Jing Jing

Jing Jing Asian Restaurant

210 Pacific Ave

204-956-7948

February, 2013

I knew exactly where to go to find Jing Jing and still, I had trouble finding it.  The building sign says Dynasty Shopping Centre, going back years when the building was a Chinese grocery store.  Jing has done extensive renovations since but they need more.  First, they need a designer to help with the basics.  The restaurant’s pink walls give the dining room a drab, time-worn look.  Don’t get me wrong—I love pink and I wear pink all the time, but it doesn’t belong on the wall.  Secondly, they need a better carpenter.  The redone hardwoods look nice but the installer left gaps and holes where the joints should be seamless.  They’re little things, but they’re things that make the place look dumpy. 

On the plus side, the large monitors above the kitchen show what the variety of foods look like.  They could probably downgrade the security monitor by the cashier, showing exactly what’s in the parking lot, the dining room and what goes into the till.  The main dining area features mostly round tables with the ubiquitous garbage plastic table covers.  I hate the looks of them but they’re probably a lot more sanitary than wiping down with a bacteria-infested washcloth.  Off to the side, a number of tables are built in for tatami seating.  Knowing the Chinese, most won’t go for it since they have a severe aversion to sitting on the floor, even if Jing built the seating areas up.  Near the front, you find a watering and refill station.  Take note because you may need to use it.  This is a minimal-service restaurant and you’ll find yourself short on water or tea often.  Only two service people exist here and they’re very busy welcoming guests, clearing tables and cashing out tabs.

For dim sim, this is a buffet-style service restaurant where you load up your own trays.  The open kitchen gives you a view of the chefs preparing the food, which eventually ends up in front of the kitchen window.  Unlike buffets, this is not unlimited eating—you mark the dishes you pick up and return to your tables with them.  Most of the items in the bamboo steamers will remain smoking hot, but the open dish items don’t need a lot of time to cool.

The open dishes feature several types of fried appetisers, including the standard spring rolls.  The tiny shrimp stuffed rolls have densely packed shrimp paste that leaves you wanting more.  By contrast, the larger meat-mash stuffed rolls leave you wanting less.  The fried wontons could use a bit more meat but the fleshy fried wrapper offers plenty of crunch. 

Of the steamed items, the moderately sized shrimp dumpling can be approached with one bite, the way dim sum is supposed to be.  The course-ground shrimp has nice flavours, accented by sesame oil.  The courseness of the grind leaves enough of a crunch while holding together the integrity of the dumpling. 

Similarly, the course-ground pork dumplings have lots of flavours without being too greasy.  Many restaurants make the dumplings with a lot of pork fat, increasing the flavour but also giving you the greasy feeling.  The lean beef dumplings have scallions built into the meat for contrast, and a lot of water chestnut bits for wonderful texture.

Jing offers most of the usual dishes but they don’t have nearly the selection that some of the other dim sum restaurants have in the area.  Most of the tasty food relies on a generous MSG hand, but I don’t poopoo MSG like many people do.  It’s a seasoning that boosts foods’ natural flavours and so long as you don’t overdo it on a regular basis, I see nothing wrong with it.

A lot of people will find Jing’s prices the greatest draw.  Happy hour prices run from Monday to Saturday where most dim sum options only cost $1.99 per plate.  People may miss the rolling carts but they can’t argue with the price. 

For years, people flocked to the big-two dim sum houses in Chinatown—Kum Koon and Golden Terrace.  I welcome Jing Jing and hope they do well as we need so long-overdue expansion in Chinatown.   

**** /5

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