The food is surprisingly good enough not the best but I think it is quite good for the price tags…read moreand c'mon it is Bay Area, this is considered cheap. lol service and atmosphere wise, oh well this is far from fine dining experience and it is Cantonese restaurant, this is what you will get, tasty food, no frill yet quick efficient service, in and out not a candle lit eatery... don't expect a server to come back to check on you lol but overall, for the price and the taste, I will go back. I agree with everyone that it is difficult to get a server's attention lol to order the food and it is quite slow .

After an appointment in San Mateo, I felt like dim sum. We drove past a restaurant near by and my…read morehusband said let's eat there. I didn't bother to yelp it because I was hungry. We looked at the menu and I checked Yelp. Hmmm. We're here already. We ordered the following: Pork siu mai - 3 Chive and pork dumpling - 3 Crispy chow mein noodles - 2 the bok choy was bitter which ruined the taste. Next time, sit in the car and yelp it. Sorry guys.

We dined here to celebrate a friend's birthday. We ordered the following:…read more Walnut and prawns - Excellent Siu Mai - Loved it Peking Duck with wrappers - Amazing Green Beans - Yum Har Gow - Perfect Hong Kong style noodles - Tasty Mini pork ribs - Delectable but hard to chew off the bone. I was so full, couldn't eat another bite. That's what happens when you skip breakfast. I'm still dreaming of the Walnut Prawns......

Palette is a great place to go if you want a more polished/upscale dim sum experience. Spacious and…read moreclean inside, recommended to make reservations as it gets pretty busy, especially on the weekends (it's inside Hillsdale mall). Service was okay, they didn't seem super attentive to any of the tables, but may have been because it was busy. We got the ha gow, honey walnut prawns, and the peking duck set. Ha gow was good, the honey walnut prawns was a bit too saucy/sweet for us. The duck was solid, though a tad dry. It's a good place to come with a large group, you can try a lot of different dishes.

There are a few dumpling places in downtown San Mateo, so I was curious to see how this restaurant…read morefared. I went on a Saturday at noon and there was just one couple dining; when I left, there were 4-5 more groups. The inside of the restaurant looked aesthetically pleasing. The bathroom was quite old but clean. One of the 2 dispensers was out of soap, which I had hoped they would check as part of the restaurant opening and closing procedures. Our waiter was very friendly throughout the meal and offered food suggestions for us to consider. Beef pancake roll - unique seasoning. I liked how they included shredded lettuce for that crunchy texture. It was wrapped in green onion pancake, so it was a bit oily and required some chewing. My dad didn't care for this. I initially thought this isn't bad but by the end of eating my half, I was ok not ordering this again. I think it's worth trying once. Beef stew noodle soup - beef was flavorful but I needed to chew it a bit, so if you have elderly loved ones with dentures, keep that in mind! Noodles were al dente. My mom didn't like how the portion is very small. Pork & crab meat XLB (Xiaolongbao, soup filled dumplings) - First thing I thought when the server placed the bamboo steamer down on the table was, 'wow, these are SO small'. But regardless, I could definitely taste the crab, and the broth was flavorful and plenty. If I were to dine here again, I would order this. Chicken & vegetable boiled wontons in chicken soup - The skin of the wontons was springy and unique. The broth had sesame oil but otherwise was pretty mild/bland. My mother liked the broth from the beef stew noodle soup more. Pan fried chive dumpling - contained egg, glass noodles, and a lot of garlic and chives. Very yummy and would get this again. Pork & shrimp potsticker - was juicy. The skin a little thick. They came with a tiny side of sweet, sour, spicy pickled veggies. I thought this dish was mediocre. High tail shrimp & pork steamed dumplings - The pork was dense, which wasn't necessarily bad. The dumpling was slightly juicy but wasn't broth-filled. My mom didn't care for this dish. Overall, I would rate this restaurant a 3.5/5 but will round it up. My mom thought the food was quite mid and admitted it as such to the waiter after we paid the bill. I'm honestly not sure if I would return, given all the wonderful other cuisines/choices here in the downtown area - perhaps if I'm craving chive dumplings or crab dumplings again.

