Monday, December 13, 2010

The best Dim Sum in Chinatown


It is a winter and cold weather ritual (January '10 December '09April '08), for some reason: dim sum at Dim Sum Go Go on East Broadway where it meets the last gasp of the Bowery, below Canal Street. East Broadway is far from Broadway. That confused me in the beginning. But the beginning was long ago.

I first ate here about seven years ago, and the quality has remained absolutely consistent, and the prices as reasonable. We have never ventured from the dim sum menu, the little paper printout that is waiting on the table along with a stubby pencil and the ritual dishes of XO sauce, fresh green ginger and sweet vinegar. There is a lunch special menu and there is a full menu, both long and the latter not exactly cheap, with one item that caught my eye, yesterday: 'Special Pond': sauteed scallops and lily buds. In season.


But we stuck to our favourite dim sum: duck - juicy and rich and very tender (pictured above, right); pea shoot dumplings, green and fresh; mushroom, well flavoured with celery; shrimp and chive; then sticky rice and chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed; finally sweet roast pork buns and, at last, soft tapioca magically wrapped around a sweetened egg yolk - for dessert.

It all arrives in steaming bamboo baskets which we like to keep stacked as high as possible to keep the lower courses hot. I noticed that several Chinese couples only received two baskets at a time. Perhaps it is only the foreign devils who are stupid enough to accept it all at once.

There are newer places to find dim sum, and there are certainly older ones, and it may be that I have been living under a rock. But in my particular under-the-rock part of New York, these are the best, by far.

9 comments:

  1. It is indeed Dim Sum weather.

    Thanks for the reminder.

    I'll take the girlfriend next Sunday to celebrate the end of her semester.

    Wish we could A Go Go to your restaurant.

    xo jane

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  2. I have SO wanted a dim sum recommendation! But I can't believe you didn't order the lily buds...

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  3. soooooo ... jealous.
    next year, the SA trip, me and the Don, lots ah beeg, blag cat lub
    and a long list of best places to visit (left by you) ... seriously

    ask Oliver, he'll tell ya
    xos

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  4. Heerlik. So ragfyn, daardie pakkies.

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  5. I could handle Dim Sum right now!

    I remember many moons ago grabbing steamed pork buns during lunch time. No such opportunity here.

    Mammoth yum
    R

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  6. Besides the duck dumplings, my favorite is the chicken casserole with taro and Chinese sausage. When my 85-year-old dad tasted it many years ago, he said that the flavors were just like home. I'm not sure how the casserole is now, but the memory of the one we shared is very special.

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  7. My pleasure, Jane :-) Where do you find yours? I was dim sum-ignorant in my DC days.

    Ellen, ve must go! Oh -lily buds not in season and not in budget! My wordingw as ambiguous. Here's another reason for you to visit SA (but it has to be in spring) - waterblommetjies, water hyacinths. We eat the plump green seed capsules while the flowers are still fading. Juicy, slightly tart.

    Susan :-) - Wish I could send some up to Nova Scotia for you.

    arcadia, ja, dis presies hoekom Dim Sum Go Go besonders is: ragfyn.

    Rob - yes, the pork bun places sell them for a dollar. They are addictive.

    Thanks. Joy - that's a great recommendation. I am going to have to veer off course into the real menu.

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  8. I had a dream I was eating dim sum. I must check this place out. Have you ordered from Michael and Pings - new Chinese in the neighborhood? Love to hear your input.

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  9. Hi! We eat here ALL the time! Twice last week. Dimsumgogo is amazing! Next time you go we should meet up, I live close by.(Wiseman's Broth with the lilybulb is my favorite)

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