Dim Sum Kitchen — Restaurant in Sarasota

Always on the hunt for good Chinese food(which is impossible to find in Sarasota) my husband saw Dim Sum Kitchen listed with its 4.6 star rating and we decided to try it. So we made the 30 minute drive from downtown Sarasota and arrived at this teeny strip mall . When we walked inside the few tables they had were full, and there were people waiting, so we took that as a good sign (even though the atmosphere was sorely lacking) No one greeted us and we had to locate the sign in sheet by ourselves. When we asked for a menu to peruse before being seated we were met with indifference by the girl behind the counter and she grudgingly handed my husband a menu. He asked for another for me to look at and it was pretty much the same.

While we sat waiting with the others, people started to get up and leave, and the empty booths sat there without being bussed and turned over quickly.

Finally they cleaned the tables and all were seated.

Now to the food.

I am a wonton soup addict. I was raised in an area where we had some of the best Chinese food (the waiter used to add up the tab on the abacus) and I am always in search for perfect wonton soup. So when I saw Hong Kong Wonton on the menu I was ecstatic.

Being our first time we ordered the standards to take a measure of the food quality. Egg rolls, crab Rangoon, potstickers, wonton soup, beef and chinese broccoli and Shanghai Noodles(because the husband loves curry)

Food came out fast and piled up on the table like discarded Jenga pieces.

First , the egg rolls : they were okay. Standard takeout fare… a little soggy and nothing to write home about (Rice Box on Honore still has the best in the area)

The potstickers were fried and greasy. The dipping sauce added some much needed flavor.

The best of the bunch were the crab Rangoon. The cream cheese filling had a nice consistency, and the crab flavor was there… could have used a little more and some chopped scallions.

Now for the WonTon Soup. When I think of wonton soup I think of a flavorful rich broth, studded with slivers of Char Siu Pork , scallions and bok choy , the wontons bobbling around like happy little boats in this sea of deliciousness, ready to be scooped into my waiting mouth.

What I was presented with? Nothing like it. The both was watered down chicken and all I could taste was pepper ( when you looked at the bottom of the bowl that was all you could see, black specks stuck to the porcelain like little bugs) the wontons had minimal seasoning and the bok choy was cut in half looking at me like ‘What did I do to deserve this ending’

I actually felt sorry for them.

I couldn’t even finish my little cup.

The mains were not much better. I know times are tough and food is expensive… but usually when I get Beef and Broccoli it’s flank or skirt steak, cut against the grain and seasoned perfectly, bits of garlic and a wonderfully thick oyster sauce clinging to each piece , the broccoli crisp cooked and delicious. This is not what I received. The sauce was brown water, as if the broccoli was blanched and not drained, I could not taste any garlic what so ever , and the knife at our table couldn’t even cut the whole stalks they were so undercooked. The beef was flabby and was way out manned by the greens served in a heap on top of it. I took about 3 bites and pushed my plate away.

The husband said his noodles had a good flavor, but they were very dry (curry is usually surrounded by that rich yellow sauce) and when he finished the plate looked like no type of curry had touched it.

All in the bill was $70.00… so completely not worth it.

We weren’t even offered the obligatory fortune cookie.

I believe I can, in all honesty, tell you what that cookie would have said: and it would have been

‘Look for good Chinese Food elsewhere’

I think you should too.

(PS… I did not even think to take pictures because the food was not worthy of the space...

We have been ordering here since we moved here, under a year. We catered for New Year’s Eve and the food was unprepared and tasted awful. The presentation was terrible too. We called and were asked to bring the (leftover) food back the next day, but to send pictures first. Upon walking in we were asked to go outside to the back of the restaurant.. we placed the containers on the table as they wanted to inspect the food…We did as asked and were given a partial refund in the form of a check back to us, which was the right thing to do after our troubles and embarrassment to our guests. However, we weren’t treated nicely and it was clear they were VERY annoyed at us. We even apologized for the inconvenience and said we will continue to use there dine in and take out. We planned to never use them for a larger catered order as we felt it was too much for them to handle since the catered order was terrible all around.

Today, I went to place takeout for dinner for our family of 6. After the girl took my order I was asked for my phone number (my husband usually ordered but he was on the road). I was then told she will not serve me because she sees we had a problem in the past and returned food to the restaurant. I was told we shouldn’t be ordering there since I was unhappy with their food. She told me to take my business to another place and hung up the phone on me. I am in awe. How can a place of business in this area be so rude and be ok with losing a good customer? With that being said, we googled another Chinese take out called Happy Dragon, the food, the service, and the prices are way better than Dim Sum. Our new go to will be here for sure. Give Happy Dragon a try, they were so kind and happy to have...

As a foodie I must tell you the truth: as a family we eat out every Sunday and this Sunday happen to be at this restaurant. Chose bc of high rating but being new to area that makes me think he competition is not too great here in this area.

Flavor was ok. When I have to use lots of soy I rate that pretty low now that I’m just eating soy rice😳

Service was the big thing: when asked about plates and spoon the lady was irritated with the request and any other I asked. Basic stuff like soy sauce, napkins. Thinking there may be some financial hardship when they feel like they have to count every napkin, spoon and sauce packet. Don’t know about you but when there’s no fortune cookies, no flavor, and no smile I just can’t!

I’m a positive note:

Food was finished quickly, and I appreciated with riding veggie fried rice, the zucchini added👍🏽 Also liked that when I asked for less oil they were able to oblige. The rice wasn’t dripping with oil like some places were.

Conclusion: if you just need a quick grab but expecting too...