Foods from Hung Sum
Comments
2017 Oct 29
I'm a huge fan of this place and even I am considering not going back for quite a while after my latest (third) visit since they reopened in the new location.
The kids had a birthday party so my wife and I decided to get an early start on dinner here by arriving just before 5pm on a Saturday. There were only 2 or 3 tables occupied when we entered so we were seated right away.
They have a bit of a strange ordering system now, in which they give you TWO papers to fill in: one to send to the kitchen and one to keep at your table. As dishes arrive, they cross them off the copy at your table.
We weren't super hungry so we only ordered 7 dishes just after 5pm. They began arriving after about half an hour, with a new one every 10 minutes or so, which was perfect. There was just one very busy server working the entire room all evening during Saturday dinner service, so the owner had to come out of the kitchen a few times to help distribute piping hot and delicious dishes before they got cold.
Of course we ordered our favourite dish: shrimp siu mai. I noticed a few other tables who'd arrived after us were getting them while we did not. At around 6:50pm, the server checked the order at our table and saw that shrimp siu mai had not been crossed off. She said she'd follow up and bring it soon. At this point, we had been sitting in the restaurant for 2 hours for what amounted to a very small meal.
We sat and waited for those tasty little dumplings. And we waited some more. At 7:25 and without apology, the server said, “Actually, the siu mai will take a *very* long time, so you probably don't want to wait.” As we'd been waiting for just this dish since 6:30 we admitted defeat and agreed. They did not charge us for the missing dish.
So 2.5 hours for 6 dishes and we didn't get our favourite one. The quality of what we did receive was very high and we were expecting things to be slow, but even so we left feeling disappointed. I really want this business to thrive but to do so it needs to find a way of not making customers feel like chumps.
The kids had a birthday party so my wife and I decided to get an early start on dinner here by arriving just before 5pm on a Saturday. There were only 2 or 3 tables occupied when we entered so we were seated right away.
They have a bit of a strange ordering system now, in which they give you TWO papers to fill in: one to send to the kitchen and one to keep at your table. As dishes arrive, they cross them off the copy at your table.
We weren't super hungry so we only ordered 7 dishes just after 5pm. They began arriving after about half an hour, with a new one every 10 minutes or so, which was perfect. There was just one very busy server working the entire room all evening during Saturday dinner service, so the owner had to come out of the kitchen a few times to help distribute piping hot and delicious dishes before they got cold.
Of course we ordered our favourite dish: shrimp siu mai. I noticed a few other tables who'd arrived after us were getting them while we did not. At around 6:50pm, the server checked the order at our table and saw that shrimp siu mai had not been crossed off. She said she'd follow up and bring it soon. At this point, we had been sitting in the restaurant for 2 hours for what amounted to a very small meal.
We sat and waited for those tasty little dumplings. And we waited some more. At 7:25 and without apology, the server said, “Actually, the siu mai will take a *very* long time, so you probably don't want to wait.” As we'd been waiting for just this dish since 6:30 we admitted defeat and agreed. They did not charge us for the missing dish.
So 2.5 hours for 6 dishes and we didn't get our favourite one. The quality of what we did receive was very high and we were expecting things to be slow, but even so we left feeling disappointed. I really want this business to thrive but to do so it needs to find a way of not making customers feel like chumps.
2017 Sep 2
There's a pretty big delta between eating at McDonald's and waiting almost two hours for one's food.
I used to eat at the old Hung Sum too and have given pretty fair reviews, in general. And I'm pretty sure that the food would have been great, if I'd ever gotten it.
Glad you enjoyed yours. But try being less condescending when other people exercise their right to fair comment.
I used to eat at the old Hung Sum too and have given pretty fair reviews, in general. And I'm pretty sure that the food would have been great, if I'd ever gotten it.
Glad you enjoyed yours. But try being less condescending when other people exercise their right to fair comment.
