Fu Lam Mum

Came here for dim sum several weeks back because we were craving dim sum and was in the Mountain View area, so we decided to give this place a try.
When we got there, there was a bit of wait but they actually had a small table for us so we got seated very quickly. Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed that they use dim sum carts which I absolute love because it gives off a more authentic feel. As far as the food is concerned, I think the dim sum was not too shabby at all and the price is affordable as well. I’d say a solid 3 stars for taste and 3.5 stars for affordability.
Overall I think this a a solid dim sum restaurant in the area but just don’t expect the same caliber as restaurants in SF, Daly City, or even millbrae areas.

Amazing food and service. I was surprised to see dim sum carts on a Monday. The food was not as oily as other dim sum places. Their fried pork belly is a must! I don’t think they put them on the carts but ask for it. It doesn’t take long to come out and is worth the wait. One minor issue though… The shrimp dumpling (har gow) and soup dumpling were rather dry as compared to others I’ve had. The soup dumpling should have more broth in my opinion. Otherwise, great place.

Being from out of town, I had a simple notion that Chinese food must be better in all its aspects because relational to the East Coast — the West Coast is closer to China.
I also understood that there aren’t that many Dim Sum places out around the Menlo Park area — that San Jose is where you would actually need to go to get some proper Dim Sum. However, for convenience sake and to save on driving time I’ve read Fu Lam Mum will do.
Now Fu Lam Mum is certainly a Dim Sum place. The strip mall that its built into seems recently renovated or entirely new. I’m sure that must be a fun place to hang out around as there are tons of restaurants/​bars lining that space. Anyhows, props for the parking lot in the back cause I’ve noticed parking is an issue in the bay area.
So back to the point. Dim Sum. Get in early because Fu Lam Mum does good business. We arrived early, around 11, and was able to be seated immediately. The restaurant itself is two-​tiered with an upper floor overlooking seating on the ground floor. I assume the upper floor is open for private events and maybe dinner if business is super good?
Towards the back of the restaurant a table is set up where they stage cart rollouts as surrounding that table is a bunch of carts awaiting the oncoming Dim Sum rush.
At the 11 o’clock hour though, only a few carts lazily made their way around the 6 – 7 tables that were seated. The same foods came around a bunch because I figure the other things weren’t ready or they just didn’t want to bring out the big guns just yet. The usual suspects of har gow (entirely avoidable here due to the thick wrapping), char siu bao (not bad but nothing special), siu mai (pretty standard), seaweed salad, xiaolongbao (actually pretty decent for a dimsum place), and the other Dim Sum gang members rolled around. Service was good enough for dimsum. I requested fried taro dumplings cause that’s my jam and they were kind enough to bring that by.
As mentioned because that place was happening, by the time we were done — around 12:15−30 the place was full. Patagonia clad couples and their minis filled the place and the clamor of a packed dimsum restaurant made me recall NYC.
Now, is this place accessible? Yes. Is the food decent? Yes. Do I feel that the dimsum here is anything special? No. But it will do to scratch that dimsum itch especially if you’re in a time crunch and don’t feel like going the distance.

I had avoided this place because I thought it would be another over priced downtown MV restaurant.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. The food here is pretty good, and authentic. They do a good job with the basics — dumplings, pork buns etc. They offer a greater variety of items over the weekend. It’s bright and cheerful. Service is just fine. Nice to have it located in the heart of downtown.

You want dim sum after midnight? Well I got three words for you… Fu Lam Mum.
Do they open Christmas and New Years? Yes. Do they ever close? Probably not.
Good dim sum, for when you want dim sum and for when there is no other place that is open.
(This entry written by the husband)

Decent dim sum here. The standards for dim sum are pretty high in my books and most places in California are just okay but not so bad that it’s not worth going nor so good that I would highly recommend someone to go.
Like many places they charge mandatory tea for $ 1.00 a person. Majority of their dim sum was served just lukewarm and not piping out which is pretty typical in California.
I ordered beef stomach/​intestines which was okay but the server was kind of a noob and poured a ton of liquid and less meat pieces. It was alright.
I also tried the shrimp rice noodle rolls. The shrimp wasn’t so good and it was less than lukewarm in temperature.
Next was the Har Gow (Shrimp wrapped in clear dumplings), the skin was decent but was inconsistent as some places on the wrapping were thicker than others. This was just mediocre as well.
I ordered the Chicken feet which was just okay as well. Tried a bunch of other ones but nothing particularly stood out.
If you are in the area and want to eat dim sum, this place is not bad of an option. I’m sure there are others that will be marginally better. There was no wait when we came here on Saturday around opening (10am).

