Thanks to stevez for posting about the Dim Sum for us. I've long been a Chicago Dim Sum naysayer, but I'm happy to report that my mind has been changed.
The menu was a bit smaller than most other places, and I think that really allowed the kitchen to focus on the quality of what they did serve. Everything came out fresh and hot from the kitchen, and having ordered most of the menu, most of it I'd order again. Surprisingly (other than what's listed) the "chef's special menu" was the least exciting part. By no means were the items that bad, just not the best of what we ordered.
My favorites, in no particular order:
Shumai, by far the best I've had, including that which I've had in Hong Kong. an order came with 4 fairly large pieces. Definitely Get This!
Xioa Long Bao - as good as stevez reported it to be.
Chive dumplings - Very good, very chivey.
The Chicken Feet! - Definitely worth getting. Even a couple of the squeamish diners had a taste, and concluded they were almost worth eating. This is a process oriented food, and it takes some getting used to, but totally worth trying. The sauce and peanuts alone made the dish worth ordering.
Pork Bung Gut - Not nearly as gross as the name may imply. If you've had intestine, you may know it can be very hit or miss, when it misses it's repulsive, but when it's spot on, it's some of my favorite food. This was definitely near the top of my list of the meal. It was tender, but not mushy or chewy. It was a bit funky (like funky tripe) but not too much so.
Tripe - Was the smaller delicate type of tripe, again the sauce was spectacular.
Durian Pastry - I'm not a desert guy, but this one was pretty good. Not too sweet, and not too intensely Durian flavored, but had a durian sauce for dipping if you want to up the level of stink. Nice flaky pastry, served fresh and warm. Nothing to complain about.
Oolong Tea - You get about 4 or 5 options for your complimentary tea pot. The Oolong tea was great! I think it my have been an aged or blended variant since It reminded me of another of my favorites, Puer tea. It's the small things, like the selection from 4 decent teas that sets this place apart from the other Dim Sum options, that don't seem to give that extra effort.
Chef Tony Hu visited the table to make sure everything was ok. He told us to be sure to tell him if we didn't enjoy anything. We had no complaints. He told us about how he had long dreamed of opening a Dim Sum restaurant, but he would not sacrifice quality. He had been searching for years all over china for the best Dim Sum chef to import to Chicago. Finally after a long exhaustive search he found the best, a former head chef of from one of the most famous Dim Sum places in... China (ok I forgot what city, but that really isn't the important part).
Very excited to have this place in Chicago. I finally have some Dim Sum to be excited about.
Last edited by
laikom on November 4th, 2012, 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.
-Mark Twain