Seattle's First Dim Sum Truck Rolls Out Next Week

[Photo: Amy Sung]

Why hasn't this happened sooner? Yi Dim Sum launches a new food truck Monday, serving seasonal and traceable ingredients as single-portion dim sum out of a truck—a move not yet seen in the PNW.

The menu will change weekly, rotating around always-present steamed and pan-fried dumplings as well as pan-fried juicy pork buns. Beyond that, traditional dim sum dishes like har gaw, radish cakes, and Shanghai sheng jian bao (a heftier version of soup dumplings) get a refresh with seasonal ingredients. Served bento-style, with fried rice and a side, combos can be created from a six sweet and savory items. Veggie options will also be up for grabs.

Vegetarian or not, look for fresh ingredients like farm greens and root vegetables in the garden dumplings. Future ingredients might include pea vines in a sweet pea vine dumpling (pea vine-infused wrapper, prawns, seasonal vegetables, lemony horseradish,) shiso leaf in the har gow (shrimp dumplings in crystal wrappers,) and kabocha in a tofu shumai.

The crew will use techniques to keep things natural, including beet juice to color the familiar brilliantly red—and usually artificially dyed—char shiu buns (barbecue pork buns) found in most dining rooms.

An alum of the culinary arts program at Seattle's Le Cordon Bleu, owner Niki Sze trained at Michelin-starred Tim's Kitchen in Hong Kong. "I see growth and awareness coming into Seattle and more of a demand for high-quality street food," Sze says. "We'd like to get our dim sum out on the street, feed people our dim sum, develop loyal customers, and continue to come up with innovative dishes. I believe customers are the smartest and can tell how much effort and heart you put in a dish."

Check Yi Dim Sum's website for its current schedule, including appearances at food truck pods in Seattle and on the Eastside.
—Amy Sung
· Yi Dim Sum [Official Site]
· Yi Dim Sum [Facebook]