Weekend Dim Sum at Ocean City- Chinatown (Philadelphia, USA)

It is a beautiful foggy and rainy Sunday in Philadelphia. You know what that means? It is time for dim sum (for some). Many, including myself, prefer this Chinese tradition to the typical eggs and bacon brunch, mostly for the variety of dishes offered in one sitting. In Philadelphia, the best dim sum is of course located in Chinatown and includes restaurants such as Dim Sum Garden, Joy Tsin Lau and Ocean City Restaurant. 

We followed the crowds to Ocean City where a crowd of people waited at the front for their turn to be seated. Luckily, the wait was not that long since we showed up after the 1pm lunch rush. 

The food is served in steam table trolleys usually stacked high with bamboo or metal steamer baskets. Waiters push them around the restaurant from table to table, and you get to point to the dish that you want and order. Each table gets a card that is stamped. Each order typically costs only a few dollars adding up.  Once seated, our eyes went directly to the many food trolleys circling the room. We selected the Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), Shumai (pork), Siu Mai (open pork dumpling), a delicious shrimp and cilantro dumpling. 

The Siu mai is a open-topped steamed pork and/or shrimp dumpling made with a wheat flour wrapping and is often topped with fish roe or grated carrot. This is always a favorite and is always one of our orders. 

The zhaliang (friend, noodle-wrapped cullers) is a steamed rice noodle wrapped around crispy fried cullers topped with soy and hoisin sauce. The combination of the crispy and soft texture is a perfect contrast and tastes really good. 

The Har Gau or steamed shrimp dumplings is always a favorite. It is a translucent  dumpling made with wheat starch skin and tapioca to give it that stretchy texture. It is typically filled with shrimp only but sometimes if you get lucky scallions and bamboo shoots are used. The Har Gau is hard to find as it is typically everyone's favorite. We waited around the longest for a basket of these. 

Overall, our dim sum experience at Ocean City was pretty good. Despite the crowds of people, the service was pretty good for dim sum standards. We ended up eating way too much and only paid $30 for a table of two. Where else can you find such a grand feast for so little? 

Dim Sum Garden- Chinatown (Philadelphia, USA)

Several weeks ago the Count and I along with a few friends went on the Free Tours by Foot Chinatown Food Tour. We walked through Philadelphia's small yet historic Chinatown stopping by at the best spots for quick eats. The tour ended with a sit down lunch at Dim Sum Garden. 

I have walked by this spot without bothering to look twice only because it is under the convention center overpass and I wrongfully must have assumed that it could not be good given it's dark location. Wrong! 

Best handmade dumplings I have had...and I am from Vancouver which is known for its mainland Chinese and Hong Kong delicacies. In fact, given that my best friend is Chinese doing Sunday 'Dim Sum' brunch was kind of our thing. This spot is not your typical sit down full service dim sum restaurant where they come around with their carts and you can pick and choose what you'd like to eat next. Here you order your dim sum at the counter and pay at the counter.

Now onto the actual dumplings: our tour guide knew a thing or two about dumplings and ordered a few  rounds for the table. I have never had a soup dumpling (xiao long bao) and found it to be such a treat. There  is an entire process to having a soup dumpling. You must gently place one in your spoon. Place a hole at the top to allow the hot steam to cool off and place the whole thing in your mouth without spilling the contents on the inside. Essentially it's soup wrapped up in dough served with their own special dumpling sauce. Okay. That was great. Whats next? 

Next was the Shanghai siu mai- sticky rice and minced pork dumplings. These were also a first for me and were a real treat. Sticky rice with small bits of pork all mixed with a delicious sauce and beautifully bundled up into a dumpling. 

We also had the prawn dumplings, pork and chive dumplings and many other varieties of dumplings. One was better than the next. Best part is you know its fresh and handmade as you can see through the back counter where all the action is happening. It's cheap dumpling at its best. Don't be put off by the neon lights and interior facade. This is a place where you can satisfy your dumpling cravings not to go people watching (unless you enjoy watching suffering panhandlers and other characters on 11th street). 

Han Dynasty-Manayunk (Philadelphia, USA)

One month in to our move to Philadelphia and we discovered the Manayunk neighborhood. I love Main street with their charming shops and eclectic range of restaurants. On our first visit to the area we planned on having Persian food but were disappointed to find the restaurant closed on a Sunday. So we wandered the street until we reached Han Dynasty. The Count wasn't in the mood for Chinese food but after seeing all the award and zagat rated stickers on the door we decided to try it anyway. Note: this review is based on two trips made to the same location. 

I'll start with the service which was horrible. It is a very small restaurant with waiters running around from left to right, yet we stood at the front for what seemed like 15 minutes before someone acknowledged us. There were plenty of open tables so we finally asked one of the staff if we could take a seat. Once we were seated we waited another 10-15 minutes before someone came to our table. Once we expressed our concern with the service they seemed to pick up their pace. 

Now onto the food. The menu is true Szechuan (pronounced Zesh-won)  and has been rated one of the best in the country. After tasting it I am not surprised. What I loved most is that the menu is one page only not like other Chinese restaurants who present books as menus to flip through. There are your appetizers, entrees and side dishes. Szechuan is a style of Chinese cooking which originated from the Sichuan province of Southwestern China. What makes it so popular are the bold flavours, particularly the pungent and spiciness resulting from the use of mounds and mounds of garlic and chili peppers. You can choose your dishes based on the style of sauce you prefer and the meat or vegetables. Then you can choose the spiciness level ranging from 1 being tolerable to 10 being the spiciest. (See Menu)

We started off with an order of wontons in chili oil. Once I took the first bite I was immediately hooked. I love garlic and am known to use a lot of it at home. What made the dish so special was the garlic chili sauce sprinkled with sesame oil. 

Next we tried the wontons in chili oil sauce. The flavors were the same although the wantons come in a larger quantity and seem to have more filling. It was also delicious. 

There were four of us on our second trip so we decided to order two main entrees and share. First order was the Dry Pot Style served in a mini wok and cooked in a spicy hot sauce with black mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bell peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. We ordered the level 7 spice thinking it was a happy medium. It arrived on top of a mini gas stove sizzling hot served with a big bowl of white rice.  Again the sauce and the spiciness and the liberal use of garlic made it so good. In fact, the best I've ever had. 

The cilantro topping added that additional punch of flavor but also worked against the burning spices. 

We also ordered a side of bok choy with black mushrooms. It was presented so beautifully like a plate of flowers. 

It was the perfect side dish to offset the meat and spice. The bok choy was fresh and crunchy, the mushrooms were so good and the sauce even better. 

Our next entree was the prawns in garlic sauce. As if there was not enough garlic in the other dishes this plate was mainly covered in garlic. Did I complain? Of course not, it was truly one of the best sauces I have ever tasted. The prawns were large and generous amounts were presented in the plate.  On our first trip we had the garlic sauce with the beef as opposed to the shrimp. I think I preferred the beef to the prawns for this dish. The garlic sauce is my favorite and I know that I'll be a regular based purely on this sauce. Just thinking of it is making my mouth water.

Was the meal amazing? Yes. Will I be back? Yes. Did the service turn me off? A bit but the food is too good to let the bad service get in the way. Plus there are several different locations and I am determined to try them all.