on the north side of the city it’s popular to go out for expensive brunch on sundays. many times you’ll pay $11 for pancakes. granted the pancakes may be made using high quality chocolate, fresh whipped cream, strawberries. however if you venture further south to chinatown, you’ll find very different brunch eats: dim sum.
dim sum: cantonese translation puts it as “a touch of heart” and that’s what it does, it touches the heart with strange and familiar flavors. the four of us made our way to the immensely popular phoenix restaurant in the chinatown district. oddly enough this is the oldest restaurant in the same location in chinatown and it was packed. dim sum is to chinatown as brunch is to north side yuppies. equally as delicious, slightly more adventurous and a nice link between the old and new worlds.
there is no menu. there is a card on the table completely in chinese and ladies pushing carts around the dining room. when they come by with something you want, they give it to you and mark something on your card. our resident fixer, mak, orders jasmine tea for us as she schools us on the proper protocols for excellent dim sum. to give you an idea of how traditional dim sum is: a book purchased in hong kong with pictures and english translations (for a gui san) of the dishes names and ingredients were dead on the money for everything we ate. let the games begin….
