It has been a while since we last had dim sum, so CT and I made plans to go one Saturday morning. Yvo has raved about the recently renovated Nom Wah a couple times, so we decided this would be where we would get our “fix.” CT actually had been to Nom Wah before with our friend, TX, but I was under the weather at the time and wasn’t able to go. This ended up being a repeat of Lung Fung as CT’s parents came with us with dim sum cravings of their own. We arrived at 11 and had no problem getting a table, unlike some of the larger banquet style places in Chinatown.
As Yvo mentioned, Nom Wah’s dim sum is ordered via a checkoff menu rather than pointing at items on a cart. They also have a menu with pictures of each dish, which definitely came in handy for non-Chinese like us. Fortunately, the kitchen has a lot of dishes almost ready to go, so it wasn’t too long of a wait for food. As the name indicates, they have a nice selection of teas to go with your food. CT’s Mom ordered a pot of delicious Jasmine tea for the table.
Onto the meal(most dishes were in the $2.50 to $3 range):
Shrimp Rice Roll. The shrimp were fresh and tasty, but the roll was pretty thick and gummy.
Fried Crab Claw. We weren’t really sure what to expect when we ordered this, so we took a chance. As you can see, it was quite interesting looking. It was large enough to split in half to serve two people, so we only ordered one more.
The innards had a ton of fresh, sweet crab and I think some chopped shrimp. It was quite delicious although a bit greasy on the outside.
House Special Pan Fried Dumpling. These were hit or miss. My dumpling had a thick wrapper that wasn’t very good, while CT’s dumpling was much thinner. The innards were tasty so that’s all that mattered.
We ordered two pork buns. They were quite large and more than enough for the four of us, especially since CT’s Dad isn’t a fan of any pork bun. The pork innards were tasty, while the bun was nice and fluffy.
Salt & Pepper Shrimp. These are quickly becoming my favorite dim sum dish especially when the shrimp were as large and sweet as they were here. They were fried perfectly as to retain some of the juiciness of the shrimp. The chef also used a light hand on seasoning so I didn’t feel the need to drink a pitcher of water as I have had at other restaurants.
Spring rolls. Crispy outside that was pretty greasy with nice veggies on the inside.
Shrimp and Chive dumplings. These ended up becoming an afterthought for the table, but were quite interesting. The tapioca starch wrapper was quite unique and very chewy. The innards has some nice deep green chives and pieces of shrimp.
Shrimp Sui Mai. These were excellent sui mai. Again, more of that delicious shrimp. They were quite juicy and flavorful. Definitely order these if you go.
Shanghainese Style Soup Bun. I have actually never had soup dumplings before and this was not the place to try them. They were quite small and did not have much broth inside, but as a dumpling it was quite tasty.
Sticky Rice w/ Chinese Sausage. They had lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice on the menu, but it said it was with chicken. At other dim sum restaurants, the lotus leaf sticky rice as Chinese sausage, so I thought that this would wrapped in the leaf too, but it wasn’t. Regardless, it was still delicious and I particularly enjoyed the ribbons of egg on top.
Salt & Pepper Pork Chops. I believe it was around $8 for this huge pile of pork. This was the last dish to come out so we were all quite full already. I found some extra room to scarf down more than my fair share of this since the others threw in the towel. The chops had a lot of meat and not very many bones which gave us our money’s worth.
All in all, Nom Wah Tea Parlor had some excellent dim sum. I really enjoyed the old fashioned look of the place, but wasn’t run down. I definitely recommend this place at any time of day since the food is ordered a la carte. I will be back here anytime I have a dim sum craving that can’t wait for a weekend morning. Thanks to CT’s parents for treating us.
Feisty Foodie says
I really like Nom Wah… I actually have plans to go two more times in the upcoming weeks because people want to go!
Hungry says
You never had soup dumplings before?! That needs to change ASAP! I’ll take you personally!
TT says
ok, walking to your office now. be there in 15.
Feisty Foodie says
I want to go too! but not if you’re going in the area of H’s office. There are no good soup dumplings over there.
Hungry says
I have found a place here that serves good soup dumplings. Nah nah!!
Feisty Foodie says
Boo I want to go too~!!! 😛
Jenn B-H says
I’m a huge fan of Nom Wah Tea Parlor. Been there a couple times, once w/ foodie group of 20+ and another with just one friend. Service is great and I love all their shrimp items, especially the shumai. And so much for so little cost. Man I miss working near Chinatown.
chakrateeze says
Uh, don’t know if CT’s dad abstains from pork or not, but…
The reason Chinese shrimp paste is so good and moist is the pork fat (typically) mixed in.
Tracie
TT says
he loves his pork as much as the rest of us. i think he was just trying to watch his carbs with the pork bun.
CT says
Thanks Tracie! But as TT mentioned, my Dad eats everything! In fact, my whole family will try just about anything offered at least once. He’s just not a fan of the huge fluffy bun and the slightly sweet pork filling. He’ll eat it, but won’t love it. So more for us!
I actually thought it was a little too much bun with not enough filling. Good, but not my favorite pork bun.
T.C. says
When are we all doing dim sum again?
I used to really enjoy those fried crab claws. Really unhealthy but delicious. Fried shrimp balls too!