OK, I MUST get on my blowhorn here about this great dim sum gem.
I seriously do not know how this restaurant is not crowded on weekends, but it absolutely DESERVES TO BE.
When you look up "underrated" and "under the radar" in the dictionary, a picture of China Chef should be plastered front and center because this is a hidden gem of a dim sum restaurant.
Finding good dim sum in Northern NJ is as difficult as finding a needle in a stack of needles. It's almost impossible. There are a few dim sum restaurants in the area, but I can count each and every one of them on my hand. In Central NJ, there are a few more options, but that's the length of the list. It's quite a sad state of dim sum restaurants or lack thereof in NJ.
When I found China Chef on Yelp, I was as skeptical as many of the other reviewers. It was the same recurring theme - outdated, not busy, mom and pop ownership. When most people see "not busy", they move on. However, when I read a bit more, I saw that some customers said the food taste better than the place looks and it was actually very good. ENOUGH SAID, we were definitely going to give them a shot.
We dropped in a quiet, drizzly, unassuming Saturday morning at 11am sharp, when they opened for business. As some past reviews said, the restaurant was indeed a bit drab and outdated. From the decor, this was not going to be mistaken for a Michelin star dim sum establishment. However, I was undeterred from the shabby internal dwellings and marched forward. We were quickly seated in the modest dining area and we were off to the races...
We had our dim sum marker card on the table, but where were the carts? About 5 minutes after we situated ourselves - VIOLA - the ONE and ONLY cart made its long-awaited appearance. The cart actually circled around the restaurant to our table and we were served first! The woman manning the cart actually told some customers that we were first, hence why we got first dibs - sweeeeeeet.
I had never seen a single cart system before used in a dim sum restaurant, but it ABSOLUTELY worked here. The single cart had a hodgepodge of dim sum favorites and, if they didn't have it on hand at that moment, they could easily make to order for you in the back. They...had...absolutely...everything! You would have never expected that this mom and pop operation had most, if not all, of the common dim sum dishes, but they did:
Beef rice noodle rolls, shrimp rice noodle rolls, cruller stuffed rice noodle rolls, shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork dumplings (siu mai), chive/leek dumplings, black bean sauce chicken feet, sticky rice in lotus leaf, steamed beef meatballs, deep fried shrimp balls, shrimp stuffed eggplant, egg tarts and, even, coconut pudding/jell-o!
There was actually even more that we didn't order. In addition, they had kitchen items that you could order as well, like, pan fried noodles, chow funs, rice dishes.
OK, so it's great that they had such great variety, but how was the flavor of the food? EXCELLENT. In all honesty, everything was authentically delicious. I couldn't have been more satisfied with how good everything tasted. I wouldn't say my expectations were low, but the variety and taste of everything surprised me. I thought it was going to be OK, but it blew me away.
Sadly, at the height of our meal, there were only about 6-7 tables occupied and many, many more that were not. The restaurant seemed to be clearly run by an elderly couple - both of whom took turns pushing the cart and cleaning the tables. There was literally no one else working the dining area.
I love when I find quiet, hidden gems because I can always go back to it without it being crowded like a Friday night at the club, but this establishment deserves more business - the woman manning the cart was so friendly to us and asked us where we were from. She also kept thanking us back for the business when we thanked her (in Cantonese) for the dishes. And, of course, the dim sum - amazingly authentic and as good as it gets anywhere. If you're looking for dim sum in Northern NJ and haven't been, GO, GO, GO! Support the heck out of this local, mom and pop business because they deserve it! read more