Tai Pan Dim Sum

Great for a quick meal with a group of people. Food was out within minutes of ordering it, and it was overall very good. I think a lot of people give this a low rating because the way the servers speak sounds rude, but is more just the culture. It would get 5 stars but it does not do anything really to stand out and wow me here. Overall would come back because it is pretty cheap and super fast service with good food too

I’ve been to this place a couple of times before for take out. Each time I went the workers there were rude and very abrupt. Thought we would just try again today (3^rd times a charm). Asked for two servings of the egg tart since that was something that was visible to us. Also asked for the steamed manapua which was not on display and the woman couldn’t give me the time of day. You would think that they wanted a bigger sale. Well too bad. I should have just just left without making the purchase. (The egg tart was just ok. I’ve tasted better.) When I went to pay for the two orders I couldn’t believe the cost. $ 7 for these tiny little things. Also they were so cheap that they could only give us 1 lousy napkin! So I guess they expected us to 3 to share a napkin!
Btw I went to Empress yesterday and it was way cheaper and tastier! Well, Tai Pan just lost a customer. Won’t ever go back there again! I would rather go to Empress where the dim sum is way tastier and way more reasonable. Also their employees are way nicer and friendlier than Tai Pans!

Food
The har Gow was huge so you get a lot of shrimp. The dumpling itself wasn’t very good but some people prefer quantity over quality. The shu mais were alright but they tasted as if they were steaming for awhile and they were probably not fresh. I did however like the bok choi and thought that that was cooked well. Other dishes we ordered included crunchy taro buns, cha sui bao, crispy egg buns, and turnip cake.
Service
Not the greatest and we had to flag our waitress down, even though the restaurant was empty, to ask for water.
Parking
They have a garage so ask for validation at the restaurant. But they still charge you a fee, even with validation. Parking isn’t free

Most restaurants struggle to meet the demands of larger crowds during the holidays so perhaps that was the case for Tai Pan Dim Sum when we went. It was the last day of the Lunar New Year festivities and the cultural plaza was packed! We decided to take refuge inside Tai Pan Dim Sum.
The sign said dim sum served all day so we attempted to order some but most of the dishes we wanted were sold out. The dim sum dishes we did get was probably left overs from the morning crowd as they were just laden in grease.
We also ordered some of my childhood favorites: steamed tripe, beef tendon soup, beef chow fun but just like the dim dishes… they were greasy yet bland. And even worse, the meats were all unchewable.
I know many Unilocalers griped about their service, but we actually had really good friendly service. Too bad the food or cleanliness of the restaurant didn’t match up.

This was our go-​to spot for dim sum back in the day. Nowadays things have gone downhill. You should never expect good service at a Chinese restaurant, but to receive NO service? There was actually an incident where we were seated and no one bothered to take our orders for half an hour. Even after flagging down waitress after waitress, we were just told «okay okay, wait», just for them to never return. I really wish I could say I was exaggerating but unfortunately. nope.
Food quality is comparable to any other dim sum place. Nothing bad, but nothing spectacular either. It does seem to be pricier than many other places though for the same quality.
I’m not saying I’ll never eat here again but I won’t be expecting much. If anything, ordering takeout might be the best option.

By far an amazing, inexpensive dim sum place in Chinatown. I’ve gone at least 10 times. Usually for my mom’s birthday. Year over year the food always stands out. You’ll see other reviews that really count off for service. You just have to know what to expect here. Only your server will get you things, you will have to flag her down. The menu is more like a list of things they might have. Don’t let that stop you! The fried dumplings, fried shrimp, baked char su buns and steamed char su as well as any of their tarts and desserts are worth it. Go early like at 11 latest, because everyone local goes here. It’s that good.

