Steam Bar, the restaurant for refined and surprising dim sum

Arriving at the Steam Bar via the discreet, narrow rue du Sabot, spared the constant hustle and bustle of boulevard Saint-Germain, is the first step into thehushed ambience of this restaurant with speak-easy aspirations, opened by sisters Marie-Lorna and Florence Vaconsin after the success of their previous restaurants, the Italian table Marcello and maki bar Blueberry, a stone's throw from the Steam Bar.

In an intimate decor by Gabriel Pistre, reminiscent of the most elegant Wong Kar Wai films and the Hong Kong of yesteryear, with modern touches, this Hong Kong-influenced restaurant has been one of the capital's most exciting and surprising Asian restaurants since 2019.

It has to be said that here, you'll find little or no classic ravioli. Behind the stoves, Hong Kong chef Chi Cheung Wong, who worked in the kitchens of the Shangri-La as a dimsum master, makes a point of offering refined recipes for steams, ravioli, gyoza and other bao rarely seen elsewhere.

At lunchtime on weekdays, these little marvels filled with a thousand and one flavors can now be savored in the Steam Tower (€29), which includes an assortment of 8 dimsum, a hot izakaya, a basket of steamed vegetables, a bowl of rice and a hoisin sauce. A nice way to discover part of the bar's menu before completing this exploration of Hong Kong's heritage in the evening, by choosing from the many remaining proposals.

At dinner, with thedaring Bangkok Shot cocktail in hand (lemongrass and chili-infused rum, Umeshu, rice milk, pineapple syrup, ginger, coriander, lime; €13), we scour the menu for new offerings. For this new season, the Steam Bar unveils a new bao (8€) with pork, fennel, rice, ginger, shallot, chives and sesame oil; as well as 4 new dimsum that always focus on daring flavor combinations.

The Blue Lotus (11€ for 3), with its pretty floral shape, is a vegetarian ravioli with taro, potato, white onion and cabbage, with a subtle hint of rhubarb. The Fan ko Royal rosé (14€ for 3 pieces), a ravioli with prawns, lobster, carrots, chives, coriander and red rice, is royal in name only: it's generously garnished with these noble crustaceans.

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We continue in the maritime tradition with the Hakao Panda (11€ for 3), dressed in a deep black coat and composed of gambas, bamboo and jicama, a vegetable with a slightly sweet taste; before returning to terra firma with the Tchick-Tchick (8€ for 3), a ravioli with pork, chicken, eryngii mushrooms, rice vermicelli and coriander.

Gourmets that we are, we also let ourselves be tempted by the Steam Bar's classics, like L'Etoile Mystérieuse (8€ for 4), a breathtaking purple hakao with eggplant, edamame, fennel, coriander, yuzu and Thai basil pesto that won't win unanimous approval, as some may be bothered by the aniseed flavor that takes precedence ; and Lili Rouge (12€ for 4), a siu mai with prawns, scallops, cuttlefish, carrots and celery, topped with a few lumpfish roe.

We end this dinner on a high note with two huge favorites, on the one hand the Hong Kong Streets siu mai (8€ for 4), with their stuffing of pork, chicken, smoked scamorza, peanuts, sage and crispy shallots on top, and the Sechuan Lovers wonton (9€ for 3 pieces) with pork and chicken, spicy but not too spicy, to be dipped in an incredible chili sauce with Sichuan pepper, vanilla and coriander, a marvel - we weigh our words.