The food is really good. Reason for the 2 stars is because they DEMAND a tip. I tipped 10% & the lady brought me back my bill and demanded to change the amount and give more. She kept saying to give $15 & change the amounts & sign my initial next to it. VERY UNPLEASANT & SHAMEFUL. The only reason I tipped 10% in the first place was because of the very poor service. Also, if you search "tip" in all of the reviews, there are numerous complaints about the staff insisting and demanding tip. Is this even legal?!? VERY RUDE. read more

We took out dim sum on a Sunday. Food was delicious, order was perfect. I would go back for their regular menu.

Date of visit: Thursday April 19, 2018 Let me just start off by saying that I'm a NYer so I may have had higher standards and expectations than most being I am used to NYC Chinatown. I have been to many a Chinatowns and honestly nothing compares to NYC Chinatown. If you've never been and you're in NY you should make a point of checking it out. That said, we picked this place because of the reviews online. The fact that they served dim sum all day on a week day (Thursday) was nice. After entering the restaurant and greeting the woman behind the cashier counter we were told by 2 different staff to sit at 2 different tables before we were actually seated at our table - guess the saying 3rd times a charm holds true here. They had pictures menus with English food names available which makes it easy for a person unfamiliar with dim sum to be able to order and try these little delicacies. Anything we ordered that they didn't have on the cart, they made to order and were pretty quick with getting it to the table. The temperature of the food served was good but the taste fell short of what I was expecting/used to. When we asked for Oyster Sauce we were told they didn't have any, which I find hard to believe. Based on my personal past experiences (and possibly higher standards) with dim sum and not with any other place in Hawaii, I give Mei Sum 3 stars. As a person who always looked forward to dim sum as a child and still enjoys it to this day I found Mei Sum to be average at best for a dim sum experience. read more

Mei Sum is one of those places that gives locals that sense of comfort and consistency. The dim sum and dishes there are always tasty and of high quality. The assortment of food options are endless and they can prepare almost anything you order or want within 15, minutes. Part of Chinatown, Mei Sum has always been my "go-to" dim sum restaurant, even though I don't work in downtown anymore. Great value. More importantly, they seem to be surviving during this challenging time for all of us. read more

I feel that the dimsum quality has diminished over the years, and Ive only been back to mei sum about 4 times at the current location. I didn't see any foreign immigrants besides the workers. All locals eat there now, and the quality of food is not that good. Maybe they use a lower quality shrimp, and it effects the texture and taste of the dim sum. Inside the restaurant feels dirty, and the middle tables are very close together. I banged one person while coming in and one going out. We went on a Sunday during lunch time, and it was pretty packed, but we were seated quickly. The good service ended there, because after we were seated the cart ladies were bypassing us. We didn't get water or tea, for a long time, even though we had to ask for it. Finally we got water and asked if we could have tea, but she said no because they are short of dishes. But then other tables got tea after us. Our table wasn't bussed, so we had all our bamboo baskets piled up. We ordered a lot of food, but nothing was that great, just tolerable. Back in the day, I used to go to Mei Sum at least 3x a month, I'm talking over 19 or so years ago! Great service, Great food, attentive ladies on the carts, great take out counter! I loved Mei Sum while they were located on the corner of Pauahi and Smith. Faster seating then Legends and a better parking lot. I liked expecting to be the only "local" in a sea of Chinese immigrants, and getting bad service. It makes the Dim sum taste more authentic. read more

This place was recommended for lunch. I was happy to see they were serving dim sum when me and my husband got there (~11am). Everything was delicious! It seems to be pretty well known. I am definitely going back to try everything on the menu. read more

The food was edible to say the least. The service was awful. What takes the cake for the visit was the stored food in the restroom. Granted, the ingredients were sealed but who wants to eat ingredients that are stored in a restroom with NO VENTILATION, in hot humid weather, sitting in shit air and farts. Not I... read more

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

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Okay, that's weird coz I KNOW I've reviewed Mei Sum in the past, however this is when they were still on Smith/Pauahi Street...so many when they moved to Nu'uanu someone started a new thread. ANYWAY... So Mei Sum is our steady freddy for dim sum and general chinese food. In the past 11 years we've been coming here the food is consistent. The service...eh, it's a crap shoot on who you get. lol. End story, I like their food, the prices are decent and that's about it! Here's what my family always gets here, there are two items in particular that's unique to this restaurant that we really enjoy: the deep fried garlic eggplant and Mei Sum garlic fried rice. SO GOOD. You gotta love you some fried garlic tho to get down on these dishes tho! read more