Loooooooovvvved this food & service. My bro ordered so I don't know what I ate...scallion cake,…read morepork dumplings, chicken dumplings, spicy "numbing" noodles, several delectable soup dumplings, and more. All delish! Very interesting chive dumpling, plump, tasted kinda like yummy almost cheesy spinach. We feasted & made memories. Five spice beef shank. thin beef served on a dish cold, was the only unliked item. A bit dry/not much flavor. Hard surfaces/impersonal decor, but plenty of seating.

We came here to celebrate a friend's military promotion. We made reservations the day before for a…read moretable of 17 people. I highly recommend making reservations for the weekend because it gets very crowded. The parking lot gets full very quickly so it's best to get there a little early to find parking. We ordered a lot of dishes and they were all exceptional. The dishes that stood out to me the most was the Xa Xiu Bao. The baked bun was so light, crispy and airy inside and the xa xiu was flavorful and tender. It was really satisfying. The siu mai, har gao, and fung zau were really good. Honestly, everything was just really good. Service 4/5 Staff is friendly but wished they checked in more often to supply us with napkins and refills for tea and water. We had to get up and ask many times. Ambience 4/5 It's a casual dining experience with a nice view of the bay ocean. Our table was semi private which was kinda nice. I would definitely come back again.

Arrived at 7:30pm on a Thursday. Restaurant is maybe 40% capacity. It took us 15 minutes of waiting…read morebefore we could FLAG a waiter to take our order. 30 more minutes to follow up when none of the four dishes we ordered arrived, and another 15 minutes after that to receive our first dish. Veggies didn't even come after 55 minutes of waiting. The waiting time killed any joy or hunger. Cancelled the vegetables since we no longer wanted to stay, just to get side-eyed by the waitress. If you don't know people who work as staff, or aren't ordering the most expensive items on the menu, expect to be here for an unhappy amount of time.

Wow, pleasantly surprised by how good the food is here. Ordered takeout over the phone and food was…read moreready by the time I got there (15min). Spicy bullfrog - generous with bullfrog servings and taste was on point Lamb skewers - minimum 2 skewers per order with a good amount of meat per skewer. Spicy cold jelly - The cold jelly was a good refresher after all the spice. Love the texture. Duck blood curd - a little stingy on the duck blood curd. Probably pass on this.

Tasty food and fast service. The flavor is very authentic. The roast duck hotpot is spicy and…read moreflavorful! It has some veggies in it too. Will order again when I go back!

The red bean buns are highly addictive. Seriously! I've…read moreordered many different dishes from this restaurant and the only thing that consistently sticks each time I order are those red bean buns. So delicious!!! And they reheat really well. Service is quick and efficient. Restaurant is always busy when I go in so I always call in my order and pick up/eat at home. Clean restaurant every time I visit! [this review was made in connection with a Toast promotion, Zen Noodle Bar did not ask me to write this review]

Second time visited here, first time i really enjoyed this place. Unfortunately I don't think I…read morewill be visiting again anytime soon. Service was good as before , the boss lady and waitress were both very nice . But the place seriously needs a little more update. Hall way to bathroom was extremely dark, wished they can turn on some light so I could see my way. One of the dish were served on a cracked plate , so we asked for a new plate. The metal steamer for xlb was very dirty with lots of grease all around, wished they could have cleaned it better or maybe it's time to replace new ones. We ordered several dishes, I liked meat mooncake the most , mostly I think the crust skin was quite good , but the xlb meat was so greasy, after one I couldn't really eat a second. Pan friend bun was pan fried really a bao, skin too thick all around. We also had Shanghainese eel dish, which I don't feel they were cook authentic Shanghainese way, more of Beijing style with lot of sauce, too much actually. Maybe it was not a good day, but I really wanted to like this place.

