I just had a pretty fantastic dinner at Dim Sum King while taking advantage of the Wednesday night special $20 for a barramundi (or what I presume is the generic black bass of sort).
Side note, for the few times I’ve been here for dinner, I was never truly impressed by their house soup. I had their Ba wong fa/hua (I presume this is the correct Chinese translation: 霸王花) and it was always a little more on the bland side for me. This time was their dried vegetable soup, and my dad got a small bowl and I wouldn’t quite recommend it.
Anywho, they had an interesting kitchen special tonight. Similar to hand shredded chicken but with a few more salted radishes tossed in and less on the jelly fish. Chicken was well seasoned though I didn’t quite care for the skin. Overall a nice tidbit, since I rarely order this type of chicken.
Next up we tried out the stir fried bittermelon with beef and egg whites. Suprisingly well done. The egg whites were not overcooked!
After that, our barramundi arrived. Not exactly the firmest flesh, but for that price, I cannot complain. Not oversteamed at all.
We noticed that they had some empress clams on display for their lunch special and ordered one for dinner time (cost about a dollar more). Steamed over vermicelli, they did a fantastic job (I also gave up taking pictures as I just started eating said items… oops).
Following up all the protein, we got some veggies over supreme stock and that definitely hit the spot. Finishing up dinner, they offered some tofu fa and ground black sesame for dessert, nice and pipping hot.
Overall, a good deal for dinner (around 80ish) and far less than my last few topics (Grand Harbor to say the least…)
Regarding dim sum, they actually offer them during dinner time as well. I haven’t been truly impressed with their lunch time offerings (went around two weeks ago) though and I think quality and variety has dipped with the new menu.
I salute you for finding good Cantonese ‘dinner’ (fish, seafood, etc.) cooking in places that these cookings aren’t normally expected. Cafe Broadway, Dim Sum King. If you don’t tell me about this, I would have thought this Dim Sum King is the same counter takeout dim sum joint as Dim Sum King in Sunnyvale. So, thank you!
Haha thanks. The funny thing, I think I’ve been getting diner here for over five years (I recall getting dinner before the whole rat fiasco).
In any case, Dim Sum King has a pretty decent seafood tank is actually pretty decent. From the past year that I can recall, they usually have a decent amount of fish (not the super expensive ones) but a good variety (The red one with the big head, sea bass, the baramundi, etc.). I’ve always seen the geoducks in the tank, they advertise the empress/surf clams so they’re usually there, along with the regularly seen manila clams. Crab and lobster are typically there, the spotted prawns are pretty common, and I’ve seen the smaller sweet shrimps. On the rare occasion, I’ve seen the Alaskan King Crabs and razor clams.
Dim sum king actually runs/owns Fresh Elements just down the little strip mall side of that plaza. I’ve posted a visit in CH before ( https://www.chowhound.com/post/fresh-elements-steaming-pot-restaurant-1034898 ). So they have a pretty decent seafood selection. I also realize, I don’t quite know the exact English translations of the Chinese variety and my Chinese is that terrible that I can’t write them down either… haha…
I think the problem with fish names is that I believe sometimes people just make the names up. Some of the fish that I see here, like the yellow flower fish (not live) is obviously of a different species than the ones from China/ Hong Kong because it has a completely different texture and taste. Other fishes, if it looks/ tastes similar enough, the restaurants/ suppliers would probably just lump them together in the general categories of groupers, barrumundis, etc.
Some of these naming issues, i speculate, could also be because the original fish has been wiped clean from the ocean…
I just have a tendency to love seafood (and at the same time drain my wallet…). We got a pound of some of the smaller shrimps (smaller sized head than the spot prawns) and had them steamed. Very sweet meat and there’s just something special about the jalapeno soy sauce combo.
Following that up, went with xo stir fried empress/surf clams. I wanted to compare their version with the one I had at Yum’s Bistro. Overall they did a good job on the stir fry, the clams were not overcooked and still had that nice sweetness with it. I just wanted bean sprouts instead of the green beans but the waiter seemed more confused with that. Oh well, still very nice.
Went and ordered a steamed stripe bass. 95% well done, just that last 5% was a little under steamed (probably if they had let it sit in the steamer for 30 seconds more, that would have hit the spot). Nevertheless, still very nicely done.
Lastly, we noticed that dim sum king does a daily special that is not on the menu. Last time was that hand shredded chicken, this time was basil stir fried pork ribs. I thought they did a pretty fantastic job with this flavor combo. A little spicy, a good bit of that basil taste, in a not too greasy pork rib dish
Its been awhile since I posted about Dim Sum King. I noticed they’re expanding and going to offer VIP rooms (enclosed rooms). Not quite sure how that is going to work but that is interesting.
In any case, started off with their house soup. It was … I really don’t remember the scientific name but loosely translated chicken bone grass soup (forgive me…). I still don’t think their long boiled soup is their A-game product at DSK. I see double boiled soups as well though so might preorder that next time around.
Started off with their hai-nan chicken though its really more like poached brown feathered chicken. Eh, still pretty tasty, and ginger scallion sauce is always a plus. There are some pickled radishes along with the dish that adds some additional interesting crunch.
Saw a few tables next to us order the empress clams with vermicelli and we decided to get some as well! I always enjoy these and they were very nice. I still think they’re a spicy soy sauce vector… but eh…
Having no idea what we should really order, we opted for some sweet and sour spareribs. A nice little classic, though I think I like just a little bit more acidity for this dish. The spareribs were good though, they didn’t seem like they sat out.
And of course some fiber! Just some pea sprouts with mixed mushrooms in fish broth. The fish broth was rather good and the pea sprouts just soak up the stuff!
Still had a good time at Dim Sum King. I’m curious about the VIP room now though…
