Asia Seven: Yum Cha Festival in High Street Phoenix, Mumbai

Asia Seven at High Street Phoenix is running a Yum Cha Festival from March 15, 2014 till April 15, 2014.

Dimsum literally translating to “touch the heart”, is an integral part of the famous Yum Cha ceremony (Drinking Tea ceremony). Dimsum has progressed from a meal usually served until mid-afternoons to being served all through the day and dinner. Some places in Hong Kong and the Guangdong province serve these as early as 5 am in the morning. The dumplings have over the years gained in variety from just being pockets of meat or vegetable fillings to being consumed as desserts like custard buns and tarts.

Having been to several dim sum restaurants during my stay in HK, I have realised that Dim sum outlets are usually of two types – the no-nonsense, taste-is-king, fast-service, run-by-family-for-100-years type or the Opium-den-decadent ambiance, low lighting, drink-at-leisure, eat-at-peace kind. Asia Seven was more of the latter and it instantly lulled me into the feel good I-am-about-to-be-indulged stupor. We were given a choice of teas and we chose the aromatic Oriental Sencha Tea. We chose this particular tea as it goes well with light flavoured foods.

All the dim sums were made with fresh ingredients and had the thinnest covering – two very important factors for good dim sums.

First let me talk about my favourite ones. The Scallop Siu Mai or Sui Mai was fresh and mildly flavoured keeping in mind the delicate nature of the flesh. The Crystal Shrimp was a burst of flavours with the tiniest hint of seasoning which made it a treat to have. The Silken Tofu, Spinach and Water Chestnut Dim sum was full of delicate flavours with each ingredients standing out. The Wild mushroom and Truffle Sauce Dim sum had all the earthy goodness of mushrooms and truffle and it was indeed one of the best dishes of the afternoon. It made a non-vegetarian like me forget that it had no meat. The Mantau or Mantow buns have always been my favourites and these ones did not disappoint either. They were just right; fluffy and silken soft.

The others dim sums, though not outstanding, were not bad either. The Vegetable Crystal dumpling and Black Pok Choy Dim sums were good options for vegetarians but did nothing to stand out. The Prawns Har Gow did not have the burst of flavours we expected like the Crystal shrimp. The Chicken Kothe – steamed and the Chicken Siu Mai though quite good tasted like they had the same filling and apart from the shapes did not really have any distinction. The Chicken Kothe – pan fried was just similar with unevenly seared skin which again did not do much to change the monotony. The Spicy Pork Dumpling was not spicy enough nor anywhere near the ones I had eaten in HK and left me a tad disappointed. The Chicken Bao was better than the rest but again the filling was similar. However, due to the difference in texture I enjoyed it.

Chicken dim sums, though intrinsically mildly flavoured, would have been better off with some distinct flavours considering that in India maximum patrons would opt for chicken.Having said this if you are the type to sample other non-vegetarianofferings this is definitely an opportunity not to miss. Also do try the Watermelon Wonder that the bartender got for us. It’s a fresh watermelon, lime, cranberry juice concoction.