Dim Sum in Seattle

[Blue Heron]

A group of us went to King's Chinese Restaurant (aka Ming's) in Bellevue awhile back and had a some really nice dim sum.

Here's a link to check out the responses: Dim Sum

Address is: 13200 Ne 20th St, Ste 4, Bellevue

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I had another good dim sum lunch at Kings/Mings in Bellevue on Wednesday, but the service was horrible. Not sure why, but the waitresses just didn't take care of us very well (ie. no water refills, didn't come around regularly to ask if we want more dim sum, etc.). But what we ate was very delicious and fresh tasting, ie. peavines w/shrimp in steamed dumpling thingy, scallop on top of shrimp in steamed dumpling, sauteed squid, meatball, sticky rice & pork in lotus leaves (excellent), hum bao w/pork, sweet fried dumpling with pork and mushrooms. I love the dim sum there. The setting there is also clean and fresh looking. People are dressed as in taking a lunch break from work attire (ie. dressy to dressy casual).

[Abra]

Caveat emptor at Jeem. More complete review here.

[ScorchedPalate]

I'd sooner go to House of Hong, China Gate, Noble Court or Top Gun in Bellevue...

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Please don't go to Top Gun in Bellevue.

From a post I made elsewhere:

Apr 11 2005, 04:10 PM 

Last weekend, I was craving dim sum as I help my sister-in-law plan a side trip to Vancouver. Based on my memory that "everyone" said it was awesome, we headed to Factoria to eat at Top Gun. As we walked in the door, Cam pulled a face... I realized that something he saw in the seafood tanks was amiss, but the hostess came to greet us before I could ask him what was up.

After we were seated, we were brought plates, utensils, and a pot of tea with two cups. The teapot had crusty bits of dried-on tea on the lid and the spout, the cups were greasy, and one of the plates had bits of sticky rice right in the middle of it.

Having reached our gross-out quotient, we decided to leave. On the way out, Cam pointed out what he had seen on the way in: A king crab lay upside-down in one of the tanks. We high-tailed it out of there (and ended up at Lola, where we had a very nice brunch).

[Placebo]

There's a place in the ID on Main called..er.. Jade somethingorother, around 7th or so that was very good. Packed house at noon on a friday and my friend and I were the only round-eyes there. I'm no dim sum expert but this stuff seemed pretty good to me.

[megwoo]

My favorite Dim Sum place in Seattle is Sun Ya. I think it's worlds better than Honey Court. Sun Ya has great hum bow, sticky rice and amazing roasted/bbq'd meats (like char sieu)--the roast crispy pork is incredible. Oh and if you go, order the Garlic Spareribs from the kitchen (not available on the carts).

More here, if interested:

http://iheartbacon.com/index.php?id=32

http://www.seattlest.com/archives/2005/05/..._ya_seafood.php

Oh, one more tip: try and sit at the bank of tables furthest from the windows. This will put you right next to the kitchen where you can snag the freshest dim sum, plus specials that sell out after only a few tables.

[jchoi]

Maybe my taste in Chinese food simply isn't discriminating enough, but I just haven't noticed a significant drop in quality at IG since the management change.  Some things are different, but not necessarily worse.  Both with dim sum and on the regular menu, there are dishes that weren't previously offered, that I have really enjoyed. Maybe I've just been lucky.

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tighe, to your point, i just had dim sum at IG today (was "in the neighborhood"), and it was more enjoyable than i expected. it was just my preschooler son and i so we didn't try too many dishes, but the dining was fine and i might go back if i have a craving and don't want to trek to the ID. in my opinion, i found the rice wrappings and noodles to be over-cooked and on the soggy side, and the gai lan was a tad mushy as well though the flavors of each offering were nice. (i happen to be very particular about chinese food...) the sticky rice was excellent. i will say that i find the service under the new ownership to be more friendly and attentive, which isn't nothing.

i did end up making it to Jade Garden a month ago, and that's a spot i would try again. though we were seated in the back room (main dining area was full), the "cart" (items were brought up on trays b/c there are several steps up from the main level) was circulated with regularity and the items were hot and fresh. at one point, the server was about to give us a steamed dumpling of some sort, lifted the lid and, realizing the dumplings were cooled, apologized and asked us to give her a moment to get a fresh plate from the kitchen. i really appreciated that attention to the food by the server.

[jkonick]

A Hong Kong native and self-appointed dim sum expert friend of mine and I have decided to try to eat at every dim sum place in the ID, and I've created a blog to chronicle our adventures. We'll be trying a different place every Tuesday, and after we get done with the ID we'll move on to the rest of Seattle.

