The food here was better than I expected. This restaurant took over another spot, it has been a few different restaurants over the years. It is a rather large spot on the downtown Culver City strip. I looked at the menu and made it a point to stop there one of these days. One of these days ended up being Christmas Eve and I had guests over with nothing in my place to eat and I did not want to cook. I got to Yelping right away and saw that Fifty One was open and has a pretty substantial menu, filled with lots of options. I decided on a fish dish. 2nd time: was just as good as the first time now this business opened shortly Covid hit and then I was literally just trying to at least once or twice a week eat at businesses that you know of being affected by Covid I took my friend here and the portions were very nicely sized very good and it was a beautiful ambience now I just am completing this from it being inside of my review folder for I'm not gonna lie over a year and a half and it's with sadness and happiness in my heart that I'll let you know that this business has been closed down. read more

Food: The portions are huge and the food is good so you won't be disappointed. My favorite was the rangoons. Service: we went for the happy hour and ordered a bunch of appetizers, our server helped us figure out the right balance of what to get. It was perfect and we had plenty to take home. Ambiance: the restaurant is BEAUTIFUL. The decor is perfect. I've walked by this place many times and didn't notice it. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS ME. Parking: street parking is tough around here but there are a few garages near by. read more

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What a fantastic Culver City find! Location is amazing. Food is delicious!!! Service is very nice and attentive. Love the ambiance. It is upscale, but very relaxed in nature if you will. I bookmarked for my return and for others to try. I hope you do read more

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Came in on a Sunday night to try out the half off dimsum! The place was pretty busy when we got there, and we were seated within 5 min of arriving. The food came out pretty quickly too! We got the XLB, cha siu bao, ha gao, xiu mai, luo bo gao, pot stickers, and the cha siu puff pastries. The XLB was sub par, not enough soup inside the dumplings, but the others were pretty delicious, stuffed and savory. Overall- The food was pretty decent for the price. I grew up eating Chinese food and dimsum, so I am excited that there is an affordable and decent dim sum place out on the west side so I don't have to drive into SGV! Will be back! Pro tip: There is free one hour parking at the Culver Steps. read more

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This is trip number two or three. Let's start with parking look for the parking structure North of the restaurant (across the street) and up a side street it is pay for parking but behind the restaurant is a school and residential and in front seems to always be blocked off. The restaurant does not validate. Dim sum is not n special after 2pm and on Sunday. So it's about twenty a person. I personally lie the lobster roll the potsticker and the Su Mai . Lots of chicken dishes and pork. No beef. Service was excellent and the dishes came out quickly. They also have traditional dishes. read more

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My friend suggested coming here for lunch and the timing could not have been more perfect as I had been wanting to check out this Chinese restaurant situated in the heart of the vibing and trendy Culver Steps; a shopping and dining district located in Culver City. I really loved the interior and the overall ambiance. The inside felt Asian but not in a tacky or cheesy way. I loved the high ceiling and the tables with the dividers. We were lucky enough to catch the lunch specials and they turned out to be an excellent value. For $12.99 to $15.99, each lunch special came with delicious hot and sour soup, an appetizer (egg roll or cucumber salad), fried rice, stir-fried baby bok choy with garlic (cooked perfectly) and an entree. For me, I picked the mapo-tofu and the portion was so generous. It could have served two people. My friend got the sweet and sour fried fish as her entree and the fish was crispy and flavorful. Mapo-tofu is my comfort food and they did not disappoint. The mapo-tofu was saucy, savory, mildly spicy and this dish delivered in every way. We also tried the lobster dumpling. It was good but I would pass next time and save the stomach for other dishes. The lunch special came with the best sesame balls I have ever had. Why were the best for me? Because these were coated with sugar on the outside. That was a first for me. And they gave us 2 sesame balls filled with red bean paste per lunch special. All together, that was a very generous serving for lunch specials under $20. I was very happy. The food was authentic, flavorful, well prepared, and a great value! Service was excellent. I would love to come back on Sundays when they have 50% off dim sum all day, and also to sample their other dishes. If you are looking for good Chinese food on the west side or in Culver City specifically, check out Fifty One. Parking is free for one hour in the adjacent parking structure and $1 for every 30 minutes afterwards. read more

