Our family loves and enjoys the hainanese chicken and special rice set -- we order almost every other week.

Hey Pop Kitchen. Never going back. Service is bad and waitress is unethical. * We arrived at 1:50 (based on my text messages) and my parents' dish didn't show up until 38 mins later. * I had already finished eating my dish & my parents had yet to begin eating. * When the check came, i looked at the iPad and noted the $29.90 (before tax) total and was surprised iPad didn't give me an option to tip. Later that night I received the email receipt & saw a $5.20 tip was added. * I suspect waitress "had it in" for us because my father kept asking why our dish was late and my elderly parents shared one dish instead of ordering 2. read more

came in with no reservation, and were seated promptly. lots of good options, food was very fresh.

First time here, great concept. Steamed on table cook in front of me, healthy,fresh, great service , will be back again read more

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My wife ordered steamed chicken to go, but what she brought Home was something else, it was basically a shorted container of chopped chicken skin and bones and neck pieces; for 15.00 Dollars l expected a little bit more. I could have had 3 Costco roasted chickens for that price and what my wife brought home from this place was unexceptionable. We will give you one more chance to get right. read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Best Chinese food since coming to the bay. Got to meet the owner and he was probably the nicest person to talk to. He was always coming over making sure everything was okay and everyone was having a good time. Also there are action figures and Funko pops hanging on the ceiling. Really put the POP in POP Kitchen. read more

Pop Kitchen - funko pops hanging from the ceiling - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Came with the family to eat dinner. The Hainan chicken was delicious, it was de-boned and came with 3 sauces. The jalapenos with intestine was very tasty and the black bean clam were nice and juicy. Recommended! Will be coming back read more

Most unique dining experience ever! They bring out a plethora of sauces for you to mix. There's a steamer in the center of each table. How does it work? You basically order by dish, like as you would at a hot pot spot. Your dish comes to the table and the server places the dish you order in to the steamer. They place a timer on it and it will "pop" up once the food is done. The server will come by again to portion out everything. Order till your stomach pleases. Highlights: 1. Sea Bass, it was so fresh and tasty. Cooked to perfection right at the table. 2. Their house made beef balls. These are hand rolled to perfection. Think of the dim sum beef ball with dried soy curd dish. read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

The concept of Pop Kitchen got me excited because it was similar to some restaurants I've visited in Hong Kong where all the food is steamed in a plate full of holes so that the delicious juices from the seafood and meats would slowly drip down into the porridge/soup of your choice. Readers, calm your titties and don't get too excited from that lol They have a wide variety of seafood and they were all surprisingly fresh! I'm not gonna deep dive into each thing I ordered, but just know that everything was quality. HOWEVER, my family and I felt that the seafood was overcooked. They leave each dish in the steamer for a set time - the lid automatically comes up when the time is up. Even though the seafood was fresh, having almost everything overcooked was a little disappointing. Overall though, the food was pretty decent. My favorites were the shrimp paste, beef slices, concubine clam w/ vermicelli, and sea bass. Oh, and the sauce they whip up for you is BOMB! Super garlicky though so if you're trying to kiss someone later on... DON'T DO IT. Another thing I wanted to point out was the HORRIBLE service we got from the waiter who helped us. We came on Sunday around 2:00PM and there were two people working. The waitress was attentive and polite, but the young guy that served us gave us HELLA attitude when we were ordering. He basically hated his job and it really showed. This is the type of shit where you want to slap the waiter real quick and ask why he's still there when he clearly doesn't want to be there....ok I think I've vented enough lol. One more thing that really struck me was that towards the end, the waitress came to check on our soup base. She said "oh no you guys ordered this one too?" ....and our convo went like this: Us: What's wrong with this soup? Her: Oh the other table got this soup and there were bugs in it. Us: ....how did the bugs get in? Her: There are Chinese herbs in this soup and the bugs came from the herbs. Us: oh.... Her: It's okay I'm just checking to see if there's any in your soup. It should be fine. Us: Oh... Her: *picks out something black in the soup* I hope this isn't it....okay I don't think it is My Fam: It's okay I guess it's fine since the soup has been boiling so it's gonna kill off any germs... Me: ...... IM LIKE GIIIIIIIIIIRL YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO HONEST! IF YOU THINK THERE ARE BUGS IN THERE THEN JUST SWITCH THE SOUP OUT FOR SOMETHING ELSE! read more

