Dim Sum @ Dai Tung

If you haven't figured this out by now, I love Dim Sum.  So much so, I tried it 3 times in South Florida.  Either you can call me insane or deeply committed (wait, that could mean the same thing right?).  So guess what we had for our first meal out the next morning on our return?  Mexican.  No.  We paid a visit to Dai Tung, where it was only mediocre the last time I was there.  But I suppose it would be extraordinary compared to Florida eh?

Despite our small party (Viv, myself and the kids), we managed to order 14 dishes starting with the...  you guess it, Egg Tarts. I realize Chinese restaurants do not expedite dishes properly, but dessert first gets irritating sometimes.  But I guess they were ready, so...  Anyways, we liked them as they were flaky and buttery with a silky semi-sweet custard.  Next up was the XO Daikon Pudding Cake.  There was a good spice level to the dish from the XO sauce as well as a nice aroma from the dried scallops.  The daikon cake itself was soft with a good amount of dried shrimp and sausage.

When the Fish Tofu with pea leaves arrived it was not exactly what we envisioned.  And after taking a bite, it was definitely not what we were looking for.  The fish tofu balls were pure mush with no redeeming texture.  At least the pea leaves were okay, yet we regretted ordering this dish.  Surprisingly, the Haw Gow were not very good.  Instead of the hallmark buttery snap that is associated with the shrimp filling, this one was more meaty and dense.  Furthermore, I thought it was one dimensional in flavour without much in the way of sesame oil nor white pepper.  On the other hand, the dumpling skin was not bad being chewy and thin.

As for the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll, it was afflicted with the same strangely texture shrimp.  Not that it was terrible, but for me, it seemed like they didn't prepare it properly with enough cold-water rinsing.  Maybe they meant to do this?  If so, I didn't like it regardless.  With that being said, the rice noodle was okay though being soft with some elasticity.  Predictably, the bits of shrimp in the Sui Mai provided no snap to the dumpling whatsoever.  The pork itself wasn't exactly exhibiting a bounce texture either as it was more meaty than anything.  Flavours were good though with a nice balance including shiitake mushrooms.

Continuing on with the mound of food we didn't have a hope in finishing was the Black Bean Spareribs.  Again, there was something amiss with the textures here where the meat was lacking bounce and chew.  It was as if they over-marinated it to the point of it being too soft.  Flavourwise, it was okay though with enough garlic and savoury elements.  For the kiddies, we had to get the Lo Mei Gai.  We found the rice slightly dry in parts, but the moisture from the ingredients made up for it.  It is worth noting that there was a good ratio between sticky rice and meat.  In terms of flavour, the entire thing was mildly seasoned.

Onto the weird portion (to some people) of Dim Sum, we had the Phoenix Talons (chicken feet, it sounds better with the dish name?).  These were pretty good with soft tendon and fatty tissue (mmm...  doesn't that sound good???) underneath moist fried skin.  With hits of garlic and sweetness, it was seasoned nicely.  As for the Tripe & Tendon, I found it a bit too flavourful.  Possibly too much MSG and/or seasoning meant I needed offset that with lots of tea.  Both were texturally fine though as the tendon was soft (while not melted) and the tripe was tender with some bite left.

Viv loves Potstickers and usually can't resist ordering them during Dim Sum despite the high chance of a let down. Typically, these are best eaten at a Shanghainese joint.  To be fair, these were not bad with a nicely browned bottom and a mildly thick dumpling skin.  The filling a little strange texturally, but did the job. We got a bowl of Minced Beef Congee for the kids, however, my son balked once he saw all the greens.  I didn't mind the watercress since it added a certain brightness.  On the other hand, that ensured the congee would become a touch watery at the end.  Otherwise, it was not bad with tender morsels of beef and a relatively low-sodium content.

Our last 2 dishes consisted of Soy-Fried Rice Noodle Rolls and BBQ Pork Buns.  I thought they did a decent job with the rice rolls as they were only mildly greasy.  I would've liked a bit more caramelization though.  The BBQ Pork Buns were a touch dry where the filling was pretty sweet.  The meat was a mix between lean and fatty pieces of BBQ pork.  At the end of the meal, I was a bit torn.  It wasn't as if the food wasn't any good.  Many of the dishes were prepared properly and the portion size generous.  However, the hallmark dish (Haw Gow) was not that great.  Considering how the prices are not exactly super cheap, I wouldn't necessarily line up to eat here.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Decent decor
- Service was acceptable

The Bad:
- We didn't like how they prepared the shrimp
- Not sure if I would suffer the lineup for the food