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Review from 2021 Fifty One Kitchen was one of my favorite places when I lived in LA in 2021/2022. The restaurant itself is gorgeous! The staff is so accommodating to big parties and occasions. They even let my friends come earlier than our reservation to set up our table with decorations for a birthday party. The green beans here are some of the best I've ever had (they rival Din Tai Fung for sure). I love that they have a specific and separate vegan/vegetarian menu. So there is no deficiency of options for everyone! I definitely recommend this place for a cozy and casual or more upscale experience! read more

Came here one wednesday night with an old coworker Off the bat, I already loved the ambiance of the place. We both ordered rose tea and having a hot teapot there was nice to refill our cups ourselves. We ordered the egg drop soup, not your average walnut shrimp and salt n pepper shrimp which were all good; if I had to rate the food, I'd say egg drop soup 6/10 I like a good egg drop soup and the chicken and corn were a little too much, 9/10 for walnut shrimp since it was cooked and tasted different from places I've had before, and 7/10 for the salt n pepper shrimp. Customer service was good and price point wasn't too bad, I definitely would come back here again. read more

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Fifty One in Downtown Culver City, next to Jameson Bar. Very nice staff, large ambiance restaurant, good Chinese food option! We ordered the crispy sesame leaf and shrimp, fried calamari, stir fry string bans and mixed fried rice. Parking lots available around Downtown Culver City. read more

This place was a pleasant surprise, beautiful interior decor and the food was actually really tasty. Servers were very kind and wonderful. Needs a clearer restaurant concept though. Too westernized to be Chinese and too Chinese to be Asian fusion. read more

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Went here today for lunch with the family and we all enjoyed our food. It was happy hour from 2-6 which was an added bonus. We had the lobster fried rice, salt and pepper shrimp, calamari, pork dumplings, and green beans. The calamari was prepared in a way I've never had before and it was very tasty. read more

I loveddd the amount of choices offered for each dish and the vegan alternatives were delicious! I would definitely go back and bring family. Also, the pricing was reasonable as well as the portions. read more

Fifty One - Honey Not Your Average Walnut Fried Shrimp Ball Vegan Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles White Rice Jasmine Green Tea - Chinese Near Me - Culver City, California

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My friend and I really wanted some dimsum so she recommended Fifty One for their 50% off special on Sundays. The restaurant is spacious with great decor - definitely East meets West vibes. Staff were friendly too. We shared the chicken xiu mai sampler, turnip cake, lobster dumpling, har gao, crispy shrimp rolls, and egg custard buns. Most of the food came lukewarm with barely any steam coming out. The xiu mai, lobster dumpling, and har gao were all a bit dry, but not bad in terms of taste. The har gao skin was so sticky and chewy that I was caught off guard by the texture. Crispy shrimp rolls were the best since they're nicely deep fried and crunchy. As for egg custard buns, we noticed that it's extremely oily when the custard oozed out. Honestly, I'm glad it was half off because I wouldn't want to pay full price. Half price is on par with how much dimsum actually cost. read more

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Food was better than I expected. Stuck to the dim sum dishes like sticky rice and fried turnip cake. The service was fine on a Friday evening. I prefer the outdoor seating for people watching. read more

Delicious dim sum gem in WLA. I went on a Sunday for their 50% off dim sum promotion, which typically runs every week from noon-9:30 pm. Our party of 2 only ordered from the dim sum menu, so I can't speak on the entrees. I was really impressed by the quality and flavor, especially at SGV prices without the need to travel. Not every dish stuck with tradition, like the yuba roll (served without sauce) and the lo bak go (extra fried and cubed). I highly recommend getting the lobster dumplings, which were very flavorful and meaty. Service was very friendly but a bit slow that night, but I did not mind it. The beautiful interior and table settings makes this place a nice spot for a date or gathering in a hip neighborhood. I love supporting Cantonese-owned businesses in WLA, so I'll be coming back. read more

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Delicious authentic Cantonese cuisine and no MSG. Go for Dim Sum! Shrimp Hago is giant size. The lotus fried rice is flagrant. Sesame balls are as I remembered as a child. read more