«It’s not a real dim sum place if the cart ladies don’t yell at each other» said my Chinese friend. At Fu Lam Mum you’ll get that, along with some ignorance and that indifferent attitude… but those are the best! Because you know they don’t give a shit and that their food is good to still have customer despite their bad service.
The dim sum is good, I’m guessing this place got a 3.5 star because service is pretty bad… This is for their dim sum and not for their regular food menu. Their dim sum is really good and it’s pretty big with plenty of meat stuffed inside. We got all the original dim sum from shrimp dumpling to chicken feet. I thought the quality was good. It’s a nice change from all the shitty dim sum place in San Diego.

This review is for the dim sum. Went there around 11:30am and were quickly greeted and sat on a table (there was a line outside around noon though). The restaurant looks clean and the servers speak English (compared to other dim sum places). Prices are also reasonable considering the area.
The reason I am giving it 3 stars is because the food was meh. Nothing impressive compared to the dim sum places in Milpitas. Not bad either. Just OK. Unless I want to eat dim sum really badly, I’d probably skip this place.

Probably the best dim sum I’ve eaten. I’m not really a dim sum expert because I can’t really tell you the name of any of my photos I posted, but what I can say is that I’ve had dim sum a handful of times in San Diego, and this is better. It also helped that my GF’s friends were Chinese and knew the names of each dish and hand picked everything. Yes I know, I had translators and I was too lazy to take notes… My bad! All I can say is that yes I will be back and it’s highly recommended by people who really know their Chinese food, so come here!!!
Parking sucks — street

When I use to live in New York, my parents and I would go eat dim sum almost every week. After moving to the area, I been searching out places for dim sum similar to the notorious ones in NY. Fu Lam Mum was conveniently located next to the caltrain and in the southern peninsula area where I am currently living so I decided to check it out.
Surprisingly, it has a very authentic vibe to it– kinda loud with large groups of older asians and tables laid out not really meticulously across the dinning room. There are also water tanks in the back with live seafood, which is very nostalgic. The menu items were a mix. There were some traditional dishes mixed in with some that cater towards more americanizes tastes.
I got the chance to try the late night menu: $ 11.50 for 3 dim sum dishes– i got the shrimp paste balls, the pan fried shrimp and chive dumplings, and the shumai– and the sweet and sour fish for $ 9.50. The discounted price was okay considering I wasn’t expecting too much from the area. I can’t imagine paying full price though. Most dim sum dishes in NY are $ 2.75-$ 3.75. So a little over $ 3.8 per dish (discounted price) is just a liittlleee bit on the higher side. The $ 9.5 dish would probably cost about $ 6 or $ 7.
Shrimp paste balls– this was actually my first time trying this dish. It was pretty good! It was nice and crispy and the portion size was good.
Pan fried shrimp and chive dumplings– the flavour was nice, though a little oily. The dumpling wrapping was also thicker than my liking. I think there might’ve been some uncooked doughy parts…
Shumai: my favorite dish of the night! Nice and juicy and there was a generous amount of meat. About 1.5 shrimps per dumpling mixed in with some ground pork.
Sweet and sour dish: my least favorite dish of the night. The dish was drowning in sweet and sour sauce and the fried fish was not crispy… I couldn’t really taste much other than the sweet and sour sauce.
All in all, a pretty decent dim sum place.

