Years ago, Mei Sum was the very first dim sum restaurant I had ever been to. I thought it was amazing, but I had nothing to compare it to. I started on a quest to try all of the top recommended dim sum restaurants. Even though the others were good, Mei Sum has always remained the best, and my favorite. They have a wide array of dim sum and other really good items on their menu as well. Aside from their fantastic dim sum, one of the stand out items from Mei Sum is their Garlic Softshell crab. It is DELICIOUS!!! I have never had anything like it before ANYWHERE. The service is always good also, but they already know me there. I am the food porn queen, so they always ask to see my photos and ask if they came out good. Mei Sum dim sum.... I love you!!! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Garlic Softshell Crab - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Food was hot and came to the table fast. It was busy in the restaurant. All the food we tried was cooked well and tasted good. The tea I enjoyed. The AC I enjoyed too. Why only 4 stars? Because the Service is a little slow when you need questions answered or need to order something else. They did make a mistake with what we ordered but they changed it and we had to wait. It was still a great meal. We couldn't finish everything we ordered. We would come back but not go out of our way to come here. I believe we ate here before but it wasn't the best experience and so we didn't try it again till now. read more

See all

I've eaten at Mei Sum when they were at the corner of Pauahi and Smith Street...and I thought the food was pretty good....well....can't say that anymore...sorry. Went there today with my girlfriend...ordered the following: Black bean sparerib - very bland...hardly any black bean flavor Harn Siu Gok - tasted like the oil was old Pot sticker - nothing to write home about...kind of bland Siu Mai (they said they are famous for this) - very bland and uninteresting Fried soft shell crab - very oily and tasteless. Price is ok...about $18 for all of this, but it simply wasn't good. Service was sketchy...had a hard time "flagging" someone down. couldn't get them to bring us the check when we were ready to leave I was amazed that there are so many FOB looking Chinese people eating there....I was not impressed and probably won't bother going back... Give me Happy Day or Royal Garden anytime! read more

This is my favorite dim sum places from all the dim sum places I've tried here in Chinatown. It's cleaner than their old area, food is great and they also sell regular Chinese food. My favorites are the seaweed roll, fried shrimp gao, garlic eggplant with fish cake, seafood dumpling, shrimp and chives. Aside from the dim sum, I also like the Mei Sum house fried rice, green beans and pork. For the fried stuff, ask for their mayo. It's a sweet mayo if you taste it by itself. I mix the mayo with soy sauce & chili sauce, it's just my preference, but I think it's not the way to eat, so just try, see what you like. I use my sauce usually used for the fried shrimp gao, but I like it with the seaweed roll and when I order the deep fried soft shell crab, you bet I'm dipping it in there! So try the mayo sauce I suggested or plain sweet mayo...then you write your own review. They give a tapioca dessert during dinner only! read more

See all

Mei Sum is my favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. The food is DELICIOUS, service is pretty quick and the prices are good. They have really surprisingly good dishes at times, like their garlic chicken wings which would rival most chicken wings in town or their Char Siu Look Fun which is just heaven on a plate. read more

OK. Let me first start off with: I have learned to lower my expectations here in Hawaii when it comes to food. However, I am disappointed that a place with such a strong Asian culture could dish up such an awful food experience! I get it, really I do, lunch is busy so I don't expect my server to me up my ass. But at a dim sum place......can I please get more than one cart to serve the whole restaurant?????? And can it come to my table more than one time in 30 minutes????? I'm begging you. Please. Do. Not. Make. Me. Order. From. The. Menu. It defeats your purpose as an establishment and defeats my purpose in being here. That is all. Oh wait. The food here sucks. Now that is all. read more

See all

If i could this place zero stars I would This is a long time review coming. I went here with a group a friends to have lunch. While we were eating the waitress kept coming and asking if we needed anything else. We couldn't even eat what we had first like they were trying to rush us out. After we said we didn't need anything they brought us the check and kept coming around asking if we were ready to pay. Yet we haven't even finished yet. I decided to look at the check the lady came and asked if i needed help reading it which i did not. I just wanted to make sure it was correct. Once i looked it over I continued to eat my lunch when the lady kept coming over and asking if i was ready to pay. I will not be coming back to this place. There so many other good dim sum restaurants in such a close proximity. Do yourself a favor and get better service and dim sum somewhere else. read more

