Beware - if you're not familiar with what to look for, you might be served old roast pork. Really disappointing experience; the meat I received was tough and felt more like tendon and bones than anything fresh. Update: I ended up feeling sick afterward, which made me confident the meat wasn't fresh. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Good spot for takeout dimsum in Oakland Chinatown with reasonable prices! Come early for the best selection. I've been here twice and the first time was late in the afternoon, when unfortunately they didn't have much left. The second time I came around 11:15 am, and there was still a decent selection available. It's mostly a takeout spot but there is a row of seats along the right side of the restaurant for anyone looking to quickly eat their takeout. Most items I tried were good, like the daikon cake, spare ribs, taro puff. Love the Malay cake here as well, as it was very light and fluffy. I would skip the chicken feet here, as it was underwhelming. They also sell Cantonese bbq (roast duck, charsiu, etc.), but I didn't get any as I was here for the dimsum. read more

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Been coming here for a while Will keep coming here Opens EARLY and that is amazing, 7:30am Good street parking if you come in early No line or rarely a line They have moderate level English to assist you with your order Food are vast, hot and ready and so good read more

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Wanted to update - over the past few years, there are only 3 or so take out dim sum places (that isn't a restaurant) in Oakland Chinatown. Big Dish has a good variety but it does change. Not everything is available all the time. Today I bought 2 egg custard tarts and jook along with the fried donut (maybe called fritter?) and 2 baked pork buns. Surprisingly their prices has remained almost the same since 2022 - unlike the other places that increased their prices. My husband wanted to try the chicken feet (didn't take a picture because he ate it so quick) in sauce. It was $4 for 4 chicken feet and he only gave it a 3 star. The place is small but there are a few tables for you to sit and eat there if you want. So you have the option to eat there or take out. Depending on what time you go is less crowded than the other places as well. Workers are friendly and they had patience with me since I didn't quite understand what they were saying and showed me the options. Credit card accepted only if you purchase minimum of $25 or more. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Tub of jook and 2 egg custards - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

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Like to come here in the mornings for fresh, affordable dim sum. Nice variety, quick service, make sure to bring cash! read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Dim sum - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Quick service. Typically Chinese dim sum spot. Credit card over $25 Soft and tender bbq pork Shrimp dumpling- skin is thick. Wouldn't get again Rice with spare ribs and chicken feet. Rice is on the soggy/soft side. Less than $5. Will fill you up read more

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this is long overdue! my family has always came here for the braised pork and chicken feet rice. It is easy to go meal! We also pick up their buns to go! Parking is street. And there's usually a short line but service is always quick! I absolutely love this place for specifically those two items that my family gets weekly. read more

first time to big dish since my dad recommended it for their poultry the service was good, everyone behind the counter was helpful the ambiance was a walk in cafe for chinese delicacies i would come here to get peking duck read more

Big Dish Restaurant - fried pork - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Big Dish is a Chinese "deli", where you can get BBQ items (BBQ pork, roast duck, roast pork, etc.) as well as different baked goods (including the seasonal moon cakes) and different dim sum items. What I mean by deli is it's quick and easy, not a fancy meal. Years ago, you could get a container of BBQ meat and rice for $5, I'm sure we're a long ways from there. I like their BBQ pork (cha siu) and roast pork, as something I could use as part of a meal, and also make fried rice with the next day or so. There's also a variety of dim sum you can get (taro cake, shrimp dumplings, etc.) relatively quickly compared to a sit down restaurant. Especially during the lunch rush, they seem to replenish those steamer baskets regularly. I recently got a pound of BBQ pork for about $12 and a pound of roast pork for $19. They're always going to be salty, but they weren't too salty. They accept credit cards with a $25 minimum, these days it's safer not to carry cash/too much cash. Most people just grab the food as takeout, but there is some seating if people ever wanted to eat-in. read more

