Sunday is a Good Day for Dim Sum...at Qin Dynasty in Parsippany, NJ.

Celebrating a family birthday on a recent Sunday, we decided to do something traditional by getting (a boatload) of dim sum at Qin Dynasty, which has been open in Parsippany for over a year now opposite another good Dim Sum place, Noodle Chu.   Dim Sum is a very traditional Chinese brunch that is comprised of a lot of small plates of a variety of foods, usually ranging from $2 to $8 for larger/specialty plates.  Food is peddled table side with carts and is quick and no wait.  Those dim sum cart ladies usually converge like clockwork to any newly seated table, and just point to whatever looks good :)

A tip for any popular dim sum place is to go early on a Sunday or be prepared to wait (hmmm although I suppose this is a given or ANY popular brunch place).

On to the foooood!

Shrimp sio mai, one of the most basic and popular items, (and like most Chinese dishes, 

also available with pork!)

For the more adventurous eater, get the braised chicken feet...one of my faves!

Fancy a big plate of fried stuffs...get a plate of fried squid!  With plenty of crispy tentacles included!

Pork soup dumplings...this was actually a pretty disappointing dish.  When you bite into it, it's supposed to gush out with juicy pork broth, but alas the inside was as dry as a regular dumpling.  Best place to get this dish is at Joe's Shanghai in NYC.

Another one of my faves...beef balls.  Served in threes and drizzled with oddly enough, Worcestershire sauce.  I wonder which Chinese person figured this flavor combination out, but hey it works!

Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, yup you guessed it...this is the only healthy thing on the table.  Though 

I won't be surprised if pork or pork broth somehow made it into this dish.  Seriously though, I think most dim sum dishes have some form of pork in it.

Another great dish and a must order, shrimp (or beef) rolled inside a noodle and doused 

with soy sauce.  Simple but great!

Another staple item, shrimp dumplings, every table gets one!

Radish cake with oyster sauce.  

One of my favorite things to order is congee, or rice soup.  It's available in many flavors in specialty congee restaurants but my favorite and the classic, is pork with 1,000 year old egg.

Probably one of the unhealthiest, yet tastiest (coincidence) things on the  menu is the 

fried taro puffs...and puffy it is!

A pricier item but also really good, clams with black bean sauce.

We also ordered two items of the menu:  First is a fried fish fillet topped with fried garlic, jalapenos, and scallions.  This dish was great and the fish was so light and crisp.

Last but not least, we ordered Singapore noodles.  What makes this noodle dish different?  It's thin rice noodles stir fried with curry powder.

Wow, that was a lot of food, even for six people.  And if you think it looks greasy, you're absolutely right.  The only other tip is to drink PLENTY of hot tea that is provided with the meal, it'll help break down the oil and speed digestion.  Stay away from cold water or worse...soda!


Qin Dynasty

857 Hwy 46 E
Parsippany, NJ 07054

(973) 394-9888