Empire Garden Restaurant

Mar 30th, 2024

Mar 29th, 2024

I have been coming here since the early 2000s, and my visit yesterday did not disappoint. We went for dimsum around 11am on Saturday and were seated right away. My friends got a kick out of the preservation of the theatre in the dining room, which has elaborate and ornate decorations on the wall. A funny and endearing mismatch to the place being on the dingy side overall. I only speak English and most of the staff doesn't, but we were able to easily order our dimsum usuals by pointing to the carts roving around. (To me, dimsum must have carts to be a true experience!) My personal usuals include chau siu bao (pork steam buns), hakow (steamed shrimp dumplings), shao mai (steamed pork dumplings), sticky rice in a leaf, and hong kong egg custards. A lady came up toward the end to ask us if we wanted anything else. My friend showed her a pic of an egg custard steamed bun, and a few minutes later, she was enjoying one to her delight. When I ran out of water, there was promptly a water pitcher added to our table. Same with the tea refills, very prompt. When we went to pay, they brought to go containers without us having to ask. I was a little surprised and pleased to see how many non Chinese guests they had. Maybe 20-30%. Years ago, I recall few and far between being non-Chinese. If you're accustomed to Chinatown dimsum, I believe you will enjoy this place as I have for decades now. If not, this is still a great first time dimsum place as long as you come with an open mind and an empty tummy!
Mar 21st, 2024

This place does not deserve a star. I do Not recommend dining here.Everything is awful. Im not sure if the food was worse than the service. Both are horrible.
Mar 16th, 2024

Good but not amazing dimsum. Regular menu food is of variable quality. Wheelchair accessibility: They may have a way to be wheelchair accessible but I didn't see it. The restaurant is on the second floor and then you have to go down some short stairs to the seating area.
Mar 15th, 2024