Brian normally doesn’t have days off completely, so when we have a full day off together – we like to go for food (go figure?). We have been craving dim sum recently and we thought there was no better time to go for some before the impending Chinese New Year.

We’ve been to Dai Tung before and I have to say that from all the dim sum places we’ve been to, this is one of my favourites in the city. I also had a post to write for the Food Bloggers of Canada, so I wanted to highlight them as well.

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We started off with Deep Fried Taro Dumplings with minced pork ($3.50). I love this dish because it’s crispy and flaky but light on the outside but nice and moist on the inside.

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The taro is the shell around the moist minced pork. The combination of crunchy, slightly sweet and savoury on the inside makes for a great flavour throughout.

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Our next dish is a staple in dim sum – Siu Mai. Pork Dumplings ($4.25) – these ones are nice and big, steamed well and are always served piping hot. I love adding hot sauce to this dish.

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Ha Gau (Steamed Prawn Dumplings – $4.25) is another staple for dim sum. These great dumplings are slightly translucent, not too sticky or chewy and with great prawn on the inside. Gotta love places that you can separate the prawn inside still rather than it being all minced up.

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This dish is what I like to call, Brian’s dish. Chicken Feet in Special Sauce ($3.75) – I call it Brian’s dish because he’s usually the one eating and ordering it. Not that I have any aversion to it’s look or texture, it’s just I feel that there isn’t enough substance in this dish to make me ever really crave chicken feet. Ever. Anyway – don’t let my opinion stop you from trying this dish out, it’s essential in life to try things at least once!

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Deep Fried Eggplant with Shrimp Paste in Black Bean Sauce ($3.75). I’m going to have to say that cooking eggplant is tough and some dim sum places just don’t cut it. But here at Dai Tung, this dish is great. The eggplant isn’t over  cooked and still has a bit of bounce to it and the proportion of shrimp to eggplant doesn’t overpower it.

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Rice Rolls with Beef and Cilantro ($4.25). I love rice rolls. My favourite kind has got to be with Chinese doughnut with scallions and pork fluff on top. They don’t have this at Dai Tung sadly, but they do have other ones! My second choice is always prawns, but I figured we’d mix it up today and try the beef. It wasn’t too bad, the cilantro helps flavour this dish a bit, but there is not too much flavour to be expected from the dish itself.

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Brian ordered the Rice in Clay Pot with Chicken Feet and Spare Ribs ($4.95). What I like about this dish is definitely the rice underneath it. I’m not sure whether they let it steam with the chicken or add broth to it when it’s cooking, but it is so flavourful and moist. I could skip the protein on top and just eat all the rice!

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Finally, our last dish is their Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($4.95). There are six during dim sum and they’re pretty fairly sized chicken wings. I have to say that these wings are probably the best wings I’ve had in town – sorry Phnom Penh! Simply because their breading is crispy on the outside and the meat is still tender and juicy on the outside. They sprinkle some garlic and ginger atop the wings that give it a nice mild kick. Can I please have this every day? I guess my doctor would probably advise against that though!

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Yes, we ordered 8 dishes for two people – that’s how we roll ;). Again, I love Dai Tung and I’d love to explore more of their dinner menu but I’d definitely recommend checking them out for dim sum. The restaurant is fairly clean and the wait staff are very friendly, it seems like they have a lot of regulars as they all chat them up. It’s hard to find a Chinese restaurant that has a great balance of value, good food and good service but I think that Dai Tung nails it.

Food: mini4andahalfforks

Service: mini5forks

Value: mini4andahalfforks

Ambiance: mini4forks

OVERALL: 4andahalfforks