Food and service are great. I always have dim sum here. They are pretty busy and it's my aunt's favorite place. I recommend you get here as soon as they open on the weekends. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Special order food and dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

I read the other reviews and was forewarned of the bad food and bad service but REALLY wanted to eat where Obama did. Although we had Yelp reservations we didn't need them despite being prime dim sum day and time. I glanced around and was surprised that there were several tables of Chinese families with their grandparents and groups of elderly Chinese diners and ...growing up this was an indicator of good food. We had to order our food off of a paper menu with dishes written in Chinese and English. As an ABC, I struggled because I can't read Chinese but didn't understand the weird English descriptions of the dishes....I later saw non-Chinese with a picture menu but it did have a much smaller variety. In the end, we received decent dim sum with attentive service, when called upon, in a clean restaurant-- growing up a clean restaurant in Chinatown was unheard of. Everything was fresh but nothing was horrible and nothing was amazing. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Only ate here because Obama did lol - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Buyer Beware! Lured in by the charm of Obama's smile on the front door, the unsuspecting guest might be tempted to dine at this establishment. However, what lies behind the foyer is, well, lies. Disregard the charming façade of chandeliers and soft lighting and focus on the food: We spent over $100 for bland, inauthentic food, minuscule portions, and subpar service. We ordered Mongolian beef, chicken, fish, vegetables, and sour and spicy soup. They were all extremely bland- the beef's texture was that of a rubber eraser and I suspect that the key ingredient in the sauce was ketchup. The asparagus in every dish was very evidently just roughly cut and thrown in - it was very tough, fibrous, and stringy. The vegetables and chicken - or just the foods overall quality - can't even hold a candle to the takeout at Ranch 99. To add insult to injury, the portions of all the dishes are tiny, totally unjustifiable next to the exorbitant price tag. Save your money and your stomachs. Avoid this restaurant at all costs. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Mongolian beef - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Some of the dishes were bland while others were great. Specifically the chicken feet, sticky rice in lotus leaf, and xiao long bao were disappointing. The dishes came out fast and the waiters were very responsive. The price per dish was a bit more expensive than usual. Just based on the quality of the food, I would not take the risk of coming back. read more

You know what they say about dim sum places--if it has a 3.5 stars you know it's good. The only reason why this place has 3.5 stars is because of service because it's hard to flag servers down and they don't give you things like water unless you ask for it lol but food is solid. It was also really loud in the lower room I was yelling to talk to my friends because everyone else in there seemed to be yelling. Get the shrimp rolls and honey walnut prawns. And come here if you want to have a legit dim sum experience read more

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Came here for dinner after watching the parade and it was nice that they www really able to accommodate our group of 7 right away. We ordered 5 dishes to share and the serving sizes was very filling. The chicken fried was seasoned slightly and adding a little bit of chili sauce gave it a kick. The beef chow fun was a little bland and needed more salt. The greens been with minced pork was seasoned and had a nice crunch texture but was served a little cold. The spicier salted baked spare ribs were pretty good but took a little bit of time to get. The star of the meal was the Peking duck with steamed buns. They had a nice fatty flavor with ample amounts of duck meat and crispy skin. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Peking duck bun - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great food! Try their Steamed Chicken with Ginger Scallion. I live in the East Bay and this is my favorite Chinese restaurant in SF.

Are you kidding me with this food! I had the salted pork and preserved pickle soup and it had the most rich and delicious flavor. Umami overload but in a good way. We also had shrimp fried rice, sweet and sour pork and potstickers. Do not sleep on the chili oil, someone's Mimaw is surely sitting in the back making it lovingly by hand. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - 109. Shrimp Fried Rice - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

My worse nightmare with the severs. They are very rude. They don't care about you as a customer if you are not Chinese.

