Triple Crown Brings a Playful Dim Sum Feast Upstairs

A small fish tank and a goldfish wishing well set an unexpectedly cheerful tone near the entrance at Triple Crown. From there, the meal moves upstairs, away from the sidewalk bustle and into a spacious dining room where dragons and old-school Asian restaurant decor establish the mood before the first bamboo steamer lands on the table.

This is a place built for ordering across the table. Instead of settling into one personal entree and guarding it with a fork, a group can assemble a meal from dumplings, buns, noodles, rice, vegetables and bigger specialty dishes, then keep passing plates around until everyone has found a favorite.

Triple Crown has both a dedicated dim sum menu and a broader Chinese menu, which makes the meal pleasantly open-ended. A table can start with familiar dumplings, detour into fried rice or a noodle dish, and still make room for a more substantial entree.

The stairs are a meaningful detail here: the restaurant's dining room is upstairs. Once inside, the room has the roomy, energetic character of a long-running group-dining spot, with dragon-themed elements that keep it from looking generic.

The atmosphere can change with the crowd. At a quieter moment, it is possible to settle in with tea and take your time choosing; when the room fills, the energy rises along with the clatter of shared plates. Conversation is still generally manageable, but this is not a hushed little dining room.

Hot tea is offered at seating, a simple kindness that is especially welcome after a cold-weather walk through Chinatown. Beer, tea and cocktails are also among the drink choices, should the table want something beyond the teapot.

Soup dumplings are a natural opening move and one of the menu's most consistently sought-after dishes. Shanghai soup dumplings bring the classic little-pouch format to the table: delicate wrappers, a savory filling and the small ceremony of trying not to lose the soup before the dumpling reaches your spoon.

Shrimp dumplings offer a lighter contrast. Their tender, fresh character makes them a good companion to porkier choices and richer fried items, particularly when the table is still deciding which direction dinner will take.

Potstickers are another dependable order for the middle of the table. Pan-fried shrimp-and-chive dumplings add a more aromatic option, while shrimp-and-corn dumplings bring a little sweetness into the mix.

For an offbeat turn on a standard dim sum order, the chicken-and-mushroom siu mai is worth noticing. It shifts the familiar open-topped dumpling away from the usual pork-and-shrimp expectation without abandoning the easy, bite-size pleasure of siu mai.

The barbecue pork buns are known for their soft, fluffy bao surrounding the sweet-savory pork filling. They are comforting, substantial and easy to share, though they tend to disappear quickly once the basket is opened.

Then there are the pig-shaped custard buns, a visual signature of the meal. Their little faces are playful enough to make adults pause before taking a bite, and the custard-filled buns are far more than a novelty order. They give a table a sweet course without requiring everyone to commit to a large dessert.

Steamed buns and barbecue pork buns also help balance a table that has gone heavy on dumplings. The range of textures is one reason a larger order works so well here: soft bao, crisp potsticker bottoms, springy noodles and spoonfuls of fried rice all arrive with different jobs to do.

Stuffed eggplant is one of those dishes that can quietly become the plate everyone keeps reaching toward. It adds a deeper, more savory note beside the clean flavors of shrimp dumplings and the soft richness of buns.

Chicken-and-taro spring rolls bring another texture to the table. Taro's gentle earthiness makes the crisp wrapper and chicken filling feel more distinctive than an ordinary spring roll order.

Pickled cucumbers are useful in the best possible way. Their cool, refreshing bite cuts through richer dishes and resets the palate between dumplings, fried items and saucier entrees. A shared meal benefits from one crisp, bright plate like this.

Triple Crown's broader menu gives mixed groups plenty of room to roam. Stir-fried rice noodles are a satisfying anchor for a table full of smaller dishes, while notably spicy noodles are available for diners who want a little heat in the lineup.

Fried rice provides the familiar, practical centerpiece that helps turn a collection of dim sum baskets into a full meal. White rice is also served with meals, useful when a saucy specialty dish arrives and the table needs something simple to spoon alongside it.

The menu includes the Chinese-American favorites many diners expect: General Tso's chicken, sweet-and-sour chicken, broccoli beef, shrimp with broccoli and egg rolls. That broad selection matters when one person wants soup dumplings and another is happiest with broccoli beef.

A steak-and-onion dish with black pepper offers a more substantial, savory option; it can be served with extra gravy. Szechuan preparations and Peking duck are additional choices for diners interested in branching beyond the familiar standards.

Table sauces are available, including chili hot sauce by request. The sauces can bring extra flavor without automatically pushing every bite into punishing heat, so the table can season as it goes.

Service has a brisk, capable rhythm that suits the way people eat here. Dishes arrive quickly, water glasses are kept in rotation, and finished plates are cleared without a lot of lingering clutter around a table that may be holding several steamers at once.

That efficiency is especially handy for families and larger parties. A group can build a broad family-style spread—perhaps dumplings, a bun order, a noodle dish, rice and one or two entrees—without the meal becoming an elaborate production.

Portions are substantial enough to support sharing, and the pricing has the approachable feel that encourages an extra basket or a second dish. Splitting an entree, a side and a dim sum order is one easy way to create a varied tasting meal without ordering the entire menu.

The dim sum selection is reported to be larger during breakfast and earlier daytime hours, with a smaller menu available after 4 p.m. Diners who have a particular interest in trying a wide range of dim sum may find the earlier schedule more appealing.

The restaurant can be busy, and waits are possible when the upstairs room is full, though quieter visits do occur. Parking around Chinatown can also be a project, with paid street spaces, garages and paid lots among the options in the area.

There is a broad vegetarian selection, but diners with vegetarian, halal or other dietary requirements should discuss preparation with the server. Some items may use pork oil, so a quick conversation is more useful than assuming a dish fits a particular diet.

The stairs to the dining room are the main practical consideration for visitors with mobility limitations. Once upstairs, the generous room and quick pace make Triple Crown well suited to the simple pleasure of a crowded lazy Susan, several open steamers and a table trying to decide who gets the last pig-shaped bun.