I thought I had written a review a while ago! We've dined here quite a few times and always had a good meal. My Book Club has also dined here for a meeting. Today, we came after a movie at the Culver theater( a few doors down) around 515pm We were greeted and quickly seated. Our Server was friendly and attentive. I love the Decor inside & there is also outside seating. The Lobster Dumplings were light & filling! Crispy shrimp rolls are delicious! Hubby and I shared a House drypot ( fish, shrimp & pork ribs w/ veggies) & brown rice...Everything was Really good & came out HOT!! We also enjoyed Jasmine tea. We had a good meal & enough to take home!! read more

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Came for dim sum (half price on Sundays). Some dishes were decent, but the har gow had a disintegrating soggy texture and the xiao long bao was definitely subpar. Service was very slow and uncoordinated. We had three different servers asking/offering us the same thing. And after much waiting around, we were finally told the kitchen lost track of two of the items we ordered. It's a nice space, well decorated, good for hanging out with a large group if you have the time to tolerate the service. read more

DO NOT ORDER VIA UBEREATS. Had a terrible experience when ordering via Uber Eats. Paid for a whole roasted duck revived a half. read more

I had been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time. Finding good dim sum on the westside is pretty rare so I didn't have my hopes up, however due to a friend previously recommending this place I wanted to give them a shot. Street parking is a bit rare so I recommend parking a the Culver Steps. Sundays are half price dim sum which was the perfect day to try out the restaurant. There were three of us during the visit and we tried a bit of everything. Each dim sum dish was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. They even had dishes I hadn't seen before like the lobster dumplings and the squid ink egg custard buns. The service was fantastic as our waiter constantly kept checking up on us. All the dishes came out pretty fast too. The restaurant was a lot bigger than I expected and for being as crowded as it was, I was quite impressed with the great service. The ambiance was quite interesting as they kept playing upbeat music with lots of greatest hits. I feel like the volume was a bit loud if I would have been with family but with friends it was fine. Overall I will definitely be back! read more

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I'd personally look for a better alternative to this place out. The interior is beautiful, but the food itself isn't very flavorful. The service was okay, nothing too memorable but polite. If you are wanting to try a place that has beautiful decore, this is your stop! If flavorful food is your goal, you may be happier somewhere else. read more

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Overall pretty decent Went on a Thursday night. Got great service,food was delicious. Good atmosphere and a good place for a larger party. read more

I had been wanting to try this fairly new Asian restaurant for a while. Finally we had a chance to come in on new year day. We didn't have a reservation and the restaurant was kinda empty. It took a while for us to be seated cause they were very understaffed at the moment. It took even longer time to get our orders in but the food came out pretty fast. We got hulatang soup, Peking rostered duck, braised pork belly, Hakka shrimp stuffed mapo tofu, chicken feet and egg custard buns. The food was very Americanized Chinese food. Most items were yummy in large portions. I liked the sake flights with Sapporo beer. Long Jing green tea was tasty as well. We liked the food but the service was extremely slow at first. It got better towards the end of our meal when more servers showed up. Still a decent dining experience at this beautiful Asian fusion restaurant. read more

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Decent choice for Chinese food in the area. Large interior with high ceilings for larger parties and a nice dog friendly front patio in front. Sundays offered half price dim sum so we shared a bunch of small plates. We also had two larger entrees: - Honey Walnut Shrimp - generous portion, lots of large shrimp with breading and coated walnuts. A bit too sweet for me but we had alot to take home - Swai Sweet and Sour Fish w/ green/red peppers. - Again, large portion but way too much of the sweet sauce and too much breading on the fish. Service was a bit spotty as they did not notice us on the patio for quite some time -- probably because they seemed understaffed. When we did order, the food came quickly so it all worked out. read more

Ambiance 4/5: stylish decorations and spacious indoor and outdoor seating, good for large group hangout, the lighting is very uneven though, some spots are just falling in the shadows and dark, and there are bugs flying around and landing on plates, which is very annoying Service 1/5: terrible experience overall, the waiter placed our order wrongly and missed one item we ordered, and it's so slow to get everything served, we had to ask twice for our desserts, apparently either the waiter or the kitchen forgot again, and the bill took forever to come even the tables came later than us already left, no sincere apologies at all, I wouldn't come back for this kind of lame service Food 3/5: Chinese inspired fusion food, far from being authentic Chicken EggRolls - **** crispy and tasted good with dipping sauce, recommend Not Your Average Walnut Shrimp - *** to be honest, very average taste Kung Pao Chicken - ** poor meat quality Stir Fry String Beans - ** served cold and tasted soggy Sesame Balls - *** small deep fried balls Jasmine Green Tea - *** light taste Oolong - *** bold taste Price 3/5: decent portions and reasonable prices, about $30 per person read more

