West Lake — Restaurant in Matawan

I'm unsure what to think about this restaurant. When I walked in at dinner time, they looked confused! I don't know if it was because I was by myself or that I'm of brown skin tone. While ordering the male waiter spoke to me as if I couldn't afford some of the food I had pointed out! The waiters( including him ), were not as attentive to me, like they were with the people of (Asian) same descent or people with a lighter skin tone. When my meals came out, I noticed that my portions were half the size I saw being delivered to the tables, where 2 or more people sat . Even though I paid full price for my meals like everyone else. I even had to send an item back because it was soggy and completely over cooked! The waiters were pushing chairs into my table when others left, but didn't do it to the couple that was sitting next to me! Once again, I'm unsure if it was because of either reason I mentioned earlier. So, today I went for lunch. The same male waiter who I had the first time I visited, was my waiter again. My food came out before my soup! And he didn't bring it out! Another person did! Then at the end of my meal, he tried to make me bag up my own food! I know their policy, being that I was there a few days before. I had witnessed them taking everyone else's food to the back, while bringing the to-go trays out to me, to do it myself! Before he took my food to the back, I corrected him as he tried to play it off and blame his actions on me! As if I told him to do that! I calmly and quietly collected my food, paid my bill and did not leave him a tip for being so rude towards me! The food is decent, but the wait staff sucks! I work hard for my money like everyone else! I deserve the same respect as everyone else! I am spending my hard earned money to support your establishment, with that money, same as the next person! 🤨Therefore, I will no longer support your business and will gladly take my money to a place that appreciates and shows respect to their customers no matter the color of their skin! NO ONE DESERVES TO BE MISTREATED! 👎🏾 "EVERYONE" THERE WAS RUDE (EVEN THE FEMALES!) ALL ACCEPT THE MAN AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE! He was at...

Please note, this review is an updated written during the COVID-19 times and for their dim sum.

Some may ask, ”what is dim sum?” Some will say dim sum literal translation means “touch the heart.” The best way to describe it is, they are Chinese tapas. They are Cantonese small plates, prepared in bite-sized pieces, usually containing 3-4 pieces per dish. The dishes are either steamed, fried, or baked. The joy of dim sum is spending time with your family or friends, as the servers come by with their carts, to each table.

My family has been craving dim sum for close to 9 months now so I made a trip to one of my favorite dim sum places closest to me. West Lake stated they now serve dim sum, both dine-in and take out on the weekends from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm. The dim sum could be ordered by calling in, placing your order, and making a contactless payment. If you prefer to order and pay at the restaurant, that is another option. The pick-up area has a protective barrier (plexiglass) and a bottle of hand-sanitizer for you to use.

Inside the restaurant, the tables were spaciously placed. Towards the very back of the dining area, by the kitchen, sits two dim sum carts with premade items. Only servers have access to them. Gone are the days of a cartful of delicious morsels passing by each table with the servers telling you what items are on their carts. Now as you dine in, you mark up the sheet the server hands you. If they have it in the carts, they will retrieve and bring the requested items to your table. On the day I went, several of my beloved classic favorites were not available.

The items were nicely packed and secured for the journey home. The dim sum was good but the size of the items was noticeably smaller along with a slight price increase. The items are now ranging from $4.50 - $7.00/order. Food is authentic....

So disappointing! Did their chefs even learn how to cook? The food was so bad it was practically inedible. What was going on with the twice-cooked pork? This is not how it’s supposed to be made! The meat should be sliced pork belly that’s been pan-fried, but instead, they used the kind of pre-soaked pork slices you find in Chinese takeout dishes. It tasted just like the pork and broccoli stir-fry from a typical takeout place, which costs only $10, while this dish was $20—and it wasn’t even as good as takeout! They should rename it “Mixed Vegetables with Boiled Pork.” As a meat lover, I ended up only picking out some green peppers and cabbage because the pork was just too unappetizing.

The braised pork with preserved vegetables was also far from authentic. The portion was generous, but the taste was completely off. It lacked the rich aroma of preserved mustard greens and pork belly—it just had an indescribably unpleasant taste. I seriously doubt the chef knows how to cook.

The beef fried rice was another disappointment. It wasn’t even as good as the $10 fried rice from a takeout place, yet they charged $17 for it. We barely touched it, and no one wanted to take another bite.

Eating this food felt like an insult to my belly. We ended up leaving most of it untouched. We spent over 100 dollars, and honestly, we would have been better off just getting pizza. I don’t even like pizza because it’s too salty for my liking, but at least it’s edible and fills you up. We came to this restaurant expecting to pay more for good food, but the experience was just awful.

If you’re looking for authentic Chinese food in New Jersey, it’s best to go to...