Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Check another Chamblee restaurant off the list. Dim Sum Heaven lives up to its name with a big assortment of good food and very gracious service. The menu on the wall shows small plates on the left and big plates on the right. Some fried pork dumplings. Scallion pancake; the crispy edge was particularly yummy. Classic steamed pork buns. And this is my main dish, eggplant with pork. The technique was very different from what I expected and very enjoyable. The Chinese eggplant wasn't fried. It must have been steamed---it was soft but not in the slightest greasy. The pork bits and sauce were drizzled on top. This was delicious, filling, and relatively light for what could be a very heavy dish.

Wei took me to a wonderful dim sum lunch at Tim Ho Wan. It is listed in the Michelin guide and was very busy. But we managed to get seated quickly. The kitchen was constantly busy assembling and steaming dumplings. Every table ordered this rice cake stuffed with pork. It was delicious and huge---almost the size of a pound bag of coffee. We kept ourselves busy sampling the menu. Here are some other treats.

I've been waiting for Yum Bunz to open---the "coming soon" sign has tempted me for months. So I was happy to give the place a try. The interior has great graphics---is that a must in restaurant design these days? The staff was helpful and the service efficient. My bun was filled with chicken. Although it was perfectly OK, this was the part of the meal that I found least inspiring. The filling had a little too much sauce for my taste; it was advertised as spicy but I didn't find it to be noticeably hot. The dumplings were extremely fresh off the pan. The filling was fine but not exciting. Overall, I would rate this as a good local lunch stop but not a substitute for the Chamblee dim sum scene.