Loved all the food we ordered. Everything taste so great and texture was wonderful esp for the…read moregeneral tsao chicken. Would definitely come back here again. Great service too. Went here before our show at FirstOntarioCentre in Hamilton. Walking distance.

Compared to other dim sum restaurants in the GTA, Crystal Dynasty offers fair dim sum in terms of…read moretaste, quality, quantity and price. It's probably the best dim sum in the Hamilton region. There are several items that we usually order - shrimp steamed dumplings, steamed chives dumpling with shrimp, steamed rice noodle with shrimp, deep fried dumpling with assorted meat, pan fried bean curd, pan fried eggplant, salt and pepper deep fried eggplant, Singapore Fried Rice Noodles and Fried Noodle with Beef and Soya Sauce. The one disappointment was the steamed pork dumpling. The last time I ate there, there was a lot of gristle and parts of the dumpling were inedible. Previously, it was fine. I've had dinner there as well, but the flavours and 'wok hei' are fair and not quite up to expectations. The restaurant could use a fresh look and new carpet. Service is fair. It may be the most authentic Chinese food you'll find in Hamilton.

Did not expect to walk into such an upscale and authentic Chinese restaurant in St. Catherines. We…read morewere visiting nearby for a photoshoot, and just needed a place to unwind and grab some food. With its nearly two thousand Google reviews and tasty looking menu, it was a no brainer. Instantly as we stepped in the restaurant we were blown away by the elegant decor and ambiance. You could have a classy dinner date, birthday celebration, or even wedding here if you wanted to! The space is built for all kinds of occasions and has many private rooms and spaces for the same. We, of course, sat on the main floor, with a couple other people eating at 4PM. The service was professional and fast, although I didn't feel too confident on the menu suggestions they gave me. We ended up ordering the Braised Beef Noodle Soup ($18), DongPo Pork ($27) and Xiaolongbao ($7) to share between two people. We did not need the dim sum dish - the other two items had sufficient portion to have us full. The star was definitely the DongPo Pork, which was perfectly braised and super tender. With rice, it was delicious. The noodle soup, while tasty, was a bit overhyped by the waiter who made it sound life changing - not at all mad at it, but I have definitely had better. In St. Catherines, I would assume that 'better' does not exist, so I understand. Overall, great visit. On the pricer side for Chinese food (around $80 all in for two people) but it certainly is upscale dining. I don't live anywhere close to St. Catherines so unlikely to be back, but I will recommend it to my friends if they visit the area.

Visited MA Chinese Cuisine while in St. Catharines. I've been enjoying this spot since they opened…read moretheir doors in 2017. Many may already know them through the Wind group and their other locations. The atmosphere is one of the standout features -- modern and warm, while still embracing the building's historic architecture, with beautiful wooden rafters and ambient lighting that create a very inviting dining room. We enjoyed several Hong Kong-style dim sum dishes, and everything was tasty. That said, for a place specializing in authentic dim sum, I'd be remiss not to mention the surprising omission of Ha Cheung Fun -- with its silky delicate texture and sweet soy sauce, it's one of the true classics. C'mon guys, it's part of the "Big Three" of dim sum -- Har Gow, Siu Mai, and Ha Cheung Fun! Service was excellent -- our server was wonderful, attentive, and very thorough throughout the meal. A helpful tip many people may not know: there's a large parking lot directly across from the entrance, making parking much easier than it first appears. Overall, a beautiful space with solid dim sum and excellent service -- still one of the better options in the Niagara region. Saluti.

Best place in niagara falls friendly and affordable place…read morefor dim sum and chinese food in our week long trip we came back twice haha lobster is fresh and tasty and food comes out piping hot

Actually some decent authentic tasting, non-touristy food in a really touristy town…read more Food tasted legit, and it tasted like some of the Chinese food we're accustomed to where I'm from in the SF Bay Area. The service was on the slow side, though. Also, the owners all there barely speak any English. Be ready to have Google translate out ready. Never had an AYCE dim sum before, but this was really good. Avoid the fried stuff if you don't want to get full very quick. Shoutout to feedmeimei on YT I'm pretty sure she's going to see this review when she and her team is researching places for her Toronto/Niagara Falls video. You have an awesome channel and I've been a big fan for awhile!

