I know I’m only giving it 3 stars, but don’t let that deter you from coming here. The place isn’t a fancy Chinese restaurant, but the food is solid. This is a to-go joint, so just pick your choices from the display cases or from the menus hanging on the wall. They have your typical dim sum dishes like shumai, har gow and bbq pork steamed buns. They also have some other very good treats like shrimp pockets, chive dumplings, and congee. Also, they have some decent desserts like egg tarts and Chinese donuts. The service is super friendly and always seems to be fairly clean. The selection is pretty big for a to-go dim sum place. It is cash-only though, which I always seem to forget, but the prices are so reasonable that I could usually get a good size meal for 3 or 4 with only a Benjamin… or is it a Franklin? Jackson? Lincoln? Who the hell is on a twenty dollar bill again???
Tiana C.
Place rating: 5 Cupertino, CA
The ladies who work here are kinda rude(don’t greet you, don’t say thank you, etc.) but whatever. I don’t come here to chit chat, I come here to order dim sum, pay, and leave. I would recommend this place. If you’re looking for your afternoon quick fix of siu mai and pork buns, this is your spot.
Kenji Y.
Place rating: 3 Cupertino, CA
They are open early, have many dim sum choices and priced low. Their sets mentioned on the yellow board in the back is great value. They offer a porridge, some buns, some dim sums for ?$ 4 – 5? You can also pickup the usual dim sum items like tofu wrap, chicken feet, steamed buns, chow mien, fried rice on the side. Friendliness doesn’t exist, but they do get the job done fast. Everything in general is good, but leaves a very oily full feeling in my stomach that it makes me not want to repeat.
Joraine C.
Place rating: 5 San Francisco, CA
My new favorite dim sum spot. Definitely found myself choking a few times as I was stuffing my face so quickly and needed a drink of water in between. This place is absolutely delicious. Freshly made trays of steamy hot dim sum waiting for you to pick them out and eat them somewhere else. There are three tiny tables if you are lucky enough to get a seat. You point to the items you want and one of the two cashiers available will pack your order in to-go containers. I had the steamed bean curd skin and it was delicious swimming in it’s sauce and the roll contained shrimp, which was a nice surprise from other dim sum places. The fried shrimp ball was large and hearty, unlike some places that just layer on the crispy skin. Of course, had the sesame ball, bread with hot dog, shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, and a few other items whic are my typical/regular dim sum items that I order whenever I have dim sum, and they were all delicious, hearty, authentic and home-made tasting. It did not taste stale, «dirty» or cheaply made like some places that cut corners by cooking something once and leaving it out all day, or giving you a dumpling that’s all wrapper and little to no meat, or the places that give you all veggie chow mein with barely any noodles. They also have congee/porridge lunch specials at $ 6.75 and there is also chow fun/chow mein in trays ready to-go. The soy sauce chow mein is out of this world. I don’t even like soy sauce chow mein but I loved this. It’s not overloaded with veggies. There’s just a few bean sprouts and green onion and they are cooked to perfection that I don’t even mind that they are there. They ran out of the shrimp rice roll when I was there and only had beef. Also their prices are so affordable. All the customers there were Chinese and they were all taking their dim-sum to go which is a good sign. Expect to wait in line for 5 – 10 minutes but that’s no longer than any other dim sum places where you are seated and waiting for the cart to come around. Cash only, but there is an ATM on site. My new favorite dim sum spot.
Alysa N.
Place rating: 3 Cupertino, CA
When I need my dim sum fix and too lazy to go to Milpitas or to any restaurant for that matter, I come here! This place is mainly for takeout. I love their taro with meat dumpling(fried), another dumpling with starchy exterior with meat(still have no idea what this is called, it looks like a football lol), their BBQ pork buns, and their sticky rice in lotus leaf, and their bbq pork or beef rice rolls! Basically my standard order at any dim sum place since I don’t eat seafood. Egg tarts here are just okay. I prefer the ones at 85. If you like porridge, get it here! I honestly don’t know where else to get it in the South Bay besides tai pan. Place looks pretty dingy and dirty though…
Kelly G.
