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East Lake Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 11 pm
Sat 10:30 am - 12 am
Sun 10:30 am - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
22 reviews for East Lake Restaurant
Review Highlights
22 reviews in English
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Review from goodfood g.
Troy, MI
1/2/2012
If you like any fast-food Chinese place out there in the world, you will hate this. Because this is the real deal Chinese food. Dim sum is an experience. The flavors are gentle and authentic!! Having lived in SF and being asian myself, I am so glad I found this place because these real Chinese restaurants are just hard to find in MI.
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Review from April A.
Rochester, MI
8/2/2011
East Lake Restaurant was absolutely delicious! My husband and I have been looking for a great Dim Sum place for some time and decided to give it a try. We were NOT disappointed (the prices were reasonable as well).
I studied abroad in China and the flavors were right on. It totally took me back to my trip and brought back some great memories.
The restaurant was very clean and the staff was great.
If you are looking for authentic Dim Sum - this is the place. I recommend not going too much after noon because the regulars snatch up the dishes fast. -
Review from Allan Y.
Sterling Heights, MI
11/1/2011
East Lake Chinese Restaurant in Troy is one of few Chinese restaurants in this area that offer authentic Cantonese dishes along with "Dim Sum", the Chinese version of "fast food" with morning tea. Both their traditional Cantonese dishes and Dim Sum are very good and reasonably priced. When we have dinner at East Lake, we always order from their "special menu". Some of the selections we've enjoyed are their Crispy Chicken, Beef with Chinese Broccoli, Steamed Fish, Stuffed Tofu, and Beef with Bitter Melon. If you prefer Dim Sum, it's available from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and during the weekends from 10:30am and on. On weekends, be sure to get there early because it gets filled up quickly. I would rate their food on par with Shangri-La in West Bloomfield and Golden Harvest in Warren. Those restaurants also offer Dim Sum along with traditional Cantonese dishes.
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Review from Grace Z.
Troy, MI
4/17/2011
I used to have a good impression of this place--since it is one of the few places that serve dimsum on carts..
But then I went for dimsum later in the day and ordered the turnip cake. Instead of giving it to me fresh, they just refried it again clearly from the morning rush--giving the cake a greasy, disgusting taste to it. After that, I'm not planning on coming back again. -
Review from Rachel B.
12/26/2010
YUMMMMYYY.
My in-laws have heard excellent things about this Chinese restaurant. It did not disappoint.
The wonton soup reminded me of the kind in China Town in NY. The chicken and broccoli was flavorful (although he chicken was just a TAD too salty) and plentiful. But the standout were the dumplings. Even steamed, these bad boys were amazing. The dough was chewy and thick, the filling was full of minced goodness (shrimp and pork, I think?), and the dipping sauce was tops.
I would love to try dim sum here! -
Review from Alan W.
Washington, DC
6/16/2010
This is a solid place for Dimsum and Dinner. Both Dimsum and Dinner prices are pretty good and cheaper then the other dimsum places.
DimSum- pretty consistent here. Have a pretty good selection, never really come out bad and sometimes they do a good job. It seems like they get better every year. I think they kept the same dim sum chefs since the new owners and that's a good thing because they will continue to get better if the chef is young. The dough used to make most of the dimsum are done pretty good which sounds skill in that area. The bakery is solid, nothing amazing.
Dinner-Great prices and have a good special menu. The food is good, but not amazing. It's worth the money and never seem to disappoint me.
This is not the best Chinese restaurant, but pretty consistent and seems to get better over the past couple years after the new owner. -
Review from Jeff L.
Millbrae, CA
8/7/2009
Came here twice while planning for a large party (45 people). First time we were here was to test the food before we had a large party of 50 people. The food was decent and reasonably priced. Keep in mind that the greater Troy area is not a haven of Chinese food excellence.
The second time I came here was for our dinner banquet. The food for our banquet was better than the first time so in my book that means this restaurant is good enough to come again.
We fed 45 people for about $600 including tax and tip (cash price).