Check out www.seattledimsum.blogspot.com for reviews.

You can read a longer review on there, but I'll add to this thread that Jade Garden is hands down the best dim sum I've ever had in Seattle. Great dumplings with "real" filling - i.e. whole pieces of shrimp/scallop etc. Just very high quality in general. The closest thing I've had in Seattle to San Francisco or Vancouver.

[dimsumfan]

A Hong Kong native and self-appointed dim sum expert friend of mine and I have decided to try to eat at every dim sum place in the ID, and I've created a blog to chronicle our adventures. We'll be trying a different place every Tuesday, and after we get done with the ID we'll move on to the rest of Seattle.

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Will look forward to your findings. After trying a few places here, including Jade Garden, I just don't want to waste my money on dim sum in Seattle. In fact, I just returned from four days in Richmond stuffing myself silly with dim sum (you can see my report on the Vancouver board) and the trip only confirmed my beliefs. But maybe you'll find something that can change my mind?!?

[Ling]

You can read a longer review on there, but I'll add to this thread that Jade Garden is hands down the best dim sum I've ever had in Seattle.

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I read your review and you said Brian thought JG had the best dimsum outside of HK. Has he had dimsum in Vancouver/Richmond? Just curious.

[jkonick]

You can read a longer review on there, but I'll add to this thread that Jade Garden is hands down the best dim sum I've ever had in Seattle.

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I read your review and you said Brian thought JG had the best dimsum outside of HK. Has he had dimsum in Vancouver/Richmond? Just curious.

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He just moved here about a year ago, and I don't think he's had a chance to eat up there yet. We are planning an extracurricular trip to Sun Sui Wah though, so that'll probably make him change his mind!

[cburnsi]

A Hong Kong native and self-appointed dim sum expert friend of mine and I have decided to try to eat at every dim sum place in the ID, and I've created a blog to chronicle our adventures. We'll be trying a different place every Tuesday, and after we get done with the ID we'll move on to the rest of Seattle.

Check out www.seattledimsum.blogspot.com for reviews.

Sounds like a great undertaking. I'll be looking forward to your reviews. Reading about tripe on your blog got me thinking...if you go on Tuesdays you will miss all the wonderful treats and variety that are usually reserved for Sundays.

cburnsi

[kiliki]

I knew there was a better selection on weekends, but it is better on Sunday than Saturday, too?

[jkonick]

I don't know about Sunday being better than Saturday, but weekends are probably better. Unfortunately with work schedules, Tuesday seems to be the best day for us, although our original plan was Sunday. I guess when we're done I can start a "weekend dim sum" blog

Thanks to Brian's command of Chinese, we were also able to special request a few things, so I don't think we'll be missing out too much. In my experience, I've actually had less variety going in on weekends by myself than the last few Tuesdays with Brian.

[cburnsi]

I don't know about Sunday being better than Saturday, but weekends are probably better. Unfortunately with work schedules, Tuesday seems to be the best day for us, although our original plan was Sunday. I guess when we're done I can start a "weekend dim sum" blog 

Thanks to Brian's command of Chinese, we were also able to special request a few things, so I don't think we'll be missing out too much. In my experience, I've actually had less variety going in on weekends by myself than the last few Tuesdays with Brian.

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Dim Sum is a traditional place/meal for after church on Sunday(at least for families I know), you will find Sunday Dim Sum more crowded and with more variety than any other day of the week, even Saturday. I would be surprised if Dim Sum restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle at least, don't do at least 30% more business on Sunday than on Saturday and substantially more than on weekdays or evenings. This turnover means the food is always fresh and hot, even on the carts.

There are many things that are offered on Sunday that are probably not even supplied for on any other day, this is especially true if you are ordering off the carts - you will see better than twice the variety on a Sunday. In restaurants such as Jade Garden, China Gate, Imperial Garden, Noble Court and Jeem the larger Sunday selection is very apparent, its not that there is anything missing on the weekdays - there are just more and more exciting things on Sunday and to a lesser extent on Saturday.

I'd be interested in hearing what Brian thinks of the Fukien Rice at China Gate and how it compares to what you get in HK, and in general his opinion of Jeem - if you get to the east side.

cburnsi

[jkonick]

cburnsi - we're going to China Gate next week, so I'll be sure to ask him about it.

[cburnsi]

cburnsi - we're going to China Gate next week, so I'll be sure to ask him about it.

