I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked into the oddly named Le Fu. It’s a three-story Chinese restaurant set in the middle of what has become our “real” Chinatown, the nondescript colonia Viaducto Piedad, south of the centro. That memorable Sunday morning we four “lao wei” ( not polite in Chinese for “non-Chinese”) and several Asian friends, were privy to the hundreds of Chinese customers who were busy availing themselves of an array of very well-prepared dim sum, the largest selection I’ve seen in Mexico. I thought I had landed in Hong Kong or, at least, Flushing, Queens.

I adore har gao, shrimp enveloped in a translucent rice flour wrapper, and I use them as the litmus test for a good dim sum place. The ones here pass muster. Jean dway, sticky rice balls filled with red cooked pork deep fried and rolled in sesame seeds and are a nice combo of textures. And the under-appreciated turnip cakes that look like lard but aren’t are worth seeking out.

After chowing down on dozens of little plates, I didn’t have room for a duck that hangs temptingly along with char shiu in a vitrine. The dim sum party’s over at noon, but the regular Cantonese-oriented menu lives on until nightfall and is also worth a visit. Don’t expect good service (rice bowls and tea need to be requested more than once and are not served with the food) or help from the Mexican waiters who cannot explain the menu; Chinese staff speaks little Spanish.

Le Fu
c/ José Ma. Correa 304, Colonia Viaducto Piedad (not far from Metro Viaducto) see map
Tel. 55 90392688

Open daily 12:30 - 10:30 p.m.