NBC Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Monterey Park

I’ve been here before for weekend dim sum, but I guess I forgot to post my review. AnywAy, the reason for the addition, is that I get why some of the reviews are negative. If I recall, the wait time was long but do recall decent service. Anyway, on this night, a Wednesday two days before Christmas Eve, service was great. We had a party of 12 and wanted a private room, but my sister was told about the minimum spend (not a problem the way my family eats), but also wanted us to pre-order. Ridiculous, so we just asked for the tables. Once I got there and noticed it was slow, I asked if we can have an extra table for gifts (it was our pre family Christmas dinner with my sisters and mom). The manager then came and offered us a private room. I told him that was our original plan and about the issue with pre-order and wished they didn’t have that requirement. Anyway, he apologized and explained how that could be an issue on a busy night and walked us to the private room. From that point, service and food were excellent. All was good and everyone happy. Not sure about all that we ordered, but the family meal which was about $338 was awesome. Manager suggested it and suggested we order two, one for each table, but we decided to order the one family meal and supplement with our favorites. Like clams and pork chops since the meal didn’t have them. I can’t say if a discount is built into the family meal, but for being one of the less expensive options from about 10 ranging from $300 to $800, can see why the manager said it was a favorite. Had a whole lobster, whole duck, whole chicken, steak and a large order of walnut shrimp. About 2-3 other dishes and dessert made up the full meal but the portions made it worth it. Can probably feed up to 10 people alone. We didn’t even finish the lobster and clams!!!! We obviously ordered too much, but that’s my family. Had plenty of left overs and great memories. About $660 including extra orders and a few beers.

Some can argue this place is expensive, especially for Chinese food, but I would have paid much more at a steakhouse, Korean (which we are) or sushi restaurant for my family of 12. I certainly could have paid less without the lobster, clams, steak and shrimp but then again, that’s not my point.

The quality of food that we ordered is on par with some of the other styles of food at a lower price point per person, service was top notch, parking and wait was awesome (on this occasion) so why not 5 stars? I’m sure I’ll come back when I’m not in the Christmas spirit, wait times are longer, parking sucks and all that and update to 3 stars, but for today’s experience, it was perfect....

Dim sum? Ever tried it? Think tapas - small snacks for all family and friends at the table to share! Ohhh man this place is MY FAVORITE DIM SUM restaurant of all time! And I am not the only one who feels this way! You’ll understand why this place is always jam packed inside and outside especially on the weekends! Is it worth the wait? YES! Are you waiting long? The longest I’ve waited was about 40 minutes and the shortest, well if you get there right before 12:00pm … there’s this weird lull bc the early diners are leaving and you can get a table as you walk in! The employees here have every step of your experience down to a science! Here are the basics: Yes! There are restrooms! Once your table is ready someone will escort you and group to a table - they may walk fast so just keep up! Once you/your party get to your table, take a seat and get settled in for some yummy food! You’ll be asked what to drink and you can’t go wrong with their hot tea and bottled water! Get something else if you’d like. Now, you’ll get a menu but your menu is actually cooked and rolling along on carts. Just wait for the cart with an employee to walk by and let them know what you’d like after you’ve scoped out the cart! They’ll stamp your card and on to the next! Once you’re all finished repeating that process and you’re super full, flag down a waiter to get the check! They’ll take your stamps and give you the bill! BOOM!

Ohhh and: If you want more hot tea, simply turn over the top of the teapot’s lid halfway and that signals needing more hot water! (Thanks to my sis that taught me that!)

My family’s favorites: This one you’ll have to have to order from one of the employees with a back or red suit uniform: XO NOODLES with BBQ Pork! It’s so good! Worth the wait and REMEMBER, you can take what you can’t finish home!

On carts: Har gow (Shrimp dumplings) Deep Fried pork dumpling (look like footballs!) Pork Spare ribs with black beans Fried Seaweed shrimp roll Eggplant with shrimp paste - it’s fried! House special rice in hot pot Pork Buns Pan fried pork or shrimp or leek dumplings

Dessert: Mango Pudding Black Sesame Pudding

Happy...

Summary: Decent Cantonese restaurant with a modern interior that attracts mainstream crowd despite having the traditional Chinese service that I love and hate. Serves dim sum in the day and Cantonese dinner food at night. Food is above average, parking is good, interior is nice, service is like a traditional Chinese restaurant. The fried shrimp during the dim sum hours (only when they're fresh) and their House pork soup at night are my favorites!

Food- I've tried most of their menu (dim sum and dinner). I'm not a big fan of the dim sum places with the carts because they make the food in bulk and it doesn't taste as fresh or great (but it's great for first-timers who want the "authentic experience"). The food is slightly above average compared to the local SGV Chinese restaurants and prices are slightly above average. Fried shrimp for dim sum and the House pork soup at night are my favorite value dishes here.

Parking- plenty of parking, but there are times when they have wedding banquets that draw huge crowds

Service- typical traditional Chinese restaurant servers and busboys. Fast service but a lot of things I'm still annoyed with. The food keeps coming out so they try to take away your old dishes ASAP (which I find super annoying because they usually don't ask and they start taking plates away even when there's still food on it.) I still want to eat my dam chips off the peking duck plate, yo! It's expected from most Chinese restaurants though, so I can't complain.

Overall, this is a decent option if you want dim sum or a traditional Cantonese dinner. The food is slightly above average, prices are competitive, usually no wait for dinner (but gets really long for dim sum, get there before 10 or...