Nani Restaurant — Restaurant in Madison

Nani Restaurant made a favorable impression during recent weekday lunch foray. As an unabashed multi-cultural dumplingphile, I was pleased to see the early favorable reviews. So I convinced a couple of co-workers to join me for a whirlwind trip through Nani's dim sum menu.

It's been years since I visited this location; I think it was an ill-fated Mongolian stir-fry place in that iteration. The new owners definitely classed the place up with a thorough renovation, adding plenty of stylish lighting to give the place a more chic vibe (as best you can for an old all you can eat buffet location).

The host immediately greeted us and led us to our table. Our server appeared before we were settled in and shared both the lunch menu (mainly Americanized Chinese dishes) and the expansive dim sum menu. After a vigorous debate over the merits of many of the dim sum options, we decided on the pork pot stickers, shrimp and pork dumplings, BBQ pork buns and one of spare rib options, (Alas, no one was willing to sample the chicken feet with me - I had to save that dish for another time). One of my co-workers also ordered the sesame chicken entrée from the lunch menu.

Shortly after we placed our order, the steam baskets with our dim sum offerings started hitting our table. The exterior of the pot stickers had an impressive brown sear and the filling brimmed with porcine goodness. For some unknown reason, the potstickers were bereft of any dipping sauce, which is an almost unpardonable omission. The BBQ Pork bun were the weak link of the meal, with a too sweet bun and just a thimbleful of under-seasoned pork (nothing like the version of this dish than I devoured at Umami earlier this year).

The bone-in pork spareribs were the showstopper of our meal. Packed in a flavorful broth, this dish provided a mouthful of flavor with every bite. Also impressive were the delectable shrimp and pork dumplings, though they also could have benefited from a dipping sauce.

I felt the kitchen did an admirable job with the sesame chicken, which provided a pleasing crunch with every bite.

The restaurant has maintained an active midweek lunch service. Many restaurants have come and gone from this building, hopefully Nani can break the curse of this location. There are far many dim sum offerings that I...

Great late dim sum dinner! We ordered enough to take a bit home for breakfast the next day. Everything was very good! Our server was very friendly and chatty. At the same time she did great keeping up with any needs we had, tried to answer any questions. Great suggestion on the chrysanthemum tea. Floral and citrus notes were very nice. Everything came at once, but I'll give my honest opinion about each.

Honey glaze short ribs - this is one of their more popular dishes, according to our waitress, and with good reason. These are very savory and sweet without going overboard. Real Wisconsin honey!

Baked bbq pork buns - tasty and simple, buns filled with bbq pork. Great with the hot chili oil if you like a little kick. Good savory option.

Ham and cheese buns - it's a bit embarrassing how good of comfort food these are. Buns with a bit of ham, cheddar, and a light sweet glaze baked into them.

Pork and corn cakes - not what I had imagined, but good. These are ground pork patties with corn and minced carrots & onions, wrapped in a dumpling wrapper and pan-fried. Needs some soy or chili oil to bring it home, but they're very moist for how meaty they are.

Deep fried shrimp ball - these are a ball of ground shrimp and light seasonings that are deep fried. Very good, comes with some sweet/sour sauce. I prefer them with chili oil as well. They can be a bit one note.

Mango pudding - this is a thick mold of almost jello texture. Able to be picked up with chop sticks. Light mango taste, very good with the whipped cream.

Sweet custard rolls - 6 count, I'm not big on the custard rolls, but my wife is keeping them for breakfast. Light, spongy, with a gentle flavor of custard.

Coconut pudding - I'm going with straight up coconut jello here. Not strong enough of a flavor to me. It is refreshing, but could be stronger flavored.

White chocolate cashew buns - these are surprisingly savory. They're much more about the cashews than the chocolate. The filling would make great cheesecake topping or something. These are crazy good, and not overly sweet at all.

Great time! And for as much as we had, the bill was very reasonable. Nani is a favorite...

Excellent dim sum. Certainly the best in Madison, possibly the best in the states. I like dim sum. I try it wherever I can. A lot of folks say the best dim sum is in San Francisco. Been there, done that, it was great, Nani is better. Seriously. They're good. It's impressive.

In terms of the dim sum menu, I'm particularly fond of the steamed bbq pork bun, the siu mai, the turnip cakes, and the pork belly with lotus root... But it's all really really good.

They also have an entree menu which is excellent and varied, from more traditional Chinese food to American style Chinese food. They do it all well. I usually can't resist the dim sum but everything I've tried from the entree menu was fantastic as well.

I guess I should say what dim sum is, in case you haven't had it before. It's kinda like American appetizers, in that the orders usually contain multiple pieces and are good to share, except that with dim sum you might just get nothing but dim sum for the whole meal. Not that you have to do it that way. You can do whatever you want. Anyway, in each item you'll get 3 buns, or 5 dumplings, or something like that. It varies depending on the item, but there's pictures, it's easy, and they'll explain it too. Just tell them it's your first time. Don't be afraid to get a few things and then order more. No need to stress about getting everything right on the first try. They'll leave you a menu so you can keep ordering. Try to order all at once if it's close to closing time though, of course. You'll want at least a couple dim sum items per person. It's fun. You'll like it. Go now.

If you want a veggie, their greens are awesome. The pea shoots, and the Chinese broccoli are my favs.

They have cocktails as well, which is fun. I love the Thai iced tea cocktail. Very tasty.

I love the folks that run it too. Everyone there is always so nice. Great food, charming atmosphere, what's not to love?

In conclusion, you should stop whatever you're doing, and go to Nani right now. You'll be...