D Cuisine--Dim Sum and Cantonese in Lincoln Park

I had lunch with a couple work colleagues at the recently opened D Cuisine last week and we thought it was great. We ordered exclusively from the dim sum menu. While the menu was a little smaller than many of the big spots in Chinatown (Phoenix, Cai, etc), everything we ordered hit a high mark. The baked char siu buns and har gow were particularly good. They start serving dim sum at 8 am and the remainder of the menu at 12 pm. I thought the meal compared very favorably to my most recent dim sum brunch at Cai. I'm really looking forward to going back to try some of the dishes off the regular menu. Because I work nearby a couple days per week, I asked about lunch specials and the owner replied that he's not offering them because he doesn't want to serve a lot of "American Chinese food" but wants to focus on more authentic dishes. He recommended the 'Minced Beef and Wild Rice with XO Sauce" and I plan to try it my next visit. The full menu is on their website.
I am very excited/optimistic about this place and hoping it lasts to fill the void of good dim sum on the north side of the city.



D Cuisine
2723 N. Clark
Chicago, IL 60614
773 360-7239
Dcuisinechicago.com

Open Daily
8am-11 pm (12 a on Saturday)

Agree. We really enjoyed the dim sum. Hope it survives.

First the good news. Dim sum was good. Corn cakes,shui Mai and ha gow were better than most and are available all day. I’m pretty sure I must have ordered wrongly otherwise. Wood ear with gumbo sauce was evidently made by someone who had never been in the vicinity of the real thing ( tho not bad). Causeway bay style squid seemed to be salt and pepper squid covered in a mound of what tasted like crushed up tam-tams (tho my wife felt maybe more like moon strips).Good enough to warrant a return visit on the strength of the dim sum alone . Will try some different stuff next time.Definitely worth checking out.

2723 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 360-7239
http://www.dcuisinechicago.com/

I'm Cantonese-American and still visit family regularly in Hong Kong. I like Cai, Phoenix, and Ming Hin reasonably well for dim sum in Chinatown. I was in the neighborhood and already parked right in front of D Cuisine for another errand, so figured I would swing in to try my barometer for good dim sum, the har gow (shrimp dumplings). The restaurant owners/workers at D Cuisine also speak Cantonese and at noon on a Saturday, the restaurant was moderately busy but they were able to provide attentive service.

The har gow were freshly steamed when served. Unfortunately, I found the skins (wrappers) pretty thick (thicker than any of the Chinatown dim sum options). The shrimp filling was fresh and springy (firm? as it should be) but slightly underseasoned. They automatically serve a sriracha-like chili paste and hoisin dipping sauces, but I shouldn't need to rely on these for proper seasoning.

The har gow are considered a "large" dim sum, priced at $4.95 - that's a bit more expensive than the roughly $4.00 "large" dim sum at many places in Chinatown, but I'm ok with the Lincoln Park markup. However, you do get a fresh almond cookie (and a fortune cookie) complimentary with your check.

I did not have the opportunity to try any of the other dishes - had to get to another appointment, but the convenience of a Lincoln Park dim-sum option unfortunately doesn't balance the scales on thick dumpling skins and underseasoned shrimp. I like their efforts to serve proper Cantonese food in Lincoln Park (without having to Americanize their food too much), and I will try to get back to give their Cantonese dinner menu a try.