Lucky Star Seafood Restaurant

Been coming here with my family for a long time and when I was able to drive started coming here with my cousins and friends. The dim sum is really good here and is one of my more favorable places to get it. Regular dinner food is amazing and the people here also add to the good experiences I’ve had here. Still love coming here for dim sum

This place is old. You can smell the stories in this place. Chinese, vietnamese and others have all passed through here, you seem to wade through their immigrant stories here.
My grandpa and grandma walked in. The waitresses know him. My grandpa waves at another old man reading a Chinese newspaper. He lets me know it’s the owner of Sieu Sieu BBQ. It’s as if the remnants of old immigrant culture desperately trying to stay alive here.
The place is barely a third of the way full. there’s an unlit part of the room where there is a dance floor. I think it’s a vietnamese dance club at night.
The bar is cluttered, and people come in like it’s a convenience store to buy lotto tickets.
The dim sum carts seem as if they have been travelling around far too many times. In fact, you can see them lined up in the other room, with waitresses waiting for new people to come in who might want to order something from them.
The food is definitely sub par… but I think that my grandparents come for something other than the food. As we leave, they cheerfully greet their old aging friends, it seems as if they’ve known these people for all 40 years since they moved over, that these people kept them from feeling alone all these years without knowing English.
This place is definitely not fresh. This place is definitely not cutting edge. This place is definitely not popular. I probably won’t be back any time soon unless it’s for my grandparents. But for what it’s worth, this place is a slice of quickly fading cultural memory.
2 stars for bland dimsum
3 stars for nostalgia
=2.5 stars

First time here.
Got out of the car wondering if it was open and couldn’t figure out the main entrance.
It was very quiet and empty.
The food was delicious though. We ordered the chive turnover, har-​gow, shrimp shumai, turnip cake, shrimp in mushroom, clams in black bean sauce, yolk buns, rice porridge, the custard tarts, and two other fried bun type things. they were all pretty delicious. Although the turnip cake was a bit plain.
The waitresses were great too.

I’m really sad to write this review. I’ve been coming to Lucky Star for over 10 years. This has been my go-​to Chinese to go and Dim Sum spot forever since it’s so close to my house. We decided to stop in for dinner the other night with friends. It’s been at least a year since I’ve been in, but everything looked pretty much the same.
We sat down in the side room b/​c there was a wedding going on. That room is pretty depressing and freezing, but no big deal. The waiter brings our menus and walks away, what happens next is a testament to my new ability to stay calm cool and collected. A roach walked up the table cloth and onto the middle of the table.
The blood curdling screech fortunately stayed contained, my stomach lurched and I reached over and flicked the roach, unfortunately I flicked it onto my husbands sweater. In retrospect, I should have caged it under a tea cup for the staff to find when they came back and found a vacant table.
Thankfully this was before any food or drinks were consumed. We busted a move out of that place like there was a fire. Here’s the thing, I get ethnic restaurants. Honestly, I love going to all the Vietnamese places and Mexican places along El Cajon and University. Most are a little gritty, but generally clean. What I can’t handle is a roach hangin’ on my table with me. Where there is one roach, in the dining room, there must be thousands in the wall and kitchen.
I’m sad to have to say adieu to Lucky Star. Guess I will have to drive to Convoy to get my dim sum fix.

Old friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner. First time having dim sum… meh. Shrimp dumplings were good but the other sum was pretty dim, lol. Orange chicken, shrimp fried rice, chicken chow mien and a few other unmemorable dishes. Everything was good but average good, not exceptionally or especially good. Not really worth the trip, IMHO.
It was August and pretty hot in there, which doesn’t make for comfortable eating.

Walnut shrimp — 3 stars
Peking duck — 3.5 stars
Fried shrimp roll — 4 stars
Shark fins and crab meat soup — 3 stars
House fried rice — 3.5 stars
Seafood in bird nest — 4 stars
Service — 3 stars

I must say, this restaurant is by far the best Dim Sum place to go to. I’ve been to Pearl Chinese restaurant (another dim sum place but in RB) and I’ve heard of other restaurants such as Emerald and Jasmine, and those restaurants don’t compare to what I experienced at Lucky Star.
I came here on a Sunday with my boyfriend because his older sister recommended that we try this place. When we first got there, the restaurant was nicely decorated as if there was a wedding to be taken place on the same day. There were people with dim sum carts all over catering to their customers. When we sat down, our server took care of us quickly in a friendly manner. We got our hot tea and waters right away. My boyfriend tried their hot tea, and he told me not to try it because it tasted pretty bad.
But anyway, we ordered their delicious hand-​crafted DIM SUM! We had shrimp rice rolls, spinach & shrimp dumplings, har gow, chinese brocoli, and shrimp shui mai. All of these were delicious and filling! We were not disappointed at all! I was so surprised that the dim sum here was inexpensive because all of the other dim sum restaurants are pricey.
I would recommend this place to anyone who loves to eat dim sum! The quality is just as good as any expensive dim sum restaurant! I am definitely coming back here again to try chicken feet with my boyfriend.