I was a little dubious about this place but it’s not bad. The restaurant is very open and can accommodate many people. I heard this place gets pretty busy on weekends for their dimsum though.
I came here with some coworkers for dinner dimsum. Nobody really eats dim sum for dinner so this was a new experience. The dinner dimsum menu is considerably smaller than their breakfast or late night menu. There’s some good dimsum but pretty much the basics like dumplings, etc. so if you want the full dimsum experience don’t come here for dinner!
I liked their football puffs (ham sei gao/​xian sui jiao). The puffs were a good size and I liked that the filling wasn’t overflowing with shrimp (I HATE SHRIMP).
The custard buns were quite delicious. The inside wasn’t that runny as some other places do, but the bun was really fresh (I love «mantou» buns) and doughy.
The sweet and sour chicken was okay. Not crispy in the slightest though, and there was plenty of sauce.
The pea sprouts were good but could have used a tiny bit more salt in my opinion. They give you a lot though.
The steamed BBQ pork buns were okay too, although the meat was not as red as I’d expect for cha siu.
Total was about $ 130 before tip for six people. It’s reasonable. Service was also decent too. I think if you speak Chinese, it’s always just bonus points in places like this.

Visited this place twice to make sure my first experience wasn’t an outlier. The staff is very rude and barely speaks any English. Both times our bill came out wrong with items on it that we haven’t ordered. Be careful!
My wife forgot her ring in the bathroom there, we tried calling the place but staff replies were rude and inadequate.
Food was okay but experience overall — terrible

Midnight dim sum? Uh, yes please!
It’s otherwise standard dim sum fare (slyly marked up slightly as with all other things in this area, gah), but as by far the closest dim sum place in the area (no, that heinously overpriced travesty of a «dim sum» restaurant on University Ave does not count), it’s definitely the go to place. And who can say no to dim sum (literally) all day?
For those who want cheaper and more creative options, you’ll have to drive south a la Cupertino and San Jose. But for those of us stuck a little further north (in the heartland of Facebook and Google and all those are places full of rich techies whose existence invariably drives up the prices of just about everything) this is about as good as it gets.

This place was so good for dim sum! I never go to Asian places and expect good service, but we were lucky enough to have great servers who regularly filled up our waters and gave us whatever we needed. The food was yummy! It’s a little pricey for dim sum, but totally worth it. Check it out if you’re in the area, you won’t be sorry!

First of all it wasn’t the best quality, maybe because it was the end of the day. But most of the dim sum didn’t have proper texture and did not taste fresh to me. We got your typical set of dim sum dishes like cha siu bow, ha gow and siu mai. Also it was comparably more expensive to places I’ve been before, almost $ 3 per dish. Dim sum places I’ve been to in Markham, ON, Canada were much cheaper and had better tasting dim sum.
Besides that it’s in an easily accessible location on Castro street and has a good feel that reminds me of dim sum places back in Markham. It has average dim sum service where they don’t give much attention to customers. Also, for those who haven’t been to dim sum before you fill out what you want on a piece of paper (usually you check off boxes) and give it to your waiter who will then eventually bring out everything you ordered on the piece of paper.
It’s also a big restaurant so you almost never have to wait when you go here.

I’m not sure why else you would need to come here other than the fact that they have late night dim sum at reduced prices from 9pm — 12am.
Need I say that again? LATE. NIGHT. DIM SUM. LATENIGHTDIMSUM. LATE NIGHT DIMSUM ~~~~
Never before did I imagine that juxtaposition of words would exist so wonderfully, and not under the impression it’s a lonely drunken meal out of a left-​overs box from noon lunch with your parents while watching episodes of a Netflix show I don’t even like.
Of course, there are two things people will talk about or worry here — The service, and the quality of dim sim — granted it’s late night. But let me shoo away your worries just as Fu Lam Mum was able to xiu mai away too. See what I did there?
FOOD FIRST — no it’s not leftover dim-​sum. It’s piping hot and freakin’ awesome. I absolutely adored everything we got, all the staples — xiu mai, har gow. etc, but the deal breaker for me is the chive dumplings. Get some of that shrimp/​chive dumpling, pan fried of course, and you’ll see what I mean. A day may come when you eat dumpling saturated in oil and drowned in grease, leaving you in a metabolic food coma… but it is not this day.(LOTR III Quote) Just trust me on this and do the damn thing.
SERVICE SECOND — Seriously, if you’re going to come to an Asian restaurant and complain about service, go somewhere else. Oddly enough, I steer away from Asian restaurants with high scale service and decoration — means they’re not paying enough attention to the food. It’s like how the quality of a phở spot is inversely proportionate to the service you get… but I digress :)
PRICE — Not sure what else I need to say other than there were 6 of us guys and we ordered MORE than enough food, I stress — MORE, and our bill came out to just over $ 100 bucks. Seriously? That’s it? Okay, see you again soon Fu Lam Mum.
Lastly — my only gripe was I really wanted har chun fun but I didn’t see it on the late night special list… oh well. Oh, and if the fact that I consumed all of this dim sum slightly intoxicated means anything to you, please feel free to disregard my opinions here… or say to yourself «DRUNK. LATE NIGHT. DIMSUM?!»
Do the damn thing.