I must be missing something here, because I swear the last time I came to — Tai Pan Dim Sum the place was so busy, the food was delicious, and the service was not too bad at all.
Upon my return to Tai Pan today… I noticed it wasn’t too busy, the food was still pretty good, but the service was just plain terrible.
Some of my friends moved back to da 808 recently, after living in Virginia for a while… and it was a good time to catch up with each other, so we decided to meet up at Tai Pan Dim Sum at the Chinese Cultural Center.
I was a bit taken back when I came here for lunch today, around 11:30 AM, as the restaurant was only ¹⁄₃ full… so getting a table was no issue at all.
Upon getting seated, a waitress dropped off a few menus, water, & hot tea.
After looking over the menu, we decided to order the following items (see pics) -
1. Fresh Scallop Look Fun Rolls
2. Baked Char Sui Buns
3. Egg Tarts
4. Deep Fried Seaweed Rolls
5. Steamed Shrimp Dumplings
6. Steamed Sponge Cake
7. Pork Siu Mai
Overall the food was still pretty good… I would say a solid «3.5 to 4», but my only complaint today was the bad service.
After the waitress took our Dim Sum order, and delivered the food… we were never checked on to see if we wanted anymore dim sum, nor were we checked on to have our tea or water refilled. Each time we had to flag down a waitress to get more tea, more dim sum, small dishes for our shoyu, & containers to pack up our leftovers.
To top it off, when I went to pay… the man who was working the register was very rude. No smile, no thank you… he looked like he was angry… When I went back to the register to get a parking validation for for my friend, I witnessed him address a customer with — «WHAT???»
I mean really? After all, we are the paying customer… and it won’t hurt to smile, and thank people for dining at your establishment.
With that kind of attitude… you’ll be sure to lose a lot of loyal customers.
Now don’t get me wrong… I’m not shocked by the sub-​par service seen at a Chinese restaurant… as I grew up eating a lot of Chinese, so it’s not shocking at all to me. But with other Chinese restaurants that serve the same kind of food… what do you think the customer would do if they received bad service? Probably go to the other establishment…

Food was flavorless, doughy & greasy. Not even close to good. I don’t know what happened to this place but what disappointment! I guess that’s why we were able to sit right away cause people aren’t coming anymore?

my favorite dim sum place! the food is great. the location is easy to find (downstairs near the shrine). service is good if you’re willing to speak up. they’re always busy, but if you wave they’ll help you. the food is always hot and tasty!
my favorite thing to order is the sticky rice wrapped in the leaf. it’s the best! and I always get the shrimp look fun and shrimp dumplings too. the gin dui is hot and fresh too. never disappointed with anything we order. tried the seafood fried rice (big plate for $ 10.50) and it’s got shrimp, scallops, scrambled egg and green onions. yum!
4 stars because you have to pay for parking.

Many years ago, someone told me that Tai Pan Dim Sum had the best dim sum in Chinatown. Therefore, I’ve been wanting to try this place for quite sometime. My family and I accidentally stumbled across this place yesterday when we were attending the Chinese New Years festival at the Chinese Cultural Center. I was so excited to try it. I’m glad my family was willing to dine there with me.
When we arrived, all the tables were taken. We were quickly greeted by a waitress. She told us to wait a few minutes. It wasn’t long until we were seated by her. Menus were given to us along with water and hot tea. She only brought three cups of water for the five of us. Hmmm… strange! My mom and dad was ok with tea only, so we didn’t ask for more.
After looking over the menu, we flagged the waitress to put in our order. We ordered the following:
Beef chow fun-​ok, not memorable. I had better.
Ong chop with garlic sauce-​very tasty
Dim sum:
Jung (mochi rice)-never came
Pork siu mai –tasty
Beef balls with bean curd-​partially uncooked/​not good
Steamed char siu bao-​ok
Baked hot dog bao-​good
All the dim sum except for the jung was delivered within 5 minutes after we ordered. The waitress forgot and we were full anyway.
The beef chow fun took over 15 – 20 minutes. When I asked, the waitress was grouchy. She told me that it was coming. When she brought it, she had an attitude! She also looked at my dad and said something rude to him in Chinese! So, unprofessional!
Then, right before we were ready to leave, the ong choy with garlic sauce came. We forgot about it. We decided to eat it anyway even though we were full.
I was so disappointed with the service and food here! I’m NEVER coming back to Tai Pan Dim Sum! It was not worth our time and money! If you do not have the time or don’t want to be treated RUDE, do not come here. I rather go to Nice Day in Liliha for dim sum.

