I love this place for a casual Sunday dim sum or a dinner. Dimsum is good and solid. The Har Gau, shrimp rolls were all delicious. They come around on carts which so very authentic. Vibe is 3/5 - clean, good patrons and the interior looks very authenticly Chinese so you feel like it's an "occasion". read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Dimsum - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Haven't been here for 20 years since I was a young teenager with family. Cool thing it's still here, renovated, clean, and still serving the solid staple dim sum. Classic Cheong fun, ha gow, Dow fu fa, braised chicken feet, shrimp rolls, and soy paper wrapped rolls were all enjoyable. Some were a little saltier than my family would like but nothing I would consider never again. Good dim sum doesn't exist where I live so there is definitely another half star given for the nostalgia of my childhood and me missing good dim sum. However, I say it deserves it for being friendlier than many 'old school ran Chinese restaurants' and CLEAN bathrooms so that deserves the higher rating. Hope they keep it up next time I get to drop by again. read more

I really wanted to like China Pearl when I heard they had an amazing renovation. From the pictures and videos on social media, indeed it looked really nice. Very intimate and elegant. The decor of the dining area and bar was very pretty. That being said, the food was still bad... That has not changed at all. Steamed rice noodles were soggy and breaks apart when you pick up, chicken feet tasted old and so bland, the meatballs were also bland although they pour sauce on top, still bland, the shu Mai tasted old. It just had this old taste to it. Like it's been in the freezer for too long. The only thing that was decent were the spare ribs. Overall, I'll say, you come try it for yourself. Everyone's taste buds is different. Come and enjoy the beautiful decor and atmosphere. read more

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I've been coming here since I was a child. It's your classic dim sum parlor with the ladies pushing the carts. For a few years they had to renovate the interior, and they finally opened, and it looks beautiful inside. Come here for the classic dim sum experience. My go tos are usually the rice noodles (cheung fun) and the bbq pork baos. read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Cheung fun and Cha siu baos - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Very nice Ambiance, food was delicious, plentiful, excellent service. Not cheap for Chinatown, it's worth it for delicious food, ambiance and fast service. A venerable institution in Chinatown's culinary scene, this restaurant was one of the longtime anchor Resturant, and main resturant for hosting Chinese wedding banquet and long lines for dim sum on weekends, since I grew up in Boston, times and changes in Chinatown took a toll in its outdated style to adapt with current times. Now the reopened after an extensive renovation following a prolonged closure. It's back!!!! We sampled their dim sum a few months prior and revisited for our inaugural dinner meal since its relaunch. The experience was exceptionally good!!! Delicious! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - New entrance to China Pearl. - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Boston Chinatown is home to countless restaurants, bakeries and shops. Throw a rock in any direction and you'll hit a Chinese eatery or a bakery. Over the years, my experience at the restaurants in Chinatown has been good. Never disappointed and never really wowed. My biggest pet peeve with most Chinatown restaurants is that I don't believe anything is made or cooked to order. Regardless, we had a nice & cozy experience at China Pearl. The ambience is very charming, full of authenticity & Chinese character. Service was good while trying to overcome the severe language barrier. Evidently we didn't try hard enough given that our entree arrived before our appetizer, and we got Orange Beef when we had ordered Sesame Beef. Shu Mai This appetizer item was in fact tasty. However I couldn't tell if they were made fresh. Beef Fried Rice Extremely generous portion. Same pet peeve where I believe a huge batch is made ahead of time and portioned per order. It was good Orange Beef Not the biggest fan when beef is covered in cornstarch. But this would be considered a guilty pleasure. And it was a generous portion of orange marinated beef served with steamed broccoli. Paired well with our fried rice All in all, I've yet to be wowed at an eatery in the wonderful Boston Chinatown neighborhood. read more

