Dim Sum are oriental appetizers, served as small bites of various meats, vegetables and bean curd in various wrappers and buns, steamed, sometimes fried, served hot and sometimes with dipping sauce.

The Ginger Palace on Tacoma’s Hosmer Street just off I-5 prepares an extensive menu of dim sum on weekends and holidays to enrich their regular menu of tavern cuisine. Some of the dim sum are mysterious, with textures and spices that the average diner doesn’t recognize. Some are familiar, such as chicken wings.

When we visited, there were 36 different items on the dim sum menu. After looking them over and consulting with our server, Amy, we ordered four fried and steamed Chicken Feet at $3.95, since I have seen people eating chicken feet on TV and always wanted to try them. They were very tasty, but the little bones were troublesome. Chiu Chow dumplings were pork and peanut in steamed wrappers and very good, at $3.95. Four bacon shrimp wraps (shrimp wrapped in bacon and grilled) cost $6. Four  Garlic Hawaiian wings were also $6 and also very good. We also ordered four fried plain dough donuts, bland but very crisp at $2.75; four deep-fried sesame seed balls at $2.75 which were sesame-covered dough balls filled with sweetened bean paste; and four steamed Barbecue Pork Buns at $2.75. We also ordered Mini Roast Duck Burgers at $5. These were delicious, with sliced barbecued pork and  green onions on steamed buns.

The food was all freshly cooked, and there was no oily taste which can happen. It came to the table very hot, and even the things that we took home were warm when we got there. One thing that was not up to standards we have come to expect in local restaurants was the state of the dining room and washrooms. It appeared that it had been a rough night, and the cleaning staff had not gotten in yet.  After noon, I expect more.

If you are interested in trying something new and are willing to ask questions, stop by the Ginger Palace and check out the dim sum.  Plenty of parking, and no reservations needed for the large dining room. You will be sure to find something you like.

Carolyn Augustine, a freelance restaurant writer, writes the Senior Eats column for Senior Scene.