I know everyone has their favorite dim sum in Boston, but Hei La Moon is pretty high up there on my list (maybe tied with Great Taste if I want Pan Fried Turnip Cakes). The proprietor/hostess is so sweet, and the cart service on weekends is always such a vibe. As always, I get the Siu Mai, Har Gow, Bean Curd Meat Rolls, Chive Dumplings, Tofu with Fish Paste, and Fried Noodles every time I come. Honestly salivating thinking of this place! read more

Hei La Moon - Not captured (pan fried noodles) but I swear I got them! - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

A famous story told by the late great writer David Foster Wallace goes something like this: A young fish was swimming along when someone asked, "How's the water?" The fish replied, "What's water?" At Hei La Moon, I was that fish. I'd never had dim sum, so I had nothing to compare it to. That said, Hei La Moon earned the dubious distinction of being the restaurant that taught me I don't particularly like dim sum. The place is massive - think banquet hall - so ambience isn't exactly a thing. Servers roll carts around like a buffet on wheels, which makes life easy for patrons but also feels a little gross (how many steps did my food log by the time it reached my table?). I didn't care for most of the dishes we ordered, but that could be less a statement about Hei La Moon and more about me (I tend to stick with the Americanized Chinese food staples - egg rolls, beef with broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, General Tsao's, you get the idea). As I recall, there was also a bit of a weird smell to the place, which was off-putting. Now I can say I've tried dim sum, and I also don't ever have to go back. Isn't America great?! read more

We had dim sum at Hai Le Moon this morning, and I really appreciated that they still use the traditional dim sum carts. It's becoming rare these days, and it makes the experience so much more fun and nostalgic. Most of the staff were very friendly as well. I also like that for fried items--such as fried taro dumpling, roast pork puff, and egg tart--you can mix different items on one small plate and count it as a single order. That's a nice touch. Their turnip cake was quite good, better than what we've had at some other dim sum places. The rice roll was a bit less ideal since it had been on the cart for a while; the shrimp was slightly dry. Overall, it's a nice spot for dim sum, and watching the carts roll by is always enjoyable. We'll definitely be back again. read more

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Loved their dimsum wish I can go back! Fast service, hot and fresh Ambiance -any typical dimsum place Price was average read more

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We used the Spot Hero app and found a parking garage for $10.99 at 88 Kingston St. for 8 hours on a Saturday. It was an easy 2 minute to the restaurant so perfect for us. We were a group sharing dim sum so we selected different dishes. We got fast service and the cart ladies tried hard to suggest more items. I can't say it is my favorite place for dim sum in Chinatown but they provide solid items and a good selection. You have to walk a set of stairs to find bathrooms. They are pretty paintings on the doors and they are clean facilities. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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So here's the thing, you need to know your way around a dim sum cart before you go here. If not you're going to end up with a table full of stuff you can't identify because the wait staff don't explain. They are all polite but they are rushed and English is not their primary language so you may or may mot understand what they are offering you. My recommendation would be have a dim sum specialist in your party or a Chinese speaker. I think the addition of either would make this a 4 star experience read more

Love this place! Food is fast. Fresh and friendly service. It's not fancy but it does the job. I very much like this Asian restaurant as it's large quiet and often seems to have better quality food than other places Parking is a bit of the pain in the butt and it's kind of in a sketchy area, but I still love it . read more

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Food was good, similar to other dimsum I've had before. Only problem came during the end when after having payed already, we were confronted by a server asking if there was a "problem with the service" and was implying for us to tip more. For not meeting their tip expectation, we were put in an uncomfortable situation where the server's passive aggressive and pushy attitude left us in a sour mood. While the idea of telling a customer to tip more is already wrong and rude, only bringing water and sauce when asked during a slow evening isn't exactly going above and beyond. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Busy dim sum place but try to get a table on the main floor. We sat on the second floor and they had the same cart going back and forth with a limited selection. We asked for chrysanthemum tea but got regular tea. We had to specially order a few dishes and their tofu hua was delicious. It's one of the better places to get dim sum in Boston read more

Hei La Moon - Tofu hua - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Food: the dimsum was OK. I wouldn't say it is the best. I liked the shrimp dumplings, but did not care for the pork siu mai. I loved the beef stir fry and the veggies! Both were really good. Service: The service was alright, but I didn't expect much coming here since I know how it usually goes at traditional Chinese restaurants. At least we know it's authentic LOL Ambiance: The restaurant is outdated, and not the most aesthetically pleasing. The floors are a bit sticky and dirty, but the tables were clean/chairs/cutlery were clean. read more

