Sometimes you’re in the mood for a bit of pig ear. And maybe some green seaweed and jellyfish, or a big, fat glutinous puff. You are, aren’t you?
That’s when you head to Fresh China, for its new dim sum menu. Dim sum is hard to find in Sonoma, yet since April, chef-owner Peter Hsian has been offering a line-up of nearly 60 dishes, served all day, every day in the bright orange-painted space his restaurant calls home in Santa Rosa’s Coddingtown Mall.
True, the place doesn’t look like much –if things aren’t busy, most of the lights may be off in a nod to saving energy, and the giant buffet in the entry makes one worry about pre-fab food. Yet Hsian named his eatery “Fresh” for good reason. His recipes emphasize seasonal, organic ingredients, and all the dim sum is made to order.
That means shrimp dumplings arrive piping hot straight from the steamer, unlike too many other restaurant’s greasy golf ball cousins left to roam around on dim sum carts.
In case the message isn’t clear, Hsian may stop by your table and share his methods, as he did at my recent meal. Siu mai, for example, is made with chunks of pure pork tenderloin, “not that gristly leftover stuff other places put in there,” he explained. The result is toothsome, juicy, positively succulent. And his version comes inventively topped with fish roe, for a salty pop on the tongue.
With prices starting at $2.68 for steamed pork ribs, fluffy barbecue pork buns and those siu mai, it’s easy to order a lot. Dishes top out at $6.68, for a nearly entrée-size portion of fried quail finished in crackly skin, smoked salmon fried rice, or sweet crab claw slathered in shrimp paste.
“That’s enough for you,” Hsian warned, as I kept checking off dishes on my menu order form. “Too much to eat.”
Still, you’ll want to try to fit it all in. There’s an irresistible plate of tofu stuffed with fish, shrimp and scallions, pan-seared and served in black bean sauce. Steamed organic squash bun speaks of Sonoma’s fall harvest, and beef dumplings are silky dough bonnets stuffed with shredded beef then pan-seared to a golden edge.
For dessert, resist the fried ice cream – that’s the one inauthentic step on this sincere menu – and tuck into Chinese sugar egg puffs or sweet taro moistened in coconut milk.
Mango custard is another fine finish, made with fruit that’s ambrosial, fragrant, and yes – fresh.
Details: Fresh China, 284 Coddingtown Mall, Santa Rosa, 707-527-6444.
