There's no doubt that Ala Shanghai has set some pretty high standards when it comes to dim sum. It's one of our favorite places but for the sake of trying something new we stopped by Hong Kong Bakery & Bistro.
I've stopped in the grab and go portion of the bakery before for quicks snacks and bubble tea. One of my favorite bakery items are these huge vanilla sponge cakes that are so simple yet delicious. These cupcakes are eggy and delicately sweet, no need for frosting. It's hard to eat just one cupcake especially since they are so light and airy, its texture much like angelfood cake. Whenever my friend D is in town, she always stops by and loads up on baked pork buns for her journey up to the North Country. These for me have been hit or miss. I once stopped in toward the end of the night and wonder whether the pork buns I picked up had been sitting on the shelf too long. The bbq pork filling was a bit off putting taste-wise. Another time I stopped in the early afternoon for a buy 3 get one free bun special and they tasted much fresher and better. I was curious to try the steamed version and stopped for dim sum.
I have fond childhood memories of rolling dim sum carts in Montreal. A dim sum experience in the Capital Region is nowhere near that of the bustling cities, but I'd give up the carts for quality food anytime especially at Ala Shanghai in Latham. Forget the cloyingly sweet sesame chicken takeout or crab rangoons. Go for an authentic Chinese food experience minus the grease and MSG.
We've dined at Ala Shanghai a number of times for dim sum, aka Chinese brunch, and dinner and every experience has always been spot on. Dim sum is a great way to try a bit of everything since they are small bite-sized plates. A typical spread includes a mix of dumplings and buns and Ala Shanghai alone has fourteen dim sum dishes to pick from a Cheesecake Factory-length menu that includes chef's specialties, soups, noodles, and fried rice too. The stars of the dim sum menu are the pork soup dumplings. What are soup dumplings? Just as it sounds, soft chewy dumplings steamed and stuffed with a wonderful rich broth contained inside an edible pouch. A drop of hot sauce and soy and they are too die for bites. Just be careful that you don't put the whole thing in your mouth, you might die from exploding hot broth. The secret to eating soup dumplings is to put the dumpling on your spoon, dress with sauces, take a tiny bite out of the dumpling just enough to break the skin and carefully slurp up the broth. It's a very interactive and tasty experience.
