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.

Tom's Seafood Restaurant

3048 St. Clair Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
(216) 771-1928
www.tom-seafood-restaurant.com

I am always open to trying a new Asian cuisine restaurant. I have not heard anyone talk about Tom's Seafood Restaurant, and I have passed it often so the other night we gave it a try.
You walk through the glass doors into a large open dining room. Only about three tables were occupied early on this Tuesday night.
We started with tea of course and ordered Crab Rangoon, Pan Fried Dumplings, and Spring Rolls. All three were not that exceptional; as a matter of fact the dumplings had a weird flavor to them. We also ordered the Egg Drop and Wonton soups. The Wonton was very bland and unexciting. But, the Egg Drop was quite tasty and flavorful. We then ordered the Ong Choy with preserved tofu sauce, the Shrimp and Scallop with Black Bean sauce hot plate, and the Beef with Pan Fried Noodles. The Beef with Pan Fried Noodle dish was nothing compared to Siam cafe's version. The flavors were lacking and the beef had a certain flavor to it that I just didn't care for. The Shrimp and Scallop dish was pretty tasty and I really liked the Black Bean Sauce. The Ong Choy was a nice dish also, but it didn't have much to it, although I had not tried Ong Choy before, I have to say I prefer it's cousin the Bok Choy. The meal was finished with sliced oranges. The sweet citrus was a perfect conclusion to the meal.
Tom's Seafood Restaurant had its good points and it's bad points. I don't think I will be in any rush to return, but I am glad I got to try another one of Cleveland's Asian restaurant offerings.

Bo Loong

3922 Saint Clair Ave NE
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 391-3113

I have heard mixed reviews of Bo Loong forever. All my years in Cleveland not once had I passed through their doors. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were six of us in the mood for Dim Sum. We wanted to go to C & Y Restaurant like we had in the past, but apparently it is closed! Closed forever! (I am going to get more information on this situation.)
Anyway, Bo Loong was the place we chose for our Dim Sum adventure, and an adventure it was. Bo Loong is another sprawling restaurant complete with fish tanks pretty much on every wall. This being only the second time I have experienced Dim Sum, I was ready to dive back in to the multitudes of selections.
I do love how the staff just bombards you with choice after choice of the steamed dumplings, steamed buns, and soups, and all the rest, but it can be a bit daunting. The next thing I knew we had a table full of little beauties to try.
Steamed Shrimp dumplings,

Pork and Shrimp, Bbqued Pork, Chicken Dumplings, Tofu skin stuffed with mushrooms and onions, fried Taro Root,

(which was very nice, but I definitely liked the Taro Root at C & Y better), Spring Rolls, fried Tofu, and last but certainly not least Congee. I have been interested to try Congee for some time, and I finally got to try this gelatinous concoction of rice porridge with bits of pork and fish.

I have to say, it was good. The texture was definitely something to get used to, but once you do, it was tasty stuff.
Some of us ordered some soups as well; the Egg Drop, and Wonton. Unfortunately, they were not that impressive.
Our last experience with Dim Sum we didn’t get to try any of the sweet selections, so this time we made sure we did.

Mexican Bough, which was a bun stuffed with Lemon Cassata, Sesame Bun, a chewy morsel stuffed with sesame paste, little egg custard cups, and the Silken Tofu pudding with sweet syrup. The Lemon bun was delicious, sweet lemon custard with a baked bun shell. The Sesame Bun was not my favorite, nor were the egg custard cups, which were like biting into a congealed egg yolk.

The Tofu pudding on the other hand, if you can get past the consistency, was lightly sweetened, silky and quite pleasing.

After giving the bowl a stir, the sweet syrup surrounded the Tofu and left you with a slurpy sweet and smooth finish.
I am quite glad that I finally got the chance to try Bo Loong, if not for the Dim Sum, just to give them a chance. The service and the food were very good and I will happily return in the future.

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.

Li Wah

2999 Payne Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 696 6556


I suppose I have been on an Asian cuisine kick lately. But, I love the flavors and the different techniques that go into such cuisines. I have been looking for the best that Cleveland has to offer. I have been doing research on what others say is the best in the city, and so far we seem to have somewhat differing opinions. Li Wah in Cleveland's Asian Plaza, has been toted as one of the "best" Chinese restaurants in the city. Okay, you walk in, and the place is pretty, everything matches. It is a large and sprawling place, and when we arrived it was early on a Saturday evening. We were promptly seated, and our server came over a few moments later.
We looked around the dining room and saw parties of four or more of people not of Asian decent. Not that is exactly what is important, but I feel it can be a good indicator of whether the food is authentic and or good. We ordered some tea, and decided to get the "Spring Roll" appetizer and the "Vietnamese Spring Roll", just to compare. Both arrived, and served with two plastic squirt bottles of spicy mustard and sweet sauce. They were crisp rolls, both I found to be uninspired and lacking flavor. The only flavor was from the fishiness of the Vietnamese rolls; not a good flavor. I ordered the Vegetable and Tofu soup and my companion ordered the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. The soup I ordered was meant to be a starter soup, and the other as a meal, which I realized when we ordered, but the server I think thought that I did not know this information.
After about 45 minutes I would say, the vegetable and tofu soup arrived. A large bowl of raw vegetables tossed into a salty broth with cubes of Tofu bouncing around. There were chunks of shrimp and crab as well, which I was not aware there would be in a vegetable soup. The beef soup was lacking flavor as well, and only had the bean sprouts to thank for texture which came on the side for your own addition. The noodles were over cooked and also lacking.
Even though we only had a few items, and it was early on a Saturday evening, I still feel that is no excuse for a restaurant that is supposedly the "best" in a city.