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First time coming here after the remodel -- the new interior looks great, way more modern but still keeps that Chinatown charm. We ordered a bunch of dishes and everything was delicious! Highlights were the black pepper beef tenderloin, garlic shrimp, and seafood soup. The mango pomelo sago at the end was the perfect finish -- light and refreshing. Feels like a little taste of Hong Kong right in Boston. Definitely coming back! read more

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They open during Christmas so we went to check it out since I haven't been there since I was a kid (before all the fancy renovations). Inside was about 75% full of people at around 1230pm. They still use the traditional cart method which in my opinion is outdated, inefficient, and poor use of staff. The other restaurants have switched over to check list menus with pictures, which not only does it lay out all the options for you but you also order everything in one go instead of having the cart aunties continuously circle around trying to sell their dishes. From a food perspective, this is not the best dim sum I've had but from a boston perspective, the bar was never that high for dim sum or even food in general. All the items were pretty typical. The soy sauce chow mein was lacking the crunch and looked dull. The egg tart was tiny bite sized. The typical siu mai and dumplings was nothing special from what you can get elsewhere. The rice rolls were also typical. The stand out item was the baked char siu bun, which we ordered multiple of. The tofu pudding was lacking the typical syrup flavor. Overall, they can renovate the place all they want but the dim sum does not hit, it becomes a front to attract a different audience. If I find myself in Boston chinatown again, I will try other dim sum spots. This wouldn't be my first option. As a kid, Windsor and great taste were the spots but as I remembered, they are small restaurants and crowd quickly. read more

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China Pearl is that longstanding, well-known dim sum place right in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. It closed down for renovations a few years back but just reopened this year, so it was good to see it busy again. The service is pretty much the classic, traditional dim sum experience. They use the carts that servers push around the dining room, which is always fun. It definitely helps if you know a little Cantonese to flag things down, but they also have paper menus you can point to if you want to order something specific or just identify what's on the carts. The dishes themselves are the standard, classic types of dim sum you'd expect. We saw and tried things like chicken feet, sesame balls, bo luo bao (pineapple buns), and all the usual dumplings and steamed items. Each dish was around eight dollars, which is pretty much the going rate at other dim sum spots in Boston now. As for the taste, it was fulfilling and hit the spot, but we found it to be pretty standard as well, with it being solidly made and authentic, but nothing that particularly reinvented the wheel or stood out dramatically from other good restaurants in the neighborhood. It's a reliable spot for that traditional cart experience. If you're looking for a consistent, classic dim sum meal in a historic setting, it definitely delivers. read more

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Man, I can't remember the last time I last went to China Pearl... must've been at least a decade ago? They had just finished remodeling not too long ago and reopened with this beautiful, modern interior! We came here as guests for a dinner with ~10 tables and were served the same 8ish dishes as the other tables. Food honestly hasn't changed much... not the best. But I guess China Pearl hasn't ever been known to be booked for the food, more so for the venue + how they have the space to cater for large parties of people for events etc. The chicken was a little on the rare side, very bloody lol. The crab meat & fish maw soup tasted peculiar. I usually enjoy this soup w/ reg vinegar and white pepper, but something was off about it & I still can't put my finger on it. Only took a few sips before putting it off to the side. The fish, although looked pretty appetizing, was kind of a flop too. It had this weird aftertaste and not much flavor behind it. Pretty much, in conclusion the food wasn't great. I will say though that the mango pomelo sago dessert soup at the end was probably one of the best dessert soups that I've had in the Boston area! Much better than the typical red bean/green bean/taro sago soups served at other Chinese restaurants. We were all agreeing at the table that this was like the quality we'd expect from establishments that mainly sell dessert soups and we'd definitely buy & order this again. Other than the soup, meh. Likely won't be back unless for an event. read more

