Triumph Valley Shoreline — Restaurant in Shoreline

Triumph Dim Sum: Flavors with Potential, but Timing Matters!

Triumph Dim Sum opened its doors just a few weeks ago in early march 2025 and it’s already generating significant interest in Shoreline’s dining scene. We arrived at 5:00 PM, right as they opened, and joined six other parties on the waitlist, making us number eight. Despite the initial wait, we were seated by 5:15 and placed our order at 5:23. Unfortunately, what followed revealed a dining experience hampered by delays.

The Food: Slow Service with Mixed Results:

Our meal featured three dishes, crispy garlic honey spareribs, Kung Pao chicken, and beef chow fun (dry), each with its own story of flavor and pacing.

The crispy garlic honey spareribs were the first to arrive, landing on our table 20 minutes after ordering. While the ribs were impressively crispy and coated in a sweet honey glaze, the lack of meat was disappointing. Most of the pieces were dominated by bone, fat, and the crispy exterior, leaving little satisfaction beyond the initial bite.

The Kung Pao chicken came another 20 minutes later, serving up large chunks of vegetables like onions, green and red bell peppers, celery, and zucchini. However, the sauce fell flat, delivering a bland experience that missed the bold, spicy punch typically expected from this classic dish.

The beef chow fun took the longest, arriving a full hour and five minutes after we’d placed our order. While the noodles were cooked to perfection with a pleasing texture, the dish overall lacked the depth of flavor that could have made the extended wait worthwhile.

With the timing of each dish staggered so far apart, the meal felt disconnected and drawn out, detracting from what should have been an enjoyable and cohesive dining experience.

A Bright Spot: Hot & Sour Soup:

As a final addition, we ordered the hot & sour soup to go and it turned out to be the star of the evening. With just the right amount of heat and a bold, tangy flavor profile, this dish brought the kind of satisfaction we’d hoped for throughout the meal.

Ambiance and Service:

In terms of ambiance, Triumph Dim Sum shines. The lighting strikes a balance between cozy and modern, creating a welcoming atmosphere, and the restaurant’s spacious layout ensures a comfortable dining setting. While the service itself was slow, the staff remained attentive, friendly, and eager to help, which slightly softened the impact of the long waits.

Looking Forward:

Currently, Triumph Dim Sum offers only its Chinese menu for dinner, with dim sum available exclusively during lunch. However, the promise of expanding to serve both menus full-time in the near future adds a layer of optimism about their potential to evolve and improve.

Final Thoughts:

Triumph Dim Sum is a work in progress. While the ambiance and friendly staff are commendable, and the hot & sour soup stands out as a highlight, there’s a clear need for improvement in both flavor consistency and service speed. As they grow into their stride, this restaurant holds promise—but for now, it may test your patience more than...

‼️This review is for those who are curious about dim sum but not sure what to order, and who come with an open mind. And also for the ones who tell me, "dim sum is overrated because it's not vegetarian/vegan-friendly and they don't do alternatives blah blah blah."

Finally, a decent and authentic dim sum place in Shoreline! The restaurant is bright and clean, and the interior feels a bit different from other more traditional dim sum restaurants in Seattle.

I've been craving beef stomach and chicken feet for a long time (yes people, some people in this planet still eat animal organs and feet). I'd say their dim sum is Cantonese-approved since I'm Cantonese myself. Not only that, their beef stomach in satay sauce is even better than some I had back in Shenzhen (a city full of tech bros and lacking in authentic traditional food like today's Seattle). It's juicy and tender, and the savory satay sauce with a little sweet touch, flavor bomb!

If you can swallow a box of donuts, or six buttermilk pancakes with thick slices of bacon, I highly recommend you give the beef stomach a try. Like, bros, you've already got the guts and the courage to ignore diabetes and cholesterol, so beef stomach is really not that scary. Chicken feet in sauce, no need to say, perfecto, if you know you know. I did find the spareribs slightly different from what I had back home. The seasoning and flavor here are on point, but the meat texture isn't as silky and tender. It's also a bit porky. I feel like most pork dishes in the US have this issue, and I don't know why.

If you're less adventurous, or more of a Mongolian beef, sweet n sour pork type, go with the beef chow fun or other noodle dishes. Simple and flavorful. I always prefer rice noodles over wheat noodles because they're softer, and the beef comes in a good cut and portion.

The purple yam mochi with salted egg yolk is good too, if you love something gooey and yolk-y. To me they're the perfect dessert to end a dim sum meal. A bite of mochi, then a sip of pu'er tea, that's how you should end a dim sum brunch.

Green beans can't go wrong if you're a desperate vegetarian just trying to find something to eat.

Rice noodle over youtiao (aka Chinese donut) is a traditional dim sum item, but personally not my thing, I find it kinda boring. But again, good for the desperate vegetarian.

Overall, I love the food I ordered here and will definitely come back to try more.

Vegetarian life hack: If you're not that strict, like, you don't mind meat showing up in the dish as long as you don't eat it, then beef chow fun and other noodle dishes like Singapore style vermicelli or stir-fried udon can be tasty and filling. You can just push the meat aside. But if you try to customize a dish at a dim sum place the way you customize your avocado toast and kale salad in a trendy brunch spot, it might not end up well.

And lastly, great service too, especially a friendly Cantonese-speaking staff member whose name starts with K (sorry I didn't see the name tag clearly)....

I used to be kind of a regular at Super China Buffet. I'd go there when I was hungry and not too picky about the quality. I could get more food than I should eat for a reasonable price. I wasn't quite sure what to think when they went out of business. Did I help kill them by eating too much sushi? Where was I going to get my cheap food fix now? The news that a dim sum place was moving into the building was exciting. I fell in love with dim sum on a trip to Victoria, BC with friends. The variety was amazing. We ate everything from chicken feet to hot and sour soup. After way too many dishes, we started to worry about the bill. When it came and we divided it across the group it came to $7 a person. $7 Canadian! I was in love. I knew that Triumph Valley was not going to be one of the cheap dim sum places, but they menu I found online promised the wide variety that I like. When I heard the news that it was open, I hurried over to see what it was all about. The parking lot was nearly full. It is a big lot, so I prepared myself for crowds. I found a spot and headed in. There is a sign that says, "Please Wait to be Seated," but you are supposed to go to the left and put your info into a screen. I was told that the wait would be between 10 and 15 minutes. I took a seat in the crowded waiting area. There was a group of claw games full of stuffed animals in the waiting area, tempting kids to pester their grown-ups. Tables turned over quickly and I was called up within the 10 to 15 minute window. I was led to a table in the back and instructed on how to use the tablet computer to make my order. The hostess was kind enough to switch the menu to English for me. I went through the long list, astounded by the prices, and selected a couple of items. A small plate of shumai was $8 and a large plate of noodles was $20. So much for variety. I could not afford too many dishes at these prices. The waitress came over looking like she had gotten the short straw. She struggled to find the English to ask what kind of tea I wanted. I love languages, but my Chinese is limited to "please" and "Thank you" and that is only in Mandarin. We worked out an understanding and my order was transmitted from the tablet to the kitchen. After a long wait, my noodles arrived. They were delicious. I was happy to gobble them up while I waited for my shumai. The noodles were long gone and I was beginning to worry about trying to get the waitress to understand my issue when they finally came out. They were also delicious. I really wish I could have afforded more items. The ones I had were great. Also, the portion of noodles was plenty to fill me up. While the place is good, I don't think I will go there often. As tasty as the food is, it is just not...