Great Wall Cuisine
Hours of Operation: Monday though Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Dim sum served until 3 p.m. daily
3446 West Camelback Road, Phoenix
602-973-1112
Most people today are fairly familiar with Chinese cuisine. Pei Wei and Panda Express are constantly popping up and featuring their version of egg rolls and chow mein. However, the concept of the Chinese brunch, dim sum, rings a bell with fewer diners. And, it can only be found at a handful of restaurants in the Valley,.Among them is Great Wall Cuisine in Phoenix.
Dim sum is a series of small plates served alongside pots of tea and shared among the table, similar to Spanish tapas. What's different about dim sum, however, is that plates are not ordered like at a typical restaurant. Instead, they're selected right off of carts pushed through the bustling dining room. Employees then stamp a card at the table, which is used to tally the bill at the register.
Dim sum is extremely well-priced, between $2 and $5 each, so a large meal can be shared between three or four people for only around $10 a person. The best part? Diners can try tons of different dishes. Make sure to get there earlier rather than later, as the dim sum begins to run low and the dining rooms grows busier as it gets closer to 3:00 p.m.
One of the hardest parts of eating dim sum is being too quick to jump the gun when the carts come rolling past. There are usually five or six different carts, each featuring four or five different dishes. Dishes come with little description, making unadventurous eaters nervous about what they're ingesting. But a bit of daring may just be rewarded with a lot of excellent flavor.
For instance, don't be squeamish about ordering the tripe. Marinated in dark, savory gravy and served with chili flakes, the dish is spicy and more tender than other meats, virtually melting in your mouth. For seaweed salad lovers, branch out to the jellyfish salad. The texture is similar, but the whitish strands of jellyfish are thicker and taste a bit more pickled than seaweed salad. It's served with thin slices of white and orange carrot.
A traditional part of dim sum is the dumplings. They come in various sizes, filled simply with shrimp, beef, or pork. They're recognizable by their thin, nearly translucent skin. The dumpling skin is like a slippery noodle with subtle flavor. Soak them in the dark soy sauce provided and enjoy.
A few to skip: the barbecue pork, which is served cold and garnished with peanuts. It's not particularly flavorful and the temperature is all wrong. The meatballs are another to avoid. Their texture is reminiscent of the gelled feel of uncooked meat. Also pass up the sticky rice. It's so sticky, it's difficult to separate with chopsticks and has an unexpected and somewhat unpleasant smoky flavor.
Dim sum generally ends with fried pastries — some sweet, some savory, some both. A few of the best include the buttery sticky rolls filled with barbecue pork and the éclair-like dessert bun filled with creamy coconut custard, a personal favorite. Stray from the sesame balls if you're not a fan of sticky red-bean paste, the balls' filling. Also, be warned that many of the pastries are heavy on dough and light on filling, which may be why they're typically saved until the end of the meal.
The best way to find out what you like for dim sum, however, is really just to go there. With the cheap plates and the wide variety of offerings, it's easy to spend several weekends in a row just figuring out what dim sum has to offer. Sounds like a fun and delicious task to undertake.
