Really unique Dim Sum spot!…read more Think Cantonese Dim Sum, but with subtle Vietnamese twists. The chili oil they use is actually Vietnamese Sa Te which has a lemon grass flavor and more spicier than your average Dim Sum spot. The Shu Mai and Har Gow are nice and plump. Cheung Fun had a fresh rice flour after-taste. Fried shrimp balls came with a walnut shrimp mayo dip on the side which I thought was clutch. Every item that tends to not have meat seemed to have some sort of meat stuffed inside (taro fritter had shrimp in it, egg plant stuffed with meat, jalapeños stuffed with meat etc.) which I thought was pretty cool. I can go on and on about how impressively different Green Basil is; the chef running the place is really an innovator! If you're looking for traditional Dim Sum then this place may not be for you, but for a Southeast Asian like myself, I really dig this place.

This is my go to place to get dim sum! They have a variety of dim sum at good price. The dim sum…read morecomes out HOT, as in, super fresh and delicious. I usually get a combination of steamed dishes like the shumai, chive dumplings, and tofu skin rolls, and fried stuff like the fried taro shrimp pancakes. I've also tried their pho before which was good, but I have a soft spot for dim sum! Service is good and very welcoming. I keep coming back over and over again.

Wow oh wow!! Incredible Chinese restaurant in Fairfax!…read more I never really crave Chinese food, but wow the food was incredible! The restaurant is HUGE and so clean. It had nice planters and dividers with each booth. Chow fun: such a good wok stir fry, spicy when hot, noodles not cooked all the way through for good texture Peking duck roll appetizer: I wasn't expecting it to be in egg roll form but it was piping hot and stuffed with duck Branzino garlic sauce: huge fish, a lot of meat, not too salty, very fresh and flavorful *takes 30 min to cook Desserts: Pineapple bun: has very liquidy salted egg inside so eat carefully bc it does come out quick! Yogurt parfait: wow incredible! Not too sweet, great texture like yogurt but not. It was so so good! This was a lunch meal for 2 and the price total was $88 for sooo much food. They also wrap your leftovers for you.

Very good all around. Especially this fish soup (can't remember the name on the menu)…read more Would be five stars but was a little bit pricey.

If you want dim sum in Fairfax at night which is not usual in LA, this is the spot!…read more I was craving sticky rice so came for dinner while in town! --sticky rice: wasnt rhe best but hit the spot --pea sprouts: a little oily tasting --pineapple buns: yummy, took these to-go and enjoyed them the next day

A Chinese review: some of the worst dim sum I've ever had and the staff is racist…read more A friend and i went for a late lunch today. My friend is craving dim sum after being in the country, visiting from Hong Kong for 3 weeks. My friend is quite tan, his mom is Filipino, but he grew up in HK and speaks mostly canto and Tagalog. We tried speaking Cantonese to the staff who are speaking it to each other, so they clearly can. My friend has perfect Cantonese. Mine is ok but I am also very clearly Chinese. They replied in broken English instead. One waitress looked at my friend and handed us forks. So clearly, some racism/colorism in the staff. Context: lots of Filipinos in HK are maids and generally looked down on, so not surprised this happened here. The food was mushy and gross. The shrimp in the cheung fan was grayish. It felt like they had this ready early in the morning and reheated it for later. Siu mai was falling apart. Cha siu bao was good but how do you mess that one up? I've gotten take out from this place before in the past and I always forget why I try to not come here, they forget something every time. At this point I'm sure they're doing it on purpose, like little thieves. Anyway, this place has the advantage of being close, with so little dim sum options in the area, unless you want to make the trip to Tysons or Vienna. Or Maryland. One staff member was laying down on a bunch of chairs nearby loudly watching something on her phone. Any other day, I wouldn't complain about that, everyone deserves a break. But given the food quality and the clear racism in the staff, they should be called out for everything. As with any Asian restaurant, feel free to treat me like trash if the food is good. But this place fails in both places.

