11315 Queens Blvd, Flushing
We’ve quickly gone from dim sum newbies to the type of people that get up early on a Sunday, run to the car, and drive to the next place to try, even with a slight hangover. East Ocean Palace is a bit outside the epicenter of dim sum cuisine in Flushing, on the border of Forest Hills and Rego Park (easy to get to from the Van Wyck). For this reason, perhaps, or because we were there by 10 am, the place was less crowded than Jade Asia and slightly more pristine.
Our first lady was very helpful with explaining her dumplings and we enjoyed the typical fare of an array of shrimp, pork and chives as well as wide rice noodles with shrimp. We also tried things we didn’t have at our previous dim sum experience including a great meat speckled and leaf wrapped patty of sticky rice, minced shrimp tempura in pepper, and the best surprise of the meal – a gooey egg custard dumpling with a slightly crunchy outside. It got a thumbs up from the server and she was right.
Overall, the food was a bit fresher tasting than Jade Asian though, maybe it was the early hour, but it seemed to offer less variety. I’ve heard they have a great dinner menu that I’d like to revisit and try.
But what do you think?