Held on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boston's Historic Chinatown District at EMPIRE GARDEN in Partnership with THE CHINESE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION (CPA), with a Banquet of over 500 attendees along with several luminaries as RUTHZEE LOUIJEVNE, Boston City Councilor-At-Large, JULIA M. MEJIA, Boston City Councilor-At-Large, MINIARD CULPEPPER, Boston City Councilor - District 7, SHARON DURKAN, Boston City Councilor - District 8, EDWARD M. FLYNN, Boston City Councilor - District 2 and LIZ BREADON, Boston City Council President and Boston City Councilor - District 9. The Honorable Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, not only addressed the attendees and Presented Certificates but took the time to talk and do photo-ops and was extremely gracious and extremely supportive and friendly to us all! A bit of history of the location of this Mega Banquet located on Washington Street built in 1903, as a Theater which eventually became, The Pagoda Cinema, becoming a Chinese Speaking Cinema till its closure in 1995. Purchased by David Wong which he then transformed this massive building into what it is today, EMPIRE GARDEN which can accommodate for 400-600 guests. This Glitzy and Festive attire Event was full of colorful pageantry and choreographed dance including The Lion Dance, performed by Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy Dancers. The songs sung during the evening were performed by the CPA Members. Between all the entertainment and multitude of speakers, all 53 tables were continuously presented with Platters of amazing delights such as Lobster with Ginger & Scallions, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Fried Whole Sole, Crispy Whole Chicken to name a few. The food was endless! The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) is an organization totally dedicated in providing support, equality and empowerment to the Chinese Residents in Boston and surrounding communities in which City of Quincy is part of. QUINCY VOTES!, established in 2022 and becoming 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit Organization in 2023 has changed the Voting Landscape to a higher level. Giving City Voters a multitude of Resources to all to make every Vote, "MATTERS". Their dedication and hard work along with pounding the pavement door to door proved fruitful that in 2025 15,852 voters gave their vote! Its impact with education and resources made history in Quincy! First Time Candidate TOM LEUNG, running for Quincy School Committee, made a huge turnout Win with 8,086 Votes, an impressive performance win! TOM LEUNG, was invited to address the attendees at this event by, "Wishing all a Happy New Year of the Fire Horse 2026", and Thanked, "CPA, I love the work that they do and CPA, an organization that's special to me!", Tom Leung. (CPA) President Emeritus - Suzanne Lee spoke eloquently addressing the whole room then mentioned "Next Year is expected to be a bigger Event"! In closing - the success of the evening brought everyone together in harmony and sharing ideas along with photos taken to remember of a night to celebration and focusing toward a positive future. read more

See all

Food is pretty good and servers are attentive. Very big on the inside. Rice rolls aren't as good as Mings, but still yummy. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Always a great, classic dim sum experience. Food is always, hot, fresh and fast and while you wait there is so much to look at around the dining room. If you're looking for the real deal, it is a must stop. read more

I have to say, the interior of this building was absolutely stunning! The converted theatre works perfectly for the dim sum vibes and the preserved architecture and traditional art contributes to this welcoming, unique atmosphere! Additionally, at dinner time this is a great place to come if you want a quick table, friendly service, and some plates to share. I can't speak for the morning/afternoon options, but I will say I was a little disappointed with their limited dim sum menu for dinner time. On the other hand, their regular menu is extensive offering all the traditional dishes you might crave! Overall, though, I wouldn't say I was overly impressed with anything I tried, it was certainly satisfying, but at the same time could've been better (I'm sure there's some other really delicious options in the area). I thought the cook on the meats was a little overdone, and though everything was flavorful, nothing really blew me away. For the price, I can't say this spot is completely worth it at least for dinner, but I'd encourage anyone to give them a try earlier in the day (which are their more popular hours I've heard). It's certainly worth a trip at least once to experience the magical and breathtaking decor inside! Really, that's what makes a stop here worth it, so I definitely do plan to come back and try their traditional dim sum menu read more

