After seeing the ratings on TikTok and Yelp I thought I would like to see for myself where this restaurant is at.... I arrived just as it opened for a seating of one...the employees were finishing off their breakfast...they greeted me and pointed at a table for me to be seated...I waited for 7 min before they asked what tea I wanted and gave me a menu to order from.... There are 2 ways you can order dimsum....you can mark off the menu so you get exactly what you would want and be assured it would arrive at your table....or if you have lots of time you can wait for the rolling carts to come out and see what is being offered.... I chose to mark off the menu and you can see the dishes that I ordered... Ha gow,suimai, foong jow, jahleong, gnow cheung and pai dan show yuk jook..... All items came out hot ....all items tasted as they should.....there was not a stand out but I was not disappointed..... Interior of the restaurant is dated.....there was no bad carpet smell.... Overall I would go with family and friends to this restaurant... read more

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The service is ok but it seems like the business is not too honest. I was wondering why the restaurant 2 blocks down (Western Lake) is so busy and this one is not busy at all and after this visit, I can see why. The food is ok BUT: 1. We ordered seafood fried noodles, and several fried rice dishes...they ALL have pork in it. We purposely ordered seafood and chicken dishes to avoid pork. Why would seafood fried noodles have a few pieces of BBQ pork, pork and chicken in it? It looks like pork was a filler to make the seafood dishes larger. 2. Some of the dimsum dishes have not arrived and it was getting late, we asked to cancel and of course we could not, they said they're on the way...20 minutes later, still not here. The spoons were dirty when we sat down. The chairs looked relatively new. Because of this I gave it an extra star. Likely would not come back and would recommend other locations in the area, like Western Lake or Superstar for dimsum. read more

Decent food, rude service. Called us bothersome for asking for chili oil sauce. Pretty standard dim sum place don't recommend if you want to be disrespected for asking for condiments. read more

Golden Swan was so tasty that we ate there 2 days in a row. The first night we went for dinner and had a very large spread. This restaurant has the large tables with a turntable in the middle so you can easily share your food- it was perfect because it was 7 of us at the table. We had the duck, egg drop soup, chicken lo mein, lobster and scallops, fried rice and a vegetable that was very green and leafy. Everything was delicious! We went back with an even larger group the next day for dimsum and we had so many tasty things that I couldn't keep track. I did try chicken feet & tripe for the first time, it was oKay. I enjoyed all of the dumplings, shumai and seafood. I wish I had a list of the dimsum. I loved that they came around with a cart full of goodies and we just kept picking from the cart and eating everything. I will absolutely come back next time I'm in Vancouver. read more

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Golden Swan Restaurant has not been disappointed with Great Dimsum. Its menu has a variety of selections to choose from. It is a good Chinese restaurant around the district and again, highly recommended. read more

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Food was yummy. I love that they still have cart service. I didn't like that they charged for every little thing, such as hot sauces, tea (even charged for two babies that didn't drink any tea). I understand this is standard practice, doesnt make it right though. read more

we got to golden swan just before eleven on a tuesday morning, the room already humming with chatter and the clatter of dishes. sunlight streamed through tall windows, glinting off teapots and catching in the soft curls of steam rising from bamboo baskets. the air was warm and alive, steeped in tea and the smell of something freshly fried. golden swan located on victoria drive, has limited parking and street parking, one of the city's og dim sum houses, and only a handful that still offers the cart service. it's a place that's seen generations come through, once a popular wedding banquet hotspot and still a thriving community hub. tables fill with families and friends trading animated stories, proudly showing off photos of grandbabies on their phones, sharing a little sum dim, pouring tea for each other and fighting over who's paying the bill. the carts make their rounds like slow parades, the servers are intuitive and can read a table. each stop revealing the favourites: shrimp dumplings, pork siu mai, tapioca pudding, sesame balls with that crunch, glutinous pull, with black sesame inside, fragrant and flaky egg tarts that practically glow under the light. if you don't see what you want, there's still the paper menu, a nod to both nostalgia and convenience. the congee is silky and generous, dotted with century egg, shredded salted pork, green onions, and crisp wonton shards. some dishes aren't as fresh and piping hot, tea's a dollar fifty per person, takeout containers forty cents, which is probably why we have a growing collection at home, proof we often order way too much. service is brisk, laughter comes easy, and the whole place hums with great energy, the sound of people gathering, eating, and enjoying each other's company. golden swan doesn't chase trends. it just keeps showing up, steady and familiar, like a morning you know by heart. read more

