Dim Sum Dynasty

[rooftop1000]

I dont suppose anyone is thinking of heading here New Years Day?

tracey

[Jason Perlow]

Some better photos of Dim Sum Dynasty:

Fluffy Chicken Buns -- remember to take the paper off the bottom

Pork Meat wrapped with Tofu Skin

Har Gow (shrimp)

Dou Miu (snow pea shoot) dumplings

Stuffed Green Peppers with Shrimp Paste

Roast Pork Pastry

Clams with Black Bean Sauce

Fried Squid with Cashews and Scallion

Shu Mai pork dumplings

Beggars Purse Seafood Dumplings

Dining Room Loft area

Main Dining Room

Hong Kong Style Dry Saute Clams (we didnt actually try this)

Mango Custard

[rooftop1000]

A yummy start to the New Year. I had to leave poor Karl home to tend my BBQ so the young one and I joined Rachel and Jason.

Excellent food all around, I have discovered I like black bean sauce with mussels and clams but not pork, very odd. The chicken bun was a miss but not bad, just sort of bland and cottony. The calamari was wonderful with the flavor of cashew getting right into the squid, and I was told my very first pork bun was a superior example.

With a champagne toast and some tea this was a great meal.

tracey

[docsconz]

Nice pics, Jason. I will ahve to get back therre and try a few different things next time I am in Ridgewood.

[dumpling]

Thanks for the invite Rachel. Looks like you guys had a nice time; lovely pictures Jason.

I have the flu and have spent the New Year flat on my back unable to go out. So I am sorry I couldn't make it. I was a coughing festival for my loved ones at home who tortured me with unappetizing food and stories of all the things I was missing.

[lalaland]

We had a mediocre first experience here a few months ago with take-out. had asked for recommendations on 2 entrees and what they chose for us was a beef noodle dish that was greasy and flavorless, and something else that I can't even remember.

HOWEVER, on a nasty night when China 46 was just too far a drive we decided to give it another try, dining in.

I wouldn't say it was "amazing," but we really enjoyed a few of their apps and dim sum. The beef shumai with accompanying black vinegar (did we taste mustard in there?) were quite tasty, as were the crab money bags, pork buns and the mango pudding dessert.

We'd definitely go back. For the amount of food we ordered it was also relatively inexpensive (5 dimsum, soup, and dessert with 2 fruity iced green teas and tip, about $50 for 2).

[Rachel Perlow]

Does anyone have one of their take out menus? Could you please post their address & phone number? Their phone number as listed online (yp.yahoo) is incorrect.

[rooftop1000]

Dim Sum Dynasty

75 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood

(201) 652-0686

from....beekmanwine.com

tracey

[Curlz]

GONG XI FA CAI! (sp?)

This Fire Horse greatly enjoyed Dim Sum at DSD this morning...and when my dad asked what we had and I started reeling off the list, the final cost blew me away all over again.

We had:

Numerous shrimp dumplings (someone help with the names, please?!?)

Pea shoot and shrimp dumplings

Leek dumplings

Taro cakes

Taro and shrimp 'pancakes'

Pork sticky buns

Chinese Broccoli w/oyster sauce**

Beef rolls (in a noodle 'wrapper') with an EXCELLENT dark sauce

Shrimp rolls (same prep as above)

Clams with Black Bean Sauce

Crab Moneybags

Roast Duck

Roast Quail (tiny but SO flavorful)

Fried silverfish (think french fries with two tiny black eyes peeking through)

Fried squid with cashews and scallions (definitely in my top 3)

And...and... I'm sure I'm missing something.

**The only dud, imo. So salty I couldn't eat it, which was a shame, as the greens were gorgeous.

$25pp for 8 adults, which seemed like an amazing bargain for such fresh and terrific food--and in a lovely setting to boot. Great find, gang. I'll definitely be back!

[rooftop1000]

Ummm

shark fin dumpling

spring rolls

pork balls

beef balls w/water cress

battered and fried crispy ribs

sticky rice wrappers w/chicken

and a couple of chicken dishes off the regular menu

1 bottle of cheap champagne, tea, and sodas

oh my gosh no wonder I am stuffed

tracey

[ejebud]

BURP!!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[Curlz]

BURP!!!!  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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One of the finest posts I've seen on eG in quite some time!

[Dana329]

Even my teenage boys were too full for dessert!

