Silver Fountain

My family has been coming here for years for the family style dinners they serve. The jellyfish appetizers were great as usual and the lobster was still just as amazing as it was when I was a kid. We’ve only had the dim sum once or twice, so I can’t speak for those as much but we’ve had the dinners here hundreds of times.

I’ve been here multiple times and have found the food to be consistently mediocre and typical, but considering the few dim sum places available in Maryland it is a fine place to go when craving for Chinese. The Dan tats (egg tarts) are the best way to finish a meal.

Tried the Dim-​Sum cart service today. Overall, it was a good experience. Many more Chinese than westerners showed up, and the restaurant was packed with patrons in the waiting area within 45 minutes of opening. Taking that as a good sign, we were not disappointed.
The food was pretty good, comparable to other Dim-​Sum places I’ve tried in the area. From what we tried… The shrimp dumplings were a little tough with a coarse ground filling, but tasted good. Spare ribs had chopped spicy green peppers instead of the usual black beans, which I thought was a good change. Radish cakes had good texture and flavor, but could use some more sauce. Shrimp spring rolls were full of shrimp and had a delicious peppery herb flavor. Rice porridge was smooth and warm, a good dish to have on a snowy day as it was. Sticky rice had a lot of red sausage inside. There were many hot entrees that we could not try in one sitting… several kinds of noodles, clams, vegetables, rolls, etc.
Service was better than average, even as busy as it was, and is probably the reason I give this 3 stars. There were plenty of staff available to take requests, and the carts came around frequently so we were never sitting without something to try on our table. Servers were polite and would take time to explain what their dishes were, or bring you a request if you wanted something they didn’t have at the moment.
Ambiance was a little loud, but not annoyingly so. Pretty much what you would expect in a crowded hall full of people trying to talk over one another.
All said and done, I would come back again if in the area and in the mood for Dim-​Sum. Especially now that I know what they have and what to wait /​ask for… nothing like getting satisfyingly full and then seeing something new and delicious-​looking rolling by on the cart!

Having just moved to MoCo from Northern VA (yeah I crossed over to the other side!) my husband and I have been on a quest to find the best dim sum place within a reasonable driving distance from our home.
We’ve gone to Oriental East, Gourmet Inspirations, Hollywood East and Silver Fountain and over the course of the past 7 months that we’ve lived here, we’ve found ourselves coming back to Silver Fountain the most.
What makes us come back is a combination of things: Quality and flavor of the food, cleanliness and service.
The food selection here is vast for dim sum. What this place also has that I have yet to see at any other restaurant in MoCo and NoVa is this fried shrimp chip wrapped in a tofu skin. It’s light, crispy and flavorful. It is hands down my new favorite dim sum item and since this is the only place I can get it, it keeps me coming back. My daughter also liked the shrimp wrapped in a flat rice crêpe with the sweet soy sauce. Pineapple buns are served piping hot. The red roast pork (what Vietnamese/​Chinese people call Xa Xiu/​char siu) is the best that I’ve ever had in the metro DC area. Moist and flavorful. The most disappointing item on the dim sum menu that if wish they’d refine is the har cow (I’m sure I butchered that) shrimp dumpling. The rice wrapper is way too thick.
In terms of service, it never had to wait for a table for 4 people. I’ve even come at peak dim sum hours with a party of 10 and we didn’t have to wait even though the dining room was bustling.
The ladies who push the dim sum carts around have been very nice to my kids.
Cleanliness — I’m rating this using the low bar of Chinese restaurant cleanliness. And if you’re judging it with that bar, this ranks as a B+. (Oriental East is a D– and Gourmet Inspirations is an A).
Overall, I can definitely say that this restaurant wins the dim sum crown.

I’ve been here twice both time because of family. But personally, this is a been there done that never doing it again that kind of place.
Food was ok, not the best dim sum I’ve tried, the seafood was not fresh. There were a lot of people but the seats weren’t filled and still they didn’t let people in.
The tables were right next to each other which was very tight for me. And I’m only 5’2 and 100 pounds. If you don’t like being close to people don’t come here.

