The Setting: While Atlanta’s dim sum restaurants generally have a “diamond in the rough” quality, this particularly large free-standing building perched at the top of a grassy mound is easily the most attractive of the bunch.
The Staff: After dozens of visits, we have always found the staff very attentive, quick to respond and helpful.
The Food: There is no question that the weeks surrounding the Chinese New Year offer the widest selection of dim sum. A holiday that I sincerely await with bated breath every year. So, it was a pleasant surprise to find two new honey glazed yeast buns on a recent visit to China Delight. One bun stuffed with coconut and another variety stuffed with a rich and tasty custard. I have seen both of these at other dim sum restaurants, but, not China Delight.
It’s pleasant surprises like these that make China Delight hover at the top of my short list for dim sum. That’s not really saying much this year for it seems that the dim sum restaurants in the area seem to be coasting on what they know of late. China Delight, Royal China, Happy Valley, Oriental Pearl, and BBQ Corner II have always been our go-to spots for dim sum. But, a string of recent disappointments had us avoiding dim sum altogether for awhile. Hopefully, this positive experience will have us making the rounds again in search of new tasty discoveries.
All of our favorites were available on this visit including all of the usual suspects (har gau, siu mai, sticky rice with chinese sausage and duck, shark fin dumplings, barbecued pork buns, and fried sesame-coated rice balls stuffed with bean paste). And, a dumpling filled with pork, mushrooms and ginger that is attractively decorated with finely sliced green onions and chopped peanuts. A favorite of ours is a shrimp cake with chives and ginger topped with a savory peanut sauce. And, another new find was a triangular-shaped deep fried savory cake with bits of seafood. Possibly a deep fried version of the turnip cake with bits of seafood? Or, it might be a wedge of the braised eggplant’s stuffing breaded with panko and deep fried.
One oddity was the lack of larger plates of clams with black bean sauce, mussels, fried calamari, and sauteed greens. We also would have liked another taste of a sweet rice cake that we found over the Chinese New Year. It was a densely rich and sweet cake that tasted of molasses and caramel. I hope we don’t have to wait for the next New Year to enjoy these again. These two missing elements might be due to the fact that we arrived later than usual. And, the crowds were dwindling. Even with these minor disappointments, the visit was an enjoyable diversion from the standard Labor Day barbeque fare.
Stars of the Day: Shrimp cakes with chives and ginger topped with a savory peanut sauce are incredibly addictive. And, the honey glazed yeast buns stuffed with coconut made a perfect ending to the meal.
China Delight
2390 Chamblee Tucker Road
Atlanta, GA 30341
770 986 0898
