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The day before Passover begins, some Jews deliberately woof down forbidden foods to tide them over for the next eight days. My cousin Jane and her father dine on the biggest, greasiest cheesesteak they can find. For me, it’s a tossup: Pizza or Asian food.
Those who tweet helped me to make my decision. I learned Sampan, Michael Schulson’s modern Asian restaurant now serves dim sum on weekends.
Huzzah! What an inspired idea. I love dim sum, but I’ve always traveled to Chinatown where the experience is big, noisy yet colorful. I enjoyed several meals at Sampan last year. The idea of savoring these small casings of dough in a quiet place set my taste buds in the right mode.
Sampan was quiet at 4:45 p.m. There were a few people at the bar and Sandy and I had one dining room all to ourselves for a while. Our server explained the dim sum cart has a few items — all for $6 — and we can order from the extended dim sum list. I sipped a jumbo Rob Roy ($15) while Sandy enjoyed her usual Absolute straight up ($9).
Since Schulson is new to the dim-sum game, he kept the offerings small on the ugly, clumsy wooden cart a waiter pushes around the restaurant. Two types of steamed buns, steamed ribs and chicken feet were available. I do not cringe at chicken feet; my mother and grandmother always included them in making chicken soup, but certain dining rules are on the table whenever Sandy joins me. We ordered pork steamed buns and another version prepared with corned beef. The tasty pork buns were filled with spiced shallots, mint and a hint of sweet chili sauce. The corned beef bun lacked flavor and I needed a microscope to find the beef. Sauerkraut and mustard were included — an Asian version of the time-honored Reuben sans Swiss cheese.
It was time to order from the dim sum menu. Six wild mushroom dumplings ($6) were nestled in a big, white deep bowl. The mixture was a little bland, but I liked the pickled mushrooms, bit of panko for crunch and citrus foam.
Sandy turns her nose up at duck, but since meaty shreds of boneless duck were disguised in the egg roll, she had no clue. Three plump rolls ($6) were filled with cucumber, scallion and nicely-but-lightly spiced duck. Though tasty, the duck egg rolls were a little greasy.
Since Sandy finally tried sushi, I knew she would try the hamachi ceviche ($6). This was the best dish of the day. This firm white fish was chopped, “cooked” in citrus juice, placed into three ceramic Asian soup spoons and topped with tempura flakes, ponzu and a drop of oil.
“This is really delicious,” Sandy said. “I never ate food from a spoon like this before.” (Sandy needs to get out more).
She never tried satay either so we savored Korean barbecued beef ($8). The boneless short rib arrived medium-rare as ordered. It was boneless, sliced and threaded onto three wooden scores. Kim che can be tricky. Sometimes it is too strong or too spicy but this version was spot on. I loved the marriage of cool kim che and warm, rare beef and could have eaten another order.
We ended dinner with kim che fried rice ($6) and Brussels sprouts ($4). Both portions were so generous, they were carefully packed to go. The rice contained a perfectly fried egg on top.
“I don’t want any egg,” my sister said.
The waiter carefully placed the egg on my plate and we helped ourselves to the fried rice prepared with small sweet shrimp, scallions and shallots. Fried rice is often greasy, but this version was perfect. The sprouts were roasted with fish sauce and puffed rice. They imparted a slightly pickled flavor, which I liked.
I hope Schulson will add more dishes to the dim sum cart in the future.
Two-and-a-half tips of the toque to Sampan. SPR
Sampan
124 S. 13th St.
215-732-3501
Reservations are an absolute must
www.sampanphilly.com
49361699
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