Sunday Dim Sum with Chinese guest:

My friend (daughter of a chef) is coming to town tonight, and we are going to eat Dim Sum tomorrow. Any thoughts on which of the following would be best? It doesn't have to be american-friendly, since I will have my favorite foodie interpretor with me! Waahooo!!!

1. LTH
2. Phoenix
3. Shui Wah
4. Happy Chef

btw, is it wrong that I spend my saturday evenings planning my Sunday brunch? Particularly in light of the fact that Mr. 2025 is lying beside me, recovering from food poisoning??? (I have already prepared him a breakfast of bread and mashed potatoes [made with broth not butter, of course] to warm up tomorrow morning while I go to feast on dim sum. Poor Mr. 2025).

Shui Wah, no ambiance, crowded, no rolling steam carts, no English, quite good dim sum.

If you are ambiance sensitive Phoenix is the way to go, rolling steam carts, more space between tables, nice second floor view, a scant half step off Shui Wah food wise.

Enjoy,
Gary

Rachel, where did you go and how was it?

We made our maiden voyage to LTH last Friday, and both husband and I found the food to be good, but no where near the calibre of Shui Wah or even Ed's Potsticker House.

Granted, LTH was incredibly inexpensive, but I didn't find the ambiance to be any better than Shui Wah's (no steam carts at either). Plus, at lunch on Friday there were far more non-Asians at LTH than I have ever encountered at lunchtime at either Ed's or Shui Wah.

What am I missing with LTH? There is definitely a reason this forum is named after the place, so I was probably (unfairly) expecting fireworks and tears of gratitude or at least giant smiles as we walked out of the place. Instead, we decided to visit Shui Wah next time.

Susan wrote:What am I missing with LTH? There is definitely a reason this forum is named after the place,

Susan,

Yes, absolutely, 'Little' Three Happiness is terrific for crisp rice noodles with duck and BBQ pork, dry stir fried crabs, clams with black bean sauce, crisp head and shell on salt and pepper shrimp, shrimp toast, crispy skin chicken and a number of other dishes. But the recommendations are almost never for dim sum. LTH has good dim sum, but Shui Wah, or the Phoenix for that matter, have better dim sum.

Enjoy,
Gary


'Little' Three Happiness
209 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616
312-842-1964

Well, then, I ordered ALL WRONG for my first trip to LTH. We only ordered one really good dish (crispy noodles with Chinese broccoli and beef) and the rest were dim sum items that lacked punch.

We will just have to try it again and order the good stuff. Thanks for steering me in the right direction, Gary!

Phoenix = Fresh (atleast I like it)
Steam Rollers and menu.
What about Furama in Argyle?

i used to enjoy furama as a good alternative to waiting @ shui wah or phoenix. then i had one of the worst service experiences i've ever had in any restaurant, period. to compound things, i told the manager and was completely ignored.

i'd go once a month or so. i'd bring 6-10 people routinely. i've not been back and will use this oppty to warn anyone from going. that's the reality of the industry and more people in the business should take heed. too many similar options to spend $ elsewhere, where you are appreciated.

I too had a disappointing experience at Furama -- cold dishes that should be hot, indifferent service, and a general lack of fresh flavor. I have not gone back.

indifference is the key term here which is slow death in this business. no attempt to even lift their head, let alone try to make it right. like talking to a zombie w/dollar signs in their eyes. as much as i liked it selection wise and boba tea wise, on principle i won't go back.

As an update, Phoenix has recently changed policy and now has cart service only on weekends. Monday thru Friday Dim Sum is available only from a check off menu.

Susan wrote:What am I missing with LTH? There is definitely a reason this forum is named after the place, so I was probably (unfairly) expecting fireworks and tears of gratitude or at least giant smiles as we walked out of the place. Instead, we decided to visit Shui Wah next time.

Also dim sum chefs are specialty chefs who won't be cooking regular dinner service. They come in the middle of the night, make the dim sum, and leave by noonish the next day. Think of them as pastry chefs - Just because the dessert at your favorite restaurant is stunning doesn't mean the entree will be also, since they are cooked by different chefs.

I had dinner at Furama recently, because I was going to a meeting nearby afterwards. I was with a big group, so I ordered a bunch of things in advance. I had only been for dim sum previously, which always seemed pretty good to me, and we never had a big problem with the service. So I wasn't sure what to expect for the main dishes, and really went there because it was close to the meeting and seemed like it could handle a big group (which it did). Everything was quite good-- I'm trying to remember which dish was really spectacular and got wolfed down (orange beef, maybe?)-- will have to look back at the receipt (which I turned in with my reimbursement request since I got my boss to pay for all of this (could that have made it taste better?)). And no service problem, but maybe if you go with 20 people, you get special attention...