Enjoy dim sum delights at home with Ping Pong’s new range
They say that you learn something new every day and that’s exactly what just happened to me – did you know that dim sum literally translates to ‘touching heart’? These delicious little morsels have been touching hearts (and mouths) for centuries, and London restaurant group Ping Pong has been dishing up towering bamboo baskets of delicious dumplings for years.
During lockdown, Ping Pong’s team of chefs have been busy developing a Steam at Home range, so that whether the restaurant doors are open or closed, dim sum fans can still get their fix. But does it taste as good as it does in the restaurant? The answer is, quite simply, yes.
My box of dim sum delights arrived (via 24-hour courier, as standard) chilled to perfection and neatly packaged in various recyclable boxes. Lifting the lid on each one was like revealing a box of jewels – all the different types of dumplings are carefully handmade and come in a variety of beautiful shapes and colours.
They looked almost too good to eat, almost…
I was already equipped with a bamboo steamer basket but if you don’t have one, then worry not – for £4.95 you can add one to your order, along with chopsticks, tableware and a selection of flowering teas. Alternatively, you can use the microwave.
We tried a selection that included prawn and chive dumplings with crunchy water chestnuts and mushrooms wrapped in bright green chive pastry, spinach and mushroom dumplings made with shiitake mushrooms and ginger, and traditional prawn har gau – the most iconic Cantonese dumpling – loaded with prawns and bamboo shoots, wrapped in translucent pastry. Each batch took less than five minutes to steam (or less than a minute in the microwave) and tasted utterly delicious.
Other treats included pillowy soft, sweet white fluffy buns filled with lightly sautéed vegetables, crispy spring rolls (which go in the oven) and little lotus leaf parcels generously filled with a delicious mixture of sticky rice, prawns, scallops, carrots and bamboo shoots. And for the meat-eaters among us, cherry wood-smoked chicken wings with chilli tomato sauce and honey-glazed spare ribs are also on the menu.
“And what about sauces?!” I hear you cry because we all love the dips, don’t we? Well, soy sauce does the job, but you can add the likes of Ping Pong’s chilli oil and tastebud tickling spicy mango sauce to your order too. The only thing I felt was lacking was the option of a prawn cracker to nibble on whilst my dumplings were steaming away.
The current menu is 15 of Ping Pong’s most popular dim sum including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. Dumplings and spring rolls are sold as portions of six, so there’s plenty if you’re sharing, and cost between £5.34 and £6.42.
The restaurant recommends 2-3 dim sum containers per person, and we spent close to £50 for two of us – we both have healthy appetites and there was still a good number of dumplings left for lunch the next day. And that was another great thing about the experience - you can eat your order anytime within four days of it being delivered, so you’re not tied to a specific day or night.
Over the past year, I’ve tried a lot of meal kits, and Ping Pong has been one of my favourites.
The dim sum is fresh, beautiful and so easy to cook at home, it makes for a really fun and sociable way of eating, and it’s good value. Of course, it doesn’t replicate the full restaurant experience (give me the cocktails!), but the dumplings are definitely just as delicious.
Order cut-off-time to 2 pm on weekdays for next day UK delivery (mainland only). Minimum order £30, delivery £6. Free shipping on all orders over £42. shop.pingpongdimsum.com
