I had some classic Sam Wo dishes, starting with the BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Rolls ($8), which were quite good and pretty much the same as I remember from my earlier visits. The rice roll exterior is a little thicker than dim sum cheung fun and had a nice bouncy texture. There was charsiu sliced into matchsticks within and the same pungent sinus opening Chinese mustard served on the side as before.
And I also had the Sliced Fish Porridge ($12), another Sam Wo classic. This was also quite good. There were lots of thin slices of a delicate white fish, cilantro, and ginger slivers in the rice congee.
Maybe my perspective has changed due to inflation but they seem reasonable to me in 2025 Looking at the older menus they do seem to have increased the prices after reopening, but that’s probably to be expected with a change of ownership.
It’s not a concept. It’s just a misappropriated name for dim sum/yum cha. They probably feel it justifies the prices or makes it more accessible to people who know nothing about Chinese cuisine.
The title of that Peter Chang blog post just sets my teeth on edge. As if tapas is the concept that brings people together and fosters connection. I have been to tons of Chinese restaurants and watched large tables of Chinese families having a great multigenerational time together over dim sum without the restaurant being ridiculous and calling it tapas. Why pretend to be Spanish when you have the perfect culture yourself. Spanish people aren’t marketing tapas as dim sum. Arguably they should be.
Looking at the older menus they do seem to have increased the prices after reopening, but that’s probably to be expected with a change of ownership.
