Dim Sum House - San Lorenzo, California

anita W.

During quarantine days when all the dim-sum restaurants were closed, I was missing fresh and quality dim sum. Dim Sum House opened up shop and when I got to try it, I was so surprised by the quality of their takeout dim sum! Everything was steamed upon order and held up well during my ~30 minute ride home.
Usually, takeout dim sum isn't as great with bigger and lower quality items.
Dim Sum House doesn't offer the same dine-in dim sum experience with the hot tea and dim sum carts rolling by, but your dim sum cravings will be satiated! I come here 1-2 times per month and the shrimp dumplings, siu mai with shrimp, and stuffed sticky rice in lotus leaf wrap are a must order every time for me!
There is no shared parking lot and only street parking in a semi-residential neighborhood, which isn't too hard to find a spot nearby.

Clare L.

After experiencing a miserable lack of dimsum during the pandemic and bummed to find that many places have raised prices since, I was thrilled to find this little joint selling actually affordable, freshly-made dimsum goodies! I've now been a couple of times for snacks and lunches, and have a decent understanding of their operations.

Firstly, (and I can't stress this enough) make sure to PRE-ORDER! They are take-out only and available for orders both over the phone (the staff understands English for ordering just fine) and online. Wait times will vary depending on your quantity ordered, but for a single gal like me with just a handful of dishes, it generally takes 15-20 minutes at typical lunchtimes from the time I place my order to being able to pick it up at the front. That said, I've seen a group of Chinese uncles who had ordered dozens of stuff, had to wait over half an hour (not sure how long they ended up waiting since I left eventually), and were getting cranky about it. 🙁 Feels bad, but it does makes sense, given how much food the little staff has to prepare for them in the back, while handling all their other orders, as well...

Streetside parking is kind of tough at peak lunchtime, and is made worse as more people don't pre-order and squat spaces in their cars while waiting!

Taste-wise... of the stuff I've ordered, most everything has been decent! XLB (xiao long bao) dumplings, egg tarts, lotus-wrapped sticky rice, and more. The only thing is that with goods like the pan-fried pork buns, if you wait too long to open and eat them (while driving somewhere with your takeout, namely), they get a bit sad and soggy. 🙁 Unfortunately, this is just one of those dishes that lends itself better to being eaten fresh. I did also think that this dish in particular could've used a bit more meat filling.

In general, I've had a good experience whenever I've pre-ordered and/or come at an off-peak time for food. I recommend this place for affordable takeout dimsum! Portions aren't the biggest, but you can get a variety of flavorful options for the price and satisfy a dimsum craving. If you're trying to experience pre-pandemic dimsum with a large party, however, you'd definitely be better off finding a nice sit-down place elsewhere.

Pro tip: ask for soy sauce, chili sauce when you get your order! They're not included by default.

Daniel C.

TLDR: LOVE this place! HUGE variety and insanely high quality!

I've been looking for a dim sum shop that really blows me away, this is the place! There are items that are so uncommon (as far as I've seen) that the minute I saw them on the menu, I knew I'd be ordering some.

If you've never tried a steames rice roll, it is essentially a sheet of rice noodle wrapped around your selection of meat. Best way to enjoy it is on a small plate where pouring the dipping sauce over it will allow it to essentially swim in it. While normaly this will over saturate the item, the roll is a bit harder for the sauve to adhere to, so most will drip off. By cutting the sheet between pieces of meat, you will get better portioned bites with a good amount of sauce.

The fried glutinous pillows were a totally new item to me. Slightly sweet on the outside with a crispness that stays long after they have cooled, the thick envelope (which is essentially mochi) is chewy and stuffed with a savory filling, diced into fairly large bits to provide a strong contrast to the texture.

Last item I want to mention is the Mango pudding. Normally I am not a fan of pudding; texture just isn't one I enjoy. From the Dim Sum House, the texture was more like that of a gelatin. There was a somewhat creamy finish which, along with the intensely fresh flavor, made it clear that fresh fruit was used in it's making. After so many rich and savory foods, the refreshing sweetness was a welcome palette cleansing way to wrap up the meal.

I have gone back already before I could get around to writing this review!

SY L.

Price is fair. To go only. Difficult parking. Tastes not bad. Service is okay. It's kinda messy in the shop but the food is good. It's a good place for the ppl who want to have some dim sum for lunch!

Simon I.

I called and ordered several items as showed in one of my pictures. I still needed to wait when I got there, as other people were waiting in the small restaurant. It also has very limited street parking spaces. To-Go dim sum were relatively cheap and taste okay compared to other Chinese restaurants nearby. The restaurant needs to be more organized (e.g. division of labor, who is working on which order), so that customers can get their orders faster (20 minutes are too long).

Jeremy R.

Excellent hole in the wall dim sum spot on bockman. Reasonable prices and really good dim sum. Har gow, siu mai, sia pao, sticky rice and beef roll were all fantastic.

Don F.

This place was easy to find using Google maps. Street parking only. To go orders only. Place was unorganized with boxes and stuff everywhere. The shrimp dim sum was delicious.

Ruby L.

Great new add to the neighborhood.

Ordered frozen ha gau and siu mai so I can enjoy hot dim sum at home. Better than most of the tea houses in Bay Area.

Ordering process still needs improvement as I saw people have been waiting for their order for longer time and wait for order is 20 mins if you want hot dim sum (but it’s newly open so I understand)

I will go back and try the rest of items on menu.