Now that I’ve moved away from Hawaii, when I do come back, it’s absolutely top priority that I DO NOT WASTE a meal opportunity on anything less than great, and this is definitely why TAI PAN DIM SUM is a must for me. My father is a huge Jook junkie and this is one of his favorite places for it too so it just makes perfect sense that we do breakfast here at least a couple times when I get a week to come home.
I rarely deviate from my norm and order the Char Siu Bao along with Pork Shumai and maybe some oyster sauce Choi Sum. Why mess with perfection? Seating can be a bit tight, but it’s adequate and an acceptable compromise for the quality of the food. It’s crazy, but just looking at the pics right now and typing this is making me drool and crave it. I would highly recommend TPDS as one of the best offerings for DIM SUM in the Honolulu Area.
Keep up the wonderful food Tai Pan!
:)

Tai Pan has always been one of the regular dim sum restaurants that we would visit now and then. They have a decent variety of dim sum and most of the items are pretty good. We like their siu mai, chicken feet, turnip cakes, and their egg tarts. Unlike the majority of the dim sum restaurants, they do not have have workers pushing carts around. You just order what you want, and they’ll bring it to your table. Over the recent years, their prices have gone up substantially. With the high prices, I’m not so sure if we would come here as often. Service could be hit or miss. Sometimes we get good service where the waitresses are attentive and work efficiently. This time around, we had to wait forever to have someone take our order… and they weren’t even busy! All in all, I think we are gonna visit Tai Pan much less mainly due to the increased pricing.

Tai Pan is one of my top three places for Dim Sum, and in my opinion, serves the best puff pastry dishes, turnip cake, and look funn rolls. The complimentary unlimited Jasmine tea served to all guests is also tasty, hot and delicious – other than the dim sum here, I actually look forward to the tea. My consistently favorite dishes are: beef puff pastry, look funn rolls, turnip cake, Pork Siu Mai, baby bok choi, steamed fish, azuki-​filled sesame balls, mini egg custard pies (more «yolky» in flavor than other places), and the mysterious «Crispy Carrot.» Only yesterday did I learn that the «Crispy Carrot» dish does not taste like a carrot at all – its simply an egg custard-​filled, deep fried mochi dessert, colored orange and shaped like a carrot (who came up with this idea, I do not know), and DELICIOUS.
Another way I know this place is good: its always super busy and filled with super Chinese people. You know a place is good when people of the culture of the food served frequent the location. However, note that service, as with many dim sum restaurants, is not friendly – the waiters and waitresses have heavy accents and do not smile unless they know who you are or you or someone in your party speaks Mandarin or Cantonese. This doesn’t bother me at all though – regardless of this facet, service is prompt, efficient, and clean. I recommend to ask for the dim sum picture menus and just point at the items you wish to order and if ordering a dish off their menus on the wall, to just say the number of the dish. Happy eating!

My favorite dimsum place. Food is so tasty. Small place so it gets pack really fast. Good price. There’s hardly any parking so make sure you know where to park before u come. Very clean place.

We came here for dim sum brunch today. You can order dim sum from a picture menu which made it easier to order. They also serve Cantonese style dishes here too. We ordered few dim sum like deep fried taro, Mochi rice wrapped in lotus leaves, Shanghai Soup dumplings and Chinese donuts. They also have a mini bakery inside of this restaurant. Service is ok here and parking is only $ 1 for the first hr when you validate your parking ticket.

1:45pm. Lunch crowd clearing out. Maggie wanted baked bbq pork buns. Had a bad feeling seeing the buns in big display case near front door. Buns were cold. Likely cooked when dim sum service began and sitting in the display case since then. Pastry and bbq pork filling lacked that fresh flavor explosion I look for in dim sum. Inner pastry was getting slimy from too much contact with filling. Dish had potential to be good as the little cube’s of char sui weren’t bad.
1:55pm. No desire to try ordering more dim sum now cold from sitting out. Tried mango dessert. Nice cold dessert. Blend of flavors from mango and coconut milk tasty.
Place might be good for dim sum at the start of dim sum service but not at 2pm.

