Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Garage
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
17 Reviews for Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant
We stumbled onto this restaurant by accident after doing some shopping near by at Ala Moana.
At that time..after shopping exhaustions and let me just add not by choice.I was happy finding a dim sum restaurant because I was starving and tired!The wait wasn't bad and we were seated in less than 10mins.They had good selections and I found their dim sum to be quite good.In a matter of fact,they have better dim sum than some of the places I know back home.
The service is the same everywhere just like the prices for dim sum.
I'm not going to deduct minor details as to cleanliness or spots on their water glasses which I could find the same in any other Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants.
All in all I was a happy camper in the end...until I found out it was back to being bag boy!ha ha..........the things i do!
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I'm a dim sum connissuer, and i did find the dim sum here to be quite delicious... definitely not as good as the dim sum in the bay area... but damn it was pretty damn good for having a small chinese community in Hawaii. My friend has tons of family here in Hawaii and they took us out to lunch. I would've never found this place if it weren't for them... definitely a gem here in Honolulu. Definitely a great place to go if you want to fix your dim sum craving. They have great service here as well, maybe because my friend's grandma comes here so much.
A few things did disappointment me though... first thing was the turnip cake, it wasn't cooked all the way... it wasn't pan fried enough so the outside wasn't as crispy as it should be. The second thing was the combination pan fried noodles. The noodles weren't pan fried enough.... maybe it was, but it was drenched in way to much sauce, so the noodles were crunchy anymore. The next thing that disappointed me were the fried items. It seems as if they cook everything in the morning and just leave it out sitting, because all the fried items were luke warm. Other than that, everything else was delicious.
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The best dim sum is in Chinatown, but this is the winner location- and parking-wise. I'm curious about people that love this restaurant because it's pretty or clean--the china on display wasn't that awe-inspiring and the teapot and shoyu looked dirty and felt sticky.
The dim sum was just mediocre. My boyfriend said the dumplings tasted the same as the ones at Legend Seafood Restaurant (my favorite), but I've been dim summing since I was a fetus--the siu mai was rather bland, the char siu was brown instead of red, the fried won tons were soggy from excess oil, etc. I did enjoy the fried noodles with beef and vegetables, though--the noodles were crisp and thin yet egg-y and doughy. YUM.
The service is comparable to a dying sloth. There must've been a 20-minute interval between the first and second carts. For a while I thought this place was so lame because I only saw the steamed food cart. The dessert, fried food, and look fun carts finally rolled by (in that retarded order) 5 minutes before we left.
Dim sum for 2 set us back $35--not cheap vis-a-vis Chinatown but cheap for being situated in a decent hotel. Come here only if Chinatown parking, Chinatown bums, and Chinatown smells REALLY turn off your appetite.
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went for dinner. the sizzling oysters and opah were my two favorite dishes.
If it wasn't for Yelp, I wouldn't have had any idea that this place even existed on the third floor of the Ala Moana hotel. Traditional Chinese tearoom decor is matched with decent dim sum. Ordering is an efficient hybrid of cart service and waiter's asking for requests. Prices were higher than Chinatown levels but still below typical Waikiki dining. My search for the best Honolulu dim sum will continue but this place will warrant another visit.
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Great for large groups. I called Saturday morning and asked for two tables at 11:30 am. we were advised we should just do walk in - but when we arrived, my tables had been reserved. Large selection of dim sum items, nice decor, friendly service, plenty of space between tables, $10 per head for a group of 18.
there's parking at the mall or you can take a $2 trolley from waikiki. Or, it's about a 20 minute walk from the resorts on the northern end of the stripe (ie halekulani, sheraton waikiki). Everyone seems to park in the mall parking lot by accident -- the restaurant is located in the *hotel* on the third floor.
Royal Garden is a beautifully decorated restaurant that provides a more upscale version of Dim Sum than you might find in the Chinatown area. As a bonus, Ala Moana is right next door so parking and post dim sum activities are convenient.
The food is good, they have a good selection and the carts seem to come around pretty quickly. The waiters or captains, I'm not sure what their exact function is, stop by and checked on us; something that doesn't always happen at other places. The waiter wanted to make a point about the tofu dessert that they could no longer get the best brand of one of the ingredients but none of us could tell the difference. It was nice that he showed that concern.
