The Dim Sum Episode
Notes on my favourite dim sum dishes and where I like to go.
Welcome back and Happy New Year. I hope you all had a great holiday filled with good food, and drink, with a minimum of awkward family conversation. Speaking of togetherness, this newsletter is dedicated to one of the most special and unique communal dining experiences and one that is very special to me. Today we’re talking about dim sum.
Now if you’re not already familiar with dim sum, let me give you a little background. The term, “dim sum” means “touch the heart” and it refers to the small servings of food that are offered to diners as a way to just hit the spot, as opposed to a family-style meal of full-sized dishes. Dim sum dishes often steamed for ease and convenience, were offered to travellers in teahouses along the Silk Road in Guangzhou as far back as the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD).
At this time, dim sum was evolving, becoming a distinct culinary tradition, however, it wasn't until the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) that Dim Sum’s cultural essence began to bloom truly. Teahouses became vibrant social hubs, attracting a diverse clientele, from scholars and poets to merchants and locals. The Ming Dynasty also saw the formalization of Dim Sum as a culinary art, with chefs experimenting and perfecting recipes.
On that note, dim sum chefs are often the unsung heroes in the story of this culinary cultural phenomenon. As a chef, I give props to those who dedicate so much time and effort to commit to a craft that is so specialized like dim sum. Many chefs who do this undergo training which often involves culinary education in addition to apprenticeships and on-the-job training. Think about it. Specific skills like dough preparation, dumpling folding, creating fillings, and doing all of the many styles as fast, efficiently, and consistently as possible. I see a lot of parallels when it comes to the type of skills and dedication required to pull off a cooking style such as dim sum, and the commitment required and expected for any other fine-dining chef who makes dishes that are often 10 times the price. But that, as I often say, is the topic for another day.
As Dim Sum continued to evolve, it became associated with yum cha (literally "drink tea"), as we heard from Andrea Oh at the beginning of the episode. Yum cha involves gathering for tea and Dim Sum, creating a unique dining experience that emphasizes both the culinary and social aspects of the meal. A lot of fond memories have been made around this tradition, which some say was the origin of brunch.
Some great spots with memorable dim sum in YYC.
On any given weekday around noon, the recently renovated Calton’s Chinese Restaurant is the place for dim sum. Located off McKnight Blvd and 4 Street NE, Calton’s offers 3 great reasons to visit: Chinese grandma-approved food, free ample parking, and a $4.88 special on 16 of the most popular types of dim sum until 2 pm from Monday to Friday. Breakfast staples like classic soy sauce chow mein, cheong fun, jook, and you tiao are all here. Chicken feet? Yes. If you’re still lingering near the end of lunch service strategizing your Asian exit while your siblings keep grandma busy, the servers will sometimes offer up any leftover buns or dan tat for $1.
One of my favourite dishes here is a beautiful stuffed eggplant with shrimp and finished with sweet Thai chili sauce. The crisp shrimp stuffing complements nicely with the silky rich eggplant that is simply delicious.
The offerings are solid, the service is efficient, and the effort-free parking is a plus. Calton’s is located at 5010 4 St NE.
Another spot I went to recently was Edgemont Palace. This restaurant located in Calgary’s Edgemont community at #209 45 Edenwold Drive NW offers another impressive selection of dim sum which sometimes goes on special. On this particular visit, the small, medium, and large dishes were all available for $4.95, which confirms the rumour that there is a dim sum price war of sorts going on with the restaurants in NW Calgary. Note that special prices on the dim sum menus apply to certain hours of the day and usually only on weekdays.
The notable dish from this visit was definitely the XO Sauce Fried Turnip Cake, which boasted an incredible aroma upon arriving at the table. Crispy cubes of lo bak go wok-fried in a wonderfully umami-packed XO sauce. It was clearly the dish that you must order when you come here.
Another banger comes from Golden Sands, located on Centre Street North near the corner of Centre and McKnight Blvd. This place was all the hype when it first opened, and though a lot of folks on Facebook complain that Golden Sands is expensive compared to other spots, their food is very good. My favourite dish here by far is the truffle seafood siu mai. I had mentioned that truffle can be really bad when used in the wrong context, much like when a 10-year-old learns his first curse word and uses it in almost every other sentence. But I feel in this case, the truffle is a wonderful complement to the seafood, especially a thick meaty scallop and crisp shrimp like the one offered here. It teases and coaxes you with that signature perfume when it arrives, and when you have that first taste, the textures interplay with those refined flavours to create a joyous bite.
One of the greatest perks of working in the hospitality industry is that our days off are often on days like Monday and Tuesday, never on the weekends. If you are one of these types of folks who find yourself in the same boat, let’s take a moment to bask in the glory of never knowing what waiting in line for a crowded brunch or leaving your name with the host at a dim sum restaurant feels like. I suppose it's one positive thing we can take away from being in an occupation that often sacrifices our social lives and family time.
I remember when I didn’t work weekends when I was working my corporate job. I recall feeling like a sucker on a Saturday afternoon, waiting for a table at Regency Palace with the hundreds of other lemmings as we bided our time by trying to keep our toddlers from actually going into the koi pond in the lobby. But those days are long gone. My kids are mostly grown, two of them, coincidentally, working in the same industry as me, and I’m enjoying the fact that there are so many great choices in this city for good dim sum without the hassle of finding parking in Chinatown or waiting for a table like I was trying to score the latest Nike drop.
Where to go when you want dim sum in YYC.
U & Me (great late-night spot open til 3 am)
Golden Sands (truffle siu mai)
Calton’s Chinese Restaurant (stuffed eggplant)
Edgemont Palace (XO Fried Lo Bak Go)
Ginger Beef Country Hills (great all around)
Link to the podcast:
The Aimless Cook Podcast - The Dim Sum Episode
Happy New Year once again and I hope you have a healthy and prosperous 2024. If you’d like to reach out with any thoughts or suggestions, you can reach me via Instagram at @theaimlesscook or email me at jay@theaimlesscookpodcast.com.
Be kind to one another, stay hungry, and I’ll see you on the next one.
Peace.