Li Wah

Revisited:

2999 Payne Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 696 6556

Since I have returned from the West Coast, I have been slightly obsessed (just slightly) with finding the best Dim Sum in Cleveland. I just can't get enough, and I can't wait to go to San Francisco in a few weeks to dive into their Dim Sum offerings.
In Cleveland the Dim Sum options are limited. As far as I knew, there were three to choose from; C and Y, Bo Loong, and Li Wah. In the past I have tried C and Y Chinese restaurant and their Dim Sum was quite tasty. In retrospect, they were my first encounter with Dim Sum, and I still think that they were very good after experiencing Dim Sum at other places. Unfortunately, C and Y is now closed. The next option, as I have mentioned in the past, is Bo Loong. Bo Loong's Dim Sum was very good, but Li Wah is even better. I wrote about Li Wah before as well, and I wasn't impressed or pleased in the least, but their Dim Sum has made my return worth it.
Since returning from the West Coast we have been back to Li Wah three times just for the Dim Sum, and it is now our favorite in the city.
We have been on Sundays so far, and they are packed. Our most recent visit we had to wait for a table, and the place is huge. The servers keep coming around with the carts full of steaming options to choose from. It still is a bit overwhelming as they continue to bombard you with tasty options, but I am starting to grow accustom and even restless if they don't come at me from all angles.
Of course we got our now usual selections, Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), Siu Mai (steamed pork dumplings), fried Taro Root, (which I still love oh so much), and steamed shrimp with green peppers. As always, we order some type of Tofu, fried or stuffed with either pork or shrimp. We are really getting the hang of ordering the items we like and being able to recognize the ones we don't. We did try a new sweet offering, which ended up being preserved egg on top of a Lotus Seed and ginger paste, stuffed inside a petite sesame seed bun. The flavors were hard to pin point at first, but they were quite unique and had a delightful sweet finish.
After indulging in all of the delicious morsels my companions and I couldn't possibly have another bite. We asked for the check and prepared to leave full and satisfied. That was until a nice young gentleman came over with plates full of Crispy Roasted Pork with a Cucumber Slaw. At first we said, "oh, no thank you", as we were so full, but after a short conference with my two equally intrigued companions, we couldn't resist. It was a good thing we changed out minds and got this fabulous dish. The Pork skin was so crisp and salty I could eat it alone as a snack. The meat was so tender and juicy and the layer of Pork fat underneath was a guiltily sumptuous finish. We couldn't possibly finish the Pork dish, but all three of us were glad that we decided against our initial response.
Li Wah has now proven to me that sometimes first impressions can be wrong. I will continue to return to lavish in their Dim Sum offerings and to satisfy my newest addiction.

C and Y Chinese Restaurant

2222 St Clair Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 566-1188

Keeping along the Asian kick I have been on; C and Y Chinese Restaurant in downtown Cleveland dishes up tasty dish after tasty dish. I have been there a handful of times for dinner and never had any complaints. The service was impeccable and the food always left me wanting more. Recently, I went for their Dim Sum on a Sunday afternoon. I realized that I had never experienced the Dim Sum before. From what I heard, this is just the place. I also heard that Li Wah Chinese restaurant, was recommended for such endeavors, but after my experiences there, I think not. C and Y serves Dim Sum until 3 pm on Sundays and we arrived around quarter til 2, just enough time.
We started with tea of course, and we were then bombarded with cart after cart of small steaming plates of dumplings and different goodies to choose from. Everything was more interesting than the next. It was a bit overwhelming, being that none of the three of us had experienced Dim Sum before. Each of us just kept repeating "yes, okay"as the young ladies placed each tantalizing plate in front of us.We chose the pork and vegetable buns, the bbq pork buns, shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, spring rolls, meatballs, and my favorites of all of our choices, the vegetables wrapped with tofu skin, and the taro dumplings. But, we must not forget the Chicken feet. Oh yes. The sauce on the feet was sweet and savory at the same time. The consistency of the flesh was appetizing, but the crunchy cartilage is something that will take getting used to. Although I did not fully enjoy the feet, I did appreciate them and would definitely try them again in the future.
At that point, we were all so full that we couldn't think of getting anything else and unfortunately we missed out on all the sweet dumplings they had to offer.
Next time we will know a bit more of what we are getting ourselves into, and we will know how to space out the little dishes in order to go the distance.