5 East Broadway
New York, NY
Much of dim sum’s appeal lies in the ritual of “carts,” where appetizer-sized dishes on carts are wheeled by tables, a visual menu from which patrons pick their dishes. Although Dim Sum Go Go forgoes the use of carts, it does serve a variety of vegetarian dim sum in a peaceful setting- both anomalies for the regular dim sum joint.
We started our meal with a parsley and scallion flecked rice roll floating in a dark, sweet sauce that cut the sharpness of the scallions. We also tried the vegetable rice roll but didn’t enjoy it nearly as much because the mixed vegetables were bland and their flavors didn’t emerge from between the folds of the steamed pancake.
An assortment of hot dumplings composed the majority of our meal. Mushroom dumplings, jade dumplings, three-star dumplings, bamboo dumplings…we ordered them all. The yellow-skinned mushroom dumplings and the tender bamboo dumplings were our favorites…too bad there were just 3 per order.
Soy bean, green, and snow pea dumplings were also on the menu, but we decided to vary from the dumpling path and ordered turnip cakes, pumpkin cakes, and flaky vegetable spring rolls. It was a fried festival. The pumpkin cakes were the standout item here, fragrant and sweet, like pumpkin pie, but also deliciously transformed when dipped into the garlicky sauce.
Round and crunchy sesame balls gave away to a fluffy inside surrounding sticky paste. Delightful, but we split each in half so everyone could taste. The mango pudding was sickly sweet, and after trial bites, remained untouched.
These sun-colored Malaysian rolls were essentially soft, warm, vanilla-tinged cakes. So soft, so soothing, so not overly sweet!
While Dim Sum Go Go is a solid vegetarian dim sum option, I found variety lacking. I love dumplings, but I felt that’s all we ate (I know, we had the cakes, and the rice rolls, and even a plate of Chinese broccoli) and I wanted more. I craved the variety offered at Vegetarian Dim Sum with the cooking style of Dim Sum Go Go. On another note, I would like to try Dim Sum Go Go’s regular lunch/dinner menu. It incorporates new vegetarian takes on the standard Chinese mix, with dishes like “Potato basket stuffed with spicy vegetables,” and “Spicy Chinese Eggplant Casserole” sounding particularly delicious.
Lunch prices
dumplings: between $2.50-$2.90; rice rolls: $ 2.90; dessert: $2.50-$2.90
