Sea Empress Seafood — Restaurant in Gardena

TW: mold, ants

TLDR: I, (a vegetarian), did not have a good experience at this place and I am not usually the type to complain (I’m very chill and can put up with a lot) but this time is different. I love dim sum and have never had these issues at any other dim sum place I’ve dined at. This was the worst meal I have ever had. My main issues: -no vegetarian options and no transparency about the lack of said options -sub-par service -MOLD IN THE BATHROOMS -I FOUND A LIVE ANT ON THE TABLE

Good things:

1. the egg tart desserts were warm and delicious
2. the little food I could eat was seasoned very well and tasted not amazing, but fine
3. servers brought my family plenty of wet cloths for the crab
4. The staff was nice and they were willing to make substitutions when possible. I do not think they were trying to avoid us by walking away too quickly, I just think they were just focused on getting the food out as fast as possible. I have worked in the customer service industry before and currently work in client services so I know what it is like to juggle a million things and talk to people. A server warned me when I was about to eat an egg roll that it had chicken in it. I appreciated that because we shouldn’t have just assumed the egg rolls had chicken in them. I don’t think that was marked on the menu though, but I appreciate the server warning me.

Section 1: Lack of Vegetarian Options and No Transparency The servers were very confused when we asked for vegetarian dishes and made it seem like an inconvenience. Chinese restaurants usually have no shortage of vegetarian options. There are also many Chinese vegetarians. If I had not dined at several dim sum restaurants with an excellent variety of vegetarian dishes, I wouldn’t have been so confused. It is fine if a restaurant is not for vegetarians, I just wish they would have said that on their website.

This was the first time I have ever had to specifically order egg rolls and pan fried noodles without any meat or seafood. There would normally just be different variations of things on the menu. They are leaving money on the table.

And a warning for vegetarians: this is a dim sum restaurant that will bring the live seafood to your table before others eat it without warning (which they have every right to do) but just be prepared for that but just be aware of that, if you choose to go here despite my urging that YOU SHOULD NOT.

Section 2: Sub-par service:

They refused to give us the table with the lazy susan even though we were the only people in the restaurant and they had at least one available. My parents and sister are physically disabled so they had a lot of difficulty passing large dishes across the table. We had difficulty fitting everything on the table and often had to stop eating dishes early and ask the servers to wrap up our appetizers so there would be room on the table for our entrees.

The language barrier was not an issue for me at all and I told off my Karen mom for having an issue about it It was just the fact that the servers would just walk away in the middle of us speaking to them so they got a lot of things about our order wrong.

Section 3: MOLD IN THE BATHROOMS AND AN ANT ON THE TABLE This place is the dirtiest restaurant I have ever been to and a WALKING HEALTH VIOLATION. I have not had any issue with the conditions at any other dim sum restaurant or Chinese restaurant in general. My sister, her partner and I were wondering why the bathrooms smelled so funny only to discover that were was dark-colored mold on the toilet pipes. In college, I lived with a disgusting roommate so I KNOW what mold looks like. Other reviews have also had mentioned the bad bathroom smell. We refused to use the bathroom and I usually will use any bathroom, no mater how gross if I really need to. But I just couldn’t do it. I literally excused myself to go to the bathroom in the nail salon next door and texted my sister and her partner where to find an...

Check Yelp! This place gets terrible reviews, and here's mine:

In all fairness, this review is based on a single visit (which is unlikely to be repeated) and we only tried four dim sum items. Those who eat here regularly have no doubt discovered several very tasty dishes the establishment has to offer; unfortunately, I didn't have any of those dishes.

Now let's be unfair; it's a hell of a lot more fun.

First comes the compliment: the shumai were terrific. My wife told me that they lacked the usual Shiitake mushrooms, which might have upset her but came as a relief to me: mushrooms make me sick. The dumplings were fresh and tender, full of rich flavor. I also enjoyed the shrimp noodle, but that's hardly a compliment as the only ingredients of the dish are the wrap (wonton, I presume without really knowing) and the shrimp. I'm sure the delicious sauce came out of the same bottle used by every other dim sum diner.

The har gow was subpar, at best. And I don't know how that can be, as har gow is also very simple. That's like a short order cook messing up scrambled eggs: it takes a large dose of anti-talent. One of our favorite dishes is steamed pork spareribs. Rather, I should say that it's one of our favorites in a GOOD Chinese restaurant. Trust me: it ain't worth the $2.80 for the dish.

I asked for a glass of water that came cloudy and in a plastic cup with a little ice. One sip made me flashback to getting dunked and nearly drowned in the public swimming pool where I grew up--the pool that left every kid pink-eyed and blond, if you know what I mean. If you're thirsty, stick to the beer and tea.

The dim sum service was terrific, even if the food wasn't. The waiters, however, managed to turn my wife and me invisible--at least to themselves--because the glass of brown water I eventually threw at one of them after being ignored for ten minutes failed to elicit a response. We were happy with the price, though. Very reasonable rates, which is a good thing because if they had charged us the same as another Empress restaurant I know in Chinatown, I would have had to embarrass my wife publicly with a patented Tom Tantrum, and no one needs that. The only other positive I can give is at least the parking is free. But if you're hungry, walk right past Sea Empress and into Marukai Market, where you can find all kinds of food that is...

Went here with my mother, wife, daughter, son in law, and my son and his wife. It was our first time here and we were all looking forward to some good Dim Sum. We ended up being extremely disappointed. Not only in the quality of the food, but the service as well. We waited, and waited, then finally went to the staff, and asked for them to come by with some food for us to pick. This didn't happen, once or even twice. It went on the whole time we were there. My only consolation was that I had made up mind to make it a point to show them how disappointed we all were with the service by leaving a bad tip. Well imagine the surprise we all had when they gave us the bill and added a 15% tip to it. I honestly don't understand how that can even be legal but they said if there was more the 6 people at a table they automatically add a mandatory 15% tip to the bill. Having been service worker for many many years I can appreciate why this may be a reasonable idea. But when you give the customer terrible service time and time and again which they knew they were doing, it just stinks. I paid the bill, and what I considered the extortion 15% upcharge. But none of us will ever come to this restaurant ever again. They need to learn how to treat customers. When you as a business automatically charge a 15% tip to any table with 6 people or more then that gives the server a license to steal. They have absolutely no incentive to take care of you at all. So my suggestion is if you want any service at all at this place make sure you arrive with a party under 6 people. At least then you'll have a...