Niche Niche NYC

Dim Sum Bloom is a charming little restaurant that completely validates my introverted approach to exploring new food. They have self-ordering digital booths that let you take your time browsing the menu without any pressure or forced interaction.I ordered the traditional spicy chicken, and it blew me away. It was fried with numbing peppercorns and dry red chilies—intensely spicy, but incredibly flavorful. For appetizers, the Hong Kong-style shrimp dumpling had a hard outer shell that wasn't my favorite (I'll stick to shumai next time), but the beef wrapped in a chive pancake was lovely and reminded me of a crisp summer roll. That spicy chicken, though, is a dish I will definitely be returning for, just to enjoy by myself in a quiet corner.

Tonight I ordered delivery of the t”hree cup chicken”. What I received was an overly sweet gloppy mess. I have ordered this dish several times, including from this restaurant and it has never been heavy on the sauce. This meat came swimming in an overly sweet liquid. The meat itself tasted like it had been boiled as opposed to wok-fried. I seldom find a meal to be inedible, but this was just gross. I’m attaching two photos - a pic of what it’s supposed to look like (per the restaurant’s website) and what I received.

We tried this restaurant after attending a church service nearby We ordered: TRUFFLE SHRIMP sio mai. I didn't taste much the truffle, looked dry. But the shrimps were fresh and medium size. The taste was average, 3/5 FRIED PORK DUMPLINGS. Mildly flavored that my friend didn't finish it. 2/5 DUCK SPRING ROLLS. Crispy wrapper but lacking in umami taste. 2/5 SHRIMP DUMPLINGS have fresh medium sized shrimps. This was what we enjoyed. Tho a little bland, the sauce of soy and vinegar carried the weight to perk up your appetite. 4/5 PEA SHOOTS vegs. They were fresh but had some hard stems. We liked it so much that we weren't able to touch the rice, 4/5 The tea was mild, too We had 2 glasses of Chardonay that made our lunch complete. We will come back to trynotyer dishes

High quality, creative ingredients make for high quality, memorable food! We were extremely happy with our meal here. Hot and Sour Soup had a kick and the beech mushrooms were an interesting touch. The Tiny Dumplings are TINY—they don’t mess around with the dish naming there. The citrusy side sauce was also a unique addition. The Three Cup Chicken was perfectly cooked and the choice of chicken thighs made the whole dish. The Honey Walnut Shrimp was, as my husband put it, “the best I’ve ever had, I think, let me have one more bite…” The sauce on this one was a bit thick and too opaque in my opinion, but the longgan and the pineapple were a hit. I wouldn’t have served it on iceberg lettuce with tomatoes, but I honestly can’t think of an alternative to suggest that simultaneously preserves the distinctiveness and authenticity of the dish, so I guess they win. The service was well done. They catered to us as a family, added a complementary mango sorbet, and supplied kids utensils and chopstick helpers which were a hit. We could have used more water refills and had a hard time flagging for the check even with two crying tired kids (should be obvious that we’re trying to get out of there) but those are easily improved. A novelty place with original takes on classic dishes!