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Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Nob HillMon-Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
"This is a long overdue review. We've been going to Jai Yun since 2002. Chef Nei is nothing short of an artist and genius when it comes to…" read more »
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sad to say, when i was young i thought this place was the best restaurant in CT and the biggest. but how naive i was then. i'm since grown up and developed a better palate. had dim sum here with a couple of friends who were visiting SF, my sister and my nephew. dim sum isn't too bad but it isn't great. if you want better dim sum, better look outside of CT in Daly City or Sunset which is a definite upgrade. wait wasn't too long though, maybe like 3 minutes tops? surely beats the hour wait at Koi Palace in Daly City.
ever since i moved down to LA though, i've been spoiled by the good dim sum out in Rowland Heights so Koi Palace would probably be your best bet for dim sum if you're willing to deal with the wait
0 star for the food.
0 star for cleanness.
0 star for customer service/ horrible customer service.
I'd rather go to Four Seas Restaurant for better place, better dimsum, and better customer service.
I wont be back for sure !!
This was my second visit in 2 weeks and if I had written my review on my first experience, it would have gotten at least 3/5.
We came through during the late morning on Monday and it was fairly empty. A majority of the staff were crowding a family over to the side, we later came to think they were either the owners or some other superstar.
We didn't see anyone roll by for at least five minutes, but there was a cart sitting next to us. Do we just take a plate of their crispy shrimp balls and tell our server once she comes around to our table? After contemplating it, we told the host that sat us that we were ready to order. She hollered at a girl cleaning plates at the other end of the restaurant who, in turn, doubled as the restaurants only server. Without washing her hands, she came over and served us the shrimp balls and egg rolls. She also rolled through with a steamed cart.
The food wasn't like my first visit, actually the complete opposite. The Crispy Shrimp Balls were stale. Shaomai were over cooked, so they fell apart as they sat in the steamer. Lastly, the Har Gow were cold and the Soup Dumplings didn't taste right. The only plate we enjoyed and ordered seconds of were the Egg Rolls.
The Awkward Moment Of The Meal: After we got our bill, the host hovered over us as we signed the check. She didn't walk by our table or stand at a distance, she actually stood over us. We thought she needed the credit card plate for another table. But wait...there were only 3 occupied tables in the entire restaurant.
On my first visit, I thought I found a decent place that I would love to visit on a regular basis, but at this point I'm still looking for my "Bay Area Dim Sum Joint" - if you've got suggestions, send them my way!
This place was quite a hike if you're coming from the BART station; it was almost at the end of Chinatown. I was hoping that it was well worth the walk but unfortunately, it didn't.
Although the Crispy Shrimp Balls were huge, the "crispy" part was stale. Both the Shumai and Soup Dumplings fell apart easily and tasted bland. The egg pastry was more egg than pastry so the taste wasn't quite right to me. The only thing I liked was the Eggrolls until we got a 2nd order. The same lady that served and cut our eggrolls was the same lady that was cleaning the dirty dishes... EWWW!!! Plus the service was lousy, more so than others. I asked for my Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf, they nodded and said "okay" but they never came back with it. The place was practically empty but they took forever on getting us food and water. They also give you tea which I assumed was complimentary since I didn't ask for it, but they charged us $1/person. Lastly, they hovered over me when they gave me the receipt to sign. Awkward much?
I would like to give them the benefit of doubt when it comes to the quality of food since we did come in at 2pm (almost the end of dim sum) and that all dim sum places were like that, but I like to think that a good/great restaurant makes the same quality of food no matter what time it is (opening or closing). Maybe that's just wishful thinking. I was about to give them 2 stars because I wouldn't mind coming back to give them another chance until I got my 2nd order of eggrolls. I was keeping an eye on that lady since I saw she was wiping the dirty dishes and she would serve other customers without washing her hands! I'm definitely not keen on coming back for a 2nd visit, no thank you.
