New Idea Restaurant

IT’S CLOSED!!! There is an eviction notice on the door from the Sheriff’s Office. I guess they didn’t pay their rent!

haven’t been here awhile. now it’s too late.
heartell they blame the wage increase for their demise.
evicted for not paying the rent on march 5^th.

Really nothing new about this place at all! It’s just another Chinatown hole in the wall (and I don’t mean that in a good way either). Ended up here by default for a family dinner/​party of 8, since Peony was fully packed. Big mistake!
I won’t go into detail about the food as it was mediocre — large portions laced with tons of MSG. Waitress recommended we order 1.5 portion of soup which wasn’t even necessary bc there was more than enough. Just one way to get you to spend more. They also sold out a lot of the items on the menu at 6:30pm.
Service was horrendous. Couldn’t even flag someone down and had to ask repeatedly for refills for the teapot. Noise level off the charts, so bring your outside voice. The place was hot and stuffy, almost unbearable. The worst is the toilet paper hanging from each of the ceiling vents. No shame at all… I’m sure there’s a better way to check if your vents are working. Too afraid to use women’s restroom as friend said the men’s had dirty, wet floors.
Just a heads up — they tack on 15% gratuity to your bill without giving notification. The tab was hand written in Chinese chicken scratch so we had to ask what the charges were. The waitress explained that they add the gratuity bc it’s Chinese New Year. We didn’t argue and just went with it. However, that left a bitter taste in our mouths given that service was horrible and the excuse they made up to force the hidden tip on the bill seems shady. Would have rather spent $ 160 elsewhere.

I came here more than once and I haven’t been disappointed yet. The place isn’t anything special, but the food is fairly consistent in taste every time I come here. Cheap place compared to many others too. I’d definitely come back when I am in Chinatown.
This also seems like a popular place for elders to hang out during the day.

This place was such a disappointment. I know it’s Christmas Day and all but it’s to be expected if you planned to operate on a holiday. We were seated promptly little after 5:30 PM. Just wish the service was the same but it was not. We ordered off the menu and not choose their set menu. Our first four of 7 course came out. We had to ask three effing times for our rice, twice for water. As we were eating we were waiting for the remaining dishes. By than we were done with the other dishes. It was already 7:00 PM, I asked our waitress about our remaining three dishes and her replies was that since we added one dish late that’s why it was not made yet… but what about the other two we ordered at the beginning? She just walked away? Really bitch? So I asked the owner and she said she was going to look into it but never came back to apologized or let us know the status even when I express to her that my 11 month old son was getting restless. By than I was getting annoyed and pissed with their services. Finally, checked with the other waitress and she came back after checking with the kitchen and said our dishes was coming. Another 20 minutes came and gone… our final three dishes came out but by than my mood was spoiled. The food was so so and was not even hot. If you want good Chinese food with prompt service, go somewhere else! Their name is New Idea Restaurant but it’s Bad Idea to dine here!

For Chinatown locals: New Idea replaces King Wah, rebranded and now serving dim sum. It is nothing like it.
Prices are still reasonable, but flavors and dishes are now only so-​so. Very sad to see King Wah gone

Swung by for a late family lunch and was pretty underwhelmed. Starting with the good, the catfish steamed with black bean sauce and sweet & sour pork were actually pretty solid. Too bad everything else was mediocre at best. Char siu and BBQ pork that tasted like they were sitting out for hours on end. Bland fried rice and soup. Not much of an ambiance and the servers were timely yet unnecessarily obtrusive.
Not recommended.

Im only writing this review to let you know how bad the service is. Me, my wife, and son walked in here and there was no one to seat us. So we just seated ourselves right in front and then they said something of the likes of sit here for now? They gave us tea and then we waited… and waited… and waited… and waited. Then we walked out 15 minutes laters. Hope everyone that comes here enjoys your order of tea and waiting.

It was Sunday and I was famished. So I rolled to Oakland Chinatown in my Whip Blue Thunder. I wanted to give New Idea Restaurant a try. I was able to park right in front of the New Idea.
I rolled in on foot and was Greeted and Seated. I was presented a Menu and a Pot of Hot Tea.
I perused the Menu and Ordered Salt and Pepper Pork Chops and a Sea Food Clay Pot and Steamed Rice .
New Idea is a Brightly Lit place. Sparsely Decorated .
Service is Fairly Good and Attentive .
I was brought a Bowl Of House Soup. It was a Corn and Egg Drop Soup and it was tasty.
My Salt and Pepper Pork Chops and Seafood Clay Pot arrived next .
The Salt and Pepper Pork chops were Good .
The Seafood Clay pot had a little too much Chicken and could have used more Seafood.
I paid by Visa Card and rolled out.

Not the biggest connoisseur of Chinese food, I will admit. But New Idea seemed to do nothing really well. I wouldn’t go back.
We had a variety of dumplings, chicken fried noodles, and egg tarts. Nothing really stood out at all.
The service was also pretty rough. We did go on a busy Sunday afternoon, but nonetheless.
The good: it was relatively inexpensive.
The bad: generally, the rest of the experience. I’d pass on this place.

