White Swans Asia Caffe

Great place for Dim sum. They do not have a cart but I find it better because all the dishes comes out hot and fresh. We will definitely be back.

Dim sum on-​demand in Rochester.
A catch-​up lunch led us to White Swan, which I had never actually heard of up until that point; I used to know that spot as Aladdin’s. The interior is pretty barren and the environment is very no frills, but I was surprised by what came out of the kitchen.
Our lunch consisted of fried house special dumplings, shrimp rice noodle rolls, and chicken and salty fish chow fun. The dumplings were beautifully presented, and I got the impression they were homemade. The delicate skin, precise creasing, and contents made it a great first choice. The shrimp rolls are a classic favorite of mine and theirs met my bar. The shrimp was plump and the noodle to shrimp ratio was just right. Also, they serve it with the appropriate sweet soy sauce, which isn’t always the case, and that’s a huge plus for me.
The final noodle dish was also enjoyable, although probably at the bottom of my list of tastiness. The chicken was a little overcooked, and the pockets of saltiness, while some people might enjoy them, wasn’t exactly what I was looking for for my first meal of the day. We actually left a bit on the plate at the end which almost never happens with me.
Service was decent throughout, and our server was very attentive, almost to the point of overeager. There aren’t many dim sum options in Rochester, and White Swan does a great job with it. I’d be back.

Delicious! Authentic Chinese cuisine, not the American idea of Chinese food. Service was fast, food was amazing, and prices were good. With tip, it was $ 50 for a family of 4. Try the sesame balls with red beans and the homemade Chinese noodles. The employees were delightful bringing hot tea instantly upon arrival and answering all questions we had with a smile.
We wish we lived in the area because we would frequent this place!

Service sucks!!! I had to wait for hours to get my order and still had to leave without eating. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone who values time.

One of the best Chinese restaurant in Rochester. Milk tea and Mango smoothie are my favorite because they taste fresh instead of «instant powder». The hand made noodles are pretty good.

The bubble tea continues to be the biggest draw here for me with really inconsistent dining experiences. The appetizers range from dynamite scallion pancakes that are thin and crispy with a gooey interior and great flavor, to one of the worst items I’ve ever had at a restaurant (including that time I mistook duck blood soup for borscht!) which is the turnip cakes. Let me explain that I love turnip cakes and frequently order them as appetizers at other restaurants, but the turnip cakes at White Swans literally taste like a glob of fishtank. Some of the noodle dishes are decent for a quick takeout experience, but the service in the restaurant is really slow so plan for a longer visit. Although I try to follow the golden rule of not ordering Thai at a Chinese restaurant, Korean at a Vietnamese place, etc, I’ve tried several of the Thai dishes at White Swans and they were very disappointing. In general, they seem to skimp on the vegetables and spices they use. Most recently I ordered a masuman tofu and vegetable dish with a sauce so flavorless and watery that it literally felt like I was pouring water over my rice. The tofu was also soft, rubbery and uncooked. The meal was nearly inedible which thankfully is a rare experience in Rochester. In sum, stick to the teas, desserts, or some of the appetizers at this restaurant. On the positive side, every time I’ve ordered bubble tea milkshakes at White Swans they have delivered on perfectly blended shakes with tasty, chewy tapioca balls and excellent flavors like taro, avocado, and honeydew.

My review is based on a take-​out order for two. There were so many choices that our meal turned out to extend into three meals. I took my chances anyway since this restaurant was recommended by a reliable source (my college kid). I was surprised that we could order from the dim sum menu. I’ve never heard of such a thing! I ordered the tofu skins that were stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, pork, and shrimp. That alone will make me return here on my next visit to Rochester.
The food was not only delicious, but it was perfectly cooked, not overly salty nor heavy on the seasoning. It didn’t sit «heavy in my stomach» like how some chinese restaurant meals do. Some of the other items that I ordered were the cruller rice roll, Captain Tso chicken, some stir-​fried vegetables, and rice (of course). All, delicious! It will definitely be a place to stop the next time I’m in town. I can’t wait to try the other items on the dim sum menu. (I would have taken pictures, but the lighting in my hotel room and my poor photography skills didn’t allow for this.)
The staff was friendly AND they have their own parking!!! Even more reason to try it! How much easier can it get?! (They are closed on Tuesdays – luckily we decided to go back on Friday.) Oh, and don’t forget to try the sesame ball! Where I live, these tend to be really greasy and flatten out as time goes on because there is hardly anything it them. But, White Swan’s sesame balls have a lot of stuff in their’s. They are the best that I’ve seen so far.

