Alright … this will be the last post before I start on the Spain series. If all things go OK, I’ll start on it tomorrow. I had been getting emails, instant messages, and what nots asking when I am going to start writing about it. All this pressure!
Angie and her family invited us to go for Dim Sum over a weekend about a month ago. Angie left the suggestion to me. I hate this. People seems to think that because we have a food blog, that we know of the best places. Frankly, we don’t — Suanne and I are NOT professional foodies.
Anyway, I just selected one safe place to go to … Dai Tung.
Dai Tung is located on Kingsway near the intersection with Windsor (see this map for the location).
Come to think of it, the last time we were here was EIGHT years ago with a family friend who just came to Vancouver. I still remember when we had to endure almost an hour wait for a table and how it was so embarassing for us because everyone was hungry. That wait was what put us off from visiting Dai Tung ever since.
The lines are still there but this time the wait was much more bearable — 15 minutes. One bad thing is still the same … parking. There are hardly any parking spots in this strip mall. Even if there is one, it will only fit smaller cars. So visiting Dai Tung requires patience!
However, from the long lines one need no convincing that Dai Tung serves some of the best dim sums in Vancouver.
I don’t know how much the meal costs because Angie’s family paid for the meal. However from the menu, it appears that their prices are pretty cheap.
They serve the dim sums through push carts. Don’t everyone like that better? That way you could actually see for yourself what you want.
I picked the “Old Water” Duck Wings. Wrong choice.
Not that it is not good. It is great and I love it. It’s just that NO ONE else wanted it at all. So I ended up having to eat almost all of it myself. Suanne was sweet enough to take a few bites but she doesn’t like it. She said that there is no meat to it … it is just skin wrapping bones. Hah! They don’t know what they miss.
BTW, what is the English word for the “karn” you see above? I love that too … love the chewy texture.
To me, Dai Tung’s Dim Sum are nothing out of the ordinary. It’s kind of boring if you ask me. Where they excel, I suppose, is the quality and the low prices.
The Loh Mai Chi was something that I don’t see a lot of in dim sum places. It had red bean paste as its fillings.
The Taro Dumpling has char siu as filings. Suanne’s favourite in dim sum but I don’t like the taste of taro.
Well, we did not pay much attention otherwise to the food here. Spent a lot of time talking or rather trying to talk above the din in the restaurant. Man, it was really noisy in the restaurant. So if you want to have a nice chat over a dim sum breakfast, this is not a place that will be conducive for it.
One would have thought that they will rush you through your meal for a busy place like Dai Tung. However, we did not feel rushed at all and thought they were quite patient. We did not stay as long as we wanted because it became quite impossible to chat across the table.
One more thing. They serve “heavier” dishes starting at 10AM.
Business Hour
7 days a week
9:00 am to 11:00 pm
Mmm, their dim sum (or at least your pics) look very delicious.
Were all the items you ordered as shown here of the $2.50 variety ?
Do you have any pics of the restaurant interior ? Approx. seating capacity ?
I’m in a bit of dim sum mood these days, since it’s something I rarely get to do (or do properly). Luckily this past long weekend we had out-of-town relatives visiting and we ended up going to Floata on Keefer in Chinatown. Ugh I pigged out so much I almost felt sick by the time I got home, but it sure was a good splurge.
Hi LotusRapper:
I did not take many pictures. The restaurant is large … oh … as big as Sea Harbour in Richmond if you know that place. They took up something like three shoplots for this restaurant and so it is quite big (see the first pix of the exterior). I don’t even know what the bill came up to because Angie’s husband paid for it. Understood it was quite cheap. Oh … sometimes I am embarrassed that often the pictures turn out better than it really is — it’s the lens. The dim sum was quite ordinary to me.
Ben
My wife and I love Daitung,We go here 2-3 times a month,There is a reason for the 20 minute for a table.It actually won a few awards for its reasonably priced dimsum value for monet,After all what can you get for 2.50$???
Ooh, your photos make the food look so much better compared to the photos that the restaurant took! Some of the items here I do not have in my area- like the fish in your last set of your photos.
I think that “karn” is gizzard in English? Not sure. At least that is what they call it in my local Asian supermarket (not a good source! they called sliced beef chicken wings).
If you’re looking for inexpensive dimsum that are also relatively tasty, try South Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Richmond (corner Garden City and Alderbridge Way). Their dimsum is $2.00 before noon and $2.50 after noon for the small/medium/large dimsums. Its also a push cart type dimsum place.
Oh, I had heard a lot about that place but have never been there before. Thanks for the recommendation. We’ll just do that some day.
Thanks Jonnek. Is that the one on the 2nd floor, and quite large (at least it looks it from the outside) ?
Hi Lotusrapper, South Ocean Seafood restaurant is actually on the first floor near the corner of Alderbridge Way. It is also fairly large.
I must agree with you, the food was just okay (or edible from my hubby perspective) but very cheap! (No wonder there’s always a long queue.) We should look for a better quality dim sum place in Vancouver. Any suggestions? Just kidding! 😀
Hi Suanne and Ben:
I enjoyed looking at the dimsum pictures. I went to Dai Tung for Dim Sum and did not enjoy the food. Did you find the food to be greasy and a bit flavourless?
Hi Monkeysmile: The dim sum in Dai Tung was nothing spectacular. It was just so so. I did not really notice the greasiness. Was it as busy when you were there? Ben
Hi Ben:
I agree with your assessment of the dim sum, but your photos made them look tasty. The place was indeed bustling. It was a 25 minute wait for a table at around noon on a weekday.
Angie and Ben: I heard that Golden Harvest on 4818 Main Street has decent dim sum. $2.75 for small; $3.25 for regular. Perhaps you should give them a try?
Is Dai Tung open tomorrow Monday (Boxing day)