The wine cellar by this elongated restaurant’s entrance makes a good first impression. But there was a big dim-sum lull between carts one lunch, and we were stranded in this banquet hall, twiddling our chopsticks, hoping somebody would appear with pork spare ribs or Chinese broccoli even.ġ1666 Avena Place, Rancho Bernardo. As one Jasmine manager said, “Shark fin has no flavor.” (The delicacy will soon be banned since the state Legislature’s letting restaurants sell their existing kitchen stock only until next year.) The shrimp siu mai - a steamed prawn stack in a crinkly wonton wrapper - wasn’t a waste of time here, either. The ocean predator just adds that surprise “pop” texture. In Jasmine’s pork-and-shark-fin dumpling, the piggy protein does all the tasty work. Har gow: Cooked shrimp, green onions, ginger and seasonings are steamed inside thin, sticky wrappers with rumpled edges.Ĥ609 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa. Lotus leaf sticky rice: A cake of glutinous rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts and various proteins gets steamed inside a lotus leaf - it’s presented like a parcel.

Pot stickers: Wonton skins filled with a mixture of meat and seasonings, these are usually steamed before being pan-fried, and they’re considered Northern China’s contribution to dim sum. Siu mai: Sometimes spelled “shu mai” or “shumai” (“SHOO-my”), these steamed dumplings may have diced ginger, green onions, water chestnuts and pork or shrimp inside their wonton wrappers. Some popular offerings:Ĭhar sui bao: These barbecue pork buns, pronounced “char-SOO-bow,” are fluffy white steamed buns that contain cube-sized pork in a Cantonese-style sauce. Dim sum, Cantonese for “heart’s delight,” originated in Southern China and is served in appetizerlike amounts.

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