A brave group of us embarked on the long journey out to Bensonhurst Brooklyn in search of the best Dim Sum. Our group included, The Babes Who Brunch duo (Melissa Z and Emily H.), Laura and her friend, Emily W., Eboni, New Andrew and two of his friends, and yours truly. Though we were all coming from different places, both in Manhattan and Brooklyn, somehow it still took us all about an hour to get there! I must say, it was worth the trek. We feasted for an hour and a half and only ended-up spending $13 per person!
Our meal consisted of many items which I don't dare try to name accurately, there was a lot of pointing and name invention going on at our table, but Melissa took copious notes and photographs and will be posting a comprehensive report on her blog: http://babeswhobrunch.blogspot.com/
We ate fish balls, shrimp balls, rice noodles, beef rice noodles, chicken feet, steamed and fried pork buns, shrimp stuffed-deep fried peppers, pork dumplings, vegetable dumplings, egg tarts, sesame balls and the much feared durian pastry! Forgive my inaccuracy, but I do remember the solid favorites and least favorites of the meal!
The group as a whole was crazy for the fried pork buns (though I personally preferred the steamed pork buns). These were nothing like David Chang's version. Both the fried and steamed shells encased a mysterious mixture of chopped pork and a subtle red sauce. Another favorite was the deep-fried shrimp stuffed pepper. It was an unusual and delicious dish, with just a hint of heat surrounding a giant, tender shrimp. One of my personal favorites was the "mushroom, ham, shrimp, tofu thingy" (I pray Melissa can help me out with that one!) It was the most unusual combination of flavors and textures and a pleasant surprise.
Everything was very good, though I don't think anyone was crazy about the chicken feet. They were not terrible, I suppose it would be hard for chicken skin and cartilage to be really fantastic, though that is only my opinion. The egg tarts also fell a bit flat.
The durian pastry, which is a fruit that smells like garbage or death yet is supposed to have a pleasant taste, was relievingly mild. Melissa told us that it was the most mild smelling durian she had ever encountered, and to us it just smelled a little off but tasted fine. I must admit, I was not looking forward to smelling like death, so I was more than happy to enjoy a wimpy version of the stuff!
The meal left us practically comatose and after paying our paltry bill, we could not be happier. The long trip back to the city was more than worth it.
Check Melissa's Blog for pictures and accurate names of the fantastic dishes we enjoyed!
