Dim sum is all good
In my ten years in New York, I've tried just about all the more well-known dim sum places in Manhattan. I've been too Golden Bridge, Golden Unicon, Dim Sum Go-Go, Red Egg, Chinatown Brasserie, Mandarin Court, Oriental Garden, Jing Fong, the closed one by Chatham sq, Chatham sq (which is different), 27 Summer, and two places on Mott St north of Canal that I don't know the name of. One of those is next to Shanghai Cafe and the other one is across the street from it. I've also tried the one that's "hidden" underneath the bridge (and it's just OK). I've even had take-out dim sum from a random bakery on 35th street. I mean. I've eaten it all. I like dim sum, in case you haven't noticed, and I'll try anything. I've also had two different places in Brooklyn and one in Flushing. So obviously I should go out to the other boroughs more. But damn yo. Most of the time this just tastes the same (good) to me. Steph and I tried one of those places above Mott street because Fork in the Road said that Royal Seafood is a top Chinese restaurant in the city.
They had decent pork buns and pretty good shrimp rolls and ok shumai. Hell we even ate chicken feet. I dug 'em. But eating all this dim sum just reminds me that I pretty much like all of it. Fork in the Road mentioned homemade tofu with ginger syrup, but I didn't see that. We went kind of late so maybe they ran out. But that's the thing about dim sum, I think if you're going anywhere you get sort of the same quality of food. Some places might have dishes that you like more or other places have more variety... Chinatown Brasserie is the one place that I think stands out in quality, but it also stands out in price. It's a special occasion dim sum. For the others, my friends and I go to Jing Fong a lot because they have the fried taro thing. We just call it the fried taro thing because we're lazy and the ladies pushing carts mostly speak Catonese (which I don't know).
Can I recommend Royal Seafood? Sure, but can I recommend it over any of the other ones? I mean, I like them all. It's totally cool to pick one over another if one place has the har gau that you prefer. Or if another place has the bangin' chicken feet. Or if another place has more comfortable seats or more friendly cart pushers that speak English. Really, you can't go wrong with what you pick if you just randomly pick one in Manhattan. Now maybe the food gets way better in Flushing or deeper into Brooklyn. The times when I had it, they were good but not so much where I'd deliberately wake up early and trek to Flushing for it. And when I used to live in Park Slope, for my friends and I it was closer to get to Manhattan Chinatown than Brooklyn Chinatown. What's the point then?
I know for me in the past that dim sum has been kind of a particular thing. But the more I eat around New York, the more I don't really care. I just like them all. Maybe this means I have a crappy non-discerning palate, but that's ok. At least I eat happy.
Royal Seafood
103-105 Mott St.
New York, NY 10013
212-219-2338
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I get take outs from there. Have you tried the durian puffs? $4. Worth it? Acquired taste for sure. :)
As a vegetarian, I always get the scallion steamed rice roll. They can make it special for you if you asked.
Delicious photos btw. :)
kim
October 12, 2010 3:43 pm
Honestly, at some point... it really doesn't even matter anymore. It's like searching for a holy grail that doesn't exist. The pinnacle of dim sum in NYC can be debated as much as people want, but HK is on a whole 'nother level.
That said, I will never try and find the equivalent in America, because I know it'll never happen. Instead, I'm just gonna stuff my places at all these restaurants and be happy doing it. That's what's good right?
Nicholas
October 13, 2010 12:44 am
@kim,
Ah, durian puffs, those really are an acquired taste! I can't get past the green oniony aftertaste.. Scallion steamed rice roll sounds interest though, I wish they'd do that with the shrimp. haha
@Nicholas,
This is true. It doesn't matter when it comes down to just what's here in NY. Hell, I like almost all of them. It's good enough for all intents and purposes. And that is what's good indeed.
Danny
October 13, 2010 1:04 am
Damn, maybe there's no point in me trying to eat at all the dim sum spots in the city, as my palate is similarly non-discerning...b..but..I NEED A GOAL!
I've never been to Chinatown Brasserie, even though I know it's all awesome n stuff. Eeeh I better do something about that.
Robyn
October 13, 2010 2:00 am
@Robyn,
A good goal would be to be more definitive about whether Flushing is better or whether Brooklyn Chinatown is better. You actually sorta live in between the two in the middle! Sucks that NY public transportation is wack and you can't get to south BK from north BK. Or get to Flushing easily. ah... all these obstacles in front of dim dum!
Danny
October 13, 2010 10:11 am
I agree with all above. I've had exceptional dim sum in HK, Singapore and even Vancouver. But I wouldn't stop looking...that's like saying you might as well die...to eat is to live.
BTW...did you only get 3 things?
Jonathan
October 13, 2010 11:26 am
I agree with all above. I've had exceptional dim sum in HK, Singapore and even Vancouver. But I wouldn't stop looking...that's like saying you might as well die...to eat is to live.
BTW...did you only get 3 things?
Jonathan
October 13, 2010 11:26 am
@Jonathan,
We got like 6 things maybe? But not all the pictures turned out very well. Damn see, now I want to go to Vancouver. We also have to figure out what's good to eat in LA. That Jack dude better tell us what's up.
Danny
October 13, 2010 11:30 am
I agree with you--what I've had has been pretty much alike. The one dish that stands out in my mind is the soup dumplings at Yank Sing in SF. Maybe if one of these places would start pushing those little duck buns around on a cart...then we'd be looking at a contender.
JJR
October 14, 2010 9:34 pm
If you ever find yourself in Brooklyn try out Pacificana. I think the quality of their dim sum is up there too.
Lamchop
October 17, 2010 12:37 am
It's the same way in LA. All good. Though dim sum is much easier to find in the Monterey Park / Alhambra area because of the highly concentrated population of Chinese- and Taiwanese-Americans living there.
StephK
October 18, 2010 12:06 am