South China Dim Sum Bar

South China Dim Sum Bar has been on my list of restaurants to visit since I had their AMAZING potstickers at the City Bowl Market . We tried to have dinner there after our drinks at Orphanage but they were fully booked!! Rookie error… In future call 078 846 3656 to book! Crazy to see a restaurant full at 6:30pm on a cold winter Wednesday night! So due to the lack of table we grabbed a drink at Van Hunks on Kloof and then on to the gallery show opening at Salon91 . After the show- we were both ready to eat all the food in South China! The Dim Sum Bar is a tiny restaurant on 289 Long Street. The furnishings are very minimalistic and apparently made by Ed and Clint (Both the owners and the chefs). You sit on wooden benches or wooden boxes at wooden tables. The walls are rough plaster and boast vintage Bruce Lee movie posters. It’s rustic- but creates a relaxed and casual dining atmosphere.

They do not have a liquor license at the Dim Sum Bar- so you’re encouraged to bring your own wine with no corkage charged. My lovely dinner partner brought a great bottle of Klein Constantia 2009 Sauvignon Blanc- one of my very favourites. One thing about bringing your own wine- you by mistake get a little bit drunk…. Add a bottle of wine between two of us to the cocktail from Orphanage and the wine from Van Hunks- I was beginning to giggle…

Alright- here’s a run down of the food! We both ordered chicken wontons at R28 for three. The wontons were great we dipped them in hoisan sauce, chili and soya sauce- it needs to extra sauce due to the typical flavourless wonton wrapper. The chicken was wonderful and tender- and the spring onions on top complemented the dish very well. The thing that strikes you most about the food served was how wonderfully fresh everything is! They make everything fresh- and bring them to the table as they are ready. This method ensures that when they arrive at the table they are piping hot and perfect.

Next up arrived the vegetable potstickers (pictured right) and the beef potstickers. These are similar to what they serve at the City Bowl Market. The Vegetable potstickers were the highlight for me- with a crispy outside dough and sweet flavourful veggies. Add the hoisan sauce- and you’re in heaven. The grated carrot looked beautiful on top of the potstickers- adding a burst of colour. The beef potstickers were also great- but the veggies were just one step above. The potstickers cost R28 for three.

And lastly we had a siu mai- which is a pork and shitake mushroom dumpling- the round ones at the bottom of the picture. These were R30 for three. These were good- very tasty. The Har Gow however absolutely stole the show! The prawn dumplings in the top of the picture are these guys. Yum Yum! R35 for three. So the winners of the meal for me are the vegetable potstickers and the Har Gow (Prawn Dumplings)- will be back when I can find some more money.

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