My favorite dishes here were the stir fried green beans or scallops.
The wait-service itself is not outstanding but the management is very accommodating. They want your business and are willing to make deals. It helps if you speak Cantonese or Mandarin. The banquet menus are open for substitutions.
Overall a good experience. If you want to have a Chinese banquet give East Lake a try. -
Review from Jennifer H.
Jacksonville, NC
9/15/2009 1 photo
To be upfront, we didn't get the dim sum so I have no opinion on that (and to be honest, after reading the glowing reviews about the dim sum, we might have to go back for that). We just went for a quick Chinese lunch.
The first issue (albeit a small one)? The hostess asked if we wanted a high chair (which we did) and instead of just setting it there for us to place as we wanted, she started arranging chairs and putting the high chair where she wanted (thought was best?). She actually removed a seat and placed the high chair against the wall. It appeared to me she was probably placing it out of the main aisle/traffic area, but the place was about empty, so I don't think it would have been that big of a deal. And if you're a parent, you get set in your ways, and this wasn't my way, so it was very odd. I am sure I could have moved him, but I left him there.
The second issue--again minor, but very strange? We had drinks before we even had menus--and then I had to ASK for menus!
The third (and probably biggest) issue for me? NO CRAB RANGOON! How on earth is that even possible for a Chinese restaurant?!? Every Chinese restaurant (and heck, most generic restaurants, it seems sometimes!) has crab rangoon or some other identical variation on the menu. I was at a loss. I mean, I NEED my crab rangoon with a Chinese meal. I was so flummoxed I could barely even look at the other appetizers--although I finally decided on the spring rolls.
The lunch menu combinations had both dishes that we wanted (I'm a basic General Tso's Chicken girl and my mom had the Mongolian Beef) so at least that wasn't a showstopper. Before our app even came out, a girl came around with a tray of goodies (oh, wait, this must have been the dim sum--forgive me, I am inexperienced with dim sum!) and we went with her suggestion of the favorite (fried pork dumplings). They were quite tasty. The appetizer came out quickly thereafter and was also tasty, although certainly not the best spring rolls I've had. The meals came out before we were done with our apps, and they were acceptable. Not great, not bad, but good. But the portions were huge! (We each brought some home.)
The fourth, fifth, and sixth issues? No one ever came to refill drinks, I had to wait quite awhile at the front station to pay my bill, and we had to wait quite a bit in order to flag someone down to get to-go containers. It wasn't busy (maybe four tables in the whole place) and there appeared to be enough servers wandering around, so I'm not sure what the issue was.
Will we go back? Maybe. If it's convenient and we're starving--and maybe (MAYBE) to specifically try more of the dim sum. But it's not a place I would rush back to or add to my list of MUST REPEAT places.Listed in: Troy Area A to Z Eating…
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Review from Molida K.
Utica, MI
11/2/2010
I had dim sum here last year and was not impressed. The food was cold, tasteless, and over priced. Definitely not coming back.
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Review from Krupa U.
Troy, MI
5/22/2009
Every weekend around lunch time this place has crowds that swarm around the front door waiting to be seated, even Chinese people!... so i figured hey, this place might actually be worth checking out. I was unfortunate to discover that the quality is as good as Chinese Buffet at Golden Harvest prices... I went with Joe T. so we both encountered the bad service he's referring to.
I still don't understand the large crowds.... -
Review from Fiat V.
Boston, MA
1/2/2010
I'm a fan of this BEST CHINESE FOOD in this part of Troy, MI area. Hands-down, the BEST-EST in Troy! Great and spacious place with quite authentic Chinese food! I love the Spicy Salted Squid/Shirmp, Stuffed Tofu with Shrimp, and their Jellyfish Salad.
Great simple/affordable lunch menus!
Great eats! Plus it opens super late, (2 am), so it makes post-partying gathering place accessible.
Give it a shot, and you'll end up liking the place! -
Review from James B.
