Dim Sum in Denver

Kings Land is mostly known for its dim sum, rolled through the banquet room-sized space on trolleys, along with the traditional tea. Sweets are particularly good here, so once you’ve had your fill of taro cakes, chicken feet and pork buns, don’t skip out on the egg custard tarts. But to see this place as just a dim sum joint is to undersell its nighttime offerings, which come out after dumpling service ends for the day. Take your cue from the rotisserie at the front of the restaurant and go for a Beijing duck, its skin crisp and burnished bronze; Kings Land also does a good trade in hot pot — try the spicy Sichuan broth for this fondue-like ritual. But take time to study the vast menu, too: You’ll see many dishes from across China tucked among the offerings, including a clay-pot black-pepper beef and eggplant not to be missed.

Like many of Denver's best Asian restaurants, Star Kitchen is tucked into a strip mall and doesn't look very inviting. But step through the front door and you'll find yourself in one of the best dim sum joints in town, where the carts — back after a pandemic hiatus — roll out of the kitchen loaded with dumplings of all kinds, fried noodles, shrimp balls, chicken feet, sticky rice and on and on. Go early (the line to add your name to the list forms before the place opens on weekends), bring a big group that knows how to eat family-style, and feast your way to happiness doused in chile oil. Star Kitchen offers more standard dinner fare into the later hours, too, but the real draw here is the dim sum.

A cluster of dim sum houses surrounds the intersection of Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue, and all of them have their strengths — but the most consistently excellent is Super Star Asian, a bare-bones cavern whose back wall is lined with seafood tanks. When the carts are parked, takeout is an excellent option, but make sure to read through the restaurant’s menu of excellent Cantonese offerings beyond the dumplings.