My fave dim sum place on island...they serve dim sum till about 9 or 10 pm...my fave time to get sum sum because there's no lines, then. I'm not a super exotic dim sum eater, so I'm looking for tasty, non-chicken feet items, which this place delivers on. The restaurant is a good size but not too overwhelmingly big, and the service is pretty fast. My faves are the: Bean curd (best on island, in my opinion) Soup dumplings Chicken mushroom buns Fast, simple, cheap. Located in the heart of downtown and they have their own parking lot. It's enough for me to keep coming back for more and more. read more

Newbie friendly :) We saw that the servers are really nice and are willing to explain in detail what kind of dim sum they have in their carts. Some of the servers try to slip you plates without you asking for them, but if you don't want it just say no! Not a huge selction of dim sum, but they do have other dishes you can order. We're San Francisco- Bay Area natives so we have high expectations when it comes to dim sum, but this place will do til we can go home and get the good stuff. read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Pretty tasty dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I love dim sum. Arrived here the other day around 11:45 with coworkers in tow - 4 of us total. Were seated promptly and it was a good thing we arrived when we did because a line began to form right after we arrived. The new location seems to offer less seats than the last location. The cart came by once and never again - it got stalled on the other end of the restaurant. We had to flag the lady down for more food. The second "order" came piecemeal and although content, I could've eaten more but wasn't willing to wait. I love the steammed dim sum so that I don't walk out feeling gross (from oil). My all time favorite is always the har gau (shrimp dumplings) but I also enjoy the spinach & scallop, bean curd roll, stick rice balls and others. I think we paid $28+tax and tip and it would've been higher if they came around quicker and had food ready when we were ready to order and eat it rather than waiting for it to steam in the back. The plus is that when it did come, it was nice and hot! read more

This is our favorite dim sum place and we LOVE dim sum! A distant second is Tai Pan. This place just tastes the best and the prices are reasonable. We always order the mochi rice in lotus leaf. It's tasty and filing. Then my hubby's favorite, beef ball. We love the flavor of orange peel in it. The garlic eggplant is unique here, stuffed with fish cake and topped with fried garlic bits. Soft shell crab! Come on! Sooo good! Everthing is good and everything is available if you come in at 7am on a Sunday! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Dried scallop, bean curd roll, mochi rice and beef balls. - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Bad service is an understatement here. This is the first time I have ever been to a Chinese restaurant and have had servers not want to stop to take my order. I have been to more packed restaurants and still was served so I don't know what was up with the service here today but with 2 other Yelpers not with the UYE posting 1 star reviews on the same day I know that I am not the only one that received bad service. Let me put it this way, this is the first time I have ever left a Chinese restaurant still hungry. read more

See all

This was my first time ever eating dim sum. A friend of mine took me there because she said it was the best...it was *thinking* OK. The service was your typical Chinese place where everyone and their mother is bustling around yelling stuff in Chinese. We got (pics): prices range from 2.50-4.00 a dish Shrimp Pork Hash Shanghai Dumplings Fried Mochi Shrimp Dumpling Chives I thought the shrimp dumpling chives were yummy, the Fried Mochi was good too. I don't like mochi, but deep fry that bad boy. Hellz Yeah! I was bit turned off when I grab the Shanghai dumping and it's water broke on the table *shiver* just the though of an inanimate thing releasing a load of water at one time creeps me out. But, that's just me, this could be the staple of what makes a dumpling a dumpling, Idk. Like I said first time eating dim sum. read more

See all

Date of Visit: Day after Chinese New Year My best friend invited me and my wife for some dim sum with his girlfriend in Chinatown. I'm always hesitant when I go to eat in Chinatown but heck the best restaurants are always located in Chinatown or Downtown so I gave them a shot. We got there just after noon so it wasn't too busy but the restaurant was still pretty busy. Just like your typical chinese restaurant, the employees aren't too nice and never smile but I was already expecting that. Once we sat, the employees swarmed us like flies in cow poop. They began asking us with a tray of different dim sum platters what we wanted. I couldn't keep up because I didn't even know what I was ordering. The one dish I did like was the fried soft shell crab which was out of this world. The only other dish I remember ordering was pork siu mai and seafood with crispy noodles. Will I be back? Maybe...but I think I'll try someplace else. read more

Love the new location, same good food. You don't go there expecting good service, but you do go there expecting good dim sum. They don't disappoint and the prices are definitely reasonable. I am a regular and will say that its an awesome place for dim sum. read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - whats left - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

See all

Good Hong Kong-style dim sum is available at dinner time, which makes for a delicious variety to enjoy. We had a plate of shrimp and candied walnuts, mochi rice wrapped in lotus leaf, shrimp pork hash, char siu bao, taro gok, deep-fried seaweed, and jasmine tea. Everything was tasty, though the deep-fried seaweed and taro gok were a little oily. Quick service to get us on our way. Full house at 6:15 p.m. on a Sunday! read more

