I gave it two stars for the staff, it was only 4 people total working the day I went, we waited almost an hour for our foods, everything was so cold and not fresh. Everyone in the restaurant looked really annoyed because of the wait. Portion was so small and not authentic. Will not come back. read more

They have dine in option now but reservation is required. Food is always amazing and not disappointing at all. Love this place! read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Ok everyone!!! I know there have been a few dim sum places popping up around the Triangle...but this one is the real deal Holyfield! If you've been here for a while, you'll remember how excellent the dim sum was at Dim Sum House in Morrisville in it's heyday. Well the owner/chef (who handmade everything) sold it and she's backkkk!!! The sumai is delectable, fresh, juicy...the turnip cake is delicious with great texture, and the chicken feet are some kind of awesome. If you're looking for great dim sum, and someone who understands what service should look like...you have to find this place! PS: It's still called East Coast Asian Bistro on Yelp! and Google. The Chinese translates to that, but the English on the building says "Dim Sum Asian Bistro". Rebranding on the fly at it's best. My pictures to be uploaded to Yelp! here in a bit. read more

See all

The Papa Mojo's decor has not been redone much. The colored lights and hanging ceiling modules are still up with the lights pointing to where the bands used to play. There's a fresh coat of earth tone paint on the drywall, but it looks like there's still plenty of room to transform the space with some oriental flair. The gators have been taken down as well as any decor remotely Cajun or creole with some of it replaced by oriental paintings. I did not see a menu for authentic Chinese selections, I saw the normal run of the mill Americanized Chinese menu that one sees in many take out places. In addition, there is also a variety of Sushi Bento Boxes as well as Hibachi/Teriyaki styles. Even better is a variety of Pho and a small selection of other Vietnamese choices. The Pho was why I came here, nice brothy seafood Pho with plenty of shrimp and imitation crab. Loaded with noodles with a side of jalapeno slices and sprouts. While I may or may not have had better Pho in other places, this certainly does stack up well against many other places and makes for an excellent lunch choice right around the corner from my office. Follow up visit led to a sushi bento box, and quite frankly, it's not something I would recommend. The salmon and tuna were just not very fresh tasting. Other options still seemed good, like my bride's lo mein - which was not greasy compared to many other Chinese places (and that's a good thing). read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

Great food, authentic dim sum, only downside is food is really pricey. For 4 people, expect to spend $100+ to actually get full.

Wish I could go more into detail here but we ordered so much stuff without knowing too much about it, so I can't give detailed descriptions of each dish. Suffice it to say everything was DELICIOUS! The menu is pretty intuitive as far as ingredients go so there were no real surprises. Every dumpling type thing we ordered was amazing, from the filling to the wrapping. Especially anything with pork. So good here. I really enjoyed one rib dish we ordered (bone in riblets) but so much the other one. Again, we just went wild ordering so I don't remember which was what lol Overall this made for a great experience. Order a bunch of stuff and try everything you think you can eat. We walked away with two to-go boxes and a very, very full stomach. Also big ups to the little waitress wearing the bunny ears (probably the owner's daughter). Reminded us of Louise from Bob's Burgers and we couldn't stop laughing at how adorable she was! Lol Definitely earned her tips! read more

See all

The food was amazing and the best dim sum I have had in the states! Will certainly be eating there whenever possible.

I found good Dim Sum in Durham!!! Yay! Dim Sum is hard to find in this area. I was quite impressed that they had the usual suspects of Dim Sum options--Chicken Feet, Spare Ribs, Shrimp dumplings. I came here on a weekday so they didn't have everything. I was given a tally sheet to order the serving size of the various options. The place was empty after the lunch rush. It was also pouring rain. Some items are only available on the weekend. I really wanted the egg custard which is my favorite Dim Sum desert. Oh well, I have to come back. While there is ample parking in the lot, this shopping plaza is very busy. read more

Food was great and reasonable, good quantity and flavorful Ambiance was ok located in strip shopping center read more

This is a hidden gem. We were driving through the area on our way home from the beach. With there being a desert of good dim sum in the charlotte area, I was happy to pick something up. I placed my order online and made our way to the location. Immediately I received a phone call informing me that they were out of baked bbq buns (big bummer as it's my favorite). The persona on the phone was big hard to understand but I figured it must mean this place is authentic. We arrive and our order is outside on the table. I call for someone so I can pay for the order and this 10 year old girl is the one I spoke to on the phone. She is running things in the front and I was so impressed. We had: Pork potstickers - so juicy Steam bbq buns - flavorful and soft like pillows Shrimp shumai - chewy and juicy Combo fried rice - plain with no veggies (pass on this 1) Everything aside from the fried rice was sooo bomb that while we were eating in the car due to Covid, I placed a second order. That's how delicious the food was. Highly recommend this place. read more

