Ocean Star Restaurant

Very bad service, no server want to rigidly the water Evan after you asked them three times. Seemed like we been forgotten.

Popular place for wedding receptions and special events like banquets, galas, and large-​scale luncheons (guess what I’ve been here for! =p). Lately, I’ve been coming once a quarter for an alumni group dim sum lunch. Surprisingly, they take reservations, which comes in handy since our group usually takes up 2 – 3 tables for 2 – 3 hours. Best to come before 11 am to avoid the crowds.
Ocean Star is also one of the places in SGV that still push carts of dim sum around. The hard to find item always seems to be the shrimp rice noodle roll (har chang fun). Once we locate the cart with a batch straight from the kitchen, we load up with a couple of plates per table in case we never see it again. I forget how much the plates cost, but our bill tends to runs $ 11-​$ 13 per person with enough leftovers for a box or two. Parking is not too bad since we come before 11 am.
We also tend to loiter after dim sum, which we do in their lobby and space outside, both of which is big enough for multiple groups waiting for a table or lingering like us. Conveniently, there is also Half and Half downstairs for some post-​lunch boba drinks!

This place has pretty good food around town. I would say one of my favorite. Xiao Mai is one of the best I had. They have weekday specials sometimes if you go.
My only issue with this place is I found a foreign object in my food. It was black cause it got cooked well done. It happens often in restaurants, so I am not that surprised. Hey at least it was well done and all germs were killed by the heat. Extra well done protein.

The food quality has gotten bad recently. The health department gave them a «C». I won’t come back for dim sum.

Let’s start with how good the food is and it’s inexpensive. I always go there during the week when I’m craving Dim Sum. I always order the spare ribs and BBQ pork honey buns and the rice porridge with egg and pork. The service is just not quite right. It’s hard to get them attention when you get the hot tea and a small portion of chili paste. When I ask for a hot mustard I get the bigger portion than the chill paste and then I have to ask for the chill paste again. When I get the rice porridge of course I need some soy sauce and I have to look around for the server but the lady that serve me was kind enough to walk all the way to the station to get me some soy sauce.
It takes like forever to get the ladies to push the cart around to get what you want. They always be in one group in the middle and start talking and don’t pay attention to the customers.
Overall it’s a place that you can eat and try so many different things and enjoy your time with family and friends and don’t let that kind of service bugging you. Just relax and if you can’t find what you want just ask your server to go grab it from the cart. You will be surprised when you order so many things and the check is smaller than you expect. Try to avoid Saturday and Sunday because I’m sure it will be crazy there.

My go-​to place for dim sum. Usually no matter what time we come there is little to no wait. Saturday of Memorial Day weekend our party of 7 just walked right in and were seated. The best thing here is the service. The ladies pushing the carts around seem happy and if they don’t have what you’re looking for they won’t forget to come back to you once they do have it. It’s dirt cheap during weekdays, under $ 2 each i believe, and a little over $ 2 on weekends.
The downside is that after we finished our meal I noticed the health department gave them a C…

Dim sum here is much better than NBC! They have all the essentials plus more veggie dishes. Prices are a bit higher but I think it’s worth it.
1 star off for the service being quite slow. Our tea wasn’t refilled for 20 mins even though the lid was off, empty dishes piled on our table not cleared, etc.

We came here at 10:30am on a saturday for dim sum. There were a lot of tables and parking spot because it was still very early.
The food was delicious! It was fresh and warm. There are multiple dim sum carts carrying different types of dim sum. They even had some food that other dim sum restaurants didn’t have like the wrapped chinese donut.
I took off one star because this place is pricer than other dim sum restaurants. Also, they charge a «setting fee» for hot tea and hot sauce. Hot sauce??? Really?