Horrible food. A lot MSG and salt in the fish. Rice was half cooked. Overcooked Stir fry lamb tastes like rubber. On top of all these, the service is minimum; no automatic water refill. Some of the food are way overpriced;Two lobsters for $ 50? Black rockfish for $ 70? What a ripoff!

As customary for most dim sum locations, arrive early for the good tables.
This is another spot where family and lifetime friends suggest as a solid 3-​star experience and I agree.
Their ham sui gok (deep fried meat dumpling) was interestingly surprising to my palate. The doughy exterior was gummy-​chewy sweet that married well w/​the savory meaty filling. Didn’t expect to wow me but truth be told it did.
Nicely done w/​the steamed bean curd skinned dumplings. Flavorful inside mixed w/​meats and greens. Be sure to eat these quickly since the skin hardens once uncovered.
Deep fried taro w/​meat dumplings are one of my faves and ’twas good y’all. I fancy the contrast in textures — crispy crumbly outer layer w/​mushy mashy fleshy inners. Ho yeah.
Score! Egg tarts were über fresh so we nabbed those stat. Grab those immediately. No joke.
Honestly, since most of my descriptions will seem similar, take a gander at the food porn.
Lastly the carts roll by slowly so act and commit because you may not see the same selection when they return. I missed a few buns along the way. Lesson learned.

Decided to check this place out the evening of thanksgiving. I ordered 4 wings and egg soup…
Now, before I ordered, I witnessed a large dinner taking place with some of the employees (maybe aunts and uncles and 3 people who actually work there.)
The food look beyond appetizing. Everything looked fresh and super tasty. I assumed they serve me real chicken not those gigantic wings. Well I was disappointed.
The mammoth sized wings arrived. It was truly scary how large these wings were. My daughter quickly grabbed a wing and pretended to shoot it at me because it looked like a mini water pistol.
The FDA should really check out the wings these Chinese food places serve. It was so large! They were given the best steroids in the market.
Now for the egg soup. It wasn’t for me.
The food was not good. I was forced to trash the human like ginormous wings.
On the plus– the gentleman who helped me with my order was super cool and friendly. …
Would not recommend.

Food here is actually pretty good. But carry out service is HORRIBLE. The lady who takes carry out orders doesn’t seem to really know her restaurants menu. She never understands what we ask for and almost always messes up our orders. We always let it go. But not anymore. Tonight she messed up our order again and when I called back she just said she’d give us the right food next time we come in… She didn’t even bother to take my info down and just quickly hung up on me. I wont be ordering from them again. Just so fed up of paying for food we didn’t want.

A good alternative for dim sum. Silver Fountain was located in the aspen hill area it was a medium sized restaurant and was not as crowded as the other popular restaurant. The interior was Modern Chinese looked clean in general. First of the restaurant was not full and secondly there were more 6 or 10 tops tables. We were two people and the mdm hostess wanted us to sit at the bar? Dah? There was even a table of two getting ready to leave. Behind us was another couple with an infant so she asked us to combined at a table. There was a good way to handle this or a bad way; that mdm hostess tried it all.
The food was average. The spring rolls tasted they went from frozen to flash fried and the shrimp dumpling’s crystal dumpling shell tasted doughy and cakey. The egg custard looked under but tasted ok. The sesame balls were good and the shrimp in rice crêpe was good. Another poorly executed dish was the crystal skin triangle dumplings with chinese green vege — the corners were loose. The custard buns were good! Overall, decent dim sum especially if you overlook the imperfection or dont know what you are eating or if you just wanted something convenient. Havent found a place that properly execute dim sum other than OE.