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The dim sum was really good for Boston, but not quite as tasty as what you will find in China towns like San Francisco or Chicago or New York. I especially like the variety of options. It wasn't crowded since we came in for an early dinner, but the service was just about average. The only issue we had was one of the servers just did not understand English very well so it's hard to communicate. The food was good and had all the primary Staples, like shrimp dumplings, Siu Mai and hai gow. I like the fact that there are pictures to accompany the menu. But be careful, they can overcharge if you are not paying attention. They tried to charge us for the tea, even though we didn't have any. Also, parking can be a challenge. Not sure if I would go back since there are a lot of options for dim sum in this area of Chinatown. read more

Hei La Moon - Spring rolls, fry, taro, root, shrimp, roll, rolls, steamed pork ribs - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I have these sidequests of whenever I travel. Supporting API businesses is one of them. Here was my experience AMBIANCE: Parking: Chinatown can get busy but there's plaza parking and metered parking. It's preferred to do public transportation if you can. Seating: Outside patio sitting good for small groups, maybe 20 people. Vibes: Welcome to Boston's Chinatown, an eventful place from the traffic to all the eatery spots. The place itself is pretty big, like grandiose that's well decorated. I enjoyed the lite rock music in the background and the background chatter of customers, it was comforting. Great place for large groups or for a sit down food adventures if you're up for exploring dim sum delights. FOOD: Shrimp Hargow (Recommend) Fresh, succulent, sweet, and chewy. I enjoyed the flavors of pepper, ginger, and savory ocean flavored shrimp. Orange Chicken (Recommend) A comforting choice, well sauced, good delicious chicken. Chives Dumpling (Recommend) Similar to a shrimp hargow but a bit lighter, great way to balance if you're having a lot of meat. Crispy Pork (Recommend) Crispy, savory, and delicious. A guilty pleasure delight. Yes! Jasmine Milk Tea (Recommend) A good balance, a nice soothing delight after a meal. Not too creamy and not too sweet. Delightful! CUSTOMER SERVICE: Awesome! Nothing too flashy, we got our orders in a timely matter. TL; DR OVERALL: 4 Stars. Good choices, delicious food, and a pleasant experience. This place has quite the range of dishes which makes this place stick out. I definitely have this place in mind if I'm in the area again looking for some dimsum. #RepresentASIAN TIPS: * Check their website for updates on the menu such as seasonal drinks and dishes https://boston.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-chinatown-boston read more

Hei La Moon - Woooo! - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Very good food, the crowd can be a turn-off if you're not into that type of situation.

Just ok dim sum but a good value. The chow fun filled my wise noodle craving. The other dumplings were ok, nothing special. Came on a late afternoon on Friday. Such a big space with lots of seating. I'm sure it gets packed on a weekend for brunch/ lunch. Very fast service. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

For a typical good Chinese dim sum place, I expect an average 3 stars no matter which city it locates in the U.S. To me 3 stars means good mix of Chinese and non Chinese diners, dim sum cart going by each table, workers all talk loud at each other across the floor, dim sum are at least fresh and warm if not steaming hot. You get all that here at Hei La Moon. We came late afternoon on Sunday. We were hungry after flying into Boston, dropped off the luggage at hotel and we decided to come over here for a quick bite. Price was decent, the dishes we got were hot and fresh, but lacks a little bit flavor. But it did meet our expectation, so it was good! Servers were very friendly. read more

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Came here on a Wednesday evening for dinner and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of folks having dim sum. I ended up ordering a full dish instead of dim sum, but it's nice to know that they offer dim sum outside of morning hours, and I'll have to come back sometime to try it! I was seated almost immediately and my order was taken within seconds of me seeing the menu and knowing what I wanted to order. I got a pot of hot tea and the beef and broccoli pan fried noodles: Beef and broccoli pan fried noodles ($14.95): This is my absolute favorite Chinese dish, and the Hei La Moon version is on point. For a price of $14.95, this is a great deal - it's enough food for probably two meals, and the noodles were wonderfully crispy. The sauce was rich and meaty, and there was the perfect balance of very crunchy noodles and sauce-doused softer noodles. The Chinese broccoli was crisp and the beef was tender - the perfect hong kong style chow mein for a great price! When I finished my meal, the staff quickly got me a takeaway box and the bill - it all felt entirely efficient and fast yet friendly. I loved going to this restaurant when it was in the older location, and I'm happy to report that the new location on Essex Street still remains consistent on food and price. I'll definitely be back to try the dim sum next time! read more