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THE BIG: Located right off of Victoria and E 38th street. Big indoor seating space that is a little bit dated. Small private lot in front of the restaurant and street parking are available. THE BLACK AND WHITE: The dim sum carts are here! although they're only fried dishes or desserts. The fresh steamed dishes need to be ordered a la carte. We came here with both my wife's family and my family for a sunday dim sum before heading to Whistler for the day. The food was alright and it was definitely not approved by my parents. They were complaining about the flavors of the dishes. We ordered the normal hitters, chicken feet, soup dumplings, cheong fun, egg tarts, etc. Also the beef chow fun! Though the beef chow fun was also mid. THE FINAL BAMBOO: Damage done here for dim sum was 113 CAD for a couple of dim sum dishes and a beef chow fun. It's an alright dim sum spot out of the great dim sum spots of Vancouver. read more

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腐皮卷 and salted egg custard bun is my fav, glad that there are traditional carts going around but it's sooooo busy even though I already made a reso. The portions of the 豉油皇炒麵 and radish cake are crazy big me and my friend managed to each got a full box to go. read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - radish cake - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

It is one of those places that I would not think of going, and this is not a bad thing, it just says this is an institution that has been around a long time before food writing, pictures, social media and other things became a thing. This place, going in, feels like a Chinese restaurant how the early 90's would percieve one to look like, if they have had a renovation, I cannot tell and yet it is one that still does the push cart dim sum service. Yup, you read it right, if you are looking for a traditional dim sum experience, with no fancy rolls, nothing out of the ordinary, and no truffle to trick you on the taste... or the price, well then you have found the right place. I few times when the dessert carts rolled by I started remembering when I was a kid.. how I wanted all those colorful sweet eats. You can still order off menu if there is something you haven't seen yet and you are wanting it. This place is big, as in... there are a lot of seats, the parking lot up front is small, so look around and read the signs, also know that most people who live around this area are going here as it is sort of a community restaurant. Worth it to go re-live memory lane, and a place to go.... if that other one across the street is too long a wait and you need your dim sum fix! read more

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Dim Sum food quality is better than the major competitor that located near by her area after l went to Golden Swan recently to compare each other. However, both of these two restaurants, you will not expect the western style service to assign certain tables for each waiter and get their own remuneration. You need to be more active to speak loudly to the air " excuse me " every time you want to get attention from the server. This is so funny as l notice the relationship between the server and the customer knows each other so well that they don't need to ask what kind of tea leaf would you like?! This is one of the major asset of a Chinese restaurant and especially this is your time you ever been here! You may find the restaurant is so loud , l will consider this is the ambiance created from both of the customers and the manager and the waiter. read more

The food was good bur prices are high. The restaurant had just adjusted all their pricing and had white tape over all the menu items with the new pricing. All items are $24.00 +. The service was good, the food delicious and the portions are very generous. Service was good. The small plates were cleaned off frequently and we were constantly provided clean plates for our bones. We had honey garlic spareribs, chicken hot pot and rice. We were given complimentary mango pudding. It was good but a bit pricey for a Chinese meal. The dining room is nothing special so it is not like we have a fine dining experience. read more

Came here for Sunday lunch. It was fully packed -- thank god we had made a reservation ahead of time! Their menu was extensive and dishes all came in huge sizes. We enjoyed their Peking Duck that came in with 2 eats ($82 per duck which was not bad compared to many other restaurants in Vancouver), huge shumai, shrimp dumplings, congee, xiaolongbao, egg tarts, etc. The staff was friendly and attentive - with the paper menu, they were also pushing carts with food around for you to order additionally. The restaurant was big and perfect for friends and family to come and eat a variety of Hong Kongese dim sum. They also provided microwavable to-go boxes for us to take the remaining food home. The only unsatisfactory I had was they didn't serve the 3rd eat for the Peking Duck -- the duck bone soup. read more

