Dim Sum Brunch

Our families usually go out to eat dim sum on weekends. My nieces especially love dim sum so they go a lot more. Since there’s only a few choices near Irvine, we usually go to China Garden on the corner of Jeffries and Walnut. Usually there is a line on weekends so often we try to go early and line up for the first seating after they open. Here is the dim sum menu:

Prices start from $3.88 per dish and goes up depending on what you order. I think we usually spend about $15/person since they also charge for tea. It’s not on the menu but if you order six dishes, you can also order a lobster yee-mein (stir-fried lobster noodles) for $10. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, the restaurant has become take-out only since they do not have outdoor seating. I guess I could have ordered from there but I found a 4-star rated place in Westminster that only sells take-out dim sum. It’s called The Dim Sum Company and it’s located in a Vietnamese supermarket. I can’t find a nice picture of their menu anywhere so here is a picture of the food from their website:

Most of their dishes are only $3.22. I ordered seven items and it came out to $25 including tax. They’re also a bit more tech savvy so I ordered online the night before for morning pickup. There also deliver but we probably live outside their delivery area (13 miles). My parents actually went to the Vietnamese supermarket before and though the dim sum was too “rough” or not refined looking. Having actually eaten the food, it’s only okay. Some of tie items at China Garden taste better but is also more expensive. It’s definitely good for the price. The place was pretty busy at 9:00 am on a Sunday. You can order there as well so there was a long line to order, and a long line for pick-up.

In the end, it was a bit too far to go for dim sum (20 minutes driving each way and a 15 minute wait for my food). If I get the craving for dim sum again during the lockdown, I’ll probably just order from China Garden, which is only a 10 minute drive. Obviously, there is no nutritional information for dim sum from a Vietnamese supermarket in Westminster so I have to guess at the sodium and fat content of each dish. I’ll probably go back to my standard oatmeal and toast breakfast for the rest of this week.