See all

If you are going for dim sum in Boston Chinatown, Empire Garden has one of the larger dining rooms, and still has the ladies pushing carts so you can get a good look before you order, which is particularly great if you don't remember what your favorites are named. We ordered up the popular ha gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), ha cherng (shrimp steamed noodles dressed with soy sauce), siew mei (steamed pork dumplings), before getting some fried items. I took a walk to the stationary hot counter, and scored a plate of fresh leafy greens to round out our carby meaty meal. We also ordered a plate of chow mein, and found ourselves satisfied. If you're new to the dim sum scene, when you are seated, they'll ask you for a choice of two teas, which will come in a pot to share. Lift the tea pot lid for free refills. As you select your items from the carts, the ladies will ask for your paper order slip so they can stamp the number of dishes you ordered per category. When you are done, one of the other workers will take the slip to prepare your itemized bill. On this February visit, it was $1.35 per person for the tea, the veggies were $9.85, small plates were $6.25 each, and medium plates (which most of our choices were) $6.85. Everything was good. The dumplings well filled with skins of acceptable thickness. read more

See all

I came here for the first time in many years and sat down for dinner. Instead of the large open area that's usually open for dim sum, we got seated in a side room with windows overlooking Chinatown. For food, we ordered fried rice, Japanese tofu, a whole duck, BBQ Char Siu, fried pork and calamari appetizer, and a vegetable platter. The food was surprisingly good and fresh! I would definitely recommend the Japanese tofu as it's a more unique dish. For dessert, the sesame balls were excellent. The serving sizes are generous and probably a quarter or so more than other restaurants. The service was quick and prompt. The best thing was that for a party of 6, the bill came out to only $160 and we had tons of leftover food! That's awesome in this economy. My biggest complaint is the ambiance as the entrance once you walk inside and the opening of the dining area seems dirty and old and in need of my upgrade. read more

See all

The amphitheater interior is very unique. Food itself is on par with most Chinese restaurants but is more on the expensive side. I think you could find the same if not better Chinese food at other places, but that is not to say that this place is bad at all. Servers were not the nicest people, but food came out pretty quickly. read more

See all

This was my first time having real dim sum and I couldn't have picked a better place! Everything was so delicious but my favorites were the bao and sesame balls. The decor is so beautiful and unique and service was very fast! read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is a hugeeee restaurant which accommodated a wedding of 600 guests! Which means capacity must have been so much more because they might have had 50-100 waitstaff serving tables. It also had a bar. The food was good and I really enjoyed their lobster with ginger and scallions. read more

This place was so amazing, and to be turned from a theater to this spacious dim sum restaurant. Serving up some delicious, authentic Chinese cuisine in Boston's Chinatown. The food was made fresh & steaming hot as it reached the table. Service was fast & accurate to your liking. Chicken and broccoli was the best I've ever had. All the fresh ingredients to the tender cuts of chicken. You have to get here early if you wanna see the dim sum carts going around. #chinatown #boston #dimsum #chickenandbroccoli #goodeatsinct #foodporn #foodie #fooddestination #travelingandeating #empiregarden #baobuns #currynoodles read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Scallion pancakes, fried shrimp dumplings, bao buns, spicy chicken & shrimp curry noodles, chicken and broccoli. - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Bit of an off-day today, as the goods were out in the carts for a bit too long. The har gow was a bit stiff on top and the innards fell out of the wrapper; the fish paste and eggplant was also a bit tough, with the fish paste portion not particularly tasty. The shrimp rice noodle was decent; the taro dumpling was decent, as it was hot, and steamed well, and the taro texture was well-matched with the wrapper. The fried tofu wrapper around meat and bamboo was somewhat unfocused this time, with the texture of the tofu a bit tough, and the insides a bit cold. In short, go when the food is hotter, i.e. earlier in the service. read more

What an experience. I haven't dined in a place like this in a really long time. It almost feels like a place from 20 years ago, and the stained table cloth and beaten up plastic water cups show it! Look, the ambience is the best thing about this place. It's in an old converted theater and you're basically dining where the audience and stage used to be. It's beautiful on the inside for sure. Service? Not rude but not friendly. Will do the job but nothing extra. Food? If you come here, just go to Chinatown. It is the worst version of Americanized Chinese food to the point half way through the meal, I thought to myself that Panda Express would have more flavor. For some reason, the food is greasy but lacks flavor. Not junky and over saturated with salt-- just-- bland. They do have a bar but the cocktails are overly sweet. If this is your jam, have at it. read more

