Title: Very good!!! Pros: Excellent and authentic tastes Cons: Normally quite crowded but during COVID-19 pandemic customers are spaced far apart I went there yesterday and when I was eating I questioned myself the following: 1. The last time I had dim sum was in March. Could it be because I haven't had dim sum for such as long time the food there tastes so good? 2. Similar to the above statement, could it be due to hunger? Regardless, the food I had was great. It was really authentic Cantonese dim sum. It could be because the cooks weren't rushed and therefore they were able to produce food with such quality. A well deserved 5-star restaurant! read more

THIS is 100% the best Chinese dim sum I ever had. Though I am a little biased as I have been going to this restaurant when growing up. However, I tried and tested many other places dim sum and none of their prices nor quality is as great as Fook Lam. The food is a much better deal than any other place and it gives the authentic dim sum experience in my eyes. This place is literally made for the ABG demographic. Aside from the water tasting a little funny at times, the free tea makes up for all of that. Their food is super Snapchat friendly and very nice looking. I can say for sure I will be continuing to support this local business and I am glad they never went under due to Covid. read more

Best Roasted Squab I've ever had. Better than Peking Duck. Pressured by the Auntie to buy them, boy it did not disappoint. The young lady by the door and the cashier was very nice as well. Such a difference from the Rage Against the Aunties who will pressure you to buy everything in the cart. ahahaha Xiao Long Bao is just (soup is very good thought), hargaw is amazing, chives dumpling are OK, crispy chowmein need more seasoning, that Sunday Roasted Squab defijnitey took the cake! Made our visit! read more

See all

Location - Has its own parking garage (take a ticket, validate, pay when you leave the garage). Parking spots are pretty tight, FYI. Actual restaurant is pretty big, plenty of indoor seating and tables for larger parties. Service - Standard dim sum spot. Servers go around with carts and ask you if you want anything. Theyll cut stuff up for you if you're sharing. Pretty convenient. Food - Plenty of selection, but I guess come early. The last time we went, they ran out of custard buns. Someone came in early and ordered every bun they had! That's a crap ton of buns. Haven't had anything there that I didn't like. And we've tried some new stuff that I haven't had at other dim sum places. read more

Best dim sum ever. Period. The owner is the nicest ever!! Makes it a pleasure to go. Now when there's a wait she gives you a number.

The taste is very traditional Hong Kong-style restaurant. The ingredients are of good quality and value for money. The beef fried vegetable (water spinach); beef ribs and Singapore fried rice noodles are delicious although the place is so so，they spent the cost on food materials read more

Fook Lam - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Craving fresh dim sum? Look no further. This joint stayed BUSY the entire time our family was there. A good sign. Each dim sum dish we snagged was delicious and we actually barely had anything left over...another good sign. The ladies here are no joke. They are pushy and if you're not assertive enough yourself, you'll end up with a table full of dim sum that you didn't even want. Know how to say "no" and say "yes" to all the goodies that come you way. One rookie mistake I made was eating too dang fast and when a bunch of other dim sum choices came out towards the end, I was too full to try everything I wanted to try. Oh, and if you don't see a particular dish on the carts that keep coming by, don't be afraid to ask for it. They'll bring it our fresh and piping hot! Fook Lam is reasonably priced, great overall quality, and cheap municipal parking nearby. read more

Fook Lam - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Super fresh dim sum! The textures and seasonings were perfect! I've grown up eating quite a bit of dim sum and this place really hit all the criteria for great dim sum. Super thin soft skin around the har gow..great pork to fat ratio in the shu mai! The chueng fun was extremely pillowy.. and the turnip cake was melt in your mouth good with a delectable thin crisp exterior. Sesame balls were gigantic and delicious!! I need more, NOW. Service was also great! Will be back when vacationing again! read more

See all

Our first experience at Fook Lam after a friend made the recommendation. The two of us were greeted and seated right away on a busy Saturday mid-morning. The food carts came right away and everything was fresh and hot. The food was really good. The staff were very friendly and helpful with our take-out request as well. read more

