Tastee Steam Kitchen — Restaurant in Oakland

Not many restaurants opened at night in Oakland Chinatown but glad I found this one. The place appears to share the same kitchen with the restaurant adjacent to them as they have some crossover.

The menu had lots of options ranging from AYCE, hot pot a la carte, mini hotpot, sushi and some type of steam food.

We opted for a few of their appetizers including the chicken gizzard (acquired taste) and the seasoning was different; wasn't your standard bbq sauce but a dry rub with heavy hint of cumin. Their spicy sauce chicken wings is a must try; perfect blend of not-too-overpowering heat with a tangy taste to it. The home-made dumpling are huge and full of flavor. The mini hot pot varied. The Szchuan had good taste and heat, while the Japanese hot pot felt like a jumbo Udon noodle soup. The lamb pot had lot of meat but I would've prefer if it had more vegetables. The spare-ribs dry pot was good and lighting a flame in the warmer created a sizzling sound and fragrant aroma.

One thing I would like them to change is to include tea with the meal. The waiter brought over a pot of hot water (which we thought was tea) but then told tea would be extra. A few tea bags can't be that expensive (about a...

Do not waste your $$ and time here.

So I work nearby and saw that they had all AYCE hot pot for $25.99 during lunch time and decided to try it with my colleagues. First disappointment was the price was actually $29.99.

There was no one else beside us but it took 30 min for our first round of order of food to arrive. It's as if they know we only have an hour for lunch and was intentionally bringing out food "SLOWLY". Our second order didn't get here another 20 min later. By then we had to head back to the office. It took 40 min for our complimentary BOBA milk tea to arrive. It was supposed to be AYC Drink, too. The service was non existent. The waiters intentionally ignored us and tend to those who didn't order AYCE.

Let's talk about quality of food. How in the world can you mess up a hot pot? As long as the ingredients are fresh, with the proper combination of condiments, you just can't go wrong with a hot pot, but this place accomplished this. The Wagyu beef looked good raw, but tasted like rubber once cooked. The lamb and pork were mediocre. The vegetables and fish balls were normal. The most noteworthy items were: the French fries and boba milk tea. I left hungry and angry.

We...

I've eaten here for years and usually don't have a problem with ordering until this year. The first time, the waiter misheard what I said. I order grilled fish, and it ended up being grilled chicken for some odd reason. I didn't ask to fix it and just ate it.

The second time I had learned from the first mistake and MARKED my orders on the menu. So tell me why did the waiter NOT take the menu from my hands that was already MARKED with orders and decided to listen from word of mouth and mark it himself on a second menu? What is the point in giving us markers then? Needless to say, my order was wrong again! It became confusing because I had already marked both orders for my parents and myself. He says he confirmed it with my sibling. He didn't confirm it with me so of course he had my order wrong. I had specifically marked them down and for some reason this waiter thinks verbal ordering is better than checking the menu that was already marked?

I was very upset because I was ravenous by that point, I was craving something spicy and not seafood, and we had to wait a long time for the orders to come out.

Also, it was freezing, but at least the soup...