Dim Sum at Lam Kwon Deli & Market in Downtown Sacramento, California

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Sacramento Bee reader Susie Hansen asked me to visit the deli and try the baked cha siu bao, baked barbecue pork buns, as part of my monthly affordability series where I embark on reader-suggested Sacramento activities while on a $25 budget.

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“I have been going (to Lam Kwong Deli & Market) for well over 10 years, ever since a fellow teacher brought (the baked barbecue pork buns) to school as a treat. I love them and have tried a lot of different ones from around town. For me, these are the best, hands down” the school teacher told me.

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Susie plans to retire in June after working more than 20 years for Elk Grove Unified School District.

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If you’ve been following this series for a while, you may know that some of my favorite experiences have come from eating food I wouldn’t have discovered without the help of Bee readers who know this city best.

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Susie didn’t have to do much convincing for me to check out Lam Kwong Deli & Market.

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My time at Lam Kwong Deli & Market in Sacramento

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Location: 2031 12th St., Sacramento

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In January 2012, Jenny and Yao sold their longtime Chinese restaurant in Rancho Cordova and purchased Lam Kwong Deli & Market.

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The cash-only business and its food remain the same, said daughter Anna Lee, who spoke with The Sacramento Bee on a sunny March Friday afternoon on behalf of her parents, whose first language is not English. She and her brother, James Lee, alternate Saturday shifts at the deli.

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Before the couple from China took over the business in Richmond Grove, Yao stopped in before his restaurant in Rancho Cordova opened to learn the recipes. He did this for six months.

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“(My parents) are very hardworking and humble at what they do,” she told me while Jenny and Yao, longtime residents of Sacramento, serviced a revolving door of hungry customers.

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“No days off” she added.

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Yao makes all of the dim sum dishes by hand including customer-favorite, baked barbecue pork buns. He makes dough daily, cranking out 60 dozen buns throughout the week and 80 dozen on weekends.

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Another cook handles the American-style Chinese dishes including orange chicken, shrimp fried rice and chow mein.

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The deli is closed on Sundays, but Yao can be found hard at work in the kitchen prepping dough for early next week.

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How I spent my $25 budget at Lam Kwong Deli & Market

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By noon, several dim sum dishes were sold out including sesame balls, custard tarts, pork turnovers and coconut ball lo bao, custard buns with coconut flakes.

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After a few suggestions from Anna, I settled on a couple of the deli’s most popular dim sum dishes:

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• Three pieces of ha gao – $1.30 each (steamed shrimp and bamboo dumplings)
• Three pieces of siu mai – $1.30 each (steamed pork, shrimp and mushroom dumplings)
• Two baked cha siu bao – $2 each (baked barbecue pork buns)
• One egg roll – $2 (pork, cabbage, carrots, celery and onions)

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My total came to $13.80.

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It took less than two minutes for Jenny to plate and bag my order.

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What is dim sum?

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Dim sum is a traditional Cantonese meal of dumplings and other bite-sized dishes.

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Typically, dim sum is eaten family-style during brunch hours and accompanied by tea.

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Guests at traditional dim sum restaurants are given menus to mark their selections. At other eateries, carts filled with food are pushed from table to table so customers can choose their dishes on the spot.

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At Lam Kwong Deli & Market, dim sum is served all day — without the roving carts or hot tea service.

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Anna told me the sesame balls, egg tarts and pork turnovers typically sell out fast and won’t be made again until the following day.

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On weekday mornings and all day on Saturdays, the deli serves two types of dumplings that aren’t listed on the menu.

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One dumpling is packed with chives, shrimp and chicken. The other is loaded with pork, shrimp, peas, carrots and mushrooms.

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Is Lam Kwong Deli & Market affordable?

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I got a dim sum meal for less than $14 — and if you stick around, I’ll tell you how everything tasted.

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The 10-minute bike ride back home couldn’t end fast enough. I was excited to tear into my meal.

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Once I got home, I took Anna’s advice and tossed my six pieces of dumplings ($7.80 total) in a frying pan with olive oil. She was right, the extra step elevated the dish.

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The next item down the hatchet was the massive $2 egg roll. It was crispy on the outside, and warm and flavorful on the inside, making me second-guess all of the other egg rolls I tried before that one.

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The $2 barbecue pork buns stole the show with their semi-sweet dough and tender pork.

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If you are on a stricter budget or trying to get as much bang for your buck, you can still do it at Lam Kwong Deli & Market.

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Skip the dim sum, sold per piece or by the dozen, and order one of the several lunch deals.

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The eight different lunch specials, available between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays, range from $10.95 to $11.95. Plates include a combination of meat, noodles, rice, egg rolls and pot stickers.

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Also available are ginger beef over rice ($11.25), tofu and barbecue pork over rice ($10.95), and shrimp chow mein ($12.50).

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Party trays range from $38 to $72 with noodle, rice and meat options.

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Lam Kwong Deli & Market doesn’t go unnoticed by the community it serves. If you haven’t been in, I hope my experience encourages you to give it a try.

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Thank you for the suggestion, Susie, and happy retirement!

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Hours: Lam Kwong Deli & Market is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday; and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The deli is closed to customers on Sundays.

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Brianna Taylor covers affordable news and general news for The Sacramento Bee's service journalism desk. Before joining The Bee in 2021, she covered Missouri and Maryland. She grew up on the East Coast and graduated from Morgan State University.