Whenever we move to a new city, we immediately search for “the” go-to place for a few types of food: Ethiopian. Tapas. Jewish Deli. Dim sum.
When we moved to Birmingham in 2011, there was no dim sum. This was a pain point for us and other Birminghamsters – it seemed to mean our city had not quite “arrived.” We tried to convince our favorite Chinese restaurant in town to offer dim sum, and their response was simple and telling. To do dim sum, you need two things. An excellent dim sum chef, and a lot of space to make everything by hand. Those are two things that most Chinese restaurants just don’t have.
We (and many of our friends) were reduced to traveling to Atlanta every few months to stuff ourselves with dim sum, making a point of going to our beloved Dim Sum Garden in Philly, or just getting dim sum at random places while traveling.
It was one our first truly viral post – it got 3000 shares on Facebook and many more people read it. It was one of our proudest moments as bloggers. Sorry, but once in awhile a blogger has to #humblebrag. The thing that made it so exciting is that it shined a spotlight on a place that, despite being so special, hadn’t gotten any local media attention at all. After the post, this dim sum place that had primarily served Birmingham’s Chinese community in the few months since it opened was inundated with customers from all over. The woman making the dim sum, an experienced dim sum chef from Brooklyn, shared our excitement in how people who had never even heard of dim sum were so taken with her food. One thing was clear: dim sum brings people together, and is a necessary food group for people who have ever lived in a city where dim sum is available.
Here’s a pic of the mayhem that ensued after the post. As you can see, this was a restaurant/grocery combo, so the line spilled out the door and into the grocery store too:
People were waiting for hours. What won’t people do for good dim sum?
Fast forward to September 2017, when we moved here. The search for dim sum began, but yielded practically nothing. We had gone to Everyday Noodles before even moving here thanks to friend of the blog Lindsay, which is outstanding for hand drawn noodles and homemade dumplings, but doesn’t satisfy the craving for traditional dim sum. I’m talking about shu mai, crystal shrimp dumplings, and pork spare ribs. Yelp searches and asking around didn’t get us any further, so we figured we were just out of luck.
That is, until friend of the blog Justin mentioned that he had heard that the dumpling house in Squirrel Hill served dim sum. The place with the red awning next to Jerry’s records on Murray?
I remember this place being here when I was a kid, something I confirmed with an old college friend. And a quick Google search revealed
this treasure: a menu transcribed by CMU students two years before I started college there, in 1994, when the internet was still new and apparently transcribing a menu was easier than posting a photo. Yup, this place was not new.
Some Yelping suggested that they may have had dim sum at one point, but there was no dim sum menu on
their website.
So I called the restaurant. Yes, we have dim sum. Just like that, as if I had asked if they serve chicken with cashew nuts. Yup, on weekends. (Turns out it is available Friday – Sunday, as the menu below states).
Justin, Mr. Foodie, and I raced to find a date for our trip.
Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves there again with friend of the blog Deanna, and again with friends of the blog Oriyah as Sean and THEIR friends Kat and John. These last two times, we brought the kiddos. The place is large and has high chairs, and didn’t mind our kids making a bit of a mess, which in my opinion makes it very kid friendly.
You specifically have to ask for the dim sum menu – even on weekends they don’t bring it out automatically. And the food doesn’t come out in little carts as it often does (here’s a pic of the carts in Birmingham for reference – not from New Dumpling house!):
But the servers each time confirmed: there’s a person in the back making all of the dim sum by hand, and they have a lot of space back there to do it. Carts or no carts, this place is legit.
These photos are a mash-up of photos from our three visits. They cover about 90% of the menu. It was tough eating so much, but we took one for the team. Instead of going through each photo and telling you exactly what each tasted like, I’ll give you an overview: delicious. Right on point. A great example of dim sum, and the only example in the city. (Please, prove me wrong on that last point!) Everyone devoured it, including our littlest foodies (9 months old at the most recent visit).
First, the menu:
:
The classics: steamed shrimp dumplings, sometimes called “crystal shrimp dumplings”:
Shu mai with pork and shrimp.
Scallion pancake. So crispy:
The turnip cake. Deep fried and delicious.
The buns. First, pork, then, red bean. You will have to trust me that’s what the second one is because we forgot to get a cross section. Both are slightly sweet. The red bean bun is more of a dessert than anything else, and one of my favorite dim sum treats.
Szcheuan dumplings in spicy sesame sauce. The sauce is also slightly sweet. This is a version I’ve only ever had here. Usually I find these are drenched in a spicy oily sauce, but this sauce has a nutty flavor and is more savory. Fantastic.
Eggplant, stuffed with deep fried shrimp:
I want to say this was the glutinous rice. As one should with dim sum, we ordered without paying too much attention to what we were ordering. These were long, thick noodles drenched in a delicious brown sauce.
I’m very picky about my squid, but this was excellent. Deep fright, slightly salty and crunchy, not a bit soggy:
No better way to start a weekend day than with a dim-sum induced food coma. Best eaten with friends, so you can get as much as possible and share the food coma.
This is also a good lesson of don’t judge a book by its cover. Yes, the word “dumpling” is in the name, but never in a million years would I have guessed that a Chinese place that has “sushi” in the name and doesn’t advertise dim sum has the best and only dim sum in town. That’s what I love about this town: it’s a great place to find treasures hiding in plain sight.
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