Hei La Moon - Beef and broccoli pan fried noodles - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Nice people Pretty restaurant The three meat fried rice had very weak flavor Paid too much read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

We came to Boston for a girls' week trip from Virginia and California, and at the end of the day we were craving some dim sum. We stumbled upon this spot in Chinatown that was close to our hotel. The place looked a bit old inside, which is pretty typical for the area, but the service made up for it. The staff was welcoming, immediately brought us hot tea and water, and patiently waited while we took our time ordering. We ordered mostly dim sum, but unfortunately the flavors didn't feel very authentic. read more

It's really nice that they serve dim sum all day which is not something I see very often. The food was delicious and everything felt authentic. I would definitely visit again read more

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Wonderful dim sum experience. Seated immediately, served quickly and often. Saw another table eating Moo Shi so we understood to order that. Otherwise would have missed it. Quality and pricing were both very good. Clean and well-run. read more

After indulging in plenty of seafood during my visit to Boston, I was craving dim sum. Hei La Moon caught my attention as one of the few dim sum spots open in the morning, and I woke up hungry. My partner and I were quickly seated upstairs. The restaurant is spacious, with ample seating spread across two levels. The experience brought back memories of the good old days, with dim sum carts rolling by and servers stopping to ask which dishes we'd like. We stuck to the classics, ordering Ha Cao and Shumai dumplings, along with Wonton Soup, Turnip Cake, and Cheung Fun. While nothing stood out as extraordinary, the dishes were satisfying. I was tempted to try the Xiao Long Bao but decided to save room for my other cravings. Overall, it was a pleasant and budget-friendly experience! read more

Hei La Moon - Wonton Soup, Turnip Cake, Ha Cao, Shumai - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Came here for dim sum on a Saturday around 2PM, and we were seated immediately. It was fun to see the dim sum cart, but some items were cold. There was a good variety of dim sum items, and the dim sum pieces were quite large. We got a variety of dumplings, meatballs, chicken feet, sticky rice, and more. Overall tasty, but would have been better to have hot, fresh dim sum! read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I was told Boston Chinatown has delicious Chinese food and Hei La Moon did not disappoint. The XLB soup dumplings were piping hot for take out. I also highly recommend getting the shu mai. The staff were efficient and friendly at the front while I waited for my takeout. It was busy for President's day weekend but they made sure to be attentive and polite. The prices are especially good for a dine in dim sum place! If you are dining in, there are two floors of seating inside and it seemed they were very efficient at getting guests in. I highly recommend. read more

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Had high hopes for this place. Walked in and it was full of local residents. We went here thinking the dim sum is served nonstop but that happens only on the weekends. During the week you can order a la carte. We ordered lots of appetizers and some were good: chicken wings and friend pork goyza. I didn't care for anything else because it either tasted too salty, lower quality on the meat, or the texture itself. Service was regularly present but there was a language barrier and I don't think smiles are encouraged or prized in this restaurant's culture. The place was clean overall and the food came out sooner than later. I don't think I would give it another try unless I was super hungry for Chinese food. Take me to Din Tai Fung instead!!! read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Some of the best dim sum in chinatown!! Everything on the menu is authentic and serves up perfect comfort food vibes for any time of the day! Also, service is super fast and accommodating and there's barely ever a long wait to get in. I definitely recommend this spot if you want some cheap and flavorful dim sum! read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Not my first time to Hei La Moon. They closed last time when I was there in 2024. This time I able to take my elderly parents & my teen to go and enjoy the dim sum. Interior looks like has some recently updated although it looks less spacious than it was. Still very busy with many people in and out. One new thing is I can order milk tea while enjoying Dim Sum and it was pretty delicious! 4 of us ordered all different drinks and they all taste good! The food most of them that we picked from the cart were yummy, a few weren't our favorite. Still my to go place if my parents feel well and can go outside to eat a bit. read more

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If you happen to be in Boston and happen to be cruising around Chinatown and in the mood for dinner, some this might be the spot you want to go to let's start off with. It was super packed and hard to get into the service is all dimmed some places is like a scavenger hunt and a fight to get service. But once you do get service, the food was absolutely delicious authentic my personal favorite was a chicken. We've been eating dim sum for about 30 years and this restaurant did not disappoint if you in the mood for dim sum and happen to be in Boston this is your spot read more