Song Parody #552
Review 1,374
Unilocal 365 2016 Review #27
3.6 900 000 001 stars
I always figured, I would get married in a dim sum restaurant, in an area like Monterey Park, so I always get a kick out of coming here, even if I am not into the food that much.
Great time meeting up for Antho’s breakfast, much respect to Antho. Shout out to all the Unilocal peeps here this morning.
Dim Sum is cool when you have so many tables and such huge rooms and a lot of parking (get it, «lot» of parking).
Good:
–Older Chinese women are so cute
–Lots of tables
–Huge room
–Lots of carts wheeling around
–Women good with scissors
–Table that spins around
Bad:
–Too many options, I try to avoid having too many options
–I need to learn Cantonese and Mandarin, they did speak English but I need to learn for myself
–The room was a bit plain, it is all good though
Song parody of P. Diddy’s 2002 song «I Need A Girl (Part One)»
Yeah, Yeah
I need a, I want a
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
I fall in love, at first sight
I need a Chinese dish all night
Yo I’m regionally known on microphone
I have some beans but I really need some rice at home
I don’t really dream of more
Spend the night dreaming in tone
I have song, just for you alone
Seafood served grandly, don’t tickle my fancy
Mandarin and Cantonese, I will hear it gladly
I need some buns that are so steamy
That have Lotus and seedy
And the ribs that you spare me
Thick juicly dumpling
Dim sum menus be confusing me
I don’t what to click or or to choose to eat
Maybe it’s the Chinese that I ain’t really used to reading
But I was impressed at how quick they are serving me
That’s why I need some buns that are just for me
Chicken or pork and that are so tasty
Without the steam, from inside, it just would not be
Forget the plates, it’s just you and me
Now let’s try
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
I fall in love, at first sight
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
No other dish, she’s all mine
I need a Chinese dish all night
See, I have had a lot of fried rice in my lifetime
And a lot of steamed rice that was sublime
I have seen rice and platters that have every feature
And combo box, the price is much cheaper
Noodles and seafood, a cookie to treat ya
And food with heart, that is made by the people
These noodles dishes are a keeper
Cause they are made with rice, but noodles go much deeper
I want a prawn dish
I need a hot dish I can chill with
Beef or chicken that I get filled with
I need these hot Noodles made of Rice
Its breakfast time, there is so much to try
Eating at Ocean Star feels so right
You’re the dish I’ve been looking for my whole life
Thank Unilocalers, who gave me all the insight
Its cause of them, now I understand rice
I need a dish
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
I fall in love, at first sight
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
No other dish, she’s all mine
I need a Chinese dish all night
I had a dish that was just right for me
Had to diet, so I passed up rice to eat
Every night I had tears in my eyes, for Chinese
Combo plate, dreaming of what I wanted to eat
At first, tried the plate, then I Unilocaled loved her
You was more than a dish, you were like a lover
In your rice, where I’d be smothered
Let’s get it on, to love you like I really wanna
And everytime i think about your hot and mild
And how the rice and noodle was gently piled
Dang, I want some more after a while
Steamy hot dish that makes me smile
All the plates I reminisce
About the soft, tender and very thick
So while I am reviewing, I’m a tell you this
I need you so and I will think about this Chinese dish
I love it, yeah
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
I fall in love, at first sight
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
No other dish, she’s all mine
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
I fall in love, at first sight
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need a Chinese dish all night
I need the thick and juicy thighs
No other dish, she’s all mine
I need a Chinese dish all night

*** How fresh is fresh? (Monterey Park) ***
After several visits to this restaurant I’ll have to say this place is a winner! I’ve been here often, and I’ve been too distracted eating over writing about the experience. ha ha ha…
This is a nice looking and large restaurant. They have the standard dim-​sum food selection but with much better taste than OC spots I’ve been to! I’m really bad with the names of all the little food items, but trust me, they’re all there. All the elements of the ladies pushing the dim-​sum carts are present. They even have this interesting mouth guard that looks like and upside-​down hat. I guess that shields the food somehow :-)
I’ve been to many of the dim-​sum spots in the OC area and my favorite is Ocean Star. My taste buds admittedly are not all that refined. My family calls me the garbage disposal because I can eat whatever is in sight. With that being said, I don’t usually care about «freshness» nor am I very good at identifying levels of freshness. But DANG, I can tell that the food here is delicious compared what I’ve been eating, and the price isn’t bad either. The food is always soft and moist like it was just cooked off of the steamer. The shrimp always has that nice crisp crunch on the outer skin when bitten, as opposed to being hard and dry. The BBQ buns a super soft like a fresh Krispy Kreme donut. The football is normally dry and oily in OC, but here it’s almost always fresh like it just came out of the fryer with new oil.
I think it’s a good value for what you get. It’s just a little bit of a drive though. The weekends usually are not super packed in the mornings. The ONLY time I had to wait in a ridiculously long line was on Christmas day. Other than that, the lines are not too bad.
For many authentic Chinese food you really can’t beat the SGV area :-)
Food = excellent dim-​sum
Seating area = nice and clean
Service = ladies serving food are very friendly, but the waiters have no personality (as expected)
Restroom = clean

A good place to go for dim sum. I like coming here because it’s a big place with lots of seating and when I come in, I am usually seated immediately.
The food is good and they push food carts around. I do not speak any Chinese but when they show me the carts and I nod my head yes or no, it works!
Egg tarts, shui Mai, bean curd is so tasty. The only thing I think tasted okay was their sticky rice wrap. I spent less than $ 20 for 2 people, good and cheap.

