Yoom Boulettes Thai Pimentees aux Crevettes

When two Parisian friends came back from several years in Hong Kong, what they missed was dim sum, those endearing little steamed dumplings stuffed with meat, seafood, vegetables, and all manner of herbs. So the pair set out to learn the intricacies of dim sum with the help of Chinese chefs. Today they have not one, but two dim sum restaurants, their year-old spot on the fabulous market street Rue des Martyrs, and another just a week old on rue Gregoire de Tours in the 6th. Their places are hip and modern looking, and while you don’t have the grand-ballroom steamy setting of old Hong Kong, they’re fine spots for a quick, light lunch when you need an Asian hit. I love that their combinations are a little out-of-the-box, with vibrant-tasting dumplings filled with beef, ginger, soy, and basil; others stuffed with mushrooms, carrots, satay sauce, chicken, peanuts, and coriander. The small menu moves all over Asia, with some delightful Thai shrimp meatballs (photo), boulettes thai pimentées aux crevettes; and soothing Vietnamese rice paper crepes filled with chunks of smoked sausage, fish sauce and chile sauce. Yoom is a bit pricey (5 to 6 € for just two to three dumplings), and too many dishes arrive lukewarm, reducing the pleasure by half. So ask for everything to be served steaming hot, and the message is, don’t come too hungry or too poor.

YOOM, 5 rue Gregoire de Tours, Paris 6, Tel: +33 1 43 54 94 56, Métro: Mabillon or Odéon. Open: Monday-Friday. Closed Saturday & Sunday.Lunch & Dinner: Dim Sum from 5.50-6.50€

YOOM, 20 rue des Martyrs, Paris 9 Tel: +33 1 56 92 19 10. Métro: Saint-George or Pigalle. Open: Monday-Friday. Closed Saturday & Sunday. Lunch & Dinner: Dim Sum from 5.50-6.50€

I never like to tell readers where NOT to go. But this time I must. Don’t waste your hard-earned euros on a meal at Lily Wang, the trendy terraced Asian-style restaurant in a charming corner of the 7th arrondissment. I wanted to love it, really. There’s an honest terrace with a hedge of bamboo that can be heard rustling in the city’s breeze. Inside, a décor straight out of the postcard pretty Vietnamese village on Hoi An, with its vibrant display of paper lanterns. And the menu is appealing, dim sum and Shanghai dumplings, Iberico pork (photo), salt and pepper shrimp, and a green vegetable trio of broccoli, snow peas, and asparagus. Alas, 168 euros poorer and barely sated, we left wondering what this place was all about. Food no better than any Parisian Vietnamese carryout. Rubbery pork dumplings, dipping sauces that tasted like ketchup, tasteless shrimp, and pork so fatty as to be inedible. Vegetables totally limp, overcooked, and underseasoned. Add to that the diffident service. Sorry, Lily, I won’t be coming back again.

LILY WANG, 40, avenue Duquesne, Paris 7. Telephone +33 1 53 86 09 09. Open daily. Metro: Saint-Francois Xavier. A la carte, 70 euros.