Dim Sum with NO MSG

[kelea]

Hi All,

I want to go to dim sum with a friend but she is violently allergic to MSG. She loves dim sum and we're trying to find a place which could work. Personally I like Ping's and Chatham square for dim sum but i'm not sure if they use MSG.

How's Dim Sum Go Go or Golden Unicorn for this?

Thanks,
k

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Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway, New York, NY 10038

Golden Unicorn
18 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002

[mstropicana]

I love Golden Unicorn-best for Dim Sum - its gets so crowded on the weekend that is the only problem. Not sure if they use MSG - probably so. Chatham Square is pretty good as well

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Chatham Square Restaurant
6 Chatham Sq, New York, NY 10038

[bigjeff]

ya it's a tough one; it's for this reason that I basically stopped eating dim-sum (and bad pho); I just didn't like that dry-mouth feeling for the rest of the day.

what I remember seeing once on a friday night in chinatown was a place with a big sign that said "NO MSG" on the window and right in front of the joint, a bunch of giant, empty 50-gallon drums labelled MSG. you'd think they'd cover them at least to camouflage, right?

[Miss Needle]

While I think there are Chinese restaurants out there that won't add additional MSG, I think it's difficult to find a place that sources MSG-free ingredients. For example, I haven't found an oyster sauce without MSG. And I believe Chinese sausage always has MSG in it.

[scoopG]

Wok Mei brand, manufactured for Golden Specialty Foods of San Bruno has a full line of Chinese sauces without MSG. Their Oyster Sauce is composed of Filtered Water, Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt, Corn Starch, Caramel Color, Natural Oyster Extract and Distilled Vinegar. Their Plum Sauce and Hoisin Sauces are also MSG-free. Not bad, all three. Easily available online.
http://www.goldenwestsf.com/wokmei.html

[Miss Needle]

Oh, that's great! Thanks for the link, scoop.

[The Chowhound Team]

We've removed several posts on whether MSG is actually an allergen. Such discussions are off topic for our regional boards, which are about finding great chow in a particular area. Please keep your replies focused on helping the original poster find an MSG free dim sum place.

[kelea]

Thanks guys...look like Chinatown Brasserie is my only choice Buddha Bodai would not work for me as i don't enjoy vegetarian dim sum.

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Buddha Bodai
5 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[Chandavkl]

If you're looking for standard dim sum items from any of the traditional dim sum parlors in Chinatown I think you're out of luck. While some Chinese restaurants might be able to whip up regular dishes with no MSG on request (or maybe less MSG than normal), that's not going to happen with dim sum, where dim sum chefs are up in the middle of the night (or at least before daybreak) preparing their morning wares and there are no special order possibilities. As scoopG points out, Buddha Bodai is an option, but that is vegetarian stuff, not the real thing. Ditto for Vegetarian Dim Sum house, which may go lighter on the MSG. I suspect Chinatown Brasserie is the only possible alternative for real dim sum.

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Buddha Bodai
5 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[shaogo]

I ditto this verdict from having been a guest in many, many Chinese kitchens. Some of the old-timers simply ignore requrests for "no MSG." So indeed the OP should use extreme caution.

I'm not crazy about Chinatown Brasserie. And I wouldn't be certain that they're not using MSG, either. A pretty strong statement, I know, but from experience...

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Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[scoopG]

Buddha Bodai at 5 Mott Street might work - it is vegetarian and kosher to boot. They use no MSG. 54 Dim Sum items served everyday until 3:00 pm.
http://www.buddha-bodai.com/

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Buddha Bodai
5 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

[kathryn]

Other CHs have stated that Chinatown Brasserie doesn't use MSG. I would call to confirm.

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Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012