Yum yum dim sum

Over the weekend I had a massive craving for Hong Kong style dim sum. Back in the states, I'd have to say I had dim sum probably every other week between bouts of Korean food, Vietnamese food, and the obligatory burrito.

The 13th arrondissement of Paris is teeming with Asian stores and restaurants. However, dim sum is quite specific and I really didn't think I'd find it at a Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai conglomeration of a restaurant. So what's a girl to do? I googled "best dim sum Paris" and went with a suggestion from Zagat.

Sadly to say, the place isn't really worth writing home about. But missing dim sum, I was willing to settle. We walked into the restaurant around noon and it was completely empty! It was a typical large banquet style Chinese restaurant even with fish tanks and a small pond in the entry way. But one thing for sure, there weren't any hot carts full of buns and dumplings being pushed around.

Still, I had to try their fried taro. We ordered fried taro, ha gao, siu mai, shrimp crepes (noodles), a pork bun, and sticky rice. The fried taro came out hot and crispy and they were huge! Actually everything we ordered came in large portions. Its no wonder the waiting looked a bit surprised as I rambled off a list from the menu. The sticky rice was a huge brick of rice filled with chicken and pork, and the pork bun had to be the largest pork bun I've ever seen in my life! It was definitely bigger than both of my fists put together.

Though mediocre when compared to the dim sum I've had in California, it still hit the "dim sum desperation" spot. Nonetheless, I've got a couple other dim sum places on the Parisian radar to hit up.