Sunday, March 08, 2009

some 'dim sum'




i was introduced to 'dim sum' which actually translates to "touch of the heart" many years ago by my s-i-l, h. it is one of my favourites when i go out dining with him. he loves pan-asian food besides his weakness for the western variety.being a vegetarian,there is an obvious problem for me.but h does not get intimidated.he goes all out to see that a vegan can love dim sum too.or put it in another way,he will make me eat 'dim sum' to my heart's content.it is not an appetiser for me. it is a meal by itself.

'dim sum' originated in guandong province and the famous city of hong kong.it is traditionally a brunch meal.it is also taken with green tea.i love these steamed dumplings. they go under different names and different containments inside.the varieties are many. whether 'char siu bao' or 'har gau' or 'siu mai' or 'cheong fun' or 'dan tart' they are gobbled up by h with great relish. for me it is mostly 'cheong fun' -steamed plain rice rolls without the accoutrement. only dipped in a special chinese sauce,it is plain mouth-watering.

next time you visit 'china garden' or 'east' or 'busaba', just ask for 'dim sum' or any of the above. and i am sure the chef will roll it out for you in a jiffy, at the speed of lightning. i have had them at numerous chinese restaurants abroad starting with my initiation in san fransisco and then in new york and later in london. but back home in mumbai,'east' and 'busaba' are my favourites though. nibbling on bite-sized morsels loaded with fresh vegetables and minced spinach with tea or 'yum cha' is my signature meal in an oriental restaurant.

5 comments:

A Virtual Vegetarian said...

Dim Sum is really really good......I love it!

Momo's are the indian chinese version our Nepalese cook made many vegetarian versions and they were all to die for.

gs said...

hi avv
i love the tibetan momos. nothing more satisfying than steaming hot momos with green tea. where have you been?

A Virtual Vegetarian said...

I've been around...working on a book proposal...and you probably know how that goes!

Most of my "other" time is taken up with a lot of hospital/rehab work for my dad. My parent have moved in with us so I can better help him out.

Oh...in Kolkata I ate momo's at some joint, not as good as what I've eaten, but not bad either.

I prefer the dough on the Nepalese momos though...much much softer.

gs said...

hello avv
what's the book about? have you read vidhu mittal's "pure and simple". it's all vegetarian.100 recipes.it is one of the best books that i have seen in this genere.
what is your dad's problem? has he been operated upon? i wish him a speedy recovery.
i'll try the nepalese momos in kol very soon.
take care.

A Virtual Vegetarian said...

The book is on jewelr y and my father had a stroke last year and we are working on phy/occ therapies...he is much better now, but there has been some damage to the optic nerves. I will let him know of your wishes.

Nope not seen the cook book, but will try to pick it up on amazon.

If you can get a nepalese cook/chef to make the paneer momo's, it will be treat + ask them to make the tamatar-til sauce to go with it...ooh my mouth is watering must make some one of these days!