My friend came to visit & she wanted Dim Sum for lunch. Took her here cos it was closer to my house & I am glad we came here despite the not so good reviews on Yelp. We went on a Wednesday around 1 pm, the place was about half full and we were seated immediately. A pot of hot tea was brought to our table. I saw a Yelper mentioned it was not free but we still drank it ( We were only charged $.75 for the pot so that was a steal!!) We were famished & I just knew we were gonna order way too much food than we can handle but heyyyyyy we decided to YOLO it out , just order what we want & take leftovers with us lol! All the dim sum dishes we ordered were great, I was glad the dim sum dishes did not come all at the same time so we can pace ourselves while eating. I tried chicken feet, it was different but good! We saw a waitress bring a giant plate of beef chow fun & it smelled AMAZING so of course we ordered that too. You can taste what Chinese people call "Wok Hei" (breath of the wok) which is the essence of frying the noodles in a hit wok (did I even explain that correctly??) The only complaint I had about the chow fun was that it was a bit greasy but it had great flavor. We also ordered a plate of Chinese broccoli over oyster sauce and it was great. Vegetables were not over cooked. Our waitress seemed curt when we first got there but eventually stopped by our table a few times to check on us, made small talk & helped us pack our leftovers. My friend enjoyed her meal & I kept my reputation as an awesome food recommender...Win-win if you ask me.
(5)
Anne A.
I went here with some friends on a Saturday. One of them has been recommending this place to me for the better part of a year. He and his girlfriend go here so often that the owner knows them. We were seated quickly. As the only non-Chinese speaker in our group, I had to relay my order to my friends who would then order for me. And the servers never acknowledged me or talked to me, so I have no idea if they knew English at all. It definitely made me feel unwelcomed. Anyway, the food was underwhelming. Nothing extraordinary. Crispy shrimp balls are one of my usual dim sum orders and I was really disappointed with their version of it. The shrimp balls looked like shrimp egg roll and there was more wrapper than shrimp. Overall, I'm glad I checked it out. But the food isn't good enough to drive more than 30 minutes to get here when I have Chopstix dim sum about 10 minutes away.
(2)
Jade H.
This is real dim sum with the ladies and the carts! Good selection: chicken feet, pork buns, pork chops, lotus-leaf-wrapped rice, long noodle with shrimp or beef, shrimp dumplings...all delicious!
(5)
Tunaidi A.
I was skeptical at first because of the prior reviews and the fact that I've never heard of this place. However, I left pleasantly surprised about Asian Court. The 4/5 rating is inflated. Not sure if Asian Court would garner even a 2/5 in larger cities, but for Baltimore and the surrounding suburbs, you bet this is the best dim sum you'll be able to get without traveling to Rockville or Silver Springs. No, service isn't the best. No, the selections aren't the best. No, the quality isn't the best. But hey, Asian Court has servers pushing around the carts with the small plates; the dim sum options are authentic; the traditional dishes and staples are available; chef specials are surprisingly delicious; prices are naturally cheap. In an area deprived of good Chinese food, complaining about the dim sum here would just be ungrateful.
(4)
Jill B.
It would be 5 stars, but I need to come back and try the dishes that came out after we were too full to try them: the duck, clams, and chicken. So this was my first dim sum experience and it was amazing. I was with one other novice and two folks who had experienced a one high end dim sum in San Francisco and one in L.A. All of us were very happy. The dishes were flavorful, better than the majority of american chinese food at even the best restaurants. The folks with the carts were happy to explain what was in each bun, or each plate. The variety of foods will allow even the pickiest of eaters to find something they like. The things I would highly recommend: salt and pepper shrimp (don't peel it just eat it), salt and pepper calamari, the pork with peppers (so spicy!), the chicken feet (spit out the bones), and pretty much anything else that catches your eye! The taro cakes (like latkes stuffed with shrimp) may be my new favorite food, but avoid the taro cake - the grilled side is delicious, but the soft underbelly leaves much to be desired. If you are a first timer, here are some tips. TAKE YOUR TIME! don't eat so fast that you don't see what other carts have to offer. BRING A GROUP The more folks you have, the more dishes you can sample without getting stuffed. DONT TRY TO DIVIDE THE CHECK BY WHAT EACH PERSON ATE there is literally no way to do this unless you each have your own sheet and you don't share anything (which ruins the experience anyway) so go in knowing it's gonna get split evenly. ENJOY! From the tea to the sweet buns, you will enjoy the Weekend and Holiday Dim Sum. All the dishes are available all other days, just not brought around on carts. I also need to go back and try their chefs specialties when it's not dim sum. The menu looked awesome!
(4)
Wing P.
