East Ocean packing them in with tasty dim sum

Dim sum in Henderson? Yup, and the word is out; when we arrived at East Ocean on a weekday afternoon, we had to wait for a table.

If you're not familiar with dim sum, think of it as a Chinese buffet that comes to you. That's an oversimplification, of course. Dim sum began as light snacks -- usually served early in the day -- and while the serving of them in this country has extended late into the afternoon and even into the evening, they traditionally remain fairly delicate.

Dim sum are served from rolling carts that go from table to table, you point to what you want and the person pushing the cart stamps a card on the table to keep track of how many dishes you're served. Most of the restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley that serve dim sum tend to be clustered around China Town, which is why the Henderson location is a little novel, and no doubt welcome to those who frequent the eastern part of the valley.

Unlike their sorta-counterparts, the tapas restaurants, dim sum spots in this country tend to stick to a fairly predictable set of dishes, although there's wide latitude for how those dishes are interpreted from one restaurant to the next. East Ocean claims a repertoire of about 60, and while we didn't come close to trying them all, I'd say a collection approaching that number rolled past our table while we were busily scarfing down. We tried:

Shrimp wontons, prettily pleated, nicely crisped and stuffed full of huge pieces of shrimp.

Shrimp noodle rolls, wide rice noodles with shrimps tucked among them; before serving them, the attendant snips the silken noodles between the shrimps, which makes it easier to grab them with chopsticks.

Char si bao, or barbecued-pork buns, available steamed or baked. Our baked ones were fluffy with an appealing filling and finished with a sweet glaze.

Pork shu mai, steamed cup-shaped dumplings nicely seasoned with ginger and onion.

Chive pancakes, plumper than most, with a distinctive chive flavor (that's a good thing).

Shrimp dumplings in a delicate casing.

Fried pork dumplings, the only clinker of the lot, with an odd juxtaposition of flavors.

Yellow custard buns, with a sweet glaze and custardy center.

All of those were $3, although there's a 5 percent discount if you pay cash, which we did.

We also had a plate of chow mein ($6.50), soft stir-fried noodles with vegetables and soy sauce, which I found myself dipping into repeatedly.

And a pot of hot green tea ($1).

Service throughout was much better than is my experience in dim sum places, and the dim-sum-expert friend who joined me fairly marveled at the efficiency. The place is not fancy but attractive, spacious and streamlined.

East Ocean also serves a regular menu of things such as abalone, live seafood and other seafood and duck and chicken and beef and pork and, yes, shark fin if you're either so inclined or want to launch a protest.

And those may be your choices if you arrive in the evening, because rumor has it that the dim sum runs out in late afternoon. So, like us, you might want to plan accordingly.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.