This is our favorite full-menu dimsum spot in the area. During the quarantine, the online order and pickup process was super smooth and efficient! Unfortunately, the sit-down experience doesn't match that same efficiency. The cafe is crowded on weekends and it took a long time to flag the cart servers down to get items we wanted. Nevertheless, all the things we tried here were yummy and fresh. I'd recommend East Coast if you're looking to eat dim sum in the area. read more

Nice people, good dim sum, reasonable prices. It's in a lovely space full of wooden paneling that used to belong to Papa Mojo's. We especially enjoyed the taro cakes and the steamed chicken and rice dish that is wrapped in leaves. read more

This is our go-to dim sum place. There is a good variety of dim sum options and the food off the regular menu is good too (the fried rice is delicious). We ate at the restaurant prior to Covid but now we do take-outs, and have faced no issues. For dim sum, we usually do the shrimp dumplings, pork shumai, eggplant with shrimp, stuffed bean skin, shrimp noodle crepe, turnip cake, and chinese broccoli. The congee was good when we ordered during a cold day. Definitely would recommend this place.! read more

I only ate in the restaurant once. It was always crowded. The foods were amazingly delicious and authentically Chinese. Most of my visits were for takeout. One time I ordered before the restaurant opened and stipulated pick up at 12:15 pm. But at 11:32 am I received a text message saying my order was ready. Online orders were not always correct; sometimes in my favor and sometimes in the shop's favor. I trust the store is honest. The order software they use was cumbersome. That should not stop anyone from trying this restaurant. I still like the enough to revisit. read more

This is a hole-in-the-wall family run business that has a personalized touch to their service. No frou frou here. What I appreciated is that because I have dietary restrictions, they did their best to explain what I could eat. They told me that to be honest, they use a lot of lard and include it in certain dishes for added taste. They showed me which ones did not have it, which was very helpful. read more

Love the food here. The service is a bit slow though. I don't recommend doing it for lunch if you have a 30 minute lunch break. But if you have a little time to dine with family or friends you are in for a treat! read more

Good food! The bbq pork pastry and shrimp dumplings are excellent. But the service needs some improvement. That's why I gave four stars instead of five. read more

See all

Coming from California, the food here is not comparable but it hits the spot for me!! The food is definitely a bit more pricier. It's cute seeing the little girl pushing the cart too. read more

See all

Great vegetarian options. Scallion pancakes, sesame tofu were chefs kiss love it! Wish you could order more than once but other than that everything was delicious. read more

Extremely poor and slow service. Took half hour to bring out only one dish - 3 tiny dumplings which tasted like leftovers, not even steaming hot. You can imagine how long you will be sitting and waiting based on the number of dish that you order. Food was terrible...tasteless, ingredients not fresh, undercooked, not even decent. Bottles of condiments were so dirty, lids left opened, and the condiments tasted like diluted water. Cleanliness definitely an issue. I doubt they even sanitized the place. Don't be fooled by the positive ratings. If you don't mind sub standard food, then eat at your own risk. This is not authentic Chinese cooking, doesn't even represent Asian cooking. Name of restaurant is just a gimmick to entice people to go in. If I have a choice, I will give it 0 rating. read more

Dim sum fan here. After trying other dim sum restaurants around the area (Silk Road, Hongkong), we tried this Chinese restaurant which seemed to change the focus to dim sum recently. Overall the environment of the restaurant is very nice, probably more suitable for small families and friend groups. The customers were mostly (90%) Asian. and the waiters initiated conversations in Mandarin. But the waiters were very patient and friendly so it shouldn't be too intimidating. Now for food critique. The dishes all have a smaller size. Among all the dishes, my Japanese friend Mia and I loved the steamed shrimp roll the most. The chicken feet wasn't the most savory compared to other dim sum place. And the fried taro had a smaller size too. The sticky rice with chicken could have had a stronger lotus leaf taste to it but it was fine for what it was. The bathroom wasn't the prettiest but still very clean based on our Asian standards. It's a solid four star for food but since having dim sum for brunch also requires nice service and clean environment, we are giving a five star!! read more

Staff there harass guests with aggressive body language.The attendant taking our order showing the white part of their eyes to us, which is surly a humiliating behavior in China context and she understand what she is doing. The only reason she is unhappy (I think) is that we ask her to take order after she left us there for ten minutes without giving water. I reasonably assume the attendant is a racist who hate people speaking mandarin. read more