Food was okay - Ehh.. The chicken feet was probably the best, but terrible terrible service. Told me that I would have to wait for a dish but made me wait anyhow for something else I ordered. Water service was poor. Place decently clean but one waitress was coughing up a storm. They also huslted around the place and talked a lot of loud Chinese to the other two workers from across the room. Gossiping about other people, yelling out orders, etc. Other tables lacked attention as they paid attention to take out; all the waitresses did. Would think they would have a plan. Not a satisfied customer all. Would not go back for the price and service. read more

Dim Sum. There are so many in Chinatown, which one should you go to? I was introduced to this place by my boyfriend. He said this place was good so I thought ok lets try it. Like any place in downtown, it is hard to find parking so take your pick street parking or garage. Ok inside appears small, but maybe because there is so much people here and it can get crowded. When you can find yourself a table, the little chinese ladies come with all their all their goodies in steam basket. I get my usual pork hash, etc etc. Anyways the reason why I keep coming here is it is clean including the bathroom, food seems hot and fresh, never cold. The ladies are actually nice here. They listen to you, dont forget or ignore your order and actually refill your water cup and tea. I really enjoy coming here which is why I am a repeat and happy customer and for sure of their greatest fan =D read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Jellyfish salad - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

One of the main reasons why I hardly go into downtown is the parking and the atmosphere. But places like Mei Sum are one of the few reasons I will brave ghetto Chinatown, pay for crap-ass borderline unsafe parking, and ford though the hordes of homeless bums. If you like dim sum, you should try here. The deep fried shrimp and the garlic chicken wings are the musts to try. The shrimp is covered in a crispy, yet odd-colored, shell and the garlic chicken wings are doused in amazing tiny toasted garlic pieces. I love garlic, and I can eat these tiny pieces like Nerds candy. Prices are typical for a Chinese restaurant and the service is fine. I did stare at my empty glass of water for awhile until it was re-filled, but other than that, the service is okay. read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - chicken manapua, deep fried shrimp, garlic chicken wings, deep fried taro w/shrimp roll - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I'm a regular at this place and the food is good. They serve dim sum all day and night, after 3 PM is made to order. Location is convenient for me, only a walking distance. A/C is nice and available restroom. I do both dine-in and take outs. The staff here are very nice. Awesome! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Haven't been here for a few years so I was looking forward to dim sum. Taking out I didn't notice until I got home and opened up the bag I noticed the har cow and Siu mai were half the size! Talk about being disappointed! The saddest part is they also increase the prices!! The food was ok but you don't get the value for the money you spend here!! Sorry I won't be coming back.... read more

Great place to get a good old fashioned Chinese roast meats without paying the post Covid premiums.

We really liked this little place because they were so nice to us. The dim sum selection is average, but it tasted good. The staff were just so kind and accommodating perhaps because they usually get a regular crowd and had never seen us before. They had the traditional Hong Kong style noodles, rice plates etc here as well as dim sum. Everything was very reasonable. read more

We went there for lunch today. I was actually surprised to get good service at a Chinese dim sum place. :p They welcomed us with big smile! We ordered a couple of dim sum dishes ( shrimp dumplings, shu mai, beancurd rolls, soup dumplings, etc.) along with some noodle soup (saimin and won ton noodles). They were all good and so reasonablly priced (aka cheap!). We all liked and, sure we would be back here again! read more

Everything was delicious! Their spicy eggplant is yummmmm!!!! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Turnip Cake, pan fried fish cake with corn, deep fried taro - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Our party of 3 came here during their dim sum hours (7 am- 2p.m) for a light lunch. We ordered multiple orders of: -shrimp dumplings -fish balls with corn -pork hash -spring rolls -steamed manapua Everything was pretty tasty! It was good but not as good as some other places in downtown. We were just happy the service was fast and always checking up on us. Our light lunch was also very cheap. It was like around $6 for the each of us and we ordered multiple orders. If you're looking for a decent, cheap, and fast place for lunch, check it out! read more

