Yum Cha Cafe

Ok overall I liked what I got the shrimp dumpling and they were soggy on the bottom. They were still good but soggy. I liked the other things I got as well. Felt this place needed a deep clean but it was super cheap so I can’t complain. Overall I’d come back. They also let me bring my cart from shun fat in. Probably a rude thing to do.

They don’t take credit cards!
That’s virtually a deal breaker for me, cash only, no ATM.
They do have a stand alone ATM outside the restaurant that charges a steep $ 3 fee per transaction. You need to take out money outside, come back in and pay for your purchases in cash. Except that the ATM machine was out of order.
I had to leave my entire order there, a waste of time and effort for them as well as me.
Not worth the hassle.

Their food was reasonably priced, around 1.45 — 1.79 per Dim Sum order depending on what you get. We also got Congee and it was good, I tried to get the first one on their menu with Pork Blood, but they ran out… I wasn’t even there that late, I went around 10:30 AM, so if you want that option it’s best if you go early.
As for their dim sum orders, it was fairly average, I have had better in Chinatown in San Fransisco, but this is probably the best you can find here. Their chicken feet wasn’t as tasteful as I am used to, but still okay.
They share a lot on the south end of their shop, but it’s free parking like most of the places around there, thank god… I HATE paying for parking. It’s also a fairly large lot, so it wasn’t that hard to find parking. If you plan on eating there BRING NAPKINS. They only give you about 2 napkins, even if you have another person with you.

Just got food poisoning from the soy sauce chicken today. I’ve gotten it couple times in the past and it was ok. After taking couple of bites, I noticed there was an odd sour smell that was covered up by the sauce. Unfortunately I found out too late. I won’t be coming back any longer

cheap food

Quick and cheap dim sum spot! I was in the area and craving for some quick dim sum and found this place on Unilocal.This is a review for both 1^st and 2^nd visits.
I tried Dim Sum Express and this place on the same day lol They were both good but I think I like yum cha café better because of their price, quick service and selection of food. Because all the dumplings are pre-​made they are not as fresh as the restaurants serve freshly made dumplings. But no one can beat their price!
I also ordered a shrimp congee along with dumplings but they gave me a pork one (–_​-​;) I didn’t want to wait so just accepted it. It was simply good!
I see some people are mentioning about their service, yes, most of the workers don’t greet you or smile at you. When I asked for a to-​go box, one lady look at me really meanly and didn’t even say a word and kinda «threw» the box on the counter. lol that was offensive.
But my second visit, I was lucky enough to be served by one friendly lady:) she’s actually the one gave me a wrong order but when she brought me the congee, she asked me if I like the dumplings I was working on, and she pointed her finger at the wonton noodle the woman sitting at the next table ordered and said «it’s big and very good. next time you try!» Her English wasn’t good but she was using her hands and trying to explain what’s inside. I thought that was so sweet:)
I’ll definitely go back to try the wonton noodle she recommended when I’m in the area:)

So i took my family for father day, I wanted dim sum and didn’t want to fight the crowds at the sit down places. My wife liked her favorite dish which is the turnip cake, she felt theirs was good. She loved the scallion dumpling, which she had never seen before. We all liked there sesame balls better than other places. The person helping us switched and the new lady didn’t understand English or something she never gave us the BBQ combo I ordered. Will probably go back again.

This little hidden gem so it’s not the most fancy of places but hey i ain’t complaining where else can you get a tasty dim sum lunch for a few bucks. The food is actually really good and prices just sweeten the deal. Tried many items and everything was really tasty and flavorful. I have been to many other dumpling places in the area with much higher prices and food was not as tasty as this place.

YUM CHA CAFE! I never would have thought a little whole in the wall like this could be so delicous! looks can be deceiving^_^ The Hong Kong rice noodles are sooooo yummy! They are super thick and well flavored:)These are probably the best item in the café! Some other items that are delicous are the shrimp dumplings, fried shrimp dumplings, and the shrimp Har gow. These are all shrimp items that are super good! Also the seasame balls with a bean paste are really good for dessert! I’m pretty sure if you try one of these items you will be satisfied. But I do have to admit the place does not look very appealing but they can server some yummy noodles and dumplings:)

Getting fresh dim sum from the carts that go around is nice, but when you don’t have time to wait in a long line which most good dim sum places have, this is the place to go!
They offer various types of dim sum at very very reasonable price. I like their noodles in soup, especially the shrimp one with rice noodles, as well.
Service isn’t so great, I would actually be offended if I were treated like that at Japanese restaurant, but what can you expect from a Chinese fast food place: p
Pretty darn good food at darn good price!!! Perfect place to get quick and inexpensive food to go.