I came here today because I really wanted dim sum and this is the only place in Columbia/Ellicott city to have dim sum. In the past, I have been disappointed with the quality and wait time on the food. If you eat there on the weekend, the owner often rush you to finish, so she can open up a new table. Today, I decided to get carry out, the owner told me it would take 20 minutes. Turned out..I waited for 50 minutes!!! This terrible experience continues...I opened the food after I got home and realized the translucent noodles portion got cut in half than the regular portion. The radish cake was greasy and sour! Yes it's sour!!! Never had worst dim sum in my life! I will never return there from this point on! If you want bad food and dining experience, this is the place to be! Good luck!!!
(1)
Joey L.
Ordered take out yesterday since my husband likes dim sum. We were disappointed for calling ahead 20 mins ahead of time and assuming the order will be ready, but by the time we get there we still have to wait another 15 mins; which means the total waiting time from order to pick up is 35 minutes. The place is no as crowded as before, maybe people started not coming to this place. When we got home and took out the orders - 1 order of the Lo-Mai-Gai was missing but they have already charged me. I called them right away and told them I want my money back. Then I found out they have put 2 chicken buns within the order of steam pork bun (chai Sui bao). It is totally defraud!! - as least that's how I feel - they cheated! Very disappoint with this place and will not go back and do not recommend anyone to try. They just gonna give you what ever they have left and cannot sale instead of what you ordered.
(1)
Tiffany H.
Love this place especially the lobsters and clams.The services are excellent. You don't have to go to Rockville for authentic Chinese food.
(5)
Lhoi R.
Great authentic Chinese foods! But the place is really old and smelly. The waitresses are friendly but sounded rude at first. The place needs a complete renovation, clutter every corner! We just love the taste of food and we will try to be back by lunch time to experience the dimsum time!
(4)
Yaofu Z.
I have been to this place a lot of times. I agee with a lot of other reviewers that the service could be spotty at times. But I gave them 4 stars for the food and for being available in Howard Co. I have ate dim sum and off regular menus. Dim sum are decent in my opinion and I found it more affordable than some other places in DMV. I usually order take out for regular menu. I like their cantonese menu options and they usually do a good job. I find their $20 combo a very good deal as well.
(4)
Top B.
Food was good but the servers were way too pushy. I didn't give in to them as they tried to steer me to the most expensive dishes but my dinner companions did and they regretted it. Seemed like the servers should be working in a car lot or carnival. it was enough of a turn off for me not to return.
(3)
Tiffany S.
There is a severe lack of readily available dim sum near me, so I desperately wanted Asian Court to be good. I went in with the highest of hopes and left feeling a little let down. The wait wasn't long at all, despite the weekend crowd, and the servers were more than helpful. There was a wide array of dishes from char siu bao to chicken feet, loads of shumai and I recall seeing some vibrant veggies in there as well. Sadly, most of the steamed meats were slimy and a bit on the bland side. The roasted pork belly I was so delighted to see on the cart was crispy, yes, but lacking flavor and a bit tough. I had to rely on the sauce served with it to really enjoy it, and that's sad. On the upside, the fried octopus was tossed with fresh green onion and schezuan peppers that cut nicely through the richness of the dish, and the soy sauce pan fried noodles were tasty as well. My companions raved over the har su gao (forgive my spelling) and the sesame balls were a delight as well. I adored I'll go back and try it again, perhaps on a less crowded day or at a time when I can order directly off the menu.
(2)
Yun C.
Bad Service. Came here during the weekend for dim sum with my sister's family. We asked for a booster seat for her two toddlers and the lady who seated us completely ignored us. We end up grabbing a young server who speak little to no English who just stood there staring at us, we had to communicate with our hands to tell her we need a booster seat. There were only 2 carts going around over and over with the same food that we didn't want not much variety what so ever, we only had 4 of the small plates all together. We got Har Gow and Shumai both were very mushy and meat not fresh. We asked for chopsticks and they ran out, they gave us plastic forks instead....Seriously? The owner (lady who was wearing a traditional dress) came up to our table we asked is that all you have? "She said yes plenty of good food" It seems like she was trying to rush us out. Bad service and terrible food, don't waste your time and money coming here..
(1)
Patrick B.