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We decided to go to Hei La Moon because we wanted to try a place in Bostons Chinatown. From the beginning the expierence was a little weird. The food they were bringing over was a little cold, and the service was not great. When I got my main dish, the vegetable lo mein, it was good. Overall the experience was okay. read more

Pretty good dim sum experience - you've got the ladies pushing the carts old school-style; all the usual suspects food-wise (including chicken feet and tripe); and our group of six luckily didn't have to wait at all even during lunchtime on a weekend. They have two floors so chances are good that you don't have to deal with a long wait. Some of the dishes were better than others but overall, we stuffed ourselves silly for about $25 per person including tip/tax, which is a steal in this day and age. My favorites: The shrimp har gow - Generous shrimp filling inside a nicely doughy wrapper. The tofu pudding with ginger syrup - I'm usually not a big fan of this dessert, as the sweet level can get too subtle and all I'm eating is tofu, but they nailed the syrup to tofu ratio. I could've eaten a bowl of this myself (the highest compliment coming from me). The siumai with shrimp and mushrooms - Amazing mushroom flavor. The spare ribs were all right, a lot of gristle and fat, not a ton of meat. Egg tarts were similarly standard: you can get much better ones at any of the Chinese bakeries a stone's throw away. The fried pork buns needed some more of a golden crispy bottom. My least favorite by a mile was the cold garlic cucumber salad. Eating it, I could taste something a bit off with the cucumber, like it wasn't the freshest. My stomach was kind of gurgly and sour for the rest of the day but it also could have been any of the other things I ate. If I came back, the cucumber salad is the only thing I wouldn't get again. I liked that the service was a notch friendlier than the usual gruffness. The restrooms here had that stinky smell, that, if you've ever been to mainland China and used any restroom there, you know what I'm talking about. read more

Great spot and my go to for dim sum! Service is fast and if you get there early you can do cart service. It is a large space that does have a Hong Kong ambiance. read more

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Somewhat shady dimsum place for luring tourists and the uninformed. Don't let the colorful menu and popularity fool you, a lot of red flags. Different from other dimsum places is that this place didn't ask us what kind of tea we wanted. Most traditional dimsum places will ask what kind of tea you want and you can ask for black tea puer, chrysantheum, oolong, dragonwell etc. But here they straight up dropped a standard pot of tea at the table and they still charge you $1 per person for it. That's usually done at run of the mill chinese restaurant's that aren't serving dimsum traditionally. I tasted it and definitely was a normal class of tea that's no where near the quality of places like Mings or Windsor. For $1 per person tea charge, the expectation is able to choose a tea type and it should be of at least sufficient quality, but it didn't happen here. Second red flag is the prices. They didn't give us any menus but instead pointed to the QR code on table. This opened up the chowbus site with all the dimsum, entrees, rice and noodle dishes. Here is where the deception begins as the prices for most of the dimsum was $5.95 a dish which was actually pretty cheap compared to most places. When we got the check, it was actually $8.95 a dish. WTH? When we asked to see a paper menu, the dimsum listed had no prices next to them, they were blank! If you read further down (see screenshot) there's some text that says "Prices subject to change without notice". So they basically can charge whatever that day and you won't know until you get the bill. There was no signage, posting, or waitstaff letting us know of the dimsum prices. Third - Food The fried shrimp chives was deathly cold. Per pic, apparently, if you push a cart full of fried food around in open air dollar tree foil trays with no warmer, in a fully air conditioned dining room, things tend to get cold and congealed fast. Doesn't matter to them, they'll still server it so we can bit into frigid fried shrimp that's got a congealed oily core. The rest of the dimsum was so mediocre, myself who grew up on dimsum and my mother who is an old school dimsum lover, was so disappointed, we didn't even finish. The only good dish was the wonton brisket noodle soup. Although it was good, it can't save this place. Overall, I miss the old Hel La Moon that was originally on beach street. The Hei La Moon of today is just a greedy shadow of its former self that preys on tourist money and relies on its previous prestige and location to survive. read more

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Inexpensive eats in Chinatown with incredibly fast service- food took no time to get to our table, steaming hot. The seafood is very fresh. If you don't eat pork the dim sum menu is quite limited (even things that sound like they'd be purely vegetarian or seafood have some meat filling), but there are other cooked dishes you can get instead, like the salt pepper calamari and shrimp- delicious! read more