Very so so. It's huge, so it's good for a big group. It's relatively inexpensive, and it's cart dimsum (which you can point and pick from ongoing carts rather ordering from a menu) However, the quality of dimsum is not that great. It's flavorful and serviceable, but lacks the delicacy. I'm still in look-out for that perfect dimsum place - taste, delicacy, variety of dishes, and reasonable price. ( Yank Sing would been good except for $$$$ )
My mom, sister and I were in Chinatown today in hopes of looking for a good place to have dim sum. We actually went to Lichee Garden first, but sadly they no longer serve dim sum. After wandering around for a while, we finally settled on going to New Asia. It was about 12:30ish when we got there and the place was packed. Fortunately, we were able to secure a table after only waiting 15 minutes.
Although the quality of the dim sum is pretty good, I was really disappointed by the variety of goodies that they offered. They basically had har gaw, siu mai, Shanghai dumplings, chicken feet, shrimp rice noodles, spare rib rice noodles, pig's blood, some fried stuff and egg tarts. I saw carts with the same items come by multiple times. Anyway, we had seven dishes and our total was $29 before tip...eek!! Whatever happened to food in Chinatown being cheap? =/
Delicious disappointment?
I miss dim sums in LA :(
Mmmm EGG TARTS (worth 5 stars!)
Sad dim sum variety
Unusually empty at 2pm
Many locals and tourists here
I came yesterday afternoon to realize that I've been here before! haha This place is relatively crowded, especially in the morning and brunch times. I wasn't too impressed with the variety of dim sum here. I'm biased. I still like dim sum in LA a whole lots more (more variety and cheaper!) Our bill for 2 somehow came out to $30! O_O I think it might have been the nasty shiao long bao that made our bill go up!
But LOVED their egg tarts!!! The custard was yummmm! I think they are way better than Good Mong Kok Bakery's!! If you see the egg tarts, get at least 3 orders worth! You won't regret it! :)
Next time I'm here I'm ONLY ordering
+ shu mai
+ EGG TARTS (LOVED!!! they run out quick!)
+ bbq pork pastry stuff
Dim sum "no no"s
- shiao long bao (expensive and NASTY, doughy and meat tasted uncooked)
- har gow (funny shrimp after taste)
Depending on where you sit in that restaurant, eating dim sum can be a good or bad experience! The cart pushers speak some English and Mandarin, but mostly Cantonese. Also, if you parked in the Golden Gateway Garage, they VALIDATE!!
I'm still in search for a good dim sum place in the bay area! Help!
New Asia for dim sum - Good Enough! It's not the cream of the crop in terms of Bay Area dim sum quality, but most things are satisfactory. It was THE place for dim-summing with family as I grew up, so I suspect that's why we're so loyal. It's huge, so there's always room to eat on weekdays. All the seniors still come here to have a few bites, cups of tea, and rounds of gossip. Siu mai is good and big. Ha gows are standard. Eggrolls are mehhhh.
There's nothing really special here. I'd probably say it's a tourist trap, but there seems to be more locals than tourists.
Despite the space, I only saw 4 or 5 carts rolling around. The main things like shrimp dumplings, pork buns, shao mai (not sure of spelling), and fried treats are all here. It seemed to lack everything else. Not that I eat anything else, but I like to believe in completeness.
$20 for 6 little dishes split amongst two people. $10 per person, and it was not filling. The to-go dim sum places up and down this area is cheaper and from what I can tell, look the same or better for much less.
Place is pretty big for Chinatown area and the food aint bad. The price is fair but the service could be better
Pretty much everything was just like every dim sum place but what stood out the most were their shui mai. I guess you can say they are the Barry Bonds of shui mai.. huge, must be on steroids. I was pretty impressed with the cart service though coming around frequently so you dont just sit around with one item for everyone to fight over. Just make sure you catch them cuz they move around really fast, its like they got their turbo button held on constantly.