One star here - and for good reason. Read all below. Alright, lets get this out of the way - the dim sum here quality here is below average to average compared to other places. I guess it's alright for being in Ellicott City. The reason they get 1 star is because of the dishonest practices they have. Now I absolutely refuse to go here unless am invited by a family member, in which I am obligated to make a celebrity appearance. Other than that I'd never go here. Went here for dinner once and ordered the soy sauce chicken, some sort of fried lobster dish, and some sort of crab dish. Cant remember the exact names but that doesnt matter. A family member ordered it directly from the manager and I asked her how fresh the seafood was. She assured me that 1 - the chicken is fresh; 2 - the lobsters were big and fresh; 3 - the crabs were not frozen. ALL BULLSHIT The chicken came out cold and had a green hue to it. The lobster was pathetic and definitely not fresh at all. The crabs were horrible and the meat was powdery - the tale tale sign of over frozen meat. I have a family member that is very loyal to this place regardless of their shitty food and has given them probably thousands of dollars over the years in business. The fact that they lied to myself and others is unacceptable. While I'm sure my family member will continue to go there I certainly will not. The food is below average but my standards to dim sum and Chinese food is VERY high. This place would be a good start to try dim sum if you have not ever had it. But you will probably run the risk of hatting it and getting ripped off. Then lets talk sanitation - bathroom was filthy with piss and shit all over the floor. I highly recommend that you do not eat at this place.
(1)
Tanya C.
Pretty decent dimsum place especially for the area. The prices are good though the selection and English description are not so good. Service is okay. Ambiance is that of a typical Chinese restaurant geared towards Asians. In terms of dimsum, the ha how was ok. The baked and steamed pork rolls were good. Did not really enjoy the bean curd fried shrimp, but the short ribs were pretty good. Overall good for the location. Would probably go back more if it was closer, but with it being 50 minutes away makes it less probable that we will return soon.
(4)
Vida O.
Considering the lack of good Cantonese style food in the area this place is not that bad. The decor and bathroom reminds me of NYC style places - needs improvement. But the dim sum is pretty good all around and they offer a lot of choices. It is a family style restaurant and really casual. Expect to be sitting close to someone. I do think it is kind of pricey for dim sum but considering the rarity in the Baltimore area, I guess that isn't an issue.
(4)
Yi S.
Dim sum is good. Lunch special dishes are just soso.
(3)
David S.
I'm originally from California and have been living in Maryland for almost 6 months. Being from California, I have had great dim sum. I have been exploring the area in search for something similar. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed with this place, Asian Court. I had high hopes since just the week before, I found a good dim sum place I enjoyed in Wheaton, MD. I wanted to try something closer to Baltimore. Price wise, it's what you would expect--its comparative to other places I have tried. Flavor wise, while it wasn't horrible, it was neither great or to praise about. I though that the sticky rice, cha siu bao, shrimp ball, and har gow, all lacked flavor; it tasted a lot more bland than what I was expecting. The other disappointment was that even though I did not have tea (and I told them I was not having tea when I sat down), they still charged me for it. Granted, it was only 75 cents. After I told what seemed to be the manager, he said something to one of the waiters. After waiting 15 minutes, I just paid the bill (with the 75 cents for tea) and then left since it was not worth my time over waiting for. They did not get a tip from me. Overall, I don't think I will be coming back. I would rather drive slightly farther to Wheaton, MD, to the mall, and have dim sum there.
(2)
Jim W.
Best dim sum place in the area, we go probably once a month and almost always on the weekends when they roll around the dim sum carts. We go with our young kids, who have a time limit, and dim sum is great because the food gets to the table quickly. All of the standard favorites are available and the specialty dishes like clams, beef chow fun, and the like are also there. You can wait until they get made and are walking around or you can order it directly, I recommend ordering it direct. The service is good, the servers and staff are very friendly. The manager is nice too though but if you're not used to the directness and gruffness of what you'd expect in China, it can be off putting, especially when it gets busy. If you fancy dim sum but don't want to wait around, you can always order it off the menu when it's not the weekend. We've done this a few times and it's worked out well because you know it's fresh (they make it to order). There is one knock - not enough parking. The place gets very busy during lunch over the weekend and if you get there past 11:30, you'll have to park up by the Home Depot. It's not far, just less convenient. If you know of a better dim sum place in the area, I'd love to hear about it.
(5)
Landy L.
Have been here for dim sum multiple times and can be hit or miss. Their Shu Mai can either be quite succulent or on the dry side as it was today. Their lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice with pork belly and Chinese sausage is consistently delicious. Some offerings such as the bbq ribs are strange for dim sum but I guess you cater to your crowd which is a mix of Asians and non Asian. Service today not the best...had to ask for water and tea twice before finally receiving it 10 min after we started eating. Plate was also dirty. The owner lady does work hard though, bussing tables right along with her waitresses.
(3)
Henry W.
This place is one of the rare dim sum restaurants within the Baltimore vicinity unless you travel farther to silver spring or Virginia areas. This place is solid when it comes to dim sum. The taste is pretty decent but i feel they may put a tad much MSG since afterwards I seem to get thirsty after eating there. The place has nice decor and a decent amount of seating. It's a traditional dim sum place where they roll the carts around. Overall the dim sum is okay but I've definitely had better (usually have to go farther for better quality)
(3)
Amber E.
