Fook Lam

This used to be my favorite dim sum restaurant until recently. My parents and I always come here whenever they’re in town. My uncles and several of my parents’ friends stopped coming to eat there but we never knew why until now.
We ordered several things off the menu and some items off the steam carts. For those of you that’s been here, the service is really fast because the servers immediately come up to your table offering you all kinds of food and then stamping your ticket. Just FYI, make sure to keep track of what you order and how many dishes because this place is known to trick their customers by adding extra stamps or items on the tickets.
My mom tried explaining to the servers that she did not order a specific item that they wrote on the back (which is in chicken scratch btw) but in the end said that she’ll take that as a take out instead just to be polite. But in addition to that, the server also added an extra stamp to a dish that was already written on the back of the ticket so we were going to be charged twice for it.
Instead of apologizing to my mom, the server argued with her and itemized every single thing that we supposedly ordered. On top of that, she dragged two other servers into it so they were causing a big scene in front of the other customers. Now I know Chinese people are known to be loud and everything, but damn! They were STILL yelling at us as we were walking out the door.
It’s safe to say that we’re never going to be back again. If you do decide to go, double check your ticket before going to pay.

Siu mai, har gau… this is my favorite dim sum spot here. This place is located in the Chinese Cultural Plaza on the river side. The place doesn’t look like much when you look at it, but their dim sum prices are reasonable and the best! Their baskets range from $ 3.30 to $ 4.50. They also have rice soups (jook) and other dishes to choose from to accompany your dim sum. They have a menu with English but no pictures and their servers speak very little English. However, I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Their dim sum is simple and isn’t too greasy. Some of my favorites are siu mai (pork hash with seafood), shrimp har gau (dumpling), seafood dumpling, mochi rice and shrimp won tons with the mayo. They also have xiao long bao (soup dumplings) that are made well. They also have a bunch of other dim sum choices as well such as chicken feet, tripe, char siu bao, etc. Their dim sum has always been fresh and not too greasy for me which is one of the reasons why I like coming here. There is chili paste on the table but you can ask for hot mustard as well.
Along with dim sum, I like their thousand year old egg and salty pork jook or Yong Chow fried rice. Both are simple, yet very tasty and filling.
And of course one of their specialties here and a must try is what me and my friends affectionately call the pot. It’s a ceramic pot with look fun and short ribs. It comes out hot and is delicious, especially the look fun that gets stuck to the hot pot that you scrape out and eat! The look fun and meat are in a black bean sauce that’s very satisfying and flavorful.
I would definitely recommend getting a jook or starch to accompany your dim sum to get your full experience.
Beware this place like all the dim sum places in Chinatown can get very busy and you may have to wait. I like going early or late to avoid the crowds. The service has always been as good as can be in a Chinese restaurant if you catch my drift. The cashier who I think is the manager/​owner is always friendly and she’s hilarious.
This is my number one choice for siu mai and xiao long bao!

Fook Lam is a decent dim sum restaurant that we frequent now and then. Since the prices have gone up quite a bit throughout that past few years, less and less people come here. There used to be long, long lines during lunch on the weekends. Now, it could still get somewhat crowded but it’s rare that we have to wait much if at all. The food is still reasonably good here. Some of our favorites include their mochi rice, pork hash, shrimp dumplings, turnip cakes, pork intestines, and sesame balls. Service is average for a dim sum joint, although some waitresses can be pushy at times.

came here for xiao long bao and was a bit disappointed .not as soupy as I’ve had before (from other places) .they have the usual dim sum orders .char siu bao, dumplings, custard, fried taro, look fun, and so on .the prices are cheap and reasonable but probably would’ve settled for happy days in kaimuki. service was good .love the free tea some places charge per person. there is parking in the plaza but I always walk since Chinatown is only a few blocks from home

Surprise! For a local chinese person I’m surprised that I haven’t tried this place before. Many friends recommend Fook Lam but this was our first visit. We ordered a few ok a lot for just 2 people some dishes were standard like the siu mai and har gau, but I was surprised by the dumplings filled with green beans. Another delight was the cucumber pickles light vinegar and spice, only served on weekends. The service is fast and they get you in ands out pretty quick. I would recommend.

