We’ve given up on the reopening of China Pearl in Boston and I read a rather scathing review of their Quincy outpost. We’re eager to explore good dim sum in Quincy and welcome your suggestions. Where should we go? What should we get? And finally, what’s up with China Pearl? We’re chicken feet and tripe kinda people. Thanks in advance!
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I eat from Winsor in Quincy a couple of times a year.
My order doesn’t vary too much when I’m taking out, so this is still accurate even though it’s old 
This one is not focused on dim sum but has other interesting eats in Quincy and environs.
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Not including China Pearl in Quincy (which is still plenty busy), there are three options for dim sum in Quincy. I’m not a huge dim sum person, so I have low tolerance for a long wait for dim sum on weekends. This was something our parents dragged us out to a lot for when we were kids. If I have a craving, I go for take out dim sum and eat at home, just so you know my frame of reference.
East Chinatown - the bigger one on Billings Rd. (sister restaurant is a small restaurant on Hancock, but near the corner of Billings and Hancock). Solid dim sum, and will have your classic dishes. Used to have carts, but I think they do the fill out your dim sum order before hand or as you go now - which is much better suited, since they’re tables are too close. Food is good, parking is street parking on a busy corner.
Winsor Dim Sum- on Hancock St (corner of Elm Ave), also limited to street parking. Maybe twice the size of their Chinatown location, but that doesn’t make it much bigger. Still jammed on weekends. Has much of the same as their Chinatown location. Good food but portions are smaller than East Chinatown. One of my go to take out options. Has a few non-traditional items, like vegan or vegetarian options for some dishes.
Mings Seafood - on Hancock St in the little plaza where 99 Ranch market is, so parking is easier. Full sized Chinese restaurant that does dim sum in the mornings/early afternoons. Most spacious and comfortable seating, but no carts. Has most of the classic dim sum dishes, and tries to create fun, ‘fancier’ or more modern takes on dim sum too (a little hit or miss, depending on your taste). Probably the most expensive one of the 3, but still really crowded on weekends.
Personally, I think all 3 does certain dishes better than the others, and no one place stands out as head and shoulders above the other, so it may depend one what you like to eat. I like MIng’s innovation for instance, but I find certain dishes of the old standards to only be ok. I don’t think you’re getting bad food at any of the places, and you’ll certainly find your chicken feet at any of them.
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@kobuta Are there any small bakery type places around there that have dim sum (they’re pretty prevalent in nyc chinatowns - not fancy, but all the usual suspects)?
A few bakeries sell limited dim sum items, maybe cheung fun (rice rolls), ha gow (shrimp dumplings), and siu mai (the steamed pork and shrimp) but I haven’t tried much. They are usually pre-made in little take out boxes, and you can ask them to heat it up for you to eat if you want. I don’t visit the bakeries themselves too often.
The better known of traditional Cantonese bakery is Crown Royal (used to be in Ctown) on Brooks St. There’s a bakery called Seyu Mak Ten on Billings Rd that has decent baked goods, but their dim sum is terrible! Avoid that one for dim sum. There is another bakery called Mei Mei on Brooks St too, but I’ve never tried their food.
Not that many traditional Chinese bakeries left in the North Quincy/Wollaston area. We have bakeries in the 99 Ranch and in Kam Man (past Quincy Center) so people buy buns from there a lot, and the younger generation favor the Tous Les Jour and the Paris Baguette with fancier items.
If you’re going to that area, give Rubato a try. The owner now has had some great publicity with his James Beard consideration and his win on Chopped. He doesn’t do dim sum per se, but he does have modern takes on cheung fun, buns, etc. All these places - aside from the ones on Brooks St - are all fairly close together. You can take the T to North Quincy or Wollaston and walk to all of them. Brooks St is across the street from Wollaston station, but on the Newport Ave side.
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Sorry, I just noticed that I guess the Seyu Mak Ten took over the old Crown Royal place, so technically Crown Royal is no longer a bakery (they ran a little cafe next door that still is open). The Seyu Mak Ten with the bad dim sum was definitely on Billings Rd. If that place has changed hands, but didn’t change names, then I would still avoid that place on Billings Rd. I don’t have any experience with Seyu Mak Ten since it’s moved (clearly… 
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Thank you for all the feedback. Somehow, I thought there might be more choices with better-than-good reviews. Was that slightly negative review of Quincy China Pearl on point (in HO diners’ opinions) or have some of you had a good experience there? And once again, what’s the scoop with Boston China Pearl?
I haven’t had dim sum at China Pearl in years, and haven’t heard any updated reviews. My own reviews from that prior experience was always that it was ok, but nothing worth a special trip for. I think it remains busy because of lack of options but at least has better parking than others. The biggest complaint back then was really how grungey and dingey the place looked, but I find that that’s the case for a lot of the big old school tea houses. I do understand that the large space may make it feel especially darker in the seating away from windows. If I had to have dim sum locally, this would be the last of the 4 choices listed for me too.
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First, regarding Ming’s they made the " 25 best Boston restaurants" list in the NYTimes. I was surprised as I was totally underwhelmed by their Malden location. It’s been a long time since I ate in the Quincy location.
Second, re: China Pearl they may be a bit overstretched at the present moment. From Eater Boston post 11/2023 " Owner Brian Moy, who is also behind hip Chinatown spots Ruckus and Shojo (which also has locations in Cambridge and Logan Airport), and Nomai in Hingham, has overseen an extensive renovation of the restaurant while it was temporarily closed; now, it’s about ready to show off newly recovered details like exposed brick walls and the restored original hardwood floors from the 1800s, according to a press release on the upcoming re-opening. The exact opening date is still under wraps for now."
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