For several decades now, Tropical Chinese Restaurant has been serving its a la carte dim sum menu across the street from Tropical Park on Bird Road.
Many Miami foodies swear by the place, insisting that Tropical Chinese serves the "best dim sum" in the county. Whether or not you agree, you can't deny the place has real staying power -- especially in a city that chews up and spits out restaurants as if they were chunks of Skoal dipping tobacco.
We're not fans of the place and actually lament the recent shutdown of Chu's in Coral Gables, which we thought superior to Tropical. Others swear by Chef Ho in Sunny Isles. But Tropical has legions of faithful fans who beg to differ.
We have to disagree. During our visits, dim sum offerings, such as leek dumplings and steamed shrimp balls, have been overpriced and mediocre at best, plus hosts and servers can be downright rude.
While it's obvious that we don't consider Tropical an ideal location for dim summing, plenty of folks disagree. Here's what they have to say:
Popular Miami artist, Eleazar Delgado, insists that Tropical Chinese is the "best place for dim sum in Miami."
His partner, Joshua Kingston says that he's not only a fan of the food, but also the service: "Mei Yu, the maître d' always takes excellent care of us."
Christopher Garcia, another one of the faithful, says "There is no other place that I would even eat dim sum. I go there every weekend and pig out."
"I love that place. Are you kidding me? How can anyone argue that's not the best dim sum in the city? There is no other place that even compares to Tropical. Sorry," says Angela Postizo, who has been eating there with her family since she was in elementary school.
"It is a bit overpriced," muses Linda K. "But, it's totally worth it."
Again, we disagree, but there you have it, folks. What do you think? Is Tropical Chinese Restaurant the best place to get your dim sum on?
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