Ma’s Dimsum & Cafe

Of all the items, the best is veggie dumpling. It’s a Chinatown place, close to home for those who live nearby. Never sat down to order, so I can’t say anything except for what’s on the glass display. If someone doesn’t understand the culture or ways of talking, I can see someone walking into Insult Boulevard.

To start with the positive, the food here was very good and it came out fast after ordering it. The price was amazing. To fill 5 people’s stomachs to the rim for $ 26 was amazing! On the negative side, waiting for a table for 5 people took about 20 minutes. We came during brunch. Once we got our table, the waitress was a bit rude. We wanted to order dumplings, but she said we had to get up from our table and wait in line again to order from the ‘to go’ desk in the front of the restaurant. This building was very small so waiting in a cramped line would be uncomfortable. Overall, this restaurant is a good, cheap place to go eat. I recommend it for smaller parties.

This place was awesome! when we came in it was empty and we were treated like royalty. Not a single complain. I ordered several dim sums I have no idea how they are called and they were all perfect. We also ordered clay pot rice with Chinese bacon and spare ribs which was awesome and Kung pap chicken which was the best I ever had. Definitely deserves the 5 stars and I will be back for sure!

Ma’s Dimsum deserves a 4 for value and good eats (in the opinion of the eater obviously). many issues defer this designation.
–no prices on dim sum, menu on wall only in chinese
paper menu has english and prices listed
–some msg usuage.
–service issues, only 1 person runs the front (take out and waitressing)
having white hair and speaking chinese gets quick service.
eats:
–large chicken bun (1.30)
bun huge, msg tasted
–sticky rice chicken (1.6)
–meal in itself, tasty, not so much msg
take outs:
–cheap prices, good value
–msg use sporatic
–some dishes good, some so so
–expect some disappointing eats, be surprised by ur lucky choices.

I came here for the authentic Toishan clay pot rice. I ordered the salted fish and diced chicken clay pot. This is the real deal. The best part is the rice at the bottom of the clay pot. It had just the right amount of crispness and best of all it wasn’t burnt. My dish came with a bowl of bok choy and carrot soup. Very refreshing and complimented my clay pot rice nicely. I’ll be back again to try the other clay pots dishes.

Warning! This is a rant!
God! I’m so sick of you people who are let your wrists go limp, hands to the face, wide eyes and eeeeeh! It’s so dirty in here!!! Ohhhh! And look! They ignore me!!!
There is a passage in the book «The Sandpebbles» — a memoir of a sailor who was on a gun ship going up and down the Yangtze River. He writes how they eventually had coolies doing all the jobs on the boat because they worked so efficiently and cheap. One of the problems was the cook who left vegetables out in the passageway on the deck, which was against Navy regulations. The ships doctor protested and complained — but the food was so damn good and no one was getting sick — but quite healthy! After some time, he reasoned that since no one was getting sick and this is how they were doing it this way for thousands of years he let the Chinese cook as they please. This is how it is in all Chinese restaurants — they look like traps but these people know how to prepare food and they know more about cleanliness than any white man.
Historically, the Chinese were much cleaner than the whites. The coolies that built the railroad for us were better than we whites because they did not make drinking a sport, they washed regularly, ate good food, exercised and drank a lot of tea. (Boiled water — see a lot of white people drinking boiled water?) They worked harder and were sick less. I am so embarassed when I read Chinese restaurant reviews of know-​nothings who rate the food because their perceptions of cleanliness are offended — or their sensibilities for rude behavior are damaged.
Let’s get things in order here: this is a restaurant for the Chinese working class — it isn’t Panda Express and it isn’t a place that begs patronage from non-​Chinese. It is a restaurant run by Chinese for Chinese and they serve some of the best Cantonese food you will ever eat. I use to walk from 4^th and Market to have lunch here, because it is a special place. The food is good and the people are real.
Let’ just not discuss the food at length because it is without equal. Eat the beef and bitter melon over rice — egg plant and beef over rice — oxtail stew — or anything else. I did not find a lot of love there when I first started going until I started ordering my food in Chinese. It isn’t hard. Just ask one of your Chinese friends, «How do you say ‘bitter melon with beef over rice’?» Four syllables: «foo gwa gnow yuk faun» Once you try speaking the language and showing respect, you will discover that you can be a «regular» when you would likely never be a regular. Old women will smile at you and you can hear people at other tables say in astonishment, «The white ghost knows how to speak Chinese!»
Invariably, if I ordered «Bitter melon with beef over rice» — they would blink and say, «That dish is bitter. Do you really want that?» — because they know white people don’t eat that dish and they do not want listen to the complaints when the white man starts eating — so if you order in Chinese then you must have some idea of what you are getting. Bitter melon is very healthy — and takes an acquired taste to enjoy. I like it because it makes the rice taste sweet — and it is healthy.
Ma’s is always crowded at lunch time. The food is very cheap and it is very delicious. Do you think the Chinese are worried about getting sick? Do they look sick? How about all those elderly Chinese? Do you really think they would be eating in a place that served bad food?
Many years ago I went into a bar in Japan when I was a young man in the Navy. I sat down to order some food and drink. Everyone looked at me with stern faces. Then a lovely young woman came to me with the sweetest smile and said, «I’m sorry sir. This bar is for Japanese only. You will have to go somewhere else.» I understood at once, apologized and left. I always remembered that time — not because I was offended but because the Japanese had the decency to be so open about it — and I respected it because a good restaurant/​bar is like your home. You really don’t want just anyone wondering in. The presence of someone who does not belongs spoils the mood. Ma’s Dimsum & Café has a mood that can place you back in one of those village alleys in China with dogs running up and down the street — the smell and sound of motorcycles without mufflers — hungry people coming in to be fed. Seeing a group of tourists in sandals, shorts and hawaiian shirts eating chow mein and fried rice can really ruin the peacefulness a good meal.
I am 65.75 years old, I’ve eaten at hundreds of Chinese resturants and I have never been sick from eating Chinese food. I’m Steve S. and I approve of this review.