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Paul Simon might argue that there are 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover but I'd venture to say there are 51 ways to have a tasty dinner, including takeout. We placed an order for some garlic bok choy and steamed cod. When we came to pick it up it was exquisitely packaged in very elegant to go containers, chopsticks, in an equally elegant shopping bag. Both dishes were delicious. The bok choy was cooked just right, with the perfect amount of crunch, and the cod was very tender with a flavor packed soy based sauce. Ordering was easy by phone but they do offer online ordering as well. Next time we are in Culver City I'd love to dine in and try more dishes. Just remember when getting takeout there are 51 ways to leave the restaurant: You just slip out the back, Jack Enjoy some steamed cod, Todd Make a new plan, Stan Eat some bok choy, Roy Just get yourself free read more

As someone who's from Hong Kong, the store fronts sign in traditional Chinese letters caught my attention. The menu is leaning towards cantonese region/ Hong Kong style Chinese cuisine. I went there on Sunday so there's half price for dim-sum. We ordered a long-jing tea, the fried jumbo har-gow(shrimp dumpling), siu-mai sampler, loh-bak-goh(turnip cake), lobster dumpling, and the Golden Tail Shrimp. Golden Tail Shrimp 金絲鳳尾蝦 (4.5/5): Not a dim-sum but it was pretty decent, shrimp was fresh and the outside is crispy. Served with a Sriracha mayo sauce on the side (not your typical Southern Chinese place) Lo-bak-koh(turnip cake) 古法蘿蔔糕 (2/5): It's served as diced cubes, so there won't be dried shrimp or dried scallion inside the cake (unlike the traditional one). Taste is just regular. I think turnip cake should be served as a piece instead of diced cubes because the essential is the filling and the texture (like a hash brown) -- so I don't think it's worth the value if you didn't have the half price for it, get it somewhere else. FRIED JUMBO HAR GAO 避風塘大蝦 (0/5): This is the dim-sum dish that I was expecting the most because it's written "避風塘"(typhoon shelter style) on the menu in Chinese-- meaning it's "Fried Har-Gow with Bread Crumb & Garlic". When it's served, it looks nothing like a "typhoon shelter style" dish--- not golden brown garlic, no Chili, no green onion... Okay, so let's just treat it as just a normal deep fried har how. The dumpling wrap taste odd, plain. And kills the shrimp inside, it's just a tasteless, silicon skin with no seasoning. GO with the normal one if you happen to crave for har-gow in this place Siu-Mai sampler 燒賣(3.8/5): Save your time on the sampler, the difference is just different toppings, the filling is the same haha. Just a decent siu-mai, nothing magnificent, nothing disappointing. You can order it, just DON'T need to be struggling with whether it should be truffle or crab seed(they all taste the same)-- difference only comes between if you go with pork or chicken. Long-Jing Tea 龍井茶 (2.5/5): it's alright, the server doesn't refill hot water in tea. Dim-sum in Cantonese culture we called it "Yum-Cha 飲茶" (=drink tea), if the tea is mediocre a dim-sum restaurant wouldn't be considered as a Tier S place. Tea is bland and light, but gets some flavour after while, still not enough, there's not enough tea leafs. If you hate caffeine you probably like it, if you love tea it's just an "alright"-nothing magnificent, not impressive, also not awful. Lobster dumpling (1/5): save your time, or maybe just order 1 for your Instagram story. It's served with a gigantic spoon and a tube that you could inject the soup inside the dumpling, which I appreciate the creative in this dish. However, taste wise, it is not juicy inside, it's dry, and no flavour. Order it if presentation is all you care in a food. Service: Unlike the other Yelpers comment on this restaurant, I've nothing against the service here. Staff doesn't pamper you but they're responsive if you need anything (like sauce/ napkins/ check etc). Conclusion: This is a fusion place, I would come back on Sunday for the half price off dim-sum if I am searching food in the west side, driving off the SGV would have traffic. But if I'm judging with it's listing price, dim-sum is not worth it. However, the golden tail shrimp was decently good, so I guess their speciality is their other things on menu except dimsum. The cutlery is great, I like the plates and the hexagonal steam rack for the dimsum. I am really happy to see a Chinese restaurant in LA, especially on the west side that has a menu with Hong Kong food. However, I think the restaurant can really present what real Hong Kong food is, or at least put in effort when try to combine cantonese cuisine with a touch of modern style food. Idea is great but didn't taste well (the deep fried jumbo har-gow) read more

