dim dim - dim sum & bakery...dim sum morning, day, and night

I moved to SoCal recently and back in Chicago to take care of a few things. I wanted some really good dim sum since the stuff where I am at is really lacking. So, I asked around and they referred me to Dim Dim. I never really heard about it, maybe since I never really made it to that stretch of Wentworth past old Chinatown. So, I went with a friend and I was very pleased. My friend said the quality at Shui Wah isn't what it use to be. He said Ming Hin is the place now. I haven't had dim at Ming Hin, but I had it at Cai and thought it was better than Shui Wah. But, this was in February.

Dim Dim is not in a restaurant setting. It is more of a bakery/cafe. They have several small and big tables. We went on a Saturday around 12:30 and there was a table opening up. Otherwise, once we sat down there was a little wait. You order off a menu just like Shui Wah. They also have rice, noodle, congee dishes. That afternoon they had at least 5 servers working and the dining room isn't that big. Food was brought out quick, tea refilled, empty dishes were taken away, and tables were bussed. Turnover was pretty good.

We ordered:
*Shui mai-nice texture and wasn't full of fatty pieces of pork. I don't care of shui mai that is finely ground with no texture
*Har gao-they were pretty good size, nice skin, fresh shrimp
*Chicken feet-more in an order than other places, cooked tender, the sauce was good and not too salty
*Taro roll-I didn't care of this one. It was oily and the filling wasn't anything that I remember
*Fried baby cuttle fish with spicy salt-this was really good, the cuttle fish were nice and tender, it had a bit of curry taste (I think) and lighty breaded
*Shrimp rice crepe-the rice crepe and shrimp was really fresh
*Cured meat fried glutinous rice-this was really good, nice amount of cured meat, nice roasted peanuts for texture, they toss this in a hot wok and then serve it
*Fried chicken wings-what Gourmet chicken wings use to be, just not as big. The seasoning was really good and they come piping hot from the deep fryer. No batter on the wings.

Total was around $30.50 + tip. This could feed 3 people. We had left overs for at least a meal and a half for one person.

Friend said the beef balls and pork bean curd roll isn't the best. We didn't order those, but that is what he usually gets at dim sum. I looked around at the noodle and rice dishes and they use a lot of ingredients that look fresh and tasty. They have some good breakfast and high tea combos also I saw on the menu.

I enjoyed this immensely and would go back again for sure. I have been raving about this place to friends that like dim sum.

Sorry for no pictures, I was starving and didn't want things to get cold.

dim dim
2820 S. Wentworth Ave.
Chicago IL 60616
312.842.2822
http://www.dimdimchicago.com/index.html

Thanks for the short but sweet rundown on the dim sum classics. IMO, the gold standard would have to be har gow (xia jiao). If they do those well, then I can forgive many sins. Dim Dim is now on my radar.