I have only a few words for this place. The short rib hot pot is delicious. Everyone I tell about that hot pot loves it. I love it. I’ll be coming here until I’m old with friends and family eating that short rib hot pot.
Also, it’s best if you go with a Cantonese speaker who knows their dim sum… First time dim sum without a Chinese speaker my ruin your experience as some other reviews have pointed out

Great dim sum for a good price. Har gowand jian dui (sesame balls) were amazing! We came at 1pm on a Thursday and were quickly seated and had plenty of great things on the table in a flash. They use carts, but you can also order with the wait staff and they’ll bring it out. The closer they get to closing, you just order everything.
I was impressed that everything was so fresh and hot. The siu mai and cha siu bao were quite good, the lo mai gai was only ok– it wasn’t very sticky and didn’t have lop cheong. The pan fried taro cake (Wu tou go) was made to order and yummy. Again the Har gow was excellent, thin wrapper with great shrimp. Haven’t had that good in awhile! And the sesame balls (jian dui) were giant but very thin which is very impressive! Get them while they’re hot. The jasmine tea we had was also good. All that food for $ 21.
Wish we could have tried more things but we stuffed ourselves silly. The waitstaff were great, not sure though how it would be if you don’t speak Cantonese. They had high chairs and were very accommodating to kids. I would definitely come again.

I’m not Chinese, but I grew up eating dim sum with family weekly in California. A lot of friends and acquaintances always recommended Mei Sum as the go-​to place for dim sum in Hawaii. I would have to strongly disagree. My parents introduced me to Fook Lam a few years ago and I will never go back to Mei Sum. The service by the staff is always impeccable and the food is always consistent and beyond delicious. I will admit I came here twice In the past week alone…
If I come here with more than a couple of people, I love to order family style. Everything on the menu is affordable, yet the portions are extremely generous. I highly recommend the Singapore noodles! I believe they are made with very thin rice noodles with char siu, shrimp and veggies. It has a pleasant curry flavor without it being overpowering in any way. As far as dim sum goes, I love their chicken feet, book tripe, mochi rice (they are generous with the meat that goes in it) and this seafood half-​moon dish (with cilantro) that is a specialty item that isn’t on their regular menu. You just have to ask for it!
One thing I really appreciate on the weekends is the owner’s daughter. She is young, but extremely respectful of the restaurant’s patrons. I had put my name down on a busy Saturday during peak time and one of the employees tried to seat a group of Chinese patrons on the table that was promised to us beforehand. The daughter was not having it and yelled something in Chinese, thanked us for waiting, wiped our table down a second time and brought water and tea for the table. Throughout lunch, I could tell she paid lots of attention to the locals and those who don’t necessarily speak Chinese.
Tip: This is a no brainer, but get there early on weekends. Have a fast walker sprint or «power-​walk» there before the rest of the group and put a name down at the counter. When it’s busy, don’t order 1 – 3 items at a time… Get more like 5 – 6 things because it may take a while for the carts to come around. If staff members are able to speak English, you can just order the dim sum/​food you’d like and they’ll bring it over as soon as it comes out of the kitchen.
The bottom line is… You will leave the place full and happy.