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Overall: Very limited parking in a private parking lot that can be difficult to get out but the location, as a tourist, seems pretty central. Parking: There are probably only 8 or so spots in their private parking lot. If you're one of the lucky few that found a spot, it can be extremely hard to get out as the spots are tight. There is a sign that says if you park on the residential streets on 38th, you may get ticketed. Location: It's off a busy street so can be easily missed. Food: Visiting from Portland, Oregon where the Chinese population is no where near Vancouver, I would have expected better. They did have a dessert that stood out - it s very similar to a pineapple bun with a crunch top and soft center with corn. Misc.: The only reason why I am giving 3 stars is because I saw the manager use his wrist to wipe his nose and proceeded to use the same hand to get some glasses for water. read more

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Really amazing portions. Seafood was very fresh tasting. Great selection of all the Cantonese classics. It can be a little challenging when it's just to get the attention of staff, but when you do, they're very helpful. Very clean and lively atmosphere on the weekends! Make sure to come with friends! read more

Golden swan is a local favorite for older senior clientele and working class. One of the few dimsum restaurants that uses push cart technology to serve its customers. Food is average. Price is not too expensive. Service is above average ( tea pot always refilled) There are no recent renovations as so the ambiance of remains the same as it was 20 years ago. read more

Decent spot for dimsum in Vancouver, especially if you're looking for an affordable place that still uses carts. We called the day before to make a reservation for Saturday dimsum at 11:30 for 4 people. The restaurant has a tiny parking lot in front with maybe 10 spots, but we got lucky and came right as someone was leaving, so we were able to snag a spot in the lot. It was pretty packed when we arrived at 11:30, so this place is definitely popular with the locals. We were seated immediately once I mentioned my reservation. The menu has 4 pages, but only two pages are for dimsum items. The other two pages are lunch dishes you can order. We ordered a couple of items off the menu, but we got most of our food from the carts that were going around. We tried: Steamed chicken feet - texture was good but bland Eggplant stuffed with shrimp Deep fried shrimp egg tofu - first time seeing this dish but really liked it Mushroom rice crepe - this was surprisingly good Scallop dumplings Shrimp dumplings - largest shrimp dumplings I've ever seen Prawn in bean curd sheet roll - first time seeing this but really liked it Siu mai Salt and pepper tofu - surprisingly this was a hit with everyone Steamed spareribs and pumpkin - the spareribs weren't soft enough Deep fried durian balls As you can see, the food was hit or miss. Some dishes were good but others fell short. However, we only paid $20 pp after tax and tip which is the cheapest dimsum I've had in Vancouver or Richmond so far, so I definitely think it's worth it. I'm not sure why, but we also had a 10% discount off our total bill. Some of the other Yelp reviews mention an early bird special before 11, but we got seated at 11:30 so perhaps they pushed back the timing for the special? read more

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Looking for dim sum on a cold wet Saturday in October. 2 hr wait at Western Lake so walked the 3 blocks to Golden Swan....and were seated immediately. There are a few cart items but most is ordered off the menu. Order the har gow (shrimp dumplings), sticky rice, green beans, and spicy squid. They all came out pretty quick. The taste was great and the har gow were huge. It was reasonably priced with good service so a very positive dim sum experience. read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Tried so much of their dim sum here! Portions were big and we ended up getting too much to eat lol. Even for a group of seven, I would only get one dish of everything because you can cut pieces in half. I won't go through it all because that would be too much. Some highlights: - Sticky rice wrapped in leaves had a really good filling to rice ratio. Yummy! - Deep fried pork dumplings were strange--not used to them being so small and having herbs in the filling. I didn't like the filling but the outer skin was delicious and crispy yet soft for my soft mouth. - The BBQ rice rolls were a surprising delight! I liked it more than the beef. - Deep fried durian balls were delicious and lava-like. Could've used more durian flavouring. I didn't like the outside--would've been better in a sesame ball format. - Egg tarts were DELICIOUS. The crust was so flakey yum, my favourite of the brunch. All the other dishes were as expected for a good dim sum! Golden Swan is delicious but no standout dishes for me other than the egg tarts. I'd go back for that! There was also a mishap with one of our orders and when we said to cancel making it right, they took away the dish that they mistakenly gave us.. what a waste of food.. we would've eaten that! Ambience is as expected for a bustling Chinese restaurant! Note that tea is almost $11 extra. Say no if you don't want to pay $11 for leaves in water. read more

