Servers swarm the room with tempting dim-sum carts, lift container lids with three-card Monte agility, and reveal winners like pork siu mai, a succulent ground-meat cluster bomb inside a bit of wonton skin. Can you see how sweet-centered those pillowy barbecue pork buns are? Do you know that steamed inside those lotus leaf envelopes there’s sticky rice mixed with mini shrimp, pork and dime-sized sausage? There’s no picture of the salt-and-pepper squid entree, but imagine a great calamari fritti bristling with jalapeño.ģ709 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa. This ballroom/restaurant has pictures of all its dim sum on its menu. Earnie Graftonģ893 54th St., City Heights. The dim-sum action inside Emerald Restaurant in Kearny Mesa. “It’s good for your skin.” Surprisingly, no one said, “Roll yourself out to the lake behind the restaurant for a postprandial walk.” Another approved of my order of cartilage-chewy chicken feet in black bean sauce. But I love the gregarious cart-pushing servers most: “It’s just you?” One asked in disbelief when I took more slick and chewy shrimp dumplings, or har gow, or bulging pleated wonton purses. The wine cellar by this elongated restaurant’s entrance makes a good first impression. But there was a big dim-sum lull between carts one lunch, and we were stranded in this banquet hall, twiddling our chopsticks, hoping somebody would appear with pork spare ribs or Chinese broccoli even.ġ1666 Avena Place, Rancho Bernardo. As one Jasmine manager said, “Shark fin has no flavor.” (The delicacy will soon be banned since the state Legislature’s letting restaurants sell their existing kitchen stock only until next year.) The shrimp siu mai - a steamed prawn stack in a crinkly wonton wrapper - wasn’t a waste of time here, either. The ocean predator just adds that surprise “pop” texture. In Jasmine’s pork-and-shark-fin dumpling, the piggy protein does all the tasty work. Har gow: Cooked shrimp, green onions, ginger and seasonings are steamed inside thin, sticky wrappers with rumpled edges.Ĥ609 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa. Lotus leaf sticky rice: A cake of glutinous rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts and various proteins gets steamed inside a lotus leaf - it’s presented like a parcel. Pot stickers: Wonton skins filled with a mixture of meat and seasonings, these are usually steamed before being pan-fried, and they’re considered Northern China’s contribution to dim sum. Siu mai: Sometimes spelled “shu mai” or “shumai” (“SHOO-my”), these steamed dumplings may have diced ginger, green onions, water chestnuts and pork or shrimp inside their wonton wrappers. Some popular offerings:Ĭhar sui bao: These barbecue pork buns, pronounced “char-SOO-bow,” are fluffy white steamed buns that contain cube-sized pork in a Cantonese-style sauce. I swear the mountain of Honey Walnut Shrimp on my wife’s plate was 9 inches high.Dim sum, Cantonese for “heart’s delight,” originated in Southern China and is served in appetizerlike amounts. Now at $20 for my Kung Pao Shrimp and $22 for my wife’s Honey Walnut Shrimp one would expect very good quality or giant serves. Keeping in mind that we walked in at 1pm our meals hit our table at 1.10pm courtesy of a female food runner. So this time my wife ordered HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP and I chose KUNG PAO ( Spicy ) SHRIMP. On our 2nd lunch visit we went with Dim Sum small plates. and loved it while I was over the moon with the Kung Pao Spicy Beef. On our first lunch visit my wife ordered the Honey Walnut Shrimp. My wife knew exactly what she was going to order and I had a fair idea what I wanted to try. We sat at a table and Joe brought us menus, iced waters and a pot of tea. It wasn’t real busy and Joe the manager said hi straight away. After parking our wheels in a shady spot around the back of the building we walked inside at 1pm. On Sunday my wife and I were over this way checking out some real estate and the plan was to have lunch here for the 3rd time. We were totally overwhelmed with the delicious food and top service. After buying a stack of Asian food items we decided to have lunch here. Little did I know that my wife’s fav Asian ingredients stop was the Vinh-Hung Supermarket right next door in the same old building. In fact it was almost by chance that we had lunch here for the first time about a month ago. Having said that this Chinese eatery doesn’t have much going for it in the ambiance, decor or view dept being situated in the foyer of a repurposed movie theater but it does serve fabulous cuisine and provide amazing service. it’s all about the food quality and great service in my books. When I review a place I rate ambiance last. Of course ocean views and beautiful decor might enhance your dining experience. Great tasting food doesn’t need an ocean view or a swank interior to make it great.
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