Unilocal 100 Review Challenge 2015: ⁸³⁄₁₀₀
I was craving some authentic, dine-​in Dim Sum so my co-​worker suggested Fook Lam because it’s his favorite place… well keep in mind that he speaks Chinese and I DON’T!
I scored free street parking (on the weekend) right outside the Chinese Cultural Plaza and walked through the plaza to the very end near the canal where there were numerous men playing cards & smoking.
On our way to Fook Lam, we passed Legends which had a long line consisting of locals and tourist alike, I knew we should’ve gone there instead :(
But I continued with my co-worker’s suggestion and despite the crowd that loitered right outside Fook Lam we decided to enter and were seated immediately. They have a handful of 4 seat tables but most are for large, 10+ people groups. The restaurant is cramped and crowded with aged décor and the menu has NO pictures! Immediately a server came to our table and spoke Chinese to us, I assume she was asking us what we’d like to order, we literally just sat down so I told her «could we have a moment please?». In return, she continued in English «order?» then a cart with a variety of food passed by and she grabbed food off the cart and put it on our table. It was manapua like and I didn’t want it so I told her «I don’t know what to order yet, what is that?» but she turned away.
Frustrated, we decided just to eat the manapua like food which was soggy like it’d been in the steamer too long. When I reached for my chopstick, it was open and empty like someone had used it, I had to flag a server down to ask for a new chopstick. Then water was never served to us, so I again asked a server for water in which she gave me a blank stare and left, I was unsure if she heard me or not but then she reappeared and placed waters on the table and swiftly left before I could say ‘thank you’. You really have to SPEAK UP here… like yell.
Another thing about Fook Lam is that they come around with items on plates and call out in Chinese. The first time the woman came around with plates in her hands, she placed one on our table so I thought «did I order this? what is this?» So we just took it but soon realized they were doing that to every table, like coming around to sell the plate so the next few times they came around I said «No, I don’t want it!» and they passed me. I couldn’t tell you what I ate because two items were just put on our table but the other items we actually ordered were Shanghai Dumplings, Look Fun noodles & a pork hash dish.
The food was severely oily, and some of the dishes even tasted soggy & not fresh! After seeing my 3^rd baby cockroach on the table I had had enough. We finished our food quickly, grabbed our paper check and took it to the register. At the register was what seemed to be the manager or owner, since her attire was different from the servers and she had the best broken English we had encountered throughout our experience at Fook Lam. She pleasantly billed us and we left.
Overall:
— Food wasn’t very fresh
— Service was confusing (if you aren’t knowledgeable about Chinese/​food)
— Restaurant was on the dirtier side (cups/​chopsticks oh and… THREE baby cockroaches on my table)
+ Parking isn’t bad especially for Chinatown
+ Service is F A S T

Enjoyed the loud and craziness of the carts, smell of the fresh steamed dumplings and fried and baked goodies. Uncovering each tray to find which one you want. It’s so good and cheap. Parking validation is available just be sure to park in the right parking garage. Sitting by the window is fun to people watch. The waitresses are loud and may come off rough when they speak, but they are freaky friendly and funny.

All my Chinese friends have told me that Fook Lam the best xiao liang bao (did I spell that correctly? Sorry if I didn’t.lol), and it’s true, at least to me. Xiao liang bao are those dumplings that are steamed with the soup inside, and have a ginger and red vinegar dipping sauce. Most dim sum places have the same tasty offerings, but Fook Lam is set apart because they have (for my tastes) the best xiao liang bao. The restaurant is in Cultural Plaza in Chinatown and they validate for parking.

Vir, I have only seen political naïveté this complete once before — in a speech before the Centaurum by Lord Jarno. When he was finished, we recommended that he be sterilized in the best interests of evolution. But then we remembered that he was married to Lady Jarno, so really there was no need.
Babylon 5
Sometimes I take things for granted. When I order a vanilla shake I expect the flavor of ice cream and milk with the emphasis on ice cream. When I order cooked food I expect it to be fully cooked. Perhaps my expectations are too high…
Har gow had strange flavors and weirdly crunchy. Sadly I ate once before deciding to inspect it more closely. The one I inspect appears undercooked. The wrapper and the shrimp filling was partially raw. An undercooked wrapper makes it chewy and the flavor was kinda of doughy. Shrimp was crunchy had a raw flavor to it.
The other dishes I tried were properly cooked. Chicken sticky rice had a good blend of flavors from the bamboo leaves, rice, and chicken. Sui mei flavor was a bit different from what I’m use to. Good overall.
Think I’m gonna stick with Hawaiian food next time I visit Hawaii…