A small venue packed with hungry Chinese people. I ordered their delicious pork buns and chicken buns to go for months before I had the nerve to sit down and try a meal. I ordered a sizzling clay pot of chicken and mushrooms. It took 30 mins to arrive, but it was fantastic. The chicken was moist and tasty, and the sizzling rice was all brown and crunchy on the bottom. Omgeezers. It cost 7 bucks. The place isn’t the cleanest, but boy is it good. Gonna try the huge-​ass bowl of soup next.

The pork dumplings are very good. The chicken bun is absolutely gigantic and has a lot more and greater variety of ingredients than you find at most other restaurants in Chinatown. The food has lot of flavor too. The pork buns, however, could use more filling and less outer breading. Whatever the aesthetic drawbacks of this place are, I don’t give a f*** because the value for the quality of the food you get tops everything else. I go to restaurants to get good food, not stare at the ceiling.

Had the cheapest meal of dim sum ever and it was really good! $ 9 total for two of us and we were stuffed. We were the only tourists in the restaurant as the patrons were local old school Cantonese.

I have very mixed feelings about this place. It’s not very clean, a real hole in the wall.
I had to use the bathroom before we left and you walk down this area pass the kitchen and it reminds me of those street places you’d eat in China or Hong Kong. A fly followed me into the bathroom. Ick.
Surprisingly, I didn’t get sick from eating here. Got together w/​a friend and after trotting thru the North Beach festival, she took me here to eat because she heard about it from another friend and wanted to try the rice clay pots.
I love rice clay pots.
She had the sparerib which came with Chinese sausages and was under $ 5.
I had the yellow chicken clay pot rice. It was under $ 7 and larger than her clay pot.
The marinade lean chicken pieces were very tasty but this chicken hardly had any meat on it. It must’ve lived in a prison where it was fed very little food.
Based on the 2 dishes, the food looks good but I’m unlikely to make a quick return anytime soon because of the grungy look of the place. For appearances of the café, it’d get a 1 star from me.

Bad service along with bad food. Place is dirty.

Dumpy Chinese place with cheap and delicious food. Their spareribs clay pot is pretty good. Cost like $ 5 for that and tea.