Overall, the service is quick and relatively friendly, the place is beautifully appointed and the foods good.
If you're shopping at Ala Moana and want some authentic Chinese food...I think Royal Garden is your best bet in the Honolulu vicinity.
Just dined here for dinner with a family friend. It's located inside the Ala Moana Hotel just across the parking lot from Macy's in Ala Moana. Decor is nice and well-maintained. Style is like HK circa-late 80s. Waiters were all efficient and attentive. Food was really quite good. The Taro Duck (though slightly greasy) is quite tasty and unique. You'll also find some other rare dishes like Fried Milk with Crab that are worth sampling.
Royal Garden...Check it out!
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I've been here many times. I went yesterday before heading to the airport and flying back to San Francisco.
The dim sum is good, but doesn't have that zing compared to places like Koi Palace in Daly City or Ton Kiang in the City.
When I go to less expensive places like Y Ben, my standards lower.
My party of six consumed char siu bow, shu mai, ha gow, okay I'm going to stop using the chinese names because there are so many different ways to spell them... We also had a fried taro ball which is appropriate to Hawaii, but is too greasy for my taste, an order of seafood Hong Kong style noodles, lotus leaf rice, tofu skin roll, steamed pork and vegetable dumpling, etc... and that mochi ball that has pork in the middle.
The tea is good @ Royal Garden. The service is decent. One thing I usually ask for when I eat dim sum is wooden chopsticks. I have difficulty using those plastic ones. They're too slippery for me. Sometimes when I know I'm going to eat dim sum, I pack my own wooden hashi.
Another thing I always ask for is mustard and hot sauce. And I do believe the appropriate way to eat dim sum is without any condiments.
The location is great in the Ala Moana Hotel/Condo and right next to the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
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I had no idea there was a Chinese Restaurant serving dim sum on the third floor (pool level) of the Ala Moana Building. Several high school friends and I got together for a Girls' Day Out starting with dim sum and ending with gelato at Nordstrom's (with some shopping thrown in, of course).
Food: Not bad. The best dish was the beef noodles that we ordered off the menu. They were slightly chewy, had a great flavor with lots of thin slices of beef and veggies. It was also nice and hot.
My favorite dim sum dishes are the fried ones (what a shocker). The shrimp wonton, the delicate lacy taro nest, and the tempura nori-wrapped seafood roll...Royal Garden had them all, but they seemed to have been made ahead of time, so when the cart came around, they were not hot or crispy enough.
We tried this seafood dish wrapped in what looked like the "cone" of a cone sushi. That was warm and had an interesting, mild sauce. The spinach dumplings were also good. The custard tarts were good, but the crust was not as flaky as the ones at Mei Sum. Frankly, everything was basically average. I think I would have been happier if items were served at a better temperature (i.e., warm).
Ambiance: Quite nice and relaxing. It's a big area and decorated in rich reds and muted golds. Rather dimly lit, it was a rude awakening to leave the restaurant and see the blazing sun outside. Tables are arranged far enough apart so it feels spacious - especially with the dim sum carts meandering around.
Service: Also quite good. They were diligent in keeping water glasses and tea pots filled and kept a leisurely yet steady pace with the dim sum carts so you did not feel rushed ("We gotta get everything now or we may never see this cart again!"). Also, the wait staff was not impatient as we debated which dishes we wished to try (or how many of each dish we wanted!)
Overall: Go to Mei Sum in Chinatown or Hong Kong Harbor view at Aloha Tower if you want dim sum. But, Royal Garden has a nice atmosphere, friendly wait staff, and the food off the menu comes at a good temperature and doesn't feel like it has been sitting for awhile. It was a great place to get together with family or good friends and catch up. The place is also kid friendly - one of my classmates brought her daughter who enjoyed eating the "crispy!" part of the dishes. Now that's a kid I can relate to!
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Went to private baby shower this past weekend to Royal Garden. Been once for dim sum - it was great! used to go to Mei Sum all the time but some work friends introduced me to this place and also Legends in downtown. we had a private room and the waiters brought all the food to us in courses. fun!
