Dim Sum Library (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Since we’re getting our usual dim sum fix at Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) in Shenzhen regularly, we haven’t been doing dim sum locally for a while. But today is the perfect chance. Little nugget has a school event in Admiralty, and it’s been a while since we last visited Dim Sum Library; the stars have aligned.

I remembered this place being really dark, and it’s virtually impossible to take good pictures of your food here (Still is).

Deep-fried taro puff with foie gras (鵝肝芋角) ($78) — I remembered them having a version of their deep-fried taro puff with snails (田螺芋角), which was really tasty, but this one wasn’t bad either. 

The batter was really flaky, the way it should be, and not surprisingly, it worked well with the taro, minced meat, and foie gras.

Black truffle shrimp dumplings (黑松露蝦餃) ($78) — They have three types of har gow here and this was the most popular one at least among us, thanks to the black truffle.

Hokkaido king crab and sea urchin spring rolls (海膽蟹肉春卷) ($108) — One of my favorites here, thanks to the umami-rich combo of king crab and uni.

Traditional xiao long bao (灌湯小籠包) ($78) — The "dan dan" version would’ve woken me up instantly, but with the older folks around, the traditional xiao long bao felt like the better choice.

Crispy cod roll with Yunnan termite mushroom (雞樅菌鱈魚卷) ($88) — One of the few dishes we had never tried before and this certainly looked like an interesting dim sum item.

Thought the cod fish worked really well with the crispy batter (like the deep-fried fish fillet from fish and chips). 

Crispy rice rolls stuffed with squid mousse (花枝響鈴炸両) ($92) — Besides the Hokkaido king crab and sea urchin spring rolls, this was my second favorite dish here. The crispy rice rolls, stuffed with deep-fried tofu bells (響鈴), was a clever idea—and when you factor in the delicate squid mousse, you’ve got a winner here with amazing textures and flavors.

Soy braised e-fu noodles with prawns (蝦球炆伊麵) — The e-fu noodles itself was alright but the orange-colored prawn sauce looked (and tasted) way too artificial to me.

Rice flour rolls with Iberico pork and spring onions (香葱黑毛豬腸粉) ($92) — I can always count on the steamed rice rolls here. Just very very nice texture, and the lovely patches of barbecued pork were spot on.

Chinese toona and shrimp dumpling (香椿菜蝦餃) ($82) — There are three types of shrimp dumplings here! This wasn’t bad, but after enjoying the truffled version, the bar was set a little high.

Mango Pomelo Sago ice-cream (楊枝甘露雪糕) ($58) — I told little nugget it tasted more like an exotic fruits ice-cream (mango + pineapple + coconut) than one flavored with mango pomelo sago cream.

Other than a couple dishes that didn’t hit the mark, the rest really made a strong impression on us this afternoon. Perhaps we should start coming back more often.

Food Rating: 6.8/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 124, Level 1, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Admiralty
Tel: +852 3643-0088
Website: www.dimsumlibrary.com.hk
Opening Hour: 11:30am - 10:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:30am - 10:00pm (Sat - Sun)