Let’s face it. We Asians have invaded the Bay Area. If you’re any kind of Asian around here…heck if you’re ANYBODY in the Bay, then golly you MUST know of dim sum?! It don’t matta if you’re Chinese, Filipino, Korean, black, white, brown or yellow, it’s hard to imagine someone here who has yet to experience this delicious yet inexpensive cuisine. Now I’ll be honest with you, I’m particular about the kind of Asian restaurants I dine in and the foods they serve. I’m Filipino and I dislike Filipino food (ironic, yes). I’m not too fond of sit-down Chinese restaurants and most especially buffets, though I love their fast food take-out. By far my favorite Asian cuisines are Vietnamese (and no, I’m not JUST talking about Pho) and Japanese, and I’ve just been starting to warm up to Korean. But more often than not, the thing I’ll crave the most is dim sum. This form of Chinese cuisine is not exactly your typical fried rice, chow mein, beef and broccoli, shrimp with walnuts type of feast…no, no, nothing like that. Customary during lunch time and served with hot tea, dim sum involves a wide range of small, light dishes that mostly consists of meat and seafood. Bottom line, you won’t see this stuff for dinner.
Enter any dim sum restaurant between 11am-1 and you'll instantly hear a buzzing in the air- all Chinese restaurants are loud! And dim sum gets quite hectic. Hey, I’m not hating- I usually put my game face on and join in on the hustle and bustle. Once you’re seated, you can immediately flag down, or if you’re normal, wait for a nice Chinese lady pushing around a cart full of steamer baskets and small plates to visit your table. Goodness, I’m no expert on names (I obviously only know "Shaomai"), let alone do I speak a word of Cantonese, so I just point to an item for them to hand to me. The dishes consist of shrimp or pork dumplings, barbecued pork buns, Chinese broccoli, rice noodle rolls, spare ribs, and chicken feet among many others. And by the way, yes, I said chicken feet- talons and all. Before some ignorant pu-te goes “EEWW GROSS!”- please spare me. You will only receive an eye-roll. Don’t knock it till you try it! Deep-fried, boiled, sautéed in black bean sauce, then steamed, this tender and flavorful dish probably constitutes as one of my favorites. No need for any rice, I prefer to enjoy any of these items with just a side of soy sauce and spicy chili. I also like to finish off this savory gastronomy with the desserts they offer- sesame seed balls filled with red bean paste or egg tarts. *Just a slight warning- you should not assume dim sum is healthy. Most of the dishes contain a high amount of sodium and saturated fat. Please consume in moderation.
Being a Milpitas resident, there is no reason for me to travel far for dim sum; there are a dozen hot spots in the area. Off the top of my head: King Crab, New Eastlake, ABC Seafood Restaurant, and Mayflower (Great Mall). I’ve even listed them in order from reasonably priced to breaking the bank. It’s apparent though that dim sum is all over the Bay Area- there are a handful of restaurants in every city. I can imagine how equally delicious, if not more, dim sum is in Chinatown, SF, eastside San Jose, or downtown anywhere. And not all dim sum can be found at sit-down restaurants either; there are a number of bakeries and Asian supermarkets where you can pick out dim sum to-go. So whether you’re a first timer or a dim sum veteran, go dine at the nearest joint and tell me about it? I’m over-due for a visit.
*Second and third photos are courtesy of Yahoo images
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