Amer Asia

11/07/09

Terrible

by timjew at Citysearch

My wife and I ate here and it was very very disappointing. My wife is from Guangzhou, China which is the capital of great Cantonese cuisine. I am first generation Chinese born in U.S. My wife and I have eaten Dim Sum all over Asia, Australia and the America's and I'd have to say this is the very worst example of Dim Sum I've ever experienced in my 45 years of life. I don't know about their other food, but don't go here if you want good or even average Dim Sum.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Dim Sum is not fresh or authentic

11/05/09

Stay Away

by El Don at Citysearch

I was driving around downtown Albuquerque and ran into a place that said dim sum. Surprising as it was, I was willing to at least try it since I wasn't sure if anybody in Albuquerque knew that such a thing existed. I read the reviews on Amer Asia and I was sorely disappointed to see a review stating it was the worst dim sum ever followed by the best dim sum ever. So due to the discrepancy of the two reviews I decided to give this place a try.

I would have to say I am in 100% agreement with the review saying it was HORRIBLE DIM SUM. I entered the place and saw a number of people who seemed like they were enjoying the food. When I saw the cart come by, I saw the shiu mai....I have to say that it was a terrible disappointment. The pasta skin on the shiu mai looked like it had been steamed and was re-heated in the microwave. They did not have har gow....(which on a side note)....I don't speak any Chinese but the thing I remember when I was going to eat dim sum basically all my life at real chinese restaurants, was the term - hargow-shiumai. If there is one thing I picked up from a non Chinese speaker is those two words. Its like peanut butter and jelly, how can you have one but not the other? Anyways, aside from the way it looked with rice coming out of the top, I decided to try it. Since when does shiu mai have rice in it? The variety in the platters were non existent. Practically every other dish on the cart was some deviation of dumplings. You are better off going to costco and buying yourself a bag of frozen potstickers and steaming them yourself because at least you'll be saving yourself some money. I almost just walked out the door after just seeing the cart. If you shouldn't judge a book by its cover....this place is the exception, because the visual aspect of the dim sum in this place matches what you would expect the flavor to be.

In all fairness, if you have never had dim sum before and do not know the difference, I can almost agree with you that it is a good place to eat. Not because the food is good, but that it is different, and not many people know about it. The only thing that saved that place from me walking out and getting some huevos rancheros at Frontier about a mile away, is that they had some sushi that I could at least order. The sushi was not bad, but there are better places to eat sushi in Albuquerque, so, don't waste your time.

If there is one thing I can take away from my experience at Amer Asia and the vibe from management, is that they are trying to pass off dim sum to a community that is uneducated about dim sum. They can get away by cutting corners wherever they can due to the community that surrounds it. I was very disappointed and felt like someone had stolen money from my pocket.

So word of advice....stay away at all cost. This is NOT Dim Sum, not even close. If you have never had dim sum before and don't know any better, I would hope you can tell whether food is made fresh or just reheated in some microwave. I think I can speak for everyone who has ever eaten real dim sum that this place does not qualify. Please save your money for a place that actually will take the time and effort to give you a product they are proud of. I can say with some sense of certainty that the owners of Amer Asia are not proud of the product they serve. They either know that the dim sum they serve is a grave disappointment or they have no clue what dim sum even is or should look like.

• Pros: None
• Cons: How can this pass as dim sum?

01/13/08

Horrible Dim Sum

by spritetime at Citysearch

I visited this restaurant on the recommendation of a friend and after reading certain reviews about how great their dim sum was. Needless to say, I was drastically disappointed. I have had dim sum from the east coast to the west, and I have to say the dim sum here hardly even deserves the name. Not only were the dishes poorly made, with ingredients that tasted either over or undercooked (slimy, squishy shrimp or hard dough), they also tasted like they were left out too long and were simply reheated for service. Food was still lukewarm, and almost every dumpling dish tasted like the next. This is one restaurant in ABQ I will never visit again.