They are veryyy rude here. Nothing special. Don't ask about Obama cause they don't wanna talk about it. They added their own tip to my bill which really put me off. I gave them $10 for a tip and they were pissed it wasn't the $11.70 they put down. Never had our water refilled, had to ask for forks, just overall rude demeanor. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - they added their own tip to my bill - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

The next door restaurant was busy and we couldn't wait any longer to eat so we decided to eat here. The place was of course not busy and the decor was mediocre. The beef and vegetables dish was good and we all liked it. It's slightly sweet and salty. The green beans were not as fresh so they were soggy to the bite, but the flavor was there. The duck was good in flavor and something I would order. Placing it in the bun was nice. The mystery meat pot was horrible and lacked everything you can think of. Stay away from this thing. Stir fried pork was edible and average. As well as the salt and pepper pork. The service was good overall. This place needs chefs who can cook because it's a huge restaurant with potential to be great. Especially being next to a famous restaurant in China town. I would set the bar high for my food and dining experience for the guests. read more

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I love this place, we come eat here every time we come to San Francisco. The service is kind and the food is delicious. I guess the portions could be just a little bit bigger, but maybe I'm just being greedy for more haha. Random tidbit I really love their green tea, not sure what it is about it but it always hits the spot after walking around China town. read more

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The food was absolutely delicious!!! I had never had sweet and sour pork that was crispy and tender at the same time!! The dim sum cran balls were to die for- all of the dim sum was amazing. I highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely be back next time I'm in San Francisco! read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Obama ate here and I see why!! Soooo good and worth the trip! - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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First time here, we enjoyed the food. Wasn't too sure what to order but we got a lot of shrimp dim sum. Also tried the duck roast which was very flavorful! PS. Obama ate here too!!! read more

This restaurant appears nowhere on "Best of xxx" lists, but I happened to come across a mention of it with a shoutout for their Seafood Beancurd Claypot, which I was itching to try. *drumroll please* I did not try the Seafood Beancurd Claypot. BUT we did get a chance to come here for dimsum on a Sunday afternoon, and it turned out to be delicious + very fairly priced compared to some of its more well-known peers. Particular shoutouts to the Sesame Ball (SO GOOD), String Beans with XO Sauce, and Turnip Cake. But everything we tried was good, so run here. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant is located in San Francisco Chinatown. It was a warm sunny day, and I decided to head to the City by the Bay (took BART which was amazingly fast). I got there early, so I decided on getting brunch (Dim Sum). I checked Yelp, and this restaurant popped up. So I walked there. Little did I know (until I got there) that President Obama had gotten takeout there in 2012 (I vividly remembered the news reports back then). I entered, and the place was half full with many seniors having breakfast. The staff were attentive and helpful as I was seated. You order off the menu, so I chose two standards (Steamed Custard Buns and Steamed Chicken Claws) and two more unique dishes (Cilantro Shrimp Dumplings and Eggplant stuffed with Shrimp). The Eggplant came out first -- it was delicious. Next came the Cilantro Shrimp Dumplings, soon followed by the Custard Buns and Chicken Feet. I would have thought the last two would have come first. The food was good, and the service was good as well. Lots of discussions in Cantonese overheard. I will definitely keep this place in mind if I'm in Chinatown and looking for Dim Sum. read more

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I would not recommend. I ordered family dinner for two. I will not choose this option again. Expensive for what they served, portion was small, and food lacks flavor. Check your receipt before leaving, server will automatically add tip without your consent. read more

Officially my new favorite dim sum restaurant In SF China Town. Unfortunately our old dim sum place closed down and got turned into a super market. So we were left wandering around China Town and decided to stop here. Let me just start off by saying the customer service is amazing! All the employees were kind and extremely attentive which was so nice to see. & the food?! *chefs kiss!! Was delish!!!! My favorites were the turnip cake (perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside), salt & pepper fish fried rice (doesn't show on the menu but they have it & its the best one I've had so far!), sesame balls, and their Shuman! Will definitely be back and try more on their menu. read more