When I did a staycation in Hamilton in February 2020, I remember passing by an August 8 restaurant…read more It has a handful of locations that offer all-you-can-eat sushi. Last month, I was back in Hamilton for a mini staycation. I needed dinner. I looked on my Uber Eats app and saw that this August 8 had a number of BOGO items. I had to get in on the deals. I ordered the following items: - Avocado salad - California roll - BOGO - Sticky rice (3) - Salmon sashimi (3) - Steamed sponge cake (4) - BOGO I drove over to the eatery to pick up my order. It's located in a tiny plaza with limited parking. I managed to snag the only parking spot available. I had to careful back in, as there was a car parked illegally in the parking lane. It's the downside to fetching or heading over here to dine. The parking situation is atrocious and downright dangerous. More on that in a bit. I headed to the counter and got the nicest young man. I let him know that I had an Uber Eats order and stated my name. He found my order and handed a bag over to me. I thanked him and left the eatery. There were a handful of students hanging around outside. One of the guys was sweet to open and hold the door for me. Kindness isn't completely dead. It was a nice touch. The downside was that the woman who parked illegally parked in the fire lane didn't bother doing a check behind her and decided to back up. I don't get why she needed to back up, but she nearly backed into me. I was not impressed. I actually managed to get out of the way and had a good look at her from the passenger side of her car. I let her know through some arm gestures that she needed to be careful and that she nearly ran over me. My gestures did have words accompanying them. I can't state them here. They weren't pleasant words that I use regularly. I got to my car and safely placed my food in it. I then drove back to the hotel room to chow down. The food was yummy on the whole. I will break things down: Avocado salad The miso dressing was flavourful. The avocado slices were delicate and were starting to turn brown. The veggies were fresh, but I didn't love the iceberg lettuce. I'd skip getting this salad. California rolls Excellent! The filling was warm, which was different. I loved them. The fake crab, avocado, and julienned cucumbers were so good. They did have black sesame seeds around them. Sticky rice (3) It was a bit weird seeing white paper wrapped around each bundle of sticky rice with its own leaf wrapping. I felt that it was a waste of paper. The bundles had more white pepper than necessary. The filling was generous, with small chunks of pork. I ate one each day. They heat up nicely. Salmon sashimi (3) The best! Each piece melted in my mouth. You don't need to chew much. The sashimi was super fresh. Steamed sponge cake (4) I am a huge fan of traditional steamed sponge cake. There was a twist with the version here. You get dainty triangles with layers of sponge cake. I'm not sure what separated each layer, but this cake was subtly sweet and still warm. I loved it so much. I want to return and get some more food. I'd avoid the avocado salad. The parking situation makes me want to fetch food from a different August 8, though. Maybe I should try coming during lunchtime when I'm in the area and see if parking is better. (442)

I haven't been in years but I always loved this place amazing sushi and other things.read more

I'm always in the search of good Chinese food in the Hamilton-Burlington area. Happened to find…read moreIron Chef Chinese Restaurant and try a bit of dim sum at lunch time. It's always a good sign when you can find Cantonese-speaking customers in the restaurant - and we did. The restaurant appeared clean, although was dated. There were basic dim sum choices on the menu, but quite a number of items were crossed out and marked as not available. We tried the Shanghai Style Fried Noodle, Preserved Egg and Pork Congee, Steamed Sui Mai Dumpling, and Steamed Chive Shrimp Dumpling. We ordered the Pan Fried Dumpling with Minced Pork - it never arrived. Just as well because we had enough for two people and were already full. Of all, the congee was the most flavourful. The other items were standard. The noodles didn't have as much flavour and 'wok hei' as we would have liked, but still ok. I did ask if they made the dim sum in house, and the server (owner?) answered, "yes" but I do have to wonder. I would give it another try for dinner entrees.