The Shrimp and the Pork Dim Sum are not up to par as far as taste and size the worst that I have ever had,just as bad and worst is the Wonton in Red Chili Sauce I took 2 bites and threw them in the trash wasted my money on 2 orders.This was my first time there and my last When I went back in to get my food I noticed a table that a family had been sitting at when I ordered my food and when I came back in they were gone.I looked at the plates that was on the table and there was so much leftover food on about 5 or 6 plates,that is not a good sign.There was lots of food to put in containers to take home that was a definite sign that the food must not be good,who leaves that much food.I did not like the Health Department Rating Number that was hanging on the wall,I saw it after my food was done and it is a low 91 read more

Of all the dim sum places in the triangle, this one wins!!The space is comfortable & clean (unlike the chaos that Hong Kong in Durham). Parking is not an issue. Service has always been attentive (a bit scattered sometimes but attentive unlike other places...I'm looking at you Dim Sum House). The dim sum is cooked to order so it's always fresh & not sitting in the dim sum cart for hours. Dim sum is served all day...so if you're craving dim sum at 7pm? They have you covered! They also have a number of specialties not found in the other dim sum places here. Our favorite is the turnip cake in curry sauce. It's not saucy at all. It's bits of umami laden turnip cake coated in a curry flavored starch & fried. They are hot crunchy bits of goodness!! I also highly recommend the rice crepes...all made to order. The texture of the rice crepe was just the right consistency...something that's very hard to find around here. The curry beef noodle is very good as is the beef noodle in oyster sauce. read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Beef noodles...one in curry sauce & one in oyster sauce. Mixed vegetable sauté & the absolutely divine turnip cake in curry sauce - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

See all

Food - the various steamed and pan fried food was delicious! The only item I didn't enjoy too much was the dumplings with red chili oil sauce as it was salty for my palette. I would recommend trying the food at this restaurant! Service - we went during their rush hour time during lunch, which they were extremely busy and the staff was truly professional! Ambiance - the environment was filled with lots of family and friends enjoying a meal together. Price - the price is very reasonable and if you don't like eating dim sum they do have other food options (noodles, chicken, or asian take out food available). read more

Food: Pretty good! Service: Slow, weird... This is the first place I think in my life I've ever experienced service that flat out seemed disrespectful. As other reviewers mentioned, this place is severely understaffed, with what appears to be a mother and younger daughter struggling to wait all tables while managing takeout orders, so be prepared for long wait times. We had such a strange experience with the younger one: * We asked for soy sauce. She told us "ask someone else" and then moved on to other tables??? The couple next to us was also bewildered as they heard the exchange and shared their soy sauce with us. They never got menus so we shared our menu with them... * We had a pile of dirty dishes on our table. She literally walked up to our table, put our plate of food ON TOP of the pile of dirty dishes, and walked away before I could say anything. This would not fly in any restaurant. I'm unsure why she didn't just help clear our table, unless she felt too busy to do so. At this point I just got the check (obviously waited 15-20 mins for it) and left. The mother was kind and helpful to us at all times despite being busy. It seems like other reviewers have had some great experiences with the younger one, so I'm not sure if we were purposely treated more poorly for some reason, which I'm hoping is not the case. The food is great, yes, but I don't want to go eat somewhere where I'm going to be treated poorly. I hope that the ownership considers this review. read more

I ordered the the largest portion of beef ribs "Tp" for 8$ and was disappointed in the amount of ribs I got . Not sure if this is normal portion but I definitely feel cheated read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Honey short ribs - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

We came here because of the reviews but unfortunately our food was bland. Pancakes were hard, the house fried rice had no taste and almost no protein in it. I don't recommend this place to anyone. read more

*This review is for service only since I didn't get to try the food.* I've looked forward to trying this place, but I recently went on a Friday night and even though the restaurant was less than half full, we waited over 25 minutes and no one came to take our order or even acknowledged us after showing us to our seat. We were starving so we went elsewhere. It is clearly a family run business as we saw a young girl bringing drinks and menus to tables but aside from her and one woman putting finishing touches on plates for service, there weren't any other employees that we saw. Maybe this was just an off night for them, but we won't be back. read more

This is the worse Dum Sum place. No joke. So there are 20 tables and only with 1server and 1 13 years old girl? Please expect 30 mins of wait after you have been waited. I feel like this is child labor. Having a 13 year old girl managing 20 tables. The food was bad too, we had eat tart, and the egg tart crust is too hard that I couldn't even eat it. I just don't understand why this place is still in business. read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Family owned and great dim sum. Great fast service and located right beside a brewery next door.

