Heng Shan Hui 衡山汇: New Dim Sum Discovery

Home of the world-famous Peking Duck, Beijing’s international dining scene has soared to new heights over the past 3 years. And while the finest Italian, Japanese, and French cuisine is readily available around the city, Cantonese Dim Sum still pales in comparison to the real deal.

Until recently, Jin Ding Xuan’s (金鼎轩) Tuanjiehu branch has done a good job of satisfying my dim sum cravings with decent dim sum at a super low price (and close proximity to my home).

…that was until my fellow foodie, Saul Diaz, introduced me to my new favorite dim sum restaurant: Heng Shan Hui 衡山汇on Xiaoyun Lu. With quality dim sum, generous portions, a nice, lively atmosphere and reasonable prices, I am delighted to share this great new find with all of my dear LumDimSum friends.

LumDimSum Snapshots of DimSum Dishes:

Stir-fry Lotus Root with Preserved Beancurd Sauce  (RMB 25)/Roast Pork Belly (RMB 42)

Pan-fried Turnip Cake (RMB 14), BBQ Pork Rice Flour Roll (RMB 16)

Steamed Shrimp & Chives Rice Roll (RMB 26)/Shrimp Dumplings (RMB 26)

BBQ Pork Buns 叉烧包 (RMB 12)

Review of Heng Shan Hui 衡山汇: Located on Xiaoyun Road, block north of KFC. 朝阳区霄云路21号嘉里大通附楼1楼(东三环北路), Tel: +86 10 64661211

Best Part:

• Delicious Cantonese Dim Sum Dishes with quality ingredients: highlights include stir-fry lotus root, shrimp dumplings 虾饺 and BBQ Pork Buns 叉烧包。
• Generous portions and reasonable prices

• An extensive menu of Cantonese staple dishes and really delicious soups available
• Very clean, spotless atmosphere thats consistently fully booked with a lively atmosphere, and not overwhelmingly crowded.
• It’s recommended to book ahead, but the wait was only about 10 minutes without a reservation.

Comments:

• While this is currently my new favorite dim sum restaurant in Beijing, it’s still not up to par with the amazing dim sum available in San Francisco and (obviously) Hong Kong.
• Not the easiest place to find as the restaurant is not visible from the main street, as it is tucked inside a wide parking lot.
• Service was quick, but waitstaff was not the friendliest and no English was spoken.  (but menu has English translations for dishes)

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 6
• Overall Experience: 7

Where oh Where is there Good DimSum?

In case you didn’t notice, I’m all about DimSum.  I love it and not just because it rhymes with my last name.

And yet, I have not been fully satisfied with any DimSum restaurant in Beijing.  Either too pricey, too small in portions, insufficient quality, or all of the above.

So I was pretty stoked to hear that the new addition to Sanlitun Village, Chao Dian, serves up Hong Kong style dim sum, located just behind Hatsune and Herbal Cafe, across from Union Bar & Grill.

Menu at Chao Dian

It’s newly opened, so be warned: they do not take cards and they do not issue fa piaos at this stage.

Presented with a super long, two-sided fold out paper menu with mouth-watering photos and English/Chinese descriptions, I was ready to check all the little boxes.

Everything on the menu looked great – especially the Cha Show Bao (Steamed BBQ Pork Buns), Shao Mai, and shrimp dumplings, so I was happy to see that you could order a combo House Dim Sum Platter inclusive of 4 various pairs of dumplings in one set (RMB 48) -shao mai, ha gao (shrimp dumplings), xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings), and vegetable dumpling. Each item was over-cooked, hard (all dumplings were tough on the outside and the xiao long bao had NO soup, which defeats the entire purple of a xiao long bao).

Eager to try a nice variety, we also ordered a ton of other dishes.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Steamed Veggies – standard
• Pan-Fried Rice Roll with XO Sauce – better than expected
• Steamed Cow Stomach – bright orange in color (NOT normal) and just awful
• Fried White Turnip Cake – pretty good
• Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimp – bland and dry
• Steamed BBQ Pork Buns – standard
• Da Tas (Egg Custard Tarts) for dessert – Best part, served in heart shape and big portioned

Total Bill for Two People: RMB 174

Overall Verdict: Mama-huhu.

Some items were satisfactory/decent, but overall disappointing.  All of the dumplings (which are the essential staples of dim sum) were dry, bland, and tough to chew.  The products did not seem very fresh or high in quality.  But in their defense, I went in with high expectations.

I think the two top dim sum restaurants in Beijing are still Lei Garden & Zen5es (RMB 88 all-you-can-eat-dim-sum lunch special during the week). See here for previous dim sum review.

Review of Chao Dian: 3rd floor of Sanlitun Village (behind Hatsune & Herbal Cafe, across from Union Bar & Grill), No. 19 Sanlitun Road, S6-32, Tower S6  Tel: 010-6413 2998 (M-F 10am-3am, Weekends 9am-3am)

Best Part:

• They offer a pretty extensive menu of dim sum staples (RMB 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18 each), congee (RMB 19-22), noodles/rice dishes (RMB 18-38 each), Hong Kong style dishes (RMB 28-48 each), and desserts (RMB 10-12 each)
• I like their menu’s little check boxes to mark your order
• They serve organic soybean milk
• Conveniently located in Sanlitun Village & easy to find.
• Good BBQ Pork Steamed Buns & Dan Tas (Baked Egg Custard Tarts)

Comments:

• All dumplings were bland, dry, over-cooked and just not up to par with what HK dim sum should be. Their Xiao Long Bao had NO soup inside, none, nada, zip.
• Staff did not speak English and quite slow
• Not cheap.  I’d rather hit up Zen5es’ all-you-can-eat dimsum lunch special for RMB 88 per person.
• Be warned: they do not yet take credit cards and they do not issue fa piaos at this stage
• I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as they are newly opened, but I won’t be going back until someone tells me they’ve experienced better there.