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Good Food , good service and good atmosphere.. great for get together . There are tables good for 2 to 15 people .. recommend reservations read more

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Seems there is a common theme among diners, Golden Swan is the recipient of Western Lake's overflow volume. We stood outside for about 10 minutes contemplating what a disaster this can be and how do we carry on the rest of the day having been turned away by Western Lake due to over capacity of waiting diners. We are going to have some awesome desserts to compensate. Basically we were managing expectations of doom. As far as external appearances goes, it needs an update. But renovation is superstitiously known to chase away fortune. Golden Swan's appearances are 25 years plus and desperately needing a makeover. Forward march as my partner dragged along behind begrudgingly. Inside I was surprised how busy and "happening" it was. We were seated swiftly despite no reservation on a busy Saturday morning. We ordered about 5 items off of the menu, and while we were waiting, some push carts came by. We ordered a few more. Shrimp spring roll was a bit on the ultra tiny side. Was okay. The beef rice roll was generously proportioned, In fact most items other than the spring rolls were larger than what we expected. I think they are competing with Western Lake here. The food tasted authentic and standard Hong Kong variety. The short ribs and sticky rice wrap were the highlights. Overall most items were satisfactory and met positive expectations. If you can factor in the msg as part of the idea of deliciousness... The meal was decent and good valued despite high inflationary times we are living in. If you can overlook this book's cover, Golden Swan is still a recommend. read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Came with 3 friends for lunch at Golden Swan. One of the dishes we ordered was a chicken chow mein with bean sprouts. We were enjoying our meal until we found numerous lobster antennules with the chicken chow mein. It concerned us as one of my friends is allergic to seafood. At the time, it never occurred to any of us to complain. Golden Swan needs to be more careful with allergies; when we left, my friend was already reacting to the "seafood" mixed with the chicken chow mein! read more

My favorite dim sum place in Canada is great, but it's incredibly inconsistent with whether you can get in or not. We were turned away and walked a bit to find another place to eat, when we stumbled into Golden Swan. Now, at night they don't serve dim sum, which is understandable but a little disappointing at first. That being said, the dim sum menu is enticing enough to get me to head up for a weekend brunch, because it looks delectable. The menu is expansive, and we opted for three dishes for two of us (which is altogether way too much food unless you want three meals). The hands-down best one was the shredded duck with preserved cabbage and vermicelli noodles. I could eat that every day. We also got a chicken hot pot, which does have bones but isn't terrible to eat around. The last dish was steamed pork and eggplant and it was laden with fresh ginger. We were able to take a bunch home and had two more lunches. It isn't the cheapest place, but a lot of times you get what you pay for, in quality and in portion size. Service was pretty good, and the place is enormous, so seating wasn't an issue. I am dying to take friends there for a large brunch, and also some of those noodles! read more

Great food, good service, good prices. 11 am reservation for Th lunch with the kids. When we arrived the spot was about half full, so unsure if they were needed, but good to have. Great start to a Spring Break day! read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - HK style noodles, gai lan, XLB, etc. - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I hadn't been here in decades until recently. We were here for a special occasion. This review is based on a pre-set luncheon. We started with a cold pate of jelly fish & BBQ pork, shark fin soup, soft tofu & mushroom dish, lobster, chicken, and sweet & sour pork chops. Everything was tasty & decent portions for a table of 10. The favourites were the tofu & sweet & sour pork (quite meaty). Unfortunately we did not have any dim sum. There's limited free parking in front of the restaurant or street parking. Service was great in that they frequently replaced our dirty plates with clean plates. Service was prompt. Plenty of room for large gatherings. Nice ambience. We will be back for dim sum & dinner. read more