Remember first thing you sit down and do is ask for water cuz once you start grubbing on all that oily Chinese food, youre gonna hate yourself if you dont have at least 2 glasses per person.Better yet get a pitcher. haha. At one point I think I was waiting for my ice to melt so I can get a few sips in =/
New Asia is one of the oldest large Dim Sum joints in China Town! I remember coming here in the 80's for wedding banquets and red egg and ginger parties. The decor hasn't changed much. It features a lot of red and gold (lucky colors which represents prosperity and fertility) and actually puts out a pretty authentic dim sum house vibe.
The food was just as good as I remembered. The har gow and siu mais were large and meaty. The portions are to par and the flavors are delicious.
My only complaint is that the place cane use a thorough cleaning. The floors were grimy and the stairs were black from dirt and grease. Other than that a great place to go for dim sum! LOL
I think New Asia just got a new chef because today's meal was unlike any I've had here and I've been going here for over a decade. The dim sum was larger than ever, tastier, and the prices lower than ever. After six delicious plates of dim sum (shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, sticky rice, a meat/mushroom dumplings, lotus buns, stuffed beef fun), the price tag came to 16 dollars before taxes. This all came with a nice big pot of chamomile tea.
The only thing that isn't cheap is the deluxe meat counter downstairs by the entryway. Their poultry is free-range I believe. Half a duck (11 dollars) and half a soy sauce chicken (11 dollars) and half a pound of BBQ pork is 6 dollars. My grand total for all three proteins came to over 30 bucks after taxes. Both the duck and chicken is smaller than average but they are suppose to be extra fresh and tasty. They do look a lot prettier than what you usually see hanging upside down in Chinatown storefront windows. That's dinner tonight!
Try the fat overstuffed shrimp dumplings. You won't regret it. Also, a traditional favorite is the… Read more »
Came here yesterday for a dim sum lunch...was disappointed. nothing we ate was good and to make matters worse, they kept turning off the AC--we were hot and sweaty sitting in the back. it was not an enjoyable lunch...food wasnt good...the only thing decent was the lobster and e-noodle dish....3 stars for that dish....1 star for the dim sum.
I'm not an expert on "siu lung bows" but good ones are hard to find in San Francisco. Most dim sum restaurants I go to are terrible, soupless and weird tasting. However, this restaurant has some pretty delicious ones filled with actual soup. The rest of the dimsum here is pretty good. Once they see a tourist, they sure go after them with weird plates.
I would think that dim sum in the heart of Chinatown would be bomb...but it I was wrong.
First off, the hostess. She told us the wait would be five minutes but it turned into 15. She also uses a microphone to call out numbers. "Call you" is an understatement. She was screaming...INTO A MICROPHONE! Who does that? Her voice was booming across the entire restaurant, I'm sure. When we sat down, I seriously couldn't even concentrate on ordering food off the carts because I felt I was sitting in the audience at an auction!
Luckily, my starving party and I quickly ordered the usual dim sum dishes...shiu mai, har gow, chicken feet, fried shrimp balls, roasted duck, steamed meat balls, and tofu dessert. The har gow and shiu mai were much larger than other places I've been to and were very good.
I felt like the same dishes were being carted around. Saturday lunch time is prime dim sum time! I can't believe they didn't have a larger variety of food. Also, we decided to eat dim sum because we were all craving ja leung, sweet custard bun and chive dumplings. And they didn't have any of those today!!! Seriously?!
Check please.
Wandering around Chinatown like the tourists that we were, we Came across New Asia. The dim sum carts confirmed a dim sum joint and the profusion of Chinese clients made our mind up.
The service was certainly a lot more polite than you'd find in London's Chinatown. The trolleys came by frequently and our empty tea pot was quickly refilled with hot water.
The dim sum were certainly of American size! Kind of felt like I had shrunk a bit like in Alice in Wonderland! The woo kok and siew mai were nice. Pastry for cheong fun a bit thick.
Still, a filling and reasonably priced meal. Felt like a local!
Been coming here since birth... simple review...
Good Food! Bad Service and worst Bathrooms! But the FOOD!!!!! YUMMM! Please don't watch the others eat and when you hear some small chinese woman hacking a lung... don't watch... she's probably gonna spit it out... BUT The food is great!
