My mourning period for Top Gun has officially ended. Ever since they closed last summer, I had been wandering around Chinatown lackadaisical and noncommitted to the other Dim Sum options. I even drove out to the relocated Top Gun, which was in a Factoria strip mall (don’t bother).

Zach said he heard about a new place that a few friends had recommended. I was skeptical since I thought we had already tried everything in the ID, so I was surprised when we rounded the corner and headed toward Sun Ya—a place that my grandma used to take me to when I was a kid, but had forgotten about.

We happily stuffed ourselves silly, grinning at our fortune of finding Dim Sum that was maybe even better than Top Gun.

Shrimp Balls – This was the only slightly disappointing dish, as the shrimp didn’t taste as fresh as they could be.

Sticky Rice – Really good rice with lots of bits of tender pork but no lop chong, which I love (but know most people don’t).

Steamed Hum Bow – Perfect, small, pillowy packages stuffed with delicious and meaty bbq’d pork filling.

Baked Hum Bow – I was never a huge fan of these until now. The dough was slightly crunchy and sweet, with a sticky outside and the same perfect filling.

Pot Stickers – Really good, stuffed with nicely seasoned pork and water chestnuts that gave it a nice flavor and crunch.

Garlic Spareribs – This was the star of the meal. We special ordered these and they were strangely addictive. The spareribs were fried and crunchy but not at all greasy, with a fantastic garlic flavor that was both subtle and strong at the same time. I wanted to stuff them into my cheeks like a chipmunk.

Sesame Seed Dessert Balls – I don’t know what was in them, but they were a lot like my grandma’s tai doi—slightly sweet, chewy, fried balls of goodness.

Even though I couldn’t possibly have eaten another bite, the bbq window we passed on the way home was making me drool. Next time…

We started off the night with a great dinner at Matt’s in the Market—the perfect place to be on a cold and rainy Seattle night. It was warm and cozy at the bar, with a bird’s-eye view of the ‘kitchen’. We marveled at the fact that they can turn out so much food with two single burners and an oven.

We ordered the pan-fried smelt with bacon braised chard and garlic aioli for an appetizer. Mmmmm. The smelt was so crunchy and it paired wonderfully with the tangy and salty chard. Zach had the lamb shank with charmoula, which really was delicious, but I am so spoiled by my beef short rib recipe, that it didn’t really compare. I had the pan fried trout with pancetta and calvados-braised lentils. I was a little worried that it would taste too much like the appetizer, but it was very different with sweet and fruity overtones. It was sooo good.

Then we dashed off to see Sedaris speak at Benaroya Hall. I laughed until I cried until I hit my head on the back of my seat from laughing so hard. He talked about monkey slaves and now I want one. I’ve decided I will teach my foster monkey to fry bacon in the mornings and take my cat for walks around the neighborhood while I’m at work.

And though it seems like the night couldn’t get much better, it did. We played some pool at the Nite Lite and then Zach schooled me at darts.

It was pretty late at this point, but we were getting hungry again and we weren’t ready to go home. So we ended up at 13 Coins, where we talked to this guy in the lobby who was wearing the most unbelievably ugly Gucci shoes. (Just because something has Gucci logos all over it, doesn’t mean you should wear it. In fact, it probably means you shouldn’t.) Anyways, we got a great booth and split the believer, which my brother turned me on to. And, oh do I believe.