What a classic dimsum takeout place right in the heart of Oakland Chinatown. I found the service to be quick and friendly. Price for most dimsum items was $1.10 each, including pork siu may, har gow (shrimp dumplings), chive dumplings, shrimp pearl dumplings, and many more. Har gow and chive dumplings were delicious, even though the skin/wrapper fell apart with it being a bit too soft. But the flavor was super spot on, especially the shrimp dumplings with good bamboo shoot crunchiness in each bite. To my surprise, my fave was the shrimp pearl dumplings which are essentially shrimp balls covered with a thin layer of sticky rice. Texture was amazing, taste was delicious! I'd get those again, and lots of them next time. I also got their bbq pork (by the pound), and price was pretty competitive at $10 per pound, compared to other competing businesses in the vicinity. The pork was succulent and tasty. I'd get that again for sure as well. I bought a handful of their pan fried sticky rice cake filled with red beans, but they were unfortunately just meh. The sticky rice was way too greasy/oily. $1.20 each. The the shop was very small, so there would not be any space for people to dine in at all. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Shrimp Pearl Balls - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

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I was walking around Chinatown and bought a whole duck from here because they were $6 less than the other duck places . What I loved is the duck was very good and it's the least expensive place to buy one. read more

Decent affordable dim sum (1.15$ per piece) open early morning. Line can be a confusing and expect random ppl to cut. The fact that they didn't increase their prices this year unlike 99% of other food places is a major plus! read more

Good variety, friendly, even if no Cantonese or Mandarin language. Bad parking, but that is all Oakland Chinatown.

Date: 1/28/2024 Time: 3:15 PM 63° Partly cloudy It was at the recommendation of my sister-in-law to get dim sum pastries from Big Dish instead of going to my usual go-to place in Oakland Chinatown. Okay. There is an event happening in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza. Live entertainment with dancers and singers on the performance stage in celebrating a Chinese New Year event is occurring. Here's my chance to check out Big Dish, which is half a block away. How delightful to see a pastry that my late mom used to prepare for my siblings and me when we were growing up. That pastry is called the chicken cage (gai loong). Oh those wonderful memories of consuming them. Gai loong was something my siblings and I enjoyed many moons ago. Visiting today, the selection was limited to what they have on hand. I can only guess I have to get to Big Dish earlier and not later in the afternoon. The menu board lists all sorts of pastries. Yummy! Big Dish also has roast duck, roast pig and chicken, congee, noodles, rice, etc. The red awning indicates what they serve, and the characters are written in Chinese. I can still read some of the characters, but writing them is a different story. Service is good. The employee was helpful. I basically bought what I wanted. However, I did not see any fried turnip cake. I also should have asked if they had bowl pastries. One of my sisters calls them "flying saucer pastry." They are white and glutinous, shaped like a flying saucer. (Woon dai go) Return visit? Yes! Yes! Yes! read more

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It's a casual, no-frills place with quick service and an authentic neighborhood feel. While it may not be fancy, the value and consistency make it a go-to for good dim sum in the area. Definitely worth stopping by if you're in Chinatown. read more

*** 3.5 stars -*** An option for dim sum located in Oakland Chinatown. Mom likes their steamed chicken and lotus buns here but no lotus buns today...oh well. Ordered a fried taro, steamed black bean pork spareribs over rice, steamed chicken bun and sesame ball. Sesame ball are not the best here as the dough is thick even when they come out fresh and warm from the kitchen. The filling of red bean is different like they added some dried orange peel..different but I prefer the traditional Their dim sum is good and (to me), better than the popular place on Franklin (spot with the peach on the window and noodles displayed). The issue I have at this spot is order taking is a bit chaotic so takes longer to get your items and leave Cash and credit card accepted. Some street parking if lucky so park in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza garage. Entrance on each side on Franklin and Webster between 10/11th Streets $6 for 2.75 hr parking on a Saturday read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Meh - super thick and wasn't fan of the filling - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

