Lai Hong Lounge

My first sit-​down dim sum experience! Ho-​my gawd, I was so impressed and left so, so happy.
Lai Hong offers *the* best sesame balls and egg tarts I’ve ever had. My parents and I were practically singing as we ate them. The flat noodle roll is very impressive too — their waitstaff recommended that one to us, as it’s one of their most popular menu items. The outside if very soft and then there’s crispy wonton-​wrapped soft pork on the inside.
Their steamed pork buns are also the best I’ve ever had. The bun is so soft and fresh (not doughy and chewy like they usually are) and on the inside is tender, flavorful pork. Definitely get these.
Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, fried sticky rice, shrimp dumplings, and pork shiu mai are obviously must-​orders as well.
This place is so authentic and so good. If you exclude the beers me and my dad ordered, the meal was les than $ 10 per person. Good and cheap!

This place is not worth the wait. Service is so bad and they automatically added 15% gratuity… we were a party of 3!!!

We’ve been waiting for over an hour for our table and numbers have passed yet when they show back up they get priority even after their number passed. If you leave you lost your spot.
Why are you allowing customers to sit at the table if their party isn’t even here? Horrible restaurant management.

TL;DR: Food — 5 stars; service — 2 stars; rounding up to 4 stars on average.
I was so excited to finally try this place, because I saw that they have some of my favorite dim sum dishes that can be a little harder to find (in particular, sticky fried rice and fried shredded taro + shrimp cakes; I’ve noticed that places with smaller dim sum menus often skip those in favor of their cousins, the lotus leaf-​wrapped sticky rice and fried taro balls. This place has tons and tons of options!). Anyway, I showed up with a small group on a Saturday morning at 10:30, and although there was a line out the door, we actually didn’t have to wait as long as we expected — only about 20 minutes. The number calling system was very organized and efficient.
When we were seated and given the menu, they didn’t give us a pen to mark our choices with, and it took forever to flag someone down to fix that. Not a huge problem, but annoying.
Ok, onto the food. We ordered a TON. Definitely too much, but, hey, leftovers! We got:
STICKY FRIED RICE (duh, one of my favorite things ever): Pretty good. Large portion (but not overwhelming), and comes with peanuts on top (rather than herbs, which is what I’ve seen before), but good.
SALTY MEAT PORRIDGE: Hilariously unappetizing description, but very delicious dish. The scallions served on the side were fresh and yummy as well.
XO RICE NOODLES: Delicious! One of my favorite dishes of the meal. Just the right amount of spicy. Note to future self: absolutely order this again, no excuses!
CHICKEN FEET WITH PEANUTS: This was my first time eating chicken feet, so I don’t have anything to compare them to and was a little nervous, but it was good! The logistics of eating a chicken foot were tough to figure out (again, first time), and I didn’t really get any peanut flavor, but they tasted pretty good and were super juicy. Overall a success, though I’m not sure that I enjoyed the flavor enough to order them again, given how hard they were to eat.
FRIED SESAME BALLS: Nothing special, but ticked all the right marks. This is one of my husband’s favorite treats, and it hit the spot.
EGG CUSTARD TARTS: Ditto the sesame balls, but this time it’s one of MY favorite treats :-) Nice and flaky and warm and custardy. Good ratio of filling to crust.
STICKY RICE IN LOTUS LEAF: Also one of my favorite dim sum dishes in general. They make a good one!
STUFFED TOFU: The tofu and shrimp were really tasty, but I thought the sauce was a little heavy and overpowered the delicate taste of the tofu a bit. I scarfed these babies down happily, but left most of the sauce behind.
SHRIMP NOODLE ROLL: Perfectly good dish, and I enjoyed the presentation (the waiter put the dish on the table, then cut the noodles in half with scissors, then poured the sauce on top), but not super special.
FRIED SHREDDED TARO CAKE: This was a bit disappointing — as I mentioned earlier, a craving for this dish was one of the main reasons for coming here in the first place. However, the cakes weren’t crispy, and were actually kind of soggy. I was hoping for some crunch!
BAKED PORK BUNS: These were a revelation. OMG. Usually I prefer steamed pork buns to baked, but I had heard such good things about these particular baked ones that I had to give them a shot, and I’m SO glad I did. Absolutely delicious. The outside of the bun had this wonderful delicate crisp that contrasted so well to the soft interior. Not too chewy, not to sweet, but just the right amount of bold flavor. I was beyond full by the time these came out, but it was so good that I enjoyed every bite nonetheless!
SERVICE: Left something to be desired. We ordered another dish that never came out (the donut noodle roll), and towards the end of the meal the staff seemed to have forgotten our entire corner of the restaurant — our tea stopped being filled, and we wanted to ask for some water and the check but no one was coming around. Several people from different tables around us got so impatient that they actually went over to the waiters’ area and took their own soup bowls/​take out boxes because no one was helping them! They shouldn’t have needed to do that. By the time we flagged someone down, we told them to just cancel the last dish and bring the check, so the meal ended on a bit of a downer, unfortunately.
HOWEVER, nearly all the dishes that we did eat were really really really delicious! And I’m super excited to dig into those leftovers tomorrow :-)

