One of the worst service I've ever had in Iowa City. The food was ok, it was something different than most Chinese restaurants as they serve dim sum. I tried ordering for delivery via grubhub and found out that they deliver themselves. It was absolutely horrible. The first time I ordered I tipped through grubhub and the driver made me walked across the road to get my food from his car. When I ordered a second time, I choose to tip in cash and again I was asked rudely to come out and get my food or they are leaving. When I received my food I was asked by the driver for tip, I told him that I won't be tipping for a horrible service and he kept asking for tip as if he doesn't understand what I've just said. Frustrated, I just walked away. Third time, a guest ordered from this restaurant and food never arrived, we tried calling but got voicemail that line were disconnected. We had to get our refund from grubhub after all the time wasted in waiting.TL;DR : Nonexistent service, subpar food, go elsewhere for your Chinese cuisine fix.
Shane O'Shaughnessy
Perfect Chinese breakfast!
Bbi T
Ordered on grubhub. They processed my order, told grub hub they were preparing it. An hour in no progress had been made so I called them, and the phone was disconnected. 2 hours, still nothing. Apparently this happens quite a bit. Didn't even get a chance to try the food.
Simone Miller
Ordered in grub hub food never got here and restaurants phones was disconnected so it was impossible to contact them
Arielle Wolf
One of the worst service I've ever had in Iowa City. The food was ok, it was something different than most Chinese restaurants as they serve dim sum. I tried ordering for delivery via grubhub and found out that they deliver themselves. It was absolutely horrible. The first time I ordered I tipped through grubhub and the driver made me walked across the road to get my food from his car. When I ordered a second time, I choose to tip in cash and again I was asked rudely to come out and get my food or they are leaving. When I received my food I was asked by the driver for tip, I told him that I won't be tipping for a horrible service and he kept asking for tip as if he doesn't understand what I've just said. Frustrated, I just walked away. Third time, a guest ordered from this restaurant and food never arrived, we tried calling but got voicemail that line were disconnected. We had to get our refund from grubhub after all the time wasted in waiting.
Polly C
Had the bubble tea here, ordered four cups of cold bubble tea with one no bubbles. All four of the bubble tea turned out hot and no bubbles. The lady aruged with me and refused a refund without even apoligizing. Worst service ever ! Never coming here ever again, what a waste of money.
Rachel H.
Super impressed with this place! The best Chinese food I've ever had in Iowa City. Mind you, I really don't like Americanized Chinese food. But this wasn't that, hence why I probably liked it. We had the cabbage, which was absolutely delicious, along with the mapo tofu, shrimp dumpling, sticky rice in a lotus leaf, and rice noodles with chicken. We wanted to get the eggplant, but unfortunately it was out.
Matt Caracciolo
Steak fried rice was awesome! I will go back to try other food.
Wern O.
TLDR: Behold, Iowa City gets dim sum. This spot isn't really an eat in restaurant, I would get it to go or delivery. Order some dim sum either through your favorite food delivery service. They have most of your classics such as shu mei and shrimp dumplings. I really wish they had the beef crepe in stock when I ordered but unfortunately they were out. I also tried their fried rice which was also great. The food overall is good, but won't meet quality standards of a Chinatown in a major city understandably. It is a little bit more pricey than what I'm used to for dim sum but overall still affordable. If you go to the actual place you'll notice it's mainly just a kitchen with 4 bar like seats. There's really no advantage to eating in there so I'd get things to go or delivery.
Elaine Jordan
The food here is absolutely delicious! You can only carry-out, as there is barely seating and no atmosphere at all. They are squished into an unappealing space. Also, don't expect to them have every menu item available. But no worries, everything is phenomenal. Definitely worth the visit if you're looking for authentic Asian food.
