A while ago, I joined the Buford Highway Foodies Meetup on Meetup.com and commenced lurking. Finally, the stars and schedules aligned and I joined the group for Dim Sum the weekend after Thanksgiving at Oriental Pearl in Chamblee.
Longtime readers may recall the basic concepts of dim sum from our posts about the Canton House or the lack of them at the terrible Dim Sum Heaven.
For the rest of you, dim sum is a traditional chinese style of small-plate cuisine. In dim sum joints, carts of steaming hot food are wheeled around the place and you select food for your table as you wish. The size of your plate (typically large vs. small, which roughly translates to portions enough for 2-3 people vs. 3-5 people) is marked on a sheet of paper kept at your table and what you owe is tallied at the end.
Cha siu bao – baked barbecue pork buns.
This post will essentially be a dim sum food photo essay, since it’s nigh impossible to keep up with absolutely everything hitting the table, and there’s no menu to reference for specific details anyway.
Enjoy! I’ll see you on the other side with our final thoughts…
Squid!
Jin deui with red bean paste.
Lo mai gai – glutinous rice with meat inside, all wrapped in lotus leaves.
Some type of tripe.
Kai-lan.
Crispy shrimp balls.
Silken tofu in green tea.
What we conquered as a group!
I think the pricing and quality are comparable to Canton House. In both cases, some things are made fresh and some things are surely pre-packaged frozen foods. Either way, it’s a great value for the money with the understanding that you’re probably not doing your health any favors, haha! I’ve had fancier dim sum at “fine dining” dim sum joints, and crappier, more pre-packaged dim sum at the aforementioned Dim Sum Heaven.
At the moment (read: given that we’ve only been once), given the choice between Oriental Pearl and Canton House we’d probably choose Canton House because it’s more convenient and slightly nicer on the inside.
But you shouldn’t let that dissuade you from giving the Pearl a whack though, it’s probably still a 4-star joint compared to a regular old americanized chinese food place for fun with friends.
Oriental Pearl
5399 New Peachtree Rd
Chamblee, GA 30341
emily
Nerd. Foodie. Gamer. Homecook. Perpetual planner. Gardener. Aspiring homesteader. Direct response graphic designer. I use too many damn commas.
Royal China around the corner on Chamblee Dunwoody is also a good Dim Sum place and one of our go to places for Dim Sum. Comparable to Oriental Pearl in atmosphere 🙂
Great! We need to try that and the one out in Duluth that everyone seems to love. We don’t have enough dim sum experience to be great judges 🙂