Was quite hesitant as this place had a «C» grade. However there were still a lot of people here waiting for tables. Also a quarter of he restaurant was booked for a party.
Food was overall OK. didn’t leave with an upset stomach. Service was good, it didn’t take forever to get our food or bill which normally other dimsum places take forever on.

I was visiting my cousin in Pasadena, and wanted to try some of the Chinese food that’s located in Montery Park, since I had never dined there before. We settled on dim sum at one of the larger restaurants-​so Ocean Star it was. The plaza also had a half and half, which was where we wanted to have our drink/​dessert after eating. As you walk in, the first thing I noticed was that they have a «C» health code rating. Mergh. We grabbed a ticket number for them to call our name, and waited 10 mins to be seated. I was super confused on who to follow to be seated, as there is a very long hallway that opens into a gigantic dining hall and no one making eye contact with us, with staff walking in every direction. It was very confusing, and I didn’t like that. They probably have 70+ round tables here, and the place was PACKED. Can’t say I was surprised since it’s a Chinese area and Sunday morning, but it’s been a while since I was in a crowded dim sum space like this now that I live in a city with few Asians. In typical Chinese restaurant fashion, we had to wave our hands like maniacs/​shout in Chinese to flag down a staff member for anything we needed-​like extra place setting, tea, then more tea, and flagging some carts down to serve us. If you didn’t grow up in an environment like this or learn from someone else, or are a shy person, you’d walk out of this place feeling severely depressed from the customer service.
The food was slightly above average, with there being some less common dishes on the carts. However, they lacked a lot of the dim sum I like– and is listed on the menu they provide at the table. Overall it was a fine experience. Not bad but not excellent. The environment reminded me of eating dim sum with Gma as a child back home. I would maybe come back, but with so many places in Montery park to eat, it might be a while.

Ocean Star Restaurant has always been one of my faves for Dim Sum. The food is delicious and fresh. This weekend, I attended a wedding banquet held in the rear of the restaurant. They served a scrumptious ten-​course seafood meal for all of their honored guests. The menu was traditional. It included:
Roasted Suckling Pig Combination Platter (Lean, lean, lean!)
French Style Filet Mignon (Solid flavor, very tender)
Fried Whole Crab Claws (The best dinner dish, crazy good!)
Bird Nest with Crab Meat Soup (Good but could have had a little more flavor)
Abalone with Black Mushroom on a bed of Baby Bok Choy (Yummers!)
Baked Lobster House Style over fresh yee mein (Lots of lobster, but messy to deshell)
Peking Duck (It tastes like duck!)
Steamed Fish (Very fresh like they just caught it)
Fu Chow Fried Rice (Made with chicken broth and lots of assorted tidbits)
Red Bean Soup for Dessert (Sorry, I’m too full now to report on this one)
A few more outstanding points:
The dim sum appetizers grabbed my taste buds upon entrance. We had cha siu baos (pork stuffed buns), gin dui (fried sesame balls filled with sweet bean filling), and dan tat (delicate custard tarts). All were some of the best I have ever had: fresh, fluffy, flavorful. They melted in my mouth. Actually, they had me at appetizers!
The parents of the bride and groom spared no expense. They had an open bar, delicious orange chiffon wedding cake, and then to top it off… they didn’t make it rain, but they made it SNOW! They had a flavored shaved ice bar with all the trimmings, fresh fruit, three different sweetened condensed milk drizzles, mochi, almond jello slices, strawberry cake crumbs and chocolate chips.
Finally, I really loved how the bridal party had Ocean Star add billowy white fabric panels to change the atmosphere of the venue (for an upcharge of course). You would never know you were in a dark, wood-​paneled Chinese banquet room.
All in all, a great gastronomique adventure was had by all!

