Back to a Dim Sum Classic, North Garden

My favourite dim sum spot in Winnipeg is North Garden Restaurant. When I dined there a few months ago I could not help but feel a sense of overwhelming joy as I savoured every bite of delectable, well portioned and scrumptious morsel of dim sum. How then could I say no when a fellow resident had a hankering for a dim sum, and I directed us quickly over to North Garden Restaurant.

A prime location indeed; one can find North Garden on University Crescent in the heart of Fort Garry and only a short drive (or moderate walk) from the University of Manitoba campus. While the restaurant has a decidedly plain exterior, the inside is noticeably nicer with a modern and cavernous dining room that is brightly lit and adorned with a tasteful decor. Rounding out the service are the host of wait staff who do an efficient job of cleaning and directing diners to their tables.

The menu has a decidedly dichotomous feel to it: with half housing the predominantly Cantonese dim sum options, and the other half revealing North Chinese stir fries and noodle dishes. We were there certainly for the dim sum though and decided to focus our attention to that aspect of the menu. Diners here will a fare range of the usual dim sum classics, all shown with their corresponding pictures; a neat feature that helps to acquaint those unfamiliar with dim sum. Nevertheless, the litany of items should be enough to please anyone, new or a regular.

We started with a small portion of their Pork & Preserved Duck Egg Congee. Indeed, the small bowl (more than enough for the two of us) was chalk full of pork and preserved duck egg. The dish had a nice contrast between the smooth congee with the sharp egg and the fatty pork; while texturally one gets crunchiness from the peanut topping. A common comfort food served right, an excellent start to our meal.

Knowing that we were going to be more than a bit gluttonous today, we ordered some vegetables: Steam Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce. Simply made and simply presented, the stalks of gai lan were steamed long enough to be cooked through but still had a nice tender crunch. Dipping it in the accompanying oyster sauce adds a touch of sweet and salty to the slightly bitter vegetable.

Steam Rice Roll with Shrimp was another one of our favourites. The key here is the interplay between the shrimp, which were impressively large and plump, with the smooth and thin rice roll, which was perfectly steamed tender, followed by the hint of saltiness from the soy. Delectable.

A little disappointing were the Pan Fried Pork Dumplings. Granted, the large dumplings were filled chalk full of pork and were pan fried to achieve a nice golden exterior; but the flavour of the dumplings themselves were rather diminished and single noted. Missing was a vegetable or a herbal element to round out the entire dish.

Another classic, these Pan Fried Radish with Chinese Sausage Cake were delightful. Nicely crisp on the outside while still wonderfully juicy and tender on the inside, the contrast between the fatty pieces of Chinese sausage works well with the smooth tender bites of radish. Dipping the entire cake in the accompanied hoison sauce adds a final element of salt and sweetness to round out the umami flavour.

One of my all time favourite dishes, these Steam Squids in Curry Sauce did not fail to deliver! Tender but still retaining a bit of chew, the chefs steamed this dish long enough such that the squid soaked up the accompanying curry sauce. And oh what a sauce that is; deep, rich and flavourful, it resembles more a South Asian curry than a East Indian version. Finally a touch of brightness and freshness from green onion finish off the dish.

I recall being impressed the first time with these Steamed Shrimp Dumplings with Bamboo Shoot, and the second time remains true. Large and plump, the smooth shrimp filling is interjected by the occasional smooth bite of crispy bamboo. Housing all this is a thin rice skin that is thick enough to hold everything in but thin enough to be unobtrusive to the overall flavour, well done!

Steam Beef Omasa with Ginger & Onion is certainly not everyone's favourite dish; but for those who can overcome the initial shock of eating stomach, one will find a tasteful and flavourful dish; you see, the folds of the beef omasa here are expertly used to soak up the slightly sweet and slightly salty sauce used to cook it. Textural contrast is also found between the slightly chewy exterior with the delicate smooth interior of the stomach.

Steam Sticky Rice with Pork & Mushroom is always a fan favourite and North Gardens' versions did not disappoint. Large and plump, the sticky rice portions had a strong aroma even before we opened them, a great marker of the flavour to come!

Indeed, the interiors are filled with sweet and delicate rice with a large amount of tender pork filling. Missing somewhat were the Chinese mushrooms, with nary but a couple small pieces to be found per portion. Nevertheless, the tender pieces of pork and their accompanied soy based sauce were soaked up in the sweet rice and made an excellent balance of flavours.

Steam Spareribs with Black Bean & Garlic Sauce looks rather unappealing but are actually filled to the brim with flavour. The juices of the small spareribs flowed nicely and worked well with the salty black bean and garlic sauce. Tender and cooked through, the pieces of fatty pork melted in your mouth as you savour the underlying flavours. Finally much needed brightness is found in the green onion topping.

Our dessert item of the day these Fried Glutinous Ball Stuffed with Red Bean Paste were average. Crisp on the outside while smooth on the inside, we found the ratio of dough to red bean paste a little skimpy and while the taste of the dish was authentic, it was overall decidedly average compared to the other delicious dishes we ate.

The star of the night, these North Garden Shui Mai Dumplings are magnificent. Bordering on the best shui mai in Winnipeg, these wonderful dumplings are filled with sweet delicious pork and shrimp paste all steamed to perfection in a thin egg wrapper and topped with a plump tender shrimp and fish roe. What makes these so great is that you can taste the inherent sweetness of the shrimp, which do a amicable job of contrasting the strong fatty taste of the pork, and are finally trumped by the saltiness of the fish roe; which all together melt together to a taste of umami.

Okay, we might have gone a little far when we ordered the Fried Noodle with Shrimp in XO Chili Sauce as well! Unfortunately this was the most average dish of the night, with a large bevy of chow mein noodles fried with onions and a few scant pieces of shrimp. The advertised XO sauce imparted just a hint of spicy and sweet flavour, not enough to overcome the greasy carbohydrate heavy load of the noodles.

North Garden is simply the best dim sum in Winnipeg. Authentic flavours, large portions and perfectly cooked, there is nothing to dislike about the dim sum here. And while the prices are on the higher end, one can easily taste and appreciate the quality of the food here. An instant recommendation for anyone looking for dim sum in Winnipeg.