Not as good as dim sum in south bay, but the best dim sum I’ve had in SF since moving up so far for sure. I came with my family and we ordered a lot of stuff: shrimp rice roll, bean curd roll, pork bun, shui mai, pork spare ribs, lotus sticky rice, porridge, har gow, and beef chow fun. Everything was good, but as many have mentioned the pork bun was definitely unique and a stand out. I also really enjoyed the lotus sticky rice.
One thing I wish is that they would have carts so that the food is fresher. Everything is made to order, so I saw some of the food sitting outside and waiting to be delivered to tables. Other than that, prices were decent for the portions.
Tip: Try to get in before 11 am to beat rush hour. We went on a weekend and were seated pretty much immediately but saw a bunch of people waiting after we left.

I have fond memories of this place when it was still Lychee Garden. The few times I have come here after it changed ownership were too crowded and I was deterred.
Upon a return trip with my honeybunch recently I waited it out for a good half hour since it was pouring rain. Even when stepping into the restaurant it felt very dank and smelled of urine. However, I figured a restaurant filled to the brim on a Monday must have great food at least.
When we were finally seated, we placed our order quickly using the fill-​in menu and waited patiently for our food to arrive. To our dismay, it took over 20 minutes if not more for our first dish to arrive: the beef stew with noodles in a clay pot. At over $ 7, it was filled with noodles coated in duck sauce and a few pieces of meat. Our next few dishes of spareribs, chicken feet were only ok and my beef meatballs did not even come with worchester sauce! The only highlights were the beef and shrimp crêpe noodles which were skillfully wrapped though could’ve used more soy sauce.
Service is brusque and slow, though our tea was refilled promptly and frequently.
Value was poor at almost $ 40 for two for dimsum. Culturally, however, the experience is very rich as there are many locals who frequent here. I even got to hear two ladies complain about the mediocrity of the rain («either rain harder or don’t rain at all») which is definitely stretching it in terms of things to complain about.
I won’t be returning for a while, though, since there are many other dim sum options in SF.

Amazing food in a classic dim sum environment. The steamed pork buns, turnip cakes, and pork siu mai were all top notch. Definitely 5 star food.
I just had to dock a star for poor logistics — after our number had been called, were told to wait inside until someone came to seat us, but no one ever did and we had to repeatedly pester the staff until we finally got a table 10 minutes later. And then we were asked to move tables so they could accommodate a larger party — they should have anticipated this and gave us a table for two in the first place.

My friend and I, having not had dim sum in many months, decided to find a sit down dim sum spot in SF on a Saturday afternoon. After a long Unilocal search, we decided to try Lai Hong Lounge. When we arrived around 1:40pm, we were told there was a 15 or so minute wait. Their estimate was pretty accurate, which is always nice. There isn’t much close by though so we just waited patiently near the entrance.
Once inside, we were met with a printed menu that you mark on with a marker to place your order. We ordered shrimp dumplings, shrimp chive dumplings, pork buns, chicken buns, garlic pea sprouts, sticky rice, vegetable dumplings, turnip cake, and sesame balls. Total cost was about $ 46, which is pretty good considering the deluge of food that arrived at our table. Each dumpling and turnip cake order is min 4 items, each bun order is 3 items, and each sticky rice order is two items. The vegetable was the most expensive dish at $ 8 but it was definitely worth it. They were out of water spinach sadly, so we went with the pea shoots but they satisfied our need for greens. Next time I’d order more greens and fewer different kinds of dumplings.
Of all the dishes, my favorites were the pea shoots, the shrimp dumplings, and the chicken buns. The buns were fantastic. The wrappers on some of the dumplings were a little thick at the edges, but not so much so that they were an off-​putting ratio of casing to contents. The service was fast and they let us wrap up our gluttonous experience while the staff had their lunch after the restaurant closed for a private party between lunch and dinner hours.