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Beautiful space worth checking out after the remodel. We had a wonderful dinner for a group of 10. Plenty of seating for large parties in a modern setting. The food was delicious. They nailed all the classic Cantonese dishes. Less oily and more fresh than you get at a lot of places. You have to get the imperial pork chops. Sweet, caramelized battered bites of bliss. The service is great and the owner is super friendly. If you don't speak Chinese, that's okay because you can order and get recommendations in English. They offer their dim sum menu for dinner as well so there is a large variety of options. Prices are reasonable for the portion sizes and quality. Worth a visit if you haven't been since their remodel. read more

Came here for a graduation dinner on a Saturday evening and had a delicious meal! The renovations look great. It's incredibly spacious and the bathroom is nice (especially the mirrors). That being said, because it is so spacious, there's a lot of noise. Also, I really hope they are able to add in lazy susans to the larger tables, since it was quite tough to reach over the table to get to dishes and the serving dishes were heavy so it wasn't ideal passing them around the table. The service was very accommodating, and we appreciated their flexibility in rescheduling our reservation. Unfortunately, they didn't have any crab or lobster available (they ran out). They did seem a bit short staffed; it could have been because it was getting late on a Saturday. The food was delicious! We enjoyed so many dishes, including the pork belly (shaped like a pyramid) as well as the fried rice, the beef chow fun, the beef and egg soup, the walnut shrimp, the clams, and the candied pecans (a nice alternative to roasted peanuts that are typical at Chinese restaurants). read more

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Randomly stopped by China Pearl for dim sum during a Chinatown festival. The restaurant has got to be one of the cleanest dim sum spots I've ever been in! Servers are pretty attentive and speak both Canto and English. Food was pretty good overall and have some decent size portions. They also have an expanded menu for more family style dishes but we didn't order. Great spot if you're craving dim sum! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My husband and I are so excited China Pearl has reopened after 5 years of being closed (2-the pandemic & then 3-renovation). They did an incredible job. I love the giant windows!!! Never had them before. Well they did but they were covered by drywall. And what's even more wonderful-the food is still amazing and the service always good but now - outstanding! I like how they serve cold water in tall glasses instead of small plastic cups like they used to. The host Patty gave us a welcome back hug. We always took the kids here at least once a month for Dim Sum. We will be back! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Sarah & Michael - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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A Chinatown staple is... BACK! Much cleaner and more modern. Staff has definitely been trained properly - feels like white table cloth kind of service with the asian auntie charm. Great for big groups. Food was fresh, light, clean, NOT greasy/oily, and just delectable. Noteable dishes: rice rolls, siu mai, harkow, shrimp celery curd roll, crispy mochi, and so much more. Highly recommend checking it out now that they've remodeled! read more

Pretty mid. Sticky rice was the best but have to chase someone down for hot sauce every 5 seconds. Shrimp Egg rolls were next but cold. Dumplings, bean curd, and turnip cake were all lacking flavor and flair. Turnip cake needs way more crisp and they put hosin sauce all over the side we didn't ask for. They should just have sauces at the table. My water glass had someone else's lipstick on it. Cute ambiance but think it speaks volumes I prefer an Illinois chain (minghin) over this Chinatown restaurant. Started sweeping on top of us while eating. Also tried to put us in the white pol section when we're Asian smh. Service is decently fast but not that friendly read more

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We originally went to China Pearl on a food tour and tried a few pieces of their Dim Sum and loved it. So on our last night of our trip in Boston we decided to go back for dinner, and if we were impressed before, well... We are in love now. We ordered a lot!!! In addition to more Dim Sum, we ordered, vegetable pan fried noodles, original chef's chicken, pork belly bao buns, Fried rice and Jazmine tea. Their serving portions are huge, family style. Every dish was so fresh, so delicious and warm. We loved everything. I highly recommend this place. read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Dim Sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Overall, good dimsum. My favorite is the shumai. It's big and packed with flavor. The steamed rice rolls with meat are good and surprisingly have a lot of filling. Xiao long bao doesn't have too much broth inside. Hargow skin is a little too thick, but there are pieces of chopped shrimp inside. I don't really like the filling of the second to last picture. Tofu with sweet ginger soup is good! The restaurant is very spacious and is nicely decorated. read more