Tucked inside of a food court attached to a Chinese grocery store. This food stall offers a variety…read moreof baos. Daily bao offerings are stacked neatly on a table; there are mini pan fried baos ($20 for 12) and steamed baos ($20 for 6). Picked up mini pan fried pork baos and reheated them at home in a pan with a little oil. The inside is delicious- savory pork flavor. Very similar to Yu Noodles pan fried pork bun flavor. The exterior is a thick chewy dough with crispy bottom. Careful when eating- I bit into one and molten lava dumpling juice scalded my lip. Not all explode. There is a language barrier as English is not the owner/ operator's first language. She's friendly and does her best. I was able to understand that the steam pork baos and pan fried pork baos are her best selling. I asked if the filling was different and she said yes, but I don't know if she understood my question. Ambiance isn't much- it's a food court and not the cleanest food court I've been to. Tables and chairs are also a little dirty. I'm assuming if you dine in, she heats it up for you. For those of you complaining about the price (myself included), let's compare it to Yu Noodles, a chain restaurant that also offers a delicious pork bun. I love Yu noodles pan fried pork buns, which are $11 for 4 ($2.75 per bun). BaoBuddy's baos are significantly larger than Yu Noodles'. So comparatively speaking and applying Yu Noodles rate, these baos would be about ($2.75x6) $16.50 and $18.15 after tax. $20 for a box stuffed with baos ($22 after tax) is somewhat reasonable for a small business cranking out hand made baos. Bao Buddy is neighbors with Dumpling Man, Chopin Noodles, Ying Cantonese BBQ, and Gaima Rice Bowl- you could do a mini food crawl with friends.

Great food, but note, takeout only. Typically not made to order, you pick from what has already…read morebeen made. Very delicious bao, very generous with the pork filling.

Cozy noodle shop in one of the many plazas out here in Fairfax. We came in as a party of two in a…read morevery cold Saturday evening and was able to get a seat quickly. The place was filling up and the ambiance reminds me of a traditional bustling noodle house - perfect for the cold snap we were experiencing at the time. We got hot and sour noodle soup, sichuan beef noodle soup, and an order of their pork soup dumplings. Portions are generous and prices are fair, it's easy to become a regular here if you live nearby. The hot and sour noodle soup is as advertised - just enough spice to complement the sour, but not overwhelm to make it feel like mala. It's served, as expected, with glass noodles, some bak choi, and some pork slices. Nothing spectacular but par for the course. The sichuan beef noodle foon soup was slight notch better. The broth gives really warm vibe and you can tell it's been brothing for a long time. Again just the right amount of spicy to make you keep slurping for more. The noodles were average, chewy, but not bouncy. Also comes with a healthy amount beef slices and bak choi. Again - a great noodle soup bowl but nothing jaw dropping. Soup dumplings were fantastic, however. The pork definitely has its own marinade and the soup is flavorful. The dumpling skin is well constructed and complemented well with the noodle soups - especially in cold weather. tldr; solid noodle soup spot, they seem to be consistent and really hits the mark when you're in a for your noodle fix. Soup dumplings are probably a must get side dish with whatever your main is

What a good and affordable place for Chinese food! Came on a weekday night and it was pretty empty…read moreand clean. Staff were pretty fast and attentive with the orders and food. I had the szechuan beef noodle soup - the beef was tender alongside its tasty noodles and savoury broth. The scallion pancakes were solid and crunchy. Loved their soup dumplings too with the sauce and ginger. I did except more soup in the dumplings but was still great. Need to come again if I'm craving Chinese food.

great vibe nice service the food was great and dim sum…read morewas great too will come back visit soon

We went here on a Saturday around noon for dim sum. The food was okay. The pork siu mai and the…read morefried sticky rice dumplings were fine, nothing remarkable. The shrimp dumplings were good. The beef ribs were really difficult to eat and the meat was not tender at all, it was much more tough and stringy than I expected. The steamed beef rice noodles also had no flavor, definitely would not recommend this dish or the beef ribs. The space was nice, there were a lot of larger tables as well as smaller tables for parties of 2 to 4. It wasn't too crowded when we went, a few larger groups and some young families. As other reviewers have noted, the service was sorely lacking. I noticed some of the servers were pleasant, but the lady who was serving us was pretty unfriendly and inattentive. She did not check on us even once to see if we needed more water. She just seemed annoyed and like she couldn't be bothered to do her job. There was another lady that did check on us near the end of our meal and she was very friendly, asked us if we needed any boxes, and offered to refill our water glasses for us. I guess your experience just depends on who you happen to get, but in my opinion, if you're that rude to customers, maybe you shouldn't be working in customer service. They do validate for parking in the lot and there's a garage that is for you for the first two hours. Overall, the prices at this restaurant are higher than is typical for dim sum. The space is nice, but for these prizes, I would expect a higher quality of food and definitely a higher quality in terms of service. I don't think that I'll be back to eat here.

I came here for lunch with my family and we had a good time! The interior of the restaurant is…read morespacious and if you want some dim sum, this is the perfect spot. Service here is speedy and nice. We ordered a variety of dim sum dishes as well as their beef chow fun and their duck. I absolutely loved their beef chow fun (as it was super flavorful), their duck (which was so juicy), and their steamed rice roll with fried dough stick. Overall, everything was great and I think this is a really reliable spot for good dim sum!

