![]() They were attentive in refilling our tea kettles, but never refilled our waters unfortunately. Our orders came out pretty fast and the servers were kind. The interior is large, spacious, and decorated simply. “It’s part of the custom.Located on the street directly across the main Chinatown square, Phoenix is a popular spot- expect a wait especially for weekend dimsum, which is what my friends and I came for. “When your friend or host fills your tea, this means ‘thank you’,” he says. This signals to the wait staff that you need more hot water.Įddy pours more tea and tells me to tap my fingers lightly against the table when the cup is nearly full. ![]() When your teapot is out of water, prop the lid off to the side. You can show your dim sum know-how by obeying proper tea etiquette. While we talk, we drink jasmine tea, which is good for getting rid of toxins. Phoenix serves three different types: green tea, white tea, and brown tea. And don't forget the teaĪt dim sum, the tea is equally important to the food. This way, by the second or third visit, diners will have a better idea of what they like. He’ll point out a few of the more popular dishes if there’s something they don’t end up liking, it can easily be swapped out for something else. When diners are new to dim sum, Eddy encourages them to experiment. While all these dishes are traditional, the chefs can tweak the recipes to accommodate for special diets or food allergies. Kids gravitate toward the crunchy, easy-to-grip shrimp rolls and sweeter fare, from mango pudding (pictured above) to custard rolls.įoreign travelers, especially those from Latin America, and adventurous eaters alike seem to love the chicken feet (pictured at bottom-right of top photo), a more exotic dish consisting of skin and tendons. The most popular dishes with Westerners are ha gao (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork dumplings mentioned above). “Everyone has their favorites,” Eddy says. And best of all, you need only point to what you want to have it brought out from the kitchen. Don't be intimidated-the menu has pictures it has numbers it has names written in both Chinese and English. On a weekday: order dim sum off the menuĬartless weekdays offer a quiet, more peaceful atmosphere for ordering off the paper menu, which you can find near the hostess stand. Hot tip: if you want to experience the pushcarts without the crowds, head over on a Saturday, which tends to be less busy than Sundays, Eddy says. When I ask Eddy why they keep them, he says “tradition.” Not only to impress the tourists who come in, but also to let Chinese-American customers share this bit of culture with their kids. Phoenix is one of the only dim-sum restaurants in Chicago that still uses these carts. Should you see something you like, they leave the basket on your table and put a checkmark on your bill (it’s tallied at the end). On weekends and special holidays, the wait staff winds traditional dim sum carts around tables, lifting lids off stacked steamer baskets to reveal the enticing contents. ![]() Here's our guide to dim-sum dining, with a few tips from Eddy. Sound intimidating? It doesn't have to be. Its customer base has grown over the years, and today, even with other dim sum restaurants up and down the block, you’ll find long lines winding out the door on any given Sunday. In 1996, Phoenix was one of the first restaurants to introduce dim sum to Chicago. “What we are serving in this restaurant is what we are eating in Hong Kong. ![]() When I first came in, he was waving at a group of regulars while on the phone haggling with a seafood vendor. This little fact about the siu mai is one of many surprising stories I learn from Eddy, the chef at Phoenix, where he also handles a million other tasks to keep the restaurant running smoothly. Easily, they’re one of the most labor-intensive items at Phoenix Restaurant in Chicago, where each weekend this Chinese restaurant serves 80 different varieties of classic dim sum snacks. Each has a thin wrapper that needs to be delicately pleated by hand. ![]()
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