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It's been awhile since I have dined in for dim sum in Chinatown. Many of the dim sum houses where I have dined are no longer in existence as people have ventured mainly to the Peninsula and South Bay, where many dim sum restaurants have opened. A friend and family were in town and we were meeting them for a dim sum lunch at Great Eastern. Since I have never been here, I was looking forward to the lunch. I was expecting the servers with the rolling carts of dim sum items in the bamboo steamers where you ask for your preferences and hope it's in that cart. If not, you have to keep an eye out for the next cart and hope it has your favorites. Not a really pleasant way to enjoy your dim sum meal. At Great Eastern, you get Here at Great Eastern, you have a two-sided menu listing with a picture and name of the dim sum item, which is helpful for non-Chinese speakers. You select your items on the order sheet and submit it to the waiter. Then your custom dim sum order is brought to the table hot and fresh out of the kitchen as they are prepared. We put our trust with our organizer, Mike C., who is a regular here, to select his favorites for us. I was happy as I got to just sit back and enjoy the delicious dim sum as it was brought to the table. Our food selections, which I ranked: Shrimp dumplings (har gow) - wrapper skin was thin. Very good! Black sesame balls - served hot. This dessert was delish! Dried fried bean curd roll with shrimp - nice crispy shell with a tasty shrimp filling Rice noodle rolls shrimp - the noodle was not thick with a nice texture Rice noodle rolls beef - the noodle was not thick with a nice texture Pork and shrimp bean curd skin rolls - good Siu mai - good Steamed spareribs - good Chicken claws - good Steamed beef short ribs with black bean sauce - the ribs needed more steaming as meat did not come off the bones easily. Sticky rice in lotus leaf (didn't try) Deep fried taro turnover with minced meat (didn't try) It was a delicious dine-in dim sum lunch. Thanks for Mike C. for choosing this place. The food was very good and is better than the take-out dim establishments. Yes, the price is higher, but quality is higher. l now know where to go for dine in dim sum in Chinatown. This place met President Obama's approval as he came by to pick up his dim sum order when he visited San Francisco. (See news article at the entrance). read more

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While we exploring China town. We were looking for a place to have some lunch and let me tell you there's tons of places to choose from. So we came across this place. So we decided to eat here. Also Obama came here for their dim sum so if it's good enough for him, then it's good enough for me. The food was fantastic!!! They bring you some very hot green tea to start with. Everything we ordered was just delicious. My chicken and black bean sauce was the best I've ever had. The hubby got string bean with fried pork. I can wait to come back and try something else. I highly recommend this place . read more

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President Obama was here! Really! There are photos in the window which prove that President Obama ordered and picked up take out food from Great Eastern Restaurant! How cool is that?!? I just wanted to have dimsum in San Francisco's Chinatown. Christine made it happen and then some! She invited a few people and I invited a few friends! Combined, we had an awesome time! We were seated downstairs where the restrooms are located. Our servers were busy and quite efficient. We got a kick out of the reaction of the first guy whose eyes opened widely and with a major jaw drop, said that we ordered too much! Haha! We were starving! Anyway, we had a fun feast and gorged ourselves on shrimp dumplings (ha gow), cha siu bao (BBQ pork buns), fried taro gok, cherng funn, spare ribs, mochi rice wrapped in Lotus leaves, XLB (xiao long bao), and more! Everyone got some leftovers to take home and enjoy again! Thanks to Christine for setting up this foodie adventure! read more

