More Dim Sum at Golden Unicorn – NYC
With the warmer weather, sharing a table at Golden Unicorn is inevitable, but dim sum is always good regardless. Especially on the weekend when the roving carts have more to offer than har gow (shrimp dumplings) and cheung fun (steamed rice rolls). Here are a few highlights from dim sum a few weeks ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I live for steamed rice rolls, but pan-fried rice rolls ($3.55; pictured at top) with dried shrimp covered in sweet soy and sesame sauce also make me very happy. It’s a bit more substantial, and the crusty fried bits can’t be denied. At Golden Unicorn, the best part is that the rolls are freshly fried tableside. As a result, our rolls arrived hot and slippery.
Clams with black bean sauce ($8.55), even without a lot of whole black beans was also very tasty without any grit or fishiness.
Another favorite was fried sticky rice dumplings with pork (ham sui gok; $3.25) which thankfully are available during the week also. The outside was sticky and sweet with a nice golden crust, and the pork filling was savory enough to counter the sweetness.
On the weekends close to noon, Golden Unicorn also has a Peking duck cart which upon order they’ll slice and make Peking duck buns for you, but by that time I’m always too full, and don’t feel are very good compared to the $1 duck buns at Corner 28 anyway. But if you have the room, and don’t feel like heading to Flushing for a duck bun or two, it’s an option.
On that particular day, I decided to forgo dessert for bubble tea at Ten Ren, but in the past I really liked the bean curd jelly with mixed fruit ($3.25). The mixed fruit is nothing more than canned fruit cocktail, but the sweet silken tofu makes up for it. It’s not Tung Woo quality, but that’s the price you pay for instant gratification.
Har gow and cheung fun are essential to dim sum, but for me the real draw is variety. Excluding both, what’s your favorite dim sum?
Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway (b/n Catherine & Market St; map)
New York, NY 10002
212-941-0911
My Hong Kong friends make fun of me for always ordering lo mai gai (sticky rice); apparently, rice is too carb-y and filling, so ordering lo mai gai instead of something meatier is like wasting money.
It’s still my favorite, though.
For savory, definitely steamed scallion cheung fun with sweet and sesame sauce. It’s just so lubricating and fun to slurp and eat. 🙂 Sweet-wise, I like something light like black sesame jello rolls or coconut jello. Though when I was a kid, I adored black sesame filled mochi balls rolled in crushed peanuts. Hmm…
@Jin – Love sticky rice too! Yeah, it’s kinda of a waste, but so good especially when there’s lots of Chinese sausage in it.
@kim – Ooh, mochi balls. Another goodie!