ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040135
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
BETTY LEE SILVERSTEIN loved eating dim sum in New York and London. So she was elated when the delicate Cantonese appetizers appeared at a restaurant in her neighborhood and turned out to be the real thing.
In June, Sun Mon Chan, Tom Yip and members of the Yip family began serving up the centuries-old Cantonese culinary tradition at the China House restaurant on Grandin Road.
Chan and the Yips, natives of Canton, China, moved to Roanoke in June from New York, where they'd had 11 years' restaurant experience. Yip said he noticed that most of the area's numerous Chinese restaurants served similar menus and offered similar a la carte buffets.
"We wanted a restaurant to give full service," Yip explained, pointing out the linen-covered tables that are part of the desired upscale image he's seeking.
"We wanted to introduce more authentic Cantonese food to the area," he said.
Dim sum filled that bill. It is traditionally both an occasion and a meal.
Pearl Fu, a friend of the restaurant's owners and a long-time dim-sum lover herself, said that in China, tea houses serve dim sum every morning to businessmen conducting transactions, retired people showing off their caged birds, and families and friends gathering for leisure entertainment and reunions. Tea is leisurely sipped throughout the meal, which is called "Yum Char," meaning "drink tea" in Cantonese.
Waitresses stroll among the patrons, pushing carts laden with various dim sum, whose names they call out in sing-song tones. Patrons select what they want and set aside their empty containers. At meal's end, the accumulated plates and bamboo steamers are tallied for the tab.
"Sometimes, one is amazed at the number of dishes that have been consumed, and the bill can be rather high," Fu observed.
However, if you factor in the skill and labor intensity that goes into some of the dishes, dim sum might be considered cheap.
Dim sum chef Wai Yip, Tom's brother, learned his craft in an apprenticeship program in 1982 under a Hong Kong chef in a Santo Domingo hotel. Wai estimated that there are well over 100 varieties of standard dim sum, including desserts, plus numerous creative variations. Wai works closely with head chef Robert Yip, Tom's son, in preparing the dim sum from scratch, using all-fresh ingredients. They even make, roll and hand-pinch the translucently thin wrappers used in many of the dishes.
The chefs said that Cantonese food is generally lighter than that from some other provinces, with less oil, fewer spices, milder sauces and lots of fresh seafood, all at its best when freshly cooked. They often begin the time-consuming slicing, dicing, crisping and such involved in dim sum preparation on the preceding evening; the final touches and cooking are completed just before the appetizers are served.
Appearance, aroma and taste are all equally important to the dim sum experience, the chefs said.
Tom Yip hasn't yet brought in dim sum serving carts, although he plans to do so soon. In the meantime, he or his wife, head waitress Ling Yip, or any other staff member will help the uninitiated choose from among the restaurant's constantly expanding dim sum menu.
Patron Silverstein, who visits her new-found neighborhood haunt several times weekly for dim sum, recently took a party of nine, including three grandchildren and a couple of friends who'd never heard of, much less tasted, the treat.
For them, she had a few recommendations of her own:
"The eggplant is numero uno," Silverstein assured. "Or there's the shumai [or suimai, steamed pork]; turnip cake; spring roll and Chinese chive crescents. The Yang Chow fried rice isn't dim sum, but it's to die for - not greasy, fluffy and full of wonderful ingredients.
"It's an interesting way to eat. There's variety and small portions. It's best to have friends to share with so you can try lots more things."
But when she can't find anyone to accompany her, she goes alone.
"I've been coming here for two months. I was a size 8 before that," she joked.
Fu suggested that in order to fill up and help keep the dim sum bill down, diners might want to order a platter of homemade Cantonese pan fried noodles, rice noodles or ho fun (flat, glutinous rice noodles) with meat, seafood or vegetable toppings along with their dim sum.
Dim sum is served daily between 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m, with the most extensive menu offered on weekends. The appetizers include steamed shrimp dumplings; steamed spare ribs; steamed chicken feet; steamed roast pork or sweet buns; bean curd rolls; deep fried taro puffs; stuffed green pepper or eggplant; and shrimp/pork fried dumpling with leek. Prices average $2 - $2.50 per appetizer.
A full standard menu also is available for lunch and dinner, with some outstanding house specialties, including individual clay-pot casseroles and Peking duck, for which at least a one-day's advance order is recommended.
China House restaurant is located at 2326 Grandin Road, Roanoke. Call 772-2635.
recipe for:
GARLIC CHIVE DUMPLINGS
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. 1. This dim sum platter includesby CNBcrescent dumplings, steamed shrimp dumplings, pork shumai (suimai),
roast pork buns, sticky rice cakes and a garnish of carved turnip
and eggplant. 2. Posing with China House specialties (House Walnut
shrimp with steamed broccoli, Peking duck and two dim sum platters)
are (seated from left) Tom Yip, Pearl Fu and Sun Mon Chan and (back
row from left) Ling Yip, Robert Yip, Wai Yip and Stanley Yip.
color.