I’ve been reading 2015 recent posts of tai pan. what cracks me up is that a lot of people that are down grading their rating of this restaurant because they claim that you will need to bring along a chinese interpreter. what a shame!
it looks like these rating down grader people don’t know how to communicate with people that speak little english. if there is a communication barrier between you and your waitress… ask for the PICTURE menu with english descriptions! if that doesn’t help, smile and treat them nice! NEWS FLASH! they know how to speak english… enough to take your order :D
pork hash, shrimp roll, and the coconut gin dui are still my top 3!

This is one of those place where you need to bring a Chinese speaker, Cantonese that is. Otherwise, service maybe out the door. Thank goodness I was with one. Also, if you’re not comfortable with tight seating then you may feel some anxiety. I can’t believe how tight the tables are to each other. But they do have green sign on the door so they passed the inspection.
Their dim sum reminds me of the mainland style. I’m not sure why. Their dim sum was pretty good. We tried Shu Mai, Har Gau, fried seaweed with shrimp, shrimp Look Funn.
This place is convenient for take out. Many people came in to get take outs instead of dining in. They have showcase full of dim sum on the right side of the restaurant. You can see it from outside of the restaurant. I couldn’t believe how quickly they were being sold.

I have been going here for so long that they basically watched me go through middle school to graduating college! Let me start off with the service here! They always greet me with a hug when I walk into the door. The lady with the spiked hair and glasses loves my mom and I and we LOVE her too! She always takes her time to talk to us and makes us feel like home when we’re here. She is such an extraordinary person! You know at most Chinese restaurants they’re kind of short and want to get the waiting part of their job over with, but here it’s never like this with me! If I ever had a question about the menu they would take their time and explain what’s inside for me.
Dim sum is so fun, fresh, and tasty! I love how you can get a little bit of everything especially if you go with a large group! The things I love to order here are: the siu mai, mochi rice, black bean spareribs, steamed char siu buns, deep fried seaweed rolls, look fun, choi sum in oyster sauce, and the thousand year egg rice soup. I’ve tried a lot of dishes here, but I usually get a combination of those dishes I listed above! If you’re feeling adventurous they do have chicken and pig feet dishes as well! I’m okay on those things though! Haha!
They’re always busy, so if you don’t mind being in a crowded place than you’ll be fine! It wouldn’t be Chinatown without the hustle and bustle.
I hope everyone gets the same experience that I receive when I go here. Hands down the best dim sum place you can find in Chinatown. Nothing beats the food and the service for me! :)

I don’t usually give establishments one star. Nope. Not at all. Never. Rarely? In any case, I got fellow Unilocalers to vouche for me on this one.
In order to write this review though, I needed a couple of weeks to digest what exactly went on when I came here. I also needed to digest that my experience here (somewhat negative one to say the least) was not unique to only me. Sadly, it’s happened to many other Unilocalers who just wanted a nice dim sum meal. Is that too much to ask for? *Insert sad face. Sad, hungry face*
Okay, so let me recount what exactly happened that fateful day my sister, brother in law, mom and I strolled in this place. Please ignore and forgive me if my sobs get too loud.
First, let me start with the positives. Of course any establishment has its strengths. For one, they made sure we were seated promptly. Another plus was that they were very attentive of us paying our bill in a timely manner.
Okay. Whew. That wasn’t too bad. Okay. Now on to the not so good:
I understand that this day we went on was somewhat busy. However, I did not find it to my liking that we had to wait at least 15 – 20 minutes while other people who came after us were helped right away. Now, people have alluded to this or even said it flat out that it helps if you can speak the language of the people who work there. I extremely hate to say it but to some extent that statement is fair to say. Not only did we have to wait for so long, then flag people down to order more things, we also had to ask for our water to be filled up.
Let me talk about the food though. The dim sum was good. Pretty sure this was the first time I’ve gone to get dim sum, and liked it. Some of the textures were uhm… interesting. Wasn’t expecting meat to be gummy or chewy like how it was, but I did like their sweet sour spareribs.
I understand that Unilocal is rated on what the establishment sells, but I feel that customer service has a lot to do with it. The food is definitely not worth coming here if we are going to be ignored for a good portion of time.