East Harbor Seafood Palace — Restaurant in New York

Visited a handful of times before. Today (Wednesday) I went around 11am and it was pretty packed. Wait time was around 10-15 minutes. When you enter, be sure to tell the staff member in front how many is in your party for the table and he will give you a card with a number on it. As tables start to clear, he will yell out the numbers, based on availability. You want to be attentive here as if you don’t acknowledge your number being called, it will be skipped and he will quickly move on to the next numbers for people to be seated. During my 10 minute wait, I saw people who were there before me, that didn’t get a card with a number on it, and they just stood around. After they saw what everyone else was doing, they finally got a number so they could be called for a table.

Also fyi, if you come when they open at 9am, there will already be a decent sized crowd waiting outside. Lines do not exist here though. When the doors open, imagine a Black Friday sale, but for seats. Families and individuals will run for the table they want to occupy during their meal. It’s a bit of rush! After that initial opening, about 60% of the restaurant will be filled. Then around 30 minutes later, the entire place will be packed and the above mentioned waiting for your number to be called will start.

The dimsum here was decent! My review says 4 stars but I really mean 4.5 stars. Too bad half stars don’t yet exist on Yelp. They really should make that an option. Anyway, the dimsum here is very authentic, flavorful, and great portions! I brought my dad here and he says it’s also pretty decent - fyi, he cooks for a living. We also loved it so much that at the end of our meal, we ordered take out of dimsum to take back to the rest of my family.

The restaurant is filled with locals, a few tourists, but mostly Cantonese families with small children, elderly people, and young get-togethers. You can sort of hear people talking in other tables, but that’s to be expected in any dimsum place with locals. It’s moderate volume but still on the quieter side for how busy it gets and in comparison to other dimsum restaurants.

Staff here are friendly and attentive. Also super efficient. They bring everything you ask for within a minute- in my experience today. I asked for chili oil and water. Also plenty of refills for tea (for the tea, proper etiquette to ask for more refills is to lift the lid slightly and let it rest on top, so it stays open and they know to come get it).

Also… absolutely love the hot sauce/chili oil here!!! So good we asked for 3 and I used 2.5 of them. My dad who doesn’t even like spicy much, used half of one. I put chili oil on most dim sum dishes to really elevate the already-decent flavors!

Would still...

Well I was unpleasantly surprised when I entered this place because I found it to be excessively crowded with a lot of loud noise chatter and extremely bright lights everywhere I could not find myself to go into the place once I entered by the front door I was greeted properly buy a person who is a major D to seat me I changed my mind immediately when I saw that the whole house was filled with many people chattering very loud Bright Lights a giant television all the way in the back which I see no reason to watch while I'm eating my food and the television was not viewing any sports or anything that was interesting it was just going from different Asian scenes to another which didn't make me feel comfortable at all because the place seem to be more Asian inclined and not adaptable to American Concepts in addition to that the bright lights were overwhelming it wasn't a calm place to be it wasn't pleasant place to be it seemed to be a place to go with big families could sit down and talk very loudly with everybody hearing everybody else what they're saying if this is something that you like the prices are a little on the high side for the food I took my food out just to try it and found the portion to be very small and although it did taste okay I wouldn't rate it amongst the highest in flavor size or proper cooking I asked them to cook my food well and they gave it to me regular this place gets a thumbs down due to its chaotic and unstable environment that is not conducive to eating it's more conducive to talking and chatting very loud where everybody can hear everybody else I could hardly hear myself give my order to the person who was taking it so I would not recommend this place unless you have a huge family and talk very loud while you're eating and love bright lights all over the place with a giant screen in the back that has absolutely nothing to do with an...

This is one of the best Dim Sum places around - the food is always fresh and equally delicious. There is a long wait for a reason - get there early and hungry. I am a firm believer that each dim sum house has its own specialty items that are the best around - the standouts here include CHIU-CHAO FAN GUO (STEAMED DUMPLING WITH PORK, SHRIMP, AND PEANUTS) - the glutinous wrapper here is different than anywhere else so don't miss this one. The CHEONG FAN (ROLLED RICE NOODLES) most commonly contain a beef or shrimp filling, but here you can get my favorite - roast pork. It is absolutely delicious and and a must-have for sure - especially since it's difficult to find. Another to try is the PEI GUEN (STEAMED TOFU SKIN ROLL) - it's not very pretty but don't let it scare you. This thin tofu exterior holds a combination of shrimp, pork and bamboo shoots that are simmered in flavorful thickened broth that makes them tender and rich with a mild meaty flavor. The more commonly known SIU MAI (OPEN-TOPPED STEAMED PORK & SHRIMP DUMPLINGS) are quite tasty and are not standouts but are a solid choice when ordering. And remember when your mom told you to eat your greens? She simply must have been talking about the GAI LAN (sautéed Chinese broccoli)! I know I know, why come all this way for a simple veggie dish, right? Wrong. The perfectly bitter greens are seasoned to perfection and are tender and delicious. Our kiddos love them and we do too! All in all, this place is a must-visit for die-hard dim sum aficionados or newbies just getting their feet wet. And don't forget, bring lots of people to share your meal with (this is what it's all about after all), and flip the top of your teapot upside down when you need more tea (secret tip for those who don't know)....