I’m a fan of Shui Wah not because of how their food tastes (better than average but not great), not because they have the best service or ambiance (it’s average at best), and certainly not because of cleanliness (permanent table cloth stains, sloppy job of cleaning dishes and silverware, the carpet). No, the one reason I’m a fan of Shui Wah is because they’re the only place that has all you can eat dim-sum. I’m not talking about just a few items of dim sum. Their buffet selection is nearly all dim sum, and half of them are in the traditional metal steam trays/baskets. Starting just a few weeks ago, I now have a 2nd reason to like Shui Wah. Catered dim sum!
There’s enough food here to feed a small army.
We started off with the basics (clockwise from top left): pork shumai, jellyfish salad, pork wrapped in tofu skin, and shrimp dumplings. These went fast because, well, you can’t have just one. They’re meant to be eaten individually at a time but people tend to lay claim to larger portions so naturally it disappears quickly.
Next items were the main entrees (clockwise from top left): string beans with beef, rice noodles with shrimp, celery with mushrooms, bok choy with tofu, and seafood with bamboo. Just these 5 trays would’ve been enough to feed the party, so at the end we still had about 5 tray-fulls left.
Finally, everyone’s favorite corner, the dessert and drinks (clockwise from top left): baked pastry with curry beef, assorted drinks, fruits and sushi, and egg tart custards. Though these were placed at the end of the line, some people helped themselves to a few treats before getting in line. The egg tart custards in particular were quite excellent. The filling had just the right amount of sweetness, and the flaky crust was fabulous. Luckily we had two trays of them because some people were getting three or four of them at once (in some cases more). We should hold an egg tart custard eating contest one of these days. As for the drinks, the soybean milk was definitely the best choice (none of that super sugary soft drink stuff that causes obesity). Come to think of it, soybean milk is an extremely versatile beverage — a great alternative to milk especially if you’re lactose intolerant. You can drink it plain, eat it with cereal, add it to a cup of coffee/tea… and now we know that it goes great with dim sum too!
Looks pretty nice, huh? Everything except for the roses in the glass jar were either paper or plastic. Simple but matching pattern makes for a perfect, down-to-earth presentation.
Tags: Shui Wah, dim sum, rehearsal