Tonight I was honored with a Chinese feast I could never have imagined. I believe this is the biggest and best meal I may have ever eaten! Listening to the sing-song of Chinese (in several dialects) I could feel every loving note and the food prepared with pride and kindness. I will never forget this night. The food was amazing steamed fresh with items from early morning China town market. The owners wife made every living special unique, hot and fresh, special-- you could think of. The food was to die for and he can sing!!! Don't miss it! read more

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First time here, and I absolute love this place! According to friends who have also been to Fresh Element (another place for steamed seafood), this place is cheaper and the quality is almost the same. Still, it's pretty expensive overall, and that's where the one star is deducted. We ordered different types of meat and seafood, and the highlights for me are definitely the sea bass and beef: the sea bass are so soft that they almost melt in my mouth. They're very fresh too, so they taste pretty good without seasoning. The beef is a surprise to me, because I initially thought it would be weird to steam beef, but it turned out to be pretty good. They're tender and juicy, and again taste good by themselves without seasoning. The congee is a blast: after cooking for one hour with all the flavor from the steamed seafood and meat, the congee tastes so flavorful. It's super soft and creamy. I would definitely come again! read more

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I find it funny how I live less than 5 mins away from this cute, little spot and tonight was my first time trying this place. The interior is very vibrant and welcoming. It wasn't as busy, so we were seated right away. We were greeted with smiles and great recommendations by the BEST server, Danny. Without Danny, our experience wouldn't be as enjoyable. Danny recommended clams, meatballs (with sticky rice), and the XLB (10 pieces). Our personal fave was the steamed clams! Portions were perfect. 3 dishes were more than enough for a party of 2--if you aren't hungry. The overall experience was great. Would come back just for Danny and the fun POP experience! read more

Friendly service and healthy way to eat seafood. Price is a bit high for fresh seafood. But there are other dishes that you can order as well. Overall almost every dish that we ordered are delicious. Their crab glass noodle was really delicious. Seafood were pretty fresh and cooked just right. It was fun dining experience with family & friends read more

Pop Kitchen - Steam table - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

Hmmmm what is all of the hype about?! It's an interesting place with an interesting name and interesting contraptions that lower from the ceiling to cover your food which gets steamed. However, none of the food was exceptional. End it was very pricey for what we got. It was an interesting experience, however the food was subpar. The food was so meh that I can't remember what I even ate. Apologies about my boring, non informational review. read more

We placed an online order at 6pm for a pick up at 6:30pm. When we arrived at 6:30pm, they let us know that one of the dishes was no longer available, and asked if we would like to replace it with another item. They could have called to let us know since they asked for our phone number when we placed the order but they waited till we arrived to ask. They let us know the order will be ready in 15 minutes (6:45pm). Honestly waiting for another 15 minutes wouldn't lead me to writing this review. Guess what time we got our food? 7:30pm! Poor customer service, lack of efficiency, food might be acceptable but I'm too hangry to be enjoying it read more

Service dogs are not allowed. Owner was completely scared, and was off putting. Yelling in Chinese.

This spot is a gem!! Really cool decor inside and even better food. The best dish I had was the Wontons in chili sauce. Literally one the best I've had in the bay and that is saying a lot. If you're ever in the area support this small business! The owner is extremely nice and provides a great atmosphere. Love it! read more

Pretty bad service, they leave no table for walk-in customers and do not care about the order of groups -- couple Cantonese speaker groups cut in front of us. They are not very honest about the time cause they told us just 20 min but we waited more than 1 hr with several groups cut in. Also the male waiter was very, very arrogant and never apologies for his mistake. I have rich experience in bay-area restaurants, I tried hundreds restaurants here from one $ to four $ and this is my first 0 star rank. Will never come here again. read more

Have been here for several times already, the service is no complains at tall, nice and friendly. The fresh seafood brings me here again, a typical seafood eater. Plus, they give out toys for the kids, which is amazing and makes the kids love this place! read more

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I've been here two weekends in a row and will be back for the third weekend. What can I say? I'm a fan of fresh seafood. If you are into seafood and understand that freshness is key, then this is the spot for you. There is no flavoring (straight up steaming) so the seafood must be fresh or you'll taste it right away. My favorites: Live Shrimp, Razor clams, the Chinese Melon. Not so much: Fish, meat. One caveat -- you need to be okay with a bit of cruelty. The live shrimp is steamed to death in front of your eyes. read more

Pop Kitchen is similar to Fresh Elements where you can steam your food in front of you except this place is a tad bit fancier. They have controls where the lid automatically rise up when the timer goes off. We made reservations for a Sunday night at 6:30 and it wasn't too busy. Service was good and attentive. Place can be a bit small. It's inside a plaza so parking was pretty easy. Food is fresh and you can't really go wrong with the cooking. You can either choose a porridge base or a soup base where you get to eat at the end of your meal after all the seafood juices drip down into it. If you're ordering mainly seafood, I would recommend you getting the porridge base since they go well together. They include a soy sauce dip which went well with all our dishes. read more

Amazing service and food! I recommend ordering the coconut shrimp or the chicken, absolutely delicious. The ambiance is also very cute. Highly recommend this place!! read more

Terrible experience over there ask for Groupon they only allow u use 1 ,when u ask, she's not tell u that ,when u pay then they say only can use one, they just trick you like that ,so bad ! read more

This place is beyond amazing. The food is cooked in front of you, it doesn't get any fresher than this. They have libations which is rare at a dim sum place... Price is reasonable, kids really enjoy the "show". They were very welcoming and super kind to my son, gave him many treats. He also enjoyed looking at the fish in the aquarium we discovered Geo duck which I had never come across to before. Service was very attentive, truly amazing place. We will definitely be back!! Thank you. read more

OMG, As a Cantonese, this is too taste to be true! Come here once or twice a month from south bay! read more

Pop Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

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Pricey, but quality ingredients and incredible taste! Came here on Christmas Eve night with reservation. We ordered the lobster set. I've had this type of "sauna hotpot" before in Guangdong China, and was surprised to find this here. I didn't have much expectations because very rarely does a restaurant in the U.S. rival the flavors of China.. but consider me shocked. The ingredients quality is actually maybe even better than in China (likely b/c the seafood here is very very fresh). The mussels, the clams (which was SUPER sweet), the lobster, the fish, and the chicken rice was all excellent! The flavors of the chicken rice in particular was so fragrant and brought me back home to Guangdong. We definitely paid the price for it in the end, averaging around $60 per person.. But for the quality of ingredients we got and how fresh everything was -- I'd say it was quite worth it, and would definitely come back in the future. read more

I should have read the most recent reviews rather than this total 4.5 ranking. Food is decent. However the customer servers is very bad. No one ever served us tea or cleaned out any dirty plates. It took forever for dishes to be ready to serve (we ate in). When it is time for the check, the waiter stand aside of us and pressured us to give high tips!! When I choose the 18%, she gave me a dirty look. I should have chosen the "custom tip"!!!!! @.@ read more

Ordered HK style sweet and sour chicken which I found out it is not chicken meat. I called the restaurant, I was told sweet and sour chicken is chicken cartilage not the meat. They have chicken cartilage on the menu under appetizers/snack selling for a few dollars less than the sweet and sour chicken. Why don't they call it sweet and sour chicken cartilage unless they want to mislead consumer. The entire dish ended up in the trash, not edible for elderly. read more

Never would've known that this place is right around the corner . 1st time here and would Definitely go back. Clean and excellent customer service . Food was amazing especially with the special house made sauce they make. Ordered dim sum and was freshly steamed in front of our eyes. Everything is cooked right in front of your eyes. No need to to do it yourself . They bring it out and they do everything for you. They do healthy style cooking . Nothing fried but definitely worth a try . read more

Food was surprisingly good. I like the soup they give you on the side with the chicken feet in it and the tasty rice was good too.

Pop did not honor Groupon for $15 for good and drink. Waitress said only on entrees $15 or more. I can't combine entree that cost $13.95 with a drink! I ordered chicken for $16 which came with soup and rice but waitress said I don't get rice and soup if I use Groupon. She told me not to use Groupon. Why are they even on that site if they don't honor it? I did order more than $15 when combining entree and drink but waitress said I can't combine to equal $15. I had two Groupons. I had to order something I didn't want just to exceed $15. The other Groupon was for the $16 chicken that they wouldn't give me my sides. The chicken and rice is good. Everything else was disappointing with service and honoring Groupon. Waitress kept asking me for tip before I even got my food too. read more

My biggest recommendation is to order what you really want instead of opting for the set dinner. Food is fresh is(except my favorite shrimp is not in season read more

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Still sitting here waiting to order. The server hostess is busy for sure. 2 (not 5-6) other tables, takeout orders arriving for pick up & phone ringing. But u know how you feel when you can appreciate busy, but you feel like the server acknowledges you? Or realizes that it only takes a min to get an order (for 1 person), so do that quickly. That it's key the order gets into the kitchen. And the person doesn't have to wait & wait? Well, not seeing that 'server sense of timing' here). More like do everything else, then when she has a miraculous free moment, then get the order. But in spite, like this place. Lots of unique touches from the heartfelt funky decor - superhero figurine hanging from the ceiling - to items that show they take extra care with their food, like the insulated soup containers (watch out - searingly hot, but yummy). And then the Hainen Chicken was great! Perfectly done. Sauces & presentation great. So there you go! I'd recommend this place for some authentic chow. Oh btw, had trouble finding it in the little mall. Called them to help me find them. language issue, but the same hostess hung up on me - lol! read more

Oh, i visit this restaurant multiple times and I found food there is outstanding. The Hainan Chicken was delicious, steamed seafood, fried rice and noodles etc... are very outstanding. Sure will go back anytime soon. Also, the young couple owners are very friendly as well. read more

The steamed seafood are super fresh and yummy. The porridge is really yummy with all the juice from the seafood during streaming. Slightly pricey. read more

Pop Kitchen - Steamed geoduck - Seafood Near Me - Daly City, California

The soup is good and the food are good but the order takes too long to make. I called in to order the food and the waitress said it takes 15-20 min so we get there 20 min after. They said the order is not ready so we wait another 20min to get the order. I feel like they didn't make the order until I get there. Also I ordered pork chop with spaghetti but it comes out pork chop with fried rice. I don't want to go back to the restaurant to ask them to remake the order again. read more

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This is where you can get a very authentic Hainan Chicken with a great portion for a very valuable price!! For about $25 you get a whole chicken with soup and rice, that's unheard of! The best part, most of other dishes are testing so good too!!! Highly recommend it!! read more

If you have a large appetite and prefer your food prepared and cooked quickly, this is not the place for you! You will be certainly disappointed here if you're expecting to have a meal that will leave you satisfied. Why? On our first visit (and last) to Pop Kitchen, we were unaware that the cooking time for your food will take approximately 10 minutes each dish. It is interesting, though, that they do not serve much other dishes that are ready-to-eat. In other words, you will be waiting quite some time before you actually can eat your food. Yes, it is an interesting concept to watch your food steam. However, by the end of the meal (2 hours later), our party was still hungry for more. So, we paid for our food and left unsatisfied because we just blew about $140 worth on this dinner, not wanting to spend more on average-tasting food. I'm sorry. We really tried to like this place but it is overpriced, cooking times are slow, and nothing is ready to eat (you must steam everything on the menu). read more

Another delicious dinner at Pop kitchen. Ordered the following below: Dumplings Razor clams Shrimp Geoduck Pumpkin porridge I will Be Back. read more

Went there last night to get a to go. Went there cuz of review and picture looks decent. We order a hainan chicken and baked pork chop . Experience one of hainan chicken we've ever ate. The chicken taste not fresh and the rice is so hard. It's nothing looks like what in the picture. Baked porkchop over rice I would give it a 3 start, mediocre , eatable but nothing really special. I wonder where all these stars came from. read more