Bellevue already has two pretty decent offerings for authentic Dim Sum in Noble Court and Top Gun, but if you are looking for a little bit more of a comfortable, upscale experience in Downtown Bellevue, Wild Ginger fits the bill.Beginning tomorrow Wild Ginger at the Bravern will be serving Dim Sum and a Hawker Brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10am through 3pm.
Most people are probably familiar with Dim Sum with its steaming dumplings, roasted pork humbows and assortment of various small dishes, but Hawker (street) foods are still pretty exotic for most Americans. Similar in fashion to the NYC hot dogs and falafel trucks or to some of Seattle's mobile food trucks, Hawker foods are ubiquitous around Asia where they are usually situated amongst open-air markets and offer customers good, authentic, affordable local fare. Wild Ginger already has some of Asia's most popular hawker foods on their menu; satay, laksa and curry crab, but are adding additional menu items like Singapore noodles, nasi goreng (fried rice topped with a fried egg), and coconut pancakes for these special brunches.
Barrio Restaurant recently launched their own new Brunch menu last weekend. Many of their regular menu items will be available, but there are some very enticing specialty items that will be available only for brunch .Most notably are the Breakfast Tacos en Cazuela with scrambled eggs, housemade chorizo, habanero salsa, manchego cheese, fried potatoes, guacamole, fresh tomato salsa and house hot sauce that will run you $13, that sound great as well as the Mexican Style French Toast made from brioche accompanied with candied pecans and maple syrup for 10.
I think these are two great additions to the pretty lackluster assortment of local brunch offerings. Hopefully they will literally and figuratively, spice up the local dining scene.
I hope to check out these brunch spots in the coming weeks, but if you beat me to it please share your experiences by leaving a comment.
Has Eastside Eats been to Tea Palace (Renton Highlands) for dim sum? Looking for reliable feedback before I go.... Loved Top Gun, but have to get there early (at least on the Sunday we went) to avoid a wait for a group.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we have yet to make it to the Tea Palace. Coming from Redmond if I'm going further than Bellevue I just head into the ID to Jade Garden.
ReplyDeleteThis review from Chowhound is likely pretty reliable with a review by a dim sum novice and another further down from a so called expert.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/555220
Please let us know if you do go?
Anyone else out there been to Tea Palace?
Thanks for the tip on Jade Garden. So many places to try in the ID, so little time.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Jan!
ReplyDeleteThe ID is pretty expansive and can be somewhat intimidating for the uninitiated.
Some of my other ID favorites are Green Leaf, 7 Pepper and have heard really good things about Samurai Noodle in the Uwajimaya building.
What are your favorites?