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My family and I love the new China Pearl. This is my husband's favorite dimsum place in Boston. The decor is instagram worthy and very clean. The service is good-- the staff were very attentive as we had someone who didn't eat meat and allergic to onions. Every thing we ordered was delicious. We are already looking forward to going back. read more

China Pearl Restaurant - fresh from the oven char siu bao - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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If you are ever in Boston, this place has wonderful Dim Sum! They came by our table with the traditional carts offering different types of dumplings, soups and spring rolls. Ambiance was very cozy and nice dragons on the walls. Service was great! I think my favorite was the soup dumplings and the red bean sesame balls! read more

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We came here on Sunday morning, we didn't need a reservation, but it does get busier during lunchtime. It's your traditional family cart style where you can pick whichever dish you like. The quality is OK. Most of the food is kinda on the soggy side, but it does fixate the dim sum craving. Unfortunately, there is no soy sauce bottle so if you need to get more sauce, you have to request it every time. there's parking for 20 bucks for two hours right next to the place otherwise it's tight street parking. read more

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The newly renovated China Pearl has everything you are looking for in traditional cart dim sum. The offerings are very good and the service was friendly. read more

China Pearl, 9 Tyler St. Chinatown has reopened after remodeling!! I stopped in today for dim sum and it was excellent as usual! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Newly remodeled! - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I've been coming here for years and when I saw they reopened after a couple years I was thrilled. The food was just as authentic and delicious as I remembered. The interior of the restaurant changed significantly and is much more modern but lost some of the Chinese theme charm I enjoyed growing up. The prices increased a bit which is understandable. All and all still a great place to enjoy dim sum. read more

Wow--what an incredible meal my family and I had at China Pearl! This was hands down some of the best traditional Chinese food I've had anywhere in the U.S. The dishes were flavorful, authentic, and beautifully prepared. The restaurant is family-run, and their hospitality truly stood out--warm, welcoming, and attentive from start to finish. The interior was recently renovated and looks fantastic--clean, modern, and inviting, while still keeping a traditional charm. Whether you're going with family or meeting up with friends, China Pearl is a perfect spot for lunch or dinner. Don't miss this gem in Boston's Chinatown! read more

China Pearl 2025 China Pearl is the best dim sum restaurant we've had the opportunity to frequent. The food is top notch and after this visit even their siu mai is excellent. Here is a list of our plates: Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls (Shrimp Cheung Fun or Ha Cheung) New Years Rice (Lo Mai Gai) Chicken Claws (Phoenix Claws) Pork Dumpling (Siu Mai) Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go) Fried Shrimp Dumplings (won tons) Sesame Balls (Jian Dui) Tofu Skin Roll with Pork (Fu Pei Quen) Taro Root Dumplings Steamed Custard Buns (Nai Wong Bao) Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow) Eleven plates, two drinks, and jasmine tea. The resulting tab was $95.50 w/o tax. The price breakdown follows: Medium Plates $7 Large Plates $8 X-Large Plate $9 Our order had four medium, six large, and one extra large. The difference between the cost of the plates and the total tab were the beverages. What was missing? The steam line is no longer present. The Chicken Claws stood out amongst all of the food. The flavor and texture has no compare with any I have consumed in the past. The succulence is second only to southern BBQ pork ribs. The Claws are so tender the meat practically falls off the bone. I used to be put off by the idea, chicken claws. My only regret is not trying them sooner. The co-star is Tofu Skin Roll with Pork. I've only found this plate one two of the many dim sum restaurants visited over my life time. These are the best in my experience. When these came around on the cart I almost cried. The staff were extremely courteous. In fact they spoke a little English. In the past that wasn't always the case. In fact I asked one of the staff if they couldn't write down the name of the Tofu Skin Rolls and she did. The pre-covid vibe is gone. That was one of the charming things about the restaurant. It really transported you to China. I'm not sure why, but the shop is about ¼ or a 1/3 of the size. It feels gentrified. However, the cart service is present. I am not a fan of ordering dim sum from a menu. The hustle and bustle of the carts is part of the experience in my opinion. I gave five stars as the food and service were excellent. read more

