Nowadays, the Kang family barely goes out to eat. Chris’s birthday was finally what drove us to enjoy a catered meal together in the spring of 2022. The destination for the celebration remained up in the air until Tuesday, when Chris decided that he wanted to try the dim sum at the new Grand Dynasty on Bollinger.
After confirming his choice, I called in to book a reservation. The lady on the line assured me that for a party of four on a weekday, none was needed. When we arrived at 11, we could see that was indeed the case. There were rows and rows of tables available in the wide open space that used to be a Rite Aid. (That was a little surprising, considering how there are lines of people spilling out the doors on weekends.)
Anyway, we ordered our usual dim sum fare: BBQ pork buns, ginger tripe, turnip cake, shrimp cheung fun, chicken claws, pork ribs, beancurd skin rolls, shui mai, Portuguese egg tarts. We also ordered a large yi mein (aka “e-fu noodles”) for my dad, since the vegetarian options were lacking.
Out of all the family members, my mom was the most judgmental. She liked the shrimp cheung fun a lot, but frowned upon almost everything else. Her main complaint (besides the dishes being too expensive) was that the dishes were too salty. She also thought the yi mein was bland and lacking in flavor. Personally, I enjoyed everything that I ate, but I’m not a picky eater.
The tab (which I covered as a treat to my brother) came out to $112.20 before tips. Other dim sum shops in the area offer similar quality for much less, so it is unlikely that we’re going to come back.
PS: the Portuguese egg tarts today took forever to make.
