Jingle Bao

We love dim sum. We love the simple dim sum that comes from Mom and Pop type restaurants in low-rent buildings or from food courts. We love the high-end stuff from Chef Tony or Sun Sui Wah. Now we love the creative, bordering on fusion dim sum which comes from Jingle Bao on Denman near Robson.

We arrived Sunday morning before noon and were seated right away. I couldn't say exactly what the seating capacity is here (30ish?) but if you are going during prime hours, I would suggest you try making a reservation.

Even without asking, it was obvious that they make their own dumplings in house!

 

It was a chilly morning and we felt the need for soup to get over that. We started with their House Special Beef Noodle Soup which was pretty spectacular! There was a ton of very tender beef and a nice little serving of broccoli. The noodles and the broth were also really good. Sorry to sound so surprised but we didn't come here just for soup and didn't expect to be so impressed!

So soup dumplings are kind of the main attraction. They make a colourful assortment (no artificial colouring) which each come in their own flavours from veggie to spicy to garlic and all were very good! Also available in big ass size which really would be a big bowl of soup as near as I can imagine.

It's more than a little convenient that each bao comes on its own little swing CW with a carrot base. The carrot stops the bao from sticking and the holder means you can get it to your mouth without tearing it even if you are a xiao long bao amateur. Tasty soup, delicate noodle, interesting fillings. Impressive!

One cannot live on bao alone so we ordered Deep-fried Garlic Squid. It came with a ton of garlic and chilli and was just nicely cooked. Not too chewy with just a hint of crispy!

Finally, Chicken Feet and Sticky Rice. I am content that they don't hide the chicken feet as phoenix talons or whatever. They were some of the best we've had, being very tender and with a nice sauce.

Tasty rice with lots of mushrooms, chicken etc.

This is a comfy place with friendly and efficient service. There are a lot more things on the menu that we would like to have tried. It wasn't overly expensive (especially given the location and maybe tourist trade) for what you got. Don't hesitate to give them a try.

Food             4 out of 5

Comfort        4 out of 5

Service         4 out of 5

Value            4 out of 5