On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
"I wish there was real Chinese food in Cleveland." This reminded me of the plot engine of TH White's retelling of Arthurian legend, most specifically the bildungsroman of Arthur's maturation as he proceeds through challenges given him by Merlyn. Also, I was hungry.
So, I said, " I [think I] know of a place!" I'd heard of some dumpy Cantonese trough, in a paycheck-loan part of town, that has lines out the door on weekends. So out comes my Treo 700p (I hate iphones), and soon enough -- thanks to my alacrity with the Y, E, L, and P keys on the tiny keyboard -- I'd found the place, or at least its address. Click, tap, tap... "Hi, how late are you open? How late open today? Umm, today, you close, when?" "We close 1AM." Paydirt.
It's in what appears to be a former methadone clinic on Payne Avenue. They try to make it an "Asian Mall," but really, Li Wah wears the pants in this "mall." Dimsum (3 items for $12: well, the good things in life are sometimes expensive) is served all day, and is very decent, or if you prefer, indecent. Tofu skin rolls, yes. Cilantro dumpling thingies, yes. Egg noodles with roast duck, YES. Even almond jelly dessert stuff. And they have lots of Forbidden Kung Pao Chicken and Beef With Ancient Mysterious Broccoli type dishes for gw-- well, let's not be racist here!
Service is a comedy of extremes. Grumbling and sighs if they don't know you. Creepily over-warm if at any time in the past year you have given them any sort of tip. And when you go back to your car, wave a
friendly lei-ho to the cook guys standing behind the back entrance and smoking.
All this, in Cleveland!
Having recently moved from the Asian-saturated Irvine, CA to Cleveland, OH, I have started my quest for anything vaguely resembling the familiar Cantonese and other traditional comfort foods.
After wandering down a rather sketchy looking area of town, we stumbled upon this plaza, where we followed the sound of clinking dishes to this dim sum restaurant. To the right of the entrance is a display of roasted meats -- duck, chicken, pork -- and to the left was the cashier. I asked the hostess if they offered take-out dim sum, and she handed me a menu with pictures and a piece of paper to write my order down. We ordered the basics - har gow, siu mai, bok tong go, shrimp cheong fun - and a pound of char siu for good measure. The hostess was quite helpful and friendly -- at least according to Asian standards.
The delicious aroma of the char siu pervaded the car as we drove from Cleveland back to Brecksville, and once at the house, popped open the styrofoam containers. The har gow and siu mai were small, but the ingredients were fresh and not overly greasy. The bok tong go was flatter and had less sponginess than I am accustomed to, but was still decent. The cheong fun was pleasantly soft and filled with good sized shrimp. The char siu was a little dry since it was fairly lean, but was also decent.
I'll probably go back to pick up more dim sum, and also to try the roast duck and roast pork.
I like the location. The fried crab balls are good (ahah, yes, crabs don't have balls). The fried chicken is good. There's a side of seasoning that you dip the chicken in...Very good. One of my favs. The tofu bowl is good as well. It's got some seafood, tofu, and is bubbling when it comes out to you. The lobster is good as well. Don't expect butter with this. I have been here for dim sum maybe once or twice. I don't remember.
I've written too much today -- and will update this review eventually. 4.5 stars.
This is, thus far, the best Canto-food I've had in CLE. Wanton Gourmet is also quite authentic, but it's more "working class"... which I absolutely love.
Li Wah is a bit more upscale Canto food. In NYC or the Bay or LA, this would get a 3 or so. But so far, in CLE, it's rather high up. :)
For the record, I know Eileen and Ryan who are Chinese from California. I am Cantonese, and go to Hong Kong once to thrice a year for various reasons... including eating. It's reasonably authentic, promise. Oh, and Toronto, in 1995-2004, was the hands down best city for Dim Sum in North America. A lot of those chefs have moved back to HK or retired now... :(
We normally drive here from Columbus to eat Dim Sum and Dinner. It's located in a Chinese shopping plaza... but the plaza is pretty quiet and small. The service is pretty good and fast. The Dim Sum is probably one of the best in Ohio... unless you compare to NY, LA, SF or Vancouver. But hey unless you are crazy like me and drive to Toronto, this is not a bad place at all.
