Dim sums, momos and more

on how the quality dim sum lunch has come of age in many Indian cities.

In Hong Kong, it is possible to start your day at 7 am over dim sums and tea. As it undoubtedly is in China but even Kolkata, where the old Chinese community near the erstwhile Tirhetti Bazaar continues to brings out some fabulous cooking in the early hours.

But the inspiration here is somewhat different: an invite "" mailed no doubt indiscriminately and without regard to time zones "" to sample the menus of dim sum-specialising restaurants in er... San Francisco!

The eatathon would begin at 9 am, it said, go on till late lunch hour, and the idea was to determine the restaurant that served the best dim sums "" loosely translated from Cantonese as "touch the heart"; dumplings in America, "momos" in India... I don't know whether a verdict was reached.

But I do know that such a task would have been very difficult in India where, this summer, a number of restaurants are now offering extensive and very good quality dim sum lunches.

In Delhi, Taipan, the former "power" restaurant at the Oberoi, has always been known for these. The restaurant was a trendsetter with its trolleys on which many different varieties would "" and still do"" do the rounds.

On Sundays in particular, the dim sum lunch would define the weekend for families, kiddies in tow. The bestseller has consistently remained the har gau, or shrimp dumpling (with a translucent skin made of rice flour or refined flour and potato starch, one of the most popular dim sums in the world but also the most difficult to achieve, so much so that trainee chefs are told that they've made the grade only when they can turn one out perfectly.)

This summer, there are 23 varities on offer at the restaurant (Rs 1,200 inclusive of tax for an unlimited selection, soup and desserts) and when the chef comes back from his annual summer leave, there are promises of more.

But the best I've had this year is at Jade at the Claridges. The restaurant doesn't have the space of a Taipan, so what they do is ply your table with a number of those bamboo baskets containing as many as 40 types (I counted the listings on the menu though I could hardly go through the entire sampling that included fried and baked bits and dessert dumplings). Chef Yan Jun, the master chef, started his career as a dim sum chef in Beijing and is obviously creative.

Apart from traditional offerings, he has added his own innovations, the most spectacular of which are the two dainties "" one, a nori-wrapped roll that almost looks like sushi; two, date-stuffed dim sums in a snowy white wrap made to look like rabbits (!).

Then, there are others like the "Pearl chicken balls" where rice grains (raw Basmati is used here, it get steamed along with the stuffing) coat minced chicken. The chicken with banana roll has a surprise element in terms of a sweet banana slice paired with the meat that may or may not appeal to the Indian palate but as the chef says, a good dim sum menu (this one costs Rs 1,050 plus taxes, you can order a la carte too) must have both the familiar as well as the unexpected. What the chef sometimes also feeds his colleagues are other delicacies like chicken claw-dumplings, clipped and stewed!

In India, the dim sum revolution started with the momo and even today neighbourhood restaurants use the terms interchangeably. But just as not all dim sums are momos, not all sauces have to be the same red hot chilly variety.

At RED, one of the most underrated Chinese restaurants in the NCR (it is run by a chef from Singapore, Sim), the selection is accompanied by many interesting condiments, including a Nonya sauce. And the chef has an interesting range, what with the likes of a fried butter onion pancake, fish and glass noodle dumplings as well as an Emerald prawn dumpling "" translucent green.

He makes you start off with fried goodies and continues to serve steamed bites till you are full (he will personally make sure that you are), followed by a Singapore-style clear noodle soup "to settle things down""" for Rs 850 on weekdays and Rs 1,050 on weekends (with a glass of Sula wine).

A host of stand-alone restaurants too offer a fair selection of dim sums on their menus, even if these are not full-fledged lunches. But the best place to go for these is in Mumbai. Royal China leads the way for dim sums in London and when it opened in Fort, Mumbai in 2003, it was no different. Their dim sums, said to be the most translucent of all, are served only at lunch time for Rs 175 per plate of four. Henry Tham is another place to go to.

In Bangalore, on the other hand, the Leela's Chinese restaurant Zen offers dim sum lunches though if you want to order a la carte, you could check out standalones like Amoeba and Mainland China. And my colleague from Cal recommends Eau Chew for a snack. Chew on.

(With inputs from Arati Menon Carroll)