I have never experienced such bad service. Our 1st server was the rudest ever. I brought my daughter with me for her 1st time there. She could not believe how we were being treated by this particular lady. It seemed as though she had other things on her mind as we had to call other server for utensil & napkins. Be careful on the utensils as the spoons were sticky as if it wasn't washed for awhile. . I know this place has been around for awhile but I will never go back to be treated like 2nd class citizen in a foreign filled restaurant. Worst experience ever.. read more

The ONLY place in all of town (outside of Waikiki) that serves dimsum for DINNER! They steam it by order only, everything was hot and wonderful. Husband and I took two of my best clients there who were visiting from Georgia and they absolutely loved it. Mei Sum serves a tasty, cold tapioca soup for dessert, my clients also had the sweet black bean jin doi (fried mochi) which was perfect. Definitely a keeper! read more

Had dim sum today and the chicken feet tasted rotten like few days old and they just steamed it til was steaming hot. The taste was sour and all other dim sum was okay. Wanted to try someplace other then our regular spot but wrong choice I made. read more

Very authentic style with all Chinese workers. Nice people here and good price! Each Dim Sums are tasty and gets packed right away so recommend to come here before 11:30am~. read more

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Decent dim sum. My friend raves about this place. But I find it to be ok. Rather go to my other favorite spots. But hey at least it's open late! read more

Whenever my family eats here we always have the same expectation: good food and terrible service. Today was a bit different though. Once we walked in we see about four employees sitting on a table counting hundreds of dollars while one or two other ladies are actually tending to guests. We get seated and are given menus. Our waitress sets up the booster seat for my daughter to sit on (which was dirty and sticky btw). We order and wait, and wait, and wait. Finally food arrives so we eat. My brother then went up to pay the bill and I put the tip on the table. When we get up to leave the lady stops us and brings us another receipt paper that says a much higher price so we ask her "you charged us wrong?" She said no that's how much you need to pay! Excuse me but isn't the total you give us at the register what we NEED to pay? We put a decent tip on the table and you're demanding more?! I thought gratuity was added on to your bill when your table is 6+ people, not 3 adults and a kid? We just looked at each other and shook our heads. I put her extra $10 that we NEEDED to pay her so we can leave this place and never come back. Bye bye garlic chicken and stuffed eggplant (btw not once did I see anyone of the employees wash their hands after touching money) Hello Nice Day dim sum! read more

The food was good, but the service was horrible. The servers didn't refill our water and brought us the wrong order.

I almost didn't come here last night after reading some less than stellar reviews. My mom and I were in Chinatown to see Dial M for Murder at the Hawaii Theater and were looking for a place for dinner. Because I parked at the Marks Garage, Mei Sum beckoned. The food was delish. We ordered the Garlic Eggplant, Seafood rolls and mochi rice. All were Ono and the price was right. It was time to pay my bill and I was nervous. Would they yell at me for tipping small? NO. They were gracious and grateful. The wait staff was attentive and helpful. It was a good experience all around. read more

Dim Sum is fresh and hot. They also have some new items that I don't recall at other shops. Service is attentive. We normally get there around 11 so it's not very crowded. read more

In the heart of Chinatown. Very Good dumplings! My wife enjoyed her green beans with chicken! Quick service if you order dumplings.

No menu or anything, unserved for over 20 minutes while they served multiple new incoming customers. It wasn't till we were walking out that they even showed a bit of cared. read more

On wednesday at 12.15pm I had lunch here, I ordered shrimps dumplings, etc., after waiting for 10 minutes, 15 minutes later our food was served but still missing shrimps dumplings and fried oysters, after waiting for 20 minutes , I ask the waitress where's the rest our ordered and finally 2 orders were served. This place so dirty , the waitress also being a chasier and touching the money with her gloves that she used to serving the foods , My friend saw the waiter using her hands with the gloves that she touched the money, and not using a spoon to take the sauce to serve, the tea pot is very dirty. Be careful eating here this places so dirty, they are not even care about you getting sick , so disgusting read more

3.5-4 stars overall. Good dim sum and for the money too. Sui Mei was really good as were the other various things I ate. I'll admit I can't remember what I ate because I was brought there by someone who is Chinese and she ordered all the food. I wish I paid more attention. Regardless, go here if you're unsure what dim sum place to try. read more

So I bookmarked this place to try at a later time. I drove to chinatown looking for Pauahi street and my new found dim sum place on yelp. I saw a line coming out of this restaurant and I said to myself, " they have pretty good dim sum there". Then I looked at the sign and it said Mei Sum. Sh*t, I drove all the way to chinatown to check out a place I've eaten at 4 or 5 times. derrrr....sharpest tool? Shed? I parked in the Maunakea parking garage and went to Happy Garden around the corner instead. read more

