Dim Sum: East 180º Style

If you haven’t had the chance to try  in Diamond Bar yet, now there is another reason to do so. If the beautiful interior, excellent service, and fantastic wine list were not enough for you, East 180º has now introduced a Dim Sum menu that is available seven days a week.

For those unfamiliar, dim sum is a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. Going for dim sum is usually known in Cantonese as going to ‘drink tea’.”

Tea tasting, or “yum cha” is an old Chinese tradition, beginning from teahouses built along rural roads where country folk would relax in the afternoon after a long day’s work.

Food was initially not combined with tea tasting, but after the discovery of it’s digestive benefits, teahouse owners began offering various snacks.

Dim sum originated in southern China with the Cantonese. Today, in Hong Kong and other cities in Guangdong province, Dim sum is served between 5 a.m. until 3 p.m., and is a unique dining experience. 

Dim sum itself means ‘point of the heart,’ and is not a main meal, and therefore meant only to touch the heart, but it is now a staple of Chinese dining culture.

In our area, Dim sum is not to be ignored. It is very popular here as well as overseas. Noodles, rice, breads, steamed, baked, fried, boiled dishes of endless combinations, soups, dumplings, pastry, it is a mélange of tastes.

You can get a small sample of many more dishes, so if you go with a crowd, you can taste different things. Or, just stop in for a small bite and choose between East 180º’s six different teas: Chrysanthemum, Oolong, Shou Mei, Jasmine, Pu-Erh, or Ti Kuan Yin.

East 180º has their dim sum offerings from a menu, rather than the style of dim sum where trays with various items are carted around and selected at whim.

Without the chaos (and charm) of the carts running around the restaurant, their take is very laid back.

The menu offers 80 new items to choose from, with a dedicated dim sum chef, and some are very exciting: chicken feet, shark fin dumplings, abalone sticky rice, frog porridge, dry scallops and fermented eggs.

Does that sound tempting? If not, there are many options for the less daring as well: beef rice noodle, egg roll, stir fried spinach with bacon and garlic, veggie dumplings, or ribs with black bean sauce.

Simple or adventurous, you can find tasty choices. The regular lunch menu is available as well, with 27 different choices, and the full dinner menu after 5 p.m.

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