Went to go eat here today with my girls. It was very difficult to to tell if the place was even open. I got out of the car and went to the four different front doors to see if they were open. I finally found it by pure persistence other wise I would have left. We went in after the waitress came over to assure us we were at the correct place. Lim was our waitress and was adorable! The menu here was really hard to figure out other then the Dim Sum menu. You can order food but it doesn’t come with sides. Like you can have chicken and that is it unless you order rice which is an additional charge and if you want vegetables there is an additional charge for that. I ordered four options under the Dim Sum menu. We tried the Steamed Scallop & Shrimp Gow and found this to be amazing, the Har Gow, Pork Shui Mai with Quail Eggs was also tasty but the actual yolk was a bit squishy. The Spinach & Shrimp Dumplings was my favorite of all along with the Ginger Beef Tripes. We also enjoyed the Oolong tea pot. Once we got the food we really enjoyed it. The food was enough to tie us over and decided to leave because their menu is just too confusing to figure out. I would love to come back here without children so that I can actually focus on what to order rather than the children. I loved our waitress.
This place also offers ballroom dancing lessons as well as rents their hall out. I also noticed that on Thursday nights they have big band event that I would love to experience. I think it is a bit expensive but I would come back. I want to try the shark fin soup as well as the sea cucumbers and conch options. I would also try their fried pigeon.
Dim Sum Menu
OWNER: When placing menu’s on a customers table it might be a good idea to make sure they are not saturated with stale beer making them stick together. It was also a bit uncomfortable being the only people in the building with no music and a TV with the news on especially at those prices. I really liked your fish sauce as well!

For the price you can’t beat this place.
Emerald, Jasmine, and China Max carry high sticker prices on their dim sum an expensive test drive.
This place is Chevy and Kia prices and still gets you where you want to go.
I have been going to this place for over 10 years it seems.
They have improved a lot.
The turnip cake which used to be terrible is a whole lot lighter just needs to be a little more crispy on the outside and it would be very good.
The chicken feet are soft and not tough like some places not the best ever but definitely serviceable.
Scallop and shrimp Gow was good, shrimp shu mai, shrimp with fun noodles, bbq pork buns, mixed stew all good.
THis place has improved a lot and you will save probably 30% from the aforementioned places.
Give this place a try, there is plenty of parking and the price is right as Drew Carey would say!

Interesting chinese place away from Convoy. They serve dimsum to order in the evenings which is cool and their steamed fish was fresh. We went on a Monday night and there was ballroom dancing? What the…4 stars for the food.
Had a bad experience with the bill though! they overcharged us with the wrong prices on what we ordered. pretty shady… hopefully it was an isolated incident… will give them benefit of the doubt, but be sure to check your bill before you pay.

I usually come here for Dim Sum with my family on Sunday mornings. The food is pretty decent, definitely not too bad. If I was reviewing this place based on their food, I’d give it about 3 – 4 stars since there’s not a lot of Dim Sum places compared to OC.
The service. well, Asians aren’t known for having the best service in restaurants but I usually don’t mind it nor does it play a huge factor in whether I like the place or not since most of them are old fashion. First, they like to spill things on you. This hasn’t happened once but twice in one sitting. Actually this happens a lot at this place. They’re not very careful as they should be when bringing over dishes with liquids and juices. They rush to place the plates on the table that it spilled all over someone at the table. They rushed to clean it up, but didn’t seem to care. This happened again when spun the thing in the middle of the table spilling water all over my dad. Man was he furious. They just tried to laugh it off, which was a bit rude.
Even for Dim Sum, the foods gets out pretty slow. We waited forever to get the dishes we wanted. Even the chicken feet which is a favorite at my table. They’re pretty roomy so they do fit large groups which is great if you want to eat out with lots of people. Groups of 8+ pays gratuity.
If it wasn’t for my parents liking to come here so much, I’d probably never come back.