Food: the chinese chicken salad was awesome! i usually don't like this salad (ie. whenever we order it at Little Village, i skip it and the fam devours it.), but it was really yummy here. the dim sum was fresh, just right steamed, etc. jin dui was so good.....ah.....chewy.
Service: not great and not bad. not much to say really.
Ambience: good for groups. both times i've been here i witnessed a large party or was a guest of one.
Parking: park at the mall level parking by the diamond head side of macy's. walk up the ramp that connects you to 2nd floor of Ala Moana Hotel. take elevator up to 3rd floor.
just cuz: the waiters have to wear the most hideously bright pink/salmon colored vests. it hurts your eyes. don't look directly at them....
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If you've never experienced dim sum before, this is a good place to start. All you do is wait for the women with carts to come around, and point to the things you want to try. The decor is nice (classier than the downtown Chinese restaurants), the wait staff is fairly attentive, and the dim sum is really good. I like the lo bat go (fried minced daikon) that they fry in the carts at your table. The cheung fun is pretty good here, too. Every once in awhile, we "special order" the salty fish fried rice. In my opinion, it's the best of its kind in town. The location is convenient--the 3rd floor of the Ala Moana hotel. Park on the mall level of Ala Moana Center and walk on the pedestrian ramp to the hotel. Then take the elevator up to the 3rd floor. Get there around 11 on a Saturday or Sunday while the food is plentiful and the lines aren't too long.
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! THIS JUST IN!
Went here for "yum cha" (dim sum) yesterday, and we were all terribly disappointed (even my young daughter!) The har gau (shrimp dumplings) were very salty. The cheung fun was too greasy. The shu mai (pork dumplings) were tiny and bland. My daughter refused to eat the ngau yok (meat balls). My son said the char siu chan bau (baked pork bun) had onions in it! We didn't recognize any of the staff pushing carts, either. Royal Garden, what happened?! Was there an uprising? Are you cutting down on staff? Was there a coup d'etat? Did the chef abdicate? Something surely must have happened, for you no longer seem so "royal" anymore. Boo-hoo, from five to three stars, and off my list of best places to eat dim sum!
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GREAT dim sum!!! Best inside-of-a-hotel restaurant I've ever eaten at. It's also some of the best dim sum I've ever had. I left with a terrible addiction to their egg buns (my cousin and I left the islands with 6 orders of them and took them on the plane with us!). Really high quality food here, do visit.
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We had our wedding reception here about 2 years ago and went back for dim sum recently. Once again, the food was excellent and the service could not have been better. We were especially surprised with the service because it was Chinese New Year's Day and the restaurant was packed. (Not to mention the notoriously bad service Chinese restaurants are known for). There was an infant with us and she spilled some ice water -- within seconds, 2 waiters came by with napkins. Ian the manager, is unflappable and appears to run a tight ship. I can't wait for my next visit to Hawaii - we will definitely return here.
I can't believe this place doesn't have more reviews. From an "overall" standpoint, hands down the best Chinese outside of Chinatown. Usually go there for Dim Sum.
one of my favorite places to go whenever i come home.
FOOD: yum yum dim sum! i get all my favorite dishes, shu mai, har gau (sp?), turnip cake, i think it's my favorite kind of chinese food. perfect thing to soak up a hangover.
SERVICE: in chinese restaurants is usually not very friendly, but they are quick to get their shit done. one waiter asked us how many waters & my mom said "three" then he brought us 2 waters. kevin said he was probably going to bring the 3rd one, but we looked over & he was just standing by the wall. i love the whole experience of ordering from traveling carts & having the food fried tableside!! sets the perfect pace for eating that stuff.
DECOR: pretty nice chinese restaurant. always neat stuff to look at in the cases.
COST: a little pricier, so my mom-them prefer to go chinatown.
BATHROOM: outside the restaurant, pretty decent & clean. ala moana hotel is nice. lighting in the parlor is weird & gray.
OVERALL: whenever i'm in hawaii, i try to grab dim sum at royal garden. the chinatown places just taste different!
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