I was looking for a dim sum restaurant near OAK since we hadn’t had breakfast yet, and oakland usually has pretty affordable dim sum.
The majority of the places on Unilocal didn’t have the best reviews, and I am so glad that we walked RIGHT past this place. We took a 2 second glance before deciding to go inside, this restaurant is alot cleaner and newer looking than the majority of restaurants in Oakland Chinatown.
They don’t have that much selection of dim sum here… but the basics were very good and not that salty. I especially enjoyed their ha cheong fun, ngau cheong fun, and nai wong bau. (steamed shrimp noodle, steamed beef noodle, and egg custard bun). Service was very friendly, and very quick !!
I wish they had pork blood here though… pork blood with gau choi is my favorite dish at dim sum.
I will definitely be coming here again if I am in the area.

I grew up eating dim sum and going to dim sum restaurants with my family so I know the food can be greasy, heavy and not always knock-​my-​socks-​off amazing. I know the standards of service for a Chinese restaurant are definitely considered subpar when compared to the standards of service for just about any other restaurant. However, despite knowing that a) my food is probably going to be a greasy gastrointestinal horror and b) my servers are going to be borderline rude, New Idea Restaurant still managed to surprise me with how bad everything ended up turning out.
First off, we arrived right about noon on a Saturday. Prime dim sum time, line seems unbearably long and little old Chinese ladies keep running over my foot with their rolling grocery carts. Typical enough. I go get a number from the guy behind the counter and then proceed to wait about 30 minutes before my group of 4 is seated. Up until this point, things are still pretty typical.
We ended up only getting 6 dishes. SIX. DISHES. FOR FOUR PEOPLE. That’s unheard of when it comes to eating dim sum. The average number is usually more like 12 – 15. We ordered beef cherng fun, spare ribs, shumai, ham sui gok, the deep fried rolls that goes in jook wrapped in more cherng fun noodles and cha siu bao. THAT’S IT. It wasn’t because the food looked unappetizing — it’s because we were told, when we asked about specific dishes, that just about everything else had run out because we had come «too late.»
…what?
How does a dim sum place run out of egg tarts?! Or deep fried taro dumplings? These are dim sum staples! And seriously, after the first few carts, we stopped seeing the pork buns, shumai, and just about everything else that had come out before. All that was left was a repeat of some rather unappetizing looking dim sum plates (like weird-​looking dark jelly-​type rolls). So we paid our $ 20 for the entire meal (at least it was dirt cheap) and left in a huff, totally still hungry and completely unsatisfied.
Giving the place 2 stars is totally being generous. The only reason it’s not 1 star is because the food wasn’t nauseating. But I am definitely NOT returning. I would rather spend my money someplace else (even if I end up spending more than I intended to), where at least I know I’ll get all the dishes that I want!

Got bored of Peony in the mall (and prices) so ventured around and found this greasy gem. Each dish is $ 1.69 or something so – for the same # of dishes, you save at least a buck.
Having said that, here’s my review of some items
1) the lotus-​leaf wrapped sticy rice should be avoided. Light on ingredients such as mushrooms and other standard stuff. It turned out to be mainly just sticky rice.
2) pork spareribs are decent quality… they put it on a bed of taro so you may not be getting your full value.
3) shrimp dumplings: not best made but decent.
VERY OILY overall so the tea really serves its purpose (to wash it all down)!

Dim Sum time 10−12pm was reasonable, hella people and we got some good service.
I went around 2pm today and it was quiet as fuck but they still did dim sum.
I know its late but yeah still food. We sat there and tried some food but the quality is shit. There were around 5 tables of customers all towards the door, and all the workers were near the kitchen. We had to flag them down so many times just to get food.
We did a Chicken Noodle order and the person who wrote down the order was young and having a bitch fit. Our noodles came out wrong and crappy. We complained a little and she was like «oh thats how we do this noodle.»
thats BULLSHIT.
just had some shitty exp. overall it was ⁴⁄₅ and now its more like ¹⁄₅ today. Sorry

I can’t help it, but I’m going to knock on the name of this restaurant (I’m just taking the lead from my fellow Unilocalers). Here’s a new idea for this place: serve better dim sum! I don’t know if that has already been used but seriously, one of the most mediocre dim sum restaurants I’ve been to. C’mon y’all! You are situated in prime Chinatown real estate. You need to pick up your game if you want to contend with the big boys. Although the best dim sum is NOT in Chinatown. But still. I just want a decent dim sum place to satisfy my cravings for fried, greasy and steamed dumplings/​meat/​vegetables.
We ordered the typical dim sum stuff and nothing stood out. I don’t remember anything particularly yummy. The food was greasy and fried but it wasn’t worth the artery-​clogging calories. Some dishes that we ordered: ham sui gok (deep-​fried pork dumpling), bean curd rolls, baked durian pastry puff, and pig stomach (I can’t say «it tastes better than it sounds” – which is the case if done right). Everything was just ehhh.
There was a long wait for this place. Why? I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if some Chinese people don’t really know what authentic and tasty dim sum tastes like. It’s because Chinatown has failed us in providing reliable and solid dim sum. I guess for the price, you can’t complain.
Side note: the restaurants in Chinatown should change their game plan. It’s not about who can provide the cheapest dim sum, but who can provide the best quality dim sum. You know how love knows no number? Well dim sum knows no number as well. I’m fine with paying more for better food!