Came here for dim sum with a Meetup group and the service was very cordial although nothing was outstanding. The dim sum is pretty good for what is available in the area, so I’d come here again if I were limited to the Bay Area and have a big group.
Nothing outstanding, nothing bad, just a normal place to fulfill your dim sum cravings.

This place has a lot going for it: huge variety in dishes, frequent servers wandering through with carts (although lots do not bother to stop unless you jump up and down for attention), consistent tastiness on all the things, and perfectly respectable pricing for what really is quite sizable portions of truly decent cuisine. Despite it being in downtown Mountain View, parking has never been a problem.
I have been here a dozen or so times, usually with 6 – 10 of folks gathering for brunch on Sunday. We have never bothered with a reservation (do they even take ‘em?), and so far our longest time for a table was about 45 minutes. Time spent outside, people-​watching and working up the appetite one should bring into Fu Lam Mum! Regardless the duration of the wait, we all end up satisfied and happy by the time the bill comes around.
My one and only actual complaint is that it is so bloody LOUD here, it is all but impossible to hear yourself eat, much less try to converse with any of the friends you have brought with you. This is in part because it is a gigantic restaurant, very popular with large groups.
I have enjoyed my visits here previously, and look forward to continuing to come here for many years to come.

If you haven’t had the late night dim sum here, are you even doing Castro Street right?
Space:
If you come late at night, you’re most likely going to sit in downstairs, but there’s a spacious second floor for you to dine at as well. I’ve never found it crowded for late night dim sum, but it gets popular during the day.
Service:
I’ve had good experiences and mediocre experiences with the service here. I remember once, the owner almost bent over backwards when my friends and I came here right at closing to get us all our food. He held the kitchen staff later than usual, and even stayed past closing just to wait for us, but didn’t rush us at all. We felt pretty bad for doing that to a nice old man. Other times, we were often rushed out of the area. I think it just depends. Otherwise, the waiters are pretty prompt with water and getting your orders out. They know how it works.
Food:
Let’s be real, Chinese dim sum is pretty tasty. I’m a big fan of anything shrimp, so I love the shrimp dumplings and crispy shrimp balls. Go for any of the classics, but avoid the more pastry-​like dim sum items such as the taro paste buns or egg custard buns as they tend to be over-​sugared or more bun than filling. The pleasant surprises here? The sesame rice balls or the green tea balls with sesame paste.
The soups are standard size, and a good deviation from the fried taste of all the meats you’re consuming.
Overall, Fu Lam Mum is your typical dim sum place in the South Bay, and you’d probably only go because you don’t have any other options. That’s not to say it isn’t bad – it’s just not mindblowing, but it’ll satisfy your cravings for the meantime.

I was so excited when I found out there was a dim sum place a stones throw away from my house. That was opened LATE NIGHT?!
Took my parents here on a Sunday and the food was unfortunately disappointing for the most part.
I’ll start with the good: the pork spare ribs, the Chang fen (forgot what this English name was). But then again those are pretty hard to mess up.
The bad: the sesame balls (super rock hard), the walnut shrimp (rich fatty and inauthentic).
Will probably be coming here again seeing as how I haven’t found many better alternatives.