Mei Sum has been my favorite Dim Sum my whole life I've tried other places but Mei Sum is something else. Obviously be ready to eat a ton because it just keeps coming. The prices are perfect for Dim Sum and if you need a place to park the Smith-Beretania Municipal parking is super cheap and on the same block! Great for family gatherings for morning Dim Sum. read more

First time for me at Mei Sum. Came here with high hopes for a stellar dim sum dining experience. I actually found it rather slow and unorganized, most of the dishes were kinda cold, except for the dry beef chow fun. It was kinda confusing for me because the carts didn't come around regularly and I was disappointed the steamed items cart didn't come around. The spring rolls, even if they were cold we're good. The chow fun was nice and hot when it arrived table side which made up for some of the other cold food. I kept running out of water and had to ask for refills vs being refilled regularly. I would come back, but I want to try the other choices around town. Also, good luck finding a good parking stall... read more

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

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Okay, here is a rant. My biggest pet peeve in all of dimsum-dom is the spelling and pronunciation of shrimp dumplings. Dimsum is Cantonese. Therefore, it has to be pronounced in a pure Cantonese way akin to Guangdong/Hong Kong Cantonese dialect. Shrimp in Cantonese is "ha" like the ha part in yelling "AH HA!". Gau is dumpling. Put those two together and you will get HA GAU. Definitely not HAR GAU. Now you have learned this, please call it HA GAU from now on and not HA GAU. You will confuse the heck out of Cantonese speakers that way. When I was a kid, if I called it by HAR GAU, I would probably be locked up and studying math for the next week. I'm not joking either. So about Mei Sum. I've frequently here a few times within the past year and they are quite inconsistent. Notables from the last visit were HA GAU - Thicker pei than normal, smaller shrimp amount. It'll give the appearance of the normal sized ha gau but it isn't. The taste is right on though. C+ Phoenix Jowls(chicken feet) - This is decent here and on par with the restaurants that serve it well too. A Spare ribs steamed with black beans - Okay. Overcooked on purpose, but nothing necessarily bad on that part. C Siu Mai - Uninteresting. Same thing you can find in most places including take out. Nothing sets it apart from other spots. C Beef balls - Tastes old. You can tell it is old when the color turns purple-reddish inside. I don't mean it has been out for a while, I am just saying the uncooked beef was frozen for a long while. Service is okay. Just okay. Nothing more and nothing less than what is expected of in a Chinese dim sum restaurant. When it is busy, you have to be a go-getter. Not a fan of the newer location as it is a bit farther away from the Chinatown strip. read more

Lesson number #1: Don't talk about your customers in your native language thinking we don't understand because we do :D Lesson number #2: Do not stare down your customer while they're putting their money away to see if we are gonna tip you! Lesson number #3: If you want a better tip, give us better customer service! Lesson number #4: Clean your dishes better I saw visible food stains on it. Nasty. Anyways my friends and I were looking for a new place to eat dim sum and we found this place. Long story short, the beginning of the meal was fine. Their mochi rice with pork is pretty good but everything else didn't taste so great. I didn't think ANYBODY could mess up on shrimp dumplings but somehow they did..? Whatevaaa, but towards the end of our meal we felt as if the older waitress wanted us to leave. Feeling unwelcomed we paid but decided to sit and converse a little but the old waitress kept saying "yeah put your tip on the tray, your waitress work hard". Haha excuse me? Am I suppose to tip? Even after we heard you speaking in Cantonese about how "they think we ripped them off" & "they better tip" & "oh okay they left a couple dollars". I was hoping to find a new place to rave about but oh well back to square one! read more

If Mei Sum is good enough for Kelly Hu, it's good enough for me! Yes, she was dining there this past Monday and my friend was completely starstruck...she couldn't stop talking about it. I walked right past her crossing the street because I was too caught up telling my stupid story to Boy. I'm still mad about it lol. The food is good and prices are fair. I fail for a Chinese because I can't really tell what is good or bad Chinese food but I enjoyed it so it must be good. The fried eggplant was bomb, I highly recommend it. For 8 people, our bill was only $50. The new location is much cleaner and bigger but they need to do something about their bathroom situation. ONE unisex bathroom for the entire restaurant?? Yeah, I don't know about that one. read more