Been coming here for years and I love this place! Food is always hot and ready. And your seated and served fairly quickly.
The atmosphere of this place is very humble and calm. The waiters there are polite and occasionally engage in conversation. Very friendly people. This restaurant also hosts weddings! I remember one of my distant relatives hosted one here and it was pretty nice. They set up real good and the mood is all there.
This restaurant is also a cool place to watch the Superbowl! Everyone that comes on the Sundays on the day of are always pumped up and eyes just locked onto all tv’s around the place. This place is just good all around.
As for the pricing, well it isn’t too bad. I’d say it’s pretty fair considering the overall good quality of the place. So I do recommend anyone considering on giving this place a try!
Recommend:
–Shrimp and Pork Shumai’s
–Pork Spare Ribs
–Shrimp Noodles
–Chicken Feet (might not be for everybody! but I love the quality here)

Dimsum after 3pm!
After a buddy told me this place sucks, it was time to try it out and see for myself.
This place is more like a reception venue, rather than a restaurant.
Food is ok, but expect slow service usually in the afternoon because there’s only one server and the manager in there.
You gotta try:
— Shrimp balls in sugar cane
— Shrimp Shu Mai (wayyyy better than pork)
— Spinach dumplings
The Bean curd SUCKS! Didn’t really like the chewy, slimy texture. Don’t know if it’s really supposed to taste like that but i tried the same thing in Malaysia and it was good!
That’s all i can share.
hope you guys enjoy the experience as much as i did!

This review is for the Dim Sum:
I personally like this restaurant because it’s never busy like others I’ve been to. We get seated, we eat and we leave. Parking is never a challenge.
My tasty food choices:
–Shrimp and Pork Shumai
–Sweet & Sour Spareribs
–Steamed Pork Buns
–Rice
Here’s a quick note: The Chinese Ladies with the push carts seems mean or speaks aggressive but they mean no harm. They’re very nice. They constantly checks up on us to make sure we are fine.
I will definitely return here as often as I could.

Do NOT go there.
They are dishonest.
The menu says it’s $ 2.75 for a glass of iced tea.
One time we ordered 2 iced teas and the waiter wrote $ 10 on the check for them.
Another time, I went up to pay the bill at the cash register, and the cashier changed the prices on the check as I was standing there. In full view of me, she crossed out prices on the check and wrote higher prices instead. And she would not discuss it.
The last time, and it will definitely be the last time we went there, I ordered chicken curry and an iced tea. They are listed as $ 9.95 and $ 2.75 on the menu. That should have added up to $ 12.70 plus tax. The waiter brought the bill and it was for $ 19.90. He had charged me $ 7.50 for one glass of iced tea — that’s what he wrote on the check for it.
And you cannot discuss the bill with them. Even if you try, they mumble an inappropriate response, and will not change anything. They are dishonest and sneaky.
By the way, the iced tea was strangely bitter, and the curry was bland and watery. It was yellow, like curry usually is, but it was like yellow water with no flavor. The chicken meat in the dish was cheap cuts of thigh meat. Obviously they try to get away with the cheapest possible ingredients, then charge you a higher price than is printed on the menu.
What else can I say, except… do NOT go there, at any time, for any reason.

Im not a huge fan of dim sum, so I ordered the soft noodles ($ 9.90) and they were good :) The dim sum however is like $ 3 per pot… pretty cheap :)

Ambiance: The exterior looks a bit old and run down, but there are new water fountains at the front entrance to perk the place up. The inside was decorated beautifully for a wedding banquet. Tablecloths and ribbons to match the bride and groom’s desired theme. New addition to the restaurant are the plasma screens all over. It looks quite nice and elegant on the interior. They also have a bar for those that prefer alcoholic drinks.
Service: The staff moved quickly and made sure our ice bucket was filled with ice every 15 minutes. Excellent service overall.
Location: Lots of parking and located in a plaza with K-​Mart. Restroom facilities were also clean.
Food:
~thousand year old egg, shrimp and various slices of meat served with a hint of mayo (shrimp was large and plump, but the rest were mediocre stuff that you’d find in a Vietnamese Sandwich)
~fried shrimp balls (reminded me of the fried wontons that I love from Hoa Binh, but this type is thicker and more filling)
~honey walnut shrimp (yummy! totally on par with what you would expect when you order at a different chinese restaurant)
~house special lobster (this was just so-​so… failed to highlight the evening)
~seafood noodle basket (aka bird’s nest — loved the scallops in there)
~banh bao and fried duck skin with cucumber and cabbage served with a side of hoison sauce (nothing but duck skin? no thanks)
~fried rice (one of the best dishes of the evening)
~baked fish served with fish sauce (ca hup — the fish was soft and delicious)
~taro coconut dessert (meh, I’ve had better)
~sweet and sour egg drop soup with crab (formerly known as shark fin soup, until the government made it illegal to serve shark fin. This was a little bland, but saved by white pepper)
Story: This is the third time I’ve been at this restaurant for a cousin’s wedding — the food is my favorite part of a wedding celebration!
Tips:
~Family-​style plates are easier to share and allows room to try several different dishes!

