Where am I suppose to go for BBQ Pork Buns / Char Siu Bao buns ? I posed this question in the Worcester FB group and most of them pointed me towards this restaurant. I've previously eaten here a few times, but I've never managed to stop by early enough for their Dim Sum lunch until now. As a side note, I cannot believe Worcester doesn't have ANY restaurants that serve these buns? Sounds like some enterprising individual needs to fulfill this void. I normally drive all the way to Joyful Garden in Watertown when I have a Dim Sum craving. Other times I will already be wandering through Boston before I stop by Hei La Moon. I came here with the expectation that I will get the same quality foods. This place has got a pretty darn big parking lot. I'm not going to count every spot on Google Maps, but it's about 50 spots. So it should not be hard to park. Walking inside, I was quickly greeted by the wait staff and directed to my table. I'm no interior design expert, so I will candidly say that the decor totally yells 'very Chinese' and elegant. I don't know man, just look at the interior pictures and you'll understand what I mean. If you've never done Dim Sum before, it can be very overwhelming. Someone with a cart will come by and you'll have several seconds to process what's available and say "Yes" or "No" through a variety of dishes they point at. And then before you can recover, another staff member will come by with another cart with towers of steaming baskets and you go through the song and dance again. I kid you not, in the average Dim Sum experience you will sit down and then have a table full of food literally within a few minutes. Before I knew it, I had 3 plates and 3 baskets on my table. The verdict? Totally delicious. I'm not going to talk about every dish I got and wax poetic one by one. I don't have time for that, and if you've been to one Dim Sum place, then you've been to all of them. I will give a few shoutouts for the sake populating this review with important keywords. Char Siu Bao bun / Baked BBQ Pork bun ; this is my favorite dish and precisely the reason why I came in. The bread is so light and the pork filling is so delicious sweet and savory. I'm in heaven Chicken Feet ; actually, I will note that the chicken feet here are not as flavorful as other places I've been to. This is a small nitpick because it still firmly lands in the delicious spectrum. It's the difference between scoring an A and an A- Random Pork Bun ; ??? I cannot find it on the menu, but I chose a set of 3 buns that were filled with pork. The bun style was closely similar to the chewy glutinous sesame balls and they were filled more yummy pork. I've never eaten these before. Shiu Mai ; holy sh** these are the biggest Shiu Mai I've ever eaten. I had an awesome experience here and I recommend it anyone in the area to give this place a shot if they don't want to drive all the way to Malden/Watertown/Boston/Quincy. read more

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Experiences have ranged from a 3*** to 4****+ with the variable being both food and service. Definitely very good Chinese food worth the visit. Typically, you are quickly seated with the server checking in immediately and providing hot tea for the table. This is based on 3 recent visits, and weighted by the last visit which was a disappointment. The neon lights outside beckon you to come in. It's a brightly lit dining room with round tables typical a large Dim Sum restaurant in Boston. Perhaps a little too bright, but there is typically a table available. It offers late dining which is great. The food is certainly very good typically with good sized portions at a good value. The pan friend dumplings a large, tender and a great value. The Hunan and Sichuan dishes provide healthy portions. Definitely very good Chinese food for the area. It is typically served quickly and very hot. The service has been mixed. On a not so busy night, we felt ignored. It took a long time to get drinks (arriving with the food in one case) on one occasion. read more

China Star - Hunan chicken - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

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Gotten take out It's not too bad but I went in for lunch one day with a friend. Went to use the bathroom and I never saw a public bathroom that was as disgusting as this , walked in and right back out. Bugs trash animal poop just everywhere like they don't even care . I can't imagine how bad the kitchen must be . Have not gone back since! read more

We went on a Sunday @ 11 am. Place was busy, not packed, with a heavily Asian but mixed clientele. Easy parking with lots of room inside especially for large groups. No waiting, and the ladies pushing carts came to our table right away. Very expansive menu, as expected for Cantonese-style dim sum! Food was good, but would have been tastier if it had been warmer. Price for 11 dishes was under $100 before tip with LOTS to bring home. We would definitely go back again. read more

China Star - spare ribs, steamd BBQ pork bun, XLB, baked BBQ pork bun, leaf-wrapped sticky rice - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

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I'm glad Lowell has a place like this. This spot reminds me of Chau Chow city in Dorchester, Peach Farm/New Golden gate in Chinatown. Recently renovated, it definitely feels more welcoming to dine in. It's so live on the weekends during dim sum time. It's always a pack house. Parking situation might be tough but just be patient. There's always a party leaving every 5-10 minutes. Expect heavy traffic lol Fried calamari was really good. Make sure to go up and get it once they bring it out. Black bean clams were ok, a little bland for me. Shumai they had a couple options. I definitely like the XL size ones. Steamed shrimp noodles were ok, not bad. Chicken feet were pretty good. Overall, for dimsum, it's good but not the best. Definitely better than most other spots. read more

