It’s been a while and excellent news as to why- NYC has reopened, streets are filled and restaurants are offering more than ever before. More seating options, greater deals, and new offerings, just in time for all of our masks to come off and taste buds to enjoy!
I have officially settled into the new neighborhood in Manhattan and am ready to explore the local offerings! With Friday night set as date night, our first was a joint favorite cuisine- dim sum! With lots of unpacking, unfortunate furniture building, and clean up to do, a fast casual meal at “AweSum Dim Sum” was the chosen local spot of choice. Yes, it was awesome.
If you are not familiar with dim sum, it is a traditional Cantonese Dish, served in bamboo steam baskets, after it has been either steamed, fried, or baked. I start with the image above as my eyes literally lit up after taking one bite. The Baked BBQ Pork Bun. What threw me off compared to other dim sum dishes I have tried, is how sweet the bread was. Almost dessert like, and making the hint of sweetness in BBQ stand out more than, maybe, ever. The buns are super soft and fluffy, cloudlike. The pork was tender and covered in a healthy lathering of a tangy BBQ sauce. Combined all together there was something so perfectly sweet and savory and all around yummy, it had us wishing we had ordered nothing but these baked buns.
Come to find out, these buns are often served in Chinese bakeries as well as dim sum in Cantonese restaurants. If you ever come across char siu bao, order it and see what I am talking about for yourself. A strong 5/5 on these.
Next up, a sticky rice wrap. Not your average wrap. Inside pork, scallops, salted egg yolk, mushroom, dried shrimp, quail egg, Chinese sausage and chicken, are all steamed and wrapped tightly into this seemingly simple but complex wrap. The ingredient list is a mouthful, and so is one bite. Trying to differentiate among the different ingredients is nearly impossible without taking the wrap apart and reverse engineering how it was placed together. That is precisely what we tried to do. What is so great about the taste is everything has it’s own seasoning and distinct taste that transfers when combined. The salted egg yolk picks up some of the earthiness from the mushroom and aromas from the meats, that gives it a whole new flavor. Quail egg was new and interesting for me, which is always the best part of dim sum, every restaurant has a new bun, wrap or steamed roll that makes the experience unique every time.
With all that said, the steamed wrap was not for me. It was hard to top the first item tried, so I recognize perhaps the disappointment came from comparison. Trying to enjoy everything combined never led to that “aha” after-bite experience where I could understand the dish and how it should come together. Of course, give it a try and see if that moment comes to you!
And then, there is old faithful. BBQ Pork Buns. Roasted pork, a house made sauce, and perfectly steamed buns. If you are new to dim sum, this is the dish I recommend starting with- it’s the litmus test of good dim sum as it is impossible to dislike when done right. What magic goes on in the dim sum kitchen to get these steamed buns to hold the filling, while pulling apart so perfectly from that cracked top, and altogether melt in your mouth when combined, is beyond me. At AweSum Dim Sum, they do it just right.
The filling is identical to the cha siu in the baked buns, minus adjustments for the steamed buns, so you already know it is good. These buns use the science behind baking to combine cornstarch and baking soda for the cracked top. Themselves, they are made from by pre-boiling water in a steamer, to force them to rise quickly, and then steamed. Easier said than done when you think of perfecting the dough ingredients and the likely multiple rounds of practice to get it right. That’s why for my pork buns, I’ll be going to this new neighborhood, and affordable, gem.
Not pictured, we also advantage of trying something new with the Steamed Beef Rice Roll and Steamed Beef Balls. Not much to say except well seasoned and marinated beef for those who are beef lovers.
Fun fact, in Chinese, “dim sum” is often translated to “touch of the heart.” Appropriate for a food, right? Even more appropriate for those Baked BBQ Buns.
