Yum Cha Cafe

I come back to this location because the shomai and bao here are really priced well. They even have the sesame balls with red bean inside and the rice cakes that my grandma loves! The place is not updated as well and the menu/​sign up above need to be changed, but the quality of food is consistent. It’s honestly not the best i’ve had compared to other locations but because I don’t have to drive all the way to L.A. and the food is suitable, it keeps me coming back. I like to come during the day time because the food is fresh. Not always, but for the most times i’ve been here during night/​closing time, the food is not so fresh.

The hom soy gao and sesame balls are ok. Good reheated and fried in a pan at home. However I tried to order rice noodle rolls with beef and got beef rice noodle soup with bok choy instead! It got lost in translation, but it tasted ok, although the beef was chewy and hard. Soup seemed to be chicken broth enhanced with MSG.

Awesome soups. Great selection of dim sum. Reasonable prices. Very quaint. Best fried rice. Get there early cuz they only make a small amount and when they run out, they’re out.

you know that type of asian restaurant where they hang the pig and the duck on display? this is one of them. it’s really good here. their meat is always perfect. all ther other bootleg dim sum food is just gross.

I was immensely craving some egg tarts and had ran into these on a market run. I did not expect them to be good but I approve of them. $ 1.89 for 3 decently sized egg tarts. Way better and cheaper than 85 degree! I like that the crust isn’t so thick and has perfect flakey crispness. Fairly rich and has a fair amount of the egg tart aroma. Although the top of it has this weird oily ish substance that’s sweet and I’m not sure what it is or what caused it but that part throws me off. It’s the usual top yellow layer but here its more soft. Regardless it’s good!
Just might want to disregard service. It’s similar to fast food Asian place. Not really like a restaurant yet it is haha. Had a food variety of foods too so I am definitely coming back very soon! So happy they have egg tarts

Well, can’t argue with the distance and the price. A good place to get a few bites of dim sum to-​go at 8AM on a weekday morning. It’s relatively empty in the morning and the food is piping hot! Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst. The price will keep me coming back. $ 1.79 for each order, or so. Beats a run of the mill fast food breakfast any day. Gotta pace myself…

Okay, regular dimsum places get packed with people plus it’s hard to listen to asian ladies attempting to yell out your number. Also, I hate when i get sat next to bathrooms. When you dont wanna deal with all of that you come here.
This is like a lawry express of dimsum, except its not fine dining.
Today I went and I had to deal with a thorny rose. A petite, cute, asian lady/​girl (sometimes its hard to tell) welcomes me with «what you want!» I mean she was yelling. Who the hell pissed in your rice porrage this morning lady?
Despite the lack of servoce, Their food is good get the following items: shumai, hargao, sticky rice, dumplings, noodles, bread with custard thingy and everything else is good too. However watch out for chunglee, if she misss her morning taichi, she will mess up your dimsum experience. Food is great but stank face made it not fun. Between every item she screamed «what you want! What you want!

the staffs: like normal dim sum place, you point at what you want, they understand english and cantonese but make sure that you speak little louder because they are standing right next to the kitchen (a quick loud there), so they could hear you. the old man chef was so nice and friendly.
the food: nothing special, just typical dim sum taste, if they add more the dim sum selection, that would be nice.
the price: it said «$ 1.49» but actually $ 1.79 each dim sum order. i ordered wonton soup (without the noodle) only $ 3.89, it including 8 pieces of big yummy wonton. i’m very happy
NOTE: CASH ONLY

I’m glad there is a dim sum spot in Hong Kong plaza. I got to order my favorite: Bbq pork buns (3 for $ 1.99) STEAL! :D

My bf and I discovered this place after shopping at HK for some phở noodles and discovered there was an extension leading to more stores and food goodies! When we saw dim sum to go we were excited! So we hoped right in line and ordered shrimp dumpling, siu mai, chicken feet, and other random dim sum items.
The freshness seems to be a hit or miss as sometimes I’ve gotten the dim sum and it is hard and sometimes it’s soft. I thought going around late morning would make a difference (since I normally go in the afternoon) but I’ve gone during later hours where it was surprisingly soft and earlier times when they weren’t. So maybe there isn’t an ideal time except for when they first open? I’m assuming it’s just random because it depends on when they would have to make more?
For the price I think the quality is well worth it. You can’t beat 4 pieces for $ 1.79! I come here quite often to get my quick dim sum fix. Also I actually love their chicken feet surprisingly as I dislike most places :3
Also cash only! Be advised.

