Dim Sum House — Restaurant in Clermont

What an amazing experience this was! This restaurant is a true hidden gem. I'll start with the only negative thing I have to say and that's the fact that the close between lunch and dinner. If you go for lunch, be in there before 2:30pm.

We were greeted immediately as we walked in and immediately taken to a table. The host was very friendly, obviously happy and welcoming. It was a slow period, 2:15pm, mid week. There was only one other party in the restaurant.

It's in a strip mall, but the atmosphere was very pleasant. It had a contemporary Asian feel...and very very clean. It surprised me that they had table cloths, which is always a nice touch. The dinnerware blew me away. Their name was on all the china and the chopsticks weren't disposable wood. I can't help but think this would be an incredible location for dinner and I really would like to go back for a future special occasion. The only thing that stood out as odd, or out of place, was the menus. They were basic laminated paperstock. Not an issue, just not in line with the fact that everything else was a notch above. That said, it was 2 large, two-sided pages with a small two-sided drink menu. The selections were plentiful, something for everyone.

We did not have the Dim-Sum, but I plan to go back and I eventually will. There is a lot.

The server seemed reserved, but was a wealth of information. He knew the menu well and answered all our questions. We did stump him with one question, he ran to the kitchen and came back within a few seconds with a detailed answer. Another thing I appreciated from him, the restaurant is Chinese. We had a request for an item that was Japanese. He politely let us know that their food is Chinese, what we wanted was Japanese. I was worried I offended him. He didn't seem offended and was able to offer suggestions that would be similar which were in fact Chinese. He was very much aware of both Japanese and Chinese cuisine and gracious about our mix-up. He was an excellent person and server.

With regards to the food, it came out fast. I was a little worried that the food may have been made earlier and sitting around, especially while we were there at the end of lunch. That was not the case. Everything was unbelievably fresh. It must have hit the wok the second we ordered. The food temperature was HOT. I had the Cashew Shrimp. The favors were subtle, perfect for anyone with a sensitive digestive system. I've heard it said that too much seasoning means the chef is hiding something. Nothing hidden here and it would have been a shame had they added any additional seasoning. The shrimp was very fresh and flavorful. What I enjoyed most about this dish...the textures. It blew me away. The shrimp, soft of course. The cashews, firm. The vegetables crisp and fresh and the water chestnuts a little crunchy. The celery, pushed to the side of the plate because I hate celery. The sauce, fresh and a little earthy.

If you want to experience something unique that's all about a variety of textures, the cashew shrimp is the way to go!!!

The entrees do not come with rice. I did order a side of white rice, it was only $1.00. Originally I was going to have it with the entree, but glad I didn't. I think the mushy texture would have taken away from the experience. But I will say, I ate it after the entree with some of the sauce and really enjoyed it that way.

Their menu is available via Google.

As I said, I'll be back. It'll be difficult to not have the cashew shrimp again, but there is so much more I want to try.

One other thing to note. The other occupied table was a party that seemed, to me, to be difficult. The server's professionalism and patience was top notch. Each and every "concern" they had, he addressed with suggestions and accommodations. He was obviously ready to do everything possible to meet every single request, objection or challenge. It would have been understandable if he ran out the door screaming, but he didn't. He was committed to getting everything to the them the way they wanted and to the tiniest detail. The...

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING - and drive right now to Dim Sum House!! They said they have many locations - so the nearest one to you. The one in Clermont was the closest to where I live in The Villages. I wish I could give them 10 STARS!! The restaurant has the upscale asian decor of a fine dining establishment yet it’s located in a strip mall. The staff is friendly, attentive, knowledgeable about the menu items- Paul was our server and he made several suggestions we enjoyed!! The food is OUTSTANDING- reminds me of eating in China Town in San Francisco- the non-touristy restaurants that actually local Chinese people eat in. Even the restaurant hours reminds me of the authentic, locals only Chinese restaurants in San Francisco- open for lunch 11-2:30 then closes until dinner time starting at 5pm. DO NOT MISS the beef chow fun - the noodles are wide, thin, silky and absorbing the tasty sauce- FABULOUS!!! First Chinese restaurants out of China Town that actually served chow fun and most places get the noodles totally wrong- doughy, almost like paste but these noodles were silky light and SOOOO TASTY!! The beef broccoli was incredible. The beef was tender and silky and the broccoli was cooked to tasty perfection- not mushy and not raw, just right!! The fried rices are FABULOUS. We had the house friend rice that has everything - including lots of BBQ pork and shrimp and we ordered the shrimp fried rice and it had TONS of whole shrimp- not crumbs of finely minced shrimp- TONS OF WHOLE SHRIMP!! The potstickers and BBQ buns - incredible. Portion size is huge - they have great daily special- Thursday’s are buy a fried rice, get one for free!! We have so enough leftovers for a couple more meals. We traveled all the way from The Villages and can’t wait to come back!!!! We ordered a TON OF FOOD- cuz we wanted to try a bunch of items, we wanted leftovers and we didn’t have any idea how big the portions were- so we spent about $50 per person but truly way more than necessary to get a great meal. Entrees run about $14-19 per person and will still leave you enough for left overs. Even the fried rices are entree size. Next time we will order the sweet and sour chicken - gotta get the beef chow fun and order of fried rice too. Want to try their wonton soup too and the Mongolian...

Ordered some takeout today and I wish I could recommend but I can't.

The Good: My family is large and we placed a decent sized order (9 people) and they had it ready within like 20 minutes which was amazing. The prices while higher, you get very large portions for what you pay. Flavors on most everything overall was good.

The Bad: We had several dishes with breaded chicken in sauce and all of them the breading was falling off and very soggy. They also forgot the 4 bowls of white rice which resulted in me having to run back to the restaurant to retrieve and no one ever apologized, offered me a drink while I waited for the missing items, none of the normal customer service you expect when they mess up. I get mistakes happen but I felt more like a bother when I called and best I got was "so do you want to come back and get it" over the phone and no apology in person, at least not until just before I left with the missing items and I asked if managers normally don't come out and apologize or anything and was told "Managers not in today... sorry". Mind you the restaurant had like 3 or 4 parties dining and like 5 active tickets on their takeout wall so it wasn't like it was a busy day and they didn't have the time to be apologetic, they just didn't bother to show that it mattered. The orange chicken we ordered was made with what looked like canned mandarin oranges and just wasn't good in our opinion.

The Meh: If you order their egg drop soup be mindful that it's more like a vegetable soup with a dash of eggs. I expected maybe some green onions or a little bit of carrots but instead it was huge chunks of snap peas, baby corn and carrots. Unfortunately this did not vibe with my 6 year old so when I went back to retrieve the missing white rice I ordered a new one without the vegetables, which she approved of. The decision to not include any rice with their dishes is interesting. It's only a dollar a bowl to add it but hopefully they remember to include it or you'll be forced to run...