Great Dim Sum in the 'Burbs: Green Tea, Newton

Dim sum is perfect food for families. I have previously written about great Dim Sum in Chinatown, but there are just those days that a trek into Chinatown and time searching for parking is just too daunting. Green Tea in Newton offers an excellent alternative for harried parents. The convenient location which is right off Route 9, combined with delicious food, makes it one more option for those Saturday and Sundays when you are just craving shrimp shu mai, steamed buns filled with pork or mushrooms or silky tofu bathed in sweet, gingery sauce.Rather than ordering dim sum from carts, at Green Tea you choose off of an extensive menu. Although you don't get the instant gratification of eating what you pointed as, as you do at Chau Chow City or China Pearl, the food is made to order. This means that the chicken wings (my 3 year old's favorite) were piping hot, crisp and moist. For my husband, this meant a steaming plate of chewy chow foon noodles coated with a garlicky, soy sauce and topped with chicken and vegetables. And for me and friends: tender crystal shrimp dumplings and warm pork steam buns.Other wonderful dishes included fresh sauteed greens, redolent of garlic and sauteed perfectly, and a cold roll of crisp and chewy tofu skin wrapped around vegetables called "vegetarian tofu wrap."

My youngest son and I loved the comfort of the warm tofu and we all enjoyed the quirkiness of taro coated in small tapioca pearls.
Green Tea also offers items for more adventurous dim sum eaters such as cold jelly fish, chicken feet with black bean sauce and shredded pork ear. Somewhat less successful were the sesame pancakes with beef. These were heavy and lacked the flavor of other dishes.

With over 60 dishes and specials offered each week, eating at Green Tea offers the opportunity to eat a range of delicious dishes, for a reasonable price without having to stray far from the 'burbs.

Green Tea, 24 ELLIOT ST. NEWTON, MA 02461. Tel: (617) 965-2260/

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