Place rating: 4 Santa Clara, CA
Best soymilk in the area! They cook it long enough and its great pricing. Love all the dim sum items as well. Cash only, but there’s an ATM on site. Best to take the food home as there are only 3 tables and a couple chairs on the side. Waits can get long in the morning rush. Parking can also suck if the neighboring Lion Market is open.
Lealo M.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
Great for food ready to go. Seating for 10 only. Food was good and not small.
Susan S.
Place rating: 1 Mountain View, CA
Unbelievably rude cashier(heavy makeup lady with long permed hair in her 50s), dimsum taste like left over from yesterday. Go to a decent restaurant for dimsum, don’t waste your money here.
John S.
Place rating: 1 Burlingame, CA
The service here is beyond belief. Sure you don’t expect much from a take out Chinese food place but a simple cordial hello or smile would be reasonable to expect. The female cashier, in her 50’s with heavy make up and a face that looks like she had a stroke, definitely needs to be replaced. And if she’s the owner, God bless her. I witnessed her being so rude to a customer it was truly a sight to behold. The customer was not Asian and her face was impatient when he tried to ask her about the dishes and choices. Then she tossed the food at him in an angry manner. The Customer left and said to the lady: «I didn’t come to pay for this abuse». The food is average, the porridge came out very hot which is good, but the poor attitude clearly takes away from the experience. Someone should give her a lesson on Business Etiquette 101. At this rate patrons will not come back for the abuse. I strongly recommend against this place until management changes hands and the way she treats her clients it won’t be long.
Melody L.
Place rating: 2 San Jose, CA
Here are reasons I won’t come back : 1. They put boiling hot soy milk in plastic container 2. Soy milk tastes like water 3. The girl who works there is like«my life sucks so you’ll gonna get an attitude from me»
Adrianne G.
Place rating: 4 Santa Cruz, CA
Best mochi!!! Great dim sum and the onion bread is amazing. Cash only and service is civil but not friendly. Excellent prices and tasty Bao selection. Great sesame balls too.
Alexandra C.
Place rating: 3 San Jose, CA
The food is really good… but don’t expect them to smile or want to get it for you. It saddens me to see a younger crowd with such gloomy faces. Like I said if you want too dim sum to go, this is the place to go. Cash only!
Vivian D.
Place rating: 1 San Jose, CA
Came at 6. No mo food. Closes at 8. Wtf. Will not be going back here. The attitudes of the people who work there are horrible. They would yell at you if you ask them to repeat what they said cuz you couldn’t hear them.
Viola c.
Place rating: 4 Santa Clara, CA
Fresh tasty dim sum, reasonably priced, not having to deal with the hassle and crowd of a dim sum restaurant. The aim is efficiency, not friendliness. You order, they pack, you pay, and leave with your tasty package. I tried the bean curd wrap, fried taro tart, chinese donut, stuffed sticky rice balls, and egg tart. All yummy, total around $ 11. I saw they have set lunches as well, maybe I’ll try that next time. Cash only.
Derek S.
Place rating: 4 San Jose, CA
Tai Pan is a reliable place for fresh dim sum that is made daily without the hassle of a restaurant! Baked BBQ Pork Buns are a good choice at $ 1.4 each + tax. They do tend do run out by mid-afternoon. My favorites include Pot Stickers, especially when they’re hot off the grill! The beef chow fun is good too, especially at $ 3.25 for a small box that is packed to the brim! Their $ 6.75 lunch specials are the best value, although not the best for those looking for a low-carb diet. Portions are huge that can be more than sufficient for 2! Service can be rather curt, especially if you don’t speak Chinese… Cash only although they have an ATM inside with a $ 2.5 service fee. …do ask for a receipt and triple check your change… there’s been more than a few incidents of short-changing and over-charging over the years…
Jerry L.
