Skip to main content
So, if you happen to be a couple of venturesome Caucasian cooks in just-do-it Portland with a passion for, say, dim sum, there's nothing to hold you back except fear of failure. Boke Bowl operators Brannon Riceci and Patrick Fleming must have conquered theirs when planning to bring dim sum to their Northwest Portland location. How would they tackle a two-millennium-old Cantonese tradition involving labor-intensive production of dozens of types of small morsels?
In December, when Riceci announced his plans, he told me he planned to hire experienced Chinese dim sum cooks to anchor the kitchen, and buy a couple of the carts the old-school places use. Getting the carts took two months. Finding wizened dim sum hands proved impossible—none of the kitchen workers out on Southeast 82nd Avenue wanted in on this.
When service began on a quiet Saturday morning, Riceci and staff took turns pushing one steam cart filled with familiar treasure-laden bamboo baskets and a second, open-sided cart exhibiting sweets and a handful of other room-temperature treats. The carts, supplemented by made-to-order items and others brought out on trays, make the service feel traditional, although Boke's avowed intent was to deliver dim sum lighter than the rigorously porky/salty/fatty trinity of old-guard Cantonese tea palaces. The menu has grown to include about 25 items, priced by their designated portion size: $3.75 for small dishes, $4.50 for medium and $5.25 for large.
Though local produce supplies are at their midwinter ebb, freshly stir-fried vegetables get big play. Pea tips with garlic and black bean sauce are a simple and essential part of the mix that will surely grow with the turn of seasons. Another directional option are vegetarian or vegan variations of dim sum standards, such as a steamed lotus leaf stuffed with the customary sticky rice but with added mushrooms, squash and black bean sauce instead of the usual Chinese sausage and other meaty bits, or steamed bao filled with curried squash rather than pork. For the omnivore, standard versions of these and other familiar delights are offered as well.
The last category of offerings are those that aren't Cantonese at all but fit well on a menu that gives less weight to authenticity than it does to quality and what tastes good. I'm a sucker for the spicy chicken wings, though somewhat less so for the chicken and waffles.
When service began, the inexperience was evident. Misshapen pieces, odd textures and muted flavors were far too common. Great news: Things are much improved over the last two months, and the trend has been steadily upward. An example: the evolution of the sesame balls—seed-dappled, deep-fried spheres of rice dough filled with red bean paste. On the first visit, the ball was uneven in thickness and the bean paste was more like a coarse mash. Not good. The next time, the dough was fine, but the filling was still wrong. On my last visit, the balls were, in the immortal words of Goldilocks, "just right."
Dim sum traditionalists may still find flavors less intense than desired. I'm unsure if this is part of Boke's lighter style or an element of a work still in progress. If you're a hidebound type, you're unlikely to alter your HK Cafe or Ocean City habit. For the rest of us, Boke Sum presents a pleasant weekend alternative that exemplifies the primacy of passion over orthodoxy.
- Order this: Pea tips, spicy wings, stuffed lotus leaf (traditional).
EAT: Boke Bowl West, 1200 NW 18th Ave., 719-5698, bokebowl.com/dimsum. 11 am-3 pm Saturday-Sunday.
WWeek 2015