Know the Dim Sums and enjoy the treat at Yauatcha, Delhi

Dimsum and Momos…. 

Before I talk about my experience of eating various types of Dimsums at Endless DIM SUM fest going on in Yauatcha,  I must share some learning around the food and its type because I always thought Momos were same as Dim Sums until I realized I hardly knew the difference.

Delhiites love eating Momos. These dumplings have become a popular snack for all ages. This can be confirmed by their burgeoning community in the small and big markets. Even a small residential market has more than one vendor selling momos. So Momos are Tibetian dumplings filled with veggies, soya or chicken wrapped inside all-purpose flour or Maida. If you have an urge to conclude that Dim Sums are similar and just that Chinese love to call them as Dimsums, I must correct you now.

DIM SUMS at Yauatcha

What are Dim Sums?

The word Dim Sum means ‘touch your heart’. They are Cantonese style of food and not restricted only to dumplings. Though steamed wraps dominate the menu but they can be fried or baked buns, tarts, meatballs, wontons, salty cakes, steamed chci etc in the Dim Sum platter. Most of them have interesting fillings in them. Another notable thing about Dim Sums is that they are small bite-sized or individual portions so that one can relish a variety of them. Dim sum refers to ‘drink tea’ and its more about enjoying the small portions over a cup of tea. Even if you eat the fried bites, they get washed down by the tea.

With varieties of Dim Sums at Yauatcha,  it was an experience to savor!

Honestly, to me too the name doesn’t come easily on my tongue and thus I was curious if it means something as catchy as its name. Well if you Google it, it only talks about its origin. ‘Yauatcha is a Chinese restaurant in Broadwick Street, Soho, London, England, specializing in dim sum.’ The restaurant was created in 2004 by Alan Yau.

Well you don’t have to go all the way to London to taste its flavors. In Delhi, in Ambiance mall at Vasant Kunj, on the second floor, in the corner, just next to the lift is one of the branches of this chain of a Michelin star restaurant.  I had an invite to come over for their Endless Dimsum Special which I happily accepted.  Hubby and I are more than happy to explore new eateries because we both love to binge.  With or without the invites, we often go around catching up with the new in Delhi and outside India.

The interiors of Yauatcha at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

First things first! The restaurant is pretty spacious. The lights on the individual tables are glowy but overall its a dim-light setup.  The interiors were sober, nothing extraordinary that caught my eye. From the look of it you can say that it does make a comfortable eating place for families, couples, friends where they can have their me time.  I had a nice seat. Hubby had a direct view of the IPL match playing on the Television and on the other side we could see the kitchen clear and transparent enclosed by a glass wall. It was engaging to see the chefs work so diligently and especially when you looked at the presentation of the Dim Sums, you just couldn’t ignore their hard work.

I was curious…

When I had a word with the General Manager of the restaurant, I learnt that as per the concept of this restaurant they did not believe in buffet setups because then it really gets difficult to provide freshly prepared Dimsums and chinese food loses its sheen if kept prepared for long. Thus this special menu was prepared to give that endless fill and give a wholesome Dim Sum treat.  In Ala Carte, its only possible to try one or two or at max three types but here there were 30 exotic variants of Dim Sum to pick from.  I learnt that the restaurant offers more than 40 types, thus having 30 in one special package seemed like an awesome deal. This was similar to a buffet but just that one had to order their choices one after the other. The servings are made up of two or three individual portions and then if you like it you can re-order the same type. The aim of this special menu is to acquaint people with as many Dim Sums types as possible.

Before you begin Salad, Soya Sauce, Chilli Oil and Chilli Chutney

I wondered how many hubby and I would be able to try. We did not have any number in our mind.  Since I am the non-vegetarian one, I always start with the meat and he has to do with the veggies. He ordered vegetable poached peking dumpling and I ordered baked chicken puff.  When they arrived, we couldn’t resist taking pictures and of course delving into them.

The above two got us really hungry and soon we ordered some more interesting names. The best part was that every detail of the food stood for itself. The presentation was lovely, the outside had the required softness or the crispiness and in the inside the ingredients spoke for themselves through the flavors.

I really felt I was eating authentic Chinese. I was enjoying clicking pictures of them all, I was enjoying eating and I loved the surprises that every new Dim sum had to offer.  Of all, the lamb bun had impressed me most till now but we had enjoyed all of them.

We ordered some more to fascinate and delight our taste buds.

Everytime something new came and we both got engaged in chewing and relishing its taste.  I was having my fun of eating both veg and non-veg varieties. Asparagus cheung fun was interesting and steamed chicken was absolutely made to suit my taste. I loved the chicken most but none failed to delight me.

At last we decided to go with three more vegetarian types. I was already feeling full but I wanted to try some more. I must say, each one had something unique about themselves. I do not say that each type will taste the best on the earth but yes its gonna be fun for the taste buds. And if you don’t like one, you can always go for another. There are so many to choose from.  With 30 on the list, we tried only 13, seriously even the two of us couldn’t go for half of them. Yes, we need another round to go for the others.

This Dim Sum treat made me fond of steamer baskets seriously! And for the first time that I could remember I had not eaten noodles or fried rice but only Dim sums in a Chinese restaurant, this was something to quote for sure.

Before I made my way out, I took a click of the chefs and their kitchen. This is my way of thanking them for putting up a good job.

Just some suggestion!!

I learnt that drinking tea is very important to Dim Sums and its origin too has tea connections. Thus, I would suggest that a DIM SUM special menu should have had a few options for tea as well since everyone prefers a drink with their meal. This would make people more curious about the combination and about the real concept of Dim Sum that means to ‘drink tea’.

Dim Sum fest is till April end so if you into Chinese and are convinced now that Dim Sums are not just about dumplings, you know where to go!