As most places around Ixelles, you'll find that Dam Sum is much more accessible during the daytime…read morehours than the evening hours. Try to come to Dam Sum in the evening any night if the week and you'd better hope that you are one of the few who arrive at 7pm to get your name in the list for a reservation, otherwise a 40 min wait is what you're looking at.
The daytime hours are the game changer though. Walk in on a Sunday afternoon, and you're going to get a table.
Also---you don't have to deal with surly hosts who may be fried by the volume of ppl accosting them to get a table during the evening hours.
The staff we encountered were all super lovely, charming and kind. Which is a huge thumbs up in my book. I don't necessarily need staff to kiss my ass with great service, but when you get genuinely kind service it's a huge bonus and speaks volumes of the person and establishment.
The ambiance is a cool, chill vibe. Vibrantly decorated, with a chefs table where on evenings you get a ringside show to the wonderfully talented women making fresh dumplings.
My sister & I did a tour of all things vegetarian on their menu. I'd venture to say most of what we ate was vegan friendly if not 100% vegetarian.
Essentially---welcome to a Europeanized version of Asian cuisine. Which means that the foods aren't going to be fried quite as much, and the flavors aren't going to as potent as authentic Asian fare.
Nevertheless, Dam Sum is a worthy adversary to the multitude of restaurants that surround it.
We started with 2 orders of the vegetarian dim sum, which were unexpectedly fantastic! You get so used to veg dumplings being so boring---that when you bite into these you're pleasantly shocked. Chock full of thin slices of tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and spinach, and served with your choice of regular soy sauce or a soy sauce concoction with vinegar and garlic added to it. I was really glad we got two orders Bc one comes with three pieces.
Next to arrive were the garlic fried rice and the spicy green beans. By far, my favorite things we ate. The fried rice had bits of egg in it---so if you don't want that, just let them know, and it was topped crispy, thin slices of fried onion. The green beans were fresh and super flavorful in the chili garlic sauce they were coated in.
The mao pao tofu arrived shortly after these two dishes. This was possibly the most un-authentic of the dishes we ordered. However, it was pleasant. My sister though, was not too big of a fan. Chock full of if enokitake (enoki) mushrooms, peas, carrots, corn and silken tofu all swimming in a mild Sichuan sauce. It paired great with the fried rice but it wasn't notable enough to be a definite order on a subsequent visit.
And last to arrive was the second thing we actually ordered which was the vegetarian noodle soup. Really mild but flavorful broth that allowed the fresh bok choy, shiitake mushrooms and carrots to swim happily without wilting too much or making the thick udon noodles get too soggy. It came with a side paste that is suppose to be spicy, but for to veteran spice-heads like my sister and I---was merely more of a flavor punch to the soup.
I also ordered a normal size coffee which was really pleasant.
All in all---for vegetarians, you're not going to leave famished. You'll be satisfied and the fate is a touch better than average but definitely healthier than any of your normal Asian take out joints. So---enjoy!
