Recently, my family went for dim sum at Empire Garden in Chinatown. Even on a weekday, Chinatown was bustling with tons of activity. Being on winter break, everyone else must have had the same idea to head into town. There were tons of families walking around, and the traffic was a complete nightmare.
We first attempted to find metered parking along some of the streets surrounding Chinatown – none was to be found. After circling around for about half an hour, we got fed up and decided to try some of the parking lots. The first lot we tried was completely filled…just great. At last we found a space in the Tremont Street garage.
After about an hour of wasted time trying to find a space, we finally arrived at the restaurant. I’ve been to Empire Garden before, but every time I enter the grand dining room, I’m always struck by its vastness. The high 40 ft ceilings give the room a really open feeling – similar to that of a large emporium. Empire Garden truly is spacious, so there’s never usually a wait for a table except on weekends and holidays. This is a complete guess but I would say the restaurant can accommodate at least 150 customers.
Empire Garden used to be an old theatre that was renovated and converted into a restaurant. There are parts of the old theatre that still remain, and they give the room a lot of character. Empire Garden is truly differentiated from other Chinese restaurants in terms of décor and ambiance.
Dim sum roughly translates to “to touch the heart.” Dim sum consists of a huge assortment of hot and cold, savory and sweet Chinese delicacies. The idea is to try a small sampling of several dishes rather than eat just one entrée as your entire meal. Although the comparison isn’t quite the same, this theme is seen in other cultures as well – take the Spanish, for instance, with their tapas or the French with their hors d'oeuvres. I always like dim sum because of the variety, and plus, sharing food with the friends and family at your table is always more fun anyway.
Dim sum originally began as a Cantonese custom linked with the Chinese tradition of “yum cha,” or tea drinking. It all started with the Silk Road where teahouses opened to give foreign travelers and locals a place to rest, relax, and converse with one another. It wasn’t until many years later, however, that these teahouses started serving snacks and what we now think of as dim sum. In fact, it was widely believed that pairing tea with food would lead to illness and excessive weight gain. Dim sum was brought over to the West by 19th century immigrants, and the tradition continues today.
Below are a few pictures of the food we sampled…
Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow)
Beef and Shrimp Rice Noodles (Ngow Cherng, Har Cherng)
Fried Bean Curd with Shrimp and Celery & Stewed Bean Curd Dumplings
Ribs with Black Bean Sauce & Steamed Beef Meatballs
Pork Dumpings (Shu Mai)
The last time I had some good dim sum was back in Sydney, so I was definitely looking forward to this beforehand. In the end, all the problems and frustrations associated with finding a parking space were worth it. The food was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed every dish, and we didn't have to do much waiting for the food carts to come around either. We didn't rush through our meal or anything, and we still got out of the restaurant under 45 minutes. Finding a parking space turned out to be longest and most challenging part of the dining experience. I had really forgotten how good Empire Garden is for dim sum. It ranks among the better places for dim sum in Boston, and I'll definitely be back.
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