Ate dimsum today, Aug 16, 2026. We're seated quickly. Was nearly full. Many chinese speakers. We…read moreate dimsum. Dimsum dishes were what we normally order. Service was good. Empty dishes were cleared quickly. Dimsum was good. Comparible to many dimsum restaurants on the peninsula. Would eat dimsum hear again.

date & time; wednesday July 1, 2020. @ 1pm vibe: uncles &…read moreaunties & couples in polka dot or lacy tops & bubble skirts decor: typical casual family style Chinese restaurant service: very nice imbibe: tea devour: har gao, siu mai, soy noodles, meatballs & otuguse egg tarts total; $68.38

I have to say the view of the water is astounding. I like the view a lot. I would say this is one…read moreof the best dim sum restaurants I had in a long time. I usually stick to the South Bay Area for dim sum and wouldn't go anywhere outside of it. Service is good. I was able to get the jelly pig dessert dish and it was so fun to see it jiggly. They gave a couple of elevators to get to the second floor which is good for me and people who can't walk well.

Food: (3 star)We ordered the king crab ahead of time and had it prepared three different ways. The…read morelegs were steamed with garlic and cooked just right, fresh and flavorful. The body was fried with garlic, with a crispy batter while the crab meat inside remained juicy. The steamed crab head with egg was salty and not very good. The fried pork (咕嚕肉) was soggy and stuck together. The pea shoots were tender but quite oily. The abalone with chives was good, and the steamed fish was fresh and cooked just right. Service: (1 star) We sat down for about 30 minutes and no one came into our room. We eventually went downstairs to let them know that we were waiting, but even after we notified them, they still did not send a server to attend to our room. They simply told us that someone was already upstairs. We waited even longer and still could not find anyone upstairs. There was also a party singing karaoke next door, which was extremely loud. To make things worse, we were told the remote control was broken, so the TV in our room could not be turned on. Overall, it was definitely not the place to host a dinner. Ambience: (1 star) The room itself was fine, but the noise from the guests dining and singing karaoke in the next room was extremely loud and disruptive.

Sunday morning 11:20 arrived at the restaurant, first time that we were able to find a parking spot…read morein the lot. And we got greeted and welcomed right away. Inside has modern decoration and clean . The waiter served us tea right after we seated, maybe there were not a lot of people, the service is surprisingly decent-- he offered kids utensils and collect the empty plates right after we finished. The traditional dishes like egg tart, sweet rice cake, dessert were good, also highlighted on the pork belly dish-- crispy skin and juicy meat. The not so great adventurous dish -- fried duo chun fish, bitter ending taste. Other than that, this restaurant still on my top list whenever craving for dim sum or Cantonese dishes. This restaurant staff is very friendly to kids and the food selection is kids friendly.

Stopped by this restaurant for dimsum. This is the first time I visit eventhough this restaurant…read morebeen here for a while. This places used to be Zen Peninsula. The restaurantb is considered average size for Hongkong style dimsum and seafood reataurant. The restaurant has small table for 2 people to large table which I believe can fit 15 people. The dimsum menu is almost the same as other dimsum places. One unique item is they have item in the menu which is combination of chicken feet, rice roll , and steam sparerib. It is 3 in one. We ordered couple dimsum menu and the special lobster noodle. The food is ok. I fell the noodle for lobster noodle is cooked too long which make the noodle very soft. I wishbit is cooked shorter. Parking is a challenge as it has very limited parking space. Looks like gratuity is automatically included. They also give cash payment option where you get discount.

This spot was such a nice surprise! Their soup dumplings are honestly so good. My daughter went…read morecrazy for 'em, couldn't stop eating! Huge thanks to Fay for taking such great care of us. She was so chill, patient and sweet, totally made our whole meal awesome. You gotta try the mini buns and soup dumplings -- they hit so good! I'm already telling all my friends and family about this place. Definitely coming back！！！

If there's a new dumpling spot in San Mateo, I must try it. All the photos of mini sheng jian bao…read moreon yelp drew me in and oh am I glad they did. I stopped in for a quick lunch myself and was seated. It was surprisingly busy for a Friday afternoon and I felt for the server handling all by herself. She was very friendly too. I got the garlic green beans and mini sheng jian bao. I left no bite uneaten (though I finished the green beans later because I was full) they were both so good. Green beans were super garlicky with little bits of caramelized onions. I took some of the garlic and onions and topped the sheng jian bao with chili oil and omg..so good. The dumplings were nice and crispy on the bottom and juicy inside, they were perfect. A very comforting and delicious lunch. 100% will be back.