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The service here is great. The food is also very good and it's such a pretty place. The ambiance and interior are both so cute - nonetheless do expect to wait and pay a little higher than your normal dim sum spot. The food takes a little longer to come out and the prices are a little higher - the quality of the food though is still delicious. read more

Fifty One - Chinese Near Me - Culver City, California

Decent Chinese food. After reading the reviews I think I went in with very high expectations and was a little disappointed. I ordered the fried shrimp balls, homemade steamed dumplings, not your average walnut shrimp, HONEY BLACK PEPPER STEAK BITES, chicken fried rice. Fried shrimp balls good Steamed dumplings just ok and actually a little cold Not your average walnut shrimp is basically orange chicken recipe- swap with shrimp. Honey black pepper steaks bites- the steak bites are very tender which is great however again it didn't really have the sweet savory taste I needed felt really bland. I went home and added my own sauce and spices to it to give it a good kick and the fried rice wa The service was great but the food just fell a bit flat for me. read more

Fifty One - Fried shrimp balls & steamed dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Culver City, California

If you are looking for fresh qualitative food, this is not the place. If you are looking for quantitative food with lots and lots of options and a nice big space to hang out with Friends, this is the place. Service was really good for us, although we went during very off hours. So hard to say how peak times will be. We ordered lettuce wrap, Xiao long bao, and wonton soup. Lettuce wrap came out after couple minutes. Chicken was so spongy. The texture didn't even feel like chicken. Taste was good, but it was not fresh and I didn't eat a lot to avoid any stomach issues. Wonton soup was the worst. It came with beef and chicken chunks. Absolutely stale, dry, and overly chewy chunks of meat. I literally removed every single pieces of meat from my bowl. Then dug into wonton and it was the worst. I spit half bite off my mouth. After that I had few spoons of soup and that's it. Xiao long bao was good. Food experience was not the best for us. It's a very nice place in a gem location, but their food and it's quality is not I'd ever go back for. I don't think we will go back. read more

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Can you go to a restaurant with such high expectations only to be deflated after eating there? Can you have a server who seems to be more interested in being interested on other things than you know serving you? At this establishment the answers are yes and yes. The server - let's just put it this way, when I asked what vegetables where in the vegan dim sum, his retort was "vegetables". Jeez, master of the obvious. When I asked specifically he named a couple, which were not in the dim sum. The order Vegan Dim Sum - a Giant yuck. One of the veggies overpowered the others and even sans that, they just were not good. Vegan Pot Stickers - These were quite good. There was a coating on the outside, almost honey like, and the veggies inside included some mushrooms and celery it appeared. Anyway yummy. Comes with a soy sauce and chili sauce, separately so you can go mild or intense. Both the pot stickers and dim sum are hand made. My friend who is not vegan ordered the Pork Ribs- they were quite large but he found them to be more fat, less pork. He also ordered the shrimp balls, which he said tasted rubbery. As for my main, I went with the Efu noodles and added tofu. The e-fu noodles are made it says with a black pepper sauce, which I guess I assumed I'd see some sauce, what I saw was a coating on the noodles. While the Tofu was soft, the black pepper sauce flavors were not in the tofu. That was odd. And really didn't do what looked like a potential home run of the dish. Initially I was going to go with the Tofu drypot. But it came with peas. Not pea pods. Peas. Sorry, but a big pass. The ice was oolong, and large size. For whatver reason, you can choose between stevia or raw brown sugar as your two sugar options. Ahem, you can buy knock off Equal and Splendia, to add to your options. In the end, I experienced just fair. Lots of high hopes, a server who came off as though hipster would work (it didnt) and a lot of bleah. read more

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Didn't have a great experience here. The server was very inattentive and forgetful, to the point where we forgot we ordered things because it took so long to get to us. We had asked for extra sauces once as there were four of us and were told to use what was on our table already. The food itself was okay but not fantastic/ lots of options for a dim sum place. read more

