Is Dim Sum worth the price? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Rifleman · 03-30-2007, 11:34 PM

This is a serious topic for serious discussion in Off-Topic forum.

I've been thinking lately - Dim Sum, is definitely not worth the price.

For those who don't know what Dim Sum is, well, in short, it is chinese breakfast. Basically, you go into a chinese restaurant, and they seat your party, which then gets a checklist on a piece of paper for the table.

Once everyone is comfy, workers at the restaurant push these carts around. On the carts, there are a bunch of goodies on it. The people pick what they want to eat, and the person pushing the cart marks down what you had, and then at the end, you pay. Every cart has something different, so you can pick and choose what you want.

Each dish costs between $3-$6, and you can get a lot of different things, from really good stuff like BBQ Beef Buns to disgusting things like Cow Tripe and Chicken Feet. Each dish usually serves 3 people. So say, a dish comes, it'll have 3 shrimp balls in it. Or 3 Beef Buns. They make it three because hardly any group consists of 3 people. Either they are one or two couples, or they are a party of several people. I mean, come on, who is happy to go as the third wheel to these things?

This becomes a problem, because when there are four people, and the shrimp balls or whatever only come in 3's, it forces your group to order two orders of whatever you are eating, thereby making it so if each person has one, there are 2 left over. Just to throw you off, occasionally they will have a dish that comes around that contains 5 items instead of 3. And the Chinese people snicker at you all in the back of the kitchen as they make money hand over fist.

This has led me to the conclusion that Dim Sum, although a great Chinese-Western tradition, and good eatin' to boot, is a rip off of epic proportions only second to Sushi. Every Dim Sum event that I've been to has cost me at least 20 bucks. Not only that, but most of it is really oily, making you feel like you've just had fast food for breakfast.

So in conclusion, Dim Sum is NOT worth the price. But I will continue to go - and I'm going tomorrow, because it is on her dime, and not mine.

NSFL · 03-30-2007, 11:45 PM

I was just going to say, what are you complaining about, sushi is worse. =P

Think of it this way, not everyone always wants to eat everything that's chosen off a cart. So the strange multiples maybe work?

Phanuthier · 03-31-2007, 12:25 AM

what a world

SpitFire40 · 03-31-2007, 12:30 AM

Almost nothing is worth the price these days..

SaskaBushFire · 03-31-2007, 12:35 AM

I have had it twice and both times I really enjoyed it. Maybe you should make a trio to go! Bring one of her friends, girlfriends usually have chatty friends who dont mind tagging along.

SpitFire40 · 03-31-2007, 12:42 AM

I've gone with my bro and it wasn't really alot more than $20. The stuff is pretty filling. Not sure what your beef is here...

Ha Ha Stupid Oilers · 03-31-2007, 12:55 AM

my.... the chinese dim sum chefs knew all along that your party was going to be 4 and not multiples of 3

curse them for their foresight...

maybe you should go back in a group of 6.
That'll throw them off...

Shazam · 03-31-2007, 01:28 AM

Four is an unlucky number in the Chinese culture. That's why everything is given in threes.

Kjesse · 03-31-2007, 02:13 AM

I've been told that if you speak chinese they'll reveal hidden dishes on the bottom tray of the cart which have exactly the same number of balls/chunks/pieces as people at your table.

Its a conspiracy against the non-oriental.

HelloHockeyFans · 03-31-2007, 07:08 AM

You guys should go to a fancy Chinese place for dim sum and order their mini shark fin soup. It comes in a little bowl and contains the shark fin, the soup, and one dumpling... one!! Tasty stuff, but it'll cost you something ridiculous like $10.

tvp2003 · 03-31-2007, 07:27 AM

Depends on where you go. In Calgary, you can get some good dim sum for $3-$4 each or less. Go other places, however (Victoria BC comes to mind) and you're paying $5+ for inferior food.

P.S. I've found a lot of places do serve it in 4's (har gow, sui mai), and the larger stuff that is served in threes can be cut in half and shared accordingly.

STeeLy · 03-31-2007, 07:33 AM

On the other hand, dim sum being served in 3 or 4 depends on what it is. If you get say Ha gow (Shrimp Dumplings) or Siu Mai (Pork dumpings... though I dont' consider it a dumpling) they tend to come in fours. Beef Buns and such that are generally bigger tend to come in threes.

I also wouldn't call Dim Sum a Chinese breakfast... more like brunch... but there are places in Hong Kong where dim sum is served at around midnight, because it could also serve as a midnight snack. In Calgary, it costs a fair amount to eat that but if u go to places like Toronto or Vancouver where the market of dim sum is a lot more competitive, the prices are way lower.

mrdeeds · 03-31-2007, 08:38 AM

I go with a family of 5, including 3 kids and spead $28.00 or less. I go to Wendy's or A&W or even Subway and I at that price. Subway is the worst though in terms of price.

I_H8_Crawford · 03-31-2007, 09:12 AM

LOL, Azn Chefs FTW!
Haha stupid gwai-lo!

(I'm white too, btw)

I don't think it is a rip off - when I go forit with a group of 4, usually costs around $30 - hardly a rip off, knowing that McDick's will cost you more than that for 4 people...

Oh yeah - try the chicken feet it is GOOOOD... love that sauce.... man, now I'm hungry, who is up for Dim Sum! CP Meet!

Daradon · 03-31-2007, 09:17 AM

Nm

STeeLy · 03-31-2007, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

Oh yeah - try the chicken feet it is GOOOOD... love that sauce.... man, now I'm hungry, who is up for Dim Sum! CP Meet!

Geez... now u got me hungry...! CP Meet for dim sum... watched the majority of Asian people show up and everyone else kinda... backs off... XD

tvp2003 · 03-31-2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I also wouldn't call Dim Sum a Chinese breakfast... more like brunch... but there are places in Hong Kong where dim sum is served at around midnight, because it could also serve as a midnight snack.

In Hong Kong, it isn't uncommon for people to eat dim sum for breakfast... out West, it's normally a late morning/early afternoon meal (11:00 to 2:00).

STeeLy · 03-31-2007, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvp2003

In Hong Kong, it isn't uncommon for people to eat dim sum for breakfast... out West, it's normally a late morning/early afternoon meal (11:00 to 2:00).

Nope, its not uncommon at all. They usually open at like 10 or 11 though for dim sum... after living there for first 10 years of my life... my parents always go down to get a number, come back up to the apartment take a nap, go down and our number is called about 10-15 minutes after we get there again... LOL

Ha Ha Stupid Oilers · 03-31-2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STeeLy

Nope, its not uncommon at all. They usually open at like 10 or 11 though for dim sum... after living there for first 10 years of my life... my parents always go down to get a number, come back up to the apartment take a nap, go down and our number is called about 10-15 minutes after we get there again... LOL

crazy, what's the typical wait time for dim sum?

ParaNoia · 03-31-2007, 10:50 AM

I wouldn't call it a "Chinese breakfast" either...dim sun is a very cantonese style of cuisine...it's not fair to generalize the term.

but sure, it's a breakfast. Elders in Canton region could be up eating dim sun at 6 in the morning, and that's totally common...

and if you pay some attention, in Chinese, it's called "yam-cha", literally "Drinking Tea".... therefore the shrimp dumplings are not the main focus of having dim sum.