Dim Sum in Columbus, Ohio

When we moved from Brooklyn, one of the things I regretted was not eating dim sum more often. One of the best Chinatowns in all of North America was within walking distance, and I ate dim sum a grand total of once.

I like dim sum not only because of the tasty food, but also for the novelty. Employees push carts around the room, diners pick out what they want, and the worker marks the bill with the price. Most of the dishes are a few dollars apiece.

Spicy octopus, and our dim sum bill

Paul took advantage of dim sum more often in New York -- he had clients in and around Chinatown and went to a dim sum place about once a month. And when I first visited East Harbor Seafood Palace almost three years ago, I thought I'd be returning often. But the lines are long and the lack of English (while exciting) could be a bit stressful. Then I was pregnant, and eating food that I didn't recognize seemed a questionable idea. And then Edith came along, and adding a baby to the mix seemed like an even worse thought.

So my return visit never happened. When we moved to Columbus, I thought my dim sum days were over.

Then I heard about Sunflower Chinese Restaurant. Sunflower, located just off Interstate 270 in Dublin, offers Saturday and Sunday dim sum. In fact, it may be the only place in Columbus that does so.

The verdict: Good food, good for kids and much more accessible than some of the Brooklyn dim sum joints.

Taro and tea

The food I was really craving -- and my favorite of the entire lunch -- was the pork buns, seen in the top photo on the far right. The pork was sweet, and eating the bun was like biting into a cloud. Edith couldn't get enough either.

We also got some taro dishes (which I believe are like turnips), shrimp dumplings, corn-shrimp cakes, octopus, and at least one or two other things. Our wait for a table was nil, although that might be because the snow kept patrons away. The place was busy, however, and the perfect volume to cover up toddler noises. Not that Edith squealed much -- there was so much to look at and so many people to waive to.

The takeaway: I'll return, and hopefully with a larger group so I can try more dishes.