This place is a hit it mess, dim sum tastes good but someday- the flavors are off. Not the cleanest place but the dim sum is better tasting and way cheaper than the dim sum with the green signage (iykyk). Also, customer service is never great in Chinatown. But I'm not here for the service, just the food. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

We originally wanted to go to a sit down dim sum restaurant but didn't feel like waiting an hour. We found this place by chance, and it did not disappoint. $1.10/pc and they were big and tasty. They also have party trays to order in advance. Staff was friendly and cordial, as well as efficient. This place is really simple but the food was tasty for the price. read more

Big Dish is located in the heart of Oakland Chinatown. Parking is a big difficult here, so everyone is usually just doubled parked outside. It is and looks a bit run down with a few chairs & tables along the wall inside - it feels and looks dirty / greasy inside as well. My family are loyal customers here and buy their BBQ items / duck here pretty often. We also always order the large roasted pig every year for Ching Ming Festival here. Anyway, we ordered their roasted pig in advance and when we arrived on the day for our order, it was pretty busy, but we had a set pickup time. We were given attitude by most of the workers and when we were finally helped, they showed us our large roasted pig and the ears & snout were burnt. They tried convincing us that it was supposed to be like that and that we had the best one when the other roasted pigs sitting there that other customers had ordered were not like that. At that point, there was nothing we could do because we were already running late and these large roasted pigs are usually ordered at least 3 days in advance. Overall, you would think that they would at least treat their loyal customers well, but they do not and it is unfortunate to have to pay $300 for a burnt roasted pig for an important day just to be given attitude. read more

Very fresh and delicious. Cheap at a little over 1$ a piece. Parking can be hard but I just double parked for 2 min read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Dim sum - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

This place is a bit divey but very local of course. They are a traditional Chinese BBQ place with some dim sum and baked goods. This is our go to place for the baked pork buns. They often come in two sizes, one large and one medium. They used to make them small as well. For $1.25 it's a meal! After dropping off hubby at airport, I decided to swing by Chinatown to see what was already open. Well, here I am! The pork buns are still warm after being at home for 45 minutes. And, the place of chicken feet was calling me so that is for later. The dough of the buns are nicely blasted and then. The slices of BBQ pork are just right. Not overly fat and not bogged down by onions. It's nice that they have their pork right there versus having to buy it elsewhere which many places have to do. They currently have pork and preserved egg congee for $4. That's a deal. As the last packed my goods, I saw a chicken bun on the menu so added this to my goods for $1.10. I love me a good "gai baw". Unfortunately this isn't it. Traditionally the bun has a piece of shitaki mushroom and a quarter of a hard boiled egg. None of that here and the dough wasn't tender enough for me. I'm still looking for one that meets my standards. So, don't be afraid....check them out. Cash is preferred and best to go early if you want the pork bun because they do run out. read more

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I live in the South Bay so prices here are very reasonable. Didn't want to cook dinner tonight, so I bought two of the spareribs/chicken feet rice bowls. Very tasty- good quality spareribs and flavorful chicken feet. read more

Walking around Chinatown at 9am, you'd think getting some duck and roast pork would be easy. But from my experience today it was more difficult then I thought it would be. Most places didn't have their pork ready and even though some were supposed to be open at 9am, they weren't. Which lead me all the way to Big Dish Restaurant. Which turned out to be a good thing because the quality of food was good, the roasted duck was delicious and the roasted pork was moist and savory. Even the prices are slightly less than other places in Oakland Chinatown. So if you are ever in Chinatown at 9am, Big Dish Restaurant is the go-to for roasted meats. read more

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Great dim sum! I always stop by for their baked bbq pork buns. I also love the shrimp and chive dumplings. They have an amazing dough texture that is soft. I come here once a week! I'm always satisfied. The pricing is also really decent which I greatly appreciate. It's mostly to-go, but they have some tables to sit. See ya next week! read more