The dim sum here is decent; after having been to most dim sum place around the 626, I believe that Ocean Star provides tasteful dimsum at a reasonable cost of $ 2.50 per plate. Your typical staple of har gow, sui mai, egg tarts, and sweet buns will satisfy all of your dim sum cravings over a nice cup of tea. This won’t be the best dim sum if you compare it to Lunasia or any other dim sum places that don’t feature ladies pushing carts and require you to order through paper, but it will definitely suffice.
Monday — Friday 10am — 3pm, they have a 10% of your entire bill for dim sum so take advantage of this!

I can say the best Shumai I’ve had. Meaty and chunky shrimp, you can taste the pork and the shrimp. Also the best tea. Dark and strong the way it should be to cut the grease and cleanse your pallet.
The portions are bigger than most Dim Sim places I’ve been to and have great taste. The place is kept clean and organized so you feel comfortable. A great way to start the day. The cart ladies are attentive and helpful and not pushy, which is great when you really wan to enjoy the Dim Sum.
My first time here and i will definitely come back for more.

I came here with a group of Unilocalers to celebrate grandmaster black elite, Antho, birthday dim sum breakfast. It was good to meet some new and old school Unilocalers. The restaurant was about half full on a Saturday morning. Perfect because I don’t like crowds or tough parking.
This restaurant is like a giant open warehouse with food carts driving in traffic. There’s not worry having to flag the food carts down here. I think they race to compete to get their goods here sold.
I don’t go to dim sum often but thought the food here was better than average. Love the bao (steamed buns), shrimp dumplings, shaomai, xlb (steamed dumplings), and sticky fried rice.
It’s not a dim sum experience without the egg tarts. So, it’s a must order.
All 12+ of us were stuffed. When the bill arrived, we paid about $ 13 per person. Talk about budget eats.
Service here is okay. Glad the food servers wear those mouth shields here.

I’ve been here several times for dim sum. It’s yummy and cheap! Most dim sum dishes are about $ 2something each. I usually get a food fill here for about $ 30 for 2 – 3 people, depending on how much we order. Parking can be tight at times, but there is also extra parking underground. I have always been able to find parking on the main level however. The restaurant itself is pretty big and open. The bathrooms are at the entrance. I have only been here for dim sum, so I cannot comment on the food and service otherwise.
During busy times, it can be a bet harder to get the attention of the dim sum cart ladies. I love it when dim sum is rolled around on carts for you to see. I also like that they have the dim sum menu at the table where you can see what they offer and what each one is called to make ordering easier. My favorites are har gow, shu mai, bbq pork buns, and chicken feet. The busiest times are on the weekends. The prices also vary as it is a bit cheaper during the weekday than weekends. I believe it is about 50 cents cheaper per dim sum plate. Service is okay, as it is with any other Asian establishment… so do not expect 5 star service! With that in mind, I’ve never had «bad» service either and I think they really do try their best to give you good service.
I always leave with a full and satisfied stomach. Know that they do charge you $ 1 per person sitting/​tea fee, so drink the tea! I love dim sum and I like the food here, so you will find me back here from time to time! So many dim sum places in San Gabriel!

Very solid dim sum place. Came on a Sunday for lunch and didn’t have to wait very long at all– 15min tops– already like this place! When we got inside I realized why, the place is gigantic!!! Probably could host 5 wedding parties here at the same time!
Their dim sum were all good. I went for the classics– shu Mai, Shrimp noodle, Sweet BBQ buns. We also got their honey walnut shrimp which was good but a little too much mayo.
Overall good choice of dim sum with easy parking and short lines. Recommend it!

My parents decided to have a family gathering here to eat dim sum (total of 18 people). It was on Sunday morning around 11 am (very busy time/​day). We did not call in to make a table reservation, but yet we prob waited no more than 15 mins to get seated (impressive right?)
Food– they have everything especially almond soup with bread on top. The quality is just ok. Not as delicious as other places.
Service– waiting time, as I mentioned earlier, is not as long cuz there are a lot of tables. It’s a big restaurant, but not enough waiters to serve everybody. We had to wait so long for waiters to come to us with food. I lost my appetite cuz of this…
Cost– 18 ppl and over 30 dishes ordered, and the bill turned out to be almost $ 190. That’s like almost $ 12 per person, which is not bad at all.
I would come back here on a weekday or any day that is less busy if I’m craving for some dim sum