The just reopened from COVID, the remodeling is great and food is much better. Salt and Pepper Shrimp and Black Beans Clams are amazing. Dim Sum is best in town. read more

Went for dinner after learning they have renovated the place and have a soft opening going on. All the food (including West Lake beef soup, Empire salty chicken, Imperial sauce pork, beef chow fun, black pepper sauce beef tenderloin, Buddha's delight vegetable, and dim sum) we ordered came in a decent portion size and taste pretty good and authentic. The seating is very comfortable, service is good, but expect the price is a little higher than other restaurants. read more

The renovated restaurant is beautiful. Staff were friendly and attentive. The dim sum was very fresh, available by cart and menu

Food was spectacular! Highly recommend. The chicken fried rice was a favorite, along with the sesame beef and lo mein.

Yum yum yum! I love dim sum Good good good! Chinese food !! Fun fun fun! Eat chow fun! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Yum - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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China Pearl just reopened and it's beautiful! They have the usual dim sum favorites in such a nice environment.

Nor that great. the meat wasn't fresh and not many choices for dim sum. I don't think i will go back there.

First things first...we have ONLY gone here for major fund raising banquets paying upwards of $150.00+ for 10+ courses of you name it. Each time I think ahead and avoid lunch the day of the event. Parking is sparse but they do validate parking($13) on the next block. Each banquet, I'm stunned by the fact they pull it off with such finesse...yeah, we're talking 45+ tables of ten guests and each course arrives 'hot' and just in time. They have a full bar... lechie martinis et al. All in a half 'theatre - car dealer' setting from the 1960s that was NOISY. The newly renovated setting needs serious acoustic treatment-ceiling tiles and curtains for starters. The food - excellent...Har Gow, Shi Mai, Shrimp with Walnuts, Cantonese Fried Chicken, Mushroom Bok Choy, Ribeye Steak with Broccoli, Sautéed fish Fillet, Sesame Balls...and the list goes on with gluten free and vegetarian options to boot for 400+ guests in 2 hours. Left overs? Yep, they're on that with take away containers (DIY) for each table. All that said, I'm a little uneasy going when it's not such a full house. They do the 'banquet ballet' sooo well! read more

My girlfriend and I went here for a Valentine's Day dinner. The food was phenomenal and the staff were extremely kind. I still talk about it being the best Lo Mein I've ever had. read more

China Pearl is a great dim sum place! My group of five came around noon on Sunday and waited for around 10 minutes to be seated. The restaurant is super efficient, so we were pleasantly surprised by the wait time considering how many people were waiting to be seated when we arrived. We tried a good number of their dishes, including shumai, har gow, sticky rice, chicken feet, congee and you tiao, pork, beef noodles, Chinese broccoli, steamed rice rolls with shrimp, and tofu pudding. (The beef noodles and Chinese broccoli are at a station that's tucked a little inside the restaurant where you go up with your stamp card and pick out your own dishes.) A few things I wanted to note in case I return with a smaller group and have to be more selective about which items to try - the har gow were a little on the dry side, and the shumai were better; the steam rice rolls with shrimp easily beat both of these - the sticky rice was pretty good, but the meat inside was not as good as what you find in the sticky rice you can get at a bakery - things I'd definitely get again: steamed rice rolls with shrimp, Chinese broccoli, congee (with you tiao of course), and beef noodles (also, I'm not huge on chicken feet but apparently these were pretty good) I would definitely come again--China Pearl's efficiency and wide array of options make it a solid dim sum spot! I got swept up with trying all of the different items, so I didn't end up taking many photos, but everything looked as you'd expect. read more