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Super service, super friendly and the new bathroom off the bar is spotless! If there is something on the dim sum cart I want fresh, they will cook it for me! My mom is 99, and this is her VERY FAVORITE PLACE! THANK YOU Lily and staff, we love you! read more

Overcooked & overpriced dim sum. My go-to is the chicken feet but I couldn't eat them here. I ordered the chicken feet with black bean sauce and when I tasted it it tasted like char sui! Red and super sweet. No, thank you! I also love tripe but neither flavors here did it for me (honeycomb in black bean sauce and another in vinegar). The tripe was greasy and left an awful mouthfeel. The dumplings and Chinese broccoli were mediocre. The Star of the show was the salt & pepper shrimp, fried and flavored to perfection! Service was decent. Their sanitary department could probably use help. Decor is typical Chinese restaurant; nothing grand. It was busy with regulars from what I could see I've definitely had better dim sum elsewhere and would not recommend or return to this establishment. read more

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Came here before going jewelry shopping for my son. Needed a quick bite to eat. Chicken feet were not good and we ordered two. My sister loves chicken feet and got excited. It was way too sweet! Tripe was pretty decent flavor, dumplings were fine, salt and pepper shrimp were delicious and hot! They made us the wrong Chinese broccoli; we ordered it with garlic sauce and they put oyster sauce. They did re make it for us no problem. Service was alright, never asked if we needed anything or how food taste. Typical Asian dim sum place. Went to use the bathroom, saw a worker come in with gloves to wash hands, then used the bathroom with gloves, and leave the bathroom with the same gloves on after she picked her nose. Yeah that was gross. Good thing I ate already. read more

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The ambience it's traditional Chinese restaurant. The service was decent. The dim sum dishes were mostly on the soggy side. not just one or two dishes, but a lot of the dishes had too much water in them. the shu mai for example, the corn start/flour that's in them to bind everything together was incredibly mushy. the chicken feet were way over cooked and dried out. the turnip cake had too much water. it was almost jiggly like jello. overall, it's the worst dim sum place i have ever been to in my life so far. read more

China Star - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

For dimsum, it is average. Prefer going quincy/boston has better ones. Best thing here is thier fried calamari, shrimp and coconut shrimp. read more

China Star - Fried calamari, coconut shrimp and shrimp. - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

This is our go-to place when we want dim sum and don't want to drive to Boston. Place is always busy on weekends but they generally sit you right away if you have a small party. The ladies with their carts will make their way to your table as soon as you are seated. There's plenty of tasty choices going around. You can also order off the picture menu which is also helpful if you don't see what you want going around. Don't forget to try the watermelon drink (didn't catch the name) - it is a sweet and refreshing drink served right from a watermelon. read more

Excellent food quality & friendly accommodating service! Staff is great! Worth a visit! read more

This restaurant is one of the best Asian restaurants that I ate at? They have fresh lobster, crabs, eel, and fish in the tank and everything was so delicious and the service was great. read more

We went for Dim Sum for New Years day. It was 11:15am and the place was already packed full! They had a table for us. and hot tea and waters were put down. We did not even have our jackets off and the cart ladies were decending on us with all the many dishes. I asked for a picture menu so I can pick and choose and really know what I am getting. Does anyone think the cart ladies are a bit aggressive in selling their dishes? We got several dishes, many with shrimp and pork, and beef. Dumpling & eggrolls too. The best was the roasted pork belly with the crispy skin. Service was spotty at best and we had to doan our own take away containers. The mens room was not the best of cleaniness and the floors were greasy. Price was $100 with tip for the 2 of us. read more

Absolutely terrible service. They separated the Asian people from any other race. Not sure what sort of discrimination they are doing. Their chicken seemed pretty old from the taste, not sure if it was safe to eat. Other people got great service so Ifykyk. read more

If you want authentic Chinese food, here is where you go. They also do a very good job with the fake Chinese food i.e...boneless ribs, chicken fingers, pu pu platter. read more

Have been there three times, sometimes the food is good, others is lousy, not consistent in quality at all.

