rss feedInstead of Seafair Pirates, bean curd skin (with a caveat) and little pieces of heart
My family and I set out Saturday morning to watch a group of burly pirates arrive on boats and land in West Seattle in the much ballyhooed launch of the Seafair summer festival.
We ended up at a restaurant on the edge of Seattle’s International District, dining on dim sum.
Last year, I covered the annual landing at Alki Beach in West Seattle. But my wife and son stayed at home. So, this year, I wanted to show them the raucous event that kids love.
But highway and street traffic was heavier than expected. My headache was building. Before we reached the West Seattle Bridge, which would take us to the event, we headed north toward Seattle’s downtown.
An alternate plan had come to mind: Make things simple. Get dim sum – which translates into “little pieces of heart.”
Near the city’s two main sports stadiums, we ran into fans getting ready to watch a Sounders soccer game. We wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant in the International District.
But I forgot that the neighborhood’s big Summer Festival was in full swing. Parking was scarce. We skipped our first restaurant choice.
We finally drove to Tea Garden Seafood Restaurant at 708 Rainer Ave. S. At last, a place to park.
When the dim sum – or “dian xin” in Mandarin – cart rolled by, we selected two dishes that feature tofu skin.
If you’ve never had tofu skin, the best way to describe it as a soft sheet that has subtle texture.
The steamed dish (top photograph) comes with pork inside, offering much moisture and flavor when eaten. It sells for $2.50. In Mandarin, people call it “zheng fu pi juan.”
The fried dish ($3.00) offers shrimp, celery and green onions (and sometimes carrots). The dish – also known as “zha fu pi juan” in Mandarin - comes with three pieces.
I devoured one before we had the remaining two cut in half for a photograph.
For all the times that my family and I have gone to Tea Garden, we’ve enjoyed the Cantonese flavors.
The hustle-and-bustle of the weekend dim sum crowd, what with the clanking plates and chattering folks, can make anyone feel at home.
Overall, tofu skin is pretty healthy. Andrea Nguyen of Asian Dumpling Tips offers great information on the skin and the fried tofu skin shrimp dish.
But this restaurant does use monosodium glutamate in its food.
Also, Hong Kong health officials apparently have said that 75 percent of the calories in both tofu skin dishes can be from fat. It depends on the restaurant.
The fat content could be one reason why I like the taste. So, if you don’t like MSG and the high fat content, take note.
One thing that I like about the restaurant is its down-home atmosphere: There’s the color scheme, which either has pink or light green walls.
I’m fine with the red lanterns and short rods hanging from them. But I’ve always been fascinated with the decision to paint what appears to be clouds and the sky on parts of its ceiling – kind of like that place in Las Vegas.
