Ming Yuan Restaurant — Restaurant in Daly City

After a really bad experience at another restaurant in the Sunset we decided to give this one in Daly City a try. Located not far from Westlake Mall, it’s located on top of a hill, alongside other businesses. The parking situation is a little complicated, still; however, there is plenty of parking space around the restaurant, just not immediately within the vicinity.

This used to be a King Wah, which was a BIG staple of my childhood — but I’m glad to see that it became a better version of that restaurant and renamed as well.

This restaurant definitely had the capacity to seat big parties like our family function, which we had 11 people. Here’s how our experience went at this restaurant — keep in mind that I did put our experiences over the rest of the reviews that I saw online:

Food: 8/10

I’d recommend getting the party combos for 11 people since it’s actually more than enough to feed everybody. A little bit more on the expensive side, but a very smart financial decision when eating with so many people. We got the $498 combo which consisted of 10 to 11 different dishes — one of them being BBQ Combo Platter, Bamboo Pith & Seafood Soup, and more. The BBQ platter left my taste palates wanting more honestly. The highlight would probably have to be the whole Peking duck that we got — alongside the sea cucumber with mushrooms and pea sprouts. The texture was spongy and saucy and honestly, with the amount given to us, I can’t complain about it.

What blew me away was the dessert: not only was it red bean soup, but it was also typical dim sum items that we didn’t really expect to be part of the menu. With a sponge cake and egg custard buns.

Service: 9.5/10

The service given to us was pretty superb — it was very responsive and we really appreciate it a lot. Despite the fact that there were 11 people in our group, they did everything in their might to make sure that our experience was a good one, and that we had a spectacular time. The fact that we didn’t have to wait for the big table meant a significant amount to us, and the professionalism that the waitresses and the owner treated us with respect, integrity, and made us also feel like family at home.

Atmosphere: 7/10

Given that this restaurant was on a hillside, I’m not gonna blame the restaurant, but it was a little tight in terms of space. It was hard to get in and get out from the tables, and while I had appreciated that the service was superb, the patrons around us were not as nice, and also lacked manners. We had told several tables several times to mind their own business, of which I had to talk to them in a very condescending manner.

Overall, the community around Daly City is nice, but just be aware of people who will act...

Worst restaurant experience ever. On our way out, my family and I were stopped by a waitress questioning why we had not left a full 15%(this was the tip suggestions found at the bottom of the receipt). However the tip calculation included tax, while we had tipped based on the pre-taxed total which is customary.

We then stopped at the front desk to clarify, however she had difficulty explaining further in English and left us to talk to another server at the front desk. That person pointed at tip suggestions and repeatedly insisted we add another $5 in tips. We asked why and revealed to her that we were served raw food which up to that point we hadn't made it a big deal.

Once we brought up the raw food she paused and waved us off and said "its ok, its ok," as if trying to get rid of us.

We then tried to explain how service did not meet basic expectations and that this kind of pressure should not be applied to customers. Despite our reasoning she continued to ignore us while waving us away. When we asked to speak to their manager, she refused to get one.

Once we found the manager later on ourselves, and explained everything, from the uncooked food, tipping pressure, and the overall poor service; they listened, but responded with the same dismissive tone and said, "its ok, its ok," while waving us off. When we tried to explain it to them that this service was not acceptable he raised his voice and shut the conversation down. We decided that talking to staff was not going to work and left.

I acknowledge the language barrier had made it harder for us to communicate. I also recognize that $5 is not a lot of money in access to tip. But the word "tip," means to gift to those who provided others with exceptional service.

Our service included: uncooked food missing ingredients in dishes incorrect additional charges on the check hostile staff behavior over a tip

I can say that certain dishes were good but the overall experience left a bad taste, not worth the harassment from staff and the potential...

Authentic delicious dimsum! Clean and seems somewhat recently renovated. Super fast service. All the food came out warm/hot, made to order.

It’s quite popular on the weekend so expect a little wait to get seated, maybe 20 minute wait depending when you arrive.

Atmosphere wise, had the hustle and bustle of a vibrant dim sum restaurant in a fairly new restaurant. They had some different areas with rooms that could be cordoned off.

The char siu (BBQ pork) is super tender and marbled. Crispy baked BBQ pork buns compare to those of the Michelin starred Tim Ho Wan - highly recommend.

Turnip cakes were good. Pairs well with chili sauce - Ask for some on the side…it’s spicy!

I also ordered the preserved egg and pork congee. It didn’t have MSG. It tasted like a plain congee with the toppings added. I would personally prefer a little bit of bouillon or salt mixed in.

Spent $25-30/pp with extras...