Craving dim sum? Palo Alto’s Steam is the restaurant for you! Photo courtesy of Emily Demmon.

By Eliza Crowder

Are you getting sick of going out to eat at the same restaurants weekend after weekend? Not to worry, I’ve got the solution for you. That solution, an authentic, sleek, and delicious dim sum restaurant, can be found on 209 University Ave in downtown Palo Alto. Steam is designed to replicate the ancient tea houses along the Silk Road that merchants used to stop at for quick meal along their journeys. Steam in Palo Alto achieves this stylistic interpretation of a modern-day wooden tea house with its unique architecture, which includes high-raised wooden beams with modern accents.

Dining at Steam is never a disappointment – thanks to the incredibly fresh food, the hospitality of the staff, and the quick service. Just after the hostess sits you at a table of your choice (there are both inside and outside seating options), the waiter or waitress will hand you an extensive menu, completely filled on both sides with a plethora of noodle, meat, vegetable options. The first time I dined at Steam, my mom and I had to ask for assistance from our waiter about what to order – since we didn’t know what the best menu items were – and he was more than happy to help us out by suggesting some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

We ended up ordering an array of menu items, including the seafood spring rolls ($9.00), the steamed pork buns ($5.80), the Mongolian beef ($15.00), and the popular “Vegetable Mu Shu” dish ($12.00). Our favorite of the dishes we ordered ended up being the pork buns by a long shot. The unique flavors of the sweet pork on the inside, accompanied by the traditional pork bun texture, made for a well-balanced dish.

One thing I would caution you of while dining at Steam is to make sure you order the right amount – you don’t want to order too little and leave the restaurant with a hungry stomach; but you also don’t want to be exiting the restaurant with bags of food by your side for days and days of leftovers. To avoid both of these situations, I would recommend asking your waiter – they know exactly how much food will fill you and your friends up. 

For those of you who enjoy family-style restaurant options and authentic Asian cuisine, Steam is Palo Alto should be next up on your restaurant-hit-list. Try it out on a weeknight to avoid the crowds and difficult parking in downtown Palo Alto!