The place is small, and it took us a few minutes to find it. It is located in an Asian cultural center plaza. The service was fast. The ladies serving are were very sweet and helpful. The dim sum was good and fresh. We genuinely liked everything. The soup dumplings surprised me, big, juicy and tasty. read more

See all

Beef short rib look fun $10.95 @ Fook Lam in the Chinese Cultural Center on Beretania. Waited a good 30m at prime dimsum time. At first I was not impressed by the food despite my hunger; these short ribs were no exception. However, as the meal progressed, I started to appreciate the gelatinous texture of the beef. Must be "velveted" / tenderized and coated with some starch. The look fun was on point- the rolled flat rice noods were not mushy or off. The dumplings were all good, but I won't be going again for a while bc service was eh and food was just fair. read more

This has to be my favorite dim sum restaurant. Amazing food. Of course, because it's so good, it is a little crowded. read more

See all

This place used to be my favorite and I would frequent here often, but recently service has gone down. The waitresses do not pay as much attention to me and my family when we want to order. It is a Chinese restaurant, so you do need to be aggressive and flag them down when you want to order, but they did not listen to me or my family even when we did that. This past visit we tried to order, but the waitresses were too busy talking to each other. One came up to ask us what we wanted, but then another one came up and they started talking about something. They then both finished talking and left us without taking our order. The waitress in charge of the dim sum cart also left without giving us dim sum. This really infuriated me as we already had to wait 20 minutes for our table, so we were really hungry. We also asked for water 3 times and finally the owner, who is very nice and friendly, brought us water. With a heavy heart, I am sad to say that I will not be returning to Fook Lam anytime soon... read more

Terrible business practices. They are charging the recycle paper boxes for take out. They are telling their customers do not buy take out from them! Therefore, more businesses will be for another restaurant. Also bring your own take out containers if you really want food from this restaurant and do not want to be charged. read more

Giving 5 stars because Fook Lam is the best on Oahu. No sense go anywhere else, this place is #1, and the staff are nice.

Food is good but as for service is nonexistence. If you wait to be helped, you'll probably won't get to eat until 30 minutes into sitting.

Came here instead of Tim Ho Wan because it has better ratings. My family and I came here on Saturday morning, and we were seated immediately. I am surprised about the four stars rating with the poor customer service and mediocre quality of food. We ordered several typical dim sum items from the cart shortly after being seated - shrimp dumpling, siu mai, chicken feet, etc. When the cart came around the second time, my dad asked the server what other items she had available, she rudely responded, I had already told you what I have in this cart, and told us to look at the menus. Shocked at the curt comment, really? What's up with the attitude? Did we ask an unnecessary question? Here are the items we tasted and our thoughts - Ha Gau (shrimp dumping) - ok. Nothing special Siu Mai- pretty good Preserved egg and pork porridge - a little bland. Pork was tender. Could use more preserved eggs. Fried Chinese donut - ok. Deep fried mochi with meat- pretty good. Rice wrap with shrimp (look fun with shrimp)- ok. Ordered a few other items, but not worth mentioning. read more

I absolutely love this place. The food is good, reasonable, and great service. I have been eating here for years and it's been consistently good. My must haves are XO Turnip Cake and hot pot look fun Kalbi. read more

Fook Lam - Look fun kalbi - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Amazing service, once you seat they already start coming to you and if you want anything they have on their chart. It's worth it. You can go with two people or in a big group. read more

Fook Lam - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Awesome chang fun! 腸粉. Got the beef, shrimp and you tiao. Definitely satisfied the craving

Dim sum was delicious! You order your food on cards and food is freshly steamed and brought out to you. They have the light brown steamed cake that I love that they make in Hong Kong!! read more