I really like this place for a classic dim sum vibe because they roll the cart around. It may be a little overwhelming since there's a lot of carts moving around at once and they're asking you what you want, even if you don't necessarily know what you want. When I went with my friend who speaks Mandarin, I was able to find understand more of the options that were available on each cart. Overall, pretty good dim sum in the Merrimack valley, I would definitely keep going here for my dim sum fix read more

China Star - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

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The food is very salty. Food tastes like old oils. They need to improve on their food. Changing oils more often make food taste better.

We came to this place knowing that food was not going to be super authentic or great, it was just a lot closer than going into Chinatown, Boston. So we came in with lower expectations. However, our expectations were not low enough. We ordered dim sum for take out and here are some thoughts: - flavor was by far the furthest from dim sum we have had. It was unfortunately worse than some frozen dim sum that you can get at Asian Super Markets. - Everything was greasy and flavorless. - There is a lack of wok hei in the dishes. read more

China Star - siu mai with a little extra ... like extra metal band... what is it from? - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Feels like a Boston Chinatown dining experience, only in Lowell. Have yet to try the dim sum but for a weekend lunch, it's unparalleled. The amount of food on each plate is massive, and we have twice come with major appetites and been felled by the sheer abundance on the tables both times, dragging home another two family meals' worth of leftovers. So many good authentic seafood dishes, as well as the usual Americanized Chinese that my one picky child will eat. Snappy service, food is out quickly, excellent value for what you get in portion size but also quality of food, and just an overall fun place to eat out when you have a crowd. read more

If you're going, you better be ready. If you're an inexperienced dim summer you WILL leave with shit that you don't want on your table. Honestly though, the service is fine enough and the food is above average for the price. read more

I had an absolutely fantastic experience at China Star. This has become our go to Dim Sum spot! The place is huge with plenty of seating the wait staff greeted me with warm smiles and were incredibly friendly and fast--my water glass was never empty, and they checked in just the right amount without hovering. The ambiance was highly energetic with food carts everywhere, from the moment you are seated you start eating ! One of the carts gets there while u are taking off ur coat, they are filling water glasses and delivering tea and you are selecting ur food immediately! This made the meal even more enjoyable. Now, the food--wow. The quality was of the highest order, the dim sum here and pea pods are first rate! Savory, carts, desert carts, fried food carts, noodles the variety is substantial. and being able to just pick and choose made it such a fun experience. Every ingredient, from the fresh veggies to the dipping sauces, was top-notch. I left feeling full, happy, and already planning my next visit. If you're a fan of authentic Dim Sum or just love amazing food, this place is a must-try. Thanks again China Star! read more

I tried the shrimp dumplings this Saturday and it was awful. The shrimp dumpling wrapper fall off easily and not as good as before. The rest of other dim sum seems ok but not hot enough. Service is so and so.... read more

China Star - Their Shrimp dumplings is awful.. not as good as before. - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Came here three times in past couple months, twice for dim sum Lunch. Taste: 2/5 Service: 3/5 staff try to load your table up with too much stuff you don't want before you can order and act confused if you actually try to look through and choose something from the sticky menus. Place is not clean. Novelty: 4 stars for being the only dim sum place I have heard of around here. read more

Alright dim sum place in the countryside. Would I drive there from Boston for dim sum. No! The basics are okay and if I am in the neighborhood, I shall come back. The pork belly was phantastic. The chicken feet not so much. Shrimp dumplings were as good as Chinatown. The lobster dumplings in contrast had a mushy skin. It's hard to judge the overall food quality so I recommend to take a close look at the passing cart to determine what looks promising. read more

Great food, services and environment. The best Dim Sum in the greater Lowell area. They also have excellent other dishes. This is our family's favorite restaurant for Chinese dinner. Highly recommended. read more

First we found hair in our shrimp noodle and then found a roach in our stream chicken feet. This is gross and didn't care about finishing our foods and just paid and left. Stay away until they actually clean this place, we rather drive into Boston to get dim sum and never going to eat here again. read more

Went to dim sum with my boys this afternoon at China Star Dim Sum in Lowell and the food was fantastic. With so few places on the North Shore to eat dim sum, China Star is a welcome sight outside of Boston's Chinatown and Quincy's Asian community restaurants. I grew up eating dim sum with my father on Sundays (back then it was only available in Chinatown on weekends) before Celtics' games and have carried on this dim sum tradition with my own boys. It's a great relaxing meal that gives you an opportunity to eat and socialize with the people your with. Whether your adventurous and new to dim sum or if you've been many times China Star has dim sum for all tastes and styles. We ordered shrimp dumplings, turnip cake, steamed pork buns, spare ribs in black bean sauce, shrimp rice noodle, pork dumplings, scallop dumpling and sugared egg custard rolls for the end. The food is fresh and hot and the service is fantastic! Dim sum at. Gina Star is served in the traditional manner whereby servers walk around the restaurant pushing carts with lots of small plates and you select the dishes you wish to eat. I was so busy eating this trip that I forgot to snap some pics of the food, but we'll be back and I will update my review then. Go and try dim sum at China Star and you won't be sorry! read more