China Pearl Restaurant - pork sticky rice (comes with 2) - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Just came here yesterday so here's the COVID break-down: - When you walk in, you'll immediately see 4 tables set somewhat apart, but still a bit too close in my opinion. - The right side of the restaurant has an entrance that opens up to an area that is much larger and definitely worth boasting about. Not only were the tables set apart from each other, they had these very impressive tall and transparent separators set up between every table. - As you can expect, there are no carts. You scan a QR code for the menu (or just go to their website for the menu). - All of the staff were wearing a mask. For drinks they only offered three options: Bottled water, hot jasmine tea, or home-made soymilk. The home-made soymilk was delicious. They asked me how much sugar I wanted in it. I usually don't like mine super sweet so that was nice of them to ask. The 5 things my friend and I ordered are listed below from most favorite to least favorite: - #27 Steamed B.B.Q Pork Bun 蒸伹燒包 - The filling had a really authentic cha shao flavor! They also didn't cheap out on the amount of the filling. - #18 Steamed Tofu Roll w/ Minced Pork 蠔皇鮮竹卷 - I really liked the texture of the tofu roll and the filling was full of flavor. - #36 Rice Noodle w/ Chicken & Shiitake Mushrooms 雞絲腸粉 - I didn't think the flavor of the the chicken and shiitake mushrooms was very prominent, but honestly I love rice noodle rolls so I'd definitely get this again (maybe just with shrimp instead). - #24 Steamed Spareribs w/ Black Bean Sauce 䋬汁蒸排骨 - This was a bit of a miss in my opinion. The pork just wasn't as tender as they should have been. - #25 Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf 迷你珍珠雞 - This is a hard pass for the future. In my opinion, sticky rice should taste simple, yet fragrant. Instead, there was a foul flavor with every bite. Not sure what it was. Could even just be my preference in taste doesn't match with the flavor. Meh, who knows. It's really a pity because this was the item I looked forward to the most. It took awhile for us to get our order taken and it took awhile for us to get our check. Regardless, the server was really nice. I could tell she was really busy and the place seemed severely understaffed. However, once we ordered, the food came out immediately - so that's a plus. You can make me wait on many things, but don't make me wait on food, hah! read more

China Pearl Restaurant - Their buns are literally stuffed with delicious filling! - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Covid review. Came in August. Alright, this place ain't too bad. The menu is huge. So many selections, in fact it was hard to choose. Vegetarians might have an issue here since its heavy in the meat section, and the waiters might have a language barrier. However, what I did have... I enjoyed. They have basic asian beer thats around 7 bucks a pop. Portions are huge. Why the 3 stars Desiree? Well we were watched the whole time. I am a sucker for good service,but the waiter stood about 5 feet away from our table and just watched us the whole time. It was almost too attentive and quick. It felt like we were being rushed the whole time too. The decor is Dingey, but felt like an 80s style buffet or banquet hall. Would I come again ? Yes becauce the food is cheap and it was good. Scallion pancakes were fried but good. They really grew on me. The shrimp dumplings were phenomenal. The shrimp crepes and noodles were killer too. read more

I wrapped my Invisalign in napkins(big no-no) and left it on the table. When I realized and ran back to the restaurant, I thought the staff definitely had thrown it away. Surprisingly, they put it in a to-go box and put it aside for me. So thoughtful! Dim sum were good. Not the best in Chinatown though. Adding one star as my gratitude. read more

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TLDR: my favorite cart dim sum in Boston. This is a highly contentious topic. I've been to hei la moon, empire garden, and Mings in Malden. This place just does everything right. The interior is gorgeous and very warm and inviting. Cart ladies are very sweet. Overall food on the weekend was tasty with variety. Special shout out to the pork buns. The only thing you'll notice is that this place is a little more expensive than the other dim sum restaurants. I think other restaurants like the ones listed above might beat it this place on one or two marks but overall this place is best. read more

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