If you do not mind the wait then this is the best yum cha/​dim sum in San Francisco. The quality of the dim sum were superb. We had a huge congee with chicken on the bone that was perfect. The tofu skin with mushrooms was so delicate and delicious, the best I’ve had since Hong Kong. The Har Gow shrimp dumplings were moist and full of large shrimps. The mushroom dimsum was amazing. The boiled chive and pork dumplings was a plate of 8 large dumplings that were so filling. The cheung fun (long flat shrimp and rice rolls) were the best I’ve had in San Francisco.
Even the tea was great. If you are up for an authentic dim sum restaurant in Chinatown then come and grab a number and wait for the excitement. The portions were much larger than any dim sum I’ve ever had before. The prices were also on the high side. They sister restaurant on Geary in the Richmond: HK Lounge is also quite good.

Favorite sit down dim sum spot in the city! Apparently the same owner of Hong Kong Lounge on Geary. My mom always wants to eat here when she visits me.
Good service and the lady that works there is nice — maybe because she recognizes me from my many visits.
Dim Sum:
Turnip Cake ($ 2.75)
Chinese donut noodle roll ($ 4.50)
Sticky rice in lotus leaf ($ 3.95)
Salty meat porridge ($ 6) — huge portion
Dinner:
Chinese Bacon & Sausage Clay Pot Rice ($ 10) — really good
Imperial Peking Duck (half $ 15) /​ (full $ 26)
Select dim sum are available for dinner

This place is pretty darn good, which means there’s a nice long line that you should expect… unless you’re willing to go New York style and share a table with another party!
Highlights:
— Big Clam. I believe this is $ 6.95 and is the top left most thing on the menu. At first I thought $ 6.95 for one clam? Totally worth it. Totally large.
— Baked BBQ Pork Bun: You know that infamous bbq pork bun from Tim Ho Wan in HK? Well, this doesn’t come that close, but it is quite delicious.
— Shu Mai /​Har Gow: I don’t know why I started typing in cantonese sayings, but these two are standard and definitely worth getting
— Rice noodle wrapped with BBQ pork: Definitely worth getting. Meaty. Delicious
Also got the pork spareribs, fried taro dumplings, and a few other items, but nothing that needed a specific call out. Get the highlights above, open your mind and share a table — and enjoy your dim sum!

Lai Hong is usually my go-​to dim sum spot. Food and service is on par with HK Lounge, but the wait is usually shorter.
Favorites:
* Beef noodle roll
* Steamed pork spare ribs
* Pork siu mai
* Deep fried taro dumplings
* Garlic pea sprouts — gotta have my veggies!
Standard, but good:
* Egg yolk custard buns — a little too runny, with a weird texture. I prefer the ones at Yank Sing
* Deep fried crab shrimp claw
* Baked pork buns
The not so good:
* Steamed egg custard dumplings
Other items looked good too, but unfortunately I never bring enough people with me to order more food.

