Any decent places doing this that aren’t a zoo on weekends, and which have a good general selection on carts? Yeah, yeah, I get the merits of ordering off the menu, but want my kids to experience carts before that style of service disappears.
A plus would be a place that takes reservations (this posts’ goals aside, I like dragon beaux for this reason, but the quality and variety has suffered in recent years).
I’m looking for SF as far south as San Bruno, but would be willing to go as far east as Saigon Seafood Harbor in Richmond annex if that currently fulfills my criteria.
Thank you! The Spear location would be a great fit and looks like they have tons of reservations open (I’m planning an outing for either next weekend or early April).
Don’t disregard cart places that are zoos. Yeah, they’re loud and chaotic, but the frenzy that is the zoo is what ensures that the items on the cart are freshly made. Also, the presence of tons of peeps (especially if they’re Chinese) is also a good indicator of quality.
Totally agree that frenzy would be a better experience. My concern about a place being a “zoo” was motivated by not wanting to wait a long time to be seated, which would make the kids cranky and less adventurous. Do you have any recommendations for bustling places that take reservations or have online waitlists?
Sorry, it’s been a long time since I went out for dim sum in the Bay Area, so I don’t know how reliable my recs would be. I think the last place I went that had cart service was in Alameda (East Ocean Seafood - was ok), and before that a place in Oakland Chinatown that closed during the pandemic.
If you go to East Ocean Seafood/Alameda, be sure to ask for the ‘sugar donuts’ aka ‘sai yun’. We go to EOS regularly, some of the dim sum is just okay but the har gow and siu mai are very good. Also, their noodle dishes are good, and they don’t use as much MSG as Daimo/Richmond. The char siu bao is only average, however, and I know those are usually kids’ favs.
Sat is less crowded than Sun, and getting there by 10:30a gets a table instantly. I don’t believe they’ll take a reservation for dim sum unless it’s a large group, but it’s worth asking.
EOS does use carts on weekends but will also have the plastic menu cards handy for marking.
Yank Sing is excellent but really expensive, altho dim sum is no longer cheap anywhere except in the deli/take-out shops. Food costs and labor costs have hit all restaurants, even ethnic ones, unless they’re small family-run places.
Outside your area requirements, but my standby is King Valley In Pinole. Dim sum is solid, they do carts, price is very reasonable, and there’s no zoo. Because it’s fairly small for a cart restaurant, everything stays hot and fresh.
I liked Harborview quite a bit better than Yank Sing but I don’t remember there being any carts there when we went. This was a few months ago though. Yank Sing has a hybrid system where there are carts that go around but you can also order items by scanning a QR code.
You’re probably right. Maybe there were no carts. From the pic, it must have been a few years ago! I can hardly believe, but I don’t think google photos lie.
Agree completely. And it’s part of the fun. Would you prefer a dim sum place with carts that’s partly empty?
Taking account to question about reservations, I assume the zoo comment is more about not having to wait a long time to get a table rather than having too many guests sitting at tables. I can understand the wait can be annoying at some dim sum places as I’ve waited an hour at times which is no fun.
While this may be no help to you in SF, In Sacramento these days I prefer Ming Dynasty though there are many decent choices.stop by on your way back from Tahoe weekend on a Sunday.
Used to go to Ming Dynasty back when it was Fortune House. Looks like the change was for the better! FH was our backup if we couldn’t find parking at New Canton.
Peony does, at least on weekends, but their dim sum is mediocre and their staff attitude sucks. Unless you speak Cantonese they aren’t worth it. They mostly exist because they’re one of the few places left that has a space big enough for group parties.
