Years ago - BC, before covid - we used to be able to get Dim Sum the proper way. off trolleys wheeled around the restaurant. There was one, maybe two, left in London. Before that we were in San Francisco and Toronto and spoiled for choice.
Now I wonder if all dim sum needs to be ordered off menus.
Do any of you world travellers know of any (preferably at least decent) traditional dim sum in Europe?
Oooh, interesting question. I have only done this in Hong Kong - and a LONG time ago.
I was in Hong Kong 14 years ago, and most places there had already stopped doing the trolleys at that point. The food is still good.
They still use them in Flushing, Queens in NY. Don’t know about London.
I had dim sum served from trolleys/carts just two days ago in my area. No need to go to SF. It’s delicious (and I’ve been eating dim sum regularly for over 50 years both throughout the U.S. and internationally so I know good from not so good) and there was a large variety of dishes choose from. Come visit and I’ll take you there. 😉
This doesn’t answer your question of “where in Europe”, but my friend and I just enjoyed the most fresh and delicious dim sum from carts in the city of Richmond, BC, Canada. Place is called “Continental “
Come visit our way Nigel, and I will treat you and your wife.
oooohhhhh!!!
you guys are SO lucky
I'm craving. Cha Su Bao, Hagow, Chow Fun (prawn with sauce), Broccoli, Sesame Toast, Sticky Rice, Taro Cake, Sesame Balls, Custard Tarts... oh my
If I'm craving, does that mean I'm pregnant?
Hahaha! Nigel, I hope not! But keep us updated. 🤣
The best dim sum I've had outside of California, Vancoucer, BC or New York is actually in Minneapolis in the inappropriately named Mandarin Kitchen. It's actually Cantonese. It's about 15 minutes from the airport. So if you travel to the U.S., you might consider going through Minneapolis.
Silver Dragon in Calgary has excellent Dim Sum, and, as far as I know, still does the trolleys, although I haven't eaten inside the place since before the pandemic started. We have been doing take out from there periodically, though.
My favourites are sticky rice (in lotus leaf, natch), pepper shrimp, and siu mai.
We had some good dim sum in London last year, a couple of times in fact. Sadly they didn’t have trolleys and we had to mark off what we wanted on a piece of paper. I imagine that would be difficult for people unfamiliar with the different choices.
My favorite dim sum place is in Chicago Chinatown, a restaurant called Minghin Cuosine. It's upstairs near the El. A big room filled with Chinese people and your occasional white person. Little carts, mostly women pushing them with little or no English. We've been many times.
I’ve found that the best sign of a good dim sum place is when the customers are primarily Chinese.
