Dim Sum Advice [General]

2007 Feb 16
Hi all!
The bf and I are all booked in at 11:00 at Yangtze for Dim Sum tomorrow. Neither of us have ever done the Dim, so I was wondering what the process is so we don't look like newbies!

Do you order off the menu? I have heard tell something about carts that come around? If so, do you take it yourself or do they give it to you? How does this work for pricing? In Japan at the conveyor belt sushi restaurants we just took as many plates as we wanted and they charge you by the plate - everything was the same price. Is that how this works as well?

Can you do both carts and menu?

Any procedural advice is appreciated!

2007 Feb 16
I went for Dim Sum my first time a few weeks ago with a real veteran. She ordered one dish off the menu and the rest were by carts. They wheel the carts around, describe the dishes and if you want one, they place it on your table. The dish is marked on a card and left on your table and added up at the end of the meal. Most dishes have 4 portions on them and we didn't find out the prices until the end but perhaps you can ask if the servers know. It was about $16 each and we were stuffed.

Make sure if a dish comes round that you like, get 2. It seemed that in the 1.5 hours we were there, we rarely saw popular dishes come round more than once. And if you can help it, don't sit at the rear of the restaurant or you will not see much in the way of popular dishes. They serve the front first.

They are very busy on the weekends for dim sum as you can imagine. Make sure you ask for a jug of water or extra tea or drinks right up front as they can sometimes forget about the drinks as they are so focused on the dim sum.

Have fun and enjoy!!

2007 Feb 16
Thanks Fat Cat!

I assume then that the kitchen is closest to the front of the restaurant? Or do they just start at the front?

Can't wait!!!

2007 Feb 16
I think both kitchen and serving start are at the front.

2007 Feb 16
According to Wikipedia, "Dim sum is a Chinese light meal or brunch served with Chinese tea. It is eaten some time from morning to early afternoon with family or friends. Dim sum consists of a wide spectrum of choices, from sweet to salty. It includes combinations of meat, vegetables, seafood, as well as desserts and fruit. The various items are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate, depending on the type of dim sum.

Dim Sum is a Cantonese phrase, literally "touch the heart" (order to your heart's content) or "a little token". Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.

Traditional dim sum includes various types of steamed buns such as char siu bao (steamed bun with BBQ pork inside), dumplings and rice rolls, which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. (I prefer the rice rolls with prawns.)

Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups.

Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg custard tart (or egg tart).

Dim sum dishes can be ordered from a menu or sometimes the food is wheeled around on a trolley by servers. Traditionally, the cost of the meal is calculated based on the number, size, and sometimes color of the dishes left on the patron's table. Some modern dim sum restaurants record the dishes on a bill at the table. Not only is this tidier, it also prevents patrons from cheating by concealing or stealing the plates. Servers in some restaurants use distinct stamps so that sales statistics for each server can be recorded...."

You can find many dim-sum photos at www.ottawafoodies.com/food/34

P.S. I am so glad that it is finally Friday. I just completed my draft version of my design document. Hurrah!

2007 Feb 16
ksw, specific to the Yangtze.. they come around with carts, announcing their wares, and they are perfectly willing to show you if you don't know what "har gau" or "yam cakes" are (btw, that looks like har gau at the bottom of Ashley's photo in the previous posting). You tell them what you'd like and they mark it down on the piece of paper at your table. Don't feel bad if you don't want anything from a particular cart.

On your first visit you might order some things you don't like too much. That's okay... it means next time you say no to them and leave room on your table (and in your stomach) for the things you love!

Personally, I choose everything that contains shrimp... plus the ginger squid. :-)

2007 Feb 17
On a similar note, does anyone know of a place that has good vegetarian/vegan dim sum? I've been to a couple of places in Toronto, but I haven't found any here.

2007 Feb 17
You can order vegetable dim-sum dishes such as fried eggplants, tofu, bean curd, rice rolls without any meat/seafood, plain congee, veggie type potstickers. The selection in Ottawa is indeed limited.

2007 Feb 19
My family and I have always enjoyed the Imperial on Dalhousie in the Market. Better quality and cleaner than the Yangtze or the one upstairs across the street from it. Though the one upstairs across Somerset from the Yangtze serves at times, freshly baked "dan-tat", little custard tarts that aren't bad.
The Imperial is more expensive but well worth it. Their "ha-gao" shrimp dumplings actually have chunks of fresh shrimp in them whereas the other two restaurants serve up mushy ones...
Also, being smaller, the carts pass by your table repeatedly and often.
As an aside, this restaurant is somehow related to the Mandarin on Ogilvie but that's where the relationship ends. The Imperial is vastly better in quality.
Raymond
PS If you like or want to try "djuk" or congee, rice gruel/soup, the Great Wall one door down from the Yangtze is not bad.