There is one reason, and only one reason as to why I visit Mei Sum, an ordinary dim sum restaurant in the heart of Chinatown that's notorious for bad service: soft shell crab. Deep fried and sprinkled with garlic and green onions, it's so bad for you, but it's so good. Soft shell crabs seem to always be made to order, but believe me when I say they're not afraid to give you food that's been sitting around. I ordered their custard tarts during off-peak hours and received them cold. In this topsy-turvey universe of a restaurant, it's almost better to come when they're busy to make sure the batches keep moving and that you get a fresh one. There's probably a dime a dozen Chinese eateries around the area but the soft shell crab is sometimes worth the extra effort and generally learning to be more aggressive in your ordering tactics: eye contact, flail arms wildly... all in the name of flagging down a server. read more

This was the best dim sum I have ever had! Ordered the string beans with minced pork, shu mai, ha gao, deep fried tofu, sticky rice, and deep fried shrimp.... seriously amazing!!!! I did not go during a weekend. Went on a random weeknight for dinner. You can order both off the regular menu and the dim sum menu. The price is reasonably priced. I would highly recommend coming here for dim sum! read more

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Oh my god ! I just bought a dish of crispy rice cake from this restaurant , after I ate half of the rice cake , found out inside had a dead inside Cockroach . I won't go to this restaurant anymore . Really feel sick of it ! Never again! read more

Mei Sum Dim Sum - After I ate half of the rice cake , just found out a dead Cockroach inside the rice cake , Won't go this restaurant again . - Dim Sum Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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First off the wifey and I went at 7pm on 2.10.13 and yes that is Chinese New Year, but the place wasn't as busy as i expected it to be. We didn't want to dine in so we got a menu to order for takeout. While standing there for just about a minute or two a waitress comes up and asks what we would like to order. So we placed 4 different dim sum orders and the waitress leave. About minute later another waitress comes and asks us what we want to order, we tell her we ordered from another lady, pointed at her and said we want to add another dish. She takes our order down hands it to the original waitress and then she gives her a pissed off look and said something under her breath. It wasn't until 50 minutes later we received our food. And get this within 30 minutes they bring out 4 bags of takeout food and place it behind the counter and leave and say nothing. The Service here is horrible. I really don't recommend this unless you like horrible service. read more

Believe it or not, this would've been my first Dim Sum experience but my boyfriend and I decided to leave the restaurant before we even got our orders placed. That was how bad their customer service was. No acknowledgement when we entered the doors, they didn't bring us water or tea unless we asked for it and they took forever to take our order. When the lady finally came to take our order, we started ordering a couple of dishes and things were getting better until someone who seemed like her "trainer" cuts us off, yelling in Chinese while we just sat there waiting for them to finish where then the waitress says, " . . . and then?" AND THEN?! Are you kidding me. She should've at least excused herself. We continued to order when the trainer comes back babbling on and literally grabs the order notepad from our waitress and tries to start taking our order. That's when we decided enough was enough and told them we were going to eat somewhere else and got off our seats and left. No respect towards their customers nor respect towards their own workers. :/ read more

Went to Mei Sum's new location yesterday for the first time, and it's really clean, spacious and aesthetically pleasant! I actually kind of miss the old location and it's "Chinatown" feel, but it's also really nice to be sitting on brand new chairs, on clean floors surrounded by clean walls. Other than the usual dim sum such as pork has, char siu bun, shrimp dumplings, I really have no idea what the others are called and I just point to the ones that look good. I've been happy with everything I've ever ordered here, and I'm not sure if it's just me, but it doesn't seem as "greasy" here. This last time though, I ordered some kind of taro ball coated with a crispy batter, and it lacked flavor. This visit also, perhaps because the space is bigger and we were in the corner, the cart came by only once, and other than that, we had to tell the waitress to bring us more ________. That was a little disappointing, but at least they brought the food quickly. Overall, this has been and continues to be my #1 choice for dim sum. What else is there to say, low prices, good food, and now a nice clean space. There's not much more to it! read more

Mei Sum used to be one of my favorite places for dim sum, until they moved to this location. The normal dim sum was okay, nothing special. We ordered a house noodle dish and it was super salty with msg. I don't mind a little, but it was ridiculously salty that we couldn't even eat half of it. And the roast duck was pretty sad. The skin wasn't rendered enough so it was a little rubbery and unpleasant to eat. Ugh. Knarly. Anyways, we crossed this one off our list permanently. Won't be going back. read more