I came here on a Sunday for 50% off with 8 other friends! While 50% seems like a great deal, the overall price ends up to be typical dim sum pricing. I believe that the interior design looks quite nice and pretty, though we did have to wait awhile. We were told it'd be 15 minutes to wait, but it ended up being 45 minutes. As for the food, it was pretty good for the most part, but the servers often left us to move the steamers ourselves. We got the xiumai, chicken feet, har gao, char siu bao, spare ribs, and potstickers. I do think some of these food items, like the spare ribs and chicken feet, were lacking a bit of flavor compared to what I am used to as I come from a strong Cantonese background. However, the food came out pretty quickly from my memory, so that was pretty nice. I think the chopsticks and plates could be a bit cleaner. Also some dim sum dishes are not on their dim sum menu, but on their regular menu, such as sesame balls. Parking is not bad, there's a lot of meter parking and also parking structures nearby. I'd probably call to reserve ahead of time, since a lot of tables were reserved. I think I'll come back to try their non-dim sum menu. read more

I came across this place on Google maps! It is a very large restaurant. Thanks for hosting parties as I noticed, there was a large private room in the back. The peeking duck was the most recommended however, there wasn't a lot of meat, but the duck sauce was amazing! The shrimp was probably my favorite - it is super tasty, and the candy walnuts is very sweet! As for authenticity, it's really not there yet in my opinion, but the service was amazing. The staff is very sweet! read more

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We came to this place after seeing it while walking through downtown Culver. We love Chinese food and dumplings, so we had to give it a try! We happened to go on a Sunday and found out they have 50% off dim sum every Sunday! The menu is not clear about how much comes with each order so we ended up with way more than we expected, but we were able to finish almost everything. Our order came out pretty quickly too. The soup dumplings were the group favorite! They were so flavorful and juicy! The steamed shrimp dumplings were really good too and shaped to look like little bunnies which was a cute touch. I loved the pork buns as well, the dough was so soft and the pork was packed with flavor. The fried dumplings were super crispy and flavorful. Everyone enjoyed the lobster dumpling, but it was a little big and hard to eat. We were expecting a big bill with 4 of us eating so much, but with all the dumplings, 3 beers, and a glass of wine it came out to just $100! We will definitely be coming back soon to enjoy dim sum here again on a Sunday! read more

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We came here for dim sum and I was surprised at how authentic things tasted. We got a lot of dishes to share, my favorites were the shu mai and 3 cup chicken. The service was a bit slow when we came, even though there weren't many customers at the time. However, it seems like they have some good dim sum deals going (such as cheap dim sum on Sundays) so I'll have to come back to try that. read more

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We went Fifty-One at one of Saturday night. The experience there was amazing. I really love their Chinese style interior design. It's so charming. The beautiful lanterns, the moon shaped wooden door, the double-side sewing screen door, the Chinese Opera face mask dishwear, it makes you like entering into the ancient Chinese park. The food here is like Chinese fusion cuisine with Cantonese as the main dish. Roasted Duck ($23.95) was great, very tender and delicious. Golden Tail Shrimp ($16.99) was very crispy and yummy. Pork Ziu Mai Truffle ($7) was great. Kung Pao Chicken ($17.99) was very special, it's not traditional Sichuanese style, but still taste good. Hot & Sour Soup ($9.99) was good. Every dish comes with a decent portion. The price is very good as well. The service was excellent. Our server was fun and friendly. We will definitely visit again and try some other dishes. read more

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It was good, ok. The food was good (not wow). The servers were friendly. It's culver xity, so parking is not super easy, but the public parking is close by and it's not expensive. The nice thing about this place is that you can order dimsum at any time. read more

Fifty One - Jazmin tea - Chinese Near Me - Culver City, California

We had a great experience at Fifty One Kitchen. We were especially excited that there was an entire, separate vegetan menu, as well as a "set vegan" menu option. It's a beautiful, cavernous space with lots of outdoor seating too. My wife and I decided on the Vegan Set Menu which was a ton of food...we probably would have been served better ordering one of each item a-la-carte rather than the abundance of food that we couldn't possible finish, so before you go all in on the set menu, check the a-la-carte offerings. (Though, to be fair, we brought a lot of food home so it's days of meals to come!) We selected Crispy Tofu which was perfectly coated almost silken tofu on the outside...really nicely flavored and a delight to eat. Our 2 entrees were Mapo tofu (among the best "mapo" dishes we had and it had a great presentation) and Black Pepper Veggie "Steak" (this tasted good and had an actually spectacular presentation, though I was hoping for a soy based "faux-meat" dish and this was soy paper wrapped around mushrooms and other items...so the flavor was great but not the texture I was looking for in something labeled "steak.) We also had Stir Fry String Beans which were cooked perfectly and also nicely spiced. There's a lot more to try on the vegan menu and we'd definitely come back to sample more. Oooh and we really loved the Sayuri Nogir Sake as well...creamy, sweet and a delight to drink! read more