Got dim sum take out, and everything was packaged great! Called ahead on a weekend because I wanted the noodle crepe, but it wasn't an option online. Turnip cakes were particularly yummy. Dim sum is on the smaller side, but everything is reasonably priced so I'd recommend ordering many items to try. read more

This is our go-to dim sum place in the Triangle area as there are not many other options around. I've only come on the weekdays, and it's not a cart-rolling establishment; instead, they make the dim sum to order, so service is often slower on busier days, especially if you order something that takes longer to prepare. But I never have anywhere to go so I don't mind the wait...the food always arrives hot hot hot! They have some specials that are only available on the weekends, like baked bbq buns and noodle crepes. My favorite dishes are shrimp dumplings, crispy sticky rice dumplings, crispy taro chicken dumplings, and the turnip cake. They also have chicken feet, which I love, but I only order it when I'm with other people who are into it. You can also order other entree dishes like noodles or fried rice. read more

Ordered the broccoli chicken and beef dumplings. Broccoli and chicken looked fresh with a good mix of veggies and chicken. I ordered the dumplings with spicy sauce and peanut sauce but I got dumplings sans peanut sauce. Appreciate this business being open during quarantine. Service is take out only which is good if you're waiting in line at the DMV. Found a brew to accompany my dish at the Glass Jug Beer Lab next door. read more

The other night my heart melted when I saw the little girl, presumably a daughter of the owner of the restaurant, serving customers. She was perhaps around 12 years old, and had so much courage and was so capable. I felt that I admired her. The other older daughters of the owner were helping too. They reminded me again how the country was built by immigrants. The dim sum was very good and the price was reasonable. read more

See all

Love this place! The food is always delicious. My favorite selections are the curried fried turnip cakes and the egg paste buns. The person that does the hosting and take out is also super friendly and they all make the place feel very inviting. We eat here at least once a month. read more

Been here a few times now. It is probably the better dim sum option in Durham. Service is good and the food is consistent. If you can't find something on the carts, you can always ask for a menu and order dim sum items from the menu, which has more options than what you will find on the carts; yes, there are items that you will unlikely to find on the carts so please do check menu for full experience. Overall, the food was decent, but won't wow you. There are couple really good items though. First, they have these fried crab stick with seaweed. That has a really good fishy taste and it is probably my favorite item there. Also, the dumplings are good. The stuffed tofu was a bit bland and so was the stuffed jalapeno. They have these fried/roasted meat pastry pocket thing (ball shape) that has really good pastry texture. I had to order that from the menu, and it is worth trying. I would have to say that I always have a good experience here and their service is quite good. Would recommend. read more

Our go to Dim Sum spot. They have basic dim sum - nothing to fancy, just good access to pretty straightforward dim sum. We go early - and the service is curt but efficient. We usually get seated by the door b/c of our high chair needs. The place is run well and it's clean! Parking is a breeze and the food rarely disappoints- as long as you're not snobby about dim sum. A lot of Asian folks in there.. that's a good sign. read more

Came on a Friday evening for dinner. This was a pretty good dim sum place- especially since they serve dim sum all day. It's got great decor on the inside and it seems like a family run restaurant. Our primary waitress was probably the young daughter of the owner. Ordering was easy as you indicate how much of each dim sum item you want. It was helping having pictures of each of the dim sum items. Unfortunately, some of the ones I really wanted to try are only served on weekends- like the noodle crepes and egg tarts. Was with 2 others and we got a total of 8 dim sum items with a pork preserves egg porridge/congee. Bill came to about $50. My favorite items was the pork dumpling (siu mai), the pork preserves egg congee, stuffed green pepper with shrimp (had a slight spice to it), and the egg yolk paste bun. Overall, I'll definitely come back again in a weekend and with more people to be able to get more options. read more

See all

Horrible experience!! I placed a large order online and drove all the way across town for this, I had my mouth set on it! On the way I tried to call because I had a question about my order and the woman picked up the phone and said "Hello, please order online! Bye!" I called twice and got the same response. When I got there I walked in and a lady yelled "your order almost ready wait outside!" She didn't know if I was coming to pick up or place an order. I went outside to wait and wait for 10 minutes, and no one came to ask for my order number or if I'd like to order something. At this point it's been 30 minutes since I've ordered online and it said the order would take 20 minutes. I walk back inside and the same lady who told me to stand outside said "what is your order number? It should be ready soon!" She goes to the back and them comes back and says, "sorry we haven't started your order yet, would you like to wait?" I was so mad I didn't even answer... I just walked out! Same because the food looks good!! read more

Dim Sum Asian Bistro - Dim Sum Near Me - Durham, North Carolina