Okay, so I needed to find a proper supplier for dim sum baskets. Not just one or two for my kitchen, but a decent amount. I got really into making dumplings and stuff at home, you know, trying out all sorts of recipes, and things kinda escalated. Suddenly, I realised my couple of old steamers weren’t cutting it for the batches I wanted to make.
Starting the Hunt
First thing I did, naturally, was jump online. Typed in all the usual stuff: “dim sum basket supplier”, “bamboo steamer wholesale”, “bulk buy steamers”. Man, the results were all over the place. Lots of fancy websites selling super expensive single baskets, or these huge Alibaba-style platforms that felt overwhelming. You see these minimum order quantities, like thousands of pieces, and think, nope, that’s not for me. I just wanted maybe 20 or 30 sets, something manageable.
I spent a good few evenings just clicking through pages, getting frustrated. Lots of companies seemed geared towards big restaurants or distributors. The prices often looked good initially, but then you’d dig deeper and find the shipping costs were insane, or they wouldn’t even ship smaller amounts.
Hitting Walls
I tried emailing a few places that looked promising. You know, the ones with slightly dodgy websites but maybe, just maybe, they were the real deal? Well, mostly silence. A couple replied with quotes that were barely better than buying retail locally. One place had a minimum order that was way too high for my little operation here. Felt like I was getting nowhere fast.
So, I thought, okay, time to try offline. I drove around to some of the bigger Asian supermarkets in town and nearby cities. They had baskets, sure, but again, retail prices, and buying 20 would have cost a fortune. I even tried asking a couple of guys at dim sum restaurants where they got theirs. Mostly got shrugged off, or they’d vaguely mention some big supplier name I couldn’t track down easily.
A Bit of Luck
Then I visited a restaurant supply store I hadn’t been to before, kinda out of the way. They had stacks of them, better prices than the supermarkets, but still not quite wholesale. I got talking to the owner, just complaining about how hard it was to find a decent source. And get this, he actually gave me a tip. He mentioned a smaller importer he sometimes used for speciality stuff, someone who didn’t really advertise.
He scribbled a name and number on a piece of paper. Felt a bit old school, you know? I gave the number a call. Took a couple of tries to get through. The guy on the other end, his English wasn’t perfect, and my Cantonese is non-existent, but we managed. He mainly supplied restaurants directly but was willing to sell me a smaller batch if I came to pick them up myself from his warehouse.
Getting the Goods
So, I drove out to this industrial area I’d never been to. Found the warehouse, basically just a big shed filled with boxes. Met the guy, checked out the baskets. They weren’t fancy, shiny things. Just plain, solid bamboo steamers. You could smell the bamboo. Looked sturdy enough. We agreed on a price, cash deal, no messing around. I loaded up my car.
- Checked quality: Looked for cracks or mould. Seemed okay.
- Confirmed size: Made sure they were the standard size I wanted.
- Counted them: Double-checked I had the number I paid for.
Driving home with a trunk full of dim sum baskets felt like a real win. It took way more effort than just clicking ‘buy now’ online, that’s for sure. Lots of dead ends and asking around. But finding that supplier, dealing directly, it felt like I’d actually achieved something. And the baskets? They work great. Nothing beats the smell of bamboo steaming up a batch of siu mai in baskets you actually hunted down yourself.