Fook Lam - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

This restaurant faces River Street and if you sit near the window, you can witness the perils of Chinatown while you enjoy delicious dim sum! I came here with my girlfriends for lunch. The chinese cultural center has its own parking garage so it was really convenient to meet up here. LOCATION/PARKING: Chinatown... inside the Chinese Cultural Center. You can park around, in the metered stalls (i dont really recommend that) or.... you can enter the center on Maunakea Street and park inside the garage. Fook Lam will validate your parking... I think I paid $3.00 for parking..... I don't remember...... and I was there for a while. FOOD: So the ladies come around and just bombard you with dim sum..... yes they kinda hussle to buy stuff but... it's all good. You just have to tell them you don't want a certain thing and they will gladly remove it from the table. SERVICE: besides them tryna stuff you with dim sum, the ladies are really nice. they recommended a few dishes to us and it was really good. I don't remember what we got, but they were all really good. PRICE: between the three of us with tax and tip we paid about $60...... we got a really good amount of dim sum tho. so about $20 per person. very reasonable, being that we ate A LOT!! ATMOSPHERE: ok........so we sat by the window.... and there's a big picture window facing River Street canal.... where all the Chinese men gamble.... or "play cards" its interesting to see the characters that walk by the window and hussle the Chinese men into buying stolen goods from their backpacks.... but.... thats Chinatown for you. Interesting.... but I do not recommend coming here late at night... I'll come back again... for lunch. It's a cute dim sum place. I like that the wrap thing around the dim sum is thin.. so you don't get too full off of the wrapping... read more

We ordered quite a bit of food from here and everything was very good , seasoned just right , not salty. Never going back. Never doing takeout. They said it would be ready in half an hour but it was ready in an hour and a half and only after I wanted a refund on my money. Poor management. Very sorry this happened. I hope they can make improvements. Let me know when you do. read more

Good food, friendly staff and plenty of parking. The price is very reasonable. Location can appear shady but it's safe. Worth the stop read more

See all

Short version: decent food, service was not bad, overall not a bad place but nothing anything special Long version: Came here for the XLB and it was okay, nothing anything special. You could taste the hint of ginger in it and I don't like ginger but I still ate them. The shell sometimes broke easily which was kinda disappointing. We also ordered some char siu and look fun. They were also both okay, just okay. They have a parking lot and give you validation, I ended up paying $2 which is not bad at all for Chinatown. I probably won't be returning. read more

Authentic dim sum restaurant...recommended by my local friend who is Chinese. Fook Lam has the food and experience you are looking for in a dim sum restaurant. Just outside seems to be a regular hangout spot for all the Cantonese-speaking grandpas on the island, just socializing and having their usual Sunday morning gathering near the canal. Fook Lam is great for those weekend mornings you wake up hungry!Get to Fook Lam early to avoid the line. Immediately after having a seat at Fook Lam, every server will quickly and consistently make it over to your table with different trays of food offerings. You will also be visited by the dim sum cart lady a couple of times. Very convenient way to dine and have hot, fresh food to you quickly. I almost burnt my mouth shoving fresh look fun into it because I'm a hungry and impatient gal. Make sure you eat at any dim sum restaurant with caution, a quick approach to eating dim sum dishes in one bite may result in injury (a burnt mouth). Fook Lam is very popular. We arrived around 9AM on a Sunday and there was ample seating and no line. Park across the street at the municipal parking garage, we only paid $1.50 after eating at Fook Lam and even walking around a little after our meal. read more

Fook Lam - Look fun sooo good - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Traditional dim sum, carts, pushy waitresses, had everything we wanted, not cheap but not over expensive only the lotus wrapped rice was small. Soup dumplings good, read more

The best dim sum in Honolulu! We order to-go since we are still not eating indoors, and Stella always takes care of us. Our go to's are: turnip cake with xo sauce, fish cake dumplings, shrimp look fun, bean curd skin rolls, and ham sui go. Other favorites are custard buns, fish jook, and the tofu float is really fun. If you go - make sure to order the xo sauce turnip cake, I've never seen it anywhere else and you will not be disappointed! read more