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I primarily came here to note that HLM does not do carts at weekday dim sum service anymore. We went at 12:30 on a Friday. It wasn't very crowded. We ordered off a dim sum list, and everything came out at once. I felt like everything was luke warm, and some things, like the turnip cake. didn't have the crust I crave. Sad. It was for my birthday, too! read more

Probably the best dim sum I've had in Boston. Be prepared to wait a bit on weekends but normally things move pretty fast and you get to start eating as soon as you sit down because hei la moon has the push cart style dim sum. Tea is nice and quality of the dishes is overall very good and consistent. Prices are a bit high and service could be a bit nicer but that's basically to be expected at most places these days. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Came here for dinner on a weeknight and got seated immediately. I think that everything was pretty good but not amazing. I think the vegetables and the rice rolls were well executed. I feel that the har gow wrapping was a bit thick and the yam puffs were still very oily. Overall, I would say this place satisfies the craving if you are looking for dim sum. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

There are two parts for this review. One for the dimsum and one for the dinner. Dimsum was a 3.5/5 stars. We are visiting from NYC and all the reviews we read said this was the best restaurant for dimsum so we had to try it out. We ordered 3 dishes to go and the total came out to a little over $20. We got the spare ribs, chicken feet and beef rice noodles. The spare ribs were mediocre, chicken feet were standard but the beef rice noodles were delicious! The beef was very well seasoned and the noodles were silky and smooth. Definitely on my list of top 3 best rice noodles ever! Dinner was a 0/5 stars. It was terrible. What a huge difference from dimsum! I should've known not to come here for dinner since all the Yelp reviews only rave about the dimsum and there aren't much reviews on the dinner portion. We ordered 4 dishes and came out to over $120 before tip. Definitely on the pricier end! We ordered the peking pork chop, lobster with ginger and scallion, half a fried chicken and spinach. -The peking pork chop was terrible. The sauce was way too sweet and tasted very fishy. The pork chop didn't even taste like it was fried and the meat was very gamey. -The lobster with ginger and scallion was terrible too. The lobster was small but pretty meaty but it was lacking a lot of flavor. -The fried chicken was SO dry! It was inedible and hard as a rock. You can barely chew on the meat if there was even any to begin with. Picture for reference. -The spinach dish we requested was spinach in soup with salted egg yolk. We ended up getting the dish with century year old egg with crumbles of an egg yolk. Mediocre at best. The service during dinner was terrible too. We barely got any help and it was so hard to flag down a waiter. Avoid this place for dinner at all cost. It was pricey and not worth it at all. read more

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They have a good selection of Dim sum but the Dim sum was just Ok, not the best and not the worst. Some of the steamed items came out just warm and not hot. Service however wasn't that great. read more

Hei La Moon - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Amazing dim sum and superb service. All of the classics are made well (siu mai, har gao). The sweet bean dumplings also come in a cute peach bun as well! I would definitely recommend to anyone near the area read more

I've been meaning to check out Hei La Moon for a while, but honeslty, I'm much more of a fan of Dynasty. However, I will say Hei La Moon wins in terms of interior decor. I came here on a weekday for dinner and it was pretty empty. I'm guessing this is because they don't bring around the dim sum cart in the evenings. They also had a regular Chinese menu, but we just ordered the dim sum. We ordered a few dim sum items, but nothing in particular stood out to me. The steamed buns weren't quite as fluffy as I'd like them to be, but they were still solid, and the rice noodles were pretty standard. I'd never tried tripe before, so I have nothing to compare that dish against. Not sure I'd come back based on having had better dim sum elsewhere. read more

Hei La Moon - Interior - Dim Sum Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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This place was recommended by my friend Natalie and her husband. The first time I came here was back in 2017 give or take and I've been coming back at least yearly since then. It was so good then and it's still good now. I make every effort I can to come here when I'm in Boston, to get my dim sum fix. It's just got everything you expect in a traditional dim sum place. A variety of dishes, check. A staff yelling at someone or about something, check. Asian Aunties and Uncles eating, check. I always order my staples such as siu mai, har gow, beef balls, chicken feet, and pork spare ribs in black bean sauce. I know what I like and I order the same thing and these dishes never fail me. It's changed location from back in 2017 but it's still got the same familiar feel that comforts me when I go to eat dim sum. read more