Dim sum, Cantonese specialties shine at YH Seafood Clubhouse

I have eaten dim sum with my bare hands while sitting on a San Francisco sidewalk. I have grabbed steaming plates of chicken feet, flaky-creamy egg tarts and crisp-fried taro balls off clattering carts in the close confines of beloved and oft-aging restaurants from New York to Orlando and beyond.

But I have never eaten it in a place as fancy as the palatial YH Seafood Clubhouse in Doctor Phillips, a gleaming, gilded space well-suited for both the ‘hood — and the legions of locals and tourists who’ve been jamming the place since it opened last spring.

YH is another Orlando feather in the cap of the Tampa-based Yummy House group (hence the initials), the founding team of which originally hails from Toishan, China, and whose empire — hatched in the realm of the Bucs back in 2008 — now stretches into Sarasota, Gainesville, Ocala and the City Beautiful.

Dim sum here — served daily from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (a la carte menu also available) — is both decadent and delicious, but it was on my first visit, at dinnertime, where I truly felt like a baller.

Because who else eats a preposterous plate of fried lobster off a white tablecloth on a weeknight?

Lightly battered and tender — its carapace plated proudly, antennae spiraling skyward — the market-priced crustacean (roughly $70 on my visit) comes atop a mound of fries piled with flavorful bits of fried garlic, scallions and chilies. It's a heap of frivolous fun that's the stuff of kings. Hedonistic, epicurean kings.

Seafood is king here, and the salt-and-pepper calamari app ($15) is an award-winning part of the court. Another fried delight, this one's gorgeously smothered in scallions, shallots and jalapeño-laden spicy goodness. In fact, the thick but tender hunks might be the best version I’ve ever had.

Jumbo oysters (two, and truly monstrous for $15) are served on the shell. Steamed in a gentle soy-garlic sauce, the method allowed the bivalves’ briny essence to permeate a bit.

That night we sat in the smaller room, where an elegant bar encourages exploration of the cocktail menu. I didn't partake but would in the future. YH is definitely the stuff of dates and special occasions, though lunchtime dim sum in the main room still feels posh, even amid large tables filled with casually dressed visiting families and badge-donning convention goers.

The noise level was lively as the room filled, much like the activity at my table, where the plates arrived in gentle waves that came closer together as the meal moved along. Prices here are, well, on the pricy side, but not terribly so considering the space, the general cost of things these days and the neighborhood. This shopping center is home to a host of disposable income-type tenants: Whole Foods, Golf Galaxy and spas for both people and dogs.

Dim sum tends to add up, calorically and financially (if you have a favorite local already, it's probably more affordable there), but the menu here does make it easy to rein things in. Items are marked for serving sizes — S, M, L and XL — along with those designated KS (for kitchen special).

You also can order off the regular menu, which I did to sample one of their beautifully executed Cantonese dishes. Beef chow fun ($22) is a house favorite — and one of mine — this one featuring a heap of toothy, spongy noodle stacks — beautifully soy-stained and tossed with tender meat, sprouts, scallions and the like. Dressed with a bit of crisp chili flake in red-orange oil, it soars to another level.

These items — and more of the fancifully plated seafood specials — are what will bring me back next time, likely for a dress-up date night complete with cocktails.

Though you might find more expansive dim sum menus in your favorite and decidedly dingier local, this one's got all the usual suspects. Buns and rolls, proteins and dumplings, noodles and tarts in all their varied steamed, baked, deep-fried and roasted glory. The latter, for my purposes, came with the HK roasted duck ($12.95), chopped and juicy with beautifully crisp skin.

Crisp, too, were the deep-fried sticky pork buns ($6.50), three hefty glutinous ovals that are more bun than pork, but a good choice for the carb cravers. I prefer mine in the comforting form of congee ($12.95), a lovely rice porridge I adore ordering in part because I love having it for breakfast the next day (there are always leftovers) the sliced fish option suited, and silkily so.

The steamed stuffed eggplant roll ($7.25) was light on eggplant, which serves as a delicate wrapper, but super heavy on shrimp — which could be a bonus. Food is a subjective thing. I eat everything, so win-win. Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($12.95), another kitchen special, was crunchy, green relief from the weight of dim sum's delightful indulgences. Flavorful, too. Get some.

And get reservations if you’re hitting them up on the weekend. This club is happy to have you as a member, but without one, you’re going to have to wait for your figurative card.

If you go

YH Seafood Clubhouse: 8081 Turkey Lake Road in Orlando, 407-440-4979; yhseafoodclubhouse.com

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: [email protected], For more foodie fun, join the Let's Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

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