Jade Cathay

The WORST food and service I have ever had! The servers barely speak English. They hand you the menu and when you order off it — they served duck instead of chicken, we had to send it back because it was cold!!! The meat was very fatty — it was just gross! I do not recommend this place!

Went for dinner on a weeknight. Service was slow. Food was very greasy, from the shrimp chips to the appetizers to the entrees. The green onion pancakes were the worst I have ever had.

We had a small reunion at Jade Cathay (翠湖) in order to enjoy its famous Roast Duck (明爐燒鴨), we were not disappointed. Roast Duck was juicy and delicious. We also tasted the Lobster Noodle (龍蝦 伊麵), scrumptious! Its dim sums were yummy.
The restaurant setting was simple but decent. Very crowded at this Sunday lunchtime, however, the service was responsive and cordial.

Guys please please check your receipts before signing. Service 15% is often times included. They tried to double dip charge me. Cmon man. Overheard neighbor and they overcharged for tea. Cmon man.
⁵⁄₂₄ update — omg. They charged me twice! One for the correct amount and one for the incorrect one! And I didn’t even sign the incorrect one, I actually tore it up and jammed it into a tea cup full of tea. Slim shady. Never coming here again.

Since I don’t know how to parallel park, driving around downtown is not my favorite thing in the world. Luckily, there’s a huge parking lot by Jade Cathay!
This restaurant is a pretty standard dim sum place — you can order off the menu or have it items served straight from the carts. Dishes cost from $ 3 – 7 which isn’t too shabby.
Although they open at 10am on the weekends, there was no wait when I arrived at 11am. Great for a weekend meal with the family!

Dim sum is just one of those meals where I love the food, but not so much the wait or the price. The cost in the Bay is just so much more and the quality jump is nowhere near matches that. I’ve been consigned to takeout places for a quite a while.
On a whim I came here with a couple friends. I was actually really happy with my overall experience. Price was still expensive, but for some dishes, 50 cents cheaper per item feels noticeably better in large company.
The best part for me was the wait — or lack thereof. Other places I’ve been too have been annoying when I have to wait for a certain cart or item to come back around before I want to check out. Here, none of us craved any of our coveted dishes for longer than two minutes. Those cart kept coming back around so often.
I will say the service is a little lacking, though not anymore so than others in South Bay. We never really got our hot tea or our waters refilled, and it did take a while for them to notice we wanted the check.
Overall, this was one of the few recent times I’d eaten dim sum free of frustration. Would definitely recommend for a decent family experience in the area.

I’m still going through all of my check ins from 5 – 6 years ago lol. Came here back in 2011 when it first opened and from what I remember this place was average. It could have improved since then, but for the prices, it probably hasn’t improved all that much. Saigon on Lawrence Expressway was always cheaper and better, and looking at today’s Unilocal ratings for each restaurant that still seems to be the consensus. Usually if a place is good, I’ll go back at least once. I have not been back since 2011 so I probably wouldn’t go here again unless I was in the vicinity and no time to drive anywhere else.

Beware!!!
My credit card information was stolen at this restaurant yesterday and nearly a thousand dollars of purchases were made before Chase flagged it and cut it off. Purchases were made at Walmart and on dating and porn websites.

Mediocre dim sum that will do if you need a fix. We came on a Monday holiday and it was surprisingly packed by 11AM. Very limited cart options, but they have a menu off which you can order (seems to be the Bay Area trend).
We had a lot of the dim sum staples– har gao, Shu mai, the mini bbq ribs, chicken feet, har fun, egg tarts. The quality was nothing to write home about. In fact, you could taste that some of the har gao had a bit of a wet towel scent– probably had been sitting around for a little too long. Nevertheless, giving Jade Cathay a 3 because it will do when you’re in San Jose. The space is roomy, relative clean– i.e. not bad for a Chinese restaurant. The service is good (fast and relatively attentive) and dim sum options decent.

Enjoyed a great dim sum lunch today!!! Can’t wait until my next trip into SJC airport.
The Shanghai soup dumplings were amazing, as was the rest… my only disappointment was the potsticker looking choice. odd flavor and had peanuts.
Great service. Water glass kept full.
Clean rest rooms

I don’t care if I have to wait a while for a table on Sundays.
I don’t care if they sit us in the quiet banquet room when they are at full capacity in the main dining room.
And I don’t care if their TVs work or not, even during Football season.

