Capital BBQ & Dim Sum Express

The food they serve there is basically the leftovers from the actual restaurant. Reason as to why everything is dry and over cooked. The Asian lady is the rudest woman ever she acts like you’re such a bother for making her work. She doesn’t even greet she just says «what you want.» She doesn’t even make eye contact with you.

I don’t like taking food to go or the fact that usually at Chinese restaurants there’s bad service.
I believe I talked to the manager when his workers were busy. He was excellent in service and he spoke English well.
Irvine is a developing city, all ethnicities live in the area. I don’t understand why the server didn’t understand my chinese, yes I have different accent but it’s still understandable.
The food was great. Manager was very helpful.

I stop by here a lot for take-​out dim sum, mostly because it’s easy (aside from trying to park on weekends and lunch/​dinner time – I go on off-​hours if I can!). It’s not like there are a lot of places to get dim sum.
I really like their rice noodle rolls, particularly the beef, although shrimp is OK, too. It’s just soft and yummy! Also really love the fun gaw with peanuts. My sister will eat the chicken feet with no complaints. The baked bao are very good. Spare-​rib bits are typical and good. I think their haw gao (shrimp dumplings) are fine. The sticky rice bundles are OK.
Really, most everything is just fine. Not amazing, but solid. The only problem is when they are low on items… But then I know better than to go too late in the afternoon. Anyway, no complaints from me, and I’m glad they are around for my quick dim sum fix!

Awful, I spent $ 7 on the WORST food I have ever experienced. I wouldn’t feed this food to my dog. I did go during an off time, but if you are open for business you need to put out the best quality of food that you can. I wouldn’t even try the Capital Seafood Restaraunt because this experience was so horrible.

The food is terrible especially the dim sum and roast duck, if you had Chinese food before, this is not a place for you. Their food are expensive and tasteless compare to any Chinese express in OC.

This review is not going to be very useful because it is exclusively for the iced milk drinks, which they no longer serve. These drinks were THE SHIT! I believe they stopped selling them around the end of 2014. They were the highlight of my summer when I was taking biochem and molecular bio hahaha. I have been on the hunt for the perfect iced milk drink in OC and I haven’t had any luck. Black & White has really good iced milk but it’s in West Covina :(Can we start a petition to bring the iced milk drinks back, please?!

Just so happened to be in the area before the crazy –busy lunch crowd. I love a great dim sum! Being that they just prepped for lunch, I thought a great time to try this place. Dim sum is best enjoyed from kitchen to table, in my opinion.
Really CONVENIENT to satisfy my dim sum craving. Ordered the crowd favorites from what I read on Unilocal and happy with all of my choices. Hot, steamy, delicate, puffed bites, and familiar Chinese flavors made for a very happy first visit here. Know what you want beforehand! Lol… I felt rushed. Luckily no crowd just yet. Everything looked tasty. They’re fast and efficient here. Only thing I didn’t get to try that I wanted was their fried turnip, as it would take 15 – 20 min they said. Just one more place to visit on my next return to the area. Even if it’s for just a few takeout treats.
Note: I didn’t see prices on any dim sum, did see one or two item plates, but my takeout of 2 small side dishes and 3 different dim sum items came to $ 22.03~ I remember because I was annoyed at myself for not having 3 pennies

RUDE! R U D E!!! Made me lose my appetite! Why the F is this lady yelling at us??? Ughhhhhhhh avoid this place!!!

here i am again, paying an arm and a leg for shrimp dumplings. $ 5.38 (tax incl.) for 4, seriously?
and the lady at the cashier had the audacity to ask me if i have cash? yes, i do, but if you weren’t charging people so much for dim sum, i would’ve paid cash, but too bad, you gotta swallow the credit card fee for the up charge.

First time I have eaten a tasteless roasted duck. And this is really hard to do give the duck meat itself is very tasty.
¹²⁄₁₅ upon further consumption, the meat is extra chewy for unknown reason. Additionally the meat near the bone and the bone is not cooked completely. i have to say i have never had a duck that i didn’t want to eat until now. this is just pathetic!

They close at 8 as opposed to 10 like it says on Unilocal.I didn’t even get dim sum. So disappointed.

5 dollars for 4 pieces of shumai… 5 dollars for 4 pieces of hargow??? What? Why??? This place is super expensive for dimsum. Most expensive dimsum I’ve ever bought. A little disappointed with the quality too. Not coming back.

Good dim sum. Nice place.
Lots of veriaty. And if you love shrimp, this is would be just right for you. Tons of shrimp dishes.
We stoped by on our way from LA to San Diego. It is just at the half way point. We liked the service, the food and everything. Will definitely come again.