I have mixed feeling about this place. First, the good things: the do offer items that other places in Iowa City do not, such as dim sum items. They also have a variety of special menu items, including things from Peking duck to Cantonese style stir fried rice noodles. A lot of these dishes are hard to find in other restaurants in Iowa. I am not sure if they have all these items on their GrubHub menu or not, but I am sure if you call-in they can tell you what special items they have for the night. The specialty dishes are pretty authentic and tasty, most of time---which now leads to the not so good part of my experiences with them: -quality of food can be inconsistent, sometimes it is really good, sometimes it tastes not very fresh; -it is a take out place, but still the store could be a bit more clean in general, especially you can see through the kitchen where things are just not as organized as it could be; -they kinda refrain from posting the price of items on their special menu, I was once over charged and if I didn't ask to clarify for the individual price of items I ordered, I most likely would never know that I was overcharged since never ever did they offer me or even ask me if I would like a receipt---seriously it gets annoying for asking every single time how much everything is. I am genuinely hoping they could improve on some of the aspects, because I truly appreciate their efforts on brings some authentic home-flavors in this college town.
Mr. F.
Couple of dudes trying to run a very bare-bones, up and coming restaurant out of a tiny space in a foreign city, working long hours, in a language they don't really speak- complete respect for the effort and the difficulty of what they are trying to do. But the food is just not that good- long wait times, no in-store seating, low quality ingredients, much of the menu unavailable, cannot reasonably be called 'dim sum'. Ordering in-store and watching the frenetic cook do his stuff is certainly entertaining and is sort of worth the price of admission, but may not make up for the culinary shortcomings by the second time around. These guys want to run an exclusively take-out joint to serve the Chinese community in Iowa City, and if that's the business model, then more power to them. I would love for some more-informed members of that community to enlighten me on how to better access this place's secret menu. Until then, I will eat around the corner at Szechuan House.
Amanda M.
We ordered dim sum from here through grub hub on a snowy night. The original bubble tea was sweet and tasty but it came in a soup container! I was expecting it to come with pearls and in a to go cup. Food: - The shrimp dumplings and shrimp dumpling win chives were the most authentic I've had in IC. They were also a good size which is always a plus. - The lotus leaf sticky rice was also good with a variety of sausage and meat inside. - unfortunately the bbq pork buns were on the smaller side - the black pepper short rib was alright. I might try this place in person to give it a second chance, but not sure about ordering on grub hub again...
YangYang J.
I have to go to hungry cat everyday because the food there is absolutely delicious. I like how fast they prepare the food and delivered within 15minutes. The dim sums are authentic, better than anywhere in Iowa City. Whenever I am hungry, I will just pick short ribs over rice tastes good.
One of the worst service I've ever had in Iowa City. The food was ok, it was something different than most Chinese restaurants as they serve dim sum. I tried ordering for delivery via grubhub and found out that they deliver themselves. It was absolutely horrible. The first time I ordered I tipped through grubhub and the driver made me walked across the road to get my food from his car. When I ordered a second time, I choose to tip in cash and again I was asked rudely to come out and get my food or they are leaving. When I received my food I was asked by the driver for tip, I told him that I won't be tipping for a horrible service and he kept asking for tip as if he doesn't understand what I've just said. Frustrated, I just walked away. Third time, a guest ordered from this restaurant and food never arrived, we tried calling but got voicemail that line were disconnected. We had to get our refund from grubhub after all the time wasted in waiting.TL;DR : Nonexistent service, subpar food, go elsewhere for your Chinese cuisine fix.
Perfect Chinese breakfast!
Ordered on grubhub. They processed my order, told grub hub they were preparing it. An hour in no progress had been made so I called them, and the phone was disconnected. 2 hours, still nothing. Apparently this happens quite a bit. Didn't even get a chance to try the food.
Ordered in grub hub food never got here and restaurants phones was disconnected so it was impossible to contact them
One of the worst service I've ever had in Iowa City. The food was ok, it was something different than most Chinese restaurants as they serve dim sum. I tried ordering for delivery via grubhub and found out that they deliver themselves. It was absolutely horrible. The first time I ordered I tipped through grubhub and the driver made me walked across the road to get my food from his car. When I ordered a second time, I choose to tip in cash and again I was asked rudely to come out and get my food or they are leaving. When I received my food I was asked by the driver for tip, I told him that I won't be tipping for a horrible service and he kept asking for tip as if he doesn't understand what I've just said. Frustrated, I just walked away. Third time, a guest ordered from this restaurant and food never arrived, we tried calling but got voicemail that line were disconnected. We had to get our refund from grubhub after all the time wasted in waiting.
