Grand Dynasty Chinese Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in San Jose

Overall: 4.5/5 (dine in)

Came here for Christmas lunch for a party of 7. The wait wasn't that bad. They have a great line system where you get a number and they show your status on the board as well as call your number + your party number on the microphone so you can hear. Grand Dynasty is HUGE and looks like an upscale dim sum restaurant. Also seemed like a great place to host large events like weddings. They also have private dining rooms for smaller parties. The only things to consider were that the food took awhile to come out and the prices are higher than your typical dim sum restaurants. Food from the cart was pretty fresh, and the people working the carts weren't pushy. The dim sum pricing is on the front menu page: S = $5.98, M = $6.98, L = $7.98, X = $9.98, K = $11.68, P = $13.68, SP = $15.68)

Jasmine Tea ($1.98/PP): The jasmine tea was really good.

A01 Steamed Shrimp Dumpling (X): Came with 4 pieces of fat har gow. Generous amount of shrimp and tasty too!

A02 Shrimp & Pork Dumpling (L): Came with 4 pieces of siu mai. You know I love siu mai and always order it. Also really good here but not the best I had.

A06 Mushroom & Vegetable Dumpling (L): Came with 4 pieces that were pretty big. The primary taste was shiitake mushroom but it's not umami or anything so I would skip it.

A09 Bean Curd Roll With Pork & Shrimp (L): Each order came with 3 rolls that they cut in half. The bean curd roll is steamed and has a crunchy texture (from the black fungus mushroom). Nobody at the table was a fan.

C01 Baked BBQ Pork Buns With Sugar Crust (L): Came with 3 buns which they cut in half for you. The buns were not overly hard and was the perfect temperature & texture. The BBQ pork was good but doesn't have that umami punch I was expecting. For the price, I would skip it.

C02 Bean Curd Skin Fried Shrimp Rolls (X): Okay. I would rather get this as part of the Vietnamese broken rice dish (com tam).

D01 Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls (X): Okay. Skip for the price.

D03 BBQ Pork Rice Noodle Rolls (L): Better than the shrimp rice noodle and had more flavor.

F22 Honey Glazed Walnut Prawn (SP): Came with only 6 shrimps so we felt ripped off. It was okay. Depending on the location, Panda Express does it better.

F30 Pork Dumpling in Hot Spicy Sauce (K): Eh. Nothing special. Would skip for the price. There are other dim sum restaurants that makes significantly better pork dumplings.

F32 Salted Egg Yolk Fried Pumpkin Stick (K): Nobody in my family liked it but I thought it wasn't bad. The salted egg wasn't overpowering but I'm not sure it complimented the pumpkin.

H03 Roasted Crispy Pork Belly (SP): Each dish came with 3 blocks of pork belly with each block cut into 3. It was better than expected but very fatty.

H04 Peking Duck Slices With Sesame Scones (P): This was very different with the crunchy season scones. I think it needed a bit more hoisin sauce but it was still good. Although interesting, I think I prefer the soft...

I’m a rather picky eater, and came to this one specifically before Grand Dynasty moved to West San Jose (talk about when Vallco was still open and there was still a lot of space left). The food was honestly meh to okay — here’s my take on this restaurant post-pandemic:

Food: 3/5 The portions of these dishes got significantly smaller compared to the last time I went when they were last open in Cupertino. This time, we got the BBQ platter with pork and marinated ranch chicken, giant clam, marinated duck tongue, seafood pan fried noodles, satay dungness crab vermicelli, and mixed vegetables. The broth of the duck tongues was a little bland, and the bbq platter was a little too small — I was hoping for a bigger portion honestly. The seafood pan fried noodle wasn’t even seasoned enough, and the sautéed vegetables had too much garlic in them. The crab vermicelli had too much satay in them and it overcarried the smell of the crab, which made it almost overly impossible to finish. The only thing I thought was good was the dessert —

Service: 2/5 Barely any communication. For a typical Chinese/dim sum restaurant, they’re not really gonna talk to you all that much unless you need something. However, the service we got showed absolute unprofessionalism — they took my plate without even asking me first and I was still in the middle of finishing my portion…. like please do better.

Atmosphere: 4/5 The only thing that I thought was quite well was how spacious it was — considering before they opened, it was a Rite Aid with really dark lighting. I seemed to be impressed with the overall design of the place, and honestly, I give them props because it looks brand new and it looks so much better than the old Grand Dynasty before they closed in Cupertino.

I’d come here for more social events and weddings, but not for a regular dinner. What throws me off is the fact that they include an 18% auto-gratuity charge… which is insane honestly. I don’t even know if it’s legal at this point, but I’m only going to come here...

This restaurant has a special place in my heart because my dear sister's rehearsal dinner and one year later, one of her wedding receptions for her distant relatives was held here. I have gone to this place for some other festive occasions like Chinese New Year's when it was reasonably decked out with decorations.

Pros: -the space is really open, bright, and the walls of an eggshell cream. You can see all the tables and the multiple TVs on the walls playing food channels and tourist programs along with wallpaper type photos -the teas here are very quality. I prefer caffeinated tea but the chrysanthemum tea is divine. There are fresh green chrysanthemum buds floating in the teapot! Highly recommenddddd -some parts of this restaurant look like a hip, sino China lounge. There are glass blue hanging fixtures, mosaics, yes every bathroom stall has a flower mosaic on the wall -the service for the private rooms are nice. They have the option of letting you choose dim sum items and laying it out buffet style for the reception before serving the 12-course dinner portion after -they have a lot of delicacies, special dishes to special provinces

Cons: the service leaves something to be desired. I usually go with some family friends that were a big fan of the original Grand Dynasty in Cupertino. Since they are regulars, they go around handing red envelopes. How could we not good service? But usually I can see that they are pretty terse, professional but not helpful. -the prices are on the higher side; portions seem small -maybe the dim sum is made with quality ingredients but it doesn't taste too intricate and is cold most of the time.

Overall, not a bad place for a distinct experience. The tables are nicely...