2017 Sep 1
Great meal and friendly service. Just as it used to be! Food came out promptly, the servers were very accommodating and friendly. We ate there around 530pm on a Friday so it might have been a bit before their peak hours. Enjoy the food, service and experience, this is dim sum being prepped as per your order, not being mass produced and sent out on carts for you to choose from on a whim - if you're in a rush, go eat at McDonald's!
2017 Aug 31
I'm disappointed in the negative reviews that the new location has received both here and elsewhere around the internet, because I really like this place. I've been just under a handful of times to the new location and while service hasn't been quick per se, it's been extremely friendly and everything has been delicious.
With that said, I've been strategically going at off-peak hours (like I did at the last location) so I haven't experienced the weekend rush and the extreme slowness other people have been complaining about. Plus I find it nice to relax with some tea and get dim sum periodically brought to me, it's almost like a nice relaxing café experience. It makes my stress float away instead of increasing it.
Now on to the purpose of this post: We inquired about old items from the last location and the expanded menu and they said they're waiting to hire another cook for that. This may dually explain the missing items and the slow service.
With that said, I've been strategically going at off-peak hours (like I did at the last location) so I haven't experienced the weekend rush and the extreme slowness other people have been complaining about. Plus I find it nice to relax with some tea and get dim sum periodically brought to me, it's almost like a nice relaxing café experience. It makes my stress float away instead of increasing it.
Now on to the purpose of this post: We inquired about old items from the last location and the expanded menu and they said they're waiting to hire another cook for that. This may dually explain the missing items and the slow service.
2017 Aug 30
To New User 6518: you weren't the only one. We must have gotten there just shortly after you did, with our two young boys. We ended up standing in line for 30 minutes - all the while the boys telling us how hungry they were and us assuring them that there were a couple of tables free so we'd be seated soon and dim sum comes quickly. Finally, we sat down to enjoy our food. Sadly, it wasn't to be. About another five minutes in, we asked for our menus and some water. Another five minutes passed and the young woman returned to our table and explained that they wouldn't be able to serve us any food as the kitchen was backed up with orders. I asked how long the food would be if we stayed and was told at least another 35 to 40 minutes, but her manner suggested that this was optimistic.
With only the most perfunctory of apologies, she walked away.
The kicker was that as we were leaving, the hostess continued to take down people's names who were standing in line, which was, frankly, infuriating. If we'd been told that we had no hope of being served food for at least 1 1/2 hours when we'd first stood in line, we would have not stuck around. This is courtesy 101.
It would take some pretty rave and redeeming reviews to get me back here any time soon. The whole experience was so disrespectful, especially in light of the fact that we had kids with us.
With only the most perfunctory of apologies, she walked away.
The kicker was that as we were leaving, the hostess continued to take down people's names who were standing in line, which was, frankly, infuriating. If we'd been told that we had no hope of being served food for at least 1 1/2 hours when we'd first stood in line, we would have not stuck around. This is courtesy 101.
It would take some pretty rave and redeeming reviews to get me back here any time soon. The whole experience was so disrespectful, especially in light of the fact that we had kids with us.
2017 Aug 28
Went early (5:30ish) on Friday night with husband. Nice bright space, not too big. Ordered a variety of dishes which I thought ranged from good (bbq pork bun, sesame balls) to excellent (sticky rice, pork and taro, fried tofu roll). Service was fine, lots of jasmine tea was supplied. We weren't in a rush and our food was nice and hot, served in batches of two and three dishes at a time. They were prepared with takeout containers for the leftovers, which was great. I would certainly go back!
2017 Aug 26
They're definitely having some problems keeping up with the demand and getting dishes to the tables in a timely manner when busy. Hopefully they get it all figured out. Until then, a little patience from customers will be well rewarded.
For now, don't go (especially on weekends) if you're in a rush!
For now, don't go (especially on weekends) if you're in a rush!
2017 Aug 26
I wish I could comment on the food but unfortunately never received it. Came with family on Saturday around 1pm, not all tables were taken but took 15 mins to sit us. Put in order 5 mins later and sat back to wait. Only three waiters running around and the food was coming out really slow. No idea what the problem was, maybe lack of staff but that's just poor planning for Saturday lunch. Waited around 35-40 mins but no food arrived. Its not like they're cooking michelin star dishes, it's streamed dumpling. Left without getting a single dish. Will not go back.
