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    Dim Sum at Little Dragons Chinese Restaurant

    It may just be a simple name, but the faint mention of Dim Sum brings joy to my heart. The Chinese refer to dim sum as a variety of light dishes served with hot tea. While it used to be enjoyed on special occasions in China, it can be found almost daily in parts of the World, and in select Chinese restaurants in the US on weekends.

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    Despite my love for dim sum, it’s been years since my last Yum Cha, the Chinese name for the entire dining experience. Having discovered the dim sum thread on CU recently, I was enthusiastic to explore what Columbus has to offer. I chose a restaurant that was close to me and was seemingly enjoyed by CMH Gourmand.

    Little Dragons Chinese Restaurant is just another one of those unassuming strip mall restaurants in Northern Columbus serving tasty ethnic food. Just down the road you can dine on Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian and Mexican cuisine, not to mention the Middle Eastern triangle on Cleveland Avenue and a cornucopia of ethnicities on Rte 161.

    What makes Little Dragons so much better than other local Chinese establishments is the decor, the food and yes, the weekend dim sum. The rather bland exterior is negated by a simple elegant interior: playful fish at the entrance, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and large tables in the rear with lazy susans to serve family style.

    Their menu offers the standard fare like hot and sour soup and war sue gai, but also exciting dishes with sea cucumber, frog legs, beef tripe, and even a clam soup. So there are some unique items to try here in the week as well.

    Just as varied as their dinner menu, the dim sum menu is aimed to please. CMH Gourmand referred to dim sum items as tapas like, a reference I can appreciate. The individual items cost between $2 and $8, the most expensive being a conch salad. While they don’t employ a dim sum cart bustling around with several items, they offer you a menu to select the items you like. Chinese tea is complimentary with dim sum, and great to sip as you are looking over the menu.

    This is what I ordered: sesame seed cake, broiled pork buns, chive shrimp dumplings, jellyfish salad, Mandarin duck, and broiled squid with garlic sauce. They were all delicious. I was surprised that the last two items were served chilled, but I liked them just the same. There are several other items to try on the dim sum menu, and I could see ordering a few off the regular menu as well for a greater variety – like some warm soup and maybe rice. This was a lot of food and it was more than enough to bring some home.

    My tab for six items and hot tea was a mere $24, certainly a fulfilling meal for two to share. A group of 8 people in the back could easily share the entire dim sum menu for $12-15/ person, and have fun distributing the food with the lazy susan.

    Dim Sum is available 11-3, Friday-Sunday at Little Dragons (1508 Morse Rd). Credit cards accepted. Phone: (614) 846-9114.

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