Fook Lam

My absolute favorite dim sum place on the island. We have been coming here for years! Out favorites are the chicken feet which is so masterfully marinated and it comes with some peanuts at the bottom also. The shrimp and chive dumplings are a must and the siu mai is delicious. The owners are very nice. They told me they close in April for vacation and to come visit them any other month. Parking is via paid lots all around Chinatown. Indoor seating. Casual. They still push the carts around at this place.

Very good dim sum place located in Chinatown. It wasn't too busy since there were a lot of available seats but the flavor and quality remain consistent. Service is what you expect at any dim sum restaurant, slow and not as attentive. Their dim sum and the cooked large dishes are delicious. Full of flavor and tasty.

NEVER JUDGE A CHINESE RESTAURANT BY THE SERVICE. The ruder the better when it comes to dim sum. Apparently some of the servers use telepathy; they put dishes on your table before you even decide. Fook Lam is located adjacent to the river in a seedy part of China town. You can watch men gambling outside while you wait for a table. FOOD IS PRETTY DARN GOOD. House special Look Fun is excellent--tempura style shrimp with shreds of lettuce wrapped in chow fun noodles--has great texture and flavor. The Fook Lam style jook was the best jook I've ever had. Mix of beef, chicken, fish, and pork with a dash of white pepper was heaven (no thousand egg thank god). The paigu (Chinese spare ribs) were steaming with bits of garlic--super good. The shumai was a tad anemic. The shrimp with scallion and shrimp with spinach were colorful (come as three pieces only). Har gow was standard. Xiaolongbao was very good. Custard tarts were out of this world. The gailan (Chinese broccoli) was a bit overcooked. The place is typical chaotic Chinese restaurant. Go for the food! The manager was friendly and smiling (once she rang up the check LOL) I'll go back for sure

Fook Lam has always been my go to place for dim sums and morning breakfast! The line moves very fast and service is super quick too! Make sure to try out the dim sums there! The aunties usually go around offering you dim sum, so make sure to try those out. They also have really good jook, so definitely try those out! Their look fun is also really good, so make sure to order those as well! Definitely come here and share your food with your friends and family to try out more dishes. Don't be intimidated by the line or the crowd! It moves really fast and the aunties are really accommodating and friendly. Definitely come here for breakfast or brunch so you can get their best dishes early!

(Dined 05/21/23 SU @ 8:30am): Fook me... a dim sum restaurant with carts! A friend and I were meeting others for dim sum Sunday brunch at Fook Lam Restaurant. I loved dim sum and would eat it every day (I seemed to be able to eat ANYTHING everyday!), so I was excited about this. I always felt dim sum should be eaten during any time of the day, but rarely were you able to find anywhere that served it past lunch time. Was it fookin' good for my first time having dim sum on the island!? PURCHASE Shanghai Soup Dumplings 6pc ($13.95): Hot juicy suckers that were small enough to fit entirely in your mouth and exploded with steaming soup while the casing was chewy and sticky. It was always an adventure when I ate this because I rarely ever sucked the soup out first. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=jHVh8fPPG2AWWOp2A3Aj4g Here were additional notes of the partial food spread that was eaten: https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=urQjXLAdVqOxiEhuX5cxIQ ~Baked/Steamed Char Siu Bun 3pc ($5.50): Fluffy, sweet, and packed with pork. ~Chinese Red Bean Malasada 3pc ($5.50 x2): Cut in half for easier sharing, I felt they lacked red beans although the dough was chewy and nice. ~Deep Fried Mochi w/Meat 3pc ($5.50): Nice flakiness and loaded with seasoned minced meat. ~Deep Fried Spring Roll 3pc ($5.50): Standard and crispy. ~Steamed Shrimp Dumpling 3pc ($5.50): Lots of shrimp, and I could eat these all day with some hot spicy dipping sauce. ~Deep Fried Seaweed Roll 3pc ($7.25): Delicate and wasn't satisfying. ~Shrimp Look Fun ($8.50): I wished the shrimp was cut into bits instead of whole. ~Steam Fish Ball 3pc ($8.50): Packed fish in a ball! ~Steam Shrimp Ball 3pc ($8.50): Equally-packed shrimp in a ball! ~Chinese Style Salty Creamy Egg Bun 4pc ($9.95): A lovely dessert like a Cadbury egg. My first plate, and I was getting full! https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=nKT1PU3oF2cpseWnXFxDiQ SERVICE My friend and I showed up a tad late to meet others, so we buzzed past the older hostess and made a beeline to where they were sitting. Some food was already present, so we simply dug in. When it was time to hail someone for more food, one of the ladies pushing the carts https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=P7NZ4XDXrFLCYx7CY85oZQ got to us rather quickly. We weren't checked on frequently, so if we wanted more food, water, or to pay the bill, we had to hail someone down... which was pretty standard in dim sum circles. Once we were done, we simply split the receipt evenly and off we went - xie xie! PARKING (Varied; FREE this instance) Located in downtown Chinatown where parking could be difficult and pricey, it was a Sunday, so we found FREE parking along one of the many nearby streets and walked the rest of the way. Usually, this type of parking was either metered or timed. Otherwise, there were also paid parking structures all around - 'nuff said. ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE A large spacious dining room https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=OVkmWzRnxN81qnhswZZwYA filled wall-to-wall with chairs and tables both round and square in addition to a few corner booths, a display case of various goodies once you entered, and a tiny counter at the front door to ask for a seat or pay your bill. There were a handful of framed pictures hung on the walls. Plenty of natural lighting came in through the large surrounding glass wall windows and front doors while many electric ceiling lights filled in the rest. There were no TVs nor any background music but plenty of chatter. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=maLHoIO5lku7lKmCM6VzVw ATTIRE Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. OVERALL It was nice to catch up with fellow Yelp friends over dim sum at Fook Lam Restaurant, and I would consider a future visit. Generally-speaking, I enjoyed the food and the portion sizes were good. However, the prices seemed to be a bit elevated, and the service was what I've experienced elsewhere (i.e. curt and direct). Plus, I always preferred to support small mom & pop businesses. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience per person was around $26.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, although they accepted credit cards, not mine of choice... AMEX! 4.0 STARS