Upon reading prior negative reviews, I still wanted to give this place a chance. After 2pm the dim sum is made to order. Desserts are limited so what you see on the menu may not be available (check with your waitress). The location is right across paid public parking which makes it convenient when in Chinatown. I was craving dim sum but sadly made the wrong choice in dining. Reasons why I will not come back. 1. They held onto my cards to wait and see how much tip I would give. The lady kept pointing at the 15% shown in the gratuity guidelines that usually print on receipts at certain establishments. Keep in mind, I did not order a lot, I did not give the waitress a difficult time or made ridiculous requests. They had business. About 5 tables of customers. It was fairly busy but there was more than enough help. So I was pretty surprised but I held my composure as I felt compelled to give them a piece of my mind and decided that this would be my last visit and gave the 15% they insisted. 2. There was hair in my food. So my experience matched previous reviews. This place was not sanitary, not pleasant and I will not be back. read more

Delicious dim sum at very reasonable prices. Everything we had was great, but my favorite -- which I tried at the suggestion of a friend, who had originally tried it at the suggestion of HIS friend -- was the garlic eggplant. Tender (but, very importantly, not soggy) eggplant wedges dipped in some kind of magic, then fried and topped with crunchy garlic bits: YUM. The service here is so-so. It IS a Chinese place, so I wasn't expecting stellar, but still, when you ask what a dim sum lady has on her cart, you'd think she could tell you what she has on her cart; instead, one of the ladies grabbed the laminated menu off our table and told us to look it over. (My friend later pointed out that the eggplant -- the best thing about this place -- was not even ON said menu!) That said, it still gets four stars because of the eggplant. Seriously, even if you're not normally an eggplant person or a garlic person, TRY THIS. You won't be sorry! Parking is readily available at the municipal lot on Beretania, just past Nuuanu; the stairs/elevator let you right out on Pauahi near the intersection with Smith, which is exactly where you want to be! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - garlic eggplant (at top) -- YUM -- and various dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I am a hard critic on dim sum. I would give this a 3.5 stars, not quite, but not just a 3 either. I have only been here for carry out once and this is based on that visit. Shrimp fun is my favorite dish. They had it, which is a plus already. It was good. The radish cakes were decent. My husband ordered some bun thing, not sure what it is called, but just tasted like dumpling filling inside. The coconut sesame balls actually had shredded coconut in it... which I personally do not like. Was hoping for coconut flavored goo. But the consistency of the actually ball was very mochi mochi! When placing my order, I was first told 15min then another person almost immediately corrected and said 30. Okay whatever, I said I will be waiting outside since we were walking our dog. I went in to check just in case at like 20, 25, 30m... They did not let me know when it was ready, but when I went in at 35 it was there. I hope to try this place again dine in. read more

Their dimsum is very authentic and delicious similar to Legend Seafood Restaurant but it is priced a little cheaper which is why I prefer this place over Legend. Also service is great too. read more

This is my favorite dim sum restaurant! I've been coming here for years and they've only been getting betters! They have a new item or two on their menu! You've got to try the fish balls, very tasty! And the baked snow cap taro bum! A real treat for those who like taro! read more

Atmosphere: Rather small. It was crowded around lunch but they were able to seat us quickly. Food: They have a good variety of things to choose from, all of which tasted good. I like that if they dont have them in carts, you just tell one of the servers and they cook it for you as soon as possible. Nothing really stood out flavorwise, however. But it was satisfying. Service: Friendly and fast, which is something that is usually lacking at Dim Sum restaurants. read more

See all

There are several dim sum restaurants within a block from Mei Sum. I like this location mainly because it's cheaper and quicker to get food, especially when ordering something special from the back area, like Char Sui Luk Fun, one of my favorite dishes. Special orders take about 5-10min. Because it's a Cantonese run establishment, there may be a few things different, like Chinese meat balls with savory, which is also amazing! Otherwise everything else is pretty standard and comparable to other dim sum restaurants nearby. Best time to go are weekends - free street parking in metered stalls and in loading zone right in front. While everyone has complained about parking, I've just planned my weekend dim sum trips well around free parking, and have never had a problem. I gave one less star because sometimes the customer service is hit and miss. There are some amazing and kind ladies working the floor, and then there are some pushy ones. It's hard to enjoy yourself when someone's being pushy and rushing you with an attitude. read more