I keep coming back for the obvious reasons…
–For quality dim sum at a reasonable price… their Siu Mai and Spareribs with black beans taste above the average, and their Chinese broccoli dim sum dish is plentiful!
–For fast and friendly service… they actually smile at this restaurant, and carts come around often.
–For their Jasmine tea… I can drink this all day!
–For availability of dim sum dishes, even when there’s an hour left for lunchtime… other places don’t even have carts that serve porridge, tripe dishes, or Taufu Fa (soft tofu with sweet ginger). I also like the fact that you can order off the dim sum menu for anything that you don’t see on the carts.
I’ve tried a few of their regular menu items too… like their Seafood Combination Claypot with Tofu, Pan Fried Combination Chow Mein, and Chicken & Salted Fish Fried Rice. Just like their dim sum, I would recommend these dishes to anyone!

No wait? yes.
Not crowded? yes.
OK pricing? yes.
Hot food/​made-​to-​order? yes.
Friendly staff? yes.
This is a hole-​in-​the-​wall gem for dimsum in SJ! Decided to go out on a limb and try it based on Unilocal reviews. because Newport (next to 99 ranch market) and Saigon (in sunnyvale) and way too cray cray. Food quality and service have been going down… prices up… and overall experience just no bueno.
Wow – between just me and my mom we ordered 5 plates:
Shu mai – good amount of shrimp, moist/​tender, 4 b-​i-​g pieces
Har gao – good amount of shrimp, thin/​soft wrapping (usually thick/​dry/​stale-​tasting at some places)
Lou bak gao – REAL taro slices – just the way I like it and UNLIKE any other dimsum place I’ve been to it’s mostly powder; made-​to-​order (guess not as popular as regular turnip cake)
Fried/​steamed veggie shrimp roll – made-​to-​order; nothing too special really and 3 large pieces for $ 6.80? Hm…
Sesame balls – hot hot hot, nice and chewy mochi interior, crunchy exterior w/​white sesame seeds, sweet paste inside (could use more filling)
Small (items)-$ 2.80
Medium-​$ 3.80
Large-​$ 4.80
Special-​$ 6.80
*FYI, most of our items were medium… not sure what a small would be given an order of shu mai is already considered medium.
Friendly staff. Speedy service. New go-​to for dimsum – check!

Jade Cathay is a perfect spot to go for your dim sum fix without the horrendous wait. While the lack of a crowd could potentially be a bad sign for lack-​luster food, we’re happy to announce that this isn’t the case here. You get the food you expect without all the bells and whistles.
My hubby and I normally stop by on a weekday during lunch and while there isn’t normally a crowd, there is a bit of luck involved when it comes to arriving at the right time to find a good parking spot and to be seated without having to wait at all. Per usual, there were the typical carts rolling around, but if they don’t have the food you like or if it is taking too long for you to get your entrees, ordering off of the menu works too. However, be warned that this method isn’t foolproof in the sense that you can frequently get wrong orders since most of the items are written in Chinese characters and you may order way more than you can eat.
Flavor-​wise, Jade Cathay doesn’t serve anything amazing to brag about. You have your typical shu mai, har gow, fried shrimp balls, and rice noodles. Everything comes out piping hot and are presented on clean plates or containers. The one complaint I would make is that some of their deep fried dishes can be very oily and greasy. Not good!
As for the service, it is pretty much quick and to the point. No fun and games, and certainly no dilly-​dallying. But the one nice thing about Jade Cathay is that the owners of the restaurant are quite active in helping the customers. Not only do they provide a helping hand, but they are also extremely friendly and welcoming, not a common occurrence at most Asian restaurants.
So overall, Jade Cathay is a typical dim sum spot. It’s nothing to turn your nose up at, but it’s also not a place I would enthusiastically recommend. However, if you’re sick and tired of those long waits for dim sum, this restaurant just may be your God-​send.

Came by for a group lunch the other day and was presented our table with reservation upon arrival. Parking is rather crunchy in the private parking lot. There is plenty of street parking right outside the restaurant or on the residential streets.
The interior of the restaurant has been slightly remodeled. Dim Sum is served via carts and/​or by ordering a la carte. Dim sum was merely mediocre. Quality was so so… stuff wasn’t super fresh.
Service was also mediocre… as we had to flag down wait staff to get refills on tea, clear empty trays etc.
$ 21/​person after tax and tip for lunch.

The restaurant is located in a sort of grimy area of town and if the food is anything like the town, it too is grimy! But in a good way my friend.
A greasy restaurant with semi-​oldish furniture, this is a definite indication that the food will be bomb! No frills here!
Jade Cathay doesn’t strive to be the next flashy hip dim sum joint nor does it have the makings or aesthetics to host an asian wedding reception but trust me when I say this place is worth traveling to!
My go-to’s here are siu mais, shrimp rice rolls, and TARO BUNS!!! I always take an order of taro buns home! They are so moist, flaky, and chewy all in the same scrumptious bite! My favorite item here hands down… don’t leave the restaurant without them! And if your gut is busting out of its seams from greasy dim sum fare… top that off even further with a sweet and fluffy taro bun and you can thank me later!

