Lunch #85: Dim Sum King, Seattle International District

The fireproof Bush Hotel has done some remodeling lately and has a couple of new tenants. One on the NW corner is a small Dim Sum cafe with a large new sign. Today five MSG150 lunchers headed out with the "Seattle sunshine" dampening our clothes but not our hunger to check out this new spot

Dim Sum King, Seattle
Address: 409 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 1/11/2010 @ 11:50:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 32 minutes
Chopstix quality: Plastic Fork
Do they use MSG?:
Where is the owner/chef from?:
Number of tables: 6
Number of occupied tables: 3 (50%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (66%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, Chicken Foot, Onion Bun, and various other Dim Sum favorites. - $5.25
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

Dim Sum King is the smallest Dim Sum restaurant in the ID and the only one with counter only service. There was only one other person in front of us so it was barley enough time to figure out what and how to order. There's a lunch special that includes rice or chow mein and two choices of Dim Sum. I chose to order al la carte.

I had seen a giant Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf go by already so I ordered one for my self. As I was the last of our group to order I poked around and tried to uncover items that others hadn't already ordered. I went with a Chicken Foot and various other rolls and dumplings. I paid a very modest $5.25 for my haul, grabbed a cup of the dark black tea and headed back to sit down at the cafeteria style seating.

The Onion Bun was delicious -- although I've never had an onion bun I didn't love. The Shu Mai were big and tasty. The large Ginger Dumpling was cold and a bit chewy. The Chicken Foot was fine if your into that kind of thing, but also a bit cold. The most impressive part of the meal was the Sticky Rice. It was HUGE. For a buck fifty (the same price as beer nuts) you could easily fill up on this alone. That reminds me, what's the difference between Sticky Rice at the Dim Sum King and deer nuts? The Sticky Rice is a buck fifty; deer nuts are under a buck.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Sticky Rice, Sui Mai, Shrimp Dumpling, Pork Pot Sticker, Steamed BBQ Dumpling, Chicken wings - $6.50
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

This place gets a +1 for awkwardness. There is a small storefront, and very few tables. We were unsure if we should sit or head up to the buffet. I am vaguely reminded of trips to Morrison's Cafeteria with Grandma.

We soon get the swing of things, and I start barking out what looks good - chicken wings hmm yes, Sui Mai, some shrimp, oh and how bout some rice, good. The Sui Mai came out of a massive round container containing perhaps 50-75 dumplings. Perhaps we should come back and go party style on one of those suckers. The Sticky Rice was massive, and alright. The Sui Mai were fairly basic, slightly less good than its competitors. The wings were not super fresh, but tasty with a little hot sauce. The Steamed BBQ Pork Dumpling was fresh and quite good. The Pork Pot sticker was forgettable. The Shrimp Dumpling had nice flavor, but the dumpling shell was kind of tough.

What this place lacks in food quality they make up for in price and quickness. You could be in and out with a good sized meal in under 10 minutes for under $5. I may return for a quick fix.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Lunch Special: Chow Mein, Shu Mai, and Fried Meat Turnover - $4.99
Rating: 2 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

We have an unofficial "8 hour rule." That is, don't write your review until you (and your body) have had 8 hours to process your thoughts and food. We had lunch at noon, and on the bus ride home at 7PM... my stomach did a flip. I'm not directly blaming Dim Sum King (DSK), but I don't believe that these two points are unrelated.

My chow mein would've been perfect for drunk food: It's cheap, it's greasy, and it's fast. For lunch, it makes my stomach sad. My Shu Mai was OK, and if forced back to DSK I would order them. My Fried Meat Turnover was cold, undercooked, overly-doughy, and lacking meat.

Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, but I don't think I'm headed back.

Luncher: Dave

Lunch: Lunch Special: Chow Mein, Shu Mai, Dumplings, + Sticky Rice - $5.49
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Dave's Review

not sure i'd call this 'dim sum', strictly speaking, but it was pretty plentiful and cheap. as i'm sure others will mention, the sticky rice alone could just about be a meal; add in a couple of shu mai and dumplings at $.50 a pop and you've just had a $2.50 lunch. everything tasted good; the shu mai and sticky rice were quite good. the chow mein was typical chinese steam-table chow mein, which was fine but probably superfluous. i'm a little torn -- on paper, tasty and inexpensive sounds great, but in reality it was a little uninspiring. it's certainly not a replacement for real dim sum, but i could see going back.