The food here is really good. I frequent here with my family. You know it's good when a large…read moreportion of the customers are also Asian haha. There's a large variety of dishes so everyone can find something they like. I particularly like the Orange Beef. It's not as oily as Chinese takeout food and the broccoli is fresh.

Once again, this place never disappoints. We like coming here after a day in Arlington…read more This morning there were plenty of food carts rolling down the aisles. Many options including my favorite dumplings. Service was special today. Our server was always there to take additional orders and take care of our requests.

Our first dinner out in the new year! Food: Solid food! We…read moreordered a beef casserole dish, spring greens, honey walnut shrimp, a salt and pepper fish dish, and white rice on the side. Some of us were contemplating getting dim sum dishes. There was an assortment of dim sum dishes in the front of the restaurant. It was close enough to the door that it was cold, so we knew the dishes there were also cold. That was not appealing. Speaking of, the ambiance itself was also ... not the most appealing. The lights, the lack of decor, even the choice of dining chairs made it feel like it was an area that was under renovation or something. I can name several other restaurants in the area that have better food and a nicer space that would be a nicer experience. We even were given paper-folded/takeout menus, (no laminated or nice dine-in menus), one of which was dirty and full of grease and food stains! The service was as expected. very hands off.

Service is good overall and quick. The restaurant is large and nothing too special in terms of…read moredecor. I generally come with my family here for dim sum as there arent many decent places for that around here. XO Turnip Cakes - my favorite! Very hot and crispy usually when served and the seasoning makes it so tasty and addictive. I love the slightly crunchy outside and the super soft inside. I get this everytime! 4/5 Shrimp Rice Crepe - this is usually my favorite dish growing up but I find that they make the skin of the crepe way too thick here. It's not bad but not great either. 2.5/5 Har Gow - The crystal wrapping could be a bit bouncier but it is filled with lots of shrimp that were not dry at all when I went! 2.5/5 Oolong - on the lighter side but fine. 2/5

We've been going to Vinh Kee for years and you can't go wrong if you choose to dine in. Their dim…read moresum options are vast and made it to order so they're definitely fresh. The sesame balls are fully filled, unlike other places. The garlic chicken is always good and they're specials are always a good option if you'd like to try something new. The staff is extremely friendly, attentive, and they treat you like family.

I've been going here since I was a baby, some of the workers still recognize me despite me not…read moregoing for years! I have to admit the quality has gone down a tiny bit (some of the food's a little dry, slightly smaller portions, namely the scallion pancake duck roll was mostly veggies instead of meat), but it's still a spot I really enjoy going to for some homey food. You can choose between thick and thin for your noodle soups and I honestly like both even tho I usually like thick noodles. Their soups are nice and brothy, not too rich which I like. I've tried most of the food on the menu and it covers the bases for when you're feeling something more light or something more filling.

We tried A&J and liked it a lot!…read more This is not a typical Chinese-American restaurant. A&J has quite a few pleasantly unexpected dishes. Service was welcoming and efficient. On a mid-Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was about ¾ full. We started out with the Wonton Soup and the Spicy Wonton soup. The Wonton soup is just okay, but the Spicy Wonton Soup is wonderful and highly recommended. For another appetizer, we ordered the Scallion Pancake. It has a nice dense texture and I really liked it. It would've been even better if it came with a dipping sauce. We also ordered the pickled cabbage. It was good, though lacking seasoning. Our first entrée was ground pork in a delicious sauce accompanied by sprouts and thinly sliced cucumber (or was that zucchini?). Recommended! Our second entrée was a Pan Fried Beef Bun. The beef was flavorful but the bread was kinda dry. Our last entrée was the Beef Wraps. These were great! Who woulda thunk that beef and fresh carrots would go together so well?! Oh, the chili sauce in a jar on the table is extra tasty. At the end, before we got our check, we were given a plate with sliced cucumbers in a light tasty sesame chili sauce. Excellent! But the hot tea was an epic fail. It had no flavor whatsoever. Peeking inside the teapot, all I could see was a micro tiny tea bag floating or sort of sinking. One other thing I kinda don't want to bring up in light of the great food we enjoyed, but need to in the spirit of full disclosure, is to mention that A&J shares space in the building with several other businesses. The restrooms are common to all the businesses. A&J needs to lean hard on the property owner/manager to do a deep cleaning in those restrooms. I'll leave it at that.