Northern Manor: Dim Sum Dujour

Beef Tripe, Preserved Duck Egg Congee, BBQ'd Pork Bun.

This review originally appeared on The Gotham Palate.

"Dim sum taught me Chinese."

As a kid, I learned the bulk of my Cantonese Chinese food words from simply hearing the ladies who strolled past me hawking their carts' wares. I never cease to marvel at the sweet, salty, spicy, fried and steamed aromas and textures wafting by me every time I'm out to yum cha. In Cantonese, 'yum cha' literally means 'drinking tea' but has become synonymous with the dim sum we know today (eating small servings of different foods). Most traditional Chinese restaurants that sell dim sum have a sit-down menu in addition to the carts of steaming hot plate-sized Chinese delicacies. Wash it all down with jasmine or oolong tea, and you're good to go.

There's a reason why dim sum has become so popular: It's quick, tasty and cheap.

Northern Manor fits the bill. It's located on the border of Queens and Long Island, which is great because that means I don't have to trek out to Flushing every time I'm in the mood for dim sum. I tend to go with my family - the bigger the group, the better! I once had dim sum with just two other people, but it wasn't quite the same experience. Especially when you calculate the amount of food you're eating (count on a minimum of six or eight dishes). If you want to sample other things, it just makes more sense to go with a crowd.

Dim sum dining.

Here's a breakdown of the popular dim sum eats we feasted on:
-pay dahn sow yook jook (preserved duck egg congee - my preferred congee)
-law bahk go (white turnip cake with hoisin sauce)
-siu mai (pork dumplings)
-ha gow (shrimp dumplings)
-ngow pahk yeep (beef tripe)
-pie gwat (spareribs)
-ngow toe (beef stomach)
-ha chong fun (shrimp rice roll)
-ngow yook chong fun (beef rice roll)
-cha siu bao (barbecued pork bun)

Jasmine Tea, Joong, Shrimp Rice Roll.

After all these years, Mom's favorite dim sum dish is still shrimp dumplings - I think because her grandma used to make them from scratch. Of course, nothing can compare to homemade, but when you can't be bothered to cook, dim sum is where it's at.

Personally, my cousin's auntie in California makes the best joong (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), but Northern Manor's isn't bad. The Chinese sausage is sharp and aromatic; salted eggs, mung beans, chestnuts, dried shrimp, dried black mushrooms, pork and rice are rolled into a tight hot mess (the good kind).

Turnip cake.

I also like the don tat (egg custard tart) and law my gai (rustic lotus-leaf wrapped sticky rice) here. It's a tough call, but my hands-down favorite dim sum dish is the turnip cake (which is actually made of Chinese radish and rice flour, not turnip). Taro cake is it's nearly identical, denser cousin. But given a choice between turnip and taro, I'd choose turnip every time.

Downside: No sesame balls or mong gwor bo deen (mango pudding) to be found. What gives!

Although dim sum allows you to try a variety of dishes, it can also turn out to be an MSG-laden grease fest. Luckily, Northern Manor shuns the overly processed gook in favor of fresh ingredients and healthier methods of food preparation. This means that the congee is seasoned correctly and utilizes a finer grain of rice that isn't just mush on the table, barbecued pork buns have a just-baked, golden sheen and the shrimp dumplings haven't been dragged through a vat of oil.

Final consensus? Northern Manor is a dim sum restaurant that even Grandma would approve! (Just don't come here if you're on a diet.)

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars. Northern Manor does a solid dim sum, but something's not quite allowing me to give it 4 stars - could be the tight quarters, the wait (try to avoid prime time lunch hours between 12 - 2pm) or the lack of some aforementioned dishes. Be aware that it may take several tries before you master of art of not overeating. Good luck to you.

Location:
Northern Manor
251-15 Northern Blvd
Little Neck, NY 11362
718.281.1500

Dim Sum Du Jour

Flavored tendons.