It's your typical grab and go dim sum place in Oakland Chinatown. Some things are good here and some things are just okay. The dim sum is a hit or miss. Their turnip cake was a little too salty for me. It tasted a day old. My favorite is their chicken feet and their spare ribs. Their bbq pork is the best I've ever had. The ladies here are nice. The ambiance is very old school. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

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randomly my fav spot in chinatown to get youtiao/quay/donut sticks - its just the right texture+flavor im looking for. solid bbq meats and i appreciate their ratio of meat to bun in their pork buns (steamed or baked) as some spots put way too little meat filling sometimes. read more

I was in Chinatown Oakland to pickup some egg tarts and pineapple buns for my wife. I saw a deli called Big Dish Restaurant across the way. I went inside and saw dim sum. I ordered 4 Sui Mai and 4 Har Gow. They were $1.00 a piece. The Har Gow skin was thick and chalky. The filling was salty. The Sui Mai was also salty. What's worst was cartridge they used for their filling. It's been a long time since I had Sui Mai with scrap meat filling. DJ's rating: .50/5.00 I will not eat there again. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Outside Big Dish Restaurant. - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

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Very friendly staff, fast service, the freshest dim sum! And they have the tastiest chicken feet and har gow I've ever had in my life the roast duck is also superb. Cute lil hole in the wall dim sum spot in Chinatown and the prices are very reasonable! Love this place! read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Pork siomai and shrimp har gow - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Big Dish Restaurant is a great quick go-to spot in Oakland Chinatown for dim som, pastries and rice plates...Depending how early you get there, you can also get some yummy rice congee. The elders will usually get there early to buy out the congee. In any event, I usually go there to get the BBQ Pork & Duck over rice. The combo is now $9.00. The duck is always flavorful and the BBQ pork is usually fatty so I will put it in the microwave to dry out the fat...The steamed cabbage is a great compliment to the meats. Update: 10/25/2023 The Duck & BBQ Pork over rice is now $10.00. The updated pictures has the BBQ Pork dried up in the microwave. I forgot to take a picture before I put the meat in the microwave. read more

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Tao Yuen is normally my go to for take out dim sum, I've been going there for years, but I found this place because I was looking for other things that Tao Yuen doesn't offer. I've tried their rice rolls, chinese donut, bbq pork tart, turnip cakes, taro turnovers, as well as their bbq meat rice plates. These items are not normally found at Tao Yuen so I can't do a side by side comparison, but I was fairly surprised with their quality. Everything I ordered here felt a little more traditional dim sum than Tao Yuen, and I was honestly surprised with the quality and the taste of their food. The price was AMAZING, I don't think you can find a place cheaper than here, and I think the food is better than Ming Tasty. The only down side is that the place is not really conducive for dinning in, but otherwise, I would totally recommend grabbing food here and eat elsewhere (Jack London is just a bridge away)! read more

You have to know what you want when you get in there. It is a busy place. The food is good. Prices are excellent. Take out only

I had a much better experience today at Big Dish Restaurant. Covid-19 still in effect, so it's all takeout. I got a whole roast duck, chopped up, for $20. Not bad, I feel compensated for that half a duck I got ripped off on years ago. I also got some Fried Taro Dumplings for 90 cents each. So I had a nice experience on Valentine's Day Sunday. read more

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*****Customer Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic***** After a year of unprecedented challenges and turmoil, it is fitting that 2020 ends with a 1-star review. I was in Oakland Chinatown picking up a few things on 12/30/2020 when I came across Big Dish Restaurant. I decided to give it a try after scanning through a few recent reviews. I was the only customer when I walked in at around 8:30 am. One of the staffers greeted me. The only COVID-19 safety measures observed were the plexiglass shields installed at the counter and a bottle of hand sanitizer for customer use. I ordered a small assortment of dim sum - har gow, siu mai, tofu skin rolls, shark fin dumplings, steamed chicken feet, and beef cheung fun (rice noodle rolls). The total was $17.25. The appearance did not look appetizing. Out of everything, the only passable item was the steamed chicken feet. The rest ranged from subpar to disgusting. The skins of the har gow and siu mai were thick and soggy and the fillings didn't taste particularly fresh. The cheung fun was super thick and the beef filling was absolutely tasteless. The tofu skin rolls were poorly wrapped and barely had any filling in them. The shark fin dumplings were atrocious. The filling was uncooked (see picture). I ended up throwing them away. I can tolerate bad tasting food but uncooked pork is a no-no in my book. It was a big mistake coming here. Needless to say, I will not come back ever again. BONUS MATERIAL: - Cash only. read more

