My girlfriends since childhood and I started a new tradition outside of visiting one another in our respective cities/states during down time and holidays. We are meeting quarterly in a city or part of a city to sample the amazing food! This time we invited one my veterinary colleagues/mentors/friends.
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| #GreedyGirlsUnite |
Our last meet-up was back in early autumn where we focused on lower Manhattan. We started with the oldest dim sum purveyor in all of NYC, Nom Wah Dim Sum Parlor and ended with ToroNYC with fun stops along the way!
We decided to make starting with dim sum our opening ceremony of sorts-no matter the neighborhood so we chose Grandma's Dim Sum in Flushing Queens, NY.
This time we hired the driver we used at the end of our last tour as our personal driver for the day. Five of us fit comfortably in this SUV and he was extremely professional, even mapping out the most sensible route plan for our list of restaurants.
Big shout out to Samuel Moore, Uber/Personal driver and new friend to us all.
Located in a shopping mall, you're thrown into the mix of fast paced, almost exclusively Asian shoppers-groups of friends (young and old) and families, pushing baby carriages. It's high energy.
For nostalgia's sake, I was tempted to grab a slice in the Chuck-e-Cheese located at the bottom of the escalator. The shimmering costume jewelry and the traditional bakery were also great distractions as we made our way to and from Grandma's.
We walk in and immediately, our cell phones lose service. There's a slight, silent panic that ripples through the group until we turn around and face the wifi password on display near the hostess stand. All is right in the world again.
We seated after only a few minutes by jovial staff. We all observe the dishes at nearby tables and marvel over what we might order. After being served a pot of tea, we briefly discuss the "Emperor's Pour" tradition and begin to dissect the dim sum and regular lunch menu.
Because Dumpling Galaxy was next on our list, we chose to not fill up on too much dumpling or shumai dishes. We did succumb to shumai from the cart along with chicken feet.
I was pleasantly surprised that the chicken feet were more savory versus sweet. I've had plenty where the cloying confectionery character was too much to bear.
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| Chicken feet and shumai |
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| Sylvia sampling her very first chicken foot! |
Most of my girlfriends aren't shy about trying 'exotic' foods, but I seemed to be the only one willing to order the spicy jellyfish in a group of women who are pretty adventurous eaters.
It was served chilled and topped with white sesame seeds. The texture was reminiscent of a seaweed salad-great comparison, Sylvia! The spice was not at all overbearing and there was piquant notes on the mid-palate. Each crisp bite resonated between the ears and the outer texture of each tentacle was not at as all off-putting as one might imagine. It was simple, refreshing starter, but way too large a portion to finish.
We all agreed that a big bowl of bone broth soup was definitely in order, so we decided to share the braised beef noodle bowl.
Unfortunately, we were all underwhelm. The beef was certainly tender and the fatty bits superb, but the broth presented no real character, so I asked how long do the cook their bone broth and turns out it's a measly 20 minutes. Certainly not enough to impart any real flavor from bone that's worth talking about.
I also could appreciate the toothsome, springy noodles.
The bowl of congee with abalone and frog, which both Sylvia and I were looking forward to was even more disappointing.
Lacking much flavor, it was unbelievable that the abalone and frog imparted little to the dish.
Even the delicacies alone fell flat.
The fried chicken with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppers and chili was an overall success with the group.
Full of flavor and spice, the chicken was also supple and succulent!
The salt and pepper shrimp were simply fried shrimp, but a good batch.
The Dongpo Pork- Chinese pork belly cooked in brown sauce over sauteed bamboo shoots was major! It's the definition of fat=flavor!
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| Dongpo Pork |
Overall, I'd say that our experience at Grandma's Dim Sum was good. The people were friendly (I vaguely remember one of the servers putting her number into my phone :0) and the food mostly great!
I'd definitely check back in next time I'm in Queens.
I'd definitely check back in next time I'm in Queens.