Very good dim sum for a place on Hamilton Mountain and in a mostly residential area none the less…read more Quality is very good for a home style non top scale restaurant. With about 32 items on the menu and several items were not available. Not typical to have rice rolls for dim sum unfortunately so you have to order two plates in order for them to sell it to you. Also they were not very pretty presentation wise but the beef one was particularly good. The server and possibly owner of the establishment & chef were very attentive and friendly. You are greeted quickly as soon as you enter and she welcomes her regular customers by name and a friendly matter. Ambiance felt like a former greasy spoon diner restaurant not traditional Chinese style at all. So it is still good as it wasn't noisy and no loud music playing either. Was quiet for lunch time but they did get some more diners while we enjoyed our peaceful dim sum lunch today.

We loved the food. The service was good even thought it was extremely busy. Busy because it finally…read morereopened. We were glad we had made a reservation when we walked in and got seated immediately.

A-okay! 3.5 stars. Tried this August8 location for the first time over the weekend for AYCE and I…read morehave no complaints on the food. I went here for lunch and ordered a lot of the dim sum options in addition to the sushi rolls. The dim sum food was pretty good and you don't usually see this at other AYCE restaurants so I quite enjoyed this. My go-to dim sum dishes are chicken feet and beef tripe, and both of these were fairly good here. The sushi and grill options were quite standard here - the only roll that stood out for me that was unique and surprisingly delicious was the mango/avocado/cream cheese roll (forgot the specific name of the roll).. yes, it sounds a bit odd, but it's definitely worth a try.. just don't dip it in soy sauce! My only complaint about this place was that the ice cream was served in foam take out containers along with plastic spoons - very wasteful.

Rude, unfriendly service - they did not realize that a member of our party spoke Chinese and knew…read morethat the servers were essentially cursing us and saying rude things. Will not return or recommend.

Food is not fresh. Service is very poor…read more Expensive for the quality you get. Many dim sum items were not available

Really impressed with this restaurant that, despite its humble strip mall location, goes beyond…read moreexpectations in terms of flavor and menu creativity. There are a lot of Canadian/American-Chinese dishes on the menu but it goes beyond that and has things that I'm guessing are more authentic to China and a few fusion dishes also. I was particular impressed by the soft pepper noodle with beef or chicken. I had it with beef and it has a fantastic black pepper flavor and luscious thick noodles with just enough vegetables to give some texture. I'm including a photograph from mid-meal. It might not be beautiful but it's a stand out dish in flavor. One item to skip... The fried wontons. While ours were very crispy (and hot), the predominant flavor was fryer oil and the tiny (truly tiny) bits of ground pork in the wontons didn't help. Also, check out the combination plates if you want some of this and some of that instead a lot of one thing. They are near the back of the menu and are NEAR the lunch only plates but the combination plates are in fact available at night.

Foods are okay, ordered beef with mushroom, beef soup, tendon and shumai…read more Beef brisket wasnt always available. Service i would rate as 3.

Came here after a long day of moving and was super hungry. Was seated quick quickly and the hostess…read moregave a quick rundown on the buffet table set up (because we mentioned we had gone to ones back in our home city) and the ppe required for going to the buffet tables. Upon seating a server quickly greeted us and also gave us the rundown of what PPE was required. To enter the buffet tables, mask need to be worn along with having gloves which are provided before exiting our dining room. In addition there are workers who provided gloves to those who forgot as I did occasionally. There is always so much variety here and my favourite is definitely the salad bar as the shrimp and cocktail sauce is to die for. There was also a great selection of hot food from Asian classics to roast beef and lamb. To finish off this meal I had a freshly made waffle from the dessert bar which had a great selection of sweets to add onto the waffle or the ice cream bar right across. Overall although the mandarin can be quite pricey as long as you eat you moneys worth then to me it is pretty worth it! Hope I can come back when everything reopens as it was a great nostalgic experience coming here as it has been awhile since I have gone to a mandarin in my home city.

lol the food was honestly so mediocre. My childhood nostalgia for Mandarin was ruined!! The only…read morequality items were at the teppenyaki grill, otherwise everything was just such poor quality food, even the ice cream was freezer burnt. Great place to protein max tho.