When my friend Ben of Focus Snap Eat heard that I hadn’t had dim sum since middle school, he organized a brunch at East Ocean Seafood Restaurant with Sandy of Food Hoe and her husband Ken. Dim sum means “to touch the heart” in Cantonese and it definitely touched mine. According to Ben, this is the best place to get dim sum in the East Bay because of the flavors and variety.
photo: Christina Mitchell
East Ocean was a huge restaurant and servers were pushing carts loaded with metal containers of freshly steamed dishes. They stopped at our table, opened the lids so we could take a peek and then we quickly decided.
photo: Christina Mitchell
There were lots of traditional dumplings and not-so-traditional dishes to try. My favorites were the chive and shrimp dumpling, the xiao lung bao (Shanghai soup dumpling) and the Chinese Broccoli.
photo: Christina Mitchell
I wasn’t really feeling the Durian Puffs (now I know why they call it the “stinky fruit”), but I loved this pineapple bun with custard filling because the dough was so soft and the cream filling not-too-sweet.
Ben patiently gave suggestions, explained the ingredients and answered all of my questions. By the end of the meal, I was daydreaming about a trip to Hong Kong!
1713 Webster, Alameda
Christina Mitchell
Latest posts by Christina Mitchell (see all)
- La Casita: Food for the Soul - September 28, 2018
- How To Cook Vietnamese Sausage - September 7, 2018
- Let’s get it started… - September 6, 2018
Glad you liked it! And yes, you should definitely plan a trip to Hong Kong!
It’s definitely on my list. And I’ll definitely be asking you for suggestions!
Any suggestions for peking duck?
The one at Great China was really good. Have you been there? http://eastbaydish.com/2014/05/great-china-is-of-the-best-chinese-restaurants-in-the-bay-area-and-now-i-understand-why/