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This is the best dim restaurant in Chinatown and probably also one of the best in San Francisco with authentic and reasonably priced dim sum, although their service is not very good with the shortage of staff almost every restaurant you go to these days since our government had paid and incentivized people not to work and just get handouts so that they will become more dependent on the government. We ordered 11 dishes and had a lot of to take home which was great, and the restaurant charges you for containers which does not make any sense. Anyway, if you have never been to this restaurant and are ready to order, make sure you flag one of those waiters in a green jacket as they don't proactively come by to take your order given they are so busy. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Mushroom Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (siu mai) - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Not sure what happened, but honestly think we found the worst and most expensive dim sum place in all of Chinatown not only in SF, but NYC. I think we had another place in mind, but it wasn't vegetarian friendly so we ended up going here. We think this place is pricey because Obama has dined here in the past. Who knows... Clear shrimp dumplings: soggy skin and just okay. Not the best, but $10 for four pieces? Holy sh*t! ** Fried shrimp dumplings: anything friend is just good. It was served with a sweet and sour sauce, but I needed red vinegar and chili sauce *** Vegetable fried rice: bland. Cannot taste a thing! * Cashew Shrimp: very Americanized take out vibe with a high price tag. Pass * Shumai: okay for what it was. Above average, but still very pricey *** This place overall, a pass. Not many ppl on a weekend night and one person that walked in, sat down, looked at the menu, and walked out. There isn't much dim sum options and what they have is mediocre and overly priced. For someone that lives in a strong second high cost of living area, means a lot. Would not go back here every again. There is a to go dim sum spot across the street that seemed like a better option, but no seating... We were all hungry so it at least took care of the utilitarian need. read more

Typical Asian dimsum place and standard prices! (Around 5.80 per dish) We came on a Sunday around 12pm which is usually very busy for dim sum. We had put our names down in two places and great eastern was fastest. The wait was quick (15-20mins) for the number of people who were in line - make sure to grab a ticket number from the hostess! We marked everything we wanted on a piece of paper to submit. The food took a bit long to come. Compared to other places where u get multiple dishes at the same time, we got maybe 1-2 dishes every now and then. Probably just a busier day. Food was overall great though! They were also able to split our check 3 ways! read more

First of all, had made reservations and still had to wait and take a number. I saw the busy hustle of the staff so I didn't mind the 10 minute wait. I saw some tables were getting ready to be free so the lack of keeping to the reservation didn't bother me too much. Easy pencil paper process, you fill in the amounts and check off on the items you want. Good array from savory to sweet. Very good flavor and portions in each dish for two people we ordered about 12 items and were very satisfied. read more

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great cantonese food. great service. restroom downstairs is a bit funky. easy to get too.

Not bad, but not mind blowing. We ate here after searching Yelp for a sit down dim sum place in Chinatown. This place certainly had its share of famous visitors, judging by the pictures on Yelp, so we figured why not. First observation: the check in process was an absolute cluster. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knew how to get their name on the wait-list. There was a large group of people aimlessly waiting on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. I decided to enter to find staff to figure out what's going on, only to find another cluster of people waiting in the lobby. I finally found someone that worked there, and when I put my name on the list, everyone in the lobby and outside followed my cue. Apparently they'd all been waiting around and got zero help whatsoever from staff. Did the staff think all these people came just to stand around for fun? What's worse is even if you stand at the host stand, no matter for how long, the person there for some reason won't acknowledge you until you take two steps to the right side of the host stand. Then he'll instantly engage you and put you on the wait-list. It was truly the weirdest thing I'd seen in a restaurant. The food was good-not-great. You order on a written form. We didn't know they had picture menus until after we put our order in. We had to go by the choppy English descriptions of each dish on the form. Honestly so many dishes sounded the same. Naturally, we received a few dishes that were nothing like what we expected, because the English descriptions were so bad. On the plus side, the tea was quite tasty. We left mostly satisfied, but it certainly wasn't dim sum to write home about. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Entry - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

Authentic dim sum in the heart of Chinatown. Service was rushed and weren't very welcoming, even though we came at a low traffic hour. They kept trying to talk me out of getting the chicken feet, like I didn't know what I was buying. Good was really good everything came out hot and was seasoned well. Just don't expect much for service. read more

