My new favorite thing at dim sum
Dumplings will always be high on the list, but this dish keeps surprising me
Hello! How are you? It’s officially spring in New York, and while it threatened to rain all day yesterday, we ended up with just one giant downpour at about 7p that lasted for about 40 minutes. I find these kinds of storms oddly comforting and very NYC-coded. Subway stations flood intensely yet briefly, restaurant awnings collapse, people scream and run for cover…and then it’s over and everything is back to normal! The process is a perfect metaphor for life in New York, and life in general, I guess. It just feels like it moves more quickly and extremely here.
Something “new” at dim sum
I’ve been eating Hong Kong style dim sum for my whole life (thanks, Mom & Dad, for giving me all of my best eating habits!), but I recently discovered a new dish that hits the spot in a way that makes me think I could just order that one dish and be satisfied. This is a pipe dream, of course, because how can you not have at least some har gow or siu mai or even something pan-fried with pea shoots in it? Turnip cake? Tripe? Deep-fried taro or that mochi pork one that looks like a football?
Spare ribs with black bean sauce, hold the rice roll!
I love the spare ribs with black bean sauce on their own. I’ve never really needed the rice roll combo version, frankly. I preferred to take my rice noodle calories elsewhere, like in dumpling skins or maybe a simple shrimp rice roll, which is always good.
So for my beloved spare ribs, I was perfectly happy to have them on their own, rice roll-free. Until…
Isn’t it wild how something can be transformed if you just change its shape? I suppose rice is a great example of this, from onigiri to mochi, to Korean rice cakes, or tteokbokki, to Chinese sticky rice, to rice noodles used in Thai and Vietnamese food, and yes, to rice rolls or cheung fun—watch them being made here, it’s like magic!
So there I was, thinking, “Rice roll spare ribs? No thanks, I’m good!”, and along came the version above at my current favorite dim sum spot in Chinatown, Royal Seafood, which, incidentally, used to be a place called Oriental Food Restaurant, which closed in 2009. Such a good name, perfect for the Google age if you want people to find you!
There’s just something about the texture of the rice rolls when they’re folded this way (you can see what I mean in the photo above, where the sauce highlights the folds) that take the combination of the spare ribs, black beans, and sweet soy sauce to another place. Instead of flat and silky, the texture becomes chewy and springy. I would even go so far as to call the difference “transcendent” because it reimagines elements of something that I thought I already knew and understood, having loved dim sum for most of my life. I’d say that’s a good definition of the word: when something you thought you had figured out turns out to be capable of being something completely different.
Royal Seafood may be one of my favorite places in New York
Why, you ask? Dim sum is everywhere in New York these days, even—especially!—outside of Chinatown. If you want dim sum on the Upper West Side, you can get it, without the traditional carts. If you want gentrified dim sum in Tribeca or Flatiron, they’ve got it (at twice the price, of course—rent is higher in those neighborhoods!) I can get good, authentic dim sum in Chelsea; I like this place. You don’t really have to go to Chinatown for dim sum anymore…but I prefer to.
To me, dim sum is about the total experience. Royal Seafood is always packed. They have a zillion carts, offering everything from dumplings to rice rolls to fried everything to congee to stewed tendon, tripe and chicken feet. There’s a full menu you can order from as well. Ninety-five percent of the clientele is Chinese. None of the servers speak English. And my favorite thing: they have a dumbwaiter that brings the dim sum up to the dining room from the kitchen downstairs, which is fun to watch. Royal Seafood is truly a dim sum extravaganza, and I love it.
On another note: while I am not religious (although someone was Catholic in my family at some point, since they came to the US from Italy), I was very moved by Pope Francisco and his passing. He was a good man and an example of compassion and kindness, among all of the complications of the world (and the Catholic church). It’s sad to see him gone, but I hope he’s going to be more help to us now, as a memory and an example. And if he wants to whisper a little something now and then in God’s ear, great!
I wish you all a wonderful week and the level of confidence that has been just emanating from President Trump’s cabinet this week on legacy media linear television programs, which I still watch. Secretary Marco Rubio on “Meet the Press” this morning gave quite a performance. He looked like his soul was dissolving. I think he pretended his ear piece wasn’t working at one point to stall for time, and he needs to fire his makeup artist (too much under-eye concealer, and in the wrong shade!) Or was it a bad sunglass tan? And Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth! The chutzpah! The defiance! We should all believe in ourselves like this, getting caught red-handed being supremely incompetent twice in a matter of months—and then moving forward with this! Makeup seems to be a real sticking point/problem for this administration.
If it weren’t all so scary, it would be funny…and let’s face it, it is pretty amusing, depending on how you look at it. I’m getting the laughs where I can! 🤪
Until next time!
xxMolly
Delicious dim sum commentary and even more delicious political commentary. Thanks, Molly!