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP OKAY DEal
If you broke n desperate but really hungry then this is the right place for you.
The price here is 20−30% less than you have to pay at the restaurant.
Greatness:
1. Cheap
2. Taste not bad overall well you pay what you deserve
3. Do not have to pay for tips
Weakness:
1. Dirty
2. Server is rude
Beside these what I would recommend
1. Chicken feet
2. Chicken dumpling
3. Tofu
4. Pork bun
Other than that it will not be guaranteed since I usually swing by here since last couple years. The other options if you like noodle and rice is going with their bbq menu. I always admire their lemongrass chicken. They marinated long enough to make it really blend together with the herbs before they roasted. Based on the server, they use free range chicken and its healthy I would say because its roasted instead of fried.

You have to have reasonable expectations when you go to Yum Cha.
This is a take out dimsum place, also has roasted duck and bbq pork, with super reasonable prices. We often hit it after our lunch expeditions every Friday, to get some dimsum to take back to the Westside.
There is no decent dimsum place in Santa Monica.
Most of Yum Cha’s business is takeout, and the prices are super cheap. You can’t really expect the most truly amazing of dimsum. The seating is equivalent to low end taco stand.
But in general the food is good, and the prices super reasonable. I love going here. You are going for the food, not the ambience. And looking at the customers, you have confidence that you are getting the real deal. Very little English spoken here.
I like the Shu Mai, the rice balls with chicken, the bbq pork, and the coconut buns.
There are Yum Cha places all over town. My favorite is the one in the San Gabriel Superstore, but the one in Shun Fat is good too.

GET: lemongrass chicken. They have a display of meats that they’ll chop up and box for you. And of course, cheap.
That’s all you need to read, really. The rest of this review has just a hint of positive to make up for the meh quality of the dim sum.
This is a cheap and quick place to get dim sum. It’s right next to the Shun Fat supermarket, located across from Atlantic Times Square. My mom and I wanted dim sum but didn’t have much time, therefore this place was perfectly fine.
The quality is definitely MEH. The BBQ pork buns were bland. The shrimp dumplings were small. Some noodles were cold… but it’s cheap! Don’t have high expectations. You get your dim sum by pointing at what you want in the display window. They pack it in to-​go boxes, you pay, and then you can go sit in their dining area.
And so cheap!

This place sucks … Not sure what has happened. Possible ownership or management change. Everything’s different. Chickens taste old and frozen. The portions are small. Barely any shrimp In dumplings. The BBQ has been sub par. Te dim sum line offering is meager and everything is oily.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ive blown mud… 3 out of 3 times after I’ve eaten lunch there… Worst part is the lady general manager accidentally placed her thumb in my food and didn’t apologize …
I don’t think the health dept should close them down… They will close themselves down with poor food and service…

Whenever I don’t feel like going to an actual restaurant to eat dim sum, I just come here. This is the best place to get dim sum to-​go! The price is cheap, service is fast, and food is fresh. There are times where you would question how clean the place is. But hey… you all know that if an Asian restaurant or café is clean, food is not authentic.
This dim sum to-​go sells all the food you usually order from a dim sum restaurant. They got your typical har gow, siu mai, ha churn, etc. The staffs here are not as nice. I understand that they can get super overwhelmed with orders, but they can get extremely rude. Other than the bad service, the food is good. The food is neither too salty nor oily. The only oily dish here is the chicken feet. The fried food like the seaweed shrimp wrapped or the fried shrimp ball can get you drinking a lot of water. But almost all Chinese food is oily.
Don’t bother ordering anything else that is not something you don’t order at a dim sum restaurant. Their hong kong milk tea is something they just bought at the market next door and they just miz the powder and hot water together. Bleh.