Food was very good, but with only four tables occupied it still took almost an hour to get our two meals. People that were there before us were still getting dinners one plate at a time. Check was never picked up had to go to cashier to get out of there. Could be cleaner, table and booth were dirty. Will order take out but no desire to spend almost two hours for a plate of Lo Mein !

I usually don’t write reviews, I prefer to read others when looking for a place to eat. The food here is pretty good. We had dim sum and there are a lot of choices, and it was delicious to eat. The bubble tea was great too, especially since it was made with real fruit. The service is ok but the food was coming out at a good rate it doesn’t bother us. I am giving three stars instead of four because…
***We left a cash tip at the table and paid card at the cash register. While we were buckling our daughter in the car, one of the waiters approached us outside. He confronted my husband showing us our credit slip and asking why we didn’t leave any tip. We told him we did leave it for him. I just thought it was rude to follow us to our car and ask for a tip. Tip isn’t mandatory. Left a good meal with a bad taste in our mouth.***

I admittedly haven’t tried all the Chinese restaurants in Rochester yet, but White Swans is one of my favorites. Or at least my go to «snack» place.
Their bubble tea is delicious and the number reason I come. I’ve tried their black tea, mango, watermelon, green tea, strawberry, and horlicks bubble teas (this is roughly in my order of preference). My favorite is still the classic black tea, but the mango is delicious! Be sure to order one with fresh fruit if you are going that route.
I’ve also had dimsum here and really enjoyed it. Love the shrimp dumplings. My friends love the duck and lamb «burgers», the sesame balls and custard buns. I totally dig their pork short rib. Haven’t had non dimsum-​y things here except their cashew chicken, which was super Americanized.
Come here for the bubble tea and dimsum!

This place is definitely a hidden dim sum jewel in Rochester. I’ve been to NYC, Philly, Toronto Chinatowns and this place was definitely up to par. Went with my girlfriend one night and got the beef tripe, siu mai, bean curd skin, turnip cake, shrimp rice roll, and cruller rice roll. The only complaint would be that the cruller rice roll wasn’t as crispy as it should be, but otherwise this place is great! Would definitely recommend if you’re in town and craving dim sum!

Dim Sum at night? YES please!
Made to order and of course the best as Cantonese House can offer. Both of the locations always have my favorites… the shrimp rice roll and the cruller rice roll. I know, that’s a lot of rice dough but I can handle things that way. They always manage to have the tastiest sweet soy dipping sauce. Their Shu Mai is also very good and steamed to perfection.
I see a lot of evening visits in my future… the next one with Bubble Tea!

Listen… If the locals go it’s should be good right? I’m from Chicago I would go to Chinatown and I’ve been to San Fran’s too and I’ve had just about the real deal. Maybe I should try the dim sum at this place!!!
You can do BYOB nice… We did take out.
We ordered things that should have been flavorful and tasty. Sure it may have been an Americanized version but it was lacking… Something… Flavor. it seemed very lax and using crappy chicken?! Sure not everyone speaks English we had to give numbers for the orders no biggie but it seemed like the order taker seemed slightly annoyed that walked in for take out?!
The Spring Rolls they were lack luster at best, maybe should have tried the fresh spring rolls rather than fried. I got Kung Pau Chicken, Husband got the Orange Chicken I was not impressed, I ate what I could due to the fact I wash hungry I was left with eating the rice & vegetables. I’ve usually had good results from Unilocal but this time not so much. I know these places are not reviewed by James Beard Award Winning Writers or Critics, but by normal people who enjoy food and drink and I appreciate it. Sure we ordered «safe stuff» but I won’t eat the leftovers. Like I said maybe the dim sum is better?!

