A Non-Stop Eating Fest at Wei Wei Palace

Nothing beats a leisurely dim sum lunch at Wei Wei Palace - three hours to be exact.  I joined our dim sum host, Jimmy Le, and friends Garret Frelix and Bing Goei for this gastronomic experience of non stop dishes. I can tell that Jimmy was starving because he just kept pointing at one dish after another and the cart girls delightfully obliged each time. Bing, Garrett and I sat quietly as the "master" orchestrated this culinary symphony to an art form. My favorite Chinese broccoli started us off, then some crispy tofu with black bean sauce, then all the array of steamed dumplings. Next thing you know, our entire lazy susan centerpiece was engulfed in food, food and more food. 

Think about this: here we are in a dim sum restaurant in Grand Rapids... one Vietnamese social media dragon, an Indonesian florist and 75th district state candidate, an African American socialite and a Filipino hotelier and blogger, sharing a Chinese meal in West Michigan. Our conversation stretched from the success of the First Annual West Michigan Asian Gala, to the history of discrimination in America, to cooking soul food, to childhood memories in Asia and to our city's Google Fiber campaign. In between conversations, we noshed on dumplings, steamed buns and pork belly. 

The diversity in culture, experiences and age demographics with our little dim sum group added so much life to our conversation and in turn made every dish taste so much better. It was one of the most colorful and memorable lunches I've had in Grand Rapids. Thanks for the invitation Jimmy.

Fried Tofu with Black Bean Sauce

Eggplant with Hoisin Suace

Taro Root with Shrimp

Barbecued Pork Buns

Pork Siu Mai 

Vegetable Dumplings

Ha Gao - Shrimp and Spinach Dumplings

Pork Short Ribs

Xiaolongbao - Shanghai Pork Dumplings

Crispy Pork Belly - not a dim sum dish but we ordered it because it is so delicious

Cheong Fun Wide Noodles with Pork

Cheong Fun with Shrimp