Don’t judge the place by the area it’s in.
I go here all the time with my family on Sundays — after chuch. We’ve been going here for YEARS! I can never get tired of this place. The dim sum is BOMB! It gets very busy on the weekends and since the dim sum is in high demand on the weekends, you always get the freshest ones! YUM!
My favorite is the shrimp shui mai and the har gow. I like finishing up with some egg tarts — delish!
Also, from what I know, they serve dim sum ALL DAY. But I would strongly suggest that you go anywhere from 10 – 3 because the prices are cheaper :] but all the same goodness!
From 10 – 3, the menu has these letters next to the items — a, b, c, & d.
(a) dishes are 2.50
(b) 3.50
© 4.50
(d) 6.50
They also have a separate menu — if you’re not there specifically for dim sum, I suggest you try their mixed fried rice and their wor wonton soup.
Note: If you go here on a weekday, the service IS slower because it’s pretty empty — they don’t have many full carts rolling around, but when you order what you want, it still comes fresh! ;]

I ate here for lunch with my family yesterday and it did not wow me at all, which is unfortunate. My Mom went here for a co-worker’s wedding reception years ago and said the salted-​pepper lobster was really good, so we went here to try it out.
They were in the middle of serving dim sum when we arrived at Noon. It was not that crowded and for the size of this grand ballroom, only half of the tables were set up for lunch customers because they were busy prepping the room for a wedding reception.
We got seated right away and we told them we were going to order off the regular menu versus getting dim sum. It was just my parents and my brother, but at one point in the first two minutes we got seated, we got bombarded with a dim sum lady with her cart, a server taking our drink order and I guess a manager that gave us our menus that sort of lingered at our table assuming we were ready to order. We needed more than just two minutes to review the over two hundred items on their menu, lol!
The menu has a ton of items to choose from. In addition to getting dim sum, you can get anything from seafood, pork, poultry and pigeon pretty much cooked anyway you like it. No thanks on flying rats, but I’m sure others enjoy that as their meal.
We started off with won ton soup. While we waited for our other grub, the dim sum ladies still walked by offering what they had on their cart. There was a little bit of a language barrier because when my brother would say «No thank you» the lady still managed to put the dim sum on our table. I learned quickly that if we smiled and shook our heads no, that worked much better!
We did try the pork with shrimp shu mai, a shrimp egg roll of some sort and my Mom wanted the sesame ball dessert. They tasted okay, but it lacked flavor.
Our main dishes came out fifteen minutes later and we had Mongolian beef, mixed lo mein noodles, beef chop suey, salted-​pepper lobster and honey walnut shrimp.
I took pics with my camera and I have to say the pics make the food look really, really delicious, but I was bummed that it was oily and didn’t taste like much. I did notice that the food all consistently had that bamboo aroma taste to it which was overpowering on the dishes. I’m not a fan of that aroma nor did I like it in my food.
Overall, it was okay. I’m probably not going to want to go back there again knowing I have my preferred places to dine for some really fantastic dim sum and Chinese food at other San Diego locations. But at least I gave Lucky Star a shot, too bad it was below par.
Side note: the unused, walk-​through metal detector to the right of the main entrance concerns me. Do they really need that for the crowds they bring in? LOL!

I am a dim sum snob. Not because I particularly love dim sum — I don’t even eat it that often. But my uncle is a legit dim sum chef from Hong Kong. Nothing beats fresh dim sum made from scratch whenever I visit my uncle.
Anyway, this place is pretty mediocre. They had a pretty good variety of dim sum and it wasn’t busy at all so the carts came by almost immediately — which makes me think maybe it’s been sitting there for a while since it wasn’t being gobbled up that quickly by customers. Service was pretty decent. It was a bit weird how they kept coming over to our table and just stared for a few seconds each time. Maybe it was because we ordered enough for 5 people when it was only a party of 2. And yes, we ate pretty much everything except a few pieces of steamed spareribs and chicken feet.
Oh, and my experience here was a bit different than Marthie D.‘s… they were definitely Chinese there. Everyone who approached our table spoke to me in Chinese — didn’t even try English first. The Chinese music was a good touch too… reminds me of my childhood before I discovered American music.