Pros:
— friendly customer service
— tasty food
— ample parking
— located in a big plaza which beneficial in burning off some calories after eating here
— Great teamwork
Needs Improvements:
— not enough carts going around which meant we had to flag down a waitress to order a la carte
— 15 minute wait due to the popularity of this place

This is by far the best place I’ve come for dimsum in the DC area.
I’ve had my fair share of dimsum and have always been disappointed by the quality in silver spring and Fairfax. What sets this place apart I the quality (everything seemed incredibly fresh and made on-​site) and the selection (we had everything from chicken feet, squid, pineapple buns, ribs, scallop dilumllings, taro dumplings, meat dumplings). We saw so many things come by that we didn’t have a chance to try including the custard eggs, whole shrimp assortments of vegetables, crab balls, fish balls… You get it.
The carts were always fully stocked and, contrary to many of the other reviews, the service was nice and the cart ladies were very helpful. If they don’t have what you want don’t hesitate to ask and they’ll bring it to you.
Prices are a little higher than other places in the area, but well worth it

Unfortunate but I have to rate this place 2 stars. I recently moved to the Aspen Hill area and thought I’d give this place a try. Went with my wife and 2 toddlers. The host walked to a table literally dropped the menus and and walked away. Walked by a few minutes later and I asked for a high chair. We ordered a dinner for 2. Which is 2 soups 2 apps beef and broccoli, sesame chicken, fried rice and 2 small ice creams for $ 24. At this point it was 15 later and still no high chair asked again twice and it finally came with the food.
The wonton soup was the best part. Then after that it went downhill. I dont think I’ve ever said this before but the rice was the smallest portion ive ever seen and actually the worst ive tasted almost tasted reheated. The kids didnt even touch it. We basically took everything home to see if maybe my sister would want it. I’m really disappointed because its so close to home and it just wasnt any good and unfortunately not very inviting.

This place has pretty good dim sum. It’s not the best in the area, but it is decent. The food is always fresh.
The dim sum carts are so slow though. It’s probably due to the lack of space. Whenever I go to large dim sum locations, the carts come by faster. Probably because they can have more carts roaming the restaurant and there is more space to push the carts. This restaurant is tightly packed with tables and people. There is so little space for the carts to go. So, you can image how slowly you get the food.
I usually love the dantat (egg custard tarts) at most dim sum locations. However, this location serves undercooked ones. They are not as sweet as I usually get them at other dim sum restaurants. It’s a downer because I always want to end my meals with a sweet and delicious note.
This place opens at 11 am on Sunday. I would say go there early or you will be waiting in line. Sunday’s are always super busy!

This place has the best General Tso’s chicken I’ve ever had. This isn’t the regular Panda Express/​Shanghai Café type of General Tso. The one offered at Silver Fountain is exceptional; each bite is made of lightly breaded, deep fried dark-​meat chicken later sautéed in a light, sweet, savory brown sauce. The spicy peppers were absent which would have made the dish even better. Each gigantic nugget is tender with a texture reminiscent of McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Like how Red Bull will give you wings, each piece of chicken inches you closer to an impending food coma. The broccoli used as decoration is fresh and crisp; it compliments the chicken and cleanses the palate for the next bite. It’s worth a try if it’s the only dish you can find at the restaurant.
Service: The service was below average. After getting seated at my table, the waitress never offered our table water or hot tea. All beverages at the event was self-​served, we poured our own wine and 2Liter soda on the table. I was personally asked to open every pop open every cork wine bottle because the waitress didn’t know how to open it. The dinner was scheduled to start at 6p. m but at the first dish came out around 7:30p.m.
Verdict: I would give this place a visit if you pass the northern Silver Spring/​Aspen Hill neighborhood. Instead of dining-​in, I would order the meal to go to bypass the service offered at the restaurant. General Tso’s chicken is a must if it’s the only item ordered. This is a dinner review, but from Unilocal reviews this place offers good dim sum on the weekends. If I’m within the area, I will give it a whirl. 2 ½ stars out of 5.

re: Lunch
I’ve been attending this restaurant since I was knee high (and that was 20+ years ago). We had a luncheon with my family in honor of my grandfather who passed away, of which this was his favorite restaurant. The food here is decent and you can tell the restaurant is a little dated. We probably went at the worst time to hold a luncheon as Silver Foundtain has a very busy Dim Sum service.
If you’re looking for some decent Chinese food, this is about 1 of 5 decent places in Maryland I would consider. WARNING: This shopping center is pretty busy, so be prepared to fight for parking.