When you enter this place, let's just say you going back in time when it was the 90s. Meaning it was dirty and I questioned if I was about to get food poisoning. Luckily we didn't. Thank goodness. It's located in an old theater and they converted it into a dim sum restaurant. The food was fine, but not memorable. It was warm, aside the egg buns. The service, the ladies were nice. But I like how I was speaking Chinese and they spoke English back to me. I mean come on, I'm trying here. Maybe because I was with a white person. Would I come back? Hmmm maybe if nothing else was opened. Also look at the air vents. They need to clean it up. read more

DISGUSTING! The audacity to charge 60$ for TWO platters that took thirty minutes to make and was still under done, under seasoned and overly spicy ?!! W T H IS THAT? I ended up taking a shower for dinner after throwing up the food because it was so slimy. 3 of us ate the food and all 3 of us threw it up. The sauce for the chicken was INCREDIBLY slimy and off putting. I also ordered 2 platters (comes with rice) but noticed there was only 1 in the bag when I got home. For charging such high prices I feel like everything should be in the bag. Overall very upsetting experience. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Food. - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

We had an enjoyable meal at this classic dim sum restaurant, located in what used to be a theater. Although a little worse for wear, the dining area was enormous and clean. Various dim sum plates were brought around to all of the tables. It was difficult figuring out what some of the offerings were, so we stuck to the familiar (shu mai, pork dumplings, fried shrimp & chive wontons, sesame balls). We also ordered a plate of sauteed bok choy in garlic on the side, which was delicious. A pot of jasmine tea is provided gratis. read more

See all

This place is super huge with a lot of tables. But their dim sum is maybe the worst I've had in Boston. The 小笼包 has no soup inside. The 烧卖 wrapping easily fell off from the meat. The 肠粉 doesn't taste fresh. And it's super expensive too. The very ordinary tea costs $5 per person. The service is good and they have carts carrying the dim sum, but the taste and value is not good. read more

My family and I have been going here for years. It's a huge restaurant on the second floor; there is an elevator. They'll seat you in a massive dining room with high ceilings; looks like it used to be an opera back in the day. During lunchtime, they have dim sum in a push cart. Each cart has different types of dim sum items. A few of my favorites are, fried taro balls, shu mai, pork bao buns, shrimp in flat rice noodles, shrimp dumplings, and chicken feet. I have tried their congee (rice porridge) and it was bland. They give you complimentary jasmine tea. Pro tip: if you like spicy, ask for the chili oil. Service was always good and fast. We've been when they stopped serving dim sum; we had general Tso chicken, fried rice, and crab rangoons, the food was decent. The cocktails were strong too. Overall, always a good experience and our go to spot for dim sum. read more

See all

Horrible service and food. The food they served was leftovers from the day before. Will not be coming back, stay far away.

We were there on a Saturday. There were barely any carts. We asked for chicken feet multiple times and they kept saying "later" or "almost done." When they were on the cart the waitress would serve all the non-minority tables who requested chicken feet after us. One waitress did try to get us some but the old lady pushing the cart basically motioned to her that they didn't have anymore and proceeded to give it to another table. Our first and LAST time going there. If you are looking for great dimsum, you are better off going to Hei La Moon or China pearl. read more

Good food. Service was good enough. Place seemed a little murky. Good amount of seating. This was probably my go to for dim sum. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Friendly aunties pushing the dim sum carts and bringing us our tea and waters. The interior is so cool. There was a small lunch crowd on a Thursday late morning and they're 97% Chinese. We had the glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, shrimp dumplings (har gao), shrimp look funn, braised chicken feet, fish balls, pork ball with mushroom, deep fried shrimp roll, century egg and pork porridge, and custard tarts. Total was $85 with tax. Everything was decent, except for the chicken feet (they were scrawny and not seasoned enough) and the century egg and pork porridge (very watery and bland, the green onions were very old, no amount of soy sauce could salvage the porridge). There wasn't enough shrimp in the look funn either. Also, interestingly the sign facing the street is "Emperor's Garden". I was so confused and had to make sure my friend was referencing this restaurant! 3.5 stars. read more

See all

Holy Cow, this restaurant on the second level via stairs is a must if you are hungry for dim sum in the morning in Chinatown, Boston. Their elevator is out of order so be prepared to go up 2-1/2 flight of stairs. Their dining room is impressively humongous like a dinner show restaurant in China. Elaborately decorated and the dim sum carts are many. They had soup carts, dessert carts and some dim sum we've not tried before like a black whole mushrooms with 3 dumplings made of perhaps fish cake. Another was a 3 piece huge meatball looking pork hashdumpling, no pi outer layer. The rice packet was exquisite. Savory with different bits of meat after you remove the outer steamed leaf wrapper. It was the best. read more

