Finally Dim Sum All Around!
Sunday near mid-day four of the longest members of SnB headed out on a field trip (we invited the others, I swear). Not only do we share knitting in common but everyone in our group is pretty adventurous when it comes to food, so we started doing some culinary explorations. It all started with sushi tour of town which was quite successful, but is now on hold. We’ve talked for over a year of going down to the Denver China Town Strip Mall (more or less, all the asian stuff is in one old kind of run down strip mall) and shopping and eating dim sum.
Now, for 50 something people who grew up in or near a town of probably only 10-12 thousand people when they were young my parents are very adventuresome eaters. Mom will try anything once, Dad is a little pickier, but also usually game for any ethnicity of food once. However, Dad is not a huge fan of driving in big metropolitan places so I had never experienced dim sum before.
It was a great treat to get to go with three experienced dim sum diners. The food was pretty good. There were a few things I think we’d all agree to skip next time. We were a little disappointed in the cart flow. It was a long time between carts and often if was the same cart or two going past with the same stuff in it. But, we did find we could request certain things off of the list on the table. Once we figured that out we did great.
There are two dim sum places in this general area and Ashley has now eaten at both. She said the food was about equal in quality, but the other location has much more frequent and varied cart flow.
After dining we rolled our stuffed selves through the aisles of the two large asian markets in the aforementioned strip mall. I preferred the first, Pacific Ocean. They had slightly different selections, the second one seemed slightly less expensive than the first on some items. The second had a very distinctive fishy smell as you walked in that kind of turned me off. But, they did have a little gift shop corner stuffed with Hello Kitty stuff. So, Snow, these are for you and G!
In case anyone is wondering, here is the key to the dim sum mosaic…
1. Har Gow - Shrimp Dumpling, 2. Shumai - Pork Dumpling, 3. Bao Xa Xiu Nuong - Steamed Pork Buns, 4. Vegetable Pouches, 5. Ot Tay Nhan Tum - Shrimp Paste on Green Pepper, 6. Thjt Bo Vien Chien - Meatballs, 7. Nam Tuoi - Stuffed Fresh Mushroom, 8. Bahn Cuun Tom - Shrimp Steamed Crepes, 9. Bahn Thjt Chi - Fried Meat Dumpling, 10. Koai Mon Vien Chein - Taro Ball, 11. Banh Bit Nuic Dua - Coconut Pudding, 12. Banh Bao Dua - Coconut Bun, 13. Banh Bao Dua - Coconut Bun - Inside, 14. Banh Cam Chien - Sesame Balls, 15. Banh Bai Chuu Chien - Lotus Buns, 16. Banh Cam Chien - Sesame Balls - Inside