Their Har Gaow, shu mai, chicken feet, ribs with black bean,and beef tripe is very tasty.
Prices are not too expensive either. We usually eat Dim Sum around 1pm here then Dinner around 4-5 here. Hmm yea.. well... we're like the bottomless pit.
So I have had Dim Sum in a lot of places but I realized that living in Cleveland now my standards for Asian food have changed, So I went to this place and ate a bunch of dishes and overall it was really good, I mean this is a good place to get the basics of Dim Sum, you can't expect what you will get in New York or other places (like winter melon or intestines, or other exotic dishes that make Dim Sum amazing) but it has the meat a potatoes of Dim Sum so overall I was happy to find a place that wasn't so bad. It's 4 stars for Cleveland standards, but it probably wouldn't be for other states. But hey, when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade :)
Located inside of Cleveland's best Asia Market is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Ohio. Now, I haven't really been to many outside of Ohio, so my judgement is made on that scale. My usual dish is the Wor Su Gai, AKA Almond Boneless Chicken. The portions are huge. I tend to come here on holidays as they're something that my friends and myself don't observe. Unlike many of the other reviewers, Dim Sum isn't a dish that excites me, so I have no opinion on the dim sum. I highly suggest visiting with a group and prepare to share. Also, don't get overzealous with the cart of goodies that gets pushed around the restaurant or your bill will rack up quickly.
Li Wah is like the miracle of the loaves and fish. No matter how many or how few people come with us, no matter how much we eat, the end bill is always exactly $11 per person. And it's well worth it.
Li Wah offers a good selection of the standard Dim Sum fare, and the food is tasty. It ranges from the standard (pork rolls, shrimp) all the way up to the weird stuff like duck's feet and large slabs of broccoli. The restaurant is crowded for Dim Sum and don't ever expect to have your drinks refilled unless you ask aggressively, but overall this is a great way to spend a weekend brunch.
I am giving this place four stars conditionally. If it were in Monterey Park or San Francisco I'd be much harsher, but in Cleveland its downright gourmet Chinese food.
The dim sum is pretty good, served on the push carts by surly Asian ladies. I have yet to eat from their lunch or dinner menu, but I imagine the dishes would be respectable.
The best Chinese food in Cleveland hands down.
If you've ever been curious to try dim sum, get it here, it's the best place to go in Cleveland. I would recommend their lunch menu, as it is significantly cheaper than what you will spend on dinner.
I can't vouch for the rest of their menu, but the dim sum is fantastic and filling. Great for groups and very convenient to I-90.
Chinese food that tastes like Chinese food. Nuff said. Doesn't happen very often in Cleveland.
Ryan, I don't see how you can be much harsher. The food is genuinely good, wherever it's served. There are plenty of bad Chinese places in So Cal that Li Wah beats by miles. I really like the bbq pork buns. On a good day they're soft and salty and coated with that lovely glaze- delish!
On the regular menu, the westlake beef soup and pan fried noodle taste like they should. Both pretty solid.
I came here recently for dim sum when I visited some family in Cleveland. We got there at 2 pm and the restaurant was half empty. We were seated and able to order right away. We ordered a few items and they were brought soon after but then the servers never returned. The servers were not really aggressive as far as asking us if we wanted anything else. I got the feeling they wanted us to finish soon. The dim sum was decent for Cleveland and would give this place 4 stars for that reason but I am subtracting a star for service.
The three stars are probably more for myself than for the quality of the restaurant or its food. To be honest, we stopped here for lunch while in the midst of a training downtown, not knowing anything other than that it served Chinese food. I'm unfamiliar with Dim Sum, to be my own detriment, and plan to return here at some point to branch out - the Pad Thai was tasty, however. Pretty standard layout and decoration, with well-presented food and reasonable pricing. Service was standard (as in fulfilling the basic needs), but a manager of sorts did check in with us from time to time politely. All in all, a pleasant experience, and one I plan to try again (this time adventuring out into the Dim Sum world).
