A special friend visit - Dim Sum Garden

Day 2 of our adventures began with dim sum. in Edmonton, we would often be found at one of the local Chinese restaurants enjoying some tasty dim sum treats. We had actually stumbled upon Dim Sum Garden by accident. Originally we had wanted to try some Shanghainese cuisine but found them closed on Saturday afternoon. But of course, where you have disappointment in one area, you can find excitement in another.

Dim Sum Garden operates on the order card system. As opposed to more traditional carts, patrons here tick off what items they want off of a paper menu. The advantages to this system are that the dim sum are always cooked fresh to order. The disadvantages are that you don't get to see the items and it generally takes longer to get your food.

Congee is Chinese comfort food. Its humble beginnings consist of rice boiled with a lot of water until you get a creamy consistency. Our favourite is mixed with pork and preserved egg. Dim Sum Garden's version was exactly what we remember and hope for in congee: smooth and creamy with lots of ingredients mixed in.

Steamed Eggplant with Shrimp Paste was quite good. Eggplant is generally difficult to make right as it can easily get soggy and oily. The version offered here was bang on.

The Har Gao (steamed shrimp dumplings) were excellent. Thin skin with delicious shrimp. By offering the dim sum cooked to order, these beautiful dumplings did not stick to each other and the skin remained intact.

The Siu Mai (pork dumplings) were juicy and greasy, exactly how they are supposed to be.

Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce was average here. The ribs had a bit too much fat on them, while the black bean sauce was what you would expect.

We were quite full at this time but managed to stuff down the Steamed Beef Balls. The addition of cilantro and water chestnut into these rotund beauties added a crunch and aroma that made this dish even more delectable.