I always crave dim sum when I am away from Vancouver. Now that I am living in DC, which has tons of amazing restaurants and a very vibrant food scene, the craving for dim sum still came back. So on my trip back to Vancouver, we went to Dynasty.
I really like Dynasty Seafood. They are always creating new dishes and updating their menu, and most of their creations are fantastic. They have also repeatedly won Vancouver Magazine’s Best Dim Sum and Best Upscale Chinese restaurant awards.
Steamed scallop and pea shoot dumpling with squid ink. This is a new item and I really liked it. The squid ink doesn’t really add much flavor to the dumpling, just made it look gothic. The scallop was tender, well-seasoned and not fishy tasting. The dumpling skin was also soft, not too gummy or chewy. Other than the steamed scallop dumplings, I really like their steamed black truffle dumplings as well, very strong and earthy flavors.
Duck and Taro Pastry and the Bakes BBQ Pork Pie with Lemon. I really liked the duck and taro pastry. The crunchy crust paired well with the mashed taro and minced duck inside. It is a very traditional dim sum dish, and quite oily, but I liked the texture contrast. The lemon and BBQ Pork pie is one of Dynasty’s signature dim sums. Most dim sum restaurants don’t make BBQ Pork with lemon, but the lemon balances the sweet pork and just make it a little different.
I know that dim sum has a reputation of being super oily, which is true, but occasionally we have surprises. This is sauteed celery with fresh lilly and burdock. Look how virtuous this plate of vegetables is! They did use some broth to add flavor, but this dish both looked and tasted clean. I don’t think I have had fresh lillies before, and I found that they look like tiny little cipollini onions, but taste starchier and with none of the pungent flavor of onions. The black wood ears were soft but still crunchy enough and I like them for their detoxing qualities.
Lemongrass Honey Ribs. These were fantastic! The blend of sweet honey and fragrant lemongrass worked really well with the tender ribs. The sweet glaze also lightened the dish, and made it easy to go for seconds, and…I forgot how many of these ended up on my plate.
Pan-Fried Yam Pie with Lava Egg Yolk. These were really fun. The yam was mixed with rice flour to make it a little sticky, and inside is a puddle of sweet egg yolk that just oozes out if you give it a little squeeze. The yam pie isn’t awfully sweet though I wish the egg yolk inside was a little smoother.
Onion and Beef Puff Pastry. I loved these. The pastry was very flaky and buttery while the onion and beef inside was spicy and rich. Sometimes Dynasty takes these off the menu, but if we see them, we always order them.
Baked Sago and Black Sesame Pudding. Baked Sago Pudding is a very traditional dim sum dessert, but few dim sum restaurants make it with black sesame. I loved this dessert, I always order it. It’s creamy and sweet and the black sesame paste is nutty and you can actually taste the sesame, so you know they didn’t skimp on the ingredient. The cookie crust on top is also buttery and flaky.
Another satisfying trip to Dynasty. One other dim sum dish I like at Dynasty is their steamed black truffle mushroom dumplings. The earthy truffle flavor is strong and they pack the little dumplings with mixed mushrooms. Now, if only Dynasty is a little closer to Richmond…
A Case of the Munchies 