Best JIN DEUI* in the City.
OMG, they have best FRIED Sesame Rice Balls that I’ve ever had.
Only a few items are okay. Chow Fun is not so good.
I’ve never been a fan of Jin Deui until the last couple of years. I guess I have never had any good ones when I was young.
What makes a good Jin Deui:
1. Freshness
2. Non-​greasy
3. Crunchy Thin Crust and a little chewy inside.
4. Smooth and Dark Bean Paste filling.
Maybe I lucked out, but when I went in to check out their Dim Sum in the counter, I saw the most exquisite Jin Deui that I have ever seen.
They were Golden Red. The red bean paste was smooth and not too sweet. Their sesame weren’t even brown but they were perfect. I don’t know how they make them so good but I finally know what I’ve been missing all these years.
And It was slightly warm when I bought it at lunchtime.
Definitely worth a trip to check out those Golden Red Jin Deui Balls if you’re ever by Broadway.
BTW, they were only 50 pennies for such crunchy chewy goodness. Eat them while they are warm.
I must warn you. They probably aren’t healthy. Tried not to eat more than 2.
*For those of you who have never had JIN DEUI before, imagine a fried Mochi, then inflate into a ball and then fried it.
[Review for your next Dim Sum Final: Fried Puffy Mochi Ball with Red Bean Paste inside and Sesame seeds sprinkled on the outside.]

Cheap delicious Chinese food.
Expect a very small and crowded place. Sometimes you will share a table with strangers. Probably not the cleanest either, but I liked the food that was served. I prefer to order to go.

Took us a while to return for dinner, turns out we ordered just about the same items!
Eaten here 3 nights this week — all good, very inexpensive and look forward to returning regularly.
clay pot rice — this is what they are known for — whenever there are folks inside, guarantee there’s at least one clay pot per table. There are so many varieties to choose from and the price is right from under $ 5 to $ 7.
Our recent visits included: spareribs (good, tender and flavorful), chicken w/​mushroom (very good, lots of tender flavorful chicken chunks), and salted fish over pork patty (same as last time — GOOD).
We also had: beef stew wonton fun, beef soup fun, singapore rice noodle, beef chow fun, house pan fried noodles and onion/​ginger/​beef tongue over rice.
While everything is good, we will stick with and recommend the clay pot rice and anything stir fry. The pan fried noodle was fantastic, as was the chow fun and singapore rice noodle.
Every meal has been 3 orders ranging between $ 13-​$ 15 before tips and with a semi full order to go — that’s a deal!

Pretty straight forward in what you get. Cheap, no frills, CASH ONLY! Came here for the sparerib clay pot special – waited 20 minutes for it – and it was good, worth a try. Not mindblowing but if you’re conveniently walking by, might as well give it a try.

CASH ONLY. Went to try Ma’s Dim Sum & Café on Sat 9÷10÷11. Read about this place from Jonathan Kauffman which made it sound pretty good, sorry it wasn’t.
Tiny café w/​dim sum on the side. Got one of the last table, by the door.
There’s only 2 people working there. One lady for the dim sum & she also has to take orders for people eating at the café.
I got:
Sparerib clay pot $ 4.40. It’s a huge thing, but mostly rice & 2 small spears of bok choy & maybe 10 tiny spare ribs. Nothing special about it. Left most of the rice — such a waste of food.
B. got Seafood pan fried noodles. That’s a huge plate of HK-​style crispy noodles w/​tons of bean sprouts, goopy sauce, & 3 shrimps. He liked it fine, couldn’t finish it & we just left it.
FREE house soup — melons & some meat & broth. I liked it ok.
Got 2 plates of dumplings. Ha Gow (pork dumplings) & Chive Dumplings — they were fine. She just reheated them in the microwave for us.
Total was $ 12.80. CASH ONLY.
One unisex bathroom way in the back past the kitchen.

If you want decent and very inexpensive food and don’t mind the decorations of a restaurant, you should definitely give this place a try. Many people come up here to order dim sum to go, but during lunch time, you also see most of their tabled are filled with people ordering this clay pot looking thing, what is that? Clay pot rice! You will have to wait 15 min for your order, and when i was here, their specialty is frog leg rice clay pot! Yumm! Pour some of their special soy sauce, close the lit for another 3 minutes, and bam! You got yourself a yummy meal! Nothing is over 7 bucks (I think) and make sure you have cash!

3 entrée’s and I box of steamed rice. price= $ 17.49… YOU CANNOT BEAT THAT PRICE and their stir fry dishes are actually very good. Good firey wok flavor.
Their dim sum on the other hand sucks. But I do like the steamed taro dumpling. For 40cents its HUGE!

I walked out — no — stormed out of here earlier today after experiencing the state of invisibility. I waited, waited, waited oh so patiently while the woman in front of me was served and two older men came in, sat down, were greeted and apparently registered as non-​invisible.
I’m not a fan of throwing the race card so let’s just say I must be so white I am actually transparent. Neither a hello nor a nod nor a smile found me as I stood there mouth agape.
Bad form. I’m only giving one star because I have no choice. Perhaps it will become invisible too.