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Nice place to stop while visiting San Francisco. I went to the Golden Gate Bridge, I took a ride on a cable car, I went to Fishermans wharf, and of course... I went to Chinatown. I don't have a deep understanding of how dim sum works, I just know that I like it. Great Eastern had high ratings and an extensive dim sum menu. Come to find out, most of the dim sum is available early in the day. I ordered a couple of offerings of the limited dim sum menu and the chicken dish that was very nice. The place had a catchy vibe that came across just a little bit tired. Everything looks pretty clean and the food was pretty darn good. In my opinion, it was a bit on the expensive side for what I got. But I must also admit that I am not from the area so I can't really tell you if it was expensive in comparison to other local restaurants. In a nut shell, I would go back. I would go early in the day and go crazy with the dim sum menu. I have no complaints with the place. I appreciate their fruitful efforts. read more

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Good dim sum but giving only 3 stars because they automatically filled up the tip amount on my bill. What? That should be up to me!

Food is very bland. Not good at all. They charged tip for 2 people. So I assumed that they add tip automatically to your bill regardless of how many people were in your party. Service was not good either read more

It is an ok tasting dim sum restaurant. I was not overwhelmed by their taste. We had the pork short ribs which was the best tasting dish we had. It was very well seasoned but the meat was a little tough. The shu mai were great with a thin skin, however the meat was quite fatty. The beef chow fun were absolutely disappointing and I was so looking forward to them. The rice noodle itself was quite bland. The sauce that the waitress poured on top was not enough. The beef did not taste like beef and was super bland despite the dark color. The fried shrimp were crispy and well seasoned but very greasy. read more

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An old standby. I've been going here for over 25 years. Great seafood veg dishes. Favs include the shrimp or shrimp an scallops with XO sauce with asparagus and any of the simple vegetable dishes- Gai Lan with oyster sauce, pea shoots simple cooked with garlic and ginger. Also good for dim sum. Nice selection of non-meat choices carefully prepared. read more

Went to this place as a friend recommended it, said famous personalities came to this place. My friends and i went in, we were directed to a table and we looked at the menu. We were ready to order but no one came, not so friendly, we waited and waited, we finally waved to get their attention. Finally placed order, some of which came fast but the others, we thought they forgot as we almost finished everything we had on our table. So we waved again and told them we still have 2 more orders that didn't come yet. And we waited again. Anyway, we know better and have some other Chinese place to go to. read more

My friend Mr. Cheung has always recommend Great Eastern and today I had the chance to visit for the first time after many years of recommendation. We ordered a variety of dishes that included Chow Mien, Orange Chicken, King "Bow" Chicken, Peking Duck, Walnut Shrimp and a few other dishes. Each dish was made fresh to order. The service was friendly, and fast. The restaurant itself was busy on a Sunday (holiday) weekend. We did have to ask the waiter for a missing dish. It's tough to know what is authentic Chinese anymore. Panda Express still has the best Orange Chicken (even for a fast serve restaurant). Avoid it here. read more

I made a reservation here at 10am before going on about my day! I've read a lot of great reviews about this place so I was really excited to try it. It was already pretty packed when I arrived, I had to be seated downstairs. This isn't the traditional dim sum cart but the menu and order form are already on the table and you just fill it out. I actually really like their ordering process. The food came out in a timely manner and they didn't forget anything that I ordered. What I got- 2 order of their shumai (#5) -2 order of the shrimp cheung fun -1 order of the beef cheung fun -1 order chicken feet -1 order shrimp hargow This was way more than enough food split between my bf and I. The shrimp cheung fun WAS SOOOOOO good!! Their sauce was more on the sweet side but I really liked it!! Also their chicken feet was yummy!!! Shumai and hargow were both good but nothing special. This place was alittle more on the expensive side. With tip and everything, we spent $50 here. They also charge 1.25/per person for tea & water. But overall, the food was pretty good! read more

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Looking for traditional dim sum at a reasonable price and good service, try Great Eastern and you won't be disappointed. The decor has not been updated for a long time, so focus on the food only. read more

