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Jade Asian Restaurant & Caterers

Let me start by clearing the air on the topic of dim sum. If you, like I did, think dim sum is a type of dumpling, you’re wrong. If you think you’re going to at least find what commonly passes for a dumpling at dim sum, you‘re still wrong. Because if you should go looking for dim sum and find the real thing, you’ll be in for a shock.

Entering Jade is like entering the set of a game show. Master of ceremonies at the top of a marble stairway, mic hand, surrounded by adoring fans. Except it’s not a suave 67-year-old-man with salt-and-pepper hair and an unnatural tan. It’s an angry woman screaming out what I presume are numbers, or perhaps names, at her fans, the throngs of hungry Asian folk lining the stairways before the stage that is dim sum.

Dim sum is the act of getting together and eating an enormous breakfast in an equally enormous hall at a rather large table. This table will be comprised of your party and however many other parties it takes to fill up your round table. In my case, I was running late and my party had already been seated.

I got lucky and circumvented what was later described to me as a thank-the-good-lord-we-had-a-native-speaker-with-us kind of experience while waiting for the game show host to call you. Alone, I traversed the sea of tables and found my friends already eating. I was quickly poured a cup of chrysanthemum tea by my new company and they started telling me what was good or bad.

Now, I don’t really know how to rate a piece of tripe. Essentially as long as I found it edible, I figured this was some damn good tripe. And, well, it was edible. But there is a very particular flavor profile involved, something I’ve only tasted in China. Ever hear of star anise? It’s a very un-American flavor that is in everything there. That’s what told me this place was for real.

Sitting down, carts were zipping around me motivated by wrinkly women. The carts were all filled with food sitting in the same bamboo steamers that you usually see moo shoo in. Except these were filled with things that you’ve never seen in a Chinese restaurant before. There’s nothing Americanized here; this stuff is authentic.

So authentic that, as I sat there, a cart passed by with duck tongues. I recognized these from my trip. When I stopped the woman, she was so happy that a little gwai lo knew they were duck tongues. She was even more pleased when I ordered them. Duck tongues are like a chicken wing with only one bone and no joints. It’s just a little piece of tender, yet somewhat gummy, meat. And it happens to be delicious. I had tried these before, so it wasn’t totally new territory but I’d had them only once and never expected to see them again. But then came something I’ve never had before.

Duck feet. This was new. The last foot I ate, I didn’t enjoy. It was a pig foot. When I thought I had finished all that was edible about the foot I put it down, not full but satisfied that I really gave it a go. Then I looked at the plate of the friend who’d introduced me to pig feet in the first place. She had but a few bones left. I basically had what was served to me. But the duck foot was different. It was rather good. Again, not unlike a chicken wing. It had small bits of meat around bones and joints that fell apart. It was all tender, tasty and only the juiciest bits of meat. But it definitely was a foot; there was no disguising it, you bit through the webbing. This is not for everyone, but if you like, or don’t mind, the jelly kinds of meats, the cartilages and such, then duck feet are for you.

Now that I have sufficiently scared you from ever eating dim sum, let me give you some advice. There are way more average things than what I described. There are the commonly eaten parts of the pig and the chicken. There is a plain rice and good tea. But the truth is, don’t expect good service if you don’t go with someone that speaks the language. Even with someone who did, they tried to give my friend lo mein. But, hey, that’s ok. I could picture working in a kosher deli and keeping the tongue and chopped liver for myself and those in the know.

If you get the chance to go with someone who speaks Chinese, take it. It’s important. It’s fun. It’s like stepping into China for a morning. The only real negative is that it’s in Queens. Nothing’s perfect.

Special thanks to Hana and Rei
Jade Asian Restaurant & Caterers
136-28 39th Ave
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 762-8821