More than just momos

Susanna Myrtle Lazarus finds out what goes into a good dim sum brunch

September 11, 2014 09:05 pm | Updated September 12, 2014 12:32 pm IST

12mp dim sum

12mp dim sum

Sundays are the time for late, lazy breakfasts: Chennai woke up to the concept of breakfast buffets and quickly moved on to Sunday brunch. Adding a Chinese spin to the weekend outing is the introduction of dim sum brunches at several restaurants in the city.

Historically, dim sums have been associated with tea houses along the Silk Route. In India, it is just another word for momos. While the two have a lot in common, dim sum is more versatile and can be steamed, baked or fried. The bite-sized portions are wrapped in translucent rice flour or wheat starch skin and each skin has a different thickness, texture and opacity to it. The flavours of the filling are meant to be subtle and light and easy on the palate.

Arguably, the most extravagant spread in the city can be found at China XO at The Leela Palace. With 20 varieties of dim sum on their special Sunday brunch menu, the restaurant offers equal choice to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Executive chef of The Leela Palace, Dharmen Makwana, says that in dim sum houses abroad, servers push trolleys laden with steamer baskets around the tables and diners can select the ones they want. “Here, the dim sums are served as per order. Our dim sum kitchen is glass panelled, so diners can get a glimpse of how the chefs go about rolling out the dough, filling it and making the distinct shape for each type of dumpling. It takes years of experience to make the perfect dim sum shapes,” he says.

The vegetarian selection makes a pretty picture: a yellow dim sum filled with pumpkin and pine nuts, a pale green vegetable and chive dim sum topped with pomegranate pearls, and a vegetable and crystal dim sum that’s wrapped in a translucent skin so the colours of the filling shine through. The truffle and edamame (soy bean in the pod) and shitake mushroom dim sums are the pick of the lot.

Siu mai is a type of dumpling that is usually filled with ground pork and Chinese black mushroom. In place of this, there is a chicken and prawn and a seafood option. A delicate Chilean sea bass, prawn and enoki mushroom, and a chicken dumpling topped with a green pea round off the steamed non-vegetarian selection.

A sweet bun, siu pau, filled with diced chicken is a different type of steamed dim sum. Chef Makwana explains that the chicken is mixed with oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and shaoxing wine, which combine to give it a sort of sweet flavour. The bun itself is soft even though it is denser than bread. The baked chicken dim sum is covered in a flaky puff-pastry-like shell and is called siu sao.

Also on the menu is a rice noodle roll called cheong fun, with chicken, crispy prawn, asparagus or three-style mushroom fillings. For diners who can move past this selection, the brunch also includes a choice of soup, starters, mains and dessert.

Chap Chay at The Raintree in Alwarpet offers an Asian Sunday brunch with eight varieties of steamed dim sum. This includes chicken and garlic chives ziaoji, prawn and bamboo shoot hargau, fish and shitake suimai, Sichuan vegetable dumpling, kalian and chestnut translucent dumpling, edamame with truffle oil and steamed rice rolls.

Executive chef Peter Tseng is proud of the fact that they have managed to include the trolley service of dim sums in the restaurant. “It adds to the authentic experience for the diners,” he says. He calls the dim sum market in Chennai a very nascent one when compared even to Delhi or Mumbai. “The city needs more variety and service of dim sum. They are so much more than just momos. They can be a meal by themselves, but they should be more accessible to everyone.”

The Golden Dragon at Taj Coromandel will be re-launching their dim sum Sunday brunch from October; it will offer an unlimited serving of a variety of dim sums and pot stickers.

So let’s raise a cup of fragrant jasmine tea to the steamy and delicious dim sum, and hope that there’s more to go around for everyone in town.

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