Dim Sum with Vegetarian
Hello New York Chowhounds! I have been searching the boards for recommendations for Dim Sum- I see a lot of different opinions on the question of cart vs. menu, traditional vs. new, but I have a different question for you.
We are traveling to NYC this weekend from Philly, staying on the Upper West Side, and planning a trip down to Chinatown. We are a family of four including 1 teen girl who has decided to become vegetarian. Our family loves Chinese food, but we have never done dim sum before. It seemed like Chinatown in NYC would be an ideal place to try it.. But I'm worried that if we go to one of the traditional "cart" places there won't be enough vegetarian items?
Since three of us are meat eaters, we don't want to go to a strictly vegetarian place.
Any recommendations on the best dim sum place to go to please the whole family including my vegetarian teen?
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If you go to a traditional cart place in Chinatown there will likely be: very few vegetarian items (you're at the whim of what they send out -- the only options might be a platter of greens and some desserts), items that appear vegetarian but have hidden "meat" aspects (chicken stock, hidden bits of seafood, lard), cross-contamination issues, and possibly some language issues (the person manning the cart may not have great English skills). A lot depends on how strict your vegetarian is.
I would go to Red Egg because you can order off the menu and on the dim sum menu, the vegetarian items are marked explicitly with a "V" after the name of the dish.
http://www.redeggnyc.com/images/DimSum-Menu-01.png
http://www.redeggnyc.com/images/DimSu...Dim Sum Go Go might also work. So would Chinatown Brasserie, if you want something more upscale and are OK with not being in Chinatown.
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Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway, New York, NY 10038Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012Red Egg
202 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013›1 Reply-
re: kathryn
My wife and I are both meat eaters but actually enjoyed the vegetable dishes at Chinatown Brasserie more than the meat dishes. Does your daughter eat any seafood? Some of my 'vegetarian' friends do so I just wanted to clarify! Enjoy your meal.
JeremyEG
homecooklocavore.com-----
Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012
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Miss Needle
Oct 8, 2010 07:53 AM
Best is to go to Dim Sum Go Go. Plenty of meat items to satisfy the three of you. And the vegetarian can order the vegetarian dim sum platter -- basically one of each dumpling.
I would not do a cart dim sum place. There's so much hidden animal in supposedly vegetarian items. For example, I believe there's lard in those egg custard tarts. And those chive pancakes can contain bits of pork and shrimp.
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Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway, New York, NY 10038›1 Reply -
scoopG
Oct 8, 2010 07:01 AM
Best then to go to a vegetarian dim restaurant. There are two in Chinatown:
Vegetarian Dim Sum House at 24 Pell Street and Buddha Bodai at 5 Mott St. Neither are cart places, you simply order off their menu.
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Buddha Bodai
5 Mott St, New York, NY 10013Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell St, New York, NY 10013›1 Reply-
re: scoopG
Second Vegetarian Dim Sum on Pell. Our family is similar -- a teen vegetarian, the rest meat eaters. VDS lets us all enjoy dim sum together.
The alternative is to go to one of the larger cart places and hope that the variety will let everyone, including your vegetarian, pick and choose. The risk is that you may not always be able to find out what's in each dish.
Didn't know about Buddha Bodai but appreciate the referral!
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Buddha Bodai
5 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
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