New Idea? I don’t get it. The dishes here were pretty traditional Chinese!
My family and I ordered the following dishes:
1) Sizzling rice soup
2) Salt and pepper tofu
3) Fish, tofu, and bean curd clay pot
4) Beef chow fun
5) Steamed tilapia with scallions and soy
Sizzling rice soup was tasty and definitely sizzlin’. For those who have not had sizzling rice soup, the usual routine is to bring the soup out to the table. The waiter takes the crispy rice pieces (which are the size of rice krispy treats) and pours them all into the soup. The interaction between the crispy rice and soup is fun to see and hear — sometimes you can see the little rice kernels jump as they crackle and pop into the hot, salty liquid.
Salt and pepper tofu — I’ve never had it served the way they do it here. There was no delicious garlicky, peppery, scallion mixture on top! There was only a sad bunch of green pepper pieces. :(The tofu itself was subpar, too, with a rather thick outer skin with soft tofu inside. It didn’t really taste that great.
The clay pot was pretty good. I liked the fish and tofu combination. However, the dish was overwhelmingly salty. I had to eat it with extra rice to offset the saltiness.
Beef chow fun was pretty average — nothing to write home about, but it will definitely hit the spot if you are craving this dish!
In my family’s opinion, we liked the steamed tilapia dish the best. The fish was cooked just the right amount! The flavor of the sauces and scallions complemented the tilapia well, without overpowering it. While I do prefer rock cod in this traditional Chinese fish dish (Rock cod has more flavor and a firmer texture), the tilapia was still delicious.
All in all, a good Chinese meal with my family. There are a lot of other Chinese restaurants to try in the area, though, so we probably won’t be returning to New Idea.

They have it all, dim sum and all of your favorites. Friendly staff and food that really tastes great ! Was there a few minutes before the lunch break for the employees and they still gave excellent service.
The restaurant is very classy and you feel very comfortable there.
This is a great find !

My sisters and I dined here for lunch while the OACC cultural event was happening across the street at the Pacific Renaissance Center.
I’m not sure if they had dined here before; to me, it was okay. The place was packed with people, the service just a tad slow and the waitresses were nice in bringing us the trays of dim sum. Nope, we did not want dim sum for lunch.
After browsing over the menu, we decided on three items — preserved eggs and pork rice porridge, wor won ton and salted fish and chicken fried rice (hom yee gai lop chow fon).
The rice porridge filled with pork and preserved eggs was pretty good. It warmed us up quickly. It was fixed just right… not salty and it held its flavor very well.
The wor won ton was A-​OK. The broth had a slight MSG aftertaste. (I don’t know how many cups of tea I had to drink to quench my thirst.) They were generous with the BBQ pork, chicken and bok choy, but kinda skimpy on the shrimp.
I try to be careful with my salt intake. Salted fish and chicken fried rice is a dish that I haven’t had for many years. It was tasty and plenty salty that one does not need to add soy sauce to this plate of fried rice… lol.

There was quite a wait since business was booming that afternoon. And there is not much of a waiting area but the narrow walkway from the entrance. Remember to get a number! Or you’ll be stuck there forever.
Service is not a priority here, especially during peak hours. I waited for my ice water. Sigh… FOR. EVER. EVER… because the super strong tea (in a dark brown almost black hue) was not my preference. We asked several servers.
There weren’t a lot of dim sum carts circulating around so you would have to wait a bit for your food. We had your usual sampling of steamed meatball, beef wrapped in rice noodle, My favorite, chive dumplings, was just okay.
The food was okay but the service is too intolerable for me to give the restaurant 3 stars or for me to return.

New Idea replaced New King Wah, which just opened up at the beginning of this year.
I saw that they are reusing their restaurant supplies, so things weren’t very clean. the lazy susans for the condiments were pretty grimy.
walked in on a weekday during lunch hours and it was dead. service was attentive as a benefit from no lunch crowd.
they only had takeout menus for you to order from and specials (all in chinese however) posted all over the walls.
i noticed the other table ordered items off the lunch/​dinner menu. dim sum was available at a set price of $ 2+ a dish.
they also have lunch specials from 11a-​330p for $ 5.75. doesnt mention if you get a side of rice or not with this «special».
i got to sample their dim sum and a pan fried noodle dish. dim sum was meh… and the texture of the noodles were as if theyve been sitting out too long.
nothing special here folks, theres plenty of other tasty, cheap eats that are found in the area.