LatASIA

I do not know why, but I have taken a liking for Dim Sum these past few months (that's Yum Cha to all you Aussie people).  I enjoy the way of serving where they bring the Dim Sum to the table in little bamboo steamers and you choose which ones you want. 

The Good

Dim Sum (Yum Cha) are just about everywhere in Chinatown and other parts of Bangkok.My favourite place to go is a little shop in Chinatown that sells delicious Dim Sum in a nice thick rich soup with chunky vegetables.  It is great and well worth the taxi ride down there.  From the outside the shop looks pretty uninviting, but as is usually the case here in Bangkok, that should not put you off.

You do not have to go down to Chinatown to experience the delights though as they have a 'sister shop' in none other than the world famous MBK.  It is called Hong Min and is on MBK level 3, just past Burger King, opposite the hair salon.

The menu is slightly different from Chinatown but the Dim Sum is of the same high standard, with the delicious soup for some of them.  They also serve nice cakes too. 

The prices are reasonable (go across to Siam Square to places like Marina HK to see some of the bland tasteless food that you can easily be palmed off with - usually 7 Eleven standard!!!) with possibly the only exception being the drinks, which are the usual restaurant rates.

Definitely try Hong Min if you like Dim Sum.  Make sure you don't just take all your Dim Sum from the first batch as they mix them up quite frequently.  And definitely wait for the ones in soup to come round.

Chinatown is full of places where you can get Dim Sum.  There are also plenty of street vendors scattered around the city selling Dim Sum but this is low end quality.

The Bad

I had the misfortune earlier tonight to eat at a Dim Sum place very popular with Thai Chinese.  The Canton House south of Phaya Thai BTS station, heading back to Ratchathewi is a large trendy place that is very popular with the Thai Chinese.  The menu is pretty limited but prices are reasonable. 

Tonight I went there and over half of the Dim Sum on the menu were not available. It was like playing the lottery trying to find something that they did have.  Eventually I gave up and settled for two basic Dim Sum, one pork and one crab.  I also ordered noodles, Hong Kong style.

The noodles arrived very quickly.  The portion size was too small and there was just one measly prawn (shrimp) in amongst my fried noodles, onion and bean sprouts.  Whilst the dish was only THB50, I had earlier been out for lunch at MBK and the boy had given me 5 prawns with my meal which cost me THB35.

So, my noodles were a big disappointment.  Back in the UK the question everyone would be asking when presented with this paltry dish is "What time does the chip shop close?".

I finished my noodles and sat for quite some time before the first Dim Sum arrived.  In fact, it took so long that my friend forgot I had ordered them and started to ask for the bill before I reminded him that the Dim Sum had not yet appeared. 

The first to arrive was the pork one.  It looked bloody awful.  All shrivelled up and looking like they were yesterdays leftovers that had been zapped in the microwave.  I can honestly say it was the worst food I have been presented with in Thailand.  A dish that I was forced into ordering as they had little to offer (a Dim Sum restaurant with no Dim Sum - Amazing Thailand!!!)

My Thai friend was horrified with what they had dished up to me and gave the cutting comment - "Chinese.  Very sticky!" I think that was a bit harsh but the dish was atrocious.

Bad Service, With a Smile!

Whilst Chinatown is worth a visit, you can get good Dim Sum in other parts of town, including the famous MBK!Another 8-10 minutes past and the waitress came to the table to tell me that the secong Dim Sum would not be arriving as they had now run out.  She walked off without waiting for a response.

About 5 minutes later she came back to ask me if I wanted to order more Dim Sum.  It truly is amazing Thailand!  I did not want to remind her of the agony we had both gone through trying to find Dim Sum on the menu that I could order and the subsequent pain and sorry we both felt when she could only bring one of the two that we found.  So I just asked for the bill and left - off to the Bangkok equivalent of the chip shop for my chicken fried rice.

He's My Japanese Boy

Don't let this alarm you.  The Canton House experience is not typical of what you find in Bangkok (well, the service might be but the quality of the food is not).  In fact, last night I found this great little Japanese restaurant where the portions were big, the food was tasty and the price was very reasonable.  What's more, they sold Asahi beer for THB44 a glass (which is ridiculously cheap in the Silom tourist trap).

The Great Thai Food Myth

There is this myth that Thais are very fussy about food.  In my experience that is complete crap and Thais will eat just about anything - good or bad.  They even love McDonald's - it is probably the busiest "restaurant" in Siam Paragon! 

Some Thai dishes are amazingly tasty with complex flavours.  But that said, the staple daily diet for Thais is quite limited and boring, just as you find in other countries.  And it is probably the case that the rich Thai Chinese kids are more interested in places that look (and usually are) expensive than they are about good taste.

I Ain't No Food Critic, But Here is My Tip!

So my tip for Dim Sum is Hong Min = good : The Canton House = Take your chances