411601 Thu Jun 14 18:50:11 -0700 2007 11 12 Boston Area 0 2661847 one treat I love to eat while traveling (since hubby doesn't particularly care for it) is Dim Sum. I noticed someone recommended dim sum for the Ohion (is that even a word?) parents but didn't name a particular place. So, Bostonians: Good dim sum recommendations?? Bonus points for walking distance and/or directions on the subway from the Hynes Convention Center. Also, my best chance to go may be on a Thursday or a Friday, so places that serve on weekdays are a big plus. I'll be there for the entire last week in June. Let me know if reservations are taken/necessary....I'll probably get a group together so we can try more items...... It looks like my schedule will also allow a Saturday morning (the 23rd) so recommendations for good places open on weekends are also ok. Anyone care to join me!? Thu Jun 14 18:50:11 -0700 2007 10290 janetofreno 1 2661859 You'll want to go to Chinatown, which is two stops up on the Orange Line from Back Bay station; alternatively, you could try the Green Line inbound from the Hynes Convention Center stop and get off at Boylston and walk a couple blocks. In descending order, I'd consider Hei La Moon, China Pearl, Chow Chau City, and Emperor's Garden (aka Empire Garden). I'm not sure any of Boston's dim sum places take reservations, but you can try calling ahead to see if they will do so -- but don't get your hopes up. Thu Jun 14 18:56:01 -0700 2007 2661847 76251 bachslunch 1 2662453 same as above. also - new shanghai has interesting (shanghai style) dim sum Fri Jun 15 02:45:24 -0700 2007 2661847 47608 galangatron 1 2662481 The Dim Sum Times blog has a pretty extensive rundown on the local dim sum scene. http://dimsumtimes.blogspot.com/ Fri Jun 15 03:57:25 -0700 2007 2661847 11093 Bob MacAdoo 1 2662488 I think the word is Ohioan. Dim sum gets discussed pretty frequently on this board. One pretty good recent thread that covers all the pluses and minuses is at http://www.chowhound.com/topics/332266 For serious dim sum, your only option is Chinatown, but this is a short walk away from the Boylston T stop on the green line. Hei La Moon and Empire Garden both serve dim sum on weekday mornings until 3 pm ish (though I would check with each restaurant to confirm) and neither one should have hideous lines on a weekday. Weekends at Hei La Moon are a different matter entirely. Fri Jun 15 04:07:16 -0700 2007 2661847 14650 Dr.Jimbob 1 2719782 Thanks to all for your suggestions. I very carefully wrote them down and then forgot the notebook in Reno :-( Decided to go to Chinatown my first Saturday there and wander around....I could remember the syllables "Hei La" from "Hei La Moon" but never did find it. Then I happened on a group of obvious tourists standing on a street corner tasting some goodies from a nearby bakery. It was obviously a food tour of some sort, so I asked the leader if she could recommend a dim sum place. She pointed out China Pearl....so I headed off to try it (and could hear one of the tourists in the group asking as I left "What is dim sum? :-) I enjoyed my meal there. Of course, the problem with dim sum for one is that one's eyes are always bigger than the stomach. I ended up tasting a green pepper stuffed with shrimp dumpling, mainly because it was the first thing that came by on the cart and I was hungry! Then someone came by with some beautiful greens...I had to have them. Unfortunately, like many of the servers she spoke no English. She shook her head when I pointed at the greens. Finally, through the magic of pantomime I came to understand that the greens were part of a constructed-at-the table wonton soup....greens and wontons were placed in a bowl, and broth poured over them. The greens were as good as they looked, but the wontons were even better! I don't think I've had a wonton that good since the good old days of visiting the Silver Dragon in Oakland when I was a kid about 40 years ago....Unfortunately, the broth was bland...but not sure I cared. I rounded out the meal with a crab fritter (of sorts): it was kind of a fried crab cake that had been dipped in wonton noodles before frying. Very tasty and not too greasy. My final dish was sticky rice, totally forgettable. There were empty seats when I arrived around 10:30 am on a Saturday, but by the time I left the place was packed. I would say mostly locals; a few tourists. Not much English spoken by the wait staff. Prices were quite reasonable IMO: My meal was 17 dollars, and it easily could have fed two. Wed Jul 04 16:02:08 -0700 2007 2661847 10290 janetofreno 2 2719795 Hei la Moon isnt in chinatown but across the expressway from it, so this is why you never found it. If its the one im thinking of, the "crab fritter" is actually a shrimp paste mix and the "wonton noodles" on the outside is shredded taro root. I really like this one. If it was flat like a pancake that is the one. If it was round like a ball then it was another one which i dont like as much. They have 2 sticky rices. One is in an upside down glass bowl, dont get that one. The other is wrapped up in a leaf into a packet. Thats the one you want. Wed Jul 04 16:13:23 -0700 2007 2719782 10597 hargau 3 2719914 Map is here: Wed Jul 04 17:21:25 -0700 2007 2719795 10027 Chris VR 3 2719915 well, the crab thing was sort of in between flat and round. It had a crab claw sticking out, which was good to hold it while you ate. The waitress did say "crab" when I pointed at it and asked what was in it. There were too large fritters (or whatever you call them) per serving. Very tasty. Maybe a special of the day? I got the sticky rice in the packet. Just wasn't impressed with the flavor, and the meat had an unpleasant grittiness to it. Oh well, overall I enjoyed the meal and would definitely go back...but with a group! (I tried really hard to convince some friends to come with me. I guess none were chowhounds....they turned up their noses at the thought of dim sum....) Wed Jul 04 17:23:05 -0700 2007 2719795 10290 janetofreno 4 2719950 Ahh the ones with the crab claws. They are crab in the claw but basically the same shrimp paste stuff in the ball part. We usually dont get them as they are more expensive then other similar dishes we like better and the crab claw part seems more a novelty /handle then anything else! Wed Jul 04 17:51:17 -0700 2007 2719915 10597 hargau 5 2719958 I was under the impression that they use crab meat paste for the entire crab claw dish (claw and the ball part) as it's pretty standard to do so. Wed Jul 04 17:59:27 -0700 2007 2719950 10076 limster 6 2719965 Id say there is some crab but mostly shrimp, always tastes the same as whats in the flat taro covered patties or the shrimp ball shaped ones. Or even the same mix they stuff in the peppers, eggplant, tofu.. I think they have a huge vat of this same shrimp/crab/paste stuff they use for many dishes. I like the taro covered pancake ones the best of the above. We call them "porcupines" for lack of a better name and for kinda obvious reasons Wed Jul 04 18:08:22 -0700 2007 2719958 10597 hargau