Being a regular paying patron of the restaurant and truly enjoying the dim sums that are on offer at Dimsum Brothers, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call from the restaurant inviting me to sample the new variety of dim sums that has been recently incorporated in the menu.
The Cheng Fun Pork was a pipe-shaped, cannelloni like dimsum served piping hot on a plate of soy flavoured, light sauce. The diced pork filling was minimally seasoned. The Steamed Basa Basil Fish was buttery smooth with nuanced flavours of fresh basil and tomatoes. The vegetarian Pumpkin-Radish Cake tasted well with soy sauce with the crunchy sesame a foil to the polenta-like grilled mashed cake. The Spinach Fish Roll was unpretentious while the Prawn with Chives grabs your eyeballs with its striking colour but soothing taste.
The Malah Wanton Chicken was quite wanton in its interplay of seven spices. The Schezwan Peppercorn Chicken Dumpling surprised me with its grainy, crushed peppercorns which lent a distinct taste and bite to every mouthful. The Prawn and Bacon in Tangy Garlic Sauce ushered in a clever yet popular fusion of flavours. The diced and reconstituted meat, steamed and wrapped around a perky prawn tail was one of my favourites.
The Steam Chicken Rice Ball gave a calming respite from the riot of flavours of the earlier few dim sums. The Baked Chicken, Bacon, and Cheese Tart was another one competing for the honours – the sweet tart shells crumbling to a salty, crispy bacon, chewy cheese and seasoned minced chicken. There was no lone winner that day.
The Chicken in Pan-fried Bun encrusted with sesame seeds was more oven-grilled than pan fried, I think, and was like a palate cleanser, preparing me for the flavours that were to come. When I indicated that I wanted to try only one piece of the Grilled Sole in Mint Sauce, I was smugly informed that I couldn’t stop with one. Never, a truer word had been spoken. The simple grilled sole was made exceptional by a refreshing mint sauce interspersed with garlic and red-hot chilli peppers – a delight. The top honours, however, go to the Fried Pork Belly. The taste of the crispy crackling juxtaposed with the lean meat and smooth fat was a veritable fugue on a plate. It was the only dish that was repeated.
The truly Jumbo-sized Prawns in Basil Sauce, a yet-to-be-incorporated dish in the menu, was too robust in flavour, the basil and spices, overpowering. A bit toned down, the dish can be a popular choice. The Sesame Chocolate Dumpling could have done with more chocolate fondant filling and a thinner, less chewy crust.
It seemed almost as if the restaurant was orchestrating its choices and serving order of the dim sums – from a restful adagio (Cheng Fun Pork, Steamed Basa Basil Fish, Pumpkin-Radish Cake, Spinach Fish Roll, Prawn with Chives) to an intermezzo of textures (Malah Wanton Chicken, Schezwan Peppercorn Chicken Dumpling, Fried Pork Belly), a minuet of flavours (Prawn and Bacon in Tangy Garlic Sauce, Baked Chicken, Bacon, and Cheese Tart), to a rising crescendo of spices, herbs and condiments (Grilled Sole in Mint Sauce, Jumbo Prawns in Basil Sauce).
Service has always been beyond reproach as evidenced in my several earlier visits. On this occasion, the manager Pankaj Gandhi, personally ensured that my experience was pleasanter than usual. Further enquiry revealed that the restaurant has about 50 different dim sums on its menu. While that figure takes care of variety, it’s the consistency in taste and crafty fusion of flavours that sets Dimsum Brothers apart from the rest. I can state this with certitude as I eat there at least once a month as a paying customer.
Address: Dimsum Brothers, R-303, 3rd floor, Ambience Mall. Gurgaon 122002. Tel: +91124-4029281
