Dim Sum Garden

Dim Sum Garden
59 N 11th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Neighborhood: Market East


"Dinghy" is how I would describe the exterior of Dim Sum Garden.  Having walked by here quite a few times, I had always wondered how a place like this could operate and break even.  However, a friend who had come here said the dim sum was good and recommended it.  That was a shocker, so I definitely had to try it out myself.

We arrived noon-ish on a windy Sunday.  It was packed.  The establishment itself is relatively small, and oddly enough, it appeared to be quite family friendly.  First, the food.  We had the Shanghai Siu Mai, Fried Soup Pork Buns, and Crabmeat + Pork Buns.

The Shanghai Siu Mai looked a little bit weird and tasted a little bit weird as it was mostly rice.  The Crabmeat + Pork Buns were yummy.  Despite being Asian, I've never had "Shanghai" style - where they're filled with broth and you make a small hole in the "bun," suck out the broth, then eat the rest.  I learned something new!  The same went for the Fried Soup Pork Buns as the name suggests.

Overall, food was good, but I would say it's comparable to other good dim sum places in Philly.  We actually didn't find this place that cheap relative to other dim sum joints.  For those three dishes, it was about $20 bucks with tip - that's quite steep for a dim sum dive.

Maybe it's priced higher because service is so great here?  No.  Our waiter was inpatient and walked by and dropped off our plates without even looking at us or telling us what dish he landed on our table.