Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant

This popular Vancouver-based dim sum restaurant has a Bellevue location where people are lining up well before opening, even on weekdays. It’s not all hype—Sun Sui Wah serves some great dim sum dishes with flair. Inside the grand chandelier-filled dining room with a live fish tank, big groups gather around lazy susan-topped tables and ponder a picture menu that’s about the length of a car parts catalog. It’s easy to be overwhelmed, but you’re in good hands with dishes like the shatteringly crispy shrimp-stuffed egg roll, meaty shui mai, and the deep-fried taro dumpling with a rich ground pork center that's like breaking open a Lindor truffle (you can avoid the bland har gow). While Seattleites have a couple of superior dim sum options in Harbor City and Jade Garden, Sun Sui Wah fills a void on the Eastside admirably. Plus, after 5pm they have a dinner service that involves squab—which we look forward to checking out.