Kitchen quintessential

The dim sum kitchen

Photograph: Jeff Gurwin

Pacificana
(813 55th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves, Sunset Park, Brooklyn; 718-871-2880)

Jimmy Ching, general manager
“Our dim sum chefs arrive at 6am. There are four during the week, and on busy weekends part-timers help too. Except for steamed buns and sticky rice, nothing is prepared in advance, so they have a lot to do when they arrive, starting with items that need to be baked or fried. There are about 300 people eating here now [a weekday at noon]; it’s busy but manageable. On the weekends it’s crazy: We can hold about 550 people at once, and we turn the tables four or five times. The dim sum chefs have to make anywhere from 30 to 60 different types of dumplings, all by hand, and all to order. The cart ladies tell them when an item has run out, and the dim sum chefs will make more orders. We have one chef who does all the barbecue. He roasts about four to five suckling pigs—with banquets at night, sometimes more—and 20 to 25 ducks every day. Then, from the main kitchen, which opens at 11am, two chefs make other dishes in the woks. They make everything in small enough batches so that little is left over at the end of the day, which the staff eats, takes home or throws away.”

—As told to Daniel Gritzer

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