As previously reported, our second meal out in Dublin involved dim sum. We ate on that occasion at Ka Shing (on Wicklow St.) but only after being turned away at Good World (on George’s St.) because we didn’t have a reservation. Good World is Dublin’s premier dim sum restaurant and the one that shows up on all the lists of Dublin’s best Chinese restaurants. On weekends you will need a reservation. Accordingly, we made one for the following weekend and showed up again. We’d been pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Ka Shing the previous week—our expectations had not been high—and I am pleased to say that we enjoyed Good World even more, on the whole; though there were a few things we preferred at Ka Shing. Herewith the details.

Good World has been around for more than 30 years and is a Dublin institution at this point. The weekend lunch crowds are testimony to that. We arrived right as they opened and they proceeded to fill up at a rapid rate. Most tables were filled with family groups, large and small. Both the dim sum menu and the regular a la carte menu are available. Most tables seemed to be ordering predominantly from the dim sum menu; this being Ireland, many tables also had orders of chips on them. We ordered almost entirely from the dim sum menu (congee being the only thing we got from the larger menu) and managed to resist the lure of chips.

What did we get? Mostly steamed items. The first to arrive were the prawn cheung fun (rice noodles) and the deep-fried squid. The former was quite good, but we preferred Ka Shing’s rendition of the latter. We really liked the monkfish congee though—we got a small order which was nonetheless quite large. A bunch of steamed dumplings followed: squid ink dumplings with scallops, har gow/prawn dumpling, shiu mai/mixed meat dumpling, soup dumpling/steamed meat soup bun. All were very good and we got a second order each of the har gow and the soup dumplings. Also from the steamed section of the menu: sticky rice in lotus leaf, beef tripe, chicken feet, and fish balls with pork skin. The last were just okay, the rest were quite good. We rounded out the meal with an order of the fried turnip cake, which was quite good.

For a look at the restaurant, the menu and what we ate, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down to see how much it cost and to see what’s coming next on the food front.

Service was the usual dim sum frenzied but fine enough. Cost? The total came to just over 100 euros. More expensive than Ka Shing—albeit with a few more dishes—but also better than Ka Shing. And quite a bit better than the best in the Twin Cities while still a bit cheaper. All that said, I wouldn’t say that Good World is worth a look if you’re visiting Dublin from a city with a good dim sum scene. But if not, or if you live in Dublin, it’s more than acceptable.

Alright, the restaurant reports will return to Italy this weekend, with a look at our second dinner in Padua (see here for the first). I might have a Twin Cities report on the weekend as well, though not a restaurant review per se.