Dim Sum Lunch Is Key To New China Gate

Sep 10, 1993

John Hinterberger

Restaurant review

XX 1/2 China Gate Restaurant, 516 Seventh Ave. S. ($$) Chinese. Lunch and dinner ($4 to $14) 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, Sunday. Lounge, full bar. Major credit cards. Nonsmoking area. Reservations: 624-1730. -------------------------------------------------------------------

The best dim sum lunch in Seattle?

My pick is the China Gate, in the heart of Chinatown.

That might come as a surprise to longtime visitors to the International District, who will remember that for many years the China Gate (the district's most ornate restaurant) didn't serve lunch at all - let alone dim sum, Chinese "tea pastries."

Well, they do now.

The restaurant was taken over seven months ago by brothers Sonny and John Wong, from veteran restaurateur Alan Louie.

Five new chefs were brought in from Hong Kong, Sonny Wong said, "and we decided to try lunch. A month and a half ago we started doing dim sum, and it has done very well."

Define "very well" as packed, at least on most occasions, but turnover is swift and we've yet to wait more than a few minutes for a booth or table at one of the district's largest lunch and dinner houses.

The China Gate is still the most traditionally ornate dining room in town: gilt-golden dragons with red light-bulb eyes glare down on white linen service in a room resolutely red, gold and black. The clientele is largely, but not exclusively, Chinese.

The dim sum menu alone offers 56 items, from the unpronounceable to the improbable ("Plain Chicken Feet," $1.80 for all you care to eat) and most of it is superb.

The Hom Bau difference

I have never been a fan of Hom Bau, the steamed, meat-filled buns. Until now. The China Gate makes them with imported Asian, ultra-refined wheat flour, flawlessly white and soft. The result is a fluffy, light creation with an abundant filling of almost-sweet barbecued pork.

"Most places pay $9 (for a 50-pound bag) for their flour," Sonny Wong said. "We pay $26 to bring it in from Hong Kong. It makes a big difference."

The Har Gau (shrimp dumplings) are large, delicate and stuffed with beautifully fresh, mild-flavored shrimp. The China Gate insists they are the best in the city. I agree. Even better is the made-to-order shrimp- and scallop-filled dumpling.

Prices for dim sum are modest. "Small" items - spring rolls, hom bau, stuffed green pepper, meat dumplings and, of course, chicken feet - are $1.80 for a serving of three or four items.

"Medium" items - shrimp balls, Soup Dumpling and various rice rolls - go up to $2.80. The "large" category - sticky rice in lotus leaves with various fillings - are $2.80.

Elegant bargain

I've visited the place four times, with as many as three diners in tow, and haven't had a lunch bill go over $16. The China Gate's dim sum is the most elegant bargain in the city.

Among the other "must trys" are the broiled shrimp-stuffed green pepper section (savory beyond belief); the ultra-meaty pork, shrimp and mushroom-filled Siu Mai; and the barbecued pork or shrimp-filled fresh rice noodles (chow fun).

If I had been rating the China Gate on the basis of its dim sum alone, I'd have given it at least three stars - for quality, price and service.

But some other choices were less triumphant. Not bad, not even mediocre, just not as delightful.

Bowls of congee, Pei Dan Sau Yook Jook, the traditional Cantonese breakfast porridge ($2.25 for a huge serving for at least four), were expectedly bland - it's much like a mellow version of chicken-rice soup. But the Research Assistant balked at the taste of the "1,000-year-old" preserved egg, grasping simultaneously for tea and an Altoid.

A platter of Chicken with Pea Pods ($7.25) was quite ordinary, contained more mixed veggies (baby corn, broccoli, water chestnuts, canned mushrooms) than pea pods and was somewhat oily.

Sauteed Scallops with Garlic and Chile Sauce ($8.95), listed on the menu as spicy, also needed assertiveness training. It's possible that in the crush of a busy evening, the waitress brought the wrong dish. What we got were scallops with asparagus and a touch of red chili oil.

Sliced Beef with Ginger and Scallions in a hot pot ($7.25) was more successful, highly flavorful and fetchingly aromatic.

How well has the neighborhood received this revamped China Gate? Among recent guests were Faye and Janie Hong, former owners of the House of Hong, and Assunta Ng, publisher of the Seattle Chinese Post and the Northwest Asian Weekly.

John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo, makes visits to restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. When he interviews members of the restaurants' management and staff, he does so only after the meals and the services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.