DIM SUM in SF Chinatown

[ChefGirl412]

Looking for a good restaurant that's not too shabby but delicious. Exact location please. Thx!

[ChefGirl412]

Ended up going to Louie's California for dinner. NOW I know Dim Sum is for lunch, thanks to chowhound posts. We were able to order some dim sum items - shrimp dumplings, bbq pork bun, mushroom shui mai. All excellent.

[susancinsf]

Did you also order non-dim sum items? How were they? haven't been many recent posts on Louie's; would be interested in more..

[ChefGirl412]

No, just the dim sum items. I would definitely go back sometime.

[mpalmer6c]

I've always liked the Hang Ah Tea Room, 1 Pagoda Place

[Melanie Wong]

When's the last time you visited Hang Ah? It's been terrible for years.

[Chandavkl]

I'll second that proposition.

[ChefGirl412]

City View only serves lunch?

What about Lichee Garden?

[Melanie Wong]

Dim sum is lunch/breakfast food. I'd advise running far away from the places that offer dim sum (often frozen) for dinner.

[ChefGirl412]

Wow, I had no idea! I'm taking a date to SF tomorrow; wanted to explore Chinatown. Any recommendations? Perhaps Dim Sum another time? Thanks.

[tomritza]

I am one for one with Lychee Garden. First time was very good. the second not as good although to be fair, we arrived relatively near the end of the Dim Sum day. II have to admit though....I kind of like it for its "no frills, non glam" ambience.

[ChefGirl412]

OK, so the information I am getting is...Dim Sum for dinner is out. Really???

[Robert Lauriston]

Most dim sum places are either open only for lunch or have a completely different menu at dinner.

You can find places that serve dim sum at dinner, but it's eccentric. The ones I've seen, you have to order off a menu. Which can be a plus if you know what you want and the stuff comes out fresh and hot.

[Melanie Wong]

Ordering off a menu, dim sum will likely be hot. But ordered at dinner time, it's usually reheated from lunch time or from the freezer. Few places can afford to keep dim sum-making staff on hand for dinner hour and just have them make extra at lunch and freeze it.

[asianstamp]

If you have to have dim sum for dinner, you can go to Dim Sum King at the Ranch 99 mall in Daly City (Skyline Blvd). They only make dim sum.

[choctastic]

dim sum is not a dinner thing. please listen to melanie

[luvness746]

Lychee Garden is pretty good and pretty good on price, too. Lines can be long though, but it is worth the wait.

[Chandavkl]

Other Chinatown dim sum spots frequently mentioned on this board include City View, 662 Commercial St.; Great Eastern, 649 Jackson; Louie's California, 646 Washington and Y Ben House, 835 Pacific.

[asianstamp]

If you're a small party and you go to Y Ben, get ready to commit to table sharing. They only have large round tables so a lot of times, they'll ask you to share a table with other diners.

[Lightsuprooms]

Last time I was in SF..2 years ago.. my sister was living right up the street from Y Ben House, It was fantastic.. we were the only round eyes in the place and my son, who was 9 at the time, was eating everything, much to the amazement of all the older Chinese in the place.. and it was fantastic. I recommend it highly

[larochelle]

The OP stated "not too shabby" -- in my opinion Y Ben House is shabby, maybe not as grungy as Dol Ho but nowhere near as...clean...as some of the other places mentioned.

[ChefGirl412]

I'm finding Great Eastern to be a great place. Any feedback? Thx.

[Chandavkl]

Maybe City View then and park in the Portsmouth Square garage?

[larochelle]

I haven't been to Great Eastern in ages but here's the SFLunchSeries thread about it...
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34845

[susancinsf]

as the link indicates, I think of it less as a dim sum place, more of a seafood place. Indeed, do they serve dim sum? (I've never been during the day and can't remember).

I'd second the Kan's recommendation if it is indeed dim sum that you want.

[Melanie Wong]

Here's my post from the last time I had dim sum at Great Eastern with my folks.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/309249

[Melanie Wong]

Here's a couple older thread with several opinions on Y Ben House, doubt that much has changed.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/29775
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/30054...

[Paul H]

Sadly, one thing has changed. Harbor Village, having closed, is no longer an alternative option to Chinatown tea houses.

[vincentlo]

I find the food at both Gold Mountain and Y Ben pretty cr*ppy. If you must have dim sum around Chinatown, I guess City View is all right; at least it looks clean. Out of curiosity, I went to have dim sum at Y Ben by myself recently, and I had to share with three "shifts" of customers my same tiny table. Food was surprisingly not that bad though obviously not great either, at a price that was OK (around $2 a dish). Honestly I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for a significant jump in quality in other places. After reading all the online reviews, I went to Y Ben armed with paper towels, wet towelettes, Tupperware, etc. Maybe I looked or acted too touristy--even though I speak perfect Cantonese, the servers kept talking to me in English!

Definitely won't go back, though the experience wasn't as bad as expected. It wasn't *that* cheap either, considering the so-so quality of food.

Vincent

[larochelle]

Kan's - 708 Grant Ave
Gold Mountain - 644 Broadway

[ChefGirl412]

Thank you very much.

[PastaFace123]

Yank Sing.

[larochelle]

There's a Yank Sing in Chinatown?

[Robert Lauriston]

No. Both branches are in the Financial District.

[PastaFace123]

Right.

[jinet12]

Agree with Yank Sing...

[Dave MP]

I second the rec for Gold Mountain. I have not been to Kan's. Here is a link to a post I wrote about Gold Mountain:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/338222

[coseboom]

Gold Mountain is phenomenal. I third that recommendation!