Chinese restaurants are difficult to rate. Some people like to eat "American" style chow mein, fried rice and sweet and sour pork and will downgrade restaurants that have anything that vaguely tastes authentic. Some people like it loaded with grease and sauces that will put you in a hospital. Others like it bland. You can find all kinds in Chinatown. If you like Chinese food, look at the clientele. If the place is largely patronized by white middle Americans raving about the food, I would recommend staying away as the food is guaranteed to be bland and lousy. If the place is patronized largely by Asians, then you might assume that the place is pretty authentic. The key is to be patient and develop the skill sets needed to ordering and be a customer. Ordering and being served in a Chinese restaurant take talents and many people go away angry because they don't have a clue on how to handle themselves. What has this got to do with New Asia? Everything if you're going there for Dim Sum. I didn't go there for Dim Sum (although I hope to someday). However I have gone there for banquets with at least 1,000 other people and that's what I'm going to rate. Do Chinese people eat here? You bet they do!! The events I've been to have been organized by the Six Companies and you can't get anymore authentic than that. Was the service good? You bet it was. Nine courses were served at regular intervals and at no time were the tables cluttered up with uneaten food. Was the food good? It was outstanding. Nothing was greasy or loaded up with putrid hoisan sauce. It was all hot (or cold if it was supposed to be cold) and was fresh and tasty. What particularly impressed me was the way they were able to serve over a 1000 people and get it right. The Chinese community establishment likes it and I Ike it. I'll be back for Dim Sum one of these days so stay tuned.
P.S. There wasn't any sweet sour concoction, fried rice, chow mein or other traditional "American" concoctions in the food. However, the variety was sufficient to suit any palate.
Since I was a kid, every year my family and I would visit New Asia some time after Chinese New Year. My uncle used to buy 2 tables (now it's more like 1 table) from the Chinese Association and he'd be gracious enough to invite family to partake in the typical Chinese-style banquet, as we rung in the new year with fellow Chinese Association members and their family and friends.
New Asia is the place chosen by the Gee association (each association is made up of Chinese last names who dine at certain restaurants in Chinatown for about 1 month after the new year) so I've become familiar with the place and the food.
I remember the food being better and we had more dishes. We'd always get buckets of rice, tea and each table had a bottle of apple cider and 7-UP. The night we had our dinner, we were served:
-Chinese cold cuts
-Vegetarian dish
-Squab
-Seafood soup
-Chicken with deep fried chips
-Mushrooms and Taiwanese bok choy
-Catfish
The place can accommodate 500 plus people (there were 500 people the night we went) and the upstairs wasn't even full. There's lots of gold decor in the place and strobe lighting equipment as well as a disco ball hanging from the ceiling so I expect they hold night time events as well, or karaoke nights since there are televisions set up downstairs.
Service was average. Bathrooms could have been much cleaner. Parking is wherever you're lucky enough to see an open spot in crowded Chinatown.
My parents were regulars when dad was still with us. Back then, I will join them once in a while. Dad knows people and will tell me what's good or not, what's fresh...yeah, I miss him dearly.
Anyway, for dad's sake - we came here for dim sum. It was late, after 1pm, and it wasn't packed like normal but the food was beyond subpar. Maybe because it's no longer the peak hours so they won't be offending their regulars but simply tourists and schmucks like us? Who knows but what little we had (we just couldn't risk anymore bad tasting dim sum after 4 dishes) were just not good - let's say it's bad enough that even hubby won't finish it, enough said.
A table of 2 americans sat nearby and they were so ignored and frustrated that they left no tips - this is the first we've seen. We didn't go that far but it will take some serious convincing for us to return...
For banquet only:
It seems like their food got worse than before. I went here for a family banquet this past Sunday and in TWO of our dishes, I found hair... I understand they have to make 100 something tables of food, but still, there's a reason for hair nets.
Aside from the hair incident, the later dishes were pretty okay but left my throat a bit dry afterwards. I blame the MSG.
