Wandering Chinatown seeking a new experience is always fun for me. I selected this Chinatown fixture based on the number of chinese families waiting to be seated shortly after noon. It was Mothers’ Day, so the place was packed – both upstairs and downstairs. Both levels are quite large, so when I was led downstairs, I became a little concerned that the size of the establishment would affect the quality of the food.

The upstairs appeared to be tastefully decorated and pretty comfortable. Downstairs was a bit cramped feeling. The service was better than I expect in Chinese restaurants.

On this day, the tables were almost entirely Chinese families, at least one apparently spanning 4 generations. I was heartened by this observation, and it added a family feeling to the ambience which was otherwise on the stark side.

The food was excellent. The main reason this doesn’t garner five stars from me is that I was hoping for dim sum carts. In this establishment, you mark the desired quantity of each item on the menu and wait for it to be served. Part of the excitement of a dim sum meal is to see what comes around in the carts and trying the dishes without being sure what they are.

(For those unaccustomed to dim sum, the dishes generally arrive with 3 pieces of the item. Dim sum is most delightful when a large group goes out and shares the dishes – passing on the lazy suzan.)