Highlight: The food was good. But it came with a serious attitude that almost had me leave. We walked in and were told we could sit wherever we wanted. Naturally, we chose a small table for two next to a window because hey, who doesn't like window seats? About a minute later were were told, not asked, "Move to a different table. We need to wipe down the windows." Okay...so why didn't you just seat us? I'm well aware of the discourtesy of showing up at a restaurant 5 minutes before it closes and asking for a large order, but we arrived about an hour before closing and were still treated very poorly. We had a bout 30 seconds of looking over the menu, and my second being a non-native speaker of neither English nor Chinese needed a little bit of time. But we were told, once again, "Just pick something." Like...what? At that point I was honestly just about to say screw it, but we were tired and hungry and really didn't feel like walking around looking for something else. As we were dining they showed no courtesy in not trying to rush us out; they began prepping for closure but usually proper service would not interfere with the tables of those who are still dining. However for us they took our sauces and stuff off our table as we were eating. And maybe it's a cultural thing but laughing and shouting to each other from across the room was a bit of an annoyance. This place barely gets two stars because I can't complain too much about the food itself and I'm a generally merciful reviewer. But other than that, I'd definitely not bother coming back. read more

Fook Lam - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Came here with some friends for a dimsum brunch (one of them was a first timer). This place had some very good dimsum, very polite waiters, and delicious side orders. All of the dimsum staples were very good, and the XLB were yummy. I was a big fan of the chicken buns, and honestly every tray of food we ordered was very good. Hopefully I will return here on my next trip to Hawaii! read more

Fook Lam - First two trays! - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I'm pretty picky about dim sum. Usually, I base it off of the siumai and the hargow, because if a dim sum place screws those two things up, it's not really worth going there. And here, both are fine/ok/good. The chicken feet tho. WOW. Usually, you get chicken feet that's either too bland or too thin? But the chicken feet here were so flavorful and had a good amount of skin to it. The black bean sauce was superb and complemented the chicken feet very well. I ate all but one of them. I usually order it at dim sum but sometimes leave it if I don't feel like eating it or if it doesn't taste good. This, I will absolutely order every time I return. Also, the sesame balls were HUGE. I've never seen them that big at dim sum restaurants. Pleasantly crisp and subtly sweet. read more

Best Dim Sum river street authentic Cantonese no CCP riverfront dim sum and den sum. Great service small wait even weekend packed with local Chinese ladies which means it's good place. City has cleaned up river front and American Savings new HQ across the river so this is popular with ASB staff and executives group meeting no need mask to eat great dumplings not too much MSG good quality meat feet and shrimp tofu thing whatever it is and the sesame puff balls are sensual exotic tasty and cheap $40 for 2. Need Apple Pay. read more

Went on a Sunday morning a little after they opened and were seated right away. The staff were super helpful in their recommendations. I can see how some may say they come off pushy but I feel that's just how Asian o.g.'s are sometimes and it never bothers us at all (being Asian ourselves, we get it). We loved everything we ordered - shrimp hargow, curry tendon, chicken feet, pork and shrimp siu mai, char siu look fun, honey tripe, booke tripe, and spare rib sizzling look fun. Will definitely be recommending this place for friends who are visiting Hawaii. read more

Excellent service. Cantonese and English speaking servers. A wide variety of dim sum is available and delicious.

Not the best but pretty good. We arrived at 1:45 on Sunday and since they close at 3pm, they pushed what they had left. I ordered fried taro but it never came because they were cleaning the griddle. They brought a fried crab thing instead. My husband liked it. They were quick and food was hot. read more

Dim sum experience here was very good. We ordered similar items to what we usually did in dim sum restaurant. They taste fresh. The porridge 皮蛋瘦肉粥 is my little one's favorite. I enjoyed it too. The restaurant is clean and the waitress is very friendly. I will definitely come back. read more

Good dim sum place in Chinatown without the big price tags. Easy to find parkings on street and public parking lots.

Honestly, pretty satisfied with my dim sum experience here. I feel like when you get dim dim you have to go in with a pretty tough skin, ready to flag down the carts and put up with pushy servers trying to give you all of the dishes. I came here at around 11:00am with a group of 8 on a weekday. We had made a reservation, luckily, because the place was packed. I think their dim sum is good tasting and also incredibly affordable. Also they give free tea ! Which I tend to assume, but am frequently surprised when I get charged for it. My favorite fish is their fried taro balls (: but their shumai and other dumplings are also good Overall, if you come here I recommend making a reservation and know that the parking structure is pretty small and a little difficult to maneuver. Can't wait to come back read more