This was the worst experience I've ever had in a restaurant. One of the waitresses aggressively pushed us to order a dish which was not as good as she said. When we asked her to give us the reason why the dish was so salty and in poor quality, she was very arrogant and refused to give us a reason. Besides it seemed the boss just sat over another table but also said nothing about the food quality. I never met so terrible service in US! read more

Thank goodness for China Star! This restaurant serves up Chinatown style dishes without having to commute down to Boston for authentic dishes. They do have the typical American Chinese food too as variety. And they offer dim sum daily from 9am-3pm. Their extensive menu of these types of cuisines can be ordered for pickup, delivery, or while dining in. The restaurant setting is in a large function room with banquet furniture and a bar. And they have a huge private parking lot on the side of the building that extends to the back. Deep-Fried Salt and Pepper Pork Chops- Our favorite dish to order from here! It's fried until golden, seasoned with salt, garlic, chili pepper, and jalapeno. So good! Chicken & Corn Soup- This is so comforting. It kind of reminds me of egg drop soup but with chicken chunks and sweet corn. Best with chili oil! (ask for this on the side) Shrimp Noodle Rolls- These are just sheets of noodles rolled up with bouncy shrimp and doused in sweet soy sauce. Yum! Garlic Chicken Wings- They do not mess around! The wings were plump and there was on ton stuffed inside that black plastic container with the clear lid. The meat was juicy, the exterior was sticky, sweet, and garlicky! Overall Services: I've tried all three, pick up, delivery but only dine-in once before COVID-19, all fantastic service! The front desk is super friendly. When I used to drive home from work, I would call in advance for pick up and they always welcomed me with a smile. And everyone is wearing masks with the current precaution. Hopefully, people continue to support this establishment so they can stay in business for years to come! read more

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Overall food was good but their chow mein was very garlicky. Pork fried rice was overcooked. Appetizers were very good and egg foo young was excellent. read more

A Truly Abhorrent Experience - Stay Far Away If I could give this place zero stars, I would. My recent visit to China Star was, without exaggeration, the worst dining experience I have ever had. We came in with a group of 20 people, expecting a decent meal and a hospitable atmosphere. Instead, we were met with disgusting food, outright hostility from the staff, and an appalling level of unprofessionalism--especially from the so-called manager, Lilly. To start, we were charged for food that we never even received. The dishes that did arrive were completely different from what we ordered--and when we pointed it out, instead of correcting the mistake, the waitresses yelled at us and berated us. Let me be clear: we were treated with complete disrespect for simply expecting the food we paid for. We spent over $600 for this atrocity of a meal. And when we tried to address the issues with the owner? All we got was a hollow apology--no attempt to fix anything, no effort to make it right. An apology doesn't undo the blatant disrespect and incompetence we endured. I cannot stress enough how despicable this establishment is. From the revolting food to the profoundly unprofessional staff, this was a disaster from start to finish. I will never step foot in this place again, and I will make sure others know to stay far away. If you value your money, your time, and basic human decency, do not eat here. read more

I preferred the house low Mein it was delicious. The fried calamari was a lot and crunchy . And the ordered three combo meals . They gave a lot of pork fried. Yes I recommend, they did the job not being cheap with the potions. read more

Huge portions, the entries can feed more than 1 person. Each one of us in our party ordered and we had too much food, LOL