Obviously, dim sum is much better on the coasts than in the Midwest and I can’t compare much to other places in SF, but I don’t care because I know amazing food (especially one of my faves being dim sum) when I inhale it.
Boo and I arrive about 10:30 am Saturday and I think we got one of the last vacant tables, as I noticed many people waiting shortly after. We were given tea right away, which was a $ 1 charge per person (this actually isn’t uncommon at dim sum). I’m used to being asked what type of tea I wanted but their default seemed to be jasmine, which is my preference anyway.
For the two of us, I ordered a sticky rice, shrimp crêpe, shrimp dumpling (har gow), pork dumpling (siu mai), baked bbq buns, almond egg yolk balls, fried shrimp egg rolls, and stuffed eggplant. We devoured everything minus 1 bun and 1 almond egg yolk ball, because I would have vomited if I ate any more.
Food came out in a timely manner. BBQ pork buns came last and rightfully so, as these baked bad boys (which I don’t see in Chi-​town) were to die for! I’m not even big into sweet pork but the buns itself were airy and light af! These were beyond amazing! Get them!!! There were 3 buns to an order and each were massive. The almond yolk balls were also amazing and also something I don’t find in Chicago. They were glutinous but delicious!!! Get these too! The stuffed eggplant were very large and yummy. These are stuffed with a fish/​shrimp paste. The shrimp crêpe was divine and unforgettable. Best I’ve ever had. Shrimp were huge and fresh, crêpe was nice and thin. The sticky rice was also a standout. My boo who isn’t a foodie like I am and who hasn’t had much ethnic food in his life right away noticed that this was much better than what we’ve had before in other places. Their sticky rice here used a thin paper wrap over the lotus leaf, which was the first time I saw this. This must be part of what made this so great. Also, they used fresh shrimp inside, instead of dried shrimp. Everything else was very good too.
Service was good. Everyone was helpful and efficient. Prices were comparable to Chicago… obviously more expensive than L.A. and NY but quality of food can’t be beat!
It’s been two weeks and I’m still thinking about dim sum at Lai Hong… specifically the shrimp crêpe, sticky rice, almond egg yolk balls, and baked BBQ buns!
No lie, I would come back to SF just so I can get dim sum here.

When the Asian female host, who asks for the number of people in your party, thinks you’re cute AF and keeps signaling you to come over?
ayyyyy
Thank you for getting my non-​reservation party of 10 seated without any wait on a Saturday afternoon at 1pm.
The BBQ Baked Bork Buns are warm and very fluffy in texture.
The service is really quick. This dim sum restaurant has all your standard orders: shrimp rice noodle, har gau, siu mai, etc.
You haven’t completed a Dim Sum experience without ordering a TURNUP CAKE (Turnip season: October — February, source: LO BAAK GOU. it g ma, underwater squad.)

Even on a Friday morning, there was quite a line– make sure to grab a ticket number upon arrival. We ordered way too much food and ended up taking more than half of it back to the hotel. The food was good and I was happy to find that every table had a plate of condiments, especially the hot sauces and soy sauce– two absolute necessities for me when yum cha-​ing.
All of the dishes (ref. pictures) were delicious– the dim sum was all much larger than the usual sizes found in other dim sum restaurants.
The restaurant has a weird somewhat gross smell. Not sure how to describe it. A foul poultry/​butcher shop combined with some old socks? Well, thank goodness we got used to it after the 2 mins the brain usually takes to be able to ignore a continuous scent. Service was spot on. I flipped over the tea pot lid once the tea got a bit too dark and cooled, and literally a split second later, a waiter grabbed it from our table and refilled it with hot water. Nooiice. Chinatown is disgusting but the trip to get some good dim sum was well worth it!

We were craving dimsum, and we were craving it extra hard. There happens to be a handful of these shops here in the China Town district. But since we left were looking for a spot past 7pm. It drops down to just a few.
Walking in, we were greeted right away and the host automatically brought us to a table for 2. The host was also the server and asked us what we wanted to drink right away. We ordered tea and water, as soon as she came back with the refreshments, she came back with the laminated menu with magic markers. You put the quantity of dimsum you want right next to the item, give it to her and viola! Dimsum comes right after.
Oh, don’t let me forget that we put an order for some roast duck which came before the dimsum. Half roasted duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce was like heaven. Best roast duck I ever had.
All of the dimsum dishes were kick ass. The only stumble was the chicken feet. I happen to be a big fan of chicken feet, the flavor and the pow factor just wasn’t there at all. Oh well, at least the tripe picks up the dropped ball. That and everything else.
I enjoyed dinner time here and will be back to snack on some duck next time.
Thank you so much for reading my review.
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Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