Great Eastern Restaurant - Outside - Dim Sum Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Very average dim sum in a very touristy location. Pretty pricey (~$23 per person) for not that great quality food. We had a reservation for a party of 7 on Sunday at 1 p.m. but there were empty tables when we got there, so I think it's fine to make a reservation the morning of even if you're coming with a larger group. Service was normal for a dim sum place - we had to go up to ask for water, takeout boxes, and the check, but once we asked we got them quickly. You order by writing numbers on a sheet of paper that lists all the menu items. I think a lot of the takeout dim sum places in Chinatown (e.g. Good Mong Kok Bakery, Delicious Dim Sum) are better, and I've also heard better things about places not in Chinatown (e.g. Gourmet Delight in Oakland). On the plus side everything here was pretty hot and fresh. But honestly I don't see a reason to come here other than to say you've eaten where Obama got takeout. 2.5/5. My favorite items: -48. Pan fried bitter melon stuff w/ fish ($5.20) - bitter melon is pretty good (pretty bitter), inside is like a regular fish ball. -20. Steamed taro cake with dry pork ($5.20) - good flavor, generous taro throughout. Came out nice and hot. Average: -5. Mushroom pork & shrimp dumplings ($5.20) -6. Steamed spareribs ($5.20) -9. Shrimp dumplings ($5.20) - skins were too thick but otherwise they were fine. -10. Snow pea sprouts & shrimps dumplings ($5.20) - these were better than the regular shrimp dumplings. -26. Steamed spareribs w/ rice noodle ($5.50) -29. Deep fried red bean balls ($4.50) -42. Pan fried turnip cake ($5.20) -45. Eggplants stuffed w/ shrimp paste ($5.20) - most of the flavor is in the shrimp paste (the eggplant has very little flavor). -65. X.O. spicy rice noodle roll ($7.20) - not spicy and too salty. Below average: -15. Steamed Shanghai pork dumpling ($5.20) - the thickness of the skin in the photos speaks for itself. -24. Sticky rice in lotus leaf ($5.50) - meh, rice was barely sticky and felt kind of like regular rice. -43. Pan fried leek & shrimp dumplings ($5.20) - really not good. Very thick skin and not much filling. -54. Rice noodle roll stuffed w/ shrimp ($5.50) - did not like these shrimp rice rolls. The rice rolls were thick and the texture was not stretchy, and they were also weirdly sweet. Other things that were ordered that I didn't try: -2. Steamed pork buns ($4.50) -7. Steamed beef balls ($5.20) -8. Steamed chicken claws ($5.20) - the chicken feet was a favorite among my friends. -16. Steamed beef tripe ($5.20) - bigger portion than expected. -23. Steamed beef short ribs with black pepper sauce ($5.50) -41. Pan fried leek & shrimp dumplings (3 pieces) ($5.20) read more

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Overall, a great dimsum place offering reservation ahead of time, and delicious small bites for low cost. Food (4/5): not the best dimsum in the bay, but definitely above average and relatively cheap for SF. I usually get the pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and custard buns but everything here is good. Service (3.5/5): as most authentic dimsum places are, service can be a little slow at peak hours. Ambiance (4/5): great sit down restaurant, lots of tables and can seat large groups read more

Decent spot for dimsum in Chinatown but not my favorite. Apparently Obama and Tim Cook have been here, as their pictures hang proudly on the wall outside the restaurant. The good thing is that they take reservations, so my friend made one a week beforehand for our party of 4. They weren't too busy when I arrived around 12:15 on a Saturday, so I'm not sure whether it was really needed. There are two levels of seating, so it's bigger than it initially looks. The ordering is by marking up a menu, which is pretty typical these days. We ordered a bunch of items to share. My favorite item here was probably the chicken feet. It had the right flavor and the meat was soft and fell off the bones. However, I thought some of their other dishes (such as the fried taro puff, pork ribs, etc.) were on the bland side. I was also impressed with their mango pudding. It a lot bigger than the mango puddings I typically see at other places. Food came out quickly, but service was slow at times. I didn't see the servers walk around too much, so it took a while to catch someone's attention and call them over. read more

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