Among the steamed dishes the shiumai-both the pork and the pork/shrimp versions-were better than we’d encountered on our last visit (though still over-steamed), and the shrimp and chive dumplings were acceptable, Three things rose into the level of the good: the steamed gailan, the deep-fried whole shrimp and the sweet red bean paste dumplings (though these were still too greasy). Now, not everything was this problematic. Thick, rubbery or otherwise incompetent dumpling wrappers cannot be compensated for by the taste of the fillings. Dim sum, especially in the case of steamed dumplings, is all about delicacy of execution texture is as important as flavour. And please also note that I’m not complaining about hard to quantify issues of taste-I would hope that even the most gung ho booster of the local food scene can see the problems of execution in the pictures here. Please keep in mind that as a party of six we got two orders of all the dumplings-so it’s not like we somehow lucked into the one bad steamer of everything we ate. These are some of the baseline markers of dim sum quality and Mandarin Kitchen failed utterly. Likewise, the sticky rice was overcooked and hard the steamed rice noodle rolls were congealed rather than slippery. What’s less visible in the pictures is the quality of the dumpling skins: the hargow were dense and chewy the chiu chow dumplings were gloppy rather than glutinous the chicken feet were flabby. The pan-fried dumplings were a particular embarrassment. A number of them had perforations and/or fell apart when picked up with chopsticks. Alongside (and in the slideshow below) you can see images of shoddily made dumplings. What were the problems? Well, let me offer some pictorial evidence of poor execution. The bad news? It wasn’t very good anyway.
trundled by us on the regular and so the good news is we got very freshly made versions of everything. Carts loaded with different kinds of dumplings etc. Mandarin Kitchen-like Yangtze-does cart dim sum and they were clearly fully ready for service when they opened. We sat down, asked for water and tea and got to work. We were a party of six and were seated in one of two smaller dining rooms in the back. It’s a large restaurant though and everyone in line got a table when they opened at 9.30-the wait backed up shortly thereafter. We arrived at 9.25 on a Saturday morning and found a goodly line already in place. Here are our findings.Īs the lines at Mandarin Kitchen get long on weekends-they do not do dim sum on weekdays or take reservations-we resolved to get there before they opened. And so we decided to go back and see if things have improved. That meal was so bad we’d sworn to never go back but my parents are in town again and they always want to go to dim sum and Mandarin Kitchen is the most conveniently located of all dim sum houses for us. However, our last meal at Mandarin Kitchen was some years ago. Louis Park and the far less written about A&L Chinese in Inver Grove Heights. We liked Jun Bo in Richfield better (before it closed) and still prefer Yangtze in St. Alas, our opinion-the missus and mine-has always been that Mandarin Kitchen is in fact the worst of a ho-hum lot. Exhibit A for this position is Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington, a restaurant whose dim sum selection has recently been described by one critic who dislikes me intensely as “dizzying, dazzling”. In this they are supported by members of the local food media.
Many people here say that the dim sum scene in the Twin Cities is very good. My views on dim sum in the Twin Cities have never been popular. Good when we gather for large family dinners.Oh boy, this post is going to win me even more friends and well-wishers in the Twin Cities food world. Nothing will blow you away, but you will never leave disappointed ether. Moreīeen here for many years and the food has always been right down the middle. We came here when my grandparents were around for weekend dim sum get-togethers. Mandarin Kitchen has been our family's go-to banquet, seafood, and dim sum restaurant for three generations. Moreįood is decent overall, but they're getting two stars based on what other reviewers have mentioned: finding ways to overcharge the customers! First off, they charged me for hot tea that I never. Let's just say, over the years it's gotten. Ever since they opened like over 20 years ago, my family and I would come here for dim sum sometimes weekly. I've been to mandarin kitchen many times. Mandarin Kitchen is a must visit on the weekends when they are doing their. Finally had a chance to have Dim Sum in the Twin Cities and what better place to try it than Mandarin Kitchen.
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