Get Sum Dim Sum, Austin, Texas

A hundred years ago or so, back in the Eighties, I had my first experience with Dim Sum. We were in Houston and lots of people had raved about the place. It was thrilling and tortuous at the same time (“What are they going to bring around this time?” “When are they coming around again?” “What the hell is that?”) Fortunately my partner at the time was Asian and helped explain how it worked and what everything was. Basically, they wheel a cart around the dining room and when they stop at your table you point to what you want and they give it to you. It’s little samples of interesting tidbits, kind of like tapas. At the end, I got a little sticker-shock, too. I wasn’t counting what all we ate and I guess I thought it was prix fixe or something.

Since then, it’s been a love/hate thing with me and Dim Sum. It just doesn’t always agree with my intentions. It’s usually available only on weekends, unless you’re in a Major major city, and it served almost exclusively for brunch. For example, one Saturday I wanted Dim Sum and I went to Marco Polo (inside the Clarion Hotel on South IH-35, now closed) since they advertised it on their perpetual banner outside. They said for the summer that they were only serving it on Sundays. Huh? Why not take the banner down?  “Too hot,” was their reply. So the next time I wanted Chinese takeout I went there on a Sunday around noon, and they almost refused my order. They were very insistent that I sit down for Dim Sum, which I wasn’t about to do since I had people at home waiting for lunch. One little woman started raising her voice with me and normally I would have just walked out (wouldn’t you?) but something snapped and I was not backing down. “Your sign right over there says Dim Sum and Full Menu Available. So why don’t you just give me a menu, I’ll order some food, and then you can sell it to me. Got it?”  Growl and sneer in her face. I’m sure I was served many floaters, and I never went back.

That’s the story of me and Dim Sum, in a nutshell. I enjoy it when it’s convenient for me. I’m not going to plan an entire weekend around it; if I’m there, and it’s there, and I want it, fine. But what if it’s not brunch time, or the right day? That’s where Get Sum Dim Sum has an extreme advantage.

Fact is, we did try it for Sunday brunch. And you know what? It was pretty damn good! I feel that if you go to an Asian restaurant and more than half the patrons are Asian, you’ve got a good chance at being pleased (or called “Whitey,” but that’s another story.)

The other major difference besides the hours of service is the service itself; here, you order at a counter and they bring it to you when it’s done, so you need to decide what you want before hand and you may have to take a few chances. I suppose you could order lightly then order some more if you wanted; I’m sure the staff would be all smiles about it. We had good, friendly service and the girl was careful about asking us how we wanted the stuff arranged on our smallish table. She didn’t just slam it down for us to shuffle like dominoes. I ordered the GetONE combo which was a daily special, one Dim Sum selection and rice or noodles. The special was Portuguese Chicken, a creamy little yellow stew with carrots and potatoes, and some really yummy spices like nutmeg and a few more I couldn’t quite place. Very unexpected and delightful. The Salt-and Pepper Seaweed-Wrapped Tofu was a little more peppery than I prefer; it was covered with sliced jalepenos which were not well described on the menu. It was tasty, nonetheless, after I scraped those off. The Chow Mein was pleasant but very light in flavor; its texture was the best attribute.

Of course Bao (basically steamed bread with filling, similar to dumplings but not nearly as moist) are a favorite with Dim Sum, and Get Sum did not disappoint with their Steamed Chicken and Mushroom Bao. I like to tug a little without fighting my Bao and this one was perfect. It held together even when I exposed the filling, which was a savory compliment to the sweetness of the bread.

Some things I saw but didn’t get to try were the Chicken Spring Roll (looked good), the steamed Bok Choy (which looked good until it got covered with second-hand jalapenos), and the Churng Fun Shrimp (they had sesame oil in them.) All of these were freshly cooked in the open kitchen and I feel confident that the owners (Foo Swasdee of Satay is one) are running a clean operation back there. Trust me, if there’s something unclean my stomach will let me know pretty damn quickly.

You’ll need to experiment when you first get your food served: unlike regular Dim Sum, where you get a little at a time and can usually have it mostly finished by the time they come around again, you’re going to get most of your food at once. Taste everything right away. Then, as you relax into your meal, move around a lot and you’ll see which items are holding up and which are changing as they cool down. For example, the Seaweed-Wrapped Tofu was delicious when first served but began to lose its flavor as it cooled down, while the Chow Mein held its light flavor and perfect texture even when it had cooled to cold. I imagine that most of the fried items behave this way when compared to those cooked with steam or water (the Bao was good when it had cooled down, too; I once bought a bag of them in San Francisco's Chinatown and used them to carb-load while shopping all afternoon.)

Get Sum Dim Sum gets my vote. It’s got a quirky, modern interior with some traditional trinkets thrown in (check out the fountain by the East entrance) and the staff was nice and efficient. The price was fair, too: about $30.00 for the two of us with a tea and soda. And the very best thing about it, you can get “sum” 11am-9pm seven days a week.