02/10/09

DIRT CHEAP AND DIRTY

by rhodarush

My husband and I often eat in "hole in the wall" restaurants when we travel and we like local color, but this restaurant takes the prize for being filthy, with poor service. On a Saturday afternoon, at lunch, we were seated at a table with others- who no manners- spitting chicken bones on the table- eating rice with their hands instead of chopsticks- disgusting habits. Not only that, the bathroom lacked soap so how do the employees even wash their hands? The walls and floors were filthy- nothing looked like it had been cleaned in years. I have traveled around the world and this is one of the more nauseating restaurants I have eaten in and I was relieved I dd not get sick from the food. The atmosphere is enough to make you sick anyway. If you want down and dirty, cheap food- go to this place. Otherwise, save your money for the dim sum splurge at Yank Sing or if you want a Chinatown dim sum traditional inexpensive lunch go to Lichee Garden.

• Pros: cheap; local chinatown character
• Cons: dirty; poor service; dim sum carts slow in arriving

A no-frills Chinatown restaurant frequented by local dim sum connoisseurs.

by Contributor

In Short
A nondescript storefront leads to a dining room filled with black tables and rotating fans bolted to pink walls. The clientele is primarily Chinese locals who come for the dirt-cheap dim sum. The restaurant has all the standards, such as har gow and siu mai dumplings, as well as hot custard tarts. Numerous other dishes circulate through the dining room every few minutes.

11/22/06

great rice plates

by lady123

great rice plates. cheapest there is in chinatown. quick service, but sometimes the meat or ingredients are not fresh.

09/07/06

Great price performance

by ghui66

Folks, you don't go to Chinatown to have dim sum for "atmosphere". If you want good dim sum at a great price, this is the place to be. There is no service (notice most patrons "regulars" just go get their own tea or whatever they need), you may have to share a table...but so what? There are basically 3 carts of dim sum that will roll out every 15 minutes or so - the steamed one, the fried ones and the rice ones. If you like chili sauce, theirs is one of the best - it's not very spicy but very tasty, they make their own there. You can buy it too - I do!

Some of my personal must have there are: beefballs (BEST), tofu with shrimp stuffing wrapped in silver noodles, rice noodles (I like the beef filling), spareribs in plum sauce (they are one of the few places that make it!).

• Pros: Cannot beat the price
• Cons: None if you don't have the wrong expectations

08/23/06

Don't even go

by idante

They have the worst dim sum in town. You do get what you pay for. Any other place in Chinatown is better.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Bad food, service

07/28/06

Our favorite

by vietjew

I'm pretty much echoing other reviewers. Yeah, it's run-down, and kinda dirty. All the Chinese people that come here pour tea on their plates/cups/chopsticks and wipe them off.. The lighting is provided by some dusty chandeliers in which most of the bulbs are burnt out. The health inspector website gives it a 60-something percent score. So why come here?

Because the dim sum is AWESOME and CHEAP! My gf and I come here almost every weekend, because even if you have to wait a bit, the dim sum is good, and we usually spend less than $10 and get completely stuffed! Gotta get the lo mai kai (don't know how to spell it, but it's the sticky rice with meat wrapped in a leaf), it's the best I've had. All the standards are good too, xiu mai, har gow, etc.

If you aren't a neat freak, and you like dim sum, you'll love this place!

• Pros: dim sum, value
• Cons: dirty, can wait awhile

09/24/05

Great down and dirty dim sum

by percipian

Dol Ho is not for the faint of heart. The place is a mess. The English skills of the staff and customers are limited at best. It's hard to find parking. However, patrons willing to brave the underbelly of Chinatown and show a little patience will be rewarded with great dim sum at rock bottom prices. If you're having problems communicating with the staff, try to find a sympathetic Cantonese speaker at your table to help. Oh, did I mention that you'll be sharing a table?

• Pros: dim sum, dim sum, dim sum
• Cons: no parking, run down interior, service

05/15/05

Authentic Dim Sum, but no athmosphere

by vassariggy

The food is good and cheap, no doubt. This is the real stuff, and you can tell the locals love this place. The dining room is small and lacks any athmosphere. Food comes out pretty regularly on carts, but the staff is not the best at explaining what everything is to the unitinitated like me. Not a huge selection of items. If you want good food and super low prices, check it out.

• Pros: Authentic Food, Cheap!
• Cons: Crowded, Service disappointing

01/17/04

Big Portions Small Prices

by acandm

Three of us went at lunchtime on a Saturday during the Chinese New Year Street Faire. The place was BUSY! Being it was our first time at this place, we didn't know if we should wait in line or just jockey for a table. Don't wait...there is no line! We ended up being invited to share a table with two locals. They made sure we got good service. The dim sum portions were larger than most places & it was good. The 3 of us ate for $12. At this place, you have to be a little agressive. Our new "friends" even showed us a great bakery down the street!!

• Pros: big portions, inexpensive
• Cons: too busy, lack of service

08/08/03

Definitely Not the Place for Atmosphere

by jrudoff

I tried Dol Ho with a group of six. They actually moved a couple who were already seated so that we could be seated quickly. There was a large, though not amazing, selection of dim sum on the carts, so we asked for a few favorites by name; each was delivered steaming from the kitchen. There wasn't much else to the service (we had to ask three times for water), but all the food was excellent -- fresh and hot. Don't have unrealistic expectations about the service -- they do dim sum well, and that's about it, and most of the staff don't speak much English. The prices are amazingly inexpensive.

• Pros: Inexpensive