I don’t typically write reviews, but I come here often enough that I feel like they deserve one. First and foremost, I’d like to mention that their bubble tea is delicious. The tapioca is always fresh; the drink itself is fresh, as they use real fruit for them. I highly recommend the mango flavor!
I usually come here for their dim sum because you can get it any time, and they actually thoroughly cook their dumplings. At other Chinese restaurants I’ve been to, the shu mai is always undercooked when ordered at non-​prime dim sum hours, like dinner time.
The staff is SO polite. They greet us when we walk in and every single one of them says thank you to us when we leave. There may be a slight language barrier, but I’ve never had an issue with them not understanding me.
It’s my go-​to place for dim sum!

Love this place! We stop here every time we are in town from Syracuse. Best bubble tea in Central NY– the tapioca balls are fresh and never stale, and the flavors of tea are wonderful. Prices are amazing, too! Dim Sum does not disappoint, and the staff has always been nice and helpful to our family of 4. Highly recommended!

I love this restaurant. So far the most authentic chinese food I’ve encountered in Rochester.
Several times from work we ordered from other places that my coworkers swore were good jointd.
I couldn’t eat the food because it wasn’t Chinese enough
I came on Chinese New Year for the first time.
Like the laid back atmosphere. The altar as you enter; always paid my respects, and the spaciousness of the place. Retro
Dim sums are my favorite items to order. Order several and you make a very good lunch. Sticky rice, shrimp dumplings, eggplant & shrimp, pork ribs. Vegetable fried rice was good on our last visit.
All washed out with Jasmine tea.
3÷20÷15

EDIT: Added pictures of the full menu, including the Dim Sum one. They don’t seem to have their menu posted anywhere, so I thought it might be helpful.
I absolutely love white swan. The food is good but it’s really the Dim Sum that makes it shine. Cantonese house seems to be the go to restaurant for dim sum in Rochester, but I prefer going to white swan instead for a couple of reasons. Cantonese House is super packed on the weekends and it can be hard to get a table. Cantonese house also has a limited selection of Dim Sum during the week, where as with White Swan, you can order anything on the Dim Sum menu. I find that the quality of the shrimp/​beef rice rolls are much more consistent at white swan where it can be hit or miss else where.
The décor is nothing spectacular, but I go here for the food not the atmosphere. Bubble tea here is really good as well. They don’t make it super sweet like some other places, and the fresh fruit ones are great during the summer months.
The private off street parking is also a big plus. I do take out from here once or twice a month, and it has been delicious every time. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who likes Dim Sum.

Ok I love the bubble tea something fierce here BUT here it is… I ordered the turnip cake yesterday to compare it to Golden Port’s and I am totally grossed out. Smells rotten in my car and tastes fishy. Not to mention the shell of some type of bug was inside of it. Unfortunately now I’m afraid to even get my bubble tea here anymore. What a damn shame. :(

First of all, I want to mention that it’s worth going here just for the bubble tea. It’s actually better than the bubble tea I’ve had in bigger cities at Chinese markets.
The food is excellent as well. I got the chicken with cashew nuts, which was delicious. This is my go-​to dish at Chinese restaurants. There’s was the best of any Chinese place in Rochester.
This place is on the expensive side, more than you’d pay at most Chinese take-​out restaurants around here. I recommend eating in the restaurant, though they do offer take-​out as well. Even though you have to tip, you get larger portions and the food seems fresher. Décor is «eh,» but it’s clean and has enough seating.
Sometimes it’s hard to communicate with the workers due to a language barrier, but I’ve usually been okay.

So I’m giving this 5 stars because of the Bubble Tea ! Which was the reason I went to check this place out. I used to go to KC Tea and Noodles when they were open a few years ago, and I loved their bubble tea ! I thought I could never get another good bubble tea in the area like KC unless I tried to make it myself. A friend mentioned I should try White Swans and I did and loved it ! I’m planning on going back to try out some of the food… as soon as that happens I will probably write another review !
I couldn’t wait to post about the bubble tea because it was seriously that good. I loved the fact that it was prepared fresh, from fresh fruit… They have case of fresh fruit right when you walk in. They also give you lots of bubbles, which is another plus ! I will probably be heading back to this place everytime I want a bubble tea. :)