dare you do dim sum?
pan fried stuffed eggplant with shrimp puree
The only time I feel like a non-native Vancouverite is when the topic of dim sum comes up. My friends who grew up here (or at least have lived here for 10 years or more) can all tell you their favourite hole-in-the-wall dim sum spot and top dishes. Me? I was lucky to get Chinese from Jade Village at the Village Tree Mall in St. Albert twice a year. And it usually caused a hearty round of indigestion for hours afterwards.
So needless to say, I was nervous about my introduction last year to the foodie phenomenon known as dim sum. But now that I’m a seasoned veteran (I’ve been three times), I feel qualified to write about my newest favourite – Golden Harvest on Main.
Some former co-workers and I decided that it was time for a reunion. And we left it to the token Asian to decide on the spot. What? If we were going for perogies, I’d be the one picking the place (more on that in a later post).
According to one of my favourite blogs, Stuff White People Like:
“Many white people will look into the window of an ethnic restaurant to see if there are other white people in there. It is determined to be an acceptable restaurant if the white people in there are accompanied by ethnic friends. But if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable.”
Hmm… well, whether this theory holds water or not is still left to be seen. Anyhow, I was definitely the only white person in the place when
steamed rice flour rolls with three kinds of mushrooms
I first arrived. I took this as a good sign.
I also took it as a good sign when I visited the restrooms and they were spotless. It is often said that the cleanliness of a restaurant’s bathroom is indicative of the cleanliness of the kitchen. I hoped this was the case here.
At Golden Harvest, you order your dim sum off a menu, which isn’t quite as fun as picking your food off the trolleys, but at least you know what you’re getting. So the five of us ordered a bunch of dishes and hoped for the best.
First up was steamed rice flour rolls with three kinds of mushroom. They basically look like cannelloni, but less firm. I’m a sucker for mushrooms in general and these little gems had a woodsy flavour that popped against the sweet, yet subtle, sauce.
Our sticky rice wrap in lotus leaf was next. It had little sausages (that frankly looked like mini hot-dogs) that tasted kind of like corned beef. But the real surprise was the random bursts of a sawdust-like substance, which we thought might be shredded pork. I wouldn’t order that one again.
pan fried prawns with chive pastries
My favourite dish was the pan-fried stuffed eggplant with shrimp puree. The eggplant was tender and juicy and the shrimp had a smoky sweet flavour.
The steamed prawns with pea leaves dumplings were tasty, but I felt like there was too much dough. And the steamed spareribs with pumpkin were a curious combination, but flavorful all the same.
It was somewhere around the arrival of the steamed Shanghai dumplings that we asked the server to mute the giant flat-screen TV that was playing old Chinese war movies in the background. At least the dumplings were delightful – bursts of salty pork goodness.
The mini octopus in satay sauce was tinted bright orange and bathed in a savoury sauce that was almost like a curry. And the pan fried prawns with chive pastries were a hit at our table.
And then the part of the meal I was most looking forward to – the desert. While my friends all shared stories of their favourite sesame balls (which weren’t on the menu), I salivated for egg tarts. While they were very good, they weren’t the best I’ve had (that award goes to Red
egg tarts
Star Seafood Restaurant). The crust was very flaky, but the custard was a little on the gelatinous side.
Still, I’d order them again. Maybe egg tarts are like pizza – even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.
The place was packed from front to back by the time we wrapped up (and yes, we were still the only white people in the restaurant). And we left completely stuffed – both our tummies and wallets. The whole meal, nine dishes, cost a total of $39.00. And that’s something this self-proclaimed dim sum expert can easily swallow.
Golden Harvest
4818 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
604.321.4448
