Over the weekend, I begged for some advice about dim sum in the Bay
Area, with only Yank Sing and Ton Kiang
as names that I had from Michael Bauer's List of the
Top 100 Bay Area restaurants. Thank you to all for your suggestions! However, I ended up at Yank Sing anyway
because our host couldn't stop singing its praises. He warned me that there would be some of the traditional dim sum
like shiu mai and chicken's feet, but there would also be what he called "gringo dim sum." I was worried, but
the new-fangled "gringo dim sum" was just as good as the OG. The photo tour is after the jump...
Chicken and vegetable
eggrolls are standard I know, but who goes to dim sum and doesn't get an eggroll?! They were crispy and greasy. Just
like they should be.
Yank Sing's own
brand of chili sauce is on every table, and available for purchase. I didn't love the overly smoky flavor of the
chilis, nor the oil, so I asked, instead, for regular chili sauce. It made every bite of dim sum a deliciously glowing
experience.
Usually, we
order a whole plate of sauteed pea shoots, called dau miao. Yank Sing makes translucent dumpling with them and chopped
pine nuts.
Dry sauteed green
beans were crisp and salty. I ate a couple, but then spent most of time trying to pick up the intensely salty black
"sauce" with my chopsticks.
They made
us wait because they weren't "ready," but the ginger pork dumplings were worth it. They have to be placed in
a spoon and sucked down in one bite because they have broth inside. Can I get a "Amen!?"
Asparagus wrapped with chopped chicken, breaded, and deep-fried were the first of our "gringo
dim sum."
Spring onions were
rolled into an "O," dipped in a light white batter, and deep fried. Best Chinese onion rings I've ever had,
though I didn't care much for the accompanying peanut-flavored dipping sauce. Our host called it "runny peanut
butter." I opted, instead, to smear each ring with chili sauce.
It sounds fancy
because of "lotus," but it's just a tiny chicken burger with barely any of the crunch lotus.
I
felt like we were at P.F. Chang's when I saw them, but we took some anyway.
Smooth,
soft, pristine white, just like a baby's bottom. The bbq pork inside was sweet.
More "gringo dim sum." Half an avocado filled with seasoned minced chicken and vegetables, lightly breaded
on top.
Traditionally, I get either the deep-fried sesame balls with bean paste inside, or the silken tofu pudding. Our host
said we coldn't leave without trying Yank Sing's mango cake. It's a frozen layered mango sorbet dessert.
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