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Classic Dimsum place in Vancouver. I've been here a few times already and I've always made a reso in case it got super busy. I'd recommend this place to friends who are visiting town to get an authentic dim sum experience. read more

Oh Canada! Happy Canada Day! Canada Day celebrations won't be quite the same in the city in 2020. How do you celebrate Canada Day? Golden Swan 金天鵝酒家 is a typical Chinese restaurant. It is one of the few pushcart dim sum restaurants in Vancouver. It still remains open for dine-in or takeout during the pandemic. We used to enjoy their sweet tofu dessert 山水豆腐花 that serves in a mini wooden bucket. It was warm and soft. They had a pan-fried station that serves hot and delicious pan-fried dishes such as sweet water chestnut cake, radish cake, sliced taro cake, and etc. However, things are different now. Food and service are not consistent depending on the day. We think their servers are overworked and cranky. You would need to grab their attention for anything. We still like their steamed dim sum, but there is still room for improvement. Golden Swan has a decades-old icon in the neighbourhood. It is located on 5380 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC. Food: 3/5 Can Try! Service: takeout Kids: 4/5 Yay! Price: $30-$50 for two (Lunch) Presentation: 2/5 Parking: 1/5 Tips: *has extremely long line for takeout with 30-60 minutes waiting. *does not offer discounts for takeout. *recommends booking a reservation as it packs up pretty quick. Would I Return: Yes ‍ read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Excellent food, reasonable prices and great service!.... Will definitely return to the Golden Swan Restaurant for their delectable, delicious dim sum!!!... read more

A decent Chinese restaurant for dim sum. The atmosphere is definitely there. Loud and crowded with carts!!! That's what surprised me the most is the carts that are being pushed around. You don't see that very often anymore ...even in hk, they don't do it anymore. They speak super fast Chinese here so watch out for that . Food is decent. I wouldn't say it's the best but it's salty where it is salty and sweet where it is sweet. The sweet goodies aren't as sweet as others so that's good for people who don't really like sweets. No real outstanding dishes that I've had yet but again, a decent place to get your dim sum fix. read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - Table full of foods! - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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This place is very nostalgic for me. It's very hard to find dim sum places that still push the carts around. They do a hybrid model where you can order off the carts or fill out a menu. Most of your standard items you can order off the cart (shiu mai, ha gao, fung zhao). You kind of have to signal your waitresses/hosts to put in an order that's not on the cart. Outside of that, staff here are very friendly and serve well. Not sure if it's a Vancouver thing but the portions here are HUGE. Outside of being good traditional dim sum, that really left an impression on me. Restaurant decor/ambience and price are typical of the usual dim sum places. read more

Food was quite bland. Pretty much everything we ordered needed more salt or sauce at least. Was disappointed. Portion was fair though Service was okay. One older server would only offer green tea because he said "I wouldn't know other kinds of tea" lol read more

We came here after unable to get a seat at Western Lake during a long weekend. I was pleasantly surprised this place has pushcarts still. But you can still order off dim sum menu. Just admit our eyes were bigger than our stomach with those pushcarts . The size of the dishes were larger and also quantity had more (eg. hai gow I am used to seeing 4, not 5). We typically eat dim sum west of Main Street. Who knew past Main Street there would be such a difference? Food quality was good, not high but as long as mom was happy (with size and quantity) I am happy. They do have a good selection for dim sum. We would come back as our goal is to try out other dim sum restaurants in Vancouver. read more

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Portions of dumplings/ chicken feet/ shumai here are actually huge, probably 2x as big as what I expect from dimsum. The congee and rice noodles are more normal portions. Per the rule (and especially because the sizes are huge), 2-3 orders per person is good. read more