Had the bubble tea here, ordered four cups of cold bubble tea with one no bubbles. All four of the bubble tea turned out hot and no bubbles. The lady aruged with me and refused a refund without even apoligizing. Worst service ever ! Never coming here ever again, what a waste of money.
Super impressed with this place! The best Chinese food I've ever had in Iowa City. Mind you, I really don't like Americanized Chinese food. But this wasn't that, hence why I probably liked it. We had the cabbage, which was absolutely delicious, along with the mapo tofu, shrimp dumpling, sticky rice in a lotus leaf, and rice noodles with chicken. We wanted to get the eggplant, but unfortunately it was out.
Steak fried rice was awesome! I will go back to try other food.
TLDR: Behold, Iowa City gets dim sum. This spot isn't really an eat in restaurant, I would get it to go or delivery. Order some dim sum either through your favorite food delivery service. They have most of your classics such as shu mei and shrimp dumplings. I really wish they had the beef crepe in stock when I ordered but unfortunately they were out. I also tried their fried rice which was also great. The food overall is good, but won't meet quality standards of a Chinatown in a major city understandably. It is a little bit more pricey than what I'm used to for dim sum but overall still affordable. If you go to the actual place you'll notice it's mainly just a kitchen with 4 bar like seats. There's really no advantage to eating in there so I'd get things to go or delivery.
The food here is absolutely delicious! You can only carry-out, as there is barely seating and no atmosphere at all. They are squished into an unappealing space. Also, don't expect to them have every menu item available. But no worries, everything is phenomenal. Definitely worth the visit if you're looking for authentic Asian food.
Restaurantji Recommends
红烧肉挺好åƒçš„，师傅手艺ä¸é”™
I have mixed feeling about this place. First, the good things: the do offer items that other places in Iowa City do not, such as dim sum items. They also have a variety of special menu items, including things from Peking duck to Cantonese style stir fried rice noodles. A lot of these dishes are hard to find in other restaurants in Iowa. I am not sure if they have all these items on their GrubHub menu or not, but I am sure if you call-in they can tell you what special items they have for the night. The specialty dishes are pretty authentic and tasty, most of time---which now leads to the not so good part of my experiences with them: -quality of food can be inconsistent, sometimes it is really good, sometimes it tastes not very fresh; -it is a take out place, but still the store could be a bit more clean in general, especially you can see through the kitchen where things are just not as organized as it could be; -they kinda refrain from posting the price of items on their special menu, I was once over charged and if I didn't ask to clarify for the individual price of items I ordered, I most likely would never know that I was overcharged since never ever did they offer me or even ask me if I would like a receipt---seriously it gets annoying for asking every single time how much everything is. I am genuinely hoping they could improve on some of the aspects, because I truly appreciate their efforts on brings some authentic home-flavors in this college town.
Couple of dudes trying to run a very bare-bones, up and coming restaurant out of a tiny space in a foreign city, working long hours, in a language they don't really speak- complete respect for the effort and the difficulty of what they are trying to do. But the food is just not that good- long wait times, no in-store seating, low quality ingredients, much of the menu unavailable, cannot reasonably be called 'dim sum'. Ordering in-store and watching the frenetic cook do his stuff is certainly entertaining and is sort of worth the price of admission, but may not make up for the culinary shortcomings by the second time around. These guys want to run an exclusively take-out joint to serve the Chinese community in Iowa City, and if that's the business model, then more power to them. I would love for some more-informed members of that community to enlighten me on how to better access this place's secret menu. Until then, I will eat around the corner at Szechuan House.
We ordered dim sum from here through grub hub on a snowy night. The original bubble tea was sweet and tasty but it came in a soup container! I was expecting it to come with pearls and in a to go cup. Food: - The shrimp dumplings and shrimp dumpling win chives were the most authentic I've had in IC. They were also a good size which is always a plus. - The lotus leaf sticky rice was also good with a variety of sausage and meat inside. - unfortunately the bbq pork buns were on the smaller side - the black pepper short rib was alright. I might try this place in person to give it a second chance, but not sure about ordering on grub hub again...
I have to go to hungry cat everyday because the food there is absolutely delicious. I like how fast they prepare the food and delivered within 15minutes. The dim sums are authentic, better than anywhere in Iowa City. Whenever I am hungry, I will just pick short ribs over rice tastes good.