Great dim sum halls I used to eat at in Kuala Lumpur in the mid 1970s served sweet red pork buns. Mind you, these halls were filled to the brim with Malaysian Chinese people. I seem to remember getting sweet red pork buns sometimes when I was in Hong Kong in 1987, too, but my memory is much clearer from Malaysia because I was there for 2 years and whenever we were in KL, we generally went for dim sum at the Mandarin Court at the Hotel Merlin every Saturday morning.
1 Like
I agree about the apathy, but at least two of the servers have been there for yearsā¦ I donāt think itās fair to say theyāre just short term. Besides, the menu is tiny there isnāt that much to get to know, itās not like people are ordering full dishes from the kitchen too.
@bcc, yeah agreed, the cha siu bao filling is far too sweet, the last time I went at least.
Apparently, BBQ bun is the signature dish of Tim Ho Wan. Several people told me so, and even a few articles have written about it.
Like I said and always said, there is a small population of Tim Ho Wan supporters. They are vocal, although not very numerous as the Tim Ho Wan I have been too is not very full (while other restaurants have lines).
Oh yes, I do not like these famous baked BBQ buns. Nope. Not for me.
Back to NYC dim sum, Iām wondering if anyone has been to any of the many non-Chinatown spots that have opened up in recentyears.
I was mainly thinking about
- Dim sum palace (many locations)
But there are a whole bunch mpre:
- Red Peony
- AweSum Dim Sum
- Dim Sum Sam
- Little Alley
- Dynasty Dim Sum
- Dim Sum Chelsea
- Goody Fresh Dim Sum
- Hui
- Uncle Luoyang
- La Salle dumpling room (may have closed)
Probably more.
For completeness in terms of non-Chinatown, weāve already discussed here or elsewhere:
- Jing Fong UWS
- Red Farm (UWS & WV)
- Tim Ho Wan (multiple locations)
- Shun Lee (West and East)
- Real Kung Fu (not technically dim sum)
Iāll also note
- Tri Dim Shanghai (east and west) - Iāve eaten at the UWS one, itās pretty good, but I prefer Jing Fong UWS nearby
1 Like
NYC specialty for me are the Katzās pastrami egg rolls at Red Farm. Nothing like this in California - yet!
Thatās a useful list and it gives me something to eat my way through this fall. Thanks.
Yeah, me too 
We can compare notesā¦
Reporting back on Dim Sum Palace - one of the midtown locations.
Wasnāt expecting much, but it was pretty good! We had har got, black bean spare ribs, shiu mai, cheong fun (beef and shrimp), spring rolls, and a few other things.
Price point higher than chinatown, about the same as other uptown alternatives (avg $8/dish).
1 Like
Letās hope it stays that way.
thanks for this! they used to gave a 1/2 off happy hour from maybe from noon to 4, not sure if that ended.
1 Like
Just looked - apparently 3-5pm weekdays is HH - good to know!
Reminded me that Pinch used to do a dumpling HH that I never actually made it to, but no longer.
The guy at Joeās Steamed Rice roll gave us a very imprecise reccommendation: Cantonese Seafood / Dim SUm on the 2nd floor a few blocks from his spot. So I think it could be New Mulan. Has anyone been?
If itās the one on 46th, betw. 8th&9th youāre talking about, this is indeed good to know. Could well be my Happiest Hour on Wednesdays (only day when Iām free) in the fall.
PSA that Shun Lee has managed to make its previously expensive dim sum more exorbitant - $12/plate. It was delicious, but better to go in with eyes open (I was expecting $8-9 and had a bit of sticker shock).
1 Like
Linking some recent dim sum reports:
East harbor Dim Sum, Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Congee Dim Sum house, Manhattan
Had another lovely meal at Jong Fong UWS. Impromptu dim sum with out-of-town visitors, only about a 10 min wait which I was very pleasantly surprised by.
The shiu mai was the best yet - good flavor, well-formed, dainty, perfectly cooked. The turnip cakes were new to me at this location - I thought they were very flavorful, but the texture was a bit off (they fell apart while serving), and yet my Chinese friend loved them so much we got a second order. Shrimp wafer roll also best yet. Only minor disappointment was the har now again - as I reported before, the skins were too tacky (though the filling was perfect). Tried the Peking duck dumplings, which were good, again my friends loved them enough to reorder 
We also got the sticky rice, which I rarely ever do, but it was good. I forgot about the crab dumplings. Could have eaten a few more things but we would have burst.
1 Like
Iām with your Chinese friend on this. I love the loose texture of the JF turnip cakes. (Remember this?)
1 Like
I had food delivered from the 40th St. Dim Sum Sam today. Earlier this year their Flatiron location had had an enthusiastic evaluation from Eater:
My evaluation is less enthusiastic.
The āsui maiā (their spelling) did indeed have a single fat shrimp in each dumpling and a sprinkling of roe on top, as Eater extolled, but besides bragging rights I canāt say it brought much else to the table, the shrimp being a bit chewy. The shrimp in the har gow were much better, but the absolute star of the show was the accompanying smoky-peanutty chili sauce.
Going down the list, the noodle rolls were indeed satisfactorily stuffed as Eater reports, but in a very chewy wrapper. Further down were the meats on rice. I had the chicken leg and pork belly combo. There are thoughtful touches, such as the pickled vegetables on one side and the greens on another, but the chicken leg, although large, was very chewy, and the pork belly came from a pig that seemed to have been doing strenuous slimming exercises.
2 Likes
Not strictly on-topic, but close enough: the wontons in chili oil I had recently from a Lan Sheng delivery (āChengdu wonton w. red oil and soy sauceā) were fantastically good. The perfect balance of salt, sweet, sour, and heat. And thatās just the sauce. The dumplings were juicy and the wrappers were perfectly Goldilocked: precisely balanced between too thick and too thin.
(The sauce was so good that I stirred what was left into my lo mein noodles ā sue me, but I like their texture ā and gave them a wonderful zing.)
[To complete the story, the frog with pickled chilis was subpar ā because the āfrogā turned out to be lamb. It was tasty, but not what Iād ordered. I registered a complaint, but between the delivery service and the restaurant pointing fingers at each other, I didnāt get far.]
MOON KEE (UWS)
