The Weekly Eater
SOME PEOPLE win lotteries. I get picked for jury duty -- three times within the last 10 years. How lucky I am. I've talked to people who've never gotten the call and are waiting for that paid day off, but jury duty is no get-out-of-work free proposition for me. It just means starting my work day at 4 p.m. instead of about 9 a.m. Take-out dim sum
provided with sit-
down qualityI must say, though, it was quite relaxing sitting in Judge Wilson's courtroom at District Court over on Alakea, listening to him talk about our privilege to serve, and while waiting for jury selection I even managed to write a fashion story.
During lunch break, I was tempted to go back to the office, but sanity reigned. By the time I could drive there, it would be time to come back to court. So I embraced the situation and went for a walk. There is no shortage of restaurants in the vicinity and at Bishop Street's two-story restaurant row in the Education America building I found Dim Sum House, which opened quietly three months ago.
I've always considered dim sum to be the quickest route to satisfaction. You sit down and the food trough is rolled right up under your nose. But this was even faster. Dim sum delivered over the counter. Walk in. Point. Eat. Pau.
An amazing concept for sure, but I really didn't expect fast food dim sum would be any good. Another company had tried take-out dim sum on King Street for a few months last year, giving up before I even had a chance to try it.
DIM SUM HOUSE
Food 1/2
Service Ambience N/A Value Address: 1111 Bishop St. (downstairs from Blimpie) / 524-8328
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays
Cost: $5 to $10 per person
At Dim Sum House, I chose the har gau (shrimp dumpling), which was fresh and crunchy in the way that shrimp snaps in your teeth when it's steamed just right; spinach and shrimp gau studded with garlic; and taro gok (deep-fried taro puff) that was lacy on the outside, creamy on the inside, with substantial pork filling as the third part of the package. All were excellent, and each bamboo steamer basket -- bearing three pieces of each selection -- was a mere $1.68.
Before you leave, feed your brain by picking up some of the free Buddhist literature also available here.
I was freed without having been called to the jury box and later ran blind taste tests for a couple of days at the newsroom to determine whether my food discovery that day was a one-time fluke.
It wasn't. Other aficionados were equally impressed by delicate Chiu Chow-style half moons with their fillings of chicken and a fine mince of water chestnuts and other vegetables accented by a bit of cilantro; pork hash (four pieces per basket) with fat reduced by the inclusion of diced pork; and the light touch on spareribs that hinted of black beans rather than being painted by a thick, heavy sauce.
One person went so far as to compare the dim sum to that at Legend -- no small compliment considering the lines to get into the popular Chinatown Cultural Plaza restaurant -- and was surprised to find it came OTC from an unknown shop.
As it turns out, chef Randy Huang, who came from Hong Kong 10 years ago, worked at Legend before going independent.
It's a shame that the bulk of customers at the restaurant tend to favor the more typical lunch-counter entrees such as minute chicken on cake noodle ($4.75), seafood chow mein ($5.95) and ginger chicken on rice ($3.95); I always say go with the specialty -- you know, dim sum, at Dim Sum House. Some people can't grasp this idea, like the woman who complained earlier this week that she went to a Hawaiian restaurant and didn't like the bread pudding. (How was the haupia?)
As it turns out, jury duty turned out to be a good way to break away from routine. I spoke to another person on Friday who discovered Cafe VIII1/2 on Alakea the same way. Beyond finding Dim Sum House, I did get paid for my day at court, parlaying my earnings into a nice summer dress from Banana Republic. It was a good day's work. Thank you state of Hawaii.
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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:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