The dim sum is small. It’s a to go place that’s attached to the Shun Fat grocery.
The shu mai and har gow were about the size of half a pinky.
The chicken bun filling is made with ground chicken meat, it was extra doughy.
The lo mai gai was probably about an once or two and tasted funny.
The dan tat was dry with an extra thick crust.
Everything here is small and tastes funny. This place is NOT recommended. It might even be considered wannabe dim sum.
Cheers.

cheap dim sum. not the best, but cheap. go around closing time and its buy an order get an order free type deal.
they also have chicken, roasted pork, meats. ordered a whole 30−40lb roasted pork from them for a wedding last november and they did a great job with it! they were on time, meticulous, and attended to all our details. i was surprised it turned out that good. everyone loved the crunchy skin and moist meat and kept asking where we got the pork. for that alone, its a 5 stars!
not the cleanest sit down place. order to go and be cool carrying a whole lot of take out boxes to your car.
service is what you get. if they are grumpy, you be grumpy back. if they are nice, then be nice back!

Pros: lots of variety and it’s cheap
Cons: it doesn’t taste like anything, and it’s small.
So I was hungry so I came here since it’s across the street from my hotel. When I entered, they started speaking to me in Chinese. I can’t speak Chinese. I am not sure if they understand English or not but I was a little annoy they kept talking to me in Chinese. I also responded in English. Maybe because I am Chinese, so they assume I know Chinese. So I ordered the hai gow and su mai, just one order of each. Pretty cheap — $ 1.39 for 4 pieces. I went to my hotel and ate it, and it didn’t taste like anything and after a few pieces, they started to taste like rubber and it was so small too. I didn’t even finish it and I tossed it. I don’t think I want to come back here.

Yum Cha Café serves Dim Sum around the clock! Yes, it’s a bit of a dive as you walk in, but they do serve good and inexpensive food. For $ 10.00, you could feed two people already. Their dim sum is fresh while the servers continuously prepares them in the back. The average price is about $ 1.69 for three pieces of whatever. I had the Don Tat (egg custard), the har gaos and sieu mais (wrapped shrimp and pork in rice flour). I thought every item I had was delicious!
Even though this place is a dive, it is very crowded on weekend afternoons. I was amazed how the servers were able to box and put in an order so quickly when there is no such thing as a line for people awaiting to buy. I guess it’s a Chinese thing because when I was in China… nobody stands in line for anything. It’s a big pushing and shoving game. So it’s almost the same thing here… except we don’t push or shove the elders. But they do it to us! LOL.
Anyhow, I like this place. So if you are in a Dim Sum mood, or in need of a quick inexpensive grub, this is the place to go.

The congee (rice porridge soup) practically cured my nausea and the «Big D»… actually, I was j/​k about the latter… =D Luckily this stomach virus was mild this time around.
Seriously, it was the only thing I was able to keep down on Sunday (after catching one cuckoo virus). Dinner went down nice & smooth… It was my first and only meal that day.
The congee here is as good as the ones I’ve had in LA Chinatown or better ~ actually it has a little more flavor here (most porridge soups are on the bland side).
Did I mention that I have a thing for porridge ever since I read the story about Goldilocks and the three bears when I was a kid. Yeap! I know it sounds silly, but these things tend to surface later in life =P Comfort food!
They have hanging BBQ ducks. They also have decent dim sum here (my hubby tried it). Lechon meat w/​the crispy skin attached is available here, and it is OK (according to my spouse). My spouse is Filipino, and has been all over Asia, so he knows Asian food inside & out.
The food here is cheap. Congee is $ 3.59 for a huge bowl, and they give you a choice of shrimp, beef, pork & preserved eggs, or fish. Dim Sum is around $ 1 each. They have various other soups, but the congee is my favorite.
The Asian ladies who work here are nice but do not speak much English, so it was like point to this and point to that. You will see mostly Asians dining here ~ a good sign. This is located in a predominantly Asian community anyway.
You know what’s funny? I have called most of the Chinese restaurants in my area and nobody knows what a congee is. I had to explain to them that it is a rice porridge soup… and they were like ahhh! They actually learned something.
So whenever I’m in the area and in the mood for a nice hot bowl and some decent Chinese grub, I’ll make sure to drop by here with or without an intestinal virus.
Oh yes! And I just happen to have friends and family not too far from here, but I don’t think they would have appreciated a visit from my contagious little friend.
They have other locations (Chinatown and San Gabriel), but this is the only Yum Cha Café I’ve been to. Cash only!