Dana

[Beth E.]

I am craving this place now. I can't be the only one can I?

I might have to convince Eric that a trip this weekend is required. Do they serve dim sum daily?

[dumpling]

I am craving this place now. I can't be the only one can I?

I might have to convince Eric that a trip this weekend is required. Do they serve dim sum daily?

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Yes

[ejebud]

I am craving this place now. I can't be the only one can I?

I might have to convince Eric that a trip this weekend is required.

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OK! OK! OK! We'll go TODAY!! Whatever you say boss, I live to serve thee. YOur wish is my command. (can you stop beating me up now? LOL)

PM me if anyone else just happens to be going today and wants to share a table. Probably going around 1PM.

[wilsonrabbit]

I've been raving about this place so I'm going to back up my slobbering with some pictures. Otherwise, I'm going to look like some nutcase advertisement. Last night we had some new dishes, as in, they're barely on the menu. I don't really know what they're called. And so, the meal:

Tea. We usually get Ti Kuan Yin which is clean tasting with floral undertones. Recently, they've had us try a different tea which I think is a bit more robust tasting but still "light" without the floral. It's good too. I think I know what it's called but not 100% sure. I'll have to ask *again* next time. 2nd time now...

Clams with basil and vegetables in broth. A new dish. Fresh clams in shell with fragrant basil, Chinese celery, snow peas, onions and straw mushrooms create a rich tasting broth that is infused with the taste of clams and basil. The snow peas were sweet. This was delicious! Very clean tasting yet full of flavor. I drank it all up!

Scallion Beef. Thin slices of beef are stir fried (?) with lots of scallions. Best if the beef is eaten with the scallions for maximum flavor experience. The beef was tender and the scallions were cooked to really bring their flavor out. This was quite tasty. Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

Hot Pepper and Salt Batter-Fried Grouper. Chunks of grouper fillet were batter fried and tossed(?) with hot peppers and shallots. I've had their other dishes using this style including the little whitefish dish available at dim sum. The fish was a bit dry and I don't think this method maximized the grouper's flavors and characteristics. I've had their other grouper dishes which were much better suited to the fish.

3 Eggs Yin Choy. A new dish. The three eggs are a) salted egg b) thousand year egg c) scrambled (stir fried?) egg. There are also some shiitake mushroom slices together with the eggs that made a a very flavorful broth for the yin choy (amaranth in English). Very enjoyable as each egg has a different flavor and different texture of "powdery", chewy, and soft. The vegetable was very good. From my experience, they know how to pick the best vegetables at their prime. Anyhow, even the thickest stalks were firm yet tender. The leaves were wonderfully slippery. This was a delicious dish with the salted egg and mushroom flavors plus all the contrasting textures of all the ingredients.

Snow Pea Tips with Garlic. I often get this dish but I always ask which vegetable is the best for the day. This wasn't eaten last night. However, it just bursts with wonderful garlic flavor and "wok hey" but it's not overpowering. The sweetness of the snow pea tip's flavor comes through and the vegetable is tender.

For dessert, we had sweet soup dessert and chocolate mousse cake (which I forgot to photograph). I always try and get the sweet soup desserts (always changes) when it's available (weekends). The mousse cake was pretty rich and not too sweet. It's filling but not heavy. I really enjoyed the sweet soup. It was a green mung bean soup with seaweed and hints of tangerine peel. It was thick and had both whole (soft) and broken-down beans. The seaweed was tender yet firm and complemented the beans' taste. It was not too sweet either. Delicious! This was available because the weather has turned warm these few days and green mung beans are usually eaten in the summer as they are "cool" for the body whereas red beans are "warm" for the body and so eaten when it's cold.

Sorry for the poor quality pics. I'll bring the better camera next time. There was also salted fish fried rice but I didn't bother taking a picture of it (it's in the corner of 2 pics). Even their simplest fried rice is good. Yet another wonderful meal with stellar service as usual! I've had like 4 parties here with specially chosen menus and the chef really shines with his creativity and skills.

Edited March 12, 2006 by wilsonrabbit (log)

[bergen]

We had dinner here once and the service was poor. Food was good for 2 of the 3 dishes but we got one chicken dish which was horrible as the chicken was rubbery. There was a party in the other room. I would not go back for dinner. Dim sum sounds like it is worth a visit.

