Hong Kong Dim Sum

Cai is a typical Hong Kong style dim sum restaurant. It has no décor to speak of, and is brightly lit with plastic tablecloths to allow for quick and easy cleanup. It is a massive open space on the second floor of the Chinatown Square mall, making it fairly loud on weekends just from conversation.

But you don’t go to Cai for the décor, or the room, or the peace and quiet. You go for the dim sum, which is raising the bar for dim sum in Chicago. This place has no carts with 20 minute old steamed things congealing on them. Everything is made to order, so you check what you want off a long list, and the list is brought to the kitchen to be prepared fresh for you. Shiu Wah used to do it this way, and I loved them for it, but the chef has now retired, leaving the title for best dim sum in Chicago up for grabs, and Cai makes a great case for it.

The menu is approximately 70 items long, the chef is trained in Hong Kong and Toronto (which is a North American dim sum “Mecca”), and there is usually a wait on weekends – although the two times I dined there the wait was not long (around 15 minutes).

Okay, so you came for the food, now how is it? The BBQ Pork buns are a fabulous contrast of soft on the outside, sticky sweet on the inside. The Sui Mai and Har-Gow are superior to “cart-style” dim sum, because they are piping hot when they arrive tableside. In fact you have to wait for them to cool lest you burn your mouth. Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant is slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly crunchy, and just how it should be. Fried Taro Root Ball is the dim sum version of an addictive “Tater Tot,” with pick-your-own dipping sauce fun that the average tater tot lacks. The baked egg tarts are perfectly creamy, slightly sweet custard delights, with rich flaky pastry – a favorite of my kids, but too rich for me. There were two types of short-rib, both were tasty, but I liked the Korean-style best. The sticky rice was average, but I am not sure I have ever had an “elevated” sticky rice dish; the congee was surprisingly delightful – a thick rice-based soup that warmed me inside in that way that good hot soup should. The Chinese greens were our healthy order, and they were fine; the spring rolls were our “safe” order, and they were fine. Finally, we had two varieties of rice crepes – one shrimp and one with spring roll wrapper inside. The shrimp was good, and the spring roll wrapper was a home run. The glutinous wrapper and the crispy inside with the salty sauce was a delightful interplay of textures and flavors.

So, after two successful visits, I would definitely recommend Cai restaurant as the next go-to spot now that Shui Wah is gone. I have also been to Phoenix and MingHin, and both are fine options. MingHin gets my nod for the made-to-order aspect and Phoenix for the sheer variety of carts rolling around. But Cai is a step above these two; and if you love dim sum as much as I do, you will want to give Cai a try.

Cai Restaurant
2100 South Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 326-6888)