When I lived in New Jersey and attended Chinese school in New York City (Circa age 10), it was a weekly tradition to get there early and eat Dim Sum before going to class for the day. At the time, I was more amazed by the noise and the carts whizzing by than with the food.
Now that I’m older (and hopefully wiser!), I still end up in Chinatown now and then for Dim Sum. The only thing that prevents me from being there every week is the 30-40 minute travel plus any time waiting for a table, not to mention how hard it is to get parking (So I end up on the ultra-slow B line).
So when I heard about Gitlo’s Dim Sum Bakery in Allston, I was ecstatic (nevermind how good the food might be, it’s DIM SUM!). Gitlo’s is about a 10 minute walk (max) from my condo and is right in the thick of things on Brighton Ave by the Kell’s and Harper’s Ferry.
The place itself is very small, maybe 7 tables or so seating a max of about 20 patrons. All of the food is made to order (No carts full of goodies steamed in bulk) and the menu consists of roughly 40 items. Most of the fare is similar to the food available in Chinatown but there are quite a few dishes with a little twist, such as the Seaweed Siu Mai (Shrimp paste wrapped with seaweed). My favorite dishes there are the Scallop Siu Mai (A small slice of scallop on top of regular pork siu mai) and the XO Sauce Daikon Cakes (Fried cubes of daikon cake served in an XO meat sauce). The dumplings are very juicy and I actually take multiple bites (a rarity for me, I usually eat the piece whole) to savor every bit. And the daikon cakes…wow, I like them even better than in Chinatown!
Last week I ended up there with Jason and the owner, Gitlo, was manning the tables that night. Had a great conversation with him about the restaurant and what they’re trying to do. Really a nice guy and a hard worker. He told me that they deliver all across the area: Harvard, MIT, Copley Square, and even to parts of Newton!
Cantonese Dumplings (Pork, Leek)
Shrimp Dumplings with Pea Pod Stems
XO Sauce Fried Daikon Cake
Roast Pork Bun (Char Siu Bao)
Scallop Siu Mai
Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gao)
Stir-fried Satay Rice Noodle w/ Chicken
XO Sauce Pan Fried Rice Noodles
Fried Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf
Taro Siu Mai
