Tucsonans love dim sum. But dim sum doesn’t always love us: we only have a few restaurants that offer the iconic Chinese small plates and tea service.
Foodies know the roster: Gee’s Garden closed in 2020. Sushi Lounge has a limited weekday menu and only offers many favorites (such as Portuguese egg tarts) on weekends. Similarly, China Phoenix only offers dim sum on their weekend menu. Jo Jo Chan saw a need that she could fill.
Go Dim Sum offers traditional Chinese small bites in a fast-casual setting. Pictured clockwise from top left: sesame balls with red bean paste (two for $3.79), pork and shrimp siu mai (three for $4.99), Portuguese egg tarts (two for $3.99) and pork soup dumplings (six for $7.99).
Go Dim Sum, Jo Jo's new dim sum takeout counter (with limited indoor and outdoor seating) at 3504 E. Grant Road, soft-opened at the end of July. The restaurant streamlines service by eliminating the traditional steaming carts, where diners pick menu items off a tray. This allows her small team to do a few things well, focusing on their curated menu of favorites hard to find elsewhere.
“Our most popular items are the siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) and the soup dumplings. The Portuguese egg tarts are also pretty popular, and the barbecue pork pastry,” she said.
The Portuguese egg tarts at Go Dim Sum were our food writer's favorite, with an impossibly light and supple custard and just a hint of citrus. They cost $3.99 for two.
The small plates menu is accompanied by a tea service, with selections like ruby rose tea, white grape oolong, and a non-tea boba favorite, taro fresh milk.
“We still need to find more people to work, that’s why we have a simple menu for now. We’ll figure out what customers like and how to best prepare the food,” Jo Jo said. “Customers might want to see more steamed buns — bao — and a couple more popular Chinese items on the menu.”
Jo Jo has a passion for bringing Chinese specialties to Tucson. With different business partners, she opened Jun Dynasty, where she gained experience running a restaurant, then the cult-classic Noodleholics in 2018. Go Dim Sum is her first solo venture.
“Now I want to bring different food to the locals, so people can learn more about Chinese cuisine,” she said.
Pork and shrimp dumplings, called siu mai, cost $4.99 for three.
Go Dim Sum
Location: 3504 E. Grant Road
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Price: price varies a la carte. Siu mai cost $4.99 for 3. Portuguese egg tarts cost $3.99 for 2. Soup dumplings cost $7.99 for 6.
For more information, check out their website.
