Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Rosemead

DON'T COME IF YOU ARE CHINESE LIKE ME!!!!!!!!!!

I am writing to express my profound concern and disappointment regarding an incident that transpired during my recent visit to your restaurant. I believe it is imperative to bring to your attention the regrettable and discriminatory behavior exhibited by a member of your reception staff.

On August 26th, my family and I checked into Sea Harbour Restaurant with the hope of enjoying a pleasant dining experience. Unfortunately, the treatment we received from the receptionist on duty was far from the standard of service we had anticipated. The staff member in question, whose name escaped my attention, displayed a disrespectful attitude towards my mother, who is afflicted with a hearing impairment. I am inclined to characterize her conduct as nothing short of discriminatory.

*The receptionist who bring us to our table exhibited an astonishingly impatient demeanor. She repeatedly questioned my mother about our tea preferences. It is important to note that due to my mother's hearing issues, she requires additional time to process and respond to auditory cues. Nevertheless, the receptionist's response to my mother's delayed answers was one of visible displeasure. To my disbelief, after my mother managed to understand the question and respond, the receptionist stepped aside and made unfavorable remarks to her colleagues about my mother's responsiveness, displaying a disgusted attitude. Such behavior is not only unjust but also wholly discriminatory.

This incident left my mother feeling deeply embarrassed and humiliated. It is crucial to recognize that my mother's hearing impairment is not a matter of choice, and she is entitled to the same level of respect and courtesy as any other patron.

*What made us even more disappointed was the stark contrast in the receptionist's attitude towards non-Chinese guests. Her behavior appears to be very polite, patient and accommodating when dealing with non-Chinese customers. Her behavior appeared remarkably courteous, patient, and accommodating when dealing with non-Chinese patrons. This stark disparity in her treatment of guests based on their ethnicity serves as a clear testament to bias and discrimination. Such an attitude is unacceptable within any professional context, particularly within the restaurant industry. The fact that the staff member in question is herself Chinese makes her prejudiced conduct towards her fellow countrywoman all the more bewildering. As a waitress, it is her duty to uphold a consistent standard of service irrespective of a guest's race or background.

Subsequent to our meal, I took the initiative to discuss the matter with the manager on duty that day. I requested that the receptionist offer a sincere apology to my mother for her distressing behavior. What was even more surprising, however, was the receptionist's refusal to apologize to my mother and her blatant disregard for her own discriminatory behavior.

Given the absence of an apology to my mother, I am left with no recourse but to consider further actions. I am resolute in my commitment to ensuring that discrimination finds no harbor within the United States, especially within a community as diverse as ours. This incident is not just a reflection of one individual's actions; it speaks to broader issues of inclusivity and respect that resonate deeply with us all.

I implore you to take this complaint seriously and to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. It is my hope that swift and appropriate action will be taken to rectify this unfortunate situation and to prevent any such incidents from occurring in the future. Please understand that I am prepared to explore all available avenues, including legal recourse, to address this matter should...

While certainly not born into the culture of Cantonese cooking, I was fortunate to spend every weekend growing up enjoying New York City's Chinatown, which back in the late 70's exposed all of us native NY'ers to authentic Cantonese and Mandarin cuisine. It almost always was fantastic, even if some of the dishes seemed fairly exotic to a American palettes. But a few things were always consistent: high quality cooking and ingredients and dishes; beautiful presentation, and friendly, respectful Staff.

Clearly Sea Harbour (a stalwart in Rosemead, CA) has not decided in it's current iteration to follow these traditions.

We stopped by for some take-out on New Year's, to supplement some of the delicacies we'd already gotten for our celebration.

The restaurant at 8:00 PM was mostly empty at that point - a few straggling families at large round tables finishing up. So that left approximately 3 managers (in suits) and several servers (in elegant vests) and several bussers etc with nothing to do but their 'close out'.

We were greeted brusquely by a handsome gentleman in his late 40's, who without a smile or any warmth, asked if we wished to order take out. Menus are only on electronic tablets - we were handed one and he walked away.