[dumpling]

I think that initially it was working out the kinks. It was a little uneven the first time that I went there too some time ago. But give it another chance, particularly for dinner, as I believe the kinks have been worked out.

The more I try this place the more credit I think I give it; the chef has a nice creative bent. For example he takes like some of the dishes that wilson mentions above, some of which are not unusual and puts a nice little unique spin on them.

I met up here with Ejebud and his wife, Beth (E) the other day, and we worked our way through a goodly selection of the dim sum. Good to hang with you two.

The exceptional things here are, in addition to the creative way I mentioned above, are the way the chef has with dough and the utter freshness of the nicely selected green vegetables. We had one of the roast pork triangles, or as Eric(ejebud) noted, the "hamantaschen". Lovely flaky light dough, really the best version I think I have had of it.

Don't sell the dinner possibilities short. Check Wilson's pictures. There is creativity and some nicely turned out food here...

[bergen]

We were there about 3 months ago and the server even apologized for the poor service and said they will do a better next time. We ordered 3 entrees after ordering 1 appetizer. The entrees came out each about 15 minutes apart. We ordered 1 dish off the dim sum menu that never came. The servers apologized before we left the tip.

We will go back some time based on what I have read here.

[wilsonrabbit]

bergen, I'm surprised your dishes came out so slowly. Every time I've eaten there, the stuff comes out all at once. Sometimes there will be a dish or two that is a little slower to come out than the rest but it's not really noticeable. And ya, they're always apologetic when something goes wrong and they really try hard to make it up. I've also noticed that they will answer anything you ask them about the food. Just try it! They've even told us the origins of a special melon we got for dessert once. All the way from China, hard to get in the states so don't go looking for that on the menu. It's one of those things that are available for like a week.

Anyhow, I have noticed that if there's a big party and the rest of the place is busy, service does slow down for everyone. Not so much the waiters but the kitchen. I'm sure they're working on that because they know it's a problem.

dumpling, I totally agree on your assessment of the chef. Those little details really stand out, and he's very accomodating to your needs and desires. We once had a new dish (not sure if it's on the menu yet) of sprouts and dried scallops. Very simply but well executed. The key is, they didn't scrimp on the manpower to remove the heads and tails of every little sprout in that dish. But he knew what he was doing because it was that much better as result. Even the manager put himself to work on those sprouts. Ha! And someone in that kitchen (maybe the chef?) has great skill when it comes to those decorations. When we've had parties, the dishes will be decked out in turnips, carrots, onions etc... that have been transformed into dragons, butterflies, phoenixes, bridges etc...You don't know what to gawk at first, the food or the decorations! We once had a scenic garden with a river, pagoda and bridge to display the food. I wish I had my camera with me then.

The flaky roast pork buns are great there! It's easier to find these days (like 10 or 15 years ago, I could only find them in Toronto) but definitely not all are created equal. I think they have the best tasting ones in the area. Their baked roast pork buns are great too and even the typical steamed ones are good. A lot of places have too much dough or it's too dense but they've got it balanced right. Plus their dough is good. =P The meat is not fatty either. Ok ok, I gotta stop blabbering...

[wilsonrabbit]

So, I went (again) for dinner last week for a semi-special get together. We spoke with them and had a menu prepared in advance for our 8 course meal which had some special ornamentation for the occasion. Here are some pics of some of what we ate and the presentation of the dishes.

Peking Duck in Two Ways. The first method presented was the duck's skin with hoisin, and scallions in a pancake. There are two pancake types. One is the thin flour type that is tortilla like. The other type is what we got which is thicker dough like the steamed buns type. The duck skin was crisp and deliciously done, and the pancake was light and yummy. The dish was presented with the skin nicely arranged before our server put together the "sandwiches". The picture shows the end result plus the bird (peacock?). Gorgeous!

The second method presented was the meat of the duck minced in some hoisin with some veggies. It was placed in these lettuce bowls that were sculpted and presented on a platter like a fan. This was also very good yet different from the first method.

Imperial Prawns. I've had this dish in a number of places. Some places go very heavy on the mayo (as good as it is, sometimes it's too much). Here, they add enough for taste and texture but is not cloying. The batter is crisp and the prawns are large and fresh-crisp (versus mealy). I love the walnuts in this dish, and I'm not a big fan of walnuts. They have a gentle sweetness that contrasts with the prawn's saltiness quite nicely. They are also very crunchy-fried in a clean way, as in the nut doesn't coat your mouth with its richness if you ate them plain roasted. Does that make sense? This was displayed within a ring of cucumber slices and bell pepper crescents.

