Diet for a Broke Planet

Owners Chloe and Erik Poon are from New York, as it happens, which explains why they've been able to win over the pickiest of local Chinese and American foodies. Their steamed shrimp dumplings (four for $3.25) were practically dewy, stuffed with big chunks of fresh, salty shellfish. Pan-fried pork dumplings (four for $2.35), crisply browned on the outside, were juicy within. A delectably gluey turnip cake ($2.75) emanated subtle, sulfuric whiffs of that earthy root. Shredded chicken in a peppery, sweet, red barbecue sauce filled a steamed chicken bun (four for $2.75), and shrimp seasoned and fried had been stuffed between deep purple halves of baby eggplants ($3.25). A chive dumpling ($3.25) pulled apart to reveal a sharp, grassy, emerald-colored interior. Thumb-sized steamed spareribs ($2.35) were succulent, pleasantly fatty, not greasy. A new addition to the menu, vegetable dumplings, had been filled with water chestnuts, peanuts, and bean sprouts ($2.75), making a light, crunchy, palate-cleansing foil for the heavier dishes. For dipping, we had very hot mustard, a bowl of red chili oil, soy sauce, and teriyaki. Everything was beautifully seasoned and right out of the steamer or frying pan — nothing had been left to sit under hot lights or had spent too much time trolling the room on a metal cart (Grand Lake serves some dishes, but not all, from carts). We showed up around 11 a.m. Sunday, and by the time we left at 12:30, the room was packed with Chinese families spooning up bowls of seafood congee and divvying up the honey-roast pork.

Grand Lake has quite a lot going for it apart from the dim sum — a specials board offers winter melon soup. Exotic fare includes jellyfish, chicken feet, and frog congee. An efficient staff is willing to answer questions about whole fish, sizzling veal platters, casseroles of salted fish, chicken, and tofu; or imperial duck, Mongolian lamb, cold noodles in sesame sauce, and shark's fin soup (a special-occasion dish at $55 for the tureen). The menu is vast; the fish tanks are stocked; rows of roast ducks hang behind a window at the rear of the dining room. Geographically so far from New York, perched on an open highway diving straight into the heat of a palmetto-pricked Central Florida, Grand Lake is honest-to-God Chinatown in spirit.

So listen, keep paying your gardener and the girl who does your pedicures — you don't know squat about fertilizing citrus, and your toes are too far away to reach. Your part-time nanny's kids can still plan on going to college — who needs the guilt? A smart economizer is a well-fed economizer. Stuff while you save on taro shrimp cake ($3.25), coconut pudding ($2.35), a skewer or four of yakitori mushrooms, and a free pot of Chinese tea.