See all

We were in Boston this weekend and wanted to try a dim sum place we have not been before. Empire Garden Restaurant kept appearing in my searches and it is in a venue that used to be a theater, so we thought we would check it out. There was no wait which was nice and a few tables were taken, but it wasn't packed. The aunties pushed the carts from table to table and were very pleasant to talk to. We ordered the traditional dim sum dishes. The sweet rice wrapped over with lotus leaf had char siu in it which was a nice surprise, since it's usually chicken and Chinese sausage. The beef tripe was seasoned well. The har gao skin was sticking to the paper, so maybe it was cooked too long. The shrimp cheung fun was better than the beef cheung fun. Overall, the food was okay but we definitely had better dim sum in other places in Boston. There was a good mix of asian families and non-asian families in the restaurant. We paid $54.20 for 7 dim sum dishes and for tea by credit card. It was a little steep for the quality of food. read more

See all

Overall rating: 4 stars Rustic hidde ngem for the most affordable dimsum in Boston Food: dimsum, cocktails, and other fried dishes such as rice and noodles We got shumai, soup dumplings, tofu, chicken feet (scary but yummy), and a pina colada Texture: the dumplings are slippery and slide right down your mouth, pair the soup dumpling with ginger vinegar for a burst of flavor Pricing: $3-4 dollars for each dumpling basket (holds 4 dumplings) and drinks are $8-9 each! Ambiance: The ambiance is rustic, it's a high ceiling former opera house turned into a restaurant, all the tables have a pink cloth covering it and the chairs have gold/yellow coverings Seating & Parking: plenty of seating but little to no parking in front, walk up the 2 flights of stairs to enter the restaurant Service: no frills straight to the point, they mistook me for being Chinese but they were very kind Music: no music, light chatter from other tables Bathrooms: mens and womens on the side on the entrance Final comments: my favorite spot for dimsum in Boston, hope it stays a hidden gem read more

What a cool location for dim sum! The inside is huge, and they have the people with the carts walking around. The dim sum was pretty good! It's not as good as Winsor in chinatown, but I thought it was better than other places. The only problem was that after a while, the same carts kept coming around. There wasnt a lot of variety or new dim sum plates coming around. Not sure if people just took them all before they got to our table, but we waited for a while and nothing new ever came, so we gave up and left. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Beautiful interior space- the murals are stunning and it's incredible to be in an old theater that's been converted We made a reservation for 7 on a Sunday. We were the only people in the restaurant. Servers came and took our orders quickly. There were several communication issues- getting white wine instead of red; receiving the wrong items; etc. but the food we had was good. Worth it one time to say you've been but there are better restaurants in the area. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Dining area - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Food was amazing! Our server Juan was fantastic.... Very attentive and personable!! Definitely will be back

Large elegant restaurant that was a theater. One can have tea, lunch or dinner. They have dim sum in pushcarts throughout the morning. Order typical Chinese dishes from the waiter. The service was a little slow. We had to find and flag down a waiter to get refills or the bill. read more

See all

I would give a 3.5 stars. The food is not bad but could been better. Service wise is not bad.

After walking around I stumbled upon this place. First of all it's HUGE.. multiple floors looks like something outta the great gatsby. I got dim sum. I seen a lot of 1 stars and overall 3 stars but I'm the type that has to find out myself. Service was as expected... it's not a 5 star dining experience. Food is good if I compare to Las Vegas dim sum. I'd come back! Check this place out you might like it! read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - A bunch of shite... ck feet was good wish it was spicy - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Everything was delicious!!! I loved the deep-fried stuffed Tufo with shrimp a lot. Its two different types of proteins complemented each other perfectly. The shrimp was bouncy, fresh, and flavorful, the Tufo was mild-flavored, crispy on the shell, and fluffy inside, together it's fantastic. The sticky rice with chicken and mushrooms in the lotus leaves was aromatic and scrumptious. The rice was perfectly cooked with the fat from the chicken and juice from the mushroom all mixed together with the right amount of seasoning that is not overpowering just enough to add flavor. Chicken paws fall off the bones. Shrimp dumplings are full of fresh shrimps. The taro in steamed ribs is more tasty than the ribs! We both think it's the most friendly service in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown! People there greeted us when we came in, everyone said goodbye when we were leaving. They were very attentive and brought hot tea when we sit down. The food was slowly brought to the table a couple of a time. It doesn't look like a lot of food but it's so filling! I also like how spacious the space is. It's beautifully decorated in this old-school Chinese style. Absolutely amazing experience! Definitely will go back very often with more people. read more

