Stranded in Sarasota

WANTED: Dim Sum in Sarasota.

Okay -- call me crazy. I thought it would be a wonderful treat to have dim sum on New Year's morning -- in Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida.  We love that area, even though the Cincinnati Reds have hightailed it for Arizona beginning this spring.

There were no listings for dim sum, so I started dialing Chinese restaurants in the area.  After speaking with 16 different establishments (I wanted it bad), no one served nor had heard of anyone serving dim sum.  Some weren't even familiar with dim sum!  Finally (and this is cool), one called me back and suggested we check in with Lucky Star in Bradenton.

The people at  Lucky Star  were great.  They didn't serve by cart -- but off a special dim sum menu on weekends and holidays.  This is a typical strip mall store front, but reasonably done with a comfortable, clean and nice seating area and friendly (if not prompt) service.



My family and I plowed through pretty standard offerings like wonton noodle soup (a specialty), golden bags of dumpling deep fried with a seafood filling, some of the best spring rolls we've had in a while, and the usual offerings of sui mai, shrimp dumplings, chive dumplings, shrimp balls and more.  We did a second round of some of our favorites and a few other combinations, including scallops and mushrooms.

Each dish is cooked individually and came out hot, fresh and ready to go.  This was a welcome change from a few cart houses, where dumplings can tend to get stale and cool.  Don't get me wrong, the ambiance of being served from a cart is one of the unique benefits of a traditional dim sum house.  But the folks at Lucky Star made up for it in food quality.

If you'd like to check, here's another review from a few days earlier.  It's not worth going significantly out of your way to visit, but if you're in the area and have a craving -- definitely stop by.

Cincinnati's Back: Casual Wok Now W.J. Jan's

A new star in Cincinnati -- Casual Wok is being renamed after its new chef, W.J. Jan, who was a gold medal winner at last year's Culinary Olympics. Jan was trained in dim sum in Hong Kong and we can only hope that Casual Wok will have his skills in the carts and on our plates fast!  An opening reception is supposed to be scheduled in December. Here's the dim sum menu currently posted on their web site.  I don't believe it's been updated since Jan's arrived.

Any reports?

Motown now a Dim Sum Destination

Just when you thought the only food you can get in Detroit is at a freeway exit or from a buffet at a casino (sorry, that's not fair), along toddles Shangri-La.


According to its review in about.com, Shangri-La bills itself as having “authentic Chinese cuisine” and has a wide variety of dishes, including duck, Hong Kong eggplant, lobster and crab. While it is also known for its Sushi and Congee, its main claim to fame is its Dim Sum or "Chinese Brunch." In fact, Shangri-La is one of the few restaurants in the Metro-Detroit area that offers it. 


It does serve up some imagination -- garlic chives pan cakes, parsley and scallop kao, and pan fried corn cake with shrimp paste are a few. Don't let the cake thing fool you -- there's a full range of other options as well.


And, if the slots, Tigers, Pistons or Lions aren't doing it for you, you can find Shangri-La in West Bloomfield.  Click here to go to a map and address.

If you get there, let us know what you think.  And, if Ted Nugent or Sparky Anderson are occupying that corner booth.

MOCA not MOMA

A new museum opened recently in NYC -- the Museum of Chinese in America  (MOCA). And, what did they serve -- an evening of Dumplings, Dim Sum and Delectables.  This is worth checking out, not just for the food served on opening night, but a visit next time you're in NYC or if you're living there now. The Hungry Roach did a nice review at http://tinyurl.com/yzb2n94   Enjoy!  

Chowing at Tony Cheng's

After a respite, the dim sum diner is back.  Hopefully, with a passion.

Okay, there may be more interesting places to have dim sum in DC.  Or, certainly some that are off the beaten path, not that the three-block Chinatown is on everyone's short list.

But we were very happy with our experience (our second) at Tony Cheng's, a two-story Mongolian on the bottom and Chinese on the top dim sum house.  What we particularly liked, other than the fact the variety was good, the food hot and service smart, was that for the first time we were offered noodle dishes from the carts -- which made us happy and, as you can see, were nicely done.

This may not have been our most adventerous trip -- my son and I waded through what seemed to be (appropriately) a monsoon to get there and went for the familiar favorites.  Only when we stuffed ourselves with about eight versions cook'n sell dumplings did we spy a few new carts traveling the large dining room and vowed we'd go back and pace ourselves next time. to get the cart and the experience that we're truly going to remember.

Never let it be said that if you order crab or talapia it's not fresh, as the husky fellows here indicate.  Sadly, we did not go there this trip and, should the spirit move us, look forward to doing so next visit. You can't miss it -- just look for the big Tony Cheng's sign. 

Dim Sum Plays Political Hot Feet

Okay, so many timid folks don't order chicken feet when enjoying dim sum.

Well, it turns out our American fed birds are in high demand because of their plump and juicy-ness. (Kind of like us Americans who feast on them.)

Trade agreements between the Chinese and the U.S. notwithstanding, perhaps at the next State Dinner at the White House there will be a new appetizer on the menu. So I'm wondering, what's the polite way to eat chicken feet when you're dressed in black tie?

Sending Him off with a Bang

Bangkok Joe's, in Georgetown (DC)'s riverfront district, has a nice selection of dumpling and noodle dishes. In fact, while it doesn't serve traditional dim sum, it's dumpling bar is nicely inventive.

Taking my son to college, we decided Bangkok Joe's would be a great place for dinner with a college friend and his family. So, we loaded up on dumplings, noodle soups, and rice bowls.

Take the dumpling dive -- Panang Chicken Buns, Pork 'n crab shu mai (top left); lobster 'n pine nut dumplings, pictured top right (with taragon, Asian fruit compote, balsamic soy sauce and chili oil) and winter squash potstickers (butternut, sweet potatoes, onions and egg with spicy-ginger soy dip) and shrimp and crab goyza (pickled giner, daikon, sweek sesame-soy dip) and steamed shring dumplings (with shrimp, chicken, shitaki mushromoms, carrot, and ginger lime cream) were some of the be-noodled treats.

We also sopped up nutty seafood noodles (wok-fried wonton noodled with sauteed shrimp, scallops, spinsih, onion, mushrooms, pine nuts and rost tomoatoes in a basic cream sauce) among other, more familiar dishes (Pad Thai, chicken with cashew nuts, peking duck spring rolls, and chicken with basil.

The atmosphere was bright, lively and fun -- a mix of residents, parents dropping students at school, and the Georgetown/DC professional crowd, enjoying a Friday night before clubbing or dropping from another week of pounding it out. We liked it all -- the more familiar soups, appetizers and rice bowls were universally loved.

I also loved the idea of the dumplings, even if we didn't savor the flavors. In fact, for as promising as they appeared on paper, and they looked in presentation (okay, the shrimp 'n crab gyoza at left looks like someone dropped a bottle of teriyaki on it), they lacked in flavor. They were fresh, served steaming hot and cooked perfectly, but lacked the snap you appreciate when dim sum is well spiced.

Would we go back? Certainly for the soups, noodles and rice bowls.

But, we'd suggest the dumpling bar be sent back to the kitchen for a makeover. The only other disappointment was that while the Obamas were not there having dinner, we did go see their house the next morning.