Kobe Beef Asparagus Rolls. This dish is usually made with mushrooms only (on the menu). However, we like to have asparagus in it instead and this is what they make to accomodate us. The beef is always incredibly tender. You don't need a knife. This dish is awesome and the vegetables in the middle (baby bok choy?) were sweet and tender. The flower decorations, we are told, are made from wheat gluten! The chef hand crafted them. Neat!

Steamed Bass. Fresh bass steamed with gingers and scallions. A typical, but tasty method. It was a bit overcooked unfortunately. I've noticed that whenever we have steamed fish in these x-course meals, the fish is a bit overdone. I'm thinking it's difficult to time it just right to get it to the table in between our other dishes in addition to everything else for the other customers. When the fish is part of just a regular dinner, their steamed fish is perfectly done and delicious. Oh well.

Lobster with Ginger and Scallions. A typical Cantonese method of cooking up lobster. It is good here. The lobster was fresh and sweet tasting and paired well with the herbage. I don't ever tire of this dish when properly done. I've found that at some places, it's too heavy but here, it's just right.

Fruit Platter. A simple dessert of fresh fruit. It's always slightly different and often presented slightly differently each time. This time, we had strawberries, apples and cantaloupe which were all sweet. Actually, I don't know about the strawberries. I find most strawberries (unless I pick it off the vine) sour these days. We were all stuffed to the gills before dessert arrived. The other two courses were a vegetable and a fried rice.

The company we had were really impressed with the food. First timers there. I'm told that the next day at work (they're coworkers), they spent an hour just talking about the food instead of working first thing in the morning. Ha ha! Wow, I didn't expect that kind of reaction. Ooh, writing this gave me the munchies.

I had dim sum here just this past weekend and boy were they packed! I also noticed they had new items available like sauteed eggplant with shrimp in the middle. There was also some vegetable dish but I missed what it was. Some fried triangle-like dessert which never got to our table so no clue what it was. Fried cruellers wrapped in rice noodles. Yum! I could eat plates of that stuff especially because their cruellers are crunchy. Most places, it's soft in the middle. It depends on the style, and I do believe Hong Kong style is for it to be crunchy. I think...Anyhow, I forget what else was new. I do know I'm getting fat.

[wilsonrabbit]

Tonight, they had their 1st Anniversary celebration. There was a baggy of gifts for the diners as well as jazz music (with the MC singing now and then), a magician and a 'face changer'. Later in the evening, there was even cake (Chinese style with a sponge type cake with fruit and fresh cream icing). The evening was entertaining, busy and noisy with all the goings on but fun. It was nice that they would throw this celebration for their customers too. The face changing guy was cool to watch because supposedly it's a traditional performance. The guy was costumed in traditional clothing too. He switched through a bunch of masks that were traditional masks of devils, gods, and such. It was done really fast so it looked instantaneous. He'd do a bit of strutting and dancing in character with the mask then make the switcharoo. So, no food shots this time because I got too preoccupied after snapping a shot of my soup (photo looks like crap but the food tasted good). I thought I'd share a bit of the mask guy though.

I think this is some god:

The Monkey god:

For you jazz fans out there, they'll be having Wednesday jazz nights now.

Oh, I also noticed that Jason's Off the Broiler bit was printed out and pasted on the wall near the entrance. There was some text and some of his pics but I didn't have the opportunity to really read it. I'm curious though. Did they find it themselves or were they tipped off about it?

[Jason Perlow]

Oh, I also noticed that Jason's Off the Broiler bit was printed out and pasted on the wall near the entrance.

Wow. The power of blog!

[tommy]

I'm curious though. Did they find it themselves or were they tipped off about it?

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interesting question. as long as blogs are submitted to the various serach engines, they're quite googleable. so if restaurant owners/managers care about what's being said about them on the internet, they can find out pretty easily. the "policy" i've adopted for my blog is to not make myself known to any restaurant. i don't like to be in the awkward position of having them feel as though they should treat me special or give me "freebies" just because i like their restaurant. that, generally, comes naturally over time as a good customer. i can appreciate that not all people feel the same way about such things, though.