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After much anticipation, Bing Bing Dim Sum, 1648 E. Passyunk Ave., opened Monday. To get the low down on the second venture from the Cheu Noodle Bar crew, I chatted with chef/owner Ben Puchowitz.
SPR: Articulate what our readers can expect and what you’re going to be doing at Bing Bing.
Ben: “Bing Bing is really, it’s like Cheu (Noodle Bar), a fun party almost. It’s a very lively atmosphere, there’s lots of cool stuff on the walls, lots of art, some funky weird stuff. One of the walls is filled with cartoon dumplings. Another wall is a mural of a Hong Kong scene, some really lively decor.
In terms of the food, it’s authentic dumplings or dim sum turned upside down and made more for the American palate. Dim sum is mostly dumplings or small appetizers that are meant to share. There’s some different appetizers that are traditional at a dim sum restaurant that we kind of took and updated them a bit.
Ben: "We have a really awesome bar manager who came from Percy Street (Barbecue); his name is Max Sherman. He’s got these punches meant for a large party. They’re almost a gallon of punch for $30-$32. They’re super delicious.”
SPR: How do you balance traditional approaches with the creative stuff you guys do?
Ben: ldquo;If we are going to do something, it is a lot easier to do say a traditional dumpling or appetizer, but stopping there is really weird to me. Once we start thinking and get the base menu items down, we go from there. The turnip cake, once I figured how to make that good, I thought how can I make it different and use my background to riff on this appetizer.”
SPR: Where do you find inspiration for some of these genre bending dishes?
Ben: “If I am struggling, I always go to my Jewish background, so that’s how a lot of those flares come in. For that turnip cake, once I made that traditional style I thought this would be good with matzo meal, and it works perfectly.
From there, pretty much all I eat, all the time is Asian food — dumplings, noodles, anything really. I get comfortable with those flavors, textures then once I get in the kitchen, I can imitate them or tweak them. … My style really got started at Matyson, riffing on Asian food, and I am doing the same thing today."
SPR: It’s certainly a good canvas for some creative approaches that work for you.
Ben: “We have tons of awesome Asian markets around Philadelphia that I can go to and just buy interesting produce then mess around with it. … I am just lucky enough to have a restaurant where we can serve that food.”
SPR: Were you looking to set up your second spot in this area from the get go, or did the option just present itself?
Ben: ldquo;The building itself, when I first walked in, it was exciting. The triangle space on Passyunk [Avenue] creates a lot of interesting angles and space. It’s kind of the same way I cook — it’s not square, not symmetrical, it’s not a perfect box.
If you walk down Passyunk, too, it’s like that scene in Goodfellas when [Henry Hill] walks in the back of the restaurant. He goes through the whole kitchen, all the back hallways, and he finally gets to the restaurant, that one whole scene. It is kind of like that because you can see the whole operation (from the street). … You can see the dumpling people in the back and in the front you can see part of the kitchen then by the time you get the corner you see the full dining room. That’s what we envisioned when we saw this place and it’s happening now.”
SPR: How did you come up with your rendition of this essential dim sum dish?
Ben: ldquo;The soup dumplings are the most traditional thing on this menu. I really didn’t stray away from the regular flavor where it’s pork, scallion, ginger, then a very heavy chicken broth inside. We tried doing different ones, but it wasn’t really making any sense. So we went for the authentic flavor on that. It does come out inevitably a little different tasting. I think the broth comes out a little different, almost like a matzo ball soup broth. The wrapper took me years to figure out the exact recipe, and it’s something I still haven’t perfected yet. … Then we had to figure out how to make a bunch every night. I am a huge soup dumpling fan, so I wouldn’t say they’re with the best soup dumplings in the world. I would say they’re about an 8.5 out of 10 and maybe about three months in, they’ll be closer to 10.
We also have a jumbo soup dumpling I found in one of my books. It is the same dough, but it’s filled with a shrimp and coconut broth, almost like a Thai or Vietnamese style soup. It’s steamed in a bowl so when you get it, it looks like this big dumpling with toppings, but when you go in there with chop sticks, it pops open to all the soup so you can eat it with a spoon.”
For more information, visit bingbingdmum.com.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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