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Came here for dim sum and came before 11 so we got 10% off for early bird discount dim sum. Tried some of the dim sums here and overall its alright. I wouldnt say its exceptional, but the very good thing is the cart dim sum that this restaurant still do. So if you are old school and looking for cart dim sum, you may get it here around vancouver. - The sticky rice was cooked well since it doesnt stick with the lotus leaf and tasted pretty well. - The xlb is pretty thick with a lot of flour but the juice and meat inside is one of the better ones in town. - The cha siu bao is just okay. - The fried csb was okay not much meat inside so not that worth it. - The shrimp rice roll was really meh. - The egg tart was pretty good actually but not the best. - The har gow was big and worth it. Totally get this. - The congee was meh too bland. - Avoid the soy sauce fried rice roll. It was expensive not worth it and not that good. Overall, this dim sum place is just okay. Cheers! read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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As an old timer in the East Side of Vancouver, this is a very well established restaurant serving both Dim Sum for lunch and regular Cantonese Fare in the evening. Revisiting after many many years, with so many new Dim Sum places popping up nowadays, its hard to keep up and also visiting these old timers are becoming almost an extra effort! Sad to say, my visit this time tells me; I am not missing out on anything! All the dim sum spells out one word: boring! Don't get me wrong they are not bad, but it's just "boring"! Nothing jumps out, all the quality is evenly distributed! Well, I guess some of the old timers are still doing well because they have been people's lives for so long that they are numb to any changes, and its almost a routine to just go to the same place!! read more

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I came here with my colleagues: four different nationality, three different religion and three different diet. We are all satisfied with the food here. Food was delicious. Just freshly fried crispy dim sum are always good. I found some shumai was very salty or too much MSG. But tons of jasmin tea cleans off. It was not so bad. I want to come back again and stay longer to complete till dessert. read more

Golden Swan Restaurant - I had booked table and confirmed by phone before but we have to wait at least 15 min. - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I went here with my family on Sunday. We all enjoyed the food as usual until something happened. My sister took leftover bean curd roll and there was a paper in our food. We didn't see this until few days after. I went back 4 days after, and the supervisor or assistant manager had a closer look and she apologized about what happened. She said she'll give either a refund or new dish, so I got a refund for $5.85 instead. She was quite helpful about my complaint. However I don't think I want to go back after seeing the paper. I'll go somewhere else next time. read more

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Great place great value, just look at the size of the Dim Sum. One of the only few with old traditional HK style carts where you see and pick your food they practically Digest anymore. Always lined up for dim sum on the weekend. Note during dim sum peak hours even with reservations expect to wait at least 30 minutes once you arrive. The only downside is this place been there for a long time so it's little rundown and dated. But value and food is totally worth it. read more

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Service was excellent with each and every staff member having been helpful, patient and courteous. This counts for something and perhaps made up for what was somewhat of a sparse experience. As other reviewers have mentioned (sorry to say!) - this definitely seems to be an overflow option when Western Lake is unavailable BUT forget that because I don't think that the food is any bit worse here, and if anything the service is better here! It's just that they did not have many carts coming around but rather, it was standard procedure to order from a list. For me, this takes away alot from the whole dimsum experience - it takes away the ease and fun. Having to look at a list of items and trying to figure out what's what, versus visually seeing and selecting, led to us asking alot of questions, having to wait on orders and overall, just not being able to enjoy a seamless and comfortable meal. But again - service was excellent, food was great, portion sizes are great, and prices are on par with other dimsum spots. We would definitely go again - with hopes that they will have a fuller rotation of carts on the floor. Black Sesame Balls 10/10 Chicken Feat (Huge!) 6/10 Shrimp Shumai 7/10 Shrimp Dumplings 8/10 Rice Crepe With Shrimp 9/10 Shrimp & Leek Dumplings 8/10 Pan Fried Taro Cakes 5/10 Steamed Pork Buns 5/10 Chinese Broccoli with Ginger 7/10 Sautéed String Beans with Pork 8/10 read more

Golden Swan restaurant has some of the best tasting dim sums and congee that I have ever tried (and I tried many other restaurants). Their service is incredible compare to most Chinese restaurants that I have been to. We waited for our food for less than 5 mins and they were all steaming hot and fresh! I would highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who wants to try a new dim sum destination . I'm definitely going to go back there for their dinner offerings. read more

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