San Diego Part 2: Dim Sum and Tacos

On our third day in San Diego, we planned to have dim sum at Jasmine Seafood Restaurant. It is located in an area of northern San Diego with a lot of Asian restaurants and businesses and is one of the few restaurants still offering cart service on weekends. We got there right at opening time before it got too busy. Dim sum is not something we get often, and is quite rare outside major cities with large Cantonese populations. As such, I've often had to scratch my dim sum itch at home. I've previously featured my attempts making turnip cakes and steamed spare ribs. Dim sum at Jasmine was a real treat, and a great opportunity for me to write about the true dim sum experience.

Our first round of dim sum had some classic items. First, har gow, the shrimp dumpling with a translucent wrapper made of rice flour. The best har gow are delicate and not gummy. I have not attempted to make them, but they are definitely on the list. Next, siumai are a pork dumpling shaped somewhat like a basket. The Cantonese style is very different from the Shanghai version I've made. I tried making these once, but didn't get the pork mixture right. Look out for these in the future, as well. Next, we had steamed spare ribs with black beans, which I've covered before. These tender and delicious. The one item we got that I wasn't familiar with was the shark fin dumpling. I was certainly intrigued by the name, as shark fin is banned in many places, including California. I later learned that these dumplings typically contain imitation shark fin, though we couldn't really differentiate the filling from the siu mai. 

Clockwise from top: siumai, shark fin, spare ribs, har gow

Next up was one of my absolute favorites, the char siu bao. As a home cook, this is the holy grail of dim sum, which I've attempted a few times but never gotten right. I can handle the char siu filling -- it's one of my most frequently cooked items. The fluffy, pillow-like bun, on the other hand, I have not been able to master. At this point, we also had some fried taro dumplings, which I didn't take any pictures of. Those also rank among my favorites, which we've made one (mostly) successful attempt at making. 

Char siu bao

The next item we found were xiaolongbao. These are not a classic Cantonese item, but rather a Shanghainese one. I love them, of course, and the ones we had were very good. The soup explosion  in each dumpling makes for one the most perfect single bites there is. We attempted to make them once, and it was not successful. Both the filling and the wrapper have to be perfect, and we hit neither. Perhaps one day.

Xiaolongbao

Next up is Ariel's favorite dim sum: nai wong bao (custard buns or, as she calls them, "eggy buns"). I've had dim sum many places, and while most restaurants make them, they don't often show up on the carts. I had to ask for them here, but when they did arrive, they were fantastic. We have made them a few times, with varying degrees of success. 

Nai wong bao

Cheung fun are another absolute classic. These are sheets of rice noodles wrapped around a filling into a tube shape. The Chinese name, which translates as "intestine noodle" is wonderfully evocative, but the usual English name is "rice noodle rolls." Jasmine offered all four of the common fillings: beef, shrimp, char siu, and youtiao (fried dough). As there aren't a lot of beef-based dim sum items, I typically get that. The first time the cart came by, we had a lot on our table and passed. It didn't come back until a long time later, so let that be a lesson. We were so excited, we ate half before I remembered to take a picture! We have made these once, and it was a very labor-intensive process, even with two people. They turned out decently, though I would make some changes for next time.

Beef cheung fun

The next item is a deep-fried crab ball. The crab meat is formed around a piece of sugar cane which serves as a handle, breaded, and fried. They were served with a sweet chili sauce. Although I'm a fan, I've never thought to try making these.

Fried crab balls

At this point, we had already eaten way too much, but when I saw a special cart come by frying turnip cakes tableside, I had to have some. 

Turnip cake cart

Some turnip cakes are better than others, and it's usually a texture thing. This is determined by how finely the turnip is grated and how much cornstarch was added. The turnip cakes at Jasmine had a light, creamy texture that I've never experienced before. On top of that, freshly frying them on the cart took them to the next level. 

Turnip cakes

Overall, this was an excellent dim sum experience. We arrived early and took our time with it. Dim sum for two is a bit difficult, as you want to try everything, but have to pace yourself. We definitely over-ordered, but you only have one honeymoon. We ended up lounging around the rooftop pool at the hotel in the afternoon as we digested. 

For our evening meal, we headed south to Chula Vista, about halfway between downtown San Diego and the Mexican border. The ticket seller at the maritime museum recommended Taqueria Revolución, a local joint we never would have discovered otherwise. His recommendation was spot on. We each ordered three tacos. I had adobada (pork cooked on a rotisserie, similar to a doner kebab), birria (braised beef), and carnitas (slow-cooked pork). Ariel tried the adobada, pollo asado (grilled chicken), and carne asada (grilled beef). The adobada tacos were our overall favorite. 

Adobada, birria, and carnitas tacos

We also both had a cup of horchata, the Mexican rice drink. We've been fans of horchata for a while and order it any opportunity we get. This was one of the best I've had, and I'm going to try making some with our new blender. We were also offered cups of beef broth, a byproduct of the birria tacos which was packed with flavor. 

Beef broth

After dinner, we walked back to Little Italy to visit Salt and Straw for ice cream. With several locations along the west coast, they are know for their unusual flavor combinations. Ariel went for the almond brittle with salted ganache, and I had a half-and-half of the coffee and bourbon and the carrot cake ice creams. 

Ice cream on the piazza

In the next post, we'll take a break from all the eating for some naval tourism!