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Great! I'll be watching the blog

[Terrasanct]

This is a timely resurrection of this thread, since I'm going to Seattle next week and STILL haven't tried dim sum. I'll have to report back where I end up going.

[jkonick]

Cburnsi - bad news. We went to China Gate today, but they didn't have fukien rice. I'm not sure if it was good enough to warrant a weekend visit when they might have it again.

I've never had fukien rice before, so for future reference could you give me a description of it? That way hopefully I can spot it on the cart in case they misunderstand our request (which might've been the case today - Brian's Chinese is a little bit shaky).

[cburnsi]

Cburnsi - bad news. We went to China Gate today, but they didn't have fukien rice. I'm not sure if it was good enough to warrant a weekend visit when they might have it again.

I've never had fukien rice before, so for future reference could you give me a description of it? That way hopefully I can spot it on the cart in case they misunderstand our request (which might've been the case today - Brian's Chinese is a little bit shaky).

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Bummer, sorry you didn't get the rice. It really is a great dish. It is on their regular chinese menu, but it is sometimes difficult to get understood.

Fukien rice is a great dish but difficult to find. We found it in a Hong Kong Dim Sum place by pointing at someone else's table "what is it called?" we inquired. The response was something that surprised us, but then we figured out he was really saying "Fukien Rice" , as in that part of China.

It is a type of fried rice really, the rice itself is the simpliest of fried rices with just egg in it I believe. The interesting part is the top which is all the parts that could be in a complicated fried rice, plus gravy! I always thought this was a way to use up leftovers - it has a little duck, a little fish, a little shell fish, mushrooms, peas and who knows what else -all in this remarkable dark gravy (definetly more a gravy than a sauce). At China Gate (which is the most reliable place we have found it in Seattle) as in Hong Kong, it is served in a Pyrex pie dish.

cburnsi

[cburnsi]

Cburnsi - bad news. We went to China Gate today, but they didn't have fukien rice. I'm not sure if it was good enough to warrant a weekend visit when they might have it again.

I've never had fukien rice before, so for future reference could you give me a description of it? That way hopefully I can spot it on the cart in case they misunderstand our request (which might've been the case today - Brian's Chinese is a little bit shaky).

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It's too bad about the food at China Gate. This is a great example of the difference on a Sunday. The place is full of Asian families, both eating and waiting to eat. The kitchen is sending out food as fast as they can, everything is fresh fresh fresh. And there is more variety than you can count. If you are in the neighborhood on a Sunday around noon, you should just pop your head in and see what I mean.

Where are you off to next?

cburnsi

[Ling]

It is a type of fried rice really, the rice itself is the simpliest of fried rices with just egg in it I believe.  The interesting part is the top which is all the parts that could be in a complicated fried rice, plus gravy!  I always thought this was a way to use up leftovers - it has a little duck, a little fish, a little shell fish, mushrooms, peas and who knows what else -all in this remarkable dark gravy (definetly more a gravy than a sauce).  At China Gate (which is the most reliable place we have found it in Seattle) as in Hong Kong, it is served in a Pyrex pie dish.

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I love Fukien fried rice too. Like cburnsi said, it contains a bunch of leftover meats, vegetables, and seafood (usually squid). I've not had it with a dark gravy though, but a light chicken-stock based sauce instead. Either way, it is good!

[jkonick]

I'll have to send Brian the description and see if it rings a bell. It definitely sounds like something worth tracking down. We're also thinking about changing our weekly date to Saturday or Sunday, but work schedules are complicated so we'll see. I think next week we're going to New Kowloon.

[Terrasanct]

I finally made it to Seattle for dim sum--we ate at the Jade Garden. I'd never had dim sum and was prepared to be intimidated, but it was all easy. Well, after I found the place, going up and down a lot of hills. We found parking a few blocks away, and since it was afternoon, there were no lines. I have to say I have no idea what we ate, but we enjoyed it all. The egg rolls were good, as was the pork char siu hombow, but those are the only things I have names for. We mostly just pointed. We all liked the custard in a layered shell at the end, too. Lunch for three was just $24.00, a pleasant surprise for the amount of food we got.

The waitress brought my mom a spoon when she saw that she was having trouble with the chopsticks, which my mom really appreciated.

[Rosie]

Enjoyed the dim sum at Sun Ya today. 605 7th Ave S. Seattle

[jkonick]

Enjoyed the dim sum at Sun Ya today.  605 7th Ave S. Seattle

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How was it? What was the variety like? I've never been there before... it looks like a kind of Americanized place - a la House of Hong - to me. But never judge a book by its cover, right? I'll have to check it out.