(This review is for the new location on Nuuanu.) Whenever one forays into the realm of dim sum, you have to consider multiple factors: 1) Freshness and quality 2) Price 3) Whether there are any uninvited guests present at the table (And by uninvited guests, I'm not talking about your psycho ex-girlfriend with the kung fu grip and hemlock lips...I'm talking about insects!) You also should compare it to its competitors, namely, the Cultural Plaza denizens of Legend, Tai Pan and Good Luck. As far as freshness and quality, this place is better than Good Luck but not as good as Tai Pan and Legend. As far as price, this place is more expensive than Tai Pan and cheaper than Legend, with medium dishes costing about $2.65. (Good Luck is ~$1.80, Tai Pan ~$2.35, Legend is more.) As far as uninvited guests, Mei Sum (found a mosquito in the vinegar bottle) is better than Good Luck (where, on occasion, I've had to dine with cucarachas running across the table) and worse than Tai Pan and Legend, where the only bottom feeder roaches are the downtown lawyers on their lunch breaks. (Sorry, I couldn't help it.) Ergo...save your time and money and go to Tai Pan, where the food is better AND cheaper (a Chinese person's fantasy come true!). For unimpressive dim sum that's more expensive than a better neighbor, this place gets 2 stars! read more

This dim sum place is by far the worst place on this island. I wish I could give them negative stars! The food is not fresh at all and the waitresses are the rudest . A week ago, we came to this restaurant since we had no choices (too early in the morning), I asked the waitress if the food was made and served for the same day, since I had bad diarrhea after I had food in this restaurant last year. The waitress just answered: "Who does that? The food we made yesterday and heat up today is fresh enough!" Th spinach dumpling tasted a little funny as I felt there is some sand/dirt in it. I told the waitress and she just said: "No restaurant will wash the vegetables. You just don't have common sense!" What kind of answer is this??????????????? I guess I was terrified and will never come to this restaurant again. read more

Dear Mei Sum, I enjoy dim sum for dinner. You fulfill this. I like you very much indeed. I especially like your sticky rice, black bean spareribs, and garlic stuffed eggplant bomb of fantastic-ness. I REALLY like the free dessert at dinnertime and would like to order a gallon of your magical tapioca please. I don't see you much these days because I am quite certain your food multiplies my fat cell count. Your char siu bao, siu mai, look funn with shrimp, hagao, fried taro, turnip cake, and custard tarts have LOTS of calories. Did you know that? I wish it weren't true. Sure, I could just not order ten different dishes, but then what sort of Chinese person would I be? One with filled with shame, that's what kind. See you eventually. Perhaps I will be by soon to pick up some of your black bean chow funn. Which rocketh. Sincerely, Angela read more

Dim sum. Really the breakfast of champions. Most people don't know that dim sum is actually a breakfast food, which is why most dim sum place aren't open pass lunch time. But the curiously attractive draw of this place is that the Dim sum is just good not GREAT but it serves that "good" dim sum all day long. It's also pretty cheap for dim sum. I've been here so many times that I've pretty much tried every sort of dim sum they have so I won't go over each one. Mostly because each one is worth it. The taro puff Dim sum is delicious and a local favorite. The spare ribs are flavorful and spiced just right. The meat balls are... meaty, just the way I like my balls. There really isn't anything I don't like. Now I haven't tried their lunch or dinner menu so I can't say much about that but if we're talking about dim sum, this is my first pick. The staff is Chinese so it a bit hard to get your order across but that's the standard for any Dim sum place. They do have a picture menu that you can just point to and they'll bring it over right away. It's really the standard affair, carts go around and serve whatever they contain. You pick what you want and they write it down on this slip of paper that rates the dim sum by price. If there's something the cart doesn't have, you just let the waitress know and the chef in back will make that item to order. So what makes this place better than others? I think it's mostly the fact that they serve it all day long. But don't let that distract you from how awesome the food is. Now if you compare it to others out there like Legends, Mandalay, or Fook Lam, the dim sum isn't the best taste wise, but it's the best bang for the buck and that keeps me coming back over and over again. read more

New location is just as good if not better than the old. The prices and service are unbeatable. I don't agree with the poster who likes Legends and Tai Pan better. We go there too and don't think they measure up lately. Our favorite is still Panda Cuisine across from Wal Mart but if your downtown you definitely should check out Mei Sum. read more

Lots of tea and a busy, popular restaurant means long lines for the restroom :( I love this place!!! Located across from Mark's Garage and next to small boutiques such as Barrio Vintage and Owens & Co. parking can be a little tricky but we've always ended up lucking out and finding metered parking around the corner. It does get busy here so be prepared to wait a while if you have a large party. I highly recommend the look fun noodles, they are chewy deliciousness on a plate, perfect compliment to all the steamed dim sum. My order is pretty typical: *custard tarts *shumai *taro & pork puff *anything with shrimp *baked char su manapua buns (yum!) each delicious morsel gets a good coating of hot mustard and shoyu before being devoured! After eating here you should walk around to the nearby shops, lots of quaint and unique items to buy! read more