Dim Sum Sunday

It was well worth the 50-minute drive to a place we've never been before for this dim sum lunch. And not to mention the 40-minute wait for a table (dim sum places here never seem to take reservations). This is Koi Garden. Now this is what dim sum is about!

Like the previous dim sum lunch we had at Hong Kong Saigon, there were ladies pushing around carts full of century egg porridge and other dim sum, but most of the dim sum purveyors here carried their wares around on red trays, as this restaurant is too crowded to be push-cart territory. The restaurant also has a list of other items that have to be ordered, as we found out when trying to get a plate of zha leung (you char kway or dough fritters wrapped in cheung fan or rice rolls). We ended up with heaps of Amazing food, but paid just $17.50 per person.

And now for the highlights:

Have no idea what this is called, although I've had it before - my dim sum knowledge is very basic lah. Please help to fill in the blanks (I'm looking at you, DSD!)

Steaming har gow, filled with plump prawns.

One of R's favourite's - Carrot cake

Something I really wanted (after staring at lucky diners from outside the restaurant) - really crisp and crunchy siu yoke or roast pork served with chewy jelly fish. Don't think I had enough of this one!

I loved the teapot in the hole in the middle of the lazy susan.

I learnt that these are called lau sah or salted egg custard baos. We also ordered the non-salted version, but these were far superior. Didn't care for the eggplant dish beside it.

Kueh lapis! And some very vegetarian beancurd skin dish, which was ok, tasty enough for a vegetarian dish, and made me think of Taiwan and all its mock meats.

Ah, the zha leung, with its incredibly crunchy you tiao!

Another must-have, the egg tarts.

But the best of the sweet stuff were the doughnuts. Very crunchy, very eggy, not as doughy as the Chinese doughnuts in Singapore. Best eaten hot. It was fantastic. In the background is the muah chee, filled with black sesame, and rolled in some crushed peanuts and coconut flakes. Not too bad, but not really the surprise star of the day.

I think the highlight of R's day was the discovery of the Kee Wah Bakery just downstairs, where we picked up Chinese sponge cakes (I just had one for breakfast and they are so much better, eggier than those I've had elsewhere. Plus Kee Wah's stuff looks so much better than Sheng Kee, which is by the Marina supermarket where we pick up groceries). Kee Wah is also in Milpitas, and we'll definitely be stopping by there soon.

Koi Garden @ Dublin
Ulferts Center
4288 Dublin Blvd Ste 213
Dublin, CA 94568
Tel: (925) 833-9090

Kee Wah Bakery
4288 Dublin Blvd. #107,
Dublin, CA 94568