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Plenty of places around downtown Oakland but this is one of the best places for reasonably priced dim sum to go. Other places charge $0.30 to $0.50 more per menu item and not as good. May not seem a lot but it sure does add up if you're buying a box full of bbq buns or sesame balls. Tips: bring cash. I think they have a minimum purchase of $25 for credit cards, and it is a small place and could get really loud sometimes. read more

Came during lunch, was expectedly crowded. There's a line for Duck, chicken, etc. from the entrance and a separate line from the opposite side for Dim Sum. They accept apple/mobile pay; but needs to be over $25.00. There were like 3-4 small tables inside, do not recommend dining in. They speak cantonese, mandarin, and english. read more

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I come here for take-out Dim Sum and frozen wontons. The Har Gow and Sui Mai are large and yummy. They would taste even better if they were kept warmer. The frozen wontons are great. Just boil a few minutes for a convenient snack. read more

During covid times, I've been able to explore more places in my neighborhood that I probably wouldn't have considered. Tao yuen and Ming's tasty have been my go to spots to satisfy my dim sum cravings. They are also the only 2 places I was aware that dim sum for takeout. It's definitely rough times to keep restaurant alive. During our morning chinatown grocery run today, we noticed a line outside this place and as the typical foodie we snooped around to find out what the big deal was. They offered dim sum a d roasted meats to go. what? Another dim sum place? I had to try it! Waited in line. Kept my 6 ft distance until our turn. It's a limited dim sum menu but it had our typical items- har gao, chicken feet, shrimp rice noodle and custard bun. Drive it home and setup shop in front our our tv. All the items were tasty and I can't complain. So glad to found another dim sum spot. Gotta come back to try the roast duck. read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Menu offering during covid times - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Tasty dim sum at a steal! Like many dim sum takeout places, this is a very no frills place. They have a more limited menu when it comes to dim sum places, but I'm kinda boring when it comes to dim sum and usually stick to the same few every time. Shrimp dumpings, har gow, are one of my easy go-tos. I popped in for a quick casual snack the other day lol. I was pleased with the pricing - $3.35 gets you 4 pieces! At other spots, like one I frequent in the Richmond in SF, that price will only get your 3 pieces. And they didn't skimp out on quality or seafood! The dumplings were packed with shrimp and it wasn't too much dough/wrapper. I was in/out very quickly. I also asked for soy sauce and the woman provided that with no issues, along with napkins and a fork! I will be back! #gotmydimsumfix read more

Big Dish Restaurant - Shrimp dumpling aka har gow! 4 pieces for $3.35 - good deal! Tasty, plenty of shrimp inside. I will be back! - Barbeque Near Me - Oakland, California

Food, price, service is good. Place is better known for take out. Ambiance is "hole in the wall" type of place. Great place for delicious cheap eats. $25 and up to use credit cards; otherwise cash. read more

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I was in Oakland this past week, and the food is ok. A lot of the food is hit or miss. The shrimp noodle rolls were to die for, but the shrimp and chive dumplings had a lot of chives in it that the onion flavor just completely overpowered the rest of the dumplings. Finally, I love a Chinese roasted style duck, but the duck wasn't as good as some SF Chinatown places. Finally, the service was scattered. They would go from taking part of my order to then taking care of another customer's order before checking in on me. Additionally, we asked for the steamed chicken and pork buns, but they forgot to include them in the order. It's hard to recommend this place or imagining myself coming back. read more