Apparently, 'Customer Service' is not really required to manage this restaurant.

As we'd never been here, we scanned the entrees, trying to make out the over-simplistic descriptions and match them with pictures.

This Manager NEVER RETURNED. About 8 minutes later, a server noticed us standing awkwardly at the front, and offered to take our order.

Here's something unusual: THERE ARE SPARSE OFFERINGS. Unlike most Asian restaurants (of any culture in America!) there were only about 2-3 entrees in each category! AND NO appetizers except soups!

NO dim sum, no dumplings, no spring rolls - nada.

We ordered 2 shrimp dishes, and then we were asked to pay up at the bar. So we head to the bar, and pay. Then we're told to please wait at the front. We walk back up to the front, where we now are HIDDEN FROM THE ENTIRE RESTAURANT (how will they remember we are waiting when they're already ignoring us when we're in plain sight?)

After 20 minutes, I ask if our entrees are ready (after all, NO ONE ELSE is ordering, they're shutting down early apparently due to no more gusts to feed). They bring out our entrees which must have been ready but forgotten. We're handed two bags. NO OFFER for napkins, utensils. Just 2 plastic bags. NO 'THANK YOU FOR COMING' or "HAPPY NEW YEAR".

Once home, MUCH TO OUR IDISAPPOINTMENT, the dishes needed some amount of 'prep' (for example a shrimp noodle dish was basically a giant plastic plate of DRY NOODLES... and a separate cup of goopy shrimp and veggies!) We stared at these for a minute before tentatively pouring the goop over the dried noodles, praying this was correct. We still don't know if it was - the noodles remained deep fried and dry - the goop did not seem to mix well with the dried noodles. Who knows.

And the flavor was bland - WAY more bland than any Cantonese food I've had. Really nothing special. They skimped on the shrimp, too - such a shame.

The 2 dishes cost a whopping $46 and were hardly anything special.

So I guess it's fair to say this long-time eatery is so comfy and entitled in past glories and reviews that were plastered on the walls 10-20 YEARS AGO that they needn't really feel bothered to be kind to new clientele, explain anything, ask if we need help, or crack a smile. Not to mention the food was hardly worth the 50$.

A Shame. HEAD TO OCEAN BO 5 minutes away - Cantonese that not only is brilliant and yum, but super reasonable on pricing.

DO NOT...

I will start by saying my partner and I love the food there. It’s authentic and great quality. Get there early for dim sum to get their congee.

Our beef with the place (this time at least) is the hostess. We understand it’s Jan 1st and that there is a long wait. We have no problem waiting patiently. When it was close to our turn, the hostess announced to the waiting guests to get ordering menu so that it would expedite the dining process. Of course I went to get one. Then less than 2 min in, our number was called so of course we go check in at the front desk. There were a small line so I waited for my turn without hounding the hostess on a stressful busy day for her which took less a min to clear the line. But then she blames us for taking a long time to get to her and she’s been calling us even though she literally just announced our number total about few minutes at this point. I explained to her no you just called and when I tried to get her attention before the line cleared she didn’t respond. But she continued to blame us while taking us to our seat.

I’ve spoken to the supposed “manager” she was nice and apologized but didn’t check in on the hostess at all. I understand it was hectic for New Year’s Day and we wanted to courteous by not just get in her face the second our number is called. But it was very inappropriate the way she treated us.

The weird part is that the couple after us (a non-Asian couple) was treated in a completely different tone. Then another after them. I was speaking in mostly Mandarin and my partner doesn’t so I explained to her what the hostess was saying to us after we sat down and she was surprised because it felt that we didn’t waste a second as soon as we were called.

I guess if the future we just have to be aggressive and be in her face to make sure we don’t waste mere seconds of the hostess time then blame her for wasting ours.

The service otherwise was standard dim sum place but because of the first encounter, we didn’t enjoy the experience.

Edit: seems like this is an ongoing issue with the hostess. She is infamous being prejudice with Asians and treat non Asians differently. We are going to stop going there now since the management isn’t doing...