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skinny / linda took the 14 month old puppy to his first dim sum, he loved it, and we think its the best weve ever had, rumor is people drive all over the city to chow here
daily news: Ocean Port Seafood Restaurant; 6202 18th Ave., Bensonhurst; (718) 236-8118. On weekends, dim sum lovers line up outside this Brooklyn Chinese restaurant to sample chef Joe Ng's Hong Kong-style dumplings, possibly the best and definitely the most innovative in the city
ny times: $25 AND UNDER; Where Sunday Tea Is a Dim Sum Parade By KIM SEVERSON Published: December 22, 2004, Wednesday
LUCKILY the nice Chinese family from Queens adopted us. They didn't have much choice. At Ocean Port Seafood Restaurant, a jumping dim sum house in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, diners get squeezed in whenever a seat or two opens up.
Set in a neighborhood where the Carvel ice cream signs are lettered in Hebrew and the CD shop sells Italian music, Ocean Port is fast becoming a destination dim sum parlor. The attraction is more than 100 seasonally adjusted dumplings and small plates assembled by Joe Ng, who said he has cooked in 10 states, often in Hilton hotels.
On my first visit, the place was packed. So an accommodating waiter made room for me and a guest at a crowded table, using a few pink napkins to cover up the dim sum stains of diners who had gone before.
We plopped down next to a large family several pots of tea into their Sunday yum cha. Yum cha means ''drink tea'' in Cantonese, and tea is vital to the perfect dim sum experience. Pouring a few cups with strangers is also a great way to make friends.
It was our great luck to share a table with people who really knew their way around a dim sum cart. Without them we might not have learned two of Ocean Port's secrets: the suckling pig ($10.95), so crisp-skinned and tender that it was one reason the family drove in from Queens, and the chiu chow gow ($2.95), a translucent-skinned steamed dumpling usually reserved for celebrations.
The soft, wet skin of the round dumplings held a pleasantly dry filling of evenly chopped peanuts, pork, celery, water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms. Their flavor and the attention to detail that went into their creation were indicative of the quality of most of the little dishes that come flying from the kitchen on stainless steel carts. Most are between $1.95 and $2.95 per plate of three or four pieces, with a few dishes inching above that. On another visit, the bill for a party of five enthusiastic eaters barely topped $100. But bring cash; Ocean Port does not accept credit cards.
On the weekends, especially Sundays, the two dozen big tables are always full. You'll be bumped and jostled and have the occasional dish of braised pork spilled on your sleeve.
It was hard to find a miss in the dozens of dumplings we ate our way through. Among the favorites: an open wrapper with a nugget of shrimp inside a wad of spinach sprinkled with scallion and parsley; a Shanghai-style pork meatball in a thin skin and shiny har-gow with shrimp that had a little snap to them.
Beyond the dumplings, a plate of bean curd skins wrapped around shredded pork and tree fungus was perfect. We ordered extra plates of fried, thin-skinned peppers stuffed with shrimp paste and sucked tender morsels of meat from an order of braised fish jowls. For dessert, don't miss the fried green balls filled with sweet black sesame.
The only dishes we did not like were mushy turnip cakes and a glass bowl filled with dry sticky rice studded with sweet Chinese sausage and mushrooms. Fish balls seasoned with ginger that were light and luscious when steamed became leaden in the deep-fat fryer.