South Lions Sichuan & Dim Sum 川菜&广式点心 — Restaurant in Jersey City

⭐☆☆☆☆ First and last time visiting South Lions Dim Sum & Tea. Bathroom was used for food storage!

We came here with my family on Easter Sunday for a late lunch since we were craving dim sum, but this was easily one of the worst dining experiences we’ve had.

We ordered a variety of dishes — Shanghai pork soup dumplings, sesame ball with lotus filling, shrimp and pork siomai, fried rice shrimp, jumbo shrimp siomai, Bangkok noodles with sautéed shrimp, and curry diced chicken. While the portions were big and good for sharing, the taste was very disappointing. The food was bland, not satisfying, and felt rushed. The sesame ball barely had any filling and lacked sesame seeds. Both pork and shrimp siomai were huge in size but flavorless. The curry diced chicken wasn’t savory or flavorful at all, and the Bangkok noodles were just not delicious.

Service was equally terrible. We constantly had to call the servers for water, napkins, sauce, and to follow up on missing items. Despite dining in, they served everything in takeout boxes with plastic utensils and chopsticks — not what you expect when sitting down at a restaurant.

The worst part was the bathroom — absolutely filthy and completely unacceptable. It was being used as a storage room with not just cleaning supplies, but food items and even baby chairs crammed inside. There were pantry items literally sitting inside the restroom, next to the dirty toilet where guests are supposed to use the bathroom. It was disgusting, unsanitary, and completely gross when you think about the food being prepared and served here.

This was our first and definitely our last visit. Prices were not cheap either, which makes it even worse considering the dirty environment, bad food, and poor service. The city seriously needs to inspect this restaurant for sanitation, safety, hygiene, and food handling violations.

If you are craving legit Chinese food, never, ever attempt to go here. There are far better and cleaner places elsewhere. I forgot to take photos of the bathroom situation but you have to check it for yourself if you have doubts. Of course, I don’t bring my phone inside the bathroom.

PS: Don’t spend your dollar here coz it’s not worth it! Go somewhere else. Not to mention it is located in Downtown. It doesn’t match...

This place is a hidden gem - I came here with a friend because I was curious about this place, and what I got was the best and most authentic Chinese food I’ve had outside of Asia.

We got the chili tofu, eggplant in garlic sauce, the fried mochi dessert, and the coconut milk sago dessert. We also enjoyed an amuse bouche of a Chinese-style kimchi that was slightly sweet. All of the dishes were delicious. The chili tofu (a dry dish) was fried to perfection - super light, perfectly moist and fluffy on the inside but the perfect crisp on the outside - with peppers, peanuts, fried garlic, and other spices. The eggplant was juicy, and the garlic sauce was the perfect balance of sweet and savory. The mochi dessert was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and was not oily at all despite being fried. The dessert sago and coconut milk soup was my favorite - not too sweet but full of little pieces of fruit and taro that made each bite a delight. The whole meal tasted like love - like I was being welcomed into someone’s home through food that gave me a warm sense of comfort.

It is clear that the chef is highly skilled, puts forth thoughtfully-composed dishes with attention to detail, and takes pride in the dishes they serve.

The ambience was also great - good quality dinnerware that seemed to be intentionally curated. Calming music playing in the background. And the service was friendly, attentive, and made you feel valued and appreciated.

Whether you live in the area or are just visiting, you absolutely need to try this place at least once. I know I’ll be...

Mainlanders hawking Hong Kong dim sum--something I never would've imagined growing up. But I digress...

The quality's not bad, but it's not outstanding either. The Lobster Dumpling is a bizarrely named dish of shrimp dumplings shaped like goldfish--photogenic, yes, but how is it related to lobster?

The Beef Noodle Soup had decent beef and noodz, but the broth lacked richness or depth. To be fair, you don't really order BNS at Canto dim sum anyway, so this was just a weird choice on my part.

The Pork and Century Egg Congee + Yu Tiao, on the other hand, hit aaaall the Canto feel-good spots. What's the food equivalent of erogenous? That.

Enjoy your salt with complimentary tea (that neat watered down stuff they always have at cha chaan teng). Or if you're feeling spend-y, fork over that $4 for some...