Hot Lobster Dim Sum — Restaurant in Niagara Falls

Horrible dinning experience ! Price issue. As all you can eat dim sum menu shows, $29 for lunch without lobster and $45 for dinner(previous price, included 1lb lobster ), now the new price is $39 for all you can eat without any lobster. The excuse was given by the server that the food cost too high for the offer. I do understand this point, but first, how come there is no food(menu) difference between the two different prices, $29 and $39, plus some of the dim sum were out of order. Second, for $45 you could have a 1lb lobster before and now it charges $39 no lobster, so, does it mean a lobster only worth about $6? Food issue. We ordered the L11 which is combo C. We would like the lobster cooks in Hongkong style( 避风塘龙虾）, however, the lobster was not cook properly regarding to Hongkong style, it has both bread scramble(面包渣) and fried needlefish(炸银鱼) missing, nothing like the one shown on the menu. Moreover, both lobster and beef fried rice are too oily, the beef fried rice only contains rice, egg and a couple slices of beef, no onion or any other vegetables included. Service issue. The service is relatively slow and not in order. We got dim sum pretty on time and then waited for 10 minutes for lobster. After we finished the lobster, wait for another 15-20 minutes for fried rice. Furthermore, the napkin was not provided during the whole time until we asked for it. Nevertheless, you still get a 12% SERVICE FEE charged on your bill even apparently you do not get much service at all. Which is UNBELIEVABLE.

In conclusion, I normally do not write bad reviews to restaurants, because I was the one in the industry and I clearly know all the difficulties. But I highly doubt the high score reviews get on Google with such unprofessional cooking and serving skills performed by Hot Lobster Dim Sum. I do not recommend this restaurant and I also do not believe the restaurant will keep the business much longer if they could not make...

Hot Lobster was a hot mess. On a Saturday morning, right at opening during the Autumn solstice Hot Lobster did not live up to the same expectations as indicated in their positive reviews which leaves me wondering.

Upon arrival, there is ample parking at the rear of the restaurant. Pls note that the decor is very homey, with outdated wallpaper and furniture however if you're here for dim sum the decor shouldn't be a deciding factor for you.

We ordered 12 a la carte dishes for a party of three (one of which is a 9yr old), and as we were one of the first patrons to be seated and served, it took over 30 mins to receive our first dish - which where we are from in Toronto is unheard of. We ordered the squid tentacles and to our dismay, squid rings came out - covered in seasoning salt.

The deep fried shrimp dumplings were three pieces of wonton-looking dumplings. When biting into one, it was more dumpling wrapper than filling. If you are a foodie connoisseur, familiar with dimsum, you would know what you ordered is not what you got. In this case, the filling was mixed with what looked and tasted like chicken. I don't care that it was mixed, but as a disclaimer for food safety and visibility it should have been disclosed.

The rice rolls with shrimp had the smallest shrimp I had ever seen used in a Chinese Restaurant for dim sum. Ours had tiny bay scallops with truffle, which I love. However those with a mushroom allergy should have visibility to it.

The pork Siu mai and shrimp har gow came three pieces to a bamboo steamer. This is uncommon. Unlike other dimsum establishments, red vinegar, salt and white pepper, and soy sauce are not readily available tableside.

Service was great, however the food is...

Years ago, I had a Chinese math professor in college who would tell stories or driving up (from Pennsylvania) to Niagara Falls each month to get lobster. I always respected him and knew that if I went to Niagara myself, I'd find lobster in his honor.

Hot Lobster Dim Sum is one of the best restaurants I have visited. I paid about $48 CAD for a whole lobster, prepared deliciously Hong Kong style (a new experience for me) which included ALL YOU CAN EAT dim sum. It was worth every cent and beyond. There are, of course, cheaper meals available.

The atmosphere is simple and unimposing, so I'll focus on the very friendly owner and staff and the wonderful food.

What a joy that the food is authentic. There are westernized options (chicken bowl, etc.), but I loved every bite of home-crafted shrimp and pork dumplings, pork buns, amazing hot herb tea (more than just average oolong), and even out of my comfort zone to order traditional chicken feet. Yep, even those were really yummy, as I figured out how to eat them. In all there are 24 options (wow) for all-you-can-eat items.

All-you-can-eat (within two hours) was totally true, even as I got one more item (sweet egg custard buns) after the check came. Those were a highlight! See the photo for the example – don't mind that I made a mess of the table eating my lobster, lol.

So good. I will be back here any and every time I return to the area. Please treat yourself to a meal and a memory, rewarding the wonderful owners with your patronage, at Hot...