As usual, dim sum carts maneuver around closely space tables, most of them large enough to accommodate families of several generations. Why is the dim sum — priced at $2.25, $2.75, or $3.25 depending on the size of the plate — better than at other places? Well, the shrimp har gow, for example, boast crystalline wrappers that glint in the light, and each shell-shaped dumpling encloses three full shrimp, one more than usual. Shumai are outsized, too. Strangely, there are no Shanghai soup dumplings, which have become a staple of dim sum service in Sunset Park.
But what is perhaps more amazing are the new or rarely seen types of dim sum available. The steamed cake called ji dan gao arrives in a steamer basket, a vast yellow dome of mellow sweetness. For the children, there are custard-filled buns shaped like cupcakes, each with a pig face on top. One new form of dim sum consists of a cylinder of bao dough with orange hash marks on top like a military insignia, wrapped around sticky rice and black rice, with peanuts also bouncing around inside. Blobs of glutinous rice studded with pickled vegetables and tiny cubes of pork come stylishly wrapped in nori. Yes, it’s a little soggy.
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[Clockwise from the top left: har gow; rice with vegetables, pork, and nori; bao with peanuts; custard buns.]
Perhaps best of all were chicken feet (playfully referred to in Chinese as "phoenix claws") burnished to a deep brown. One bite and you’re hooked, because the flavorful skin sloughs right off. But what is that phantom flavor that clings to the flesh? It’s tomato, and using it in a braising fluid is extremely unusual. And very successful. Check out Joy Luck Palace before it blows up; when I went twice this weekend, my party was seated immediately. And the dim sum is undoubtedly a notch better than what you’re used to, at least for now. 98 Mott St, (212) 431-8383
This week Chinatown celebrates Lunar New Year 2016, the Year of the Monkey.
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