Yes, the insomniac in me has me writing reviews at midnight, lol. I can’t sleep so I guess I’ll write a few reviews.
Parents, you have to love them. My parents are always taking me out for dim sum at all the different dim sum restaurants. While, Royal Garden is my favorite at the Ala Moana Hotel, it’s good to try different places.
The décor here is not attractive but the food is pretty good. Out of all the dim sum restaurants that we go to, this place has the best red bean jin dui. It’s big, crisp and thin without a huge chunk of glutinous flour on the inside. Any Chinese person would tell you that it takes a master chef to make jin dui like that. I’ve tried making it a few times and could never get it thin like that.
The salted fish and chicken fried rice was really good. I would say that it was better than most places we’ve had it at. Some places don’t put much salted fish in there, so you can’t taste it. This place was generous with it.
The scallop look funn was ok. They used bay scallops instead of the big scallops. Some places use bay scallops and other places use broken grade big scallops. I’d rather have the big scallops. The sweet soy sauce used in the dish was nice.
Everything else that we ordered was on par with the other dim sum restaurants.
I hate to say it but you receive better service if you speak their native tongue, as with most Chinese restaurants. I’m fluent in Chinese so I never have a problem, but I notice that other people do.

Today’s Dim Sum was so good that I had to immediately type a review right after! Without editing! It was the best dim sum experience I ever had. Each and every dim sum was hot, tasty, delicious, and prepared very well, and the service was fast, friendly, and first class. Even the tea was excellent!
We were immediately greeted when we entered. It was extremely busy for brunch, but we managed to get a table for four without a wait. The tea came very quickly after we sat down. Restaurants typically never add enough tea leaves or have the subpar brand, but today’s Jasmine tea was very fragrant and clean. It didn’t feel like I was just drinking hot tap water!
We ordered Chicken Feet (my absolute favorite) — they were soft, moist, flavorful, hot, and very delicious. The pig’s feet was the same. Very tender and tasty, and light, and the bean curd on the bottom that soaked up all the flavor was soft and delicious. Baked Custard Bun came out fresh, and it was that indeed. The bun was soft and doughy, the custard filling was warm and not overly sweet, and the top crust was flaky (plus my salty and savory chopsticks) made it a perfect combination. Steamed Beef Balls were moist and tasty, fresh, and light. I rarely order the Steamed Siu Mai because it’s typically very oily and heavy. Though, it was different today. The pieces were huge, and they weren’t heavy or oily at all. The Steamed Char Siu Buns were light and fluffy, and the filling was tasty. Another favorite of mine is the Spareribs Look Funn Hot Pot. It came out still bubbling and the fragrance emitting from it was intoxicating. I love how it chars some of the Look Funn and onions on the side and the bottom of the pot, and it keeps the food warm. Definitely a tasty, delectable dish. It seems like today, this place really knocked it out of the park when it came to bean curd. The Steamed Bean Curd Roll was hot, soft, and delicious. We ended the meal with the Wife (Lao Po) Cake. A perfect sweet, warm, and flaky ending.
Even though the place was at full capacity, the service was amazing. Dim Sum carts never stayed in one spot, the servers were very attentive, orders came out quick, always pumping out freshly made dim sum, cleared empty bamboo baskets fast, and quick to refill water and tea.
This is why Fook Lam serves the Best Dim Sun on Oahu. It is consistently good, consistently fresh, and offers a wider variety. The service is always friendly, very attentive, and fast. I already think this place is a 5 star, and today solidified that even more!