I'm so picky when it comes to dim sum places. I look for cleanliness, food quality, and service. So far...this place has most of it. Just noticed maybe small things like the bamboo steamers being a little too greasy or old looking. But I'm convinced that the food is good and the service is good. So meh, why not a 4/5 stars. Oh! Can't go wrong with the cheap parking too. Paid $1 with validation. read more

See all

TLDR: One of the finest dim sum restaurants on Oahu my best friend and I have frequented over many many years. It's selection and flavors have remained untouched with time. For those who frequent this restaurant often, it grows to be incredibly nostalgic similar to Mother's home cooking. Whenever I come to this establishment, I lose myself in ways I could not fathom. I lose my sense of guilt which plagues me as I'm a terrible only child to parents whom have given me their everything from birth until today. I lose my sense of social and cultural appropriation as I chew loudly and talk obnoxiously, catching up with my best friend from undergrad. I lose my inhibitions as I take off my shirt and order a feast fit for Jesus and the 12 apostles. I lose all control of self-restraint as I throw my diet plan which I've worked diligently for months into the gutter and allow myself a "get out of jail free" card. I experience changes. The more I think about what causes this phenomenon, the more I look deeper into myself. Beyond the shattered dreams and broken soul lie the fundamental biological components one could compare it to. Take for instance, the cGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate) cascade. In this particular example, the binding of a membrane-impermeable peptide hormone to the cellular surface causes protein kinase activation via phosphorylation (in most cases) to cause some sort of cellular response. In this instance, one of those protein kinases becomes nonfunctional as soon as I step into Fook Lam. It's as if simply by walking through the door, there is a point mutation in all of the mRNA in my body, which causes tRNA to misread the intended codon harboring the proper amino acid pair and instead reads it as a stop codon, immediately halting the synthesis of the intended amino acid chain, which would then fold into secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures improperly. In the end, it becomes a nonfunctional protein. A failure like myself. Or worse.. It could become harmful. In another instance, it's best to refer back to the cellular growth cycle which comprises of G0, G1, S, G2, mitosis, and cytokinesis. G0 is usually the phase in the cycle where no growth occurs. Either a cell is yet to grow or has completed it's maturity to some extent. G1, or growth 1, is the initial growth phase where cellular contents duplicate, but not the chromosomes. S, or synthesis, is highlighted solely by chromosomal duplication. G2, or growth 2, is where the cell double checks for accuracy of chromosomal duplication and does repairs as needed. Mitosis, which is the splitting of the cell, follows shortly. Afterwards, cytokinesis is the process where there cleaving of the two nearly separated cells occurs, completing the growth cycle. Usually in this process cells are locked in the G0 cycle through feedback inhibition mechanism to inhibit unlimited growth. Of course the "lifespan", so to speak, of cellular division also depends on the length of its telomeres, which are a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at the end of chromosomes which prevents deterioration. However, whenever I walk through the doors, something unnatural happens. The feedback inhibition cycle becomes nonfunctional and I start to go into G1, S, G2, and so forth without deteriorating the telomeres as it continues through the cycle. This uncontrolled rapid growth of cells leads to what is called cancer. When I walk through that door, I say "why hello, cancer". My best friend, Ty, and I have a tradition of visiting this place in the morning whenever we see each other. It's where we catch up on life by sharing funny story and life events, talk about our current and potential future goals, and how share our political concerns for this country while dining on lesser known, tasty "exotic" (to which many Americans would say) foods such as chicken feet and beef tendon along with the other delicious dim sum items. It has been a staple for as long as we've known each other and a part of what makes Oahu's chinatown area iconic for me personally. As often as we talk about our ever-changing diets and financial future goals, this place derails our expectations of such goals. We would always leave this place filled with not just a full stomach which often leads to excessive naps due to excessive parasympathetic activity, but with also a full heart of love and positive mindset excited for the next time we'll come to catch up with one another. Fook Lam Seafood Restaurant is a place dear to me for not only it's amazing classic dim sum and it's flavors, but for also for being a part of my relationship with my best friend. read more

See all