Great clean, friendly, and delicious restaurant for dim sum! This place gets packed on the weekends, so be sure to come early if you want to grab a table for a large group. There are a good amount of dim sum carts, all with good variety and great quality of food. It isn’t extremely cheap, but you get what you pay for. I love that the restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. The waitstaff is all attentive and helpful. The parking lot does get a bit packed, as it’s in a busy plaza, but I’ve never not been able to find a spot. I recommend you try Capital for dim sum at least once, and I can’t wait to try food at their other locations.
PS: If you’re in a hurry, they have a to-​go dim sum section next door. Closes at 3, but the earlier you go, the more variety there is.

Much like a sequel to Paul Blart: Mall Cop, another visit to Capital Express is totally unnecessary.
On my last visit, the dim sum I ordered was colder than the expressions on the faces of much of the staff! I could be more forgiving if this hadn’t happened before, but this is now 2 out of 6 visits, which according to my calculations, is 33.3% of the time. It was especially disappointing since I arrived at about 11:30a (when one would think it’d be fresh) plus their dim sum prices are substantially more expensive than many of their competitors.
Since I don’t carry around a portable microwave or have access to a steamer in my car, I ended up throwing about half of it out (which according to my math, is like 50%). The siu mai tasted absolutely terrible when cold.
I will no longer be spending any of my capital at this Capital — it’s like the mall cop version of dim sum.

I’ve been to this place a few times, both the express side and the sit down restaurant side. The décor here is really nice but the food doesn’t wow me. It’s ok food but nothing out of this world. The menu is extensive and has all the typical Chinese seafood banquet style restaurant favorites. They do have brown rice though.

The food options are similar to Panda Express. I order the two side combo – chicken and pork. The pork was good but mostly bone. The chicken was OLD! I hope I don’t get sick from eating some of it. It was chewy, fatty and I can taste that it was old. Definitely just go to panda express where you know the chicken will be fresh.
I hope I don’t get sick!

Good alternative if you’re really craving dim sum and dont want to wait for a table next door.
Dont know if the prices or quality is the same (looks like the food comes from the same place), or perhaps it’s the fact that something is missing when you don’t have the whole experience (ladies pushing carts, etc) but I thought the items we ordered to go were just ok (ha gao, shu mai, black bean ribs…)
I was excited to try the 2 for $ 5 milk slush with boba and pudding and although the boba has a good consistency, the drink itself was kinda bland, like it had way too much ice and not enough of the flavor. Not to mention, the guy that took care of the drinks (yes, you have to order and pay separate from the dim sum section) was totally transactional and had no service skills.
Overall, food is edible but not exciting.
P. s. they only take visa/​mc for credit cards.

Capital’s Dim Sum Express is convenient. I stopped by here to pick up some food for my boyfriend after his race (we didn’t have time to go to a sit down place) and it was a passable experience. I called ahead about 25 minutes to ask that they prepare some turnip cakes for pickup but when I got there they said they did not receive the order and that I would be another 15 minutes for them to make the dish. We passed on the wait since we were short on time.
The offerings at the Express is pretty standard. They have plenty of the dim sum favorites including shu mai, har gow and the steamed buns. The food is good but EXTREMELY greasy. I had one bite of shu mai and my face was covered in grease.
I would come to the express ONLY if you are short on time and are REALLY craving dim sum. It will hold you off but not satisfy your dim sum cravings.

**5 stars for the drinks & 3 stars for the food**
Remember this is the EXPRESS side, meaning it’s quick & easy. Don’t expect any glitz or glamour.
HERE’S THE DEAL — They’ve got:
1) Ready made food where you can chose from 1 – 2 items… etc.
2) Dim Sum. You may request items from the sit down side too. Just to make sure your order is fresh, I’d ask for a new batch and be willing to wait.
3) Drinks ranging from ice milk to smoothies. **ONLY reason I go here (see below)**
TID BITS:
1) Located right next to the Captial Seafood sit down restaurant. It’s actually an adjunct to it.
2) Parking is a doozie. So, carpool OR park in the structure in the back/​slight left to H-​MART
PROS:
1) They always have some kind of 2 for $ 5 special on two specific drinks. Usually Ice milk with boba/​egg pudding and Ice milk with taro/​egg pudding. BEST DEAL EVER. Drinks are large in size, just the right blend of milk & sweetness, and the texture of boba/​egg pudding are spot on. Trust me on this, I’m a boba snob. I can’t stand hard/​soft tapioca balls, and I can tell if those balls have been sitting there for awhile. Glad to say Capital Express has perfected those little tapioca balls.
CONS:
1) Dim sum is pricier than your average Bolsa or Monterey Park stuff. Almost $ 5 – 6 for one order. OUCH. In their defense, the food is cleaner & better quality.
2) Short staffed. Although service «should» be quick & easy. We usually wait awhile for our drinks.
3) I can’t comment on the taste of the Food to Go stuff. But, one observation is that it doesn’t look as appetizing compared to Panda Express or Lucky Chinese Fast Food. Just saying.
As much as I love the drinks here. The torturous parking deters me away from coming here solely for the drinks. If you’re already browsing around Diamond Jamboree and are torn between Lollicup, 85C, and any other place that sells boba, I’d definitely give Capital Express a try.