If i were to be objective. I would say this is a 3 star spot.
3 Stars because it tastes like how you expect it to. Cheap, reliable dimsum. The Siumai is standard. Har Gow is standard and good quality. I think the fried rice is too oily and the steamed spare ribs is great.
You can feed yourself for less than 10 bucks and it tastes just like any other dimsum spot.
Im giving it 4 stars because its conveniently located near my house and i can be in and out within 5 minutes.
I was telling a friend that there is something very BASIC that’s addicting to this place. Its no frills, straight up dimsum.
Just like any other place, you can’t expect to be rolled the red carpet when you come. Be prepared for some kind of a language barrier. But these folks are nice, just be cool and tell them what you want.

i’m very thankful for the fact that there is a hong kong plaza in covina area. it’s not the most cleanest or it does not offer the most authentic and delicious dim sum but this yum cha café will do the trick if you have been living on this side of town (near covina and far away from monterey park, san gabriel, hacienda heights or rowland heights!)
you just point what you want and you get it!
as most asian places, customer service is NOT to be expected.
you point, you pay, you go! that’s it. plain and simple.
the food is good enough and sufficient for crazy craving in an odd area so they get one more star from me just for that…
if i had to rate the food, it’d be 3 stars…
again, i’m thankful for this asian quick dim sum spot for my weekend dim sum craving not too far from where i live!

Yassssss! Loved this place! My boyfriend and I went on an adventure for sweet rice cakes, & we found that place! We also ended up eating here. Wonton min is BOMBBBBBB. So is the shumai & sweet rice cakes. I was too full to try anything else, but I’m definitely going to make my boyfriend drive me down here a lot!

If you don’t feel like driving to monterey park or dtla for dim sum/​dumplings etc then I guess this is the spot for you. you really do get more bang for your buck at this joint (like most dumpling places) but don’t expect too much flavor going on. It’s that typical oily and salty flavor combination. You need hot sauce to get your palette excited to eat. Not a good sign. Not much going on with most of their selections either. This place is just okay.

Fast food version of Dimsum.
In and out in 5 minutes.
Less then $ 20 to feed a family of three.
Pretty decent quality for the price.

Honestly, today’s my first time discovering this place and I have to say that their dim sum is very tasty & flavorful. I will come back soon.

Food is not that great. I bought dim sum, duck rice and chicken rice. I don’t care how cheap it is. What’s worst is the workers do not know I understand Cantonese. DO NOT talk bad about your customers in front of them!

Can’t complain the food and price for this place. I pay so little for huge portion of food (noodles, rice). I also love the dim sum selections here. However, the service is shit. I understand it’s food court, but still there should be some respect to customers unless I am eating it for free.

I’m pretty sure my mom comes here once a week — if not maybe every other week. I’m not too keen on the dim sum, I tend to stick away from dim sum unless i’m in San Gabriel, Alhambra or Chinatown.
Customer service is well — like any other asian place? You basically just point at what you want. Its a bit touch&go on my part, haha.
It tends to get quite crowded here on weekends so make sure you’re ready for that! Crazy old asian folks, pushing to get ahead. What a joy. -.-

I can’t really call this a café, as the name states. It’s more like a food court establisment, without the actual court. The front displays many dim sum items. On the side are sweet pastries. Most of the dim sum & pastries are sold in orders of 3. You can also ask if they can mix & match to sample more items.
The best part of Yum Cha Café are the noodle bowls that are made fresh to order. They have beef, fish filet & even fish balls and several other choices. It’s cheap, the portions are quite large for the price and it tastes fresh. The fish balls are huge, and they’re not stingy… you get 6 in each order. I also tried the fish filet noodle soup and they’re also generous with that too.
This is a no thrills, no décor, no service kinda place. You just go to the counter, order what you want and wait for your number to be called. It’s not a place I would go out of my way to eat at, but since it’s located right next to the HK2 Market (Hong Kong market) it’s a decent place to grab a quick bowl of noodles cheap after doing some shopping.