Place rating: 4 Chino, CA
The food is ok. Chive Dumplings are A+ here. Congee is A+ here. Rest of the«dumpling dimsums» tend to be a bit heavy on the wrapping side. If a place like this existed in Los Angeles or Rowland Heights in SoCal, they’d be making a fortune! A lot of peeps like DimSum but don’t enjoy the traditional way of eating it inside a restaurant with a lot of loud people. Tai Pan gives you the option of buying it «to-go» without being a weirdo and going home to enjoy it while watching your soccer game or favorite TV program. A+ on the idea. B on the food. If they can get HK caliber Dimsum with this selling approach, they’d knock it out of the park.
Jenny N.
Place rating: 4 Fremont, CA
From the outside, you can easily look over this place. We had the bean curd, shrimp har gao and shui mai. For the price, the taste is amazing. The har gao was delicious and the skin wasn’t too chewy. The shrimp was crunchy and tasty. The shui mai had good flavor as well and went really well with the sauce packets of chili oil and vinegar I believe. Definitely worth a try if you have cash monies on deck!
Irene S.
Place rating: 3 Santa Clara, CA
I LIVE for takeout dim sum only because I like to go home and eat in my pjs and watch reality tv while pigging out… Everything is just fine. Nothing special. Shrimp rolls! Fine. Shumai! Fine. Chive dumpling! Fine Pork with preserved egg porridge. Fine. Custard bun! Extra fine!!! So quick, so easy, pretty cheap.
Cynthia H.
Place rating: 3 Berkeley, CA
PANFRIEDCHIVEDUMPLING! Super cheap and fast dim sum on the go. They have dim sum that’s definitely good and others that aren’t so much. I’m still figuring out which ones are the hits but here’s the ones I tend to order and as usual, ordered today: FOOD Be forewarned, I tend to compare all the dim sum I eat to Joy Luck Palace’s because they’re my fav dim sum place ever lol. –Fried Meat Dumpling: It’s not bad, just super oily! Skin is not super crispy given that it’s not fresh out of the kitchen but the glutinous part is chewy and the inside meat filling is flavorful. The skin is thicker than Joy Luck’s which I enjoy but the inside meat filling isn’t as aromatic as Joy Luck’s. The biggest issue I have with this dish is that it is SOOILY. The oil just oozes out when you bite in. Wayyyy too much oil. Even if I’m eating something fried, I don’t want to know or feel how much oil is in it and here, I can def tell… –PANFRIEDCHIVEDUMPLING: This is REALGOOD here. Again it’s oily but it’s not as bad as the fried meat dumpling. This is packed with chives, super flavorful. The size of this is a lot bigger than Joy Luck’s too. This is a win! –Steamed Custard Bun: This was the new thing I tried today and wasn’t a fan. The custard was kind of bland, not as sweet as I would’ve liked and the outside bun was not fluffy and soft. It’s huge compared to joy luck’s though… if only it were good. Dislike :( SERVICE Very simple, just order, pay and get your order all done by the cashier. The place seemed a little disorganized/dirty but not too shabby. OVERALL Will be back to try more dim sum since there’s definite hits or misses and it’s a quick fix when I’m craving dim sum but can’t go to joy luck! It’s super cheap too, an order is usually around $ 3 for 3 pieces… as opposed to joy luck when it’s like $ 4 or $ 5 but obviously the quality there is much better. If you come, be warned that not everything will be good but give it a try! You might be pleasantly surprised!
Julia T.
Place rating: 4 San Francisco, CA
Tai Pan offers a wide range of dim sum items, including staple dishes like har gow, siu mai, and bbq pork buns. I like swinging by here for a quick to-go order when I’m craving dim sum on a weekday or don’t want to go through with the whole sit-down dining room experience. Their har gow and siu mai are big and fresh, and the price was reasonable at $ 2.80 for 3 pcs. I also saw fresh Chinese donuts, rice noodle rolls, and chive dumplings. Tasty, quick, affordable dim sum — you can’t beat that! Parking is in a shared plaza lot. The store itself is right next door to Lion Supermarket. Note: cash only.