Older
Dim Sum 4
2017 Sep 30
I visited on a Thursday evening with OttawaFoodies veterans Pete-In-Ottawa, Chimichimi, Momomoto and we feasted for two hours!
The food does take a while to arrive but that's no problem if you're expecting it. Enjoy some good tea and excellent conversation while you wait.
Pictured here are:
* Scallop with Shrimp Shiu Mai (top left and bottom center)
* Chiu-Chow Style Pork Dumpling (middle left)
* Deep-Fried Pork Sticky Rice Ball (bottom left)
* Spicy Chicken Wings (bottom right)
* Chicken Congee with Caterpillar Fungus Flowers (top right)
All of these were delicious, except the congee that had no flavour at all (add vinegar and hot or soy sauce) and had only two pieces of caterpillar fungus (two of us didn't get one).
As always, can't wait to go back!
The food does take a while to arrive but that's no problem if you're expecting it. Enjoy some good tea and excellent conversation while you wait.
Pictured here are:
* Scallop with Shrimp Shiu Mai (top left and bottom center)
* Chiu-Chow Style Pork Dumpling (middle left)
* Deep-Fried Pork Sticky Rice Ball (bottom left)
* Spicy Chicken Wings (bottom right)
* Chicken Congee with Caterpillar Fungus Flowers (top right)
All of these were delicious, except the congee that had no flavour at all (add vinegar and hot or soy sauce) and had only two pieces of caterpillar fungus (two of us didn't get one).
As always, can't wait to go back!
2015 Apr 24
The quality here is still excellent. We arrived at 5:45pm on a Thursday and were the first dinner customers. By 6:30 the place was full. I think this means you can avoid crowds by going at a non-standard time.
The bean curd rolls are absolutely stellar and the har gow are the best in town. In fact, pretty much everything on the menu is the best in town, although I prefer the Yangtze's shrimp siu mai and steamed ginger squid.
They now accept credit/debit (with fee if your bill is less than $20). Egg tarts are only available on weekends.
The bean curd rolls are absolutely stellar and the har gow are the best in town. In fact, pretty much everything on the menu is the best in town, although I prefer the Yangtze's shrimp siu mai and steamed ginger squid.
They now accept credit/debit (with fee if your bill is less than $20). Egg tarts are only available on weekends.
2014 Apr 29
Still amazing. Freshest dim sum in town!
Clockwise from top left:
* Bean Curd Rolls -- always great.
* Handmade rice noodle soup with BBQ pork -- very nice, but extremely mild flavour. Great for kids or less adventurous diners.
* Crispy chicken wings. Superbly crispy and salty wonders!
* Shrimp Siu Mai -- my kids eat 4 each, so we have to order 3 steamers!
Clockwise from top left:
* Bean Curd Rolls -- always great.
* Handmade rice noodle soup with BBQ pork -- very nice, but extremely mild flavour. Great for kids or less adventurous diners.
* Crispy chicken wings. Superbly crispy and salty wonders!
* Shrimp Siu Mai -- my kids eat 4 each, so we have to order 3 steamers!
2012 Apr 16
The shrimp shui mai and stuffed eggplant were especially great. The fried squid was a bit too greasy and chewy, but everything else was very good. To be able to order from a reasonably extensive a la carte dim sum menu at dinner time and have everything arrive piping hot is a welcome treat. I'm not usually a fan of sesame balls but after experiencing them super fresh I give them a thumbs up here!
Some congee is available (plain, fish, or pork and preserved egg), as well as those yummy fried dough sticks.
Some congee is available (plain, fish, or pork and preserved egg), as well as those yummy fried dough sticks.
RiceLover
Anyways, happy to have had my order to take away and went to eat it In the park by Rideau Falls with the kids. They were super happy with the shrimp har gao and shrimp shiu mai I had to fight them for a little piece!