Troy, MI
9/29/2009
Before I get to the review, a brief digression. One of the most important indicators about the authenticity of a restaurant that I look for is the clientele that is being served. When in another country, I tend to seek out the restaurants the locals go to... If I am in Mexico for example, if the only language being spoken is Spanish and there are no baskets of nachos to be seen in the restaurant, I'm in the right place. Thankfully I speak passable Spanish so reading menus and ordering is not difficult. I have yet to have a bad experience from going to a locals' type restaurant or eating the street food of whatever country I happen to be in. Ironically, the only time I have suffered food poisoning while living abroad was after I ate some spaghetti from an American based Italian chain restaurant.
With this preface, let us begin the review of East Lake Restaurant (and see the companion review of Shangri-La to be added soon). The first thing you notice as you walk in the door is that many of the signs and the menu are in Chinese characters, albeit with English translation.
The second thing that is immediately apparent (particularly on the weekends during dim sum hours) is that most of the clientele is Asian, and most of them are speaking some dialect of Chinese - be it Mandarin, Fookian, et.al.
During peak hours, it's loud, chaotic, and with a line out the door... just like the dim sum tea houses in Hong Kong. The selection of dim sum is adequate, from the novice friendly shu mai and har kow, to the connoisseur's braised chicken feet and beef tripe but I do wish there were even more choices like Shanghai soup dumplings. This is why I won't give it a 4 star
In regard to the non-dimsum menu, I suspect that there are actually 2 menus... one with the typical General Tso's, Chop Suey, Mongolian Beef for the masses, and then the menu for those who know what authentic Chinese cuisine is all about. No, you will not find Crab Rangoons here... sorry, it's not actually a Chinese dish (neither are General Tso's or Chop Suey for that matter. And Mongolian beef? Surprise.... not Mongolian). Make no mistake... I love a good Rangoon like anyone else, it's just not an authentic dish. Thankfully, my friends and I eat here enough for the staff to know that we want the real stuff, be it salted fish fried rice, braised pork intestines, to sea cucumber... OK, OK, the last one was just a joke. Sea cucumber is one of the few things that I won't eat (it has little taste but the texture -- yuck) but it's nice to know that they have it... let's face it, it's probably not a very popular item among the non-Chinese.
The food at East Lake is good, not great, but very good. The setting is as close to a Hong Kong tea house as you can get, and the service the same as you would find in such a place... sometimes indifferent, rushed, and occasionally a little hostile (gotta have that table). It doesn't really bother me though, I'm used to it and expect it. Authentic!Listed in: Asian Flava in da howsssss!
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Review from Dustin T.
Troy, MI
8/7/2010 2 Check-ins Here
My wife and I, in our never ending quest for Asian food in Michigan, went to East Lake Restaurant for the first time yesterday. I had hot and sour soup which was spicy and not overly thickened, lots of good pieces of tofu and mushrooms. We shared the dinner portions of the string beans with minced pork, Chinese broccoli with garlic sauce, and szechuan beef. The string beans were slightly overcooked, a little too soft, but still tasty. The plate of Chinese broccoli was GIGANTIC... I think we only got through about one quarter of it. These were cooked more al dente, which was good, and the garlic sauce was fairly light. The szechuan beef was definitely the sauciest thing we had, and I mean tons of sauciness, thick goopy american-chinese food kind of brown sauce. The flavor was good but I could do with less sauce. There were good mixed veggies, baby corn, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, mixed in with the beef.
Overall a successful first visit. I will probably avoid the szechuan beef in the future though. They have lots of other interesting items on the menu including a wide variety of seafood. They also get extra points for a nice big pot of hot tea! I will definitely head back to try more dishes since this restaurant seems much more promising than the nearby alternative of Kims. -
Review from Lily P.
1/8/2010
This place is always at the SAME location but keeps changing its name since owners go out of business. It seems like its cursed or etc. The food is always GOOD but not AMAZING.....ehh. Always large crowds or completely empty it seems. Nothing really stands out and its the standard chinese resturant where you will most likely enjoy half your food, service is give or take, you hope it doesn't change its name within the next few months, and if your asian..someone you know thru 1-2 degrees will own the place.
