What is street food? Street food is good food that's not fancy. It's a great meal you can order quickly, yet without feeling like you're supposed to leave fast. It's food the locals usually know about--food that you don't feel strange eating by yourself, but are always glad to reveal to a special friend. Street food costs less than $10 per person. You order it at the counter, or at least pay for it there.
Dim Sum on Lake Erie
by Eric MillerCleveland isn't a place you'd necessarily expect to find dim sum on par with San Francisco, Toronto or New York. Hold on to your hat: it's available, it's authentic, and each Sunday more and more Clevelanders discover it.
Bo Loong Restaurant is perhaps the most popular place in Cleveland to have dim sum. It's served daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but Sunday is the most popular day to go. Despite the restaurant's large size, you may have to wait for a table.
Bo Loong is decorated with fish tanks, with fish that are less decoration than food. It's located on St. Clair Avenue in a place Clevelanders call Chinatown, but which far from resembles Chinatowns in New York, San Francisco, or even Philadelphia. It's a suburban-style restaurant with a parking lot in front. Nonetheless it is served by public transit and is even within walking distance of downtown Cleveland.
If you've never been to Dim Sum, it's not like going to Denny's for breakfast. You don't order your food at once or walk over to the pile of bacon on a buffet. Dim sum is served throughout what can be a long Sunday experience on little carts pushed to the table, offering a variety of bite-sized Chinese specialties.
Dim sum originated in the Canton provinces of China where people gather at tea houses during the morning and early afternoon to socialize over small meals. "Dim sum" literally means "dot-hearts," small treats that touch the heart. In parts of China, dim sum is known as yum cha, which means "going to tea."
For a westerner, it can be difficult to know what to order off the cart. This is especially difficult in restaurants where carts are not used and customers are instead presented with a list to check off.
The food you will find will include meat, vegetable and sweet dishes. You needn't hold the sweets until dessert--it is customary to eat them along with your vegetables and meats. Dumplings usually contain chicken, pork, shrimp, or a combination thereof. The choices you'll find include steamed items such as shrimp dumplings (har gao), sesame seed balls (ma t'uan), taro root turnovers (wu gok), deep fried spring rolls, bar-be-que'd chicken feet, and custard tarts. The price of each item (usually 4 pieces) is $2.00.
Tea is also served. If you would like more tea, open the lid and move the metal pot to the edge of the table. If you'd really like to impress, tap your middle three fingers on the table while tea is being poured. It is the customary way of saying thank you. The story behind it has to do with an emperor who liked to travel the Chinese countryside in disguise and pour tea. Tapping was a way of saying thank you without bowing. Two of the fingers represent arms and the middle a bowed head.
Cleveland is a city full of good food, and Bo Loong restaurant is no exception.
Bo Loong Chinese Restaurant
3922 Saint Clair Avenue Northeast
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 391-3113