*Note: I have just been notified that there is an awesome 24-hour DimSum spot in Tuanjiehu.  I’m hitting it up this Sunday and will keep you LumDimSum readers posted.  Fingers crossed it’ll be half-way decent dimsum!

DimSum YumYum

It’s crazy how different Chinese food in China is compared to the Chinese food abroad.  As a Chinese American growing up in California, I only thought of the difference between the greasy Chinese food you get take-out for super cheap compared to the scrumptious, healthy food my mom and grandmom cooked at home for dinner.

I was so ignorant before I moved to China. I had no idea there were so many different provinces, each with their own unique and specialized cuisine.  In essence, I always thought Chinese food was Cantonese food.

I had no idea I’d come to China and find the food here so foreign to my palate and how sorely mistaken my preconceptions of Chinese food were.  My favorite Chinese food from America is pretty much non-existant here in China and the local food here is rare to find in the US.  I may know of some restaurants that serve some Sichuan food, but Hunan?  Yunan? Xinjiang? Ah, the list continues.  I think the closest thing to Gong Bao Ji Ding (宫爆鸡丁) is probably General’s Chicken – and that’s totally different!

My parents find it hilarious that the first thing I want when I get back to the US is dimsum.  Growing up, my family and I always had dimsum brunch at least once a week, so I would definitely consider dimsum a staple food I know by heart and love to eat.

I know there are a ton of places to get dimsum in China, but it’s all either super expensive in a hotel (which I find overrated) or just not up to par with my standards growing up (I hate Jin Ding Xuan).  I have yet to find one place that’s got the right balance of value, quality and service.

This is as close as it gets:

1. Lei Garden 利苑 - Recommended by a friend for their good quality DimSum Brunch

Best Part:

• Very good quality DimSum, definitely up to my standards
  

  3 orders of Dan Tas at Lei Garden

• Favorites: Cha Shao Bao, Luobuo Gao, & Dan Tas for Dessert (see photo here)
• Pretty packed and nice buzzing atmosphere (always a good sign when a place is full)
• Nice, clean environment, good hygiene

Comments:

• I highly recommend booking ahead for a reservation, they said the wait was over an hour for those without a reservation.  Lucky we came prepared.
• I know DimSum is meant to be small, but these portions were extra mini
• About RMB 150 per person (on the pricier side)
• The AC was on full blast – way too cold, but it was nice that they offered a shawl to wear, which nearly everyone in the restaurant was wearing
• The menu was not only written only in Chinese, it was most an odd mix of both traditional and simplified characters
• They won’t give you smaller bills in change to divide among the group (as with most Chinese restaurants – such a pet peeve).

3/F, Jinbao Tower, 89 Jinbao Jie, Wangfujing – beside The Regent Hotel
金宝街89号金宝大厦3层 丽金酒店东侧

8522-1212

2. Zen5es – located in the Westin Chaoyang, I was interested after reading about their Simply Dim Sum Specials and their award-winning chef Joyce Zhu. 

Best Part:

• I’m normally against hotel F&B outlets, but Zen5es in the Westin has a great dimsum deal going on: Simply Dim Sum Lunch – RMB 88 for all-you-can-eat dim sum available for lunch during the week, and Simply Dim Sum Brunch – RMB 168 for two people every weekend for brunch.
• Clean, easy to use bilingual menu with an extensive selection of dimsum available
• Great quality dimsum
• Nice space &  friendly staff

Comments:

• The space was pretty quiet when I went for lunch during the week for a business lunch
• While their dim sum was great, I recommend a pass on the noodle dishes, which were massive and quite bland.
• This photo is obviously an exaggeration of what you receive, in reality, the presentation of all dim sum dishes is quite normal with either the round steam baskets or white porcelain mini dishes.

4F, The Westin Beijing Chaoyang, No. 1 Xinyuan Nan Road,  Sanlitun
Yan Sha Qiao of 3rd Ring Road
金茂北京威斯汀大饭店4层，朝阳区新源南路1号

5922-8880

**I’m always happy to try new places, so I welcome any suggestions and recommendations here! 

An Intro to LumDimSum: Sharing Small Tastings from Me to Beijing

How ironic that a name which used to torment me and make me squirm with discomfort is the name I have chosen as my blog name. Call it irony, but now I just think it’s fitting.

Not only does Dim Sum rhyme with my last name, which makes it that much more fun to say, dim sum cuisine originates from Guangdong Province, which is home to my father’s family. Dim Sum is not only a staple food of my culture, but it has always been a significant part of my life in terms of countless times it brings my family together.

Above this, I chose LumDimSum for the significance that dim sum is served in small portions -perfect for sharing, which LumDimSum emulates in its own way. LumDimSum is my way of sharing with you small tastings of my thoughts, pieces of my day, and most importantly, I share with you the best parts and highlighted events in this always-changing, ever-evolving social scene that is Beijing nightlife and dining.

DimSum YumYum