While on a drive, we decided to try some Dim Sum in San Jose. We checked with Unilocal and Jade Cathay sounded promising.
We arrived around 11:30am on Sunday and were seated right away. As we were being lead to our table, I overheard someone say that was the «best table» as it was the bosses table.
Our tea order was taken right away and arrived quickly along with the ice water we asked for.
The restaurant is fair sized but not huge. It was the perfect size in that all the dishes that were supposed to be hot arrived hot. It looks as if on weekdays, you mark an order sheet but on weekends, the carts are in motion!
Service was very good. The food was delicious. And we had a nice conversation with the «boss lady» whose name I failed to ask. She was very cordial and personable, the type of manager that I wished all Chinese restaurants had.
When in the area, we’ll be back!

Had the pleasure to visit this fine establishment. Working for a Chinese company they took the team out for a great meal and here is what I can share. For me the food quality and taste was an A but for my China coworkers the feedback I heard was a C+. If you’re a gringo I know you will enjoy this place. It’s worth checking out. Service was outstanding. They serve up fresh seafood as you can see in my pictures. Shrimps, Lobsters, Clams, Fish and they also have fresh Duck and other Chinese specialties. Oh and they serve up good cocktails. I know you will enjoy.

My sister and I had been craving dim sum recently, and in my family, Sundays are the perfect dim sum days. Normally, we go to Dynasty to satisfy our dim sum cravings, but we were off to a late start, and Dynasty was closing. A quick search revealed that Jade Cathay was open until 3pm, which was perfect. I love when dim sum places are open later.
This place seems pretty authentically Cantonese. If you have a friend who speak Cantonese, I would suggest bringing them along with you to give you some cred and just make ordering a lot easier. All the people pushing carts will automatically start speaking Cantonese to you when they come up to your table, which was confusing for me, as I only speak Mandarin. After speaking to them in Mandarin, most were pretty good about responding in Mandarin or in English, but there were a few who kept saying things in Cantonese that I could only just nod and smile at.
Foodwise, they have all your standard dim sum fare– har gao (shrimp dumpling), siu mai, shrimp rice noodle rolls, beef rice noodle rolls, fried taro with pork filling, BBQ pork buns, sticky rice, preserved duck egg and pork congee, chicken feet, etc etc. Everything was fairly standard and I enjoyed the meal, but there was nothing that I thought was amazing.
The location isn’t the greatest, but there is a fairly large lot next to the building that you can park in.
tl;dr: As with all dim sum places, if you speak Cantonese, big plus. Food is decent and hits all the right dim sum spots, so really, not a bad option for dim sum in the South Bay Area.

Not the best dim sum out there but it is one of the better ones for the South Bay. We came around 12pm and got seated right away. Service has always been pretty good when we’ve come here, the waiters are attentive with clearing our table and filling our glasses.
We had.
Har Gow $ 4.80
Siu Mai $ 3.80
Deep Fried Shrimp Balls $ 4.80
Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls $ 4.80
Deep Fried Taro with Pork Filling $ 3.80
Pan Fried Rice Noodle Rolls with Dried Shrimp $ 4.80
The plates range from (s)$ 2.80 (m)$ 3.80 (L)$ 4.80
The deep fried taro was great! Packed with flavor and not greasy. I also liked the shrimp noodle rolls, the rice noodle was light and thin + freshly made.
Har gow and siu mai lacked in flavor, seemed overcooked and old. maybe because we came around 12. The pan fried rice noodle rolls with dried shrimp was average. It tastes as plain as it sounds. The shrimp balls tasted really fishy today and the bf agreed to that.
With the 6 dishes our total came to about $ 29 before tip.

I’ve now come here both for lunch as well as dinner and I have to say, I’m a much bigger fan of their dim sum cart lunch since living outside of SF it’s almost impossible for me to find great dim sum, especially one that makes fantastic taro. But Jade brings this in spades.
Please note: The dim sum carts are only offered weekends during lunch and while they have dim sum for dinner, it’s a very limited menu (think 6 items) (yes pork buns are included in this).
Their lunch menu is absolutely mouthwatering. I love dim sum carts and finding some closer to where I live over Mountain View was a pleasant surprise. Their lunch menu is also quite a bit more affordable. For three people a weekend lunch was about 50 with tip. Dinner for 2 was closer to 70. During the dinner trip they also got the honeys order wrong — even though the space was absolutely dead.
I am definitely coming back! I really wish there were some great weekday take out dim sum places in San Jose, but I suppose it’s not to be…