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Review from Mags L.
San Francisco, CA
12/28/2008
decent dim sum for troy, mi. it was surprisingly bumpin'; not sure if this was due to the holiday season or if it's like this all the time. selection was not very diverse, but they had the staples: hargow, shumai, salt & pepper squid, cha siu baos, sticky rice in banana leaf.
it's good to know that the next time i'm back in michigan visiting the 'rents, there is another dim sum option (we used to go to jade tiki for dim sum) in the area.
had we had more time however, we most certainly would have headed towards windsor instead. -
Review from ChianWen T.
Boston, MA
8/17/2008
I am usually a no-dim-sum-is-bad-dim-sum sort of girl, but I am going to make an exception for this place. This place really gets too happy with the MSG and salt; I haven't tasted Chinese food this salty since......well, Poland. Poland actually has an excuse; the cooks are usually not Chinese. So, this can't be good dim-sum unless you are Polish, the fresh off the boat kind.
It's just not worth the drive from Ann Arbor. Even Lai-Lai and Great Lakes are much better.
This is place is cleaner and nicer than most other old school Chinese dim-sum places. So, a couple of stars for that. -
Review from Cheryl C.
Troy, MI
9/15/2010
The food is delicious compared to other Troy Chinese restaurants that are one star at best. The food is actually 3.5 stars, but the service diminishes the rating. I bought the Shrimp and Broccoli for $14.95. It came with rice. That's it. There were six tasty shrimp and over 40 perfectly cooked broccoli flowerets. This is expensive broccoli. I won't order it again because it is not a good value. Frankly, I observed that the Asian diners received better service and greater food value.
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Review from Emi D.
Farmington, MI
4/9/2007
Good dim sum. Actually my Taiwanese friend highly recommends and approves as the best dim sum place in town. If you go for Sunday brunch, I recommend being there before 11am. Otherwise, you need to wait for 1 hour.
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Review from Mei L.
San Diego, CA
5/22/2009
reading all these mediocre reviews got me thinking if all these people are on crack. trust me.........im 100% chink, have been eating dim sum since in was in my mothers tummy. i know good dim sum. this place has it......and yea the long lines in the morning for brunch are insane.
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Review from Joe T.
5/22/2009
Ehh. If you want real/good Chinese food and service - there are plenty of other options on metro Detroit. This place has salty, standard, run of the mill Chinese food, albeit in a sit-down, somewhat nice for a Chinese restaurant interior (hence the slightly more expensive menu). Portions are subpar for the price. After my girlfriend and I ate, and waited, and waited excessively, I had to go to where ALL 20 of their staff, family, little kids, etc. were at in the back corner eating, talking and laughing and ask my waitress if I could pay for my meal. Haha - how's that for service? Granted, it was not a busy time at the restaurant - but you still shouldn't just forget about who you're waiting on. Honestly, I'm not that picky about service - but this experience was just bad - and since the food and portions were lackluster - I am completely happy with never returning to this Chinese spot. I do hear they serve up some respectable Dim Sum on Sundays. Perhaps this experience would redeem them partially, but I have yet to try it.
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Review from Hannah S.
Boston, MA
7/20/2010
This is not the greatest place to get Chinese food, but around here there are not many choices that are close. The name of this restaurant has changed pretty frequently and its never been that good. My family and I are not that big fans, but when we don't want to drive far, we come here for dim sum.
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Review from Youa V.
Richardson, TX
4/8/2010
I love the Spicy salted squid here along with their thick soy sauced beef noodle dish. Spring rolls are great to start off with. Sometimes they give you soup to start off, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they also give you congee soup for dessert, sometimes they don't. I'm not a big fan of their service, but I rather go to this place then Golden Harvest out in warren. I haven't tried their dim-sum yet but I've heard they are very good and also better than Golden Harvest. Around the holidays, they are usually busier than on normal weekdays/weekends.
