Dim Sum Sundays
Categories: Local Interest , Staff Picks
My husband and I are in a mixed marriage: he’s from Cleveland and I’m a native Cincinnatian. Sometimes it’s hard overcoming the differences. He is always touting how great Cleveland is; how it has this and how its wonderful at that. Usually it’s up to me to bite my tongue. We live in Cincinnati: argument won.
One of our disagreements recently was over food. I happened upon a book called Dim Sum: A Pocket Guide and was instantly intrigued. I love Chinese food but I have never had dim sum and I thought this would be the perfect antidote to weekend brunching at a place that is packed with people. I brought it to his attention and he quickly dismissed it. According to him I wouldn’t find a place here that would serve it but in Cleveland…
But I did! And we went, with kids in tow. Unfortunately I forgot the book. The book has only 80 pages but it’s a necessity to explain what is on the menu, what the ingredients are and how it looks. At least to me it is. I’m not an adventurous eater therefore I had to rely on my memory to think of the things I wanted to eat. Some places have carts that roll around and you get to choose your dish that way but the place we went to eat had a non-descriptive menu.
In the book Dim Sum you are given a picture of the dish and the name written in Chinese characters beneath it. Under the script there is the pronunciation and the English translation. At the bottom of the page is a description of the dish. Nor My Guy or glutinous rice with chicken doesn’t sound that appetizing, but I assure you it is delicious. The book also informs you not to eat the lotus leaf the rice is wrapped in (which is very important). You also learn how to order and the correct way to use chopsticks.
“Try this,” my husband said thrusting his soup-spoon towards me.
“What is it?”
“Just try it,” he coaxed. I sipped it down, trying to leave the unknown black particles on the spoon. I had to admit, it was pretty tasty.
“You just had one hundred year egg soup,” he said and began to laugh. “Tell everybody that.”
“I’m not telling a soul,” I retorted and picked up another dumpling.
Other books on Dim Sum (these are not necessarily guides):
Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Blonder
Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin
Chinese Desert, Dim Sum and Snack Cookbook
Yum Yum Dim Sum by Amy Wilson Sanger
