I've grown up eating dim sum at Cantonese restaurants in New York, so this may be the reason why I am a little underwhelmed. There aren't too many places in Cleveland where you can get dim sum - you can either go to Li Wah or drive up a few blocks and go to Bo Loong. People are always comparing the two. My friend and I decided the only fair way to judge would be to eat dim sum from both places on the same day.
Both places were okay, but I thought that Li Wah's was a little better. I ate a char siu baau (roast pork bun) and a cheung fan (rice noodle roll) from both places. The char siu baau was a little moister and tastier at Li Wah. My friend, who has eaten dim sum in Guangzhou, compared more of the dim sum and thought that the dim sum at Li Wah was fresher and tasted a little better.
The availability of dim sum definitely depends on the day. I went with one group of friends on a Saturday and another group on a Sunday. On one day there were a ton of options, while on another day it seemed like the same cart of food was going past our table over and over again.
Li Wah also serves dinner and does catering. One night, my friends and I ordered the dinner for 6, which gives a very generous amount of food. The waitress was nice enough to allow us substitute dishes (as long as they were of equal value). I thought the noodle dishes (beef chow fun, pan fried noodles) were very good. Some of the other dishes (lemon chicken and basil chicken) were average. I like the soup better at the other restaurants in Cleveland's Asia Town.
All in all not bad experiences, but I prefer the restaurants in New York's Chinatown.