Facility wise... the carpet upstairs is very sticky when you walk on it. Gross.
Disclaimer: this review is from an experience I had in August 2008. If you're like me and always look at the dates to see how recent they are so you can track a restaurant's ups and downs, I thought you'd appreciate that disclosure.
I'm not a dim sum connoiseur or anything, but I'd like to think I know my basics, and this dim sum experience was great, if a little unusual. The place was crowded, but we got seated almost right away. Almost as soon as our butts hit the chair, three or four ladies with carts crowded up to us and started waving their wares around in the air and yelling, creating a very chaotic air where we really had trouble distinguishing what was being offered. It was my boyfriend's first time eating dim sum and I had cautioned him against making any gestures or facial expressions that could possibly be interpreted as 'I may want this dish...' because before you know it the dish will be on your table and the waitress will be gone. He did pretty well at this onslaught, we chose a few dishes, the women went along their way, and we began eating.
(I'm still not sure why they rushed us like that. Maybe our table just happened to be on a collision course?)
We had some kind of shrimp chive dumpling that had something extra in it (not crack, but with the same effect) that made it sooo savory and good. Shrimp-stuffed eggplant followed, and the eggplant was nicely seared and still soft in the middle.
At this point another lady came over with her cart. She had some kind of beef wontons that were filled with broth. She REALLY wanted us to have these wontons. We were indifferent. She kept insisting, 'it's good! it's good!" We kept being indifferent.
And then... she set them down, stamped our receipt, and rushed away so fast that we were left gaping! Did one of us make a 'maybe so' face?! Not that we were aware of!
But the beef broth dumplings WERE good. Not that that excuses it. But, I'm sorry, they WERE good. Everything was. I couldn't complain about a single dish we got.
Maybe just less overbearing service, as a suggestion?
I just had dim sum here this morning and I would say it was so so... This place has been around forever from what I remember. The place is a little bit run down so don't expect too much if you are going to try this place out.
We got in to the restaurant pretty early, maybe around 9:30 - 10am. The wait was only abut 5 - 10 minutes for us.
As I sat down, I already noticed my chair wobbly and then as I sat down, I noticed my side of the table was folded inward (usually it expands for larger parties). But the problem was that my expansion piece wouldn't lock into place so it really sucked having it in the way.
The food was average as I've had better. I would say the price wasn't too high so I guess we got what we paid for at this place.
I do have to say it took the carts a long time to bring food around to us. We even tried asking the waiters for specific Dim Sum when we waited for a long time, but they waiter told us don't worry, it will come around.
This is my dim sum place of choice in the city. To me though, dim sum is more or less about the food you get and the service is a bit secondary. I'll admit that the service here isn't anything to write home about, it's quite average, as there have been times I've been overlooked by the busy waitstaff. But, I swear, the carts are not avoiding you on purpose here!
The big space means that waits are usually not too bad, but be prepared to sit a bit at rush time. All my usual dim sum favorites are served here and done well, I can't taste anything wrong with them. I'd prefer another place for a huge group (6+) since most of the tables are meant for 4, but a small group is perfect for this place imo.
The first time I went here it was so exciting. I had never had dim sum and had no idea what it was all about. Then out come several Chinese ladies pushing carts full of small plates. Luckily I went with a friend who knew what she was ordering and now alot of the dishes she ordered are still my favorite ones. If you know someone who has never done dim sum this is a great authentic place to go where the locals go.
I enjoy the shu mai (meatballs), rice noodle rolls (white noodles that look a bit like an enchilada served with a black sauce and can have shrimp in them), taro root (pictured here - looks like refried beans formed into a ball with a light crispy outer shell), shrimp dumplings (clear noodle filled with shrimp) and then the standard BBQ pork buns (good for those less adventurous types). The only think I tried recently that I would never do again is the flavored rice (flavored with what I don't know but nothing good)
Good dim sum, in a large dinning area. However even with its large dinning area, it gets quit crowded. I felt squished. Gets crowded on the weekend during the lunch hours, probably not as bad on the off hours. I don't like the decor of the place and the bathrooms are small and can use more attention. Service is okay.
