 Ocean City
Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, Dorset. Tel: 01202 552 903
Ocean City Website - They have now taken the crown of best Chinese restaurant in Bournemouth in my view.
This was recently renovated over the summer of 2007 and now it has opened as a Chinese restaurant and hotel. I think this is owned by the same person that owns Ocean Palace.
I went with a colleague on a Friday afternoon for some Dim Sum. I saw from the display board by the street that they only do dim sum from 12pm to 5pm, which is a shame. It means I can't just leave work and then fill myself up with dim sum.
It is quite nicely done out inside and pretty large. We chose to sit in the window area and even though it was a grey and clouded over day I started to get quite hot and sweaty. On noticing this the staff did open a few windows around me.
They gave us some laminated menus in English that had numbers, a description and a price for each item. They also give you a pen and a carbon copy form. You then write down against each box the quantity that you want. Simple as that. No embarassing pronunciation of stuff.
I enjoyed the food. All very light. The egg tarts you could barely feel when picking them up or eating them. The Har Gau (prawn dumplings in a white wrapper) and Sui Mai (pork and prawn dumpling in a Wan Ton type wrapper) were plump. I felt the Cheung Fun (I suppose you could call it Chinese lasagne although that would still be far from reality) could have been a bit thicker in its layers and the sauce a bit more sweeter and more of it. The cuttlefish cakes were very meaty, small in radius but thick.
I am glad there is another place that does dim sum that is bigger. Oriental Garden is still a firm favourite but this is a bit better for bringing large groups and family to. Actually now I would say this is the best in Bournemouth.
I went back the next day with Angela and had even more. We sat inside a bit more and it was much cooler! We had some dim sum along with a 3 meat platter with rice. The roast duck was very crispy as was the roast pork. The char sui was also succulent.
This is getting to be a regular place. I wonder what it is like on a Sunday afternoon.
 Just a small selection of food
<Update> Oct 07: I have now been on a Sunday and it was very busy. There was 9 of us and I went a bit overboard ordering loads of dim sum on top of the noodle dishes everybody else had ordered. We were really, really stuff at the end. The bill was only £109 and there was a bottle of wine in there as well. Fantastic. </update>
<Update> Apr 08: Went here on Chinese New Year and it was absolutely packed. This is now my favourite place. <Update> Even my parents like it and think it is good value. Now that is an endorsement! <Update> Dec 08 : A kind comment form a visitor to our website. "Hi Gordon and Angela, thanks to your blog page and write up regarding the dim sum in Bournemouth (Ocean City ), my wife and I and two friends went there on Sunday (14th Dec 2008) and had one of the better Dim Sum's we have had for a long while and excellent service. We live in Southampton and have been Dim Sum lovers since the early 70's when we were the only English people on a sunday at the Golden Palace Rest in Southampton, or London's Chinatown. We regularly eat at the Pearl Harbour in Southampton , but the decor is well overdue (good food though) and more recently the Dragon Palace (for Dim Sum), but their prices have increased too much (they add a service charge regardless, plus a 10% charge on all bills) and they only take cash! The service however, is not that good now anyway, so our new local is now Ocean City Bournemouth, thanks again guys and we will hopefully see you there sometime. Regards, Nigel and Terry Summerton."
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Food and Drink 