See all

There's not a lot of great dimsum options in Boston's Chinatown but Empire Garden is halfway decent and its old theater architecture gives it a great charm. The space is almost cavernous and holds a lot of large tables so it's a great option for party sizes larger than 5. There are push carts and a side station with trays of noodles and vegetables you can order. Of all the dim sum I tried, I would recommend their lotus leaf sticky rice (fragrant, packed with Chinese sausage and chicken) and their shrimp beancurd skin rolls (crispy and stuffed with a bouncy sweet shrimp paste). read more

Glad we landed in perhaps the most spacious restaurant in Chinatown Boston?! The dome ceiling and the auspicious ornamental sign indicate this is a place for traditional Chinese wedding banquets. For lunch time, it is a dim sum restaurant. Every dim sum cart pushers was nice and welcoming and can't wait to serve you more food. We liked everything we had especially the char siu puffs. So big we did not have room for but saved for breakfast the next day. It was delicious still! The only minor thing is they over cooked my Chinese broccoli which had turned yellow. I was looking forward to some freshly cooked leafy greens, that's all. read more

See all

Beautiful setting although I must admit I'm not such a big dim sum guy since I'm alergic to shrimp. read more

See all

Ambiance: 3/5 See pics. Not clean though. Food: 2/5 - Medium 5 ($24.50) - Small 3 ($12.54) - Hot tea ($0.75) per person - Rice ($1) Service: 3/5 Friendly staff Likes: - Classical music playing in the background - Friendly staff Dislikes: - Dirty restroom - Subpar dim sum Note: Be sure to mention to the server how many people in your party drank the tea, $0.75 per person. read more

See all

Probably the worst place I have ever been in my life. My plate still had food crusted on from the last meal. The food was terrible as well. Service was sub par. I can't believe the health inspector hasn't shut this place down read more

Service was fine. The only dim sum place in Chinatown that still brings dim sum on carts. Interior is cool but was kind of dead on a Thursday. Dim sum was average price and hit or miss. Medium ($6.25), Large ($6.85). Crystal shrimp dumplings (har kao) and soup dumplings (xiao long bao) were bad. Shu mai, pork bbq buns, and chicken feet were good and Szechuan fried rice was also decently priced and good. Come here for the atmosphere when its busy (weekends) and the carts. Otherwise, there are many other dim sum places in Chinatown and Quincy with better quality food. read more

Empire Garden Restaurant - Prices (5/23/24) - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

This place is in an old theater and is beautiful. That's the only good thing about it. The food was awful and service not much better. When we were sat in the large dining room, a woman in a down puffer vest came to our table, and stood looking at us. It took a moment to realize this was our waitress. No hello, no can I take your order? We finally did place our order and I was still looking at the menu to order something else and the waitress said you ordered 4 things that's enough for two. I'm glad I took her advice. When the food came, the pork buns were cold in the center, the rice had absolutely no flavor, and the beef teriyaki, well, it was beef, but that's all I can say about it. It didn't taste like it had teriyaki sauce on it at all. We never saw our waitress again until we had to flag her down for the check. I would've liked something to drink besides my tea, and I would've liked some soy sauce to give the food a little bit more flavor. Do yourself a favor and go to the pho restaurant right down the street. read more

Had a great experience twice visiting the restaurant. The dim sum and Peking duck are ours to go food. Lunch is much more packed and dim sum cart is out only during lunch but you can order dim sum in dinner. They also have special parking that you have to pay in cash. read more

This establishment is an embarrassment to all people of Chinese heritage and a disgrace upon humankind. The server calculated our tip for us and then argued with us when we questioned why we weren't given the chance to choose how much we wanted to tip. She even had the gall to insult our clothes in Chinese, thinking we couldn't understand (we could). Unacceptable. They also made us pay cash under the table as expected of the sort of shoddy establishment they run. The food was also dry as hell and disgusting; I genuinely can't believe theyre still open. 我再也不來了。難吃死了。祝你們快點關門！ read more