I am seriously done with this place this time. Their cheap prices will lure me in no more...
All is fine to start on this most recent New Asia visit, until my friend inquires of the waitress as to what the stuffed peppers were stuffed with. The next thing you know she's cutting them with dirty scissors and serving them to us. Something is definitely amiss with these peppers and the nastiness is indescribable. Not sure if it's the texture or the flavor that's most offensive, but one bite and my gag reflex flares up immediately.
Before I can completely calm the urge to hurl all over the table, she comes back and offers us a plateful of chicken feet that are obviously at least two hours old by waving it no more than 10 inches in front of our faces. This does not help matters, but I'm still able to keep my lunch down.
Unfortunately, there was one casualty in our party of three. The combination of nasty peppers stuffed with unidentifiable seafood and the pile of old chicken feet being waved dangerously close to his face sends my friend over the edge. He leaves the table immediately and throws up in the bathroom.
And I don't blame him. It has been two days since the ordeal and I still feel sick just talking about it.
Seriously, city view is your best bet in Chinatown. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Us old schoolers still call it...Asia Garden.
Its decor is a throwback to the 80's (which is in again): brass columns, art deco wall paper & trim, & glittery Dynasty-like crystal chandeliers. We had banquet food-8 dishes, cookies + cake on that amazing device...the lazy susan. Tea, 7-up & apple-like cider, rounded out the meal. My favorite dishes include pseudo shark fin soup, yee mein, jellyfish & roasted chicken.
10,000 calories & over a dozen ear-piercing Chinese karaoke songs later, we emerged, too full but thankful the streets of Chinatown were quiet enough for a quick walk home.
AG aka NA, thanks for the memories. How did we survive going to 5-6 yearly when we were kids? (No karaoke then, thankfully.)
Note to self: always, always bring ear plugs to future Chinese banquets.
Wow what a for a such a huge restaurant this place is so-so bordering on gross.
First of all the downstairs bathroom is sickening (mildew, gross toilet, dirty sink, no tissue!). The upstairs bathrooms are much better so I recommend using those.
Went here on a 50+ person party with about 7-8 dishes per table (fruit appetizer, walnut prawns, roasted duck, roasted chicken, chow mein, steamed spinach, fish + onion + mushrooms, cake). The food was okay no dish was great in my book.
My main gripe for me was this dirty, yellowed, cracked sad excuse of a pitcher they gave us for drinking water. (I uploaded a pic). It had broccoli stems + onion peels hanging off of it also. The only way I noticed the pitcher was when half the table was SOAKED from it leaking all over the place.
The venue is semi-nice and the waiters were nice but the food was okay overrall. If I wasn't introduced to their dungeon of a bathroom downstairs and didn't receive that dirty ass pitcher I would have been satisfied.
They do serve alcohol and sake here also. You just have the ask, the have a bar near the front but no bartender!
I've only been to this place for dim sum....and I've tried to give it a fair shot. Been here probably 3 or 4 times. And each time, I'm disappointed.
The pieces of dim sum are just too big. They tend to choose quantity over quality and it's just not that good.
Regarding their service, it's terrible. I've grown up around Chinese restaurants all my life. I'm used to the way they function and their attitudes, but if I have to wait a half an hour for my water after they already screwed up calling my number while I was waiting for a table....I definitely have to dock them for it.
Find a different restaurant for dim sum. It's their location that keeps them afloat.
I remembered coming to New Asia a couple of years ago when a friend from New York came to visit. Expectations were never too high when having dim sum in Chinatown. We knew it wasn't the cleanest, but we do know it was cheap. We ordered a few items and started to eat.
As I picked up my Xiao Lung Bao, my friend was tells me to wait, he sees something. I turned it around and find a mouse poop stuck onto the bottom. I was horrified and immediately grabbed a waiter for an explanation. At first she claims that it's probably just a burnt rice, and I shoved it closer to her face so she can have a better look. She finally admits to it and offers to exchange for another order of Xiao Lung Bao in a real UNWILLINGLY way. I was like no way.... they all came from the same batch.
