Big Dish Restaurant

Just ate here for the second time. So far I’ve tried The BBQ pork buns, turnip cake and siu mai. The siu mai and turnip cake was pretty standard. Normally, I’d give a place three stars for standard food, but the BBQ pork buns are good. Almost as good as sit down dim sum places in the city. Just for that, its a four star place. I’m a fan or pork buns.

Not really noted as a dim sum place when searching on Unilocal,but that I is what I always get here. Big Dish is my to-​go dim sum place in Oakland due to their consistently good quality, reasonable pricing, and (not to be underestimated) easier access to street parking being located on the edge of Chinatown. Large and meaty Siu Mai, fluffy Char Siu and Gai Bows, and other typical dim sum choices. I have not tried the bbq meats, so no opinions there. Service is quick and the food is fresh — what’s not to like?

The meats looked so good in the window! I came here during lunch time and there were several people at the counter buying food, so I took this as a good sign. I don’t speak any version of Chinese, so I always hesitate ordering food in Chinatown. Fortunately the lady that was helping me wasn’t rude when I tried to order in English. I got some roast pork over rice that came with some cabbage all for $ 4.50. I though this was great since it’d be 2 meals for me. When I finally ate my food the pork skin was really chew, like it was a little old. Then the actual meat seemed fine, not dry, but after a couple of pieces there was a weird taster like really old meat. I had to throw it away.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any cheaper than the $ 2.80/box of Sparerib Rice that I get from a Chinese DimSum place in Oakland, CA. I found Big Dish to be cheaper and offers tasty Dim Sum in Oakland’s Chinatown area. They sell $ 2.00/box of Sparerib Rice. How can you top that!
I’ve passed by this place a few time, but hesitated to enter. They get so busy in the morning. And I didn’t wanna hold the line up with my Cryptic Mandarin. But today, I told myself that I should at least try this place out. I’m glad I did.
I got their SiaoMai and HaKaw, which were 0.60 cents each. So far I have never seen any place sell cheaper than this and offer good quality Dim Sum. Obviously, you can’t expect a lot of special ingredients (I.e. Mushroom, shrimps, etc.) But I was surprised that I got shrimp and tobiko on my SiaoMai.
To top it all, the lady, who helped me, was very patient trying to decipher my Mandarin. And tried to speak English to me.
On my next visit, I hope to have more time to try out their congee. I saw a family in there have breakfast and order congee. I also saw that they have scrumptious looking Pork Stew, Pork BBQ, etc. displayed on their window. I would need to bring my family with friends with me so I can order more food and try as much items in their menu.
I guess you can’t go wrong eating at a Chinese resto when a place is flooded by a lot of Chinese people :)

Get the roasted pork or roasted duck over rice special. Very very very good price for such a great deal. As others mentions they do serve dim sum, but that is definitely not their strong point. I would pass on the hargow as another Unilocaler mentioned but the shu mai were ok. Not great but ok. Though the bbq and the roasted pork had a lot of fat, it also had plenty of meat, a ton of rice, and bok choy. Filled me up for nearly three meals. Super awesome.

Can’t beat a 2-​item combo for $ 4.50 that’s huge enough to be two meals! Depending on whose taking orders, I often have to repeat my orders 2 – 4 times. I think they mainly speak Cantonese here so keep your orders simple. Questionable cleanliness and not much customer service but the satisfying and cheap meal more than makes up for it.

I love this place. I come here for my rice porridge for me and my coworkers. For 2.25 you can get fish or chicken. If you eat there it’s only 2 dollars. The hot dog buns and green onion rolls also rock! Now that I think of it so do their vegetable buns, siu mai, potstickers and chives with shrimp dimsum. The only thing I didn’t like was their egg custard tarts the crust is crunchy… but the egg custard is good minus the shell. I like the little girl that works there she always says «what else» and is super fast I’m out of there in no time no matter how much I order she never gets it wrong.

No star if there is such a Rating. 12÷13÷14 Saturday. So my mom bought some roast belly pork and roast duck from this spot across the street from Chinese school, next to the pharmacy. Just found out their name… Big Dish is whats called. Anyway… I got sick immediately after I ate the duck or pork, my daughter threw up all night, then my little sister was also up all night using the restroom. Now next morning, my mom is in her bed feeling the affect too. So stay away from this place everyone! Obviously they were mis handling their meat or did something unsanitary with the food they are selling. Stay Away!

PROS:
— BBQ Pork Buns (Really like how they have a big and small version) And love their delicious glaze on the buns that make them slightly sticky
— Fish Porridge: $ 2.25 for jook to go? yes please.
— Dim sum by the piece.
CONS:
— Not the cleanest
— Hard to find parking
— Few tables
Some Dim Sum:
— Har gow: the rice skin they use is a bit thick. It’s okay, but I’d pass
— Siu Mai: big. pretty good.
— Fried Turnip Cake: something’s a bit off. It was a bit bitter. Pass
Have not tried their BBQ combo/​meats.