A+ dim sum experience!
Nice efficient ladies with their carts and very easy to understand bill. The menu doesn’t have pictures so just ask for the name of what you want or point to the cart. We got a few things from the cart and I ordered the soup dumplings. The fried seaweed we got was kind of old so I’d recommend ordering that fresh. Very high quality food.
Love the egg custard buns and the tofu skin rolls. I punctured my soup dumplings so didn’t get the soup. Tasty though, with the vinegar!
#100in2015 (#12)

We wanted dim sum and this place looked authentic and tasty. The food was delicious but the service was horrible.
I really wanted XLB and that’s what brought us in. The dumpling skin was very thin, but there wasn’t any soup, just meat. The vinegar to dip it in was delicious, but its a soup dumpling! Give me soup inside! I also tried the scallop dumplings and liked them as well as the egg tart.
I’d come back for steamed dumplings and egg tart, but look elsewhere for xiao long bao.

Fook Lam is my alternative choice to dim sum when Legend’s is closed.
Their dim sum is tasty but you’ll also notice something else afterwards. They do put some MSG in their food. Unfortunately for me, MSG triggers a headache and so that’s how know they add MSG. I do enjoy their dim sum like shumai, xiao long bao, shrimp cheong fun etc. Their jook is good too. It’s not watered down. Their jook rice is fluffy. I usually get Seabass with jook.
As for the service, the ladies here are very lively and not shy about yelling things across the restaurant which doesn’t bother me. They won’t hesitate to serve you so speak up and order what you want.
Fook Lam is located on Ewa side of cultural plaza on the ground floor. You’ll see whole bunch of Chinese men gambling outside the restaurant. Most of them do smoke so hold to your breath until you’re safe inside Fook Lam.

Located on the Riverstreet side of the Chinese Cultural Center in the heart of Chinatown Honolulu. Long lines, 1^st generation Chinese customers that know good quality dim sum.
Ignore the gamblers, homeless, and occasional «mahu» strolling past the restaurant. I also noticed a vendor selling dragon-​eye fruit on a portable scale!
The service is horrific, wait staff seem impatient and the manager/​owners are preoccupied with their phone or friends.
Food quality is very good and authentic Chinese dim sum. Try the pan fried turnip cake, crispy outside and soft mochi — like center.
Book tripe is one of their best items! Soft, juicy and flavorful.
Seafood wrap was very tasty, but on the smaller size. Fish, scallop, mushroom, wrapped in a soft, thin wrap.
Chinese meatball is a winner: juicy, tender, lean beef steamed in a light broth.
Tea was very watery and tasted like they re-​used an old teapot.

Best XLB Dumpling in Honolulu reminds me of Din Tai Fung in Arcadia.
The rest of the Dim Sum is good to great. Shrimp Dumpling, Chix feet, Half moon, Sui Mai, XLB, Shrimp Look Fun
Service is attentive, didn’t hurt my friends speak Cantonese.
Prices are in line with other good Dim Sum local restaurants.
Fook Lam is definitely more authentic than our other favorites Tai Pan and Legends.

Getting a reservation for dim sum is unheard of, but somehow our friend was able to swing it for our table of 10. Standard steamer carts loaded with all manner of dim sum rolling by is the way to do yum cha. In any Chinatown across the country when you sit down for morning tea, you come to expect certain dishes. Shui mai, har gow, fung jow, fun gaw, law bok goh are all hot, delicious and delicately made.
In addition to the rolling carts, we ordered some dishes from the kitchen. When we asked if they had congee, they asked how many and we said for the table. A HUGE serving bowl of shredded pork & preserved egg congee came out that was enough to go around the table (twice!). We also ordered beef chow fun, both wet & dry (w/​& w/​o gravy) and were quite tasty with good wok hay. (Wok hay is that super high temperature stir fry taste that can only be gotten from glowing red hot steel wok over a 100,000 Btu burner in a Chinese restaurant)
The only drawback is I still haven’t found a place that makes decent rice rolls (cherng fun or in Hawaii, look fun) in Honolulu. The steamed noodles were stiff and dry with the beef and shrimp stuffing lacking in taste. Maybe it’s the water, but the search goes on.