Went here for Dim Sum with family and our large party was seated very promptly. Almost no waiting but I contribute that to the amount of people — they readily had a larger table for us in the back.
The service was pretty good typical busy cart routes. A lot of people expect to be waited on hand and foot but that’s not how these types of restaurants work. The carts came by at a steady flow and I didnt feel like the place was cramped even though 90% of the restaurant was full.
As you should do in EVERY place you go out to eat, check the utensils, chairs, table, etc… for dirt or anything that looks out of place.
The fried squid here is pretty good. I typically do not enjoy this dish but I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised of how good it was. (Then again you fry anything and it automatically becomes tasty)
Lets get this straight, the rice noodle roll with shrimp is not a fucking crêpe. It is called Chee Cheong Fun or Har Cheong Fun. Loosely translated to shrimp rice noodle roll.
Everything seemed fresh and tasted great.
The place looks nice but there is absolutely nothing fancy or stands out. Just basic. These types of places are pretty plain but the food is great. The location is pretty good too! The shopping center has typical strip mall stores so you can do some shopping after to get some small goods, haircuttery is near by so you can get a trim after.
After discussing with the fam, we will continue to go here when we want dim sum. I’m not too sure about typical dinner though but will probably give that a try once. There is also some lunch buffet but it looked weak — so I’d stay away from that.
Good stuff here. Will be back.

I’m not sure how I have never rated this place before seeing how I’ve been coming for years… This is the best dim sum in the immediate area. I was told that they are owned by the same owner as Oriental East. Can someone confirm this?
Anyway, dim sum is dim sum. They have a few dishes that are good, and the rest are all whatever (this applies to all dim sum though). My favorite is the shrimp noodle crepes. I advise you just order those directly from a server because by the time the cart gets around, it’s usually empty. Or better yet, come on a week day and just order what you want. The carts are just for show anyway.
Service on weekends is pretty much what everyone says it is… but don’t take it personal. That’s how asians do it. They got everything I asked for, just a little bit slow. They gotta cutback somewhere to make up for the cheap food

Dim sum!!! But soooo slow!!! Things take forever to come out of the kitchen and if you’re sitting by the window forget about getting any food. Sit inside by the kitchen… if you can. Probably just better off ordering from the waitress…
This place says it opens at 11 but food doesn’t really get going until after Noon. Then the place gets packed and you’ll have to wait…
Things are somewhat clean…
Chrysanthemum tea was my choice and they give you a little dish of rock sugar to go with it… one or two lumps will do just fine…
Everything is homemade here. However some things are better than others… use your judgment when you look at the food going by… but some of the food is really good. Mmmmm… the tripe is good but could use a few peppers. The fried dumpling with potato in the dough is good. Chicken feet not that great looking. Don tot not great looking. Rice rolls with meat/​shrimp inside not bad. Fried taro not bad.

This is a review about dinner.
Environment: Plenty of parking spaces. Inside looks clean BUT double check your fork /​utensils because my fork has a gooey white substance on it.
Food: Carry-​out taste with a higher $ price. Edible.
Service: Very poor: we ended up pouring our own water, the owner (manager) sat on the table next to us, starring off space, never once asked how we are doing. She did not even noticed our server disappeared for 10 minutes (3 times)…and there were only 3 tables throughout the whole restaurant! But what really ticked me off was at the end of it all, when the server came back with our credit card and receipt, she had the nerve to stand next to my husband watching him how much he’s going to tip. Seriously?! I really wanted to tell the server to fck off… definitely not coming back to this place ever again.