Disclosure....Dim Sum is my favorite food of all time, and it's been so hard to find really good quality dim sum like those I used to eat in Asia, and I had come across this place on Yelp some months ago but never got around to trying it out. Why? Because it's a to go place and I immediately pictured it as a drive-thru fast-food kind of joint. We happened to be in the area, and I immediately recalled that this place was nearby, so here we went.....and boy oh boy.....so glad I got to try this place out.
Yea, like everybody has mentioned, it's not easy to find....kind of hidden within the office buildings of the Google Center grounds. Then, there's the need to find parking.....you really need to look out for the right parking garage as the others are either reserved for Google or bank employees and visitors. Once you see a small display board by the parking structure's entrance that reads.....Twent Eight Restaurant Parking.....you've found the right place....and have no fear, there's ticket validation at the restaurant.
Yes, this restaurant is actually "Twenty Eight," a fine dining steak place by night with fancy, trendy, and cool interior...with bar, dining rooms ranging from sizes to cater to large events to smaller and more private groups....and even with a small outdoor patio. At lunch times, this is a takeout Dim Sum place where you either place your order online and pickup your food later, or you come here, use your phone to scan the QR Code at the front entrance desk, which brings up the menu, place your order there and then, and then wait for your food to come out of the kitchen. Unfortunately, when we came here today, the outdoor the large dining area and outdoor patio was reserved for an event, but we were directed to a few outdoor picnic tables around the corner.
So, this being our first time here, we simply ordered our most favorite dim sum dishes......the Chicken Shu Mai (steamed minced chicken dumplings), Vegetable Gow (steamed vegetable dumplings), Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), Turnip Cake (pan fried), Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) ....with side of oyster sauce, and House Chili Noodles. Chili sauce, hot mustard, hot chili oil, etc., are all extra....except maybe the chili sauce......oh, I am so glad they offer hot mustard here as all the other dim sum restaurants no longer offer it for some reason.
One word pretty much describes all the dim sum we tried here.....WOW! Quite definitely the best dim sum I've tried in California! The dumplings are freshly steamed hot and fresh, with delicious filling and perfect thickness skin, and perfect bite sized portions. The turnip cake was wonderful too, but because it was in a takeaway box, the usually crispy surface had become soft. But the turnip cake itself was perfectly soft, moist, and delicious. And that House Chili Noodles.....outstandingly delicious.....more spicy than I'm usually used to, but daaaaaang, I just couldn't stop eating it!
Ok, this place may seem more expensive than the other dim sum places, but it really isn't because the dumplings come in servings of eight vs regular restaurants which serve them in threes or fours.
Overall, we were very impressed and happy with the excellent quality and very high standard of dim sum here.....yea, the whole concept is very different than what most of us are used to...and takes getting used to....that is, the missing sit down large round dining table with lazy Susan, being served hot tea with hot water refills, and steaming baskets of dim sum on roller carts coming around to your table, but hey, the quality of the dim sum here is well worth the sacrifice, and is why I'd give this place a solid 5-stars for the food alone. read more