Dim Sum in Paris

Oddly enuf: Maison du Dim Sum.

R. Saint-Jaques, on the corner a block or two uphill past Soufflot. The actual cross street slips my mind

All you can eat. Lots of college kids. You guys will fit right in.

Its actually 4 Rue des Fosses Saint Jacques. Stop in for a pint at WOS across the street on Rue Saint Jacques, and say hi to Pierre or Matthew. It's the home of the Green Bay Packers in Paris.

@ Ed - All you can eat...does that mean it's a buffet? Or you just add up what you get and pay?

@ Nigel - I asked Sarah from Stuttgart the same question in a PM. The following is her response to me ---

" As far as I know, most of the typical Chinese restaurants with dim sum in the case in Paris is not freshly made, or even very often made by the restaurant itself, but rather bulk purchased frozen then reheated (which explains why so many of the offerings are the same). THere are a few places who are now offering home made dim sum, both traditional Chinese restaurants and a few hip "fusion" type places. The one I went to was called Auciel and it was greasy but freshly made and pretty tasty. Here's a few other options I haven't tried:
La Chine Messina
La Maison du Dim Sum
Mum Dim Sum
Mitsou
Tricontin
Hope that helps! You're best off in London for Chinese food, though. I had the best Dim Sum (outside of San Francisco) there last March!"

If you do find good dim sum in Paris, please let me know. We try to get dim sum when we travel, but the only stuff I've found in Paris wasn't very fresh.

@all,

keep the recommendations coming. im making a list for when i return.

happy trails and a full stomach.

Not surprising at all that the guidebooks omit the topic. They wouldn't go to places in Paris like Hang Ah. My suggestion to check these Chinese eateries that say "pour emporter" In the Gare du Nord area are a few places with that sign but don't expect it to be more than satisfactory, and also go the 13th Arrond.

As noted .. the 13th is as close to a Chinatown as Paris has.. however.. my opinion is that the reason you don't see a lot in guide books about Chinese food , or Dim Sum specifically in Paris is that frankly.. its not the best.

I have only tried to eat chinese twice in Paris at restaurants.. and some take out.. but dang it was never very good,, in fact.. passable at best. Nothing like I am used to ( I live on a west coast island ,, we have a large chinese population of course) .

I have heard there are a few very good places.. perhaps one Sarah has suggested, but the ones I have heard mentioned on TA were apparently a bit pricey.

I guess everything is relative.. I don't see Paris as having a large Chinese population.. and if wanting to try some ethnic food thats more authentic I think I would try for north African food( and I love dim sum too )

The place is a buffet. Most of the stuff seems site-made, but it ain't that good (I've spent a lot of time in Canton), but the Nigels have owed me a dinner for a couple of years and it don't hurt my feelings to bum-scoop them.

Thanks all -especially Ed who I love like a brother.

Here's the list from Paris by Mouth. No dim sum listed but some noodle and chile places.
http://parisbymouth.com/five-great-for-inexpensive-chinese/

Bets, I had totally forgotten about Paris by Mouth.... I'm so glad you suggested it.

I've just spent a good hour drooling around it, and not only for dim sum.

Now my mission is to find Alsatian nosh on the trip.

In my experience Southeast Asian food is more common than Chinese, particularly Vietnamese thanks to France's Imperial history in Indo-China plus the inevitable (and welcome) Thai influences. There are many small deli-style cafes serving from hot and cold buffets, which is convenient for carry-out but dooms itself to unfresh results.
I can recommend two spots although I would not go too far out of my way to get to them. Paris-Hanoi has two branches, both with trangy fresh cooking http://www.parishanoi.fr/ Sometimes they serve Laos beer, a very fine lager with a rice base providing a flowery lightness. Smaller, more adventurous, and more expensive, Shan Gout is between Gare de Lyon and Place d'Aligre with a limited but very interesting menu in the prix fixe mode. I don't know enough to identify what part of Asia its heritage belongs to. 22 Rue Hector Malot in the 12th.

If they don't have some places listed on Paris by Mouth, you can send some of the reviewers an email and ask them. Traditionally, the cafes around Gare de l'Est served Alsatian food: Blvd. de Strasbourg, rue St. Laurent, etc. . Schmidt on Blvd. de Strasbourg, a couple doors down from the station, is unfortunately a deli, not a restaurant, but I bet the people who work there could point you to the right place to get a good choucroute.

Well Nigel, thanks to this thread whetting my appetite and to celebrate Chinese New Year, we had dim sum today. And it was delicious!! If you're ever in my neck of the woods we will take you there. :-)

My daughter was laughing because most of the cart pushers knew us. She said we clearly go there too often.

True that the 13th arrond, which I walked through once, is as close to a Chinatown in Paris as it gets, obviously it cannot be compared to that in Vancouver or SF.

On Alsacian cuisine, as pointed out, across from and down the street from Gard de l'Est is where this type of cuisine can be found. There is one Alsacian restaurant I found very satisfactory, just good food and beer, well worth it, is "Chez Jenny." It's on the way from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon. "Chez Jenny" is one I absolutely recommend.

@ Andrea, I had to laugh because I have the same situation here--"Olivia" even recognizes my voice on the phone and immediately wants to know if we want our favorite table!

@Darcy - You have dim sum in Lewiston? I think that's even more motivation to come up and see you!! :-)

No, sorry Andrea, not true dim sum!

Possibly you've had trouble finding Dim Sum because it isn't usually called that in France. On menus it usually is referred to as raviolis vapeurs (steamed dumplings). I have eaten delicious ones in Chinatown in the southern part of the 13th arrondissement. There is also a large Asian community in the Belleville neighborhood in northeastern Paris. Btw, the history of Chinese/Asian immigration in France is complicated. I am no expert, but I gather than many of these people came here from SE Asia (Viet Nam, Cambodia, etc.), but that their families were originally from China, and hence their cuisine is a blend of these cultures.

Thanks for that insight, Terry.

Saw some "raviolis a vapeur" but didn't have any. Too busy with galettes and Lauderée. It stays on the list for next time...

Not wanting to flaunt my extensive knowledge of China when this first came up, but being bored waiting for people I don't like to show up for supper:

Dim Sum isn't necessarily the ravioli type stuff. It's Guangdong/Cantonese for little bits of things that are easy to eat - - mostly as a snack, lite tapas. It can be dead fish, dead chicken, whatever. It can be cooked in any manner.

Not being real swell at translating French to Cantonese without head-muddling through some other language, I think 'raviolis a vapeur' is restrictive to steamed dumplings.

Tomorrow's lecture will consist of patterns of human migration from China into the Indo-Chinese peninsula from the beginning of time until 1975. Special focus will be on the influence on commerce of the Overseas Chinese. This one's a thriller.