I was so disgusted in what I found and disappointed in how they try to take care of the situation. They didn't apologize or anything. I just paid the bill with no tip and just stormed out of the restaurant.
I will not be going back to New Asia any time soon!
This is my favorite chinese dim sum restaurant in China Town. I've been coming here since I was a baby. The food is delicious, the price is average, and the service is wonderful. My brother once broke a teacup by dropping it by accident, they said it was okay and they cleaned it up and gave him a new one. They were really nice. Best Dim Sum around.
Another Sunday, another dim sum restaurant to review!
Nothing too out of the ordinary to report. It's in Chinatown, so inherently parking is a biatch. I don't really head out there on the weekends, but I had some friends from out of the town, and they had just finished running a a half-marathon, and they chose the restaurant, so who am I to balk and complain?
The place was packed downstairs, but there were still plenty of tables on the upper level, where we ended up being seated. I arrived a little late (trying to find said parking), so there was plenty o' food on the table already.
* Chinese broccoli
* Siu mai
* BBQ pork buns
* Pork spareibs
* Shrimp dumplings
* Shanghainese dumplings
Etcera, etcera, etcera
No major complaints, but then again no raves either.
The highlight of the meal was seeing a strange old Chinese man tell my friend's friend's 2 1/2 year old son sit down (he had been standing completely upright on the chair)...and the little dude actually complied and had a total zombie like look on his face, after having completely ignored his parents' exhortations. That had nothing to do whatsoever with our dining experience, but it had us in stitches!
New Asia is an authentic dim sum experience. The food is good, the price is very affordable for the amount of food and service, and the atmosphere fun. Be aware Chinese service means there are a horde of people walking around, and you have to flag someone down to be helped. Once you do they are very fast. There is not one server that will check in on you or anything. Also you want to get there early in the day, because the best steamed dishes will run out during the afternoon.
The restaurant is huge and ladies in purple vests walk around with their specialty carts trying to get you to buy their items. Some were very aggressive even plopping down dishes on our table with out us asking for it.
The Shu mai and the shrimp dumplings are very tasty. I prefer the traditional steamed cha xio bao but several in my party also like the baked variety with honey glaze on top. Fresh tasty Chinese broccolli. The shrimp and beef He Fen (Long noodles) were bland and flavorless. Excellent Dan Ta (Egg custard tartlett.) Overall the food was average, they didn't have as much variety as you can get in San Gabriel (SoCal) so my favorites weren't there. Too many deep fired variety and not enough steamed in my opinion.
A fun experience and my first timer friends really enjoyed it. we went with a group of 8 and got away with $12 per person and we were all stuffed
I have been to the SF Chinatown more times than I can remember, but I have never gone with a tour guide. My chef instructor set up a tour with Rhoda Yee for this past Saturday and I decided to go and maybe learn a few things about chinatown. We had a group of 22 and walked around for about 3 hrs. The guide chose New Asia for our dim sum experience. When she told us, I realized I had been there before many years before. I remember it being a decent place. Well, since we were eating with a bunch of people that had different backgrounds and food budgets, we all decided she could order for both tables. She ordered the standard stuff, like shrimp dumping, pork dumpling, deep fried taro ball, chinese gai lan, bbq pork bun...etc..
Well, all I can say is my tastes have changed dramatically since the last time I ate here. All the food was mediocre to bad. Not a single dim sum dish was outstanding. I was full when we were done eating but not satisfied. Luckily the bill came out to be $15 including tax and tip which is not too pricey. But on the way to this place, we walked past a dim sum restaurant that advertised $5.99 for all you can eat. I think that would have been a better deal. I have been spoiled by Joy Luck in Cupertino and Koi Palace in Daly City which are heads and shoulders above this place.
DIM SUM REVIEW:
This place is so busy during lunch. Definitely request a table along the pathway of the dim sum carts; otherwise, you'll never be able to get anything to eat.