I never cease to marvel at the sweet, salty, spicy, fried, steamed aromas and textures floating cart by cart every time I'm out to yum cha. I could do a detailed analysis of dim sum...but I won't. However, I will say this: No matter how many helpings of the plentiful dishes I take, I usually manage to clean my plate every time. Wash it all down with jasmine or oolong tea, and you're good to go. There's a reason the tea is strong.

Mom's zippy face.

After all these years, Mom's favorite dim sum dish is still ha gow (shrimp dumpling) - I think because her grandma used to make them from scratch. Of couse, nothing can compare to homemade, but when you can't be bothered to cook, dim sum is where it's at.

Yummy blur.

Fish balls, pie gwut (pork ribs), law my gai (rustic lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice), char siew bao (red pork buns).

Personally, my cousin's "Grandma" in California makes the best joong (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves). The Chinese sausage is sharp and aromatic; salted eggs, mung beans, chestnuts, dried shrimp, dried black mushrooms, pork and rice are rolled into a tight hot mess (the good kind).

The name of the restaurant. Beats me if I know.

Bite-sized don tat.

I had two of these little morsels. The don tat's crust was crisp and flaky, but the egg could have been fresher and less, well...glazed over.

More Birthday

Law bot go (turnip cake).

...Cont'd

One of my favorite dim sum foods is law bot go, or turnip cake. These were a bit too soft and not fried enough around the edges. The texture could be best defined as a pulpy goo (I know - attractive). Definitely not Northern Manor's best dish.

Ga lei bao (curried beef bun).

The curried beef buns, however, were a lot better. They were fresh and hearty, with a chewy bite and just a hint of spice. (Sorry you can't see the front, as I accidentally turned them upside down. Egad.)

Stuffed peppers with shrimp.

Oy.

After emptying our plates, some of us had a massive attack of food coma. Must've been all that meat. Quick - drink that jasmine tea!

Under the arch.

Birthday Lady

It's Mom's birthday today.

To the woman who gave me life, kissed every boo-boo and always remembers to pack extra napkins - thank you.

Mama & Papa bear.

Finally! A normal shot.

Northern Manor...plus my dad.

When I was a young girl, I remember going to yum cha in Queens several times a year to spend time with all the relatives. Now that "the kids" have grown up, moved away and/or the economy has tightened people's wallets, we don't meet up for nine-course dinners nearly as much as we used to. Still, every now and then we like to eat dim sum. Northern Manor, in Little Neck, is close enough for us to get to.

Hot sauce, various siu mai (dumplings).

Ha cheung fun (shrimp noodles).

To be continued...

Day 4: Because I'm Asian

Now, some people may look down on porridge as some kind of peasants' gruel, but I happen to enjoy pay-dan sow yook jook, otherwise known as preserved duck egg and lean pork congee. This is also my mom's favorite home-style Chinese dish, and she eats it whenever she's craving some comfort food to cleanse the body. It was my aunt's day off, so we braced our stomachs for some dim sum at Empress Pavilion.



This would be mango pudding. Everyone who knows me knows I like my mango, and in any form: fresh fruit, dried, jelly, juice, pudding -- you name it. The mango pudding at Empress Pavilion, however, tasted more egg-y than mango-y...which is well and fine, just different from what I'm used to. (And yes, that is pineapple on top of the mango. Don't ask why.)



In the afternoon, we drove over to Little Tokyo, or Japantown, for some cheap home goods. I snapped this pic outside an eatery that was closed for the day. What I would give for a huge ramen bowl and fresh fruit dessert!



I know, I know. I'm late to hop on the Beard Papa bandwagon, but jump on it I did. After taking one bite of this delightful, gooey cream puff, I was convinced: Beard Papa, I bow down to you. I don't know how you do it, but you managed to make an anti-cream person not only taste your whipped lip-smackin' goodness, but relish every bite. Oh, and the green tea boba wasn't bad either (could be less sweet, though).



"Jesus Saves" - this picture was taken from my cousin's loft on the 19th floor of Downtown LA.