This is siu mai type of place…
Amazing puns aside, came to here during my recent trip to the Bay area. Obviously, the number of options for dim sum in SF are overwhelming, but I wanted more authentic Cantonese dim sum at a place that wasn’t too overrun with tourists. So after checking with the Unilocalosphere, I rolled the dice and settled on Lai Hong Lounge. That gamble paid off. BIG TIME.
Arrived around 1:30 pm on a Friday, and while there weren’t any tourists, there was a myriad of locals out the door also waiting for a table. Even though the wait was lengthy (about an hour), it’s a testament to the quality of a place when even the locals are willing to endure the wait, so my friends and I stuck around until our table was called. In term of aesthetics, nothing out of the ordinary — fairly small space, a few pictures lining the walls, mostly large round tables for bigger parties. But you don’t come to a dim sum joint for the aesthetics. And as you’ve probably already read, they don’t have service carts here and you mark your orders on a laminated menu.
So how a’bao we get to the good stuff? The fooooood. Thankfully, like me, my friends also have a weakness for all things shrimp dim sum so we ordered several plates of the shrimp dumplings and shrimp long roll. To round out our proteins, the pork siu mai, pork long roll, and beef chow fun. Oh yea, and the turnip cake (because this counts as veggies, right?). Everything was tasty and totally hit spot, but of course the standouts for me were the shrimp — much larger than ones I’ve had at places in Chi-​town or NYC. Just so plump, sweet, and juicy. Add a little soy sauce, and damn… such a perfect bite.
The service was decent, and it helped that all the staff spoke some English. The food came out fairly quickly, but it took a while to try to get refills on our waters. The prices were more than fair (especially for SF standards), came out to about $ 15 per person. Given the amount of food we ate, it was really such a steal. Overall, an awesome experience. Definitely worth a try if you’re in the Bay area. And even if you’re not a fan, remember… you dim sum, you lose some… Okay, I’m done now.

I was told that most of the better dim sum in SF was in Inner Richmond, but that Lai Hong Lounge (formerly Lychee Garden), was a decent sit-​down dim sum option closer on the east side.
We came around 1:30pm on a Sunday as a party of 6, and ended up waiting 20 minutes. The lines outside seemed like a good sign that we were making the right decision to try this place, although not good news for my ever-​increasing hunger. When we finally got seated, we noticed a faint mildew smell, which was a little overpowering when we first entered, but kinda faded as we got used to it.
First thing you’ll notice is that they don’t have carts here, and that you’ll order with a dry-​erase marker on a laminated menu. We kinda went for broke and ordered all the good stuff: shrimp dumplings, both baked and steamed BBQ pork buns, deep-​fried taro dumplings, pan fried turnip cakes, pork shu mai, long rice noodle shrimp rolls, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, pork wrapped in tofu skin, along with a side of pea shoots, dry fry green beans, and scallion pancakes. Hoo boy. My favorites were the shrimp dumplings, the taro dumplings, and the baked pork buns. I would definitely get the baked pork buns again, especially since they are near impossible to find in New York and Philly, for some reason. Also, the shrimp dumplings (har gow), are huge compared to the ones I find on the East coast, so that’s a plus.
Service was actually pretty good, relative to the very disaffected service I’ve gotten at dim sum joints all over the country. We got our water and tea refills pretty quickly, although the last couple dim sum dishes did take a while to come out. They were very apologetic, however, so I guess that is worth something. The prices were pretty decent, as I ordered pretty much two of everything, and it still only came out to $ 20 per person, which included tax and tip. Pretty good for brunch in this city.
I would definitely come back, perhaps on the earlier side, for a good sit-​down dim sum experience. Hopefully, they can get rid of that mildew smell sometime in the near future, but I guess that’s wishful thinking.