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Just a little update :) Thanks Shelly for reading my review. I really appreciates it. Also, you're a person of your words. A good business owner! I received the refund on my card. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ I saw this place on DineLA and wanted to try. I was able to get a table for 2 last night after work. I was so excited but it was a disappointment. First disappointment - if one person at the table ordered from the DineLA menu then everyone else gotta participate as well. It was a lame policy because this prevented us from ordering from the regular menu. 2nd - the foods were really salty. I am usually on the saltier side when it comes to foods but most of the items were so salty that I couldn't even intake. 3rd - the wait for the foods was outrageous 4th - no discounts when things messed up more than twice 5th - no validation for parking. Parking was also very difficult to find Again, I was excited to try their DineLA menu so ordering 2 sets from the DineLA menu wasn't a big problem. I will just order different things. It just sucked because we wanted to order like the Peking duck and some of the dim sum items. However, ordering one set of DineLA was already a lot of foods so 2 sets was definitely a lot more foods. For this reason, we decided to not order from the reg menu. The hula tang soups (both chicken & vegan) came out first. It was pretty salty. It tasted good but you might wanna eat it with rice. The roasted pork shoulder was average. It came out cold and some of the cuts were hard and some were tender enough. Strange. Taste was unique to me because I rarely ordered pork shoulder at restaurants. The fried calamari presentation was ugly in a way because it looked like they brought out left overs. It was indeed good tho when dipping it in the sauce that was provided. Fried rice was very oily that I took a bite and gave up on it. EFU noodles w/shrimps had a weird taste to it. Prob because I am not much of a fan of EFU. I am an egg noodle person. Mixed veggies was whatever. Like the name...just a bunch of veggies mixed together so nothing special about it. Go with the string beans. It was fresh and the sauces they stirred fried with was good. The main reason for the DineLA menu was to try the clay pot garlic lobster but it was a big disappointment. There was really no garlic taste when biting into the lobster even though the top was filled with garlic. In fact, the lobster was not edible because it had this ammonia taste. It didn't even smelled fresh or good when it came out. Very light pungent smell when putting close to your nose. We ended up spitting it out. The best item out of all the items we had was the Not your average honey shrimps. The shrimps were big and very fresh. It was also very tasty. We informed the waiter that the lobster wasn't fresh and he went and checked with the chef. He came out saying that the chef said that the lobsters were all fresh. We then told him that we even had to spit out the lobster because it was so bad. So he was nice enough to replace it with whatever we want from the DineLA menu. We chose the wasabi crispy shrimps since it seemed like shrimp was their freshest item. The wasabi was definitely there. It was a creamy texture compared to the honey shrimps. It was good but I am not a fan of wasabi so it was whatever to me. However, if you like wasabi then you will for sure like it. Sesame balls came out last and it took forever to come out. The waiter rang us up already and let us know that the desserts will come out shortly but it never did. Seemed like they forgot about it because they were too busy cleaning up to close. We came at 845p. They closed at 10pm. We didn't leave till like 1015, I believe. That was how long it took them. When they finally took the desserts out, the sesame balls were not well done. The raw flour was clearly present. The waiter was like oh I m sorry and wanted to get us another one. We were like uhh we waited like almost 20 minutes for it and now another 20? This was poor management. If it wasn't closing time, the offer will be reasonable but the reason it was not well executed was because your staffs were rushing to close. It was the right time to offer a discount even if it was only 10%. The place was very nice and well decorated. Just hoped that the experience was better. There was a parking structure toward the back that let you park 1 hr free but it was so difficult to find a spot since only the first floor was avail. They blocked off the other floors. Space was very limited. Prob $1 for additional 30 or an hr. Don't remember. read more

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