The BoneBlog

St. Louis doesn't really have a Chinatown, but we do have a more-ethnic-than-not strip which boasts several Asian and Hispanic markets, as well as Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Afghani restaurants. 

Greg and I love to try new cuisines and new restaurants, so I was all worked up over trying dim sum for the first time this past Saturday.  After all, we'll be visiting Chinatown in San Francisco this summer, and what better way to enjoy Chinatown than by dim sum dining? I was absolutely miserable with a cold, but I was determined not to allow some stupid virus to spoil my early birthday celebration.  We settled on trying Lu Lu's, a well-recommended dim sum establishment.

The idea of dim sum is for employees to push carts of dumplings, rolls, soups, and pastries around, allowing diners to pick and choose what they like from the carts.  We knew it was just this kind of relaxed atmosphere we wanted to enjoy, especially since I wasn't feeling well.  Walking in, I was really excited because it smelled wonderful!  We were seated, and immediately assaulted on all sides (okay, not all sides because we were at a table against a wall, but it certainly seemed to come from all sides) by staff who spoke almost no English whatsoever.  So much for leisurely dining. 

They would ask us if we wanted what they had on their carts.  Over and over.  We could not understand a single word they were saying.  Even the wide-eyed, clearly out-of-our-element look on our faces could not persuade them to elucidate the contents of their carts.  We just guessed whether we wanted something or not.  I would cast a furtive glance in Greg's direction only to find he was doing the same towards me.  At one point, a lady came over and kept asking if we wanted something that sounded like 'kinjee? kinjee? kinjee?' and Greg finally just gave up and asked, 'What exactly IS it?' and she bustled over, got her cart, and brought it to us.  She opened it, and I saw that it was congee.  Ah-ha!  Rice porridge!  Soup!  I knew from my reading what that was.  I told her that yes, yes!  I would have some of that, please!  Yes!  But alas, she was distracted by some Chinese customers she knew.  Clearly fed up with my ignorance, she scurried away, never to return.  No soup for me.

In the end, Greg and I decided that a) this was an experience we should try a few more times before foisting it on the rest of my family in San Francisco, so we can identify some of the dishes; b) that my mother, not a fan of Chinese cuisine, would probably not be thrilled with this type of food; and c) we really are not as cosmopolitan as we could be. 

But we have lots of time to practice.  And I can't wait to do it again.

What did you eat???  I've never had dim sum.

We ate lots of unidentifiable stuff.  We had some dumplings with shrimp in them and some egg rolls.  Also some barbecue pork and some bbq pork buns.  But the most interesting stuff of all was:

Bean Curd Skin Rolls (San Juk Guen)

A very thin wrapper made of dried bean curd, rolled around a meat filling into a cylindrical shape. The roll is deep-fried, and then steamed, which gives it a characteristic, wrinkled appearance.

Greg found this stuff absolutely disgusting.  It was a texture thing.  

Next time you guys should go with us!

Brian and I love dim sum!  There are definitely some weird things, but you can generally never go wrong with the steamed items.  Also, hum bao (rolls stuffed with bbq pork), shrimp dumplings, shu mai (pork dumpling wrapped in egg), seasame balls with lotus paste, sticky rice (wrapped in a banana leaf).  Stay away from the taro root croquette! When are you going to SF?  You guys should make a side trip to Seattle - we'd love you to stay with us for a few days!

Yay!  Hi, Erin!  We had the hum bao and some shrimp dumplings, loved those.  We don't know if they had any of the other stuff.  We were way too overwhelmed.  I think it'd be a lot of fun if we got to know our way around the dim sum table a little more.

We're going to SF July 13-20.  My mom and sis and both kids will be along too, so it would be difficult for us to plan a side trip, but we would LOVE to see you.  Any chance you guys could fly down?  Maybe?  Maybe?  We miss you guys!  Coming to MO soon?