Asian Court

For my birthday, I wanted to try dim sum at the new-ish Chinese restaurant, Asian Court (it used to be Oriental Manor). After driving up and down Baltimore National Pike for a few minutes, trying to determine which of five or six shopping centers contained the restaurant, we found it in the one with the Giant Foods.

Asian Court offers dim sum seven days a week, with cart service on Saturday and Sunday only. From the limited weekday menu, Mr Minx and I tried only four items: baked char sui bao; har gow; sticky rice in lotus leaf; and fried minced shrimp balls. There were three small bao in an order - good, but nowhere near as good as the Gold Standard from Mee Sum Pastry in Seattle's Pike Place Market. The har gow was standard. The minced shrimp balls were coated with something and fried, so they had a crispy texture unlike most others I've tried; they were also smaller than usual. Finally, the sticky rice in lotus was chock-full of shiitakes, dried shrimp, and pork, far more filling that I've ever seen at other dim sum restaurants, and the lotus lent only a subtle perfume to the rice (often I find it to be a bit overbearing).

We definitely want to go back on a weekend and try their other offerings.