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Dim Sum wholesome: Daily Pioneer
New Delhi, Mar 25: After all the Holi parties, give a break to your sweet tooth because a few Delhi hotels this fortnight have some special snacks on offer. Head for The Hearts Festival at The Oberoi`s Chinese restaurant, Taipan and Larry`s China at the Taj Ambassador. It is so called because for the Chinese, dim sums are a matter of the heart, stuffed with a variety, from lamb to spare ribs to spinach.
New Delhi, Mar 25: After all the Holi parties, give a break to your sweet tooth because a few Delhi hotels this fortnight have some special snacks on offer. Head for The Hearts Festival at The Oberoi's Chinese restaurant, Taipan and Larry's China at the Taj Ambassador. It is so called because for the Chinese, dim sums are a matter of the heart, stuffed with a variety, from lamb to spare ribs to spinach.
At Oberoi's: Start your meal with the regular soup - a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian - Hot and Sour, Sweet Corn or Wanton. They also have the option of sea food in the non-vegetarian section.
Soon you will notice the steamer trolley loaded with palm-sized bamboo baskets coming your way. "These are our exclusive handcrafted dim sums, made by all kinds of imported ingredients," informs the chef. Imported or desi, your attention is drawn to the cute baskets that open to reveal small portions of meat and/ or vegetables wrapped in wanton sheet. "Notice how the stuffing can be seen from outside," Chef Sam points out. The flour wrap is almost translucent. "It is because we use the pure Cantonese flour, very different from the yellowish atta that you find in Mumbai," he says. The secret of the bamboo baskets is the most interesting. "There are around eight baskets stacked on top of each other, full of raw dim sums. To enable the steam to travel up to the topmost basket, we use a porous material like bamboo," the chef explains.
These are somewhat similar to momos, you point out. "Tibetan momos are somewhat like dumplings. Dim sum is an all-encompassing term that includes these dumplings as well," he says. So you have the steamed chicken dumpling and steamed spinach dumpling. But before you go on to those, you are supposed to relish some fried stuff - Carrot Cake, Chicken Spring Roll and Fried Prawns on toast. "Steamed is healthier but fried food acts as an appetiser," says the chef. Carrot Cake is made out of boiled and shredded radish "which is called white radish in China, hence the name." The lettuce bed absorbs the excess oil.
You move on to the steamed menu starting with the steamed shrimp dumpling that resembles our regular Lajpat Nagar momos except that it is smaller in size. Steamed Siewmai has a combo filling of chicken and prawn. There are steamed Spare Ribs in Black Bean Sauce and the Steamed Charsiew Pow (with pork filling) for the more adventurous. The preparation process? "It is a good 45-minute job out of which 25 minutes go kneading the flour to the right consistency. Marination is different for different meats and fillings," explains the chef. The accompanying dips are green chillies in vinegar sauce and red chillli paste.
"Onions, garlic and chopped chillies are stir-fried, mixed with vinegar, and blended." Do such small sized portions make a full meal? "Traditionally, this was served during breakfast with Chinese tea. But it was and still is, consumed in huge quantities."
The entire platter comes for Rs 825 per person. This includes one starter soup, endless helpings of dim sums and one dessert out of mango pudding, ice cream (with or without lychees) and Almond Jelly with Longans.
Bureau Report
At Oberoi's: Start your meal with the regular soup - a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian - Hot and Sour, Sweet Corn or Wanton. They also have the option of sea food in the non-vegetarian section.
Soon you will notice the steamer trolley loaded with palm-sized bamboo baskets coming your way. "These are our exclusive handcrafted dim sums, made by all kinds of imported ingredients," informs the chef. Imported or desi, your attention is drawn to the cute baskets that open to reveal small portions of meat and/ or vegetables wrapped in wanton sheet. "Notice how the stuffing can be seen from outside," Chef Sam points out. The flour wrap is almost translucent. "It is because we use the pure Cantonese flour, very different from the yellowish atta that you find in Mumbai," he says. The secret of the bamboo baskets is the most interesting. "There are around eight baskets stacked on top of each other, full of raw dim sums. To enable the steam to travel up to the topmost basket, we use a porous material like bamboo," the chef explains.
These are somewhat similar to momos, you point out. "Tibetan momos are somewhat like dumplings. Dim sum is an all-encompassing term that includes these dumplings as well," he says. So you have the steamed chicken dumpling and steamed spinach dumpling. But before you go on to those, you are supposed to relish some fried stuff - Carrot Cake, Chicken Spring Roll and Fried Prawns on toast. "Steamed is healthier but fried food acts as an appetiser," says the chef. Carrot Cake is made out of boiled and shredded radish "which is called white radish in China, hence the name." The lettuce bed absorbs the excess oil.
You move on to the steamed menu starting with the steamed shrimp dumpling that resembles our regular Lajpat Nagar momos except that it is smaller in size. Steamed Siewmai has a combo filling of chicken and prawn. There are steamed Spare Ribs in Black Bean Sauce and the Steamed Charsiew Pow (with pork filling) for the more adventurous. The preparation process? "It is a good 45-minute job out of which 25 minutes go kneading the flour to the right consistency. Marination is different for different meats and fillings," explains the chef. The accompanying dips are green chillies in vinegar sauce and red chillli paste.
"Onions, garlic and chopped chillies are stir-fried, mixed with vinegar, and blended." Do such small sized portions make a full meal? "Traditionally, this was served during breakfast with Chinese tea. But it was and still is, consumed in huge quantities."
The entire platter comes for Rs 825 per person. This includes one starter soup, endless helpings of dim sums and one dessert out of mango pudding, ice cream (with or without lychees) and Almond Jelly with Longans.
Bureau Report