Some of the dim sum/entree items I tried were:
- Shrimp dumplings- Lots of shrimp with very little shrimp paste. Pretty good!
- Chicken feet- Meaty, but not spicy
- BBQ pork buns- okay
- Chives dumpling- had cashews in the filling, which gave it a nice crunch
- House Fried Seafood noodles- The noodles were very odd. The cooks probably didn't use the regular egg noodles, since the color didn't look right.
- Beef Chow Fun- Oily, but the flavor was good.
I think this place is overrated with the dim sum. Service is lacking since we asked for cold water several times.
BANQUET REVIEW:
Just a couple hours ago, we were eating lunch at New Asia. Now we had a wedding banquet at the same restaurant!
We were in the banquet hall located on the second level. The setting was intimate as there were 9 tables overall.
The food came out so quickly! At a typical Chinese banquet, the guests would wait over an hour to be served.
Overall, the food was pretty good. It's 10x better than banquet food at Empress of China. The menu was typical, but some entrees stood out better than others.
1) Special Combination plate of chicken, duck, pork, jelly fish- The meat had mostly bones.
2) Shrimp in crab claw- The shrimp was hot! I burned the roof of my mouth since I was greedy to eat it. The shrimp ball was a good size! Nice and plump.
3) Scallops and prawns- Everything was sauteed and with veggies. Nothing too special.
4) Shark fin soup with crab meat! Yay!
5) Abalone with mushrooms and bitter choy- The abalone wasn't overcooked!
6) Crispy chicken- Aww.. there weren't any shrimp chips. The skin wasn't that crispy, but the chicken was moist.
7) Lobster - very meaty!
8) Smoked "cod" - This was Chilean Sea Bass!!! YUMMY! I devoured my smooth and fatty pieces. Best dish of the night!
9) Red bean dessert- Someone burned the red bean :( You can taste it! Yuck.
I came here for dim sum with my family. It seems to be a popular place, since they start calling out numbers during the lunch rush.
They have the usual dim sum cart pushers. Some of the ladies are pretty aggressive! A few times, they will place dishes on your table unless you tell them no. I had to shake my head NO many times..lol.
The dishes are ok. I think the dim sum in Milpitas or San Jose is way better. They have the typical shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, rice noodle, etc.
I noticed a lot of the workers only speak a little bit of English. I'd reccommend you come here with at least one person who speaks Chinese =).
The customer service here is not that great. If you ask for a dish, they tell you to wait for it to come around.
I don't think I'll go back.
Never again! It was my first and last time here. I don't plan on chasing dim sum carts, asking multiple times for the same thing or get my own place settings. The food was not that great. The place is huge but only 3 full dim sum carts to serve the entire room. Ridiculous!
Oh yeah, they even came back with the bill and asked for more tip because it was less than 10%. Well, if you offered better service maybe you'd deserve it. I couldn't believe they actually asked for us to change the bill and when told their service was bad the lady said, "oh sorry", stepped away quickly to get the bill adjusted. real sincere .... really. (i pull my eye socket and stick out my tongue at you, New Asia!)
Yes, Yelp it is a well deserved one star: "Eek! Methinks not" rating.
I dug this place... it was huge... the carts kept coming... and very authentic... really everything I'm looking for in a dim sum restaurant. The oft-mentioned egg tarts were the best I've had, bar none.
Staples like the sui mai and ha gow were large and tasty. The ha chong fun was so-so, the shrimp balls were very nice.
Damn, I'm getting hungry...
Way too expensive for dim sum. I guess I'm used to the place I usually go to in San Gabriel..we wanted to eat somewhere clean, and this placed looked good. Didn't get very many dishes..about 6 dishes and a soda and it cost $24. Yowza. I love egg tarts but the one here was soft :( Service was ok, we got what we wanted quickly. If you know anyone who lives in SF, ask them for recommendations.
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: North Beach/Telegraph Hill
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
Category: Dim Sum
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