There's a lot to love at these always crowded Hong Kong­style eateries. The new Hollywood East Café on the Boulevard features an outdoor patio and dim sum on weekends--order off the menu during the week--with classics like pork buns and shark's-fin dumplings, plus special tidbits like deep-fried lobster roll and mango-shrimp roll.

Beyond dim sum, the regular menu of flavorful soups, delicious roast meats, and offbeat casseroles is available at both locations. You might linger over a plate of crispy pork or soy-sauce chicken, or nibble on snow-pea leaves with garlic and Chinese watercress with shrimp paste. The spicy eggplant-and-ground-pork casserole is one of the more memorable bowls of comfort around. And crispy shredded tofu might make you see bean curd in a whole new light. Lovers of funky plates like cold jellyfish with shredded duck have a whole roster of esoterica to choose from.

Hollywood East Café, 2312 Price Ave., Wheaton, 301-942-8282; Hollywood East Café on the Boulevard, 2621 University Blvd. W., Wheaton, 240-290-9988.