When people ask me, «Where’s a good place in Chinatown to eat?», I often shrug my shoulders. Unless you live in the area, most locals don’t go to Chinatown for good Chinese food with the exception of take out from Kam Po (Chinese BBQ), Golden Daisy (crack chicken wangz), and Golden Gate Bakey (egg tarts). Getting to Chinatown and navigating through the area is worse than watching 80s porn with bush.
Getting back to the point…
After dim summing it at Lai Hong Lounge, I now finally have a dim sum recommendation in Chinatown. Sorry, Obama but Great Eastern are for tourists.
We had time to kill during Tater Tot’s grooming appointment nearby so we decided to stop by Lai Hong to see how long the wait was. It was a 10 minute wait at 11:15 am which is less than their sister restaurants, HK Lounge and HK Lounge II in Richmond (reservations taken for party of 8 or more only). When we left an hour later, there was a huge crowd waiting so come early! Parking is an even bigger nightmare in that location so I would recommend Lai Hong because at least they have nearby parking garages.
There’s no dim sum carts at Lai Hong. Instead, you’re given a menu and marker to make your dim sum selection. The menu is vast with every dim sum item you can imagine. The English translations were whacked for some dishes so do ask your server for the correct translations. Most dishes are $ 3-​$ 6 with rice and noodle dishes $ 10-​$ 12. MSG usage is minimal [in the dishes we ordered] as I didn’t have a bad reaction as I usually do with other dim sum places. There’s a $ 1 pp charge for tea, whether you drink it or not. They accept 1 credit card max per a table so bring cash if you’re dining in a group. Expect to spend about $ 20 – 25 pp including tip.
Since it was just the two us, we were only able to order a limited amount of items:
*Baked Pork Bun ($ 3.95)
*Shrimp Noodle ($ 4.95)
*“Peanut Chicken Feet” was actually steamed chicken feet w/​ginseng, ginger, and peanuts ($ 6.95)
*Steamed Pork Dumplings ($ 3.75)
*Pig Feet in Candy Plum Sauce ($ 4.95)
*Steamed Pork Spareribs w/​black bean sauce ($ 3.50)
*Steamed Shrimp Dumplings ($ 4.75)
*Deep Fried Taro Dumpling ($ 3.50)
*Durian Puffs ($ 4.95)
Everything is made to order so it did take about 10 – 15 minutes before we received the first dish.
For the most part, everything was solid and on-​par with HK Lounge and HK Lounge II which I also gave 4 stars. Standouts were the Shrimp Noodle Roll, Steamed Shrimp Dumplings, and Deep Fried Taro Dumplings. The Shrimp Noodle Roll was the best I’ve had, each piece had a large, tender shrimp blanketed with a silky soft layer of rice noodles. So good. The Shrimp Dumplings also had large pieces of tender shrimp encased with a glutionously chewy wrapper (not too thick). The Taro Dumplings were hot from the fryer. The exterior had an airy crunch while the fluffy taro center was filled with a deliciously savory pork filling.
Usually I love their Baked Pork Bun (same as HK Lounge’s) which has a pineapple bun like buttery crown but it was off that day. The filling was sparse and a funky aftertaste. I love durian and there was no shortage of stinky durian filling in the puffs but the exterior was really dry. I favor Koi Palace’s rendition.
The Pig’s Feet was nostalgic as I use to eat this growing up during Chinese New Year. The Pork Spareribs didn’t have much meat and neither did the Peanut Chicken Feet so I would skip these next time.
Service was the typical Chinesey service. The hostess was really nice but if you want something from the wait staff, you have to wave them down.
Lai Hong is half the size of HK Lounge but still can accommodate a good amount of large groups. It’s loud and boisterous with no tourists in sight.
After dim summing it, we headed down the block to The Boardroom for a digestive. We met a hilariously funny dude (read: drunk) who line danced to Tupac then shouted, «I want to have sex… I need to find someone to have sex with!» Oh San Francisco, how I love you!

Solid dim sum place in the city. Each order was fresh, hot, and delicious! Unfortunately, there’s no carts so everything is ordered off the menu.
Wait time: about half an hour to an hour during peak hours (make sure you check in with the host – they give you a ticket with a number in it – when it’s your turn, they call out the number)
Environment-​Large, spacious, and relatively clean (the dishes could be cleaner, but that’s not uncommon among Chinatown restaurants)
Tea: It’s a dollar per person! I may be traditional when it comes to this, but I feel like tea at dim sum is a must and should be complimentary!

So the front lady doesn’t really know anything about wait times. She says 40m, we return 30m later and she says it’s another 30m… Other restaurants have been better at estimating times really.
When we finally sat down to eat more than an hour after we got there — the food was pretty good, and large portions, too.
Good vegetarian options, too.