See all

BE AWARE that tip is already included in your bill and to ask what each charge was for. Brought my children here after the Honolulu City Lights Parade. There was no wait and we were seated right away. Food came fast and hot. Ordered 9 different dim sum, salt and pepper pork chops and garlic string beans. Half of the string beans were rotten and 2 orders of dim sum did not arrive. When our server asked if we needed take-out boxes I declined. She insisted that we take the string beans home and I declined again. After looking closely at the string beans she spoke to the other servers in a different language and they continued to converse back and forth in front of us. A different server brought us the bill and I asked her to explain what each charge was for. We were charged for the 2 dim sum orders that we did not get and for the rotten string beans. After another round of our servers (and now kitchen staff) talking with each other, the 2 dim sum orders AND the half-rotten-garlic-string-beans were taken off our bill. After reviewing the corrected bill, I noticed that tip was already included. We were a party of 4, not 24. Service and food was unacceptable. read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - BEWARE!!!! Tip was included in total without my consent (for a party of 4) - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My go to spot for dim sum, Mei Sum is located right across the street from Mark's Garage. Despite being in Chinatown there's a number of parking options such as the municipal lot near by, and they actually have free parking in the back (only a few stalls). Onto the food. Mei Sum has a good variety of dim sum and noodle dishes, everything from pork sui mai to jelly fish. Their noodle dishes are all very good but i'd suggest the house special noodles or the char siu lok fun. Same goes for the dim sum, everything I've had from here has been very tasty, my favorites are the taro puffs, steamed char siu bao, and the garlic chives. Another thing I like about this place is the price, you can easily leave here feeling REALLY stuffed and only pay $10. There's nothing fancy about this place and the waitress can be a little blunt but they all mean well. If you're looking for simply good dim sum for a good price check out Mei Sum. read more

Okay went here a year ago to eat with the family. It's was horrible then and it was horrible now. I read the reviews of others and I really don't see what they did. I'm all about attention to details, my family have built restaurants, flipped them and sold them. First off it is only 1 in the afternoon and they were out of egg custard. From the sound of it, they wouldn't make anymore even if we really wanted it. We also ordered a garlic egg plant in the beginning and while we got our other food the eggplant never came. So we asked about it and was told they didn't have any more now. The customer service was shooty and they were really rude. When we talked to them or order something they would not make eye contact or even look at us when responding. I asked for some Chinese mayonnaise and she forgot about it so I had to asked again 5 minutes later. Then when we needed more another lady told us it's unhealthy so she would only give us a little. I did not come there for health tips but to eat the food. The place was not the cleanest place I have seen. There was food and bits of stuff on the floor. The deco was very boring and felt like a boring restaurant from the 90's. No eye catching decor or conversation piece. Your pretty busy talking about the bad service and how dirty the place is. I did find out there is a better dim sum place down the street that cost a little bit more but is so worth it to go there instead. I DO NOT recommend this place to anyone. read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - Front - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Very rude waitresses, dirty dishes and overall cleanliness of the restaurant were very disappointing for a long time takeout customers like myself who patronized the restaurant for well over a decade... read more

I grew up in Oregon eating delicious dim sum and Chinese food. Was hoping for something to bring me back home, but this really didn't do it for me. Everything we ordered was very tasteless and bland. The price is very reasonable and the food is cheap. Service was good, the waiting staff kept coming by to refill waters and asked if we wanted to order more or if we needed anything else. Food came decently fresh (minus the egg drop soup) and quick as well. Overall, 2 stars for food, 4 stars for service, average of 3 stars. read more

My favorite dim sum place due to hardly having a line, even on a Saturday morning. However because the staff is pushy and the service is not what people usually consider good, you need to know the following to maximize your experience here: 1. Look at the menu BEFORE entering the restaurant. The waitress is already angry at you for existing, indecision makes it even worse. 2. Related to the above, firmly and quickly refuse if they offer you something you don't want. 3. Unless they're currently slinging dim sum at you, service is not very attentive. Keep reminding the waitresses (even not your own) if you're missing or need something, and it seems okay for you to grab mustard dishes or shoyu bottles from empty tables if needed. 4. When finished, just take your check up to the cashier. No need to wait for them. 5. Although its not what I order, I hear specialty dim sum items such as xiao long bao and fried scallop with taro are not very good. Keep it simple with the baos/dumplings/fried taros and you'll be fine. That being said, the fried softshell crab is amazing. 6. Non-dim sum items are only served after 10am (gotta wait for the cook). Every noodle dish I've ordered from them so far has been a hit for the price. In short, go to Mei Sum with the expectation that the service isn't gonna be traditionally good, and adjust your actions accordingly. As long as you're decisive with what you want, there are no hard feelings between you and the wait staff even if you need to have low key shouting matches with them. read more

Whenever I'm craving dim sum I go to this place. I always know what to expect--great dim sum, moderately priced, quick service, no frills, not very friendly, and about as clean as these type of restaurants are. Love that the dim sum cart allows you to eat only as much as you feel up to because it is easy to add on another dish or two. One of our favorites is the garlic eggplant topped crispy garlic--so delicious! Food is on the salty side, but they are great about refilling your water. read more

See all