Big Dish Restaurant in Oakland’s Chinatown is located on 9^th street right next door to New Oakland Pharmacy and across from Wonder Food Bakery.
Big Dish serves up some good Chinese Food, from various different BBQ’s, Dim Sum, and Cantonese Food Togo. Big Dish is mainly a Togo type of restaurant however, you can dine in if you choose, they a have a few tables inside the restaurant.
They have delicious BBQ hanging in front on the window and reasonable priced. A Whole Roasted Duck is only $ 13.00 and a box of BBQ Pork Spareribs only $ 5.99! We know some people who buy like 4 – 5 Whole Roasted Ducks and then just freezing it because they like it that much!
We also usually get the Roast Pork cooked in Preserved Vegetables with Fatty Meat. It’s pretty good and it’s the only restaurant in the area that we knows that makes it. It’s reasonably priced as well.
The Dim Sum here is alright as well. It’s good to pick some up and take some for the road ahead or you could go to the ever popular Tao Yuen Pastry nearby.
Customer Service is good if you speak Chinese otherwise, it maybe hard to understand the workers. If you pay one price one time you were here and you come back, you can ask for the same price and if you keep arguing for it, you’ll get the price! It actually happened today with a customer who didn’t speak Chinese.
Give Big Dish a try, you might just find something for you! :)

We love getting our Chinese deli meats from here. Soy sauce chicken, roast duck, cha siu, etc. I got a small soy sauce chicken for $ 4.50. For the price and quality, it’s way better than places like Ranch 99.

This is purely on their BBQ combo plate. There’s no way you’re going to find a better deal on BBQ combo over rice for $ 4.50 tax included. I like the sauce that they put on top of the rice as well.
I wouldn’t put them with the best in terms of roast meats, but overall (price and quantity) they’re up there.

This is definitely a place where you will get the most bang for for your buck. One of their most popular item is the BBQ pork and roast pork with rice and vegetables and the cost of this is only $ 3.90. Talk about cheap and eating on a budget! The combination plate is very filling and always make a great lunch.
Interiorly, the restaurant is not too clean as it’s your typical fast food Chinatown restaurant. Service can be a hit or miss, depending on if you go during rush hour or not. Sometimes, you may have to squeeze your way to order your food as there really is not a real line. Most of the workers behind the counter will be speaking Cantonese but keep in mind they do understand Mandarin and English, though you will have to be very clear and precise if you order in English.
Finally, the $ 3.90 order is not listed on their menu so you will just have to tell them verbally which meat you want on your plate.

My favorite place for to-​go dimsum in Oakland Chinatown.
1.75 chang fun
.50 har gow xiu mai
–1STAR again cause they always seem to miscalculate my order every now and then…

Cleanliness is questionable, definitely not «organic» or anything like that. But if you want cheap, tasty, dimsum foods to go — this is your spot. This is where your Chinese’s friend’s aunt who lives in Chinatown goes to get her munch on.
Their baked pork buns are the bomb, with a nice glaze. Roast duck, crispy port belly, tofu skin wraps and turnip cakes are all dimsum standard goodies.
It’s definitely cheap. But don’t be all passive in there. It’s chinatown style, no real line, just push up to the counter and start ordering things. If you wait like there’s a line, you’ll be waiting forever!

This place is ridiculously cheap. When I worked in Oakland, I always ran in here before work to grab Jook. They have Yu Jook (Fish Rice Porridge), which is only $ 1.75! In comparison to Gum Kuo’s for $ 6. For lunch, I usually order the spare ribs and chicken feet over rice for $ 2.50.
Talk about eating on a budget!

The Dim Sum is tasty and fresh. But I made the mistake of buying half a roast duck here. The butcher didn’t like me only getting half a duck, and gave me less than half. He must be good at slight of hand because this isn’t half a duck. Mostly bones and fat.
Never buy again.

The final indignity. Went there for take out recently. Just a few people crowding up to the counter to get the servers’ attention. We wait patiently as they serve the patrons at the counter. Then this customer shows up at the counter and waves his dollar bills at the server and he gets served next. The servers don’t even bother to figure out who has been waiting the longest. They just serve the next person who gets their attention.
If that floats your boat, you should go here.

I always get the BBQ pork and roast pork rice box. They give you LOTS of meat with a large portion of rice for ONLY $ 3.50! The BBQ pork was perfect. The meat was very tender and the ends were crispy. They always seem to be busy whenever I go. They have lots of seating and a variety of food. I ordered a small preserved duck egg and salted porridge for $ 1.75. Sadly it didn’t have much egg or pork but it was less than $ 2 so it’s not bad. They also run out of BBQ pork towards the end of the day so definitely go and get your share before they sell out!
This is the place to go if you’re hungry and on a low budget!

Big Dish Big Daddy.
I come here solely for their BBQ Pork over Rice Box because it’s only FRKKING 3.50 (that is cheaper than a gallon of gas for my car) and it’s generous portions, fresh and comes with veggies. Okay, nothing can beat that especially when you’re a starving college student like myself. So, the rice is a bit dry and the cabbage is a bit mushy and the meat is more pinkish than red. Who the hell am I to complain? It’s absoltely worth it, and the service is usually quick.
TIP: Don’t wait in line. Everybody here is Asian, so you see somebody thats making eye contact with you, ORDER ALREADY! before somebody else cuts in front of you. They have fresh steamed dim sum, as well as bakery goods and bbq meats for to gos. They’re super cheap and affordable. The interior is loud but clean. They offer dine-​ins after you purchase the items. There’s a menu with prices over hauling the workers.
It’s chinatown. It’s cheap. It’s good. I’m full. I’m happy: D
And it’s only street parking, and since we’re in Chinatown, cash only.