Very good Cantonese-style Chinese food. I've eaten here a large number of times, and I've had both the dim-sum (served during lunch) and the regular entrees for dinner. The food here is very different from the sort of Americanized Chinese food available at most places, and the quality is consistently high.
There is no sense in naming specifics because (a) i'm not sure what half the stuff is, and (b) it all tastes really good. I love the way they use Chinese broccoli instead of American broccoli, and use a variety of different kinds of mushrooms instead of the bland button mushrooms, etc. I've had good experiences with the dim-sum, the regular entrees, the large soups to share with people, and also with the casserole-style dishes (something that is not available in most Chinese restaurants in America).
The atmosphere is nice too--it's a big fairly open room, casual but still a little classy. This place is among the best place to bring large groups: you can get a large round table or two that has a spinny-thing in the center to make sharing easy. They also have serve alcohol at very reasonable prices. You can't go wrong with this place; I've had significantly worse food in both New York's and Philadelphia's Chinatown; this place could easily hold its own in either of those locations, although San-Fransisco might give it a run for its money.
I was visiting my friends who just moved to Cleveland (actually Westlake which is lovely) and they took us to Li Wah. My friend is Chinese so when she said this was the only decent place for dim sum that she has found, I knew it would be good.
Now some of their selections are authentic Chinese, like the tripe, chicken feet, and I forgot the rest, but I'm not that into those items. The variety of dumplings were really good and they had Chinese Broccoli that was perfectly done (not fainting in the dish with a whole bunch of oyster sauce). They had Mexican doughnuts (yes, that's what they are called) which is one of my favorite desserts when I have dim sum. It was all great.
The table next to me had a plate of HUGE crab legs that looked delicious but I kept myself under control.
So if you are in Cleveland visit Li Wah's.
Ah, Li Wah. Haven of late night Chinese food deliciousness and random drunken debauchery.
Now, I've rarely been to Li Wah before 11pm, and I mention this only because I think that the best qualities of the place appear during the late night hours, amongst hoards of theatre people after a show, or to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or loss of virginity.
The food is fantastic; they make the best General Tso's I've ever had, have great standard hot & sour, wonton, and egg drop soup, and serve some of the largest portions around for the price - I always have leftovers for the next day, or later that night. Or morning.
They also serve alcohol, which is a huge bonus for many, though I usually just have endless green tea and water. All the regular (de)hydration is available, as well as QUALITY sake, and a kick ass drink called a volcano (see photo), which is made up of several different liquors (and possibly some heavy duty cleaning solvents) and has a shot in the middle, which they light on fire before handing it to many a drunken, accident-prone patron.
Other bonuses: they stay open LATE. I actually don't even know when they close, but we have never been kicked out, and I know we've stayed at times until well past 2am. They also know us, and know that although we are generally a large, raucous bunch, we respect them and appreciate them and tip them well, so service is always great (except for that one time with the new waitress who couldn't speak enough English to take our order, poor girl - THAT was a rough night).
Possibly my favorite bonus: occasionally, someone will reserve one of the larger rooms for some big event like a Chinese wedding, during which we are able to observe some absolutely priceless drunken Chinese karaoke. I can't even describe it. Amazing.
Add to that the presence of some cool Chinese shops across the hall, giant tanks of live sea creatures (whose demise I try not to imagine), and big tables with giant lazy susans in the middle to make sharing entrees and passing around condiments and tea that much easier, and that equals my favorite Chinese place, ever.
So if you're in need of a big helping of great Chinese food, look no further. If you haven't been here already, go. Now. As in, turn off your computer, for real. Report back to me and let me know what you have consumed so I know you are not slacking.
(Note: Had a version of this one up before, but wanted to make it current since I'm back in Cleveland now!)
