Recent DC Events

Year of the Snake: New Year’s Champagne Dim Sum Brunch

by Vice Chargé de Presse Wesley Jefferies

To celebrate the start of the new year, the Bailliage of Greater Washington D.C. returned to China Garden in Rockville, Maryland for its fourth annual Champagne Dim Sum Brunch. A gathering that has, in just a few short years, cemented itself as a beloved tradition for the bailliage, it always presents the perfect opportunity for members and guest to reunite after all the travels and festivities that mark the holiday season. As both long-time established members as well as members who were newly inducted last year descended upon China Garden, they were each greeted with a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve, which would prove to serve as a versatile and elegant companion to the rich and varied flavors of Cantonese cuisine. A blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, this Champagne originates from the Marne Valley in Champagne, France where limestone soils impart a vibrant minerality that lingers on the palate. Boasting a nose of bright citrus and honeysuckle, the Champagne’s refined mousse and crisp acidity made it a natural pairing for the flavors and textures of dim sum.

Dim sum is a culinary experience that unfolds in an elaborate structure as with a Yueju opera with each act an intricate interplay of taste, form, and balance, where every dish assumes its place on stage with the grace and precision of a traditional scholar-warrior. The first act began with an array of steamed scallop dumplings, shrimp dumplings, and pork dumplings crowned with fresh crab roe, each delicately pleased and bursting with briny sweetness. The steamed chicken claws, a delicacy beloved in Cantonese cuisine for their rich gelatinous texture and deep umami notes, arrived alongside deep-fried shrimp rolls wrapped in crisp bean curd skin. Rounding out the performance was a simple yet elegant serving of Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, its deep green leaves and thick stems offering a refreshing contrast to the richness of the dumplings.

The second course introduced a livelier interplay of tastes and textures, beginning with the bold debut of Szechuan string beans with its blistered skins delivering a smoky complexity that was enhanced and elevated by aromatic garlic and chili. This was followed by deep-fried shrimp balls, crisp on the outside with a soft and almost airy interior. The deep-fried salty pork dumplings, with its tender and slightly springy casing and rich savory filling provided a delightful counterpoint to the lighter, crisper shrimp dishes.

A Cantonese classic, the baked roast pork pastry took the stage like a seasoned performer with its golden flaky layers playfully concealing a sweet-savory char siu filling expertly balancing indulgence with precision. For the final flourish of the act, Singapore noodles emerged with delicate strands of vermicelli tumbling across the plate like a trailing silk gown – each thread infused with a fragrant curry achieving in an elegant dance the perfect interplay of supple bite and crisped edges.

The third course unveiled a resounding culmination of taste, texture, and technique syncing in ascending harmony. Fried shrimp and taro cake arrived with a quiet but arresting elegance, its layers and flavors shifting like the controlled sweep of silk sleeves concealing and revealing in equal measure in a measured dance. The crisp, golden shells gently parted and revealed the earthy depth of taro and the delicate sweetness of the shrimp. Crispy beef followed with its lacquered glaze catching the light like the pearls and gold filigree woven into the threads of a courtly headdress. The brittle crackle of its caramelized shell gave way to a yielding tenderness beneath in a gentle dance of sweetness and spice.

The pan-fried stuffed eggplant had its moment on stage soon after. This was a dish of quiet complexity, its deep violet skin as rich as the folded hems of an imperial courtier’s embroidered sleeve. The slight bitterness of the eggplant, softened by the savory depth of its stuffing, met the umami-laden sauce in a delicate push and pull movement, revealing its deeper character.

The third course reached its final commanding moment with the Stuffed Crispy Duck with Mashed Taro. A study in contrast and control, the duck’s skin was rendered into an impossibly crisp shell with its meat still luscious and velvety underneath with the mashed taro layered on with a soft yet grounding resonance. This was a dish that unfurled in measured phrases, each bite sustaining itself long after the first with its richness deepening and lingering like the final, suspended note of a masterfully timed performance of a well-tuned spike fiddle.

As though quietly stepping onto a hushed stage for the solemn final scene, a gentle sweetness made its entrance. Pineapple buns arrived with their sun-kissed crusts crackling with gentle, playful resistance before yielding its pillowy interiors. Portuguese custard tarts, a legacy from European trade ports and colonial commerce, presented crisp golden layers that shattered to reveal a filling as glossy and soft as polished porcelain. A poetic interplay lingered on the tongue, echoing elegant rhythms that glided on the tongue with whispered refrains. Finally, the sesame balls offering a tantalizing contrast of crisp exterior and a silken heart as its lacquered shells glinted under the lights. Their final, subtle sweetness lingered like a gentle melody from a bamboo flute.

As the curtain began to descend on this operatic feast, Bailli Judy Mazza took a moment to recognize the individuals had contributed to putting on such a grand performance. With warm gratitude, she thanks China Garden’s Banquet Manager Linda and owner Carrie Zhu for their unfailing warm hospitality and their talented efforts at orchestrating the afternoon’s culinary harmony. Bailli Judy Mazza also took the opportunity to honor Vice Charge de Presse Honoraire Bill Babash for his many years of dedicated service to the bailliage. She highlighted his invaluable contributions including his meticulous and creative documentation of events, his technical expertise in building and maintaining  the bailliage’s independent and actively updated website – one of few of its kind among the bailliages in the U.S. and the world – and for mentoring the next generation of Chaîne members. Vice Chargé de Presse Honoraire Bill Babash had innovatively included specialized wine notes on the Bailliage’s menus.  These wine notes did not having tasting notes but instead had information about where, by whom and how the wine was produced.  Information that members may not otherwise have. To recognize his efforts, Bill Babash was presented with the Mondiale Medal of Honor, an accolade that is only given once per year, and a pin acknowledging his new role as the Vice Charge de Presse Honoraire.

As the horizon of the late afternoon sky began to cradle rays of light as the sun made its descent, the last drops of the Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve were savored. Its floral lift and toasty brioche notes tying the various tastes and sensations of the dim sum brunch together like a grand narrative that finds its gentle resolution with a quiet final hush. The fourth annual Champagne Dim Sum Brunch had once again proven itself to be a worthy and beloved tradition of bailliage with members and guests prepared to encounter the new year with lifted spirts and renewed hope.