Dim Sum at Shui Wah [Past Event}

I've got a powerful hankering for some dim sum. Who would like to join me tomorrow (Wednesday 3/4/09) at noon at Shui Wah?

Shui Wah
2162 S Archer Ave
(In the Chinatown Mall)
Chicago, IL 60616
312-225-8811

Sounds darned good and as of right now my calendar's open. Count me in please.

It's a deal, haven't been there in too, too long.

It looks like we'll have a small, but mighty group for Dim Sum today. If anyone else wants to come along, we could use the ordering power! In any event, I'll see Kman and MikeG at noon.

I'm about 80% sure I can make it.

Double Mike G power!

I'd love to join in and increase the ordering power.

Marc

Thanks to everyone who came out for Dim Sum today. We ended up being a group of 5, so we were able to order a good amount of Dim Sum. Shui Wah was really on today. The S & P squid was especially well prepared! Shui Wah continues to be my favorite place in Chicago for Dim Sum...and the price is right.

Thanks for setting this up, Steve. It had been way too long since I'd been and as close as I work to Chinatown I really have no excuse. The combined ordering (and eating!) power worked to our advantage. Besides the S&P squid I really liked the pan fried turnip cake and the minced pork dumpling is a new must-order for me.

Kman wrote:minced pork dumpling is a new must-order for me.

Yeah, that's a favorite of mine, too. Someone ordered it way back when, but it took me a while to figure out what it was called to be able to order it again on my own. I tried a few others on my way to finding this one.

stevez wrote:

Kman wrote:minced pork dumpling is a new must-order for me.

Yeah, that's a favorite of mine, too.

This is also one my faves. However, on a visit to Shui Wah on Sunday, I found the minced pork dumpling to be overcooked. It was the only hiccup(besides the random little kid who felt it necessary to kick me half way through the meal) to another wonderful dim sum experience at Shui Wah.

I was really surprised by how much I liked our lunch at Shui Wah. I like dim sum fine, but normally in a three-times-a-year kind of way, it's not my favorite subvariety of Chinese food by a long stretch. But wow, everything was hearty and filling and popped with bright flavors, from the minced pork dumpling to the turnip cake, and the final bill, though not the absolute cheapest lunch possible in Chinatown (that's the special at Spring World), was absurdly modest for the vast amounts of food ordered. I suppose Shui Wah would have been my default dim sum place anyway, but much moreso now, thanks Steve and everybody else at the table for being there, and helping select great things.

hey.... where are the pictures for those of us unlucky enough to have been stuck at our desks..?

What is the minced pork dumpling? Do you know the Chinese translation? Or can you describe it a little more? I can't picture it. Thanks

It's called Minced Pork Dumpling on the order sheet, I'm pretty sure.

Mike G wrote:It's called Minced Pork Dumpling on the order sheet, I'm pretty sure.

Is it shui mai? Or is it shaped more like a potsticker or bao?

I was lucky enough to be in attendance and I can tell you that the Shui Wah Minced Pork Dumpling is a fried item that's a bit smaller than a tennis ball, is a hollow sphere that has a flour-based dough, is a bit crispy on the outside and contains nicely seasoned minced pork bits. They're nothing at all like Xiao Long Bao, nor are they like the steamed dumpling filled with bbq pork - which we also had at lunch. They are, I can attest, quite tasty.

Tops on the list for me was the salt and pepper squid, and I always forget just how good it is, especially if they give it an extra hit of what I think is cayenne dusting in the kitchen and then I apply liberal dribble of chili oil to top it off.

Marc

Pucca wrote:

Mike G wrote:It's called Minced Pork Dumpling on the order sheet, I'm pretty sure.

Is it shui mai? Or is it shaped more like a potsticker or bao?

It's in the "fried" section of the menu and it's called "Minced Pork Dumpling" It looks similar to the fried taro dumplings that are a little more common, but it's made with (I think) deep fried glutenous rice as a wrapper.

mchodera wrote:I was lucky enough to be in attendance and I can tell you that the Shui Wah Minced Pork Dumpling is a fried item that's a bit smaller than a tennis ball, is a hollow sphere that has a flour-based dough, is a bit crispy on the outside and contains nicely seasoned minced pork bits. They're nothing at all like Xiao Long Bao, nor are they like the steamed dumpling filled with bbq pork - which we also had at lunch. They are, I can attest, quite tasty.

Oh, I didn't realize it was fried. Was it a ham sui gok, like what you often find at a bakery?

Yes, I think that's right. Ham (or Hom) Sui Guk. Rice flour pastry, not wheat.