We have been to this place more than 5 times in the past year, food was decent that is why we keep coming back but today we have really bad experience. First, we got charge for 33 items (9 Kitchen specials, 17 Large Dim Sum, and 7 specials) and this is the picture of the " 33 items" they refer to. I like to take pictures of food before we eat so I show the waitress this, she said no it is correct # she had there. Anyway, It was my fault to that I didn't check the stamp paper when they put the food down and didn't check it before that"check lady" took the paper. Every time when we went there, I marked down how many plates we have because one time they triple charge us before, this time I do not have other proof beside pictures to argue with them because they kept saying it's correct, it's correct, you eat more and we took plates. 2. They brought out 1 pot of tea when we arrive, but I don't drink tea, only 1 of my mom friend having 1 cup of it and he said it wasn't taste good so we ask for 4 water, 1 water in plastic cup for kid, and I also order 1 Mai Tai for myself, and 1 soda for my mom's friend. Well, we got charge for 4 pots of tea, so I said this is I know for sure this # is not correct. it is not 4, they just add up # Now that lady cannot try to make her own way of excuse and said she will void the tea out(the check originally was $215) she return with new check after" void the tea out" the check was still $215, and I was like Hey! This is 3rd scam BS. I cannot believe what happened next, she said ok ok, she put a box in my 3rd years old daughter hand before i can say anything and she said your daughter take 1 more food. and that is the same price with 4 tea 3. I'm getting so annoyed how the scamming rat waitress try to scam and fool me so I wanted to pay and leave because I was embarrassed to invite my mom's friend to this place and told them this place was good. So, I pay and gave her $25 tips. Guess what!? That same waitress who never sever us came back demanding 15-20%tip, they never fill water for us, never give us straws when we ask, never give my daughter water. I never leave 15% tip in my life(at least I do 25-40%) but this time i don't even want to tip despite the # of dishes is way off from what we order and now she wanted more tips? I asked her " If you are not happy with $25 tips, I can cross it off and leave nothing" there is no such thing as 15% tip law in US isn't it?" she left swearing in Chinese read more

China Star - Fried shrimp, calamari, clams, roll, shrimp roll, boneless ribs,shrimp dumpings, Ha Gao, Chinese broccoli, chicken feet, ribs, etc - Dim Sum Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Originally gave four stars despite being yelled at on the phone and the dingy atmosphere. I am deducting two more stars after my last experience here. There was no service for our table. We did not get drinks for 20 minutes and by then our food was cold. Same story at other tables trying to flag servers down. The place is dirty. The cups were dirty, the tablecloths were dirty. The smell in here is not good, and I am VERY concerned about the carpeting since I witnessed a lot of food and drink being spilled during our sitting. Unless this carpet is getting steam cleaned every night, I don't know how pests could be kept away. In fact, I don't even want to come back because of it. Despite everything, this place still does a lot of business. I am puzzled as to why they have not renovated when they are PACKED all the time. This place needs concrete & epoxy floor, new lighting, paint, tables, and seating with no soft surfaces. This way, things can be wiped down between guests instead of dealing with dirty table cloths. There is also a language barrier that could be addressed by simply adding a paper menu to each table that can be marked to order dim sum. Then cart ladies can add additional marks if you take something from the cart. They also need a dedicated takeout window because the front of house does not have enough space with everyone in a confused line for seating and pick up. With these changes, I think this place could do even better. read more

I had pretty high hopes coming to visit China Star seeing how its rare to find an authentic Dim Sum place this far out of Boston and probably the only one in the Lowell area that's this big and with plenty of parking spots. Unfortunately the over all dining experience was only decent and it would be hard to pressed for a return visit. First the good parts as mentioned the restaurant is rather large so no problem seating a big party and the service was actually pretty good for a dim sum restaurant. The food that were available were pretty good and as about what you expected for a good dim sum restaurants. However, they were missing quite a lot of menu items when we were there 2pm which is understandable seeing how their Dim Sum carts ends at 3 but it was disappointing for sure. Prices definitely on the higher end as well it's probably the most expensive one I've visited in the Greater Boston region. I suppose in the future if I could visit earlier or call before to confirm if the things I was craving are still available I could give it another chance. read more

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Ok so China Star isn't my favorite place for dim sum but it'll do... There aren't too many good options in NH so it's a pretty well known fact that you have to make the trek down to Lowell for good Asian eats. Not sure if it was because there wasn't much turnover on a rainy weekday but some of the food we got from the dim sum carts was kind of cold so that was a little off-putting. It's also pretty odd that they keep a bottle of tabasco sauce on the tables... So I usually judge a dim sum place by my dim sum staples: hargow, shumai, and shrimp rice noodle rolls. Unfortunately most of these were a little cold. Taste-wise, I wasn't getting much flavor from the hargow and I wasn't totally satisfied with the dumpling wrapper either. Texture could have been better. The shumai was pretty solid though - not the best, but good enough. The shrimp rice noodle rolls were cold and kind of sloppily put together. I was surprised by how much I liked their red bean sesame balls. Good crispy texture on the outside and it was wonderfully chewy with slightly sweet red bean paste on the inside. I don't have much of a sweet tooth so this was perfect. The egg tarts were just okay. You can find fresher tasting ones in Boston's Chinatown. Overall, China Star is ok and will satisfy a craving although it is a little pricey. read more

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I am a 74 year old Chinese man. I've had dim sum many times through the years. This restaurant is right up at the top of the list. wonderful flavor and hot tea made a wonderful brunch.- read more