Little Bites of Chinese goodness
A Chinese friend of mine first took me to Li Wah for Dim Sum. I was slightly frightened when I first went into the shopping plaza it is in. The plaza itself is fairly run down and slightly frightening but I decided to grin and bear it and I am very glad I did. The moment you walk in the restaurant you nearly forget you are in a run down shopping center in Cleveland. The service is fast and courteous even when the restaurant is busy. For Dim sum a group of ladies push around carts some with fried dumplings others with sweet dessert rolls and another with steamed fare. On a side note some of the servers pushing the carts do not speak very good english so you may end up ordering a couple things you are not sure what is in them. Their selection ranges from the very traditional tripe or chickens feet to the american favorites like pork barbecue buns.
Li Wah for dinner is also a treat especially going in a large group it gives you the ability to order a lot of different dishes and they will be served pseudo family style so that you can try a little bit of everything. I have yet to try anything on their menu that was anything less than a culinary experience.
What I recommend:
Lotus wrapped sticky rice
Sesame buns
Roast peking duck
Salt fried squid
Turnip cakes (to die for)
Some other little bites that sadly I do not know what they were.
General Tso's Chicken
Hit or Miss
Some of the entrees are a little americanized and a little gloppy.
Soft shell crabs (all i'm saying is don't order them when they are out of season)
Avoid like the Plague
The bathrooms (your favorite watering hole has better toilets)
Overall:
Go try it. Even if you don't like one thing there are 20 more to try. Go in a group, order a bunch of different things, be adventurous, eat a lot (trust me you will), and enjoy the variety if nothing else.
i've not had their dim sum. so i can't yelp it.
but i can yelp their generic chinese cantonese menu.
not so much.
sicky sickerson, guys.
general tso obviously conquered my stomach and tore some shit up.
i'm just sayin'
Sorry, you guys. For Cleveland, this is an okay dim sum joint. But by Chinese standards it is just average. Compared to an average place in San Francisco or even Seattle, SNORE. If you want some really great dim sum, try Ton Kiang in San Francisco way out on Geary Street. At Li Wah, the flavors all blend together and the order-off-the-menu items are gloppy. The portions are disgustingly huge. If you must go, the best day to go is Saturday. That's when they have the best selection. If they come by with a huge wok-ful of mussels, I would recommend that. I wouldn't go on Sunday...too crowded and not worth the wait. The bathrooms are really dirty and smell bad. It's like pulling teeth to get some hot chili oil. Very, very average Chinese food.
This is the best gourmet Chinese food I have ever tasted in Cleveland. The dinner dishes we had were served family style and there was plenty of food. I have been there a few times for dinner and the quality was great. I have not been here for dim sum yet but reading the other reviews it sounds great.
The dim sum here is pretty tasty. The dishes are all fresh and hot, and they have a wide variety of things to try. I like the picture menu too if you want something that they don't have on the carts at the moment.
I've been here a few times now for dimsum and gotta say, it's so far the best for me in Cleveland. The carts are flowing with yummy steamed dishes, and the food is all delicious! Come here if you want to try some real Chinese cuisine! Dimsum for two people usually ends up being aorund 15-20 dollars. The place is HUGE and would be ideal for parties and very Chinese in decor with lanterns, red walls, dark glazed wood furniture, and fish tanks where you could pick your own dinner. They also sell Chinese barbeque pork and Beijing duck as well. This is a great place for a real Chinese food experience.
Dim sum selection was decent. I liked the pan-fried turnip cakes, siu mai and pork buns.
However, the "kai lan" vegetables in oyster sauce was lamentable. The shoots were old and thick, and I could hardly bite through them. It was so bad that I had to spit it out.
Cleveland, OH
Category: Chinese
Cleveland, OH
Category: Chinese
Cleveland, OH
Category: Ethnic Food
Cleveland, OH
Category: Polish
Cleveland, OH
Category: Bakeries
Starting to explore the culinary side of…
Loading...
