One Dim Sum
On my way into downtown yesterday, I came across the signage to this restaurant driving down Gray. I knew of the Michelin-Starred Dim Sum restaurant heading into Katy Asiatown, but had no clue this was even in the works. Apparently the former sous chef of Yauatcha has found a new home in what was once Maba Pan-Asian Diner.
It was too late for me to stop in last night, so I made it my first stop this morning before I ran any errands. It was a good thing because the place quickly filled 15 minutes into the restaurant opening at 11AM. I was apparently the only Asian who missed the memo, because I’ve never seen THAT many Cantonese speaking patrons on this side of town before. The restaurant is in it’s soft opening stage and only opened a few days ago, but word of mouth must be getting around because it was PACKED by the time I left.
Seeing I was dining alone, I could only pick out a few dishes to try and even then I ended up bringing half of it home. To get a proper comparison with other dim sum places, I opted for the traditional Har Gau and Shu Mai. I also added the Chicken Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf and Crispy Prawn Cheung Fun at Management’s recommendation. The sticky rice and cheung fun were by far the best I’ve eaten in a long time and I was quickly a fan. The traditional fare I ordered on my own wasn’t quite up to par unfortunately. The meats were a bit sour and I suspect a bit too much vinegar in the marinade. I informed the owner as much when he asked for my input on the food. The quality is there, it just needs a little fine-tuning which is usually what soft openings provide for restaurants — a chance to work out the kinks to perfect their dishes and work flow process.
Besides dim sum offerings, the restaurant also offers peking duck, stir-fried rice and noodles plates, as well as a lunch special that runs from 11A-3P. Someone next to me ordered a stir-fried hor fun with beef and it looked and smelled amazing; I plan on ordering this during my next visit. The pricing is reasonable considering where it is located and I for one would love to check this place out at lunch on a weekday.
Seeing that it’s situated in Midtown and diners WILL be competing with the Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ crowd, parking can be tricky and fill up quickly. There were no visible parking spots in the center when I left around 12:15 so patrons will need to find nearby street parking which will likely be metered during the weekdays; I don’t remember if Midtown requires metered parking after hours and on weekends.
Don’t visit and complain if you’re expecting perfect service during this soft opening phase. There were a lot of large groups dining in today and the staff was working incredibly hard to try to accommodate everyone, but they weren’t running as smoothly as most diners are accustomed to at their various dim sum places. I have faith they will eventually find their flow and everything will work out. Honestly though, the sticky rice and cheung fun was damn tasty enough for me to deal with the pandemonium of the soft opening dining experience. I WILL be back.
Attire: Casual
Family Friendly: Yes
Price Range: $$ ($11-$30)
510 Gray St Ste D
Houston, TX 77002
(346) 293-9188
https://www.onedimsum.com