Office Daddy and I were walking to Chinatown for lunch. We spotted Ms. Biz with her friends. Immediately, I told Office Daddy that we were not inviting ourselves to their lunch. Office Daddy snickered and told me when I repeated myself several more times that he heard me. He said, “I bet they are going to U & Me” and then ran up to Ms. Biz to say hello. Office Daddy walked with them for a couple blocks and asked them where they were going. “U & Me”, said Ms. Biz, “do you want to come? The more the merrier!”. Office Daddy gave a squeal like a teenage girl at a Justin Beber concert and looked at me defiantly.
Ms. Biz asked everyone for their input and proceeded to order Taro Dumplings, Chinese Doughnut Crepe, Black Bean Sparerib with Pumpkin, Gai Lan, Chicken Feet, Pork Congee with Century Egg, and Fried Turnip Cake. Ms. Biz gets the staff to fill up the pots with her own tea, which is lovely, fragrant stuff.
All the dim sum we sampled was very good. The har gow was plump, full of crunchy sweet shrimp with a thin rice wrapper.
The siu mai was full of juicy goodness, each with a whole fat shrimp, topped with roe. The wrapper was thin and firm, perfectly steamed just like the har gow.
The Chinese doughnut was a large portion, the doughnut itself arrived soft and not crunchy. By the end of the meal, the doughnut was a tad mushy.
The sparerib was meaty and not too fatty. The kabocha soaked up all the juices and fat, yet retained its fluffy, chestnut like texture. Delicious.
The turnip cake was crispy on the outside, the interior soft and firm. The cake was cooked properly, sizzling hot and cooked through. Some restaurants that are very busy sometimes get sloppy and serve it undercooked, so that the texture is too firm.
I’ve been trying to eat chicken feet, mostly because I don’t want to seem like a Jook-sing around native speaking Chinese people. The chicken feet was soft and flavourful, but I almost gagged when I sucked the skin around the two claws. I couldn’t finish it. I guess I am what I am.
The Singapore noodles were cooked differently than I’m use to. Instead of the usual notes of curry and heat, the noodles took on that wok hei smell and taste. I also noted that U & Me was generous with the big pieces of shrimp. We all enjoyed this dish.
The BBQ pork pastry was light and crispy, the filling of saucy sweet BBQ pork was still warm. Ms. Biz nodded in approval of the flakiness of the pastry.
The pork congee with century egg was flavourful. I noticed the egg was cut up in smaller pieces than usual. The texture was smooth, and it was served piping hot. There was the addition of cilantro, which I personally dislike.
The fried taro dumplings were incredible. The filling is noodle-like, soft and wet. The airy exterior was light and crisp and melted on your tongue. The flavour is hard to describe. The only thing I can think of is fatty pastry goodness. We actually ordered this dish twice, at Office Daddy’s request.
The gai lan was cooked just to the point of tenderness. Bright green, crunchy and lightly sauced, I enjoyed meeting my quota of daily greens.
The best time to eat at U & Me is on the weekdays and weekends, around noon. I’ve been at late night and the food does not taste as good. It makes sense to have the most senior chef working when the restaurant is at its busiest time.
Thank you Ms. Biz for welcoming us party crashers and treating us out for this dim sum feast. I also enjoyed meeting your friends, an affable group of post graduate Ivy Leaguers. It was refreshing to be in the company of intelligent yet humble individuals. My treat next time.
Hitting the Sauce 