I was excited to announce the opening of the new dim sum restaurant, Mei Sum, but someone at the office said, "So? Aren't there a lot of dim sum restaurants in Chinatown?" No such thing as
too much dim sumTsk. Tsk. There can be too many coffee bars and too many bakeries, but as far as I am concerned each new dim sum restaurant presents a reason to celebrate. Why, in Hong Kong the act of sipping tea or coffee while noshing on savory dumplings is nothing short of a way of life. It's not unusual to start the day with family at one restaurant, hop straight to the next restaurant to meet friends, and go back for more after dinner.
This was a source of irritation when I first visited relatives in Hong Kong. "Mom," I whined, "why do they have to eat so much? Can't we do anything else?"
Here, we're a little more conservative, so dim sum tends to be a Saturday or Sunday morning-afternoon luxury. We all have our favorite haunts, but each new restaurant is a curiosity, another opportunity to party.
Because of the popularity of dim sum, most such restaurants tend to be ballroom-sized. Mei Sum is small, so large groups can pose a seating problem by day. Your best bet would be to limit your walk-in entourage to four people. At night, though, it's empty because the location scares people. In this tiny setting, service problems are also magnified. Larger restaurants have the staff to greet and seat you, but here, it can be a free-for-all. What's more, they only had one entree cart and one dessert cart rolling through the premises, and these took forever to arrive.
Luckily, when they do, you find the treasures hidden in the bamboo baskets worth waiting for. The dim sum has a delicacy of flavor that comes close to matching that of Hong Kong restaurants.
Turnips in the pan-fried turnip cake melt on the tongue. Chiu Chow-style half moons are stuffed with crunchy peanuts and vegetables. Mochi rice steamed in a lotus leaf is divine. Guaranteed to be a favorite are the juicy mushroom chicken dumplings accented with cilantro. Most of the plates run $2.35, less than prices of many competitors.
A friend proclaimed surimi in a seafood dumpling "unacceptable!" but the dumpling's saving grace was the very fresh shrimp and scallop included in the fine wrapper, which was dotted with a single corn kernel, a single pea and grated carrot for color.
IN addition to what's on the carts, you can order noodle and rice dishes off the menu. These are also offered after dim sum service ends at 3 p.m. A more extensive evening menu is in the works, but for now, there's won ton mein ($4.25) or a generous helping of plump and juicy roast duck on rice for $4.95. The won tons, by the way, are made with sliced pork rather than the usual ground pork.
For all the care spent on making each dim sum a luscious jewel, there doesn't seem to be a lot of effort in presenting menu items hot. The won ton mein was wonderful, but served lukewarm. So was the Mei Sum special fried noodle ($6.95), skinny Hong Kong-style noodles topped with shrimp, scallops, calamari, choi sum and shiitake.
This restaurant is just 2 weeks old. The recipes are perfect. Keeping the food warm should be easy to do.
Mei Sum: 65 N. Pauahi St. A (across from Char Hung Sut)
Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; dim sum to 3 p.m.
Prices: About $12 to $20 for two
Call: 531-3268
<Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
-- excellent;
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