Jasmine Seafood-Dim Sum on a lazy Sunday

Welcome back to mmm-yoso, the blog about food.  Again Cathy is blogging about a meal she and her Mister had during their "seven days of feasting"-meals out between their birthdays.  The other people who blog here apparently haven't had anything to eat lately.

So, anyhow, The Mister and I were awake early on Sunday and were hungry.  Jasmine opens at 9:30 and we were in the parking lot before 10 a.m., avoiding the waiting throngs who are lined up by 10:30.  Kirk has blogged about dim sum many times, yet I've eaten here many, many times and never blogged about it.  Until now.

We usually order eight items, which seems to be just about the correct amount of food for us.  This time, the jasmine tea counts as one of the items.  They do charge $1 per person for the tea here, but it is a very high quality loose tea and even on the third refill of hot water, the flavor is still deep. I didn't take a photo.  Sorry.

  The first, noisy, steam cart rolled by. I pointed. -Har Gao- translucent rice dumplings filled with shrimp appearred on the table. You get four and, well...at least I sort of got a photo.  Price was Group C ($4.20)

The steamed bean curd roll- this one filled with pork, bamboo, cloud ear mushrooms and in a *very* flavorful broth. Also priced as Group C.  There were two of these pieces, cut to make 4 pieces total.

Wonton soup ( Group D-$4.50) came rolling on its own cart. Four shrimp wontons, Chinese broccoli, some scallions and a nice, warm broth. Never had this before. Excellent to share.

Shrimp Shu mai. (Group B $3.90) Always wonderful. Pretty much solid chopped shrimp.

Pork Shu Mai (Group A, $2.70), apparently ordered because we were not too adventurous...the tripe cart had just passed us..and the chee fee just didn't look all that good today.

Cross section of the Taro Gok (Group A), filled with a pork and preserved vegetable mixture that was just the right amount of juicy and salty for the light mashed taro...the crispy fried shredded exterior added just the right amount of crunch without being oily. Three on the plate.

Custard tarts, three on the plate, Group A, the perfect dessert...warm, eggy custard, flaky warm crust...mmm!

Jasmine Seafood 4609 Convoy San Diego 92111 (858)268-0888 website

Comments

[janfrederick]

Aww man, you missed out on the tripe. I was wary at first, but now I try not to miss it. Mmm...curried tripe.
We haven't been in a couple of months. It's about time. :)

[Carol]

I haven't sat down for dim sum in almost a year. The Mister got burnt out on dim sum a couple of years back so now I just get take-out from Jasmine's deli (usually when the Mister is out of town, heehee). I love all the dishes you ordered, but I've never tried the wonton soup. I'll have to remember that one.

[Sandy]

It's such a bad idea to read this blog between meals!

I prefer having Jasmine's dim sum early rather than later; I've found that they sometimes run out of items. The down side of going early is that some of the special items aren't out yet.

I wonder if the wonton soup is a recent item? I don't remember seeing that cart before.

[Cathy]

Didn't see the curried tripe, JF, or I would've tried it. Never had anything curry flavored there...It was just plain tripe and the chee fee in red colored sauce-which is not spicy or overly flavored to me...Hm- Carol and Sandy- Both of you never saw the wonton soup either...each won ton had two whole shrimp in it, and then the veggies and some broth...it was *wonderful*. I think I am going to the deli for a quick take out soon...which would be a nice lunch, Sandy...We did notice during the early dim sum that 'better' stuff was showing up just about the time we started to get full...but we also know we got everything fresh.

[foodhoe]

Oooh, haven't had dimsum in a while, this looks good. Is that curried tripe kind of an organ delight with turnips or am I thinking of something else? I'm hungry though and it all looks good.

[Cathy]

I didn't see the curry tripe or would have gotten it...the regular tripe looked kind of dried out and gray and so we just didn't get any on this visit. I love dim sum too...it just is time consuming.

[royaljester]

Yeah Jasmine is the choice for dim sum in San Diego other than China Max (also recommended). I'd go early lunch to get a seat, much better than waiting or going later.

Pearl in Rancho Bernardo is also good dim sum (I heard it's managed by Emerald's owner), but the wait can be incredibly long.

[sp1]

This place is HORRIBLE, the food is not any better and it's overpriced. The WORST customer service ever, just wasn't worth the wait for the food. Stay away from this place even if you can speak Chinese.