Mandarin Gourmet | Pittsburgh, PA

Kate C.University of PittsburghMay 16, 2000

 I tried Mandarin Gourmet for dim sum on Mother's Day.
 I wasn't all that impressed.  Yes, they did have a lot of
 Chinese patrons.  And they had a lot of the more "unusual"
 (to Americans) dim sum items, which were interesting, but
 not enough of the good old standards that I love.  No shrimp
 toast or cha siew bao or those little steamed dumplings.  It was
 a buffet.  I wondered if this was only for Mother's Day or if it
 is always a buffet.  I normally like buffets but not for dim sum.
 There are too many things that suffer from sitting out on a steam
 table.  The best way to have dim sum is to have freshly cooked
 items delivered to your table.

 In addition to the from the above complaints, the food wasn't
 all that good.  The potstickers, for instance,  had thick, tough
 dough.  The wontons were tough and chewy, instead of crisp.
 I was pleased, though, to find those scallion pancake/bread
 things but I only got one small piece and they never brought
 more out.

 The desserts were interesting and generally better than the
 other food.  I particularly liked the coconut-covered gummy
 things with the cherry on top.  They had a neat filling but I'm
 not sure what it was.

 Anyway, I don't think I'll go back unless that buffet was
 a one time thing.

 An amusing incident.  I took my Aunt there for
 Mother's Day.  We both ordered iced tea to drink
 but they gave us a pot of hot tea in addition to
 the 2 glasses of iced tea.  It cracked me up.

 Kate

Kate C.University of PittsburghMay 17, 2000

 apl wrote:

 > The Mandarin Gourmet dim sum is always buffet-style. Do you know of any
 > better, more traditional ones in the Pgh area?

 Pgh. doesn't have any real traditional dim sum places,
 the kind that bring around carts with all the different
 things for you to choose from.  We just have the kind
 where you order from a menu and it's served to you
 at your table.  Of course, when I mentioned "traditional"
 I was referring to the types of things that are typically
 on a Pittsburgh (or even L. A.) dim sum menu, not
 necessarily what's typical in Hong Kong or San Francisco's
 China town. :-)

 In any case, I like the dim sum at Hong Kong in Dormont.
 the stuff at the New Dumpling House in Sq. Hill is okay
 but I think their menu is a little limited.  I've been to
 Chinese on Carson but was not pleased either time I've
 been there so I don't recommend them.  They had an
 extensive menu but the quality was poor on a number
 of items.  The dim sum is pretty good at Thai Place
 in Shadyside and they have some Thai items that are
 good.  I think they're a little more expensive.
 Kate