchen.

And, I remember that most of the best dim sum places I ever went to required at least an hour visit, because they usually cycle dishes. There will often be a whole bunch of steamed dumpling carts. Wait a few minutes, and there will be a whole different set of carts. Wait a little longer, and yet another type of food will be offered. I think the food quality is higher (fresher) when they "cycle" the food. It does make sense.

[Bux]

It's not always easy to snag a table by the kitchen, especially when one has been waiting for forty minutes to have one's number called for a table in a large dim sum palace. I have turned down a table that I have considered all too far from the kitchen, but at some point I have to weight the time spent waiting with the chance that the next table is going to be significantly better. I have also been in dim sum restaurants where the food is picked up at different stations and I have seen fried foods recycled. That is to say, I have seem foods go back on the cart from a warming oven of sorts. When dim sum was regular part of our weekly shopping venture, there were waiters I could count on to get me fresh fried foods directly from the kitchen.

The comment about cycling the dishes is interesting, because we've seen that and learned to spot when the dishes we first saw upon being seated, come by again. That's when we know we've seen all that's being offered. We've also learned that some places send out a greater variety of items at peak hours. The idea was to get there just before the peak time, so the wait was least, but the selection was the widest.

[anil]

OK, here you go -

Triple Eight (No longer called that) East Bwy Below the bridge (carts)

Jin Fong (Elizabeth St - Between Canal & Bayard) (carts)

Harmony Palace (Mott - North of Canal) (carts)

But you really want -- Oriental Garden - Elizabeth (no cart) Sweet & Tart (no cart) Congee (Bowery South of Grand) (no cart) Mandarin Court - Mott (no cart ??)

[Bux]

Mandarin Court - Mott (no cart ??)

Haven't been to Mandarin Court in some time. It used to have carts. It also used to be terriific and then it seemed to slip considerably and after a few disappointing visits, we wrote it off. How recently has anyone been there for dim sum? Has it gotten better and do they have carts?

[weinoo]

Kinda the same way I feel about my recent visits to Sweet n Tart - slipping a bit.

And, where I understand the connection of New Green Bo's Shanghainese dumplings to dim sum, I don't quite get Congee's connection - though I've eaten there and loved it ('cept for the feeling of being in a police interrogation room!).

[dumpling]

Green Bo has great soup-real understanding of broth. Mandarin Court used to be good don't know now. Oriental Pearl was nice and had carts. Jing Fong has definitely been slipping. I don't know about 20 Mott; it's been a couple of months. It used to have great stuff. Golden Unicorn was very tasty albeit expensive. Tai Hong Lau has great con poy(dried scallop) soup dumplings.

[Bux]

I don't know about 20 Mott; it's been a couple of months.

At least. 20 Mott is gone. That's been Sweet 'n' Tart's address for some time now.

[dumpling]

Yeah I know. Sorry, Sometimes I still call it that; old habit.

[Bux]

Recently someone asked me where Sweet 'n' Tart was located and I said it was on Mott and that it must be near 20 Mott (the restaurant). In fact I said it must be the building just north or south of 20 Mott. Then I looked the address up and realized it had replaced 20 Mott.

[dumpling]

Recently someone asked me where Sweet 'n' Tart was located and I said it was on Mott and that it must be near 20 Mott (the restaurant). In fact I said it must be the building just north or south of 20 Mott. Then I looked the address up and realized it had replaced 20 Mott.

Right. I mean technically it still is 20 Mott.

[Pan]

Green Bo has great soup-real understanding of broth. Mandarin Court used to be good don't know now.  Oriental Pearl was nice and had carts.  Jing Fong has definitely been slipping.  I don't know about 20 Mott; it's been a couple of months. It used to have great stuff.  Golden Unicorn was very tasty albeit expensive.  Tai Hong Lau has great con poy(dried scallop) soup dumplings.

In what way has Jing Fong been slipping? And did you go to Golden Unicorn for dim sum or dinner? I've never found it expensive.

[Elissa]

Ming Dynasty, on the southwest side directly under the Manhattan Bridge. Been there a year, but I went first for lunch today: pan fried scallion dumplings for which i'll soon return. Eggplant - not normally my dish - id also recommend and tofu skin with pork: divine. All for $7.

Edited September 9, 2003 by Elissa (log)

[Swankalicious]

My boyfriend and I are spending the weekend in NYC. We'll be eating at Jacques Imo on Friday night, Babbo on Saturday ... and we're looking for a dim sum brunch on Sunday. We've already tried Triple Eight Palace, so we'd like to try something new. Any suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks!