This is the second time we ordered from this acclaimed restaurant; last time it was awful, but we thought to try it again, especially because the food critic in a local paper raves about it; this time, it is inedible. Disgusting. Bean curd with NO bean curd--none--; grizzled, bolied "spare ribs" in black bean sauce: full of bones & fat and a couple of black beans. Everything smells of amonia & very bad Chinese spices. It is very expensive (with 15% delivery tip, it came to $95.00 --for take out! Stay clear of this rip-off! One-star is too much, but it is my only choice. read more

I was a loyal customer untill today. Ordered 酸菜鱼 today and had at most five chunks of fish and only half head. The waiters insisted they put all the fish in it. Where were the bones? Still charged as full price for $21. I not hungry only because I am pissed. read more

This review is strictly for their dinners and not their dim sum. If you're looking for "traditional" Hong Kong style meals, stop reading and just come here and eat now. You're in upstate NY, you won't find a better Chinese restaurant than this place. How do I know? My finicky, old Chinese father who criticizes all restaurants actually LIKES this place. Enough said. The food is cooked well and has that fresh - off - the - wok seasoning taste you want from a Chinese restaurant. It's not overly oily or salty. The staff was professional but not overly friendly. Personally, I don't think they're trying to be rude, I think it's a language barrier issue. read more

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At the end of the Shining Rainbow....there really is a shiny pot o gold! I sure thought I hit that pot o gold after finding out and trying myself the all you can eat hotpot. Surely bring at least one friend with you so that you can order more items and let the soup base melt your heart away! There are a few soup bases to choose from ($10 each?)but my gotos are the herbal and spicy mala broths. I like the flavor of each and can handle Sichuan spicy (thanks to my friends in Sichuan)! I also like the option of having two broths separated by a partition. The placemat on the table lists all of the available items to choose from for all your hotpot needs. I usually like hotpot during the colder months and whenever I need to warm up, but I also don't mind doing this in 90 degree weather. All I know is that the hotpot experience is enjoyable and good for my soul. The raw items are delivered to the table or left on a wheeled metal cart beside your table and the servers will refill the water and soup base as required. Choices included crab, shrimp, beef meatballs, beef tripe, fish tofu, daikon radish, fish balls, beef/lamb/chicken slices, oyster, squid, intestines, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, chinese broccoli, bean sprouts, and a variety of noodles. I devour all of the above with my foodtastic partner in crime minus the intestines part...that's just not how I roll. But for all you daring foodies go ahead and give it a try! For approximately $50, this hotpot experience really hits the spot. Your server will not let you leave hungry either, always checking in and allowing you to put in requests for more if need be. Yes, there are places in NYC serving similar items for hotpot and for less, and it just isn't the same as the authentic Sichuan hotpot I've had, it is definitely worth the price paid when you want to fill that hotpot void. You can also make your own at home but hey, this saves me from all the prep work and dishes at the end! read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

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Terrible idea. The waitress did not have any idea for waitressing. You don't casually lean on your back with the support behind you while taking orders. It's clumsy n rude. First of all I don't know why restaurant owners open there business with so not trained staff. Anyways so I went there with 3 other friends, mind you they were Chinese. I ordered spicy wings for my appetizers. The wings came out n were so big n not well fried. They looked like huge full wings from the bag with bunch of flour on them n sprinkled with red chilli powder. That's not what you call spicy ! Am sorry. You could see the oil from frying still soaked in the flour of the wing. Just not my pick I like them nice n dry n not looking like what they did look like. I asked for black tea, waitress said they don't have it, no coffee or milk either. What a place in Albany NY will not carry coffee or black tea either. The waitress said all this rudely. Then she kept telling me that green tea pot was actually black tea which has been sitting there longer. The food came out , my fried chicken rice wasn't bad at all, my friends had beef pepper, garlic dish, which was decent. But there was a fish dish that had a bunch of oil n pepper, looked appetizing but there was barely any meat on the fish, all bones. My friends n I kept fishing for fish. Horribly small , crammed place. Not a great choice for formal dinner. Never will go there again. Unless they hire trained staff. read more

I really enjoyed this restaurant. Loved the decor and the waiters and vibe of the place. The food was excellent and the vegetables fresh and bright. Food on the spicy side which I liked. read more

I am gonna go 3 stars here although it's teetering towards a 4 because of the food and value. Food- 4.5 Stars. We ordered Hot and Sour Soup, Steamed Dumplings, General Tso's Chicken and a House special Lo Mien. Everything was very good with one exception- the seafood (other that the shrimp which was fine) in our house special Lo Mien was not all that great. Portions were huge. We ate Chinese food only as we had been told Sushi was so-so. Atmosphere- 3 Stars. Clean, but could use a little spruce up. Typical small Chinese restaurant. Service- 2.5 Stars. Super friendly but a little off. Everything pretty much came out all at once which is a pet peeve of mine. My other complaint was that they told me they had beer, then I thought they forgot about it. Then the waiter brought it out when we were pretty much done with dinner because it wasn't cold enough initially. I wish he hadn't brought it at all. Value- 5 Stars. Portions were huge. Bill was $29 bucks and we had enough leftovers for a small army. read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Lo mein and Chicken - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

we love this place! had the best time possible. daniel is the best. amazing service!!!!

Love this place - it's my go-to whenever I want authentic Chinese, and not the normal Americanized Crab Rangoon/General Tso. I usually get it delivered, since parking is pretty scarce. Definitely recommend being adventurous and trying new things! read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Boneless fish with pickled cabbage, Chongquing style. Spicy and delicious! - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

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We ordered the chongqing fried chicken and boiled fish from the schezuan menu. The chongqing fried chicken was crispy, cooked perfectly, delicious. The chicken was spicy and aromatic. The boiled fish in spicy soup schezuan was phenomenal as well. It was spicy, garlicky and had tons of flavor. The portion size was huge. There was enough leftovers for the two of us. read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

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strongly recommend this restaurant for Cantonese, Sichuan and Xiang cuisine. We travel here and want to have a nice lunch. It's really good. They also have cheap lunch specials. read more

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This is one of my favorite places in Albany. I actually only set foot in the restaurant only twice. I discovered that they delivered (and their pmt, too!), and it's become my default lazy day go-to. For spicy lovers, their Szechuan boiled boneless fish is quite good, though it's on the softer side. There's a lot of options, especially when it comes to appetizers. I don't think I really know anywhere else in Albany with decent chicken feet (I think Hong Kong bakery does). Most of the portions are really big, but the rice is separately ordered. Which isn't a problem for me because I get it delivered. Pearl milk tea: it's pretty decent, though you can taste the artificial sweetener in it. It's a little thicker for my taste, and I think I actually l prefer the Thai tea instead of the original pmt for some reason. They have Icies as well, though last time I got it delivered, they put it in a bowl. In the restaurant itself: I had hot pot with friends here, and it was great! It was all you can eat, and they let you bring home leftovers. The soup base was great, and the meat was fresh. Not as many choices as k would have liked (especially when it comes to the veggies), but it was really yummy. read more

Not sure what's going on here... some of the dishes just aren't prepared as well as before. And they started to charge for rice... which I find tacky. Waitstaff seems to have gone through a turnover... and not necessarily for the better. Careful ordering the live fish (steamed or otherwise prepared) unless you are prepared to pay unreasonable high prices... this past holiday season we were charged $74 for a steamed fish which I think is high... thankfully my sister picked up the tab and to her credit without batting an eye... only found out about the price when I inquired and looked at the bill. Just to be sure to inquire about prices for items marked S.P. if you do not want to get an unpleasant surprise. It is still a good place, but I hope they can keep up with their prior high standards. read more

For lunch, this place is one of my favorite. Shrimp Egg Foo Young with Egg Fried Rice and Wonton Soup and Shrimp Lo Mein with Egg Fried Rice and Wonton Soup are the ones to order. Well, their food quality has gone down a lot. And, the waiter, that shorty needs to go ASAP. He makes me feel very uncomfortable and food tastes real bad... That's why I go to Taiwan Noodle only at this point. Let me know when that shorty is gone, so I can try Shining Rainbow again. During summer 2017, finally, the owner decided to change his waiters. since the shorty is gone, customer service has improved significantly, and I love going there again. Don't hire bad waiters! read more

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When we first walked in, we got seated next to the lobster tank. It was very dirty and definitely an appetite killer. We ordered dim sum. Took a bite of the salty dumplings with pork, and it was just 90% dough which was disgusting. The shrimp rice roll was cold. The spare ribs was either not cooked thoroughly or properly as there was a bad taste and it lingered in the mouth. The scallion pancakes were extremely greasy. We asked for water as we sat down and had to ask again - the restaurant wasn't busy at all. When the congee came, the server just walked away without giving us bowls and spoons (which is a common practice in other Chinese restaurants). The service was horrible. Tips were already included the bill so the servers had no incentives to provide decent service. My boyfriend had to get up and ask for the bill. read more

Sadly, would consider this a greasy spoon kinda place. If they rethought the use of oil, it would be a great place. Sorry folks

This place serves authentic Chinese food (one of the only places in the whole city of albany). It's a little pricey but both the taste and customer service are excellent. I recommend this place. read more

I've mostly been known to come here for their hot pot - which of itself is a great and fun experience if you're with the right group of people. Now, I'm going to add dim sum brunches to my rotation of brunching out in the area. They have an incredible selection of dim sum to try and all tasted like they were freshly made in-house, although that is not confirmed. I passed on items that I know I don't like - scallion pancakes have just never been my thing. But between the dumplings, spare ribs, and stuffed eggplant (not to be missed!!) I plenty found items to fall in love with. For the area, Shining Rainbow is a clear winner when it comes to dim sum. read more

Really good foods and services. There are plenty of food you can choose such as Cantonese style dim sum, sichuan spicy style foods. And the experience of hot pot is so unique and excellent. I got my favorite bubble tea too as well. Strongly recommended . read more

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Was looking for a spot close to the Egg prior to last night's Pat Metheny concert..colleague suggested this unassuming spot in a semi skeezy part of Central Ave (fear not..it's well lit). General Tso's squid and roast duck. This is not your gringo Chinese place (some nice pork intestine is available if you so wish). However, it's really a wonderful place and hot pot is hard to find in this Marty McGillicuddy Mecca known as the Capital District.... read more

I ordered take out and the food was very good! I love all of the different options they have and variety on the menu.

Food was ok, except for their clams as they were not fresh enough. Their service however was terrible, the waiter gave us side eyes and sighs when we asked for service and we felt bad for asking for more food. Overall bad experience, and would probably not come back, as they automatically charge you 15% for tip even though their service was bad. read more

Holy Hell.... Worst. Service. Ever. They brought out the food for the two people I came with..... and THEN returned with mine, 15 mother fluffin' minutes later!!!! I sent it back, told the waiter why I wasn't eating or paying for that plate. Then I "accidentally" pushed a plate onto the floor and left. Never going their again. I DON'T recommend them. They suck, their service sucks. There's no parking lot and the neighborhood is awful so have fun getting your hubcaps stolen. Ps. The restaurant is dirty right when you walk in and the lobster tank is just coated in lobster poop. Ps-the sequel There were children screaming into some sort of microphone like 10 feet away in another room, a room to which they left the door open. So, thx for that also. Kthxbye read more

Came here with two of my friends for the lunch special as always! Always greeted and seated really fast! Their staff are always so friendly and nice to see you! Since I visit here pretty often, I already knew what I wanted to order. So I ordered the lunch special honey walnut shrimp with egg fried rice with a wonton soup. My other friend ordered a seafood version that came with some vegetables and egg fried rice with wonton soup too. As always our soup come soup comes out first. There's about 4 wontons in soup I gotta say and some raised pork strips in it and I low the green onions in the soup! Next was the main course, I love getting the honey walnut shrimp because they are always so generous with the amount of shrimp they give you, they pile up the plate everytime! The walnuts are always so yummy. You know I gotta get that chili oil and mix it in with my fried rice! Since the portions are always so big, I always end up having leftovers! Definitely come and try the honey walnut shrimp during lunch special for the price of 7-8 dollars! Which is a steal!! Atmosphere 9 Service 9.5 Food 9 read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

We ask for hot and spicy fish with bone,But not ask for ONLY bone !!!!!!!!! There are ONLY bone and fish head in the whole dish for $18.95!!!! Sliced beef and pork's tongue in chili sauce has no favor and oil!!!! read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

I was there ordering something to-go. The food was decent BUT they automatically charged me 15% gratuity on my to-go order after I gave them my credit card. read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - The food was decent BUT they automatically charged me 15% gratuity on my to-go order after I gave them my credit card. - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

Come here for the hot pot. It is a fun experience but the broths are simple and flavorless and the all you can eat is not worth it, as you get tons of food per order. The Peking duck was almost all bone and more expensive then other places, plus we were being watched the whole time on the hot pot which was weird. They left other patrons alone who were different from us. The rest of the food here is not different from most other take out places. I love a good hot pot and hate giving a bad review but in the few times we did hot pot here it never improved, first time you can think it is a fluke but is was the same. The hot pot meats seem to be very good themselves however. read more

This place is not located in the most appealing area of Albany, but don't let the shady locale stop you from going there. Once inside, the decor is alot nicer than what you'd expect from their exterior. Chinese and Japanese are both served here, and the dimsum (not from the cart) menu is decent . I tried the turnip cakes today, and it was fried just right. For the chinese, we had fried dumplings to start off. The six dumplings were very meaty and big (that's what she said)-- it was a great deal for only $3.95. The meal also started off on a positive note as they gave us a complimentary seaweed salad dish--I love anything free :) For our dinner entrees, we had the sake special (salmon roll and salmon sushi) and the hamachi special (same deal as the sake except this one with yellowtail). The salmon wasn't as fatty as I usually like, but still ok. The yellowtail was a bit fresher, so I might get that next time. This place just opened up a few weeks ago, so I think they are still working out some kinks with the wait staff and interior. But I will be going back here to try more of their dimsum. read more

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I didn't realize that rice was not included in the already more expensive price. So, not ordering from here again

I do not understand why reviewers have been so hard on shining rainbow. This makes me doubt the reliability of my fellow capital region reviewers. This place is amazing! Very authentic and well-executed. The menu is literally 50 pages long, and that doesn't even include the completely mandarin menu on the wall that includes use of the fresh fish in the tanks throughout the store, the latter of which I would not suggest ordering from as you may be unpleasantly surprised by your bill. On to the good stuff. Free oolong tea and hot towels of course. All of the dim sum is exceptional, especially the pork buns and soup dumplings. They have a lot of vegetarian options. They also have real Sichuan food if you're into that and a $20 pp all you can eat hot pot if you like to play with your food and eat until you can't walk. It takes a while to cook good food from scratch when the place is busy as hell all the time. Stop your kvetching people. read more

The waiter was nice and the ambience was cute, other than the dead fish at the bottom of the fish tanks. The shrimp rice noodle tasted like it was made last week, the pork rib noodle had uncooked pork- like pink and raw(they didn't charge us for it). The pan fried noodle dish was good, as was the pork intestine. read more

I really hate to say this, but I was a tad disillusioned by Shining Rainbow on my second and third go-rounds. I thought I'd be adventurous and sample some Dim Sum, which was largely a mistake. I ordered something called "Beef Triple with Scallions and Ginger", as well as chive and shrimp dumplings. My boyfriend got a preserved fish and salted meat rice pot. While the chive and shrimp dumplings were pretty good, the "Beef Triple" and rice pot were abysmal. Maybe it's just a language barrier thing, or I could be a total idiot, but I was shocked to receive my "Beef Triple" and discover it was a clear stringy dish with...bumps on the surface?! I kind of imagined some sort of delicious, tender slightly pink beef in a savory brown sauce...Not even close to what I got. It looked a hell of a lot like a clear tongue. I ate it because I was starving, but asked the waiter what exactly it was. He just said "Beef Triple." I did some research later and was rather grossed out to discover it was actually Beef TRIPE. Ugggh.... Surprisingly enough, the salted meat and preserved fish rice pot was even worse. And by worse I mean, so horrible that I honestly though I might projectile vomit at one point. I'm not sure if preserved fish is supposed to taste rotten, but it did. Usually I am a pretty adventurous diner and not at ALL picky, so this experience was super odd for me. Just stay away from anything that says "preserved" at Shining Rainbow. On a side note, I gave them another chance for takeout and their run of the mill Chinese picks aren't so hot, either. If you decide to go here, pick on of two things: Hot Pot (not on menu, just ask for it) or sushi. That is all. read more

I came here with my boyfriend and another couple, after hearing them rave about the hot pot. Having had a negative experience at a Vietnamese Pho restaurant (which is similar to hot pot), I must say that I was skeptical. Fortunately, Shining Rainbow was able to change my feelings. We went with the all you can eat option ($20/person, totally worth it for 4 people or more) where you can choose any meats, seafood, veggies and noodles. Everything we had was delicious, except for the oysters (they tasted and smelled super fishy). But the hot pot experience would not have been so awesome if it wasn't for our super friendly waiter, Justin. Not only was he funny and adorable, but very helpful and showed us how to prepare our food. Justin answered all of our questions and even picked out some of the dishes for us. I would go back to this restaurant just to have him be my waiter again! read more

I've only been once, but the food was exceptional, and I'm excited to go back another time. The atmosphere was nice enough, though I wasn't paying too much attention due to my company. There are large, circular tables in the back that seat 10+ people (we crammed in 14, but I wouldn't recommend doing the same), and a circular lazy-susan thing in the middle to help share appetizers, food and sauces with your friends. Wifi is available, and the password was listed publicly on a board in the back, so you can get on without having to ask a waiter. The servers were readily available and happy to bring us anything we asked for (though we did have to specifically ask; there were few "check-ins"). I'm a vegetarian, and was very happy to see an entire page devoted to vegetarian options. The menu is formidable, and featured foods I rarely see at most Chinese restaurants. I can't imagine even the pickiest eater being unable to find an option they enjoyed. For vegetarian options, I was able to try the vegetarian dumplings, eggplant with black bean sauce, edamame, vegetable lo mein, and pea shoots with garlic sauce. The vegetable lo mein and edamame were just what I would have expected; they didn't astound me, but weren't bad. The rest of the meal was superb, and I happily stuffed as much as possible into my mouth the entire meal. Does that sound gross? It probably does. Sorry. It was really good food, though. The vegetable dumplings were massive; easily twice the size of the smallest dumpling I've seen. The plates were extremely large, and alone could have served as a whole meal for an average eater. The eggplant with black bean sauce was slightly spicy (speaking as someone who enjoys spicy food), and for me, was just right in terms of spicyness and flavor. At the end of the night, our bill came to about $20 a person, including tip, which isn't too bad considering the large selection of food (meat options among them) available to everyone to pick through. Overall, this was a great experience, and I'd highly recommend the restaurant to any of my friends. read more

Came here for the dim sum with a friend, left pretty unhappy. Here's the deets: It was a 12:20 on a Saturday, the place seemed busy, most of the tables were full. Ordered 6 dishes from the dim sum menu. They came out very slowly, and only one or two at a time. It took over an hour to get the first four, and the rice noodles were not made well, they were all falling apart. The shrimp in the shrimp w/ rice noodle was very skimpy, maybe two shrimp in the entire thing. The last dish we received, after about an hour and fifteen minutes, was the beef tripe (labeled on the menu as "beef triple w/ scallion and ginger"). Perhaps it was my fault for not assuming it was tripe, but I sent it back. It looked awful and the texture was awful, and I had not thought triple was a typo (my error?). They brought us the check, although our vegetable dumplings had not arrived. When I said we had not received all of our order, the waitress tried to tell me I hadn't ordered the dumplings. I did, right after the King Pork Bun. Maybe you weren't listening? I was ready to leave, so we paid the check and didn't bother with the rest of our order that they had forgotten about. Unfortunately, we didn't have exact change, so were forced to tip the bastards. tl;dr: very slow service (over 1hr for 4 small dishes), forgot part of our order, typos on the menu read more

I really love getting food from this place. But, when it comes down to it, I prefer take out as opposed to sitting in. Last time I went, I was seated next to a fish tank is a half dead fish spasming. It wasn't too enjoyable to see in the corner of my eye when I was eating noodles, but it could've been worse I guess. The place is usually hectic and it's hard to walk around in between other patrons and servers because the aisles are very small. The bathrooms are moderately clean but not the best. When I went in January, there didn't seem to be a lock on the door, so I had one of my friends stand outside to patrol and make sure no one slammed the door open when I was using the bathroom. Hopefully they fixed it by now. The food here is amazing. It's one of the few places in the Hudson Valley (that I've been to) that doesn't entirely Americanize everything. Even my Chinese friends born and raised in China swear by this place. I usually order pan-fried noodles with pork. However, if you EVER ORDER THIS-- DON'T ask for spare ribs with it. They will put small sparerib bones in it and I almost choked on it. Just go for regular pork. Also, just a tip...unlike other Chinese restaurants I've been to, they want you to pay for a plate of white rice. Takeout service tastes exactly the eating in. Though it seemed like the portions were a tiny bit smaller than eating at the restaurant. Whenever I eat at the restaurant, I usually go with a bunch of people so we can share plates. I've had so many things on the menu and haven't been disappointed. College students-- avoid the SUNY SPECIAL $3 takeout places that claim they're giving you a deal. It's a deal because the food is old and dirty. Just go to Shining Rainbow! It's worth the extra few bucks. The prices are affordable and it's real food that won't give you food poisoning like places with "suny specials." read more

I really liked the ribs! We had the pork dumplings and they were very Tasty! The pork fried rice was very tasty and even better left over. Parking is easy on street and staff was great read more

Shining Rainbow Restaurant - Spicy beef soup! - Dim Sum Near Me - Albany, New York

This is a pretty authentic Chinese restaurant in downtown Albany. We ordered the Shui Zu Yu, which had a kick but was not to spicy. The amoust of fish filet in this dish was quite generous. I also got to try the beef and egg, which was delicious and contained ample amounts of beef. Loved the thickness of it! The interior decor is really nice here. It would be a good place to go with a group of people, as there are plenty of larger tables (6 tops). read more

My daughter is in college and raving for authentic Chinese/Cantanese food. Found this place from hotel and got a $5 coupon from couponclipper.com. We ordered - salmon roll - just ok - spicy tuna roll - just ok - pork chop with Peking sauce - very good - clam with Chinese vermicelli in a pot - just ok - seafood pan fried noodle - good Food is 3 stars and I gave it 4 stars because this is first authentic Chinese restaurant in this area. Definitely will come again when my kid is raving for authentic Chinese good........ read more

I'm extremely sorry to give this spot a low evaluating. The initial hardly any occasions were stunning however then the last one was a genuine train wreck. Initial a few of our dishes were messy and we needed to demand them to transform it. At that point we learn they don't have cleanser in the washroom. The most exceedingly terrible part was that there bugs still on our greens for the hot pot, and we didn't understand this till most of the way into our dinner. Over which, one of the servers had a sharp mentality with us. I'm truly baffled every one of these slip-ups were made. I will go with they were having a terrible week, however I am making some hard memories needing to go once more. read more