I enjoyed the dim sum experience here. I have had better... In NYC. But locally, this is pretty good. And to be honest I can't much complain since I'm not any kind of authority on the issue. All in all I would return
(3)
Rhea F.
Awesome! Been looking for Authentic Chinese dim sum for a while. 22 mins away from home, Yeahhhh!
(5)
Kelly H.
Reviews here seemed so so but I was really in the mood for dim sum so I decided to stop in for a weekday lunch. Happy I did!! First of all, the dishes are huge, I was over ordered with the baked BBQ buns, coconut jello, shrimp dumplings, and one other dish. The service here was fine (it wasn't super crowded at lunch though so maybe the other reviewers are focused on weekends). I'd definitely come back but with a bigger group so I can try more dishes!
(4)
Mike C.
It's a great place for Dim sum, interesting place, not as big as boston but it's a great place to eat if you're in ellicot city, I would've given it more 5 stars if we weren't sharing our table with 2 other parties, But overall the food is as tasty as can be.
(4)
Jeremy R.
It had been a while since my first review so I thought I would give y'all an update. It is great to see a good restaurant get even better. This is THE place for dim sum in the Baltimore area. We have been there over 20 times and are never disappointed. There are no weak links in their food chain and the staff and management are friendly and helpful. Call for a reservation if you are going on a weekend to minimize wait times.
(5)
Ann K.
3.5. Asian Court is getting busier during dim sum on weekend. It is no fun if you show up for dim sum with no one there. They offer basic repetoire of dim sum but they are tasty and hot. Big plus for that. The pork bun is good either bakedmor steamed. My chicken legs are mouthwatering. Uber full now. Time to get a shot of bubble ea at Shilla Bakery on the southbside of route 40. Then, Nap time.
(3)
Tom T.
We went during dinner hour during the week. The restaurant was empty except for a few tables. I have eaten there for several years on and off. The food overall was fair but service was ok. The one person that really irritates me most is the lady with short hair so called the manager/owner. Every time I go in there. I try to avoid her as much as possible. She was very pushy and when you try to order s dish, she tried to push for some of the other dishes on the menu. She won't even let you try order something you want. In other words, she won't give you s chance to talk!!!!! I happened to have my mother and sister visiting here in Maryland. They're from New York. I was born and raised in New York. The food don't compare to New York. The next day I went in for a take out order and of course. The lady owner/manager was there. I was hoping to avoid her. Trying to order what I wanted wasn't to the owners satisfaction. She kept pushing and pushing for the dishes she recommended. So I gave and give it a try. It was ok. In the future if I come across her (the owner - manager) again. I will certainly giver her a piece of my mind and its not going to be pretty !!!!!!!!
(2)
Karen P.
I would give 4.5 if I could. We are used to dim sum in Silver Spring area but now that we live in Clarksville this is a lot closer. They had all my favorites and they were great. The carts came at a good interval and the service was very good too. They even had the chrysamthemum tea and rock sugar which is always a special treat with our dim sum. We will be back.
(4)
Ravi S.
Being a self professed Asian food aficionado, the place has very authentic Cantonese cuisine. Best place to have dim sum in all of Howard county. I am a regular at this place and all the dishes I have tried is extremely flavorful. On weekends they have dim sum on the cart. They also have whole roasted ducks and chicken. My favorite is their spare ribs and chicken feet. They also serve sweet tofu on the weekends. A must try.
(4)
Kat L.
Very tasty dim sum and very good prices. Love the shumai and their crispy squid! Definitely will come back soon to try the duck or pork! Service has room for improvement. Very disorganized when it gets busy.
(3)
Brandon E.
Went to this place Dim sum and it was very very very bad. This place looks very dirty, food is not that great, and most was not even Dim sum! Food was warm or cold when it got to the table. Carts came by very slow, and had a very limited selection. Don't waste your time on this this place, I will never go back ever.
(1)
J C.
Good dim sum in general, but great for the area. There's not a lot of dim sum places around Maryland, so this place really hits the spot when I have that hunger.
(3)
Ru S.
Dim sum is not good. At all. Or at least, not the dishes I've had when I've come. The waiters/owner (not sure who) can't figure out how to split a check into multiple credit card payments, even though it's very simple math. Like, "put this amount on each credit card" simple. And did I mention the food doesn't taste good? If this is the best dim sum place in the area, as some other reviewers are saying, then do yourself a favor and drive an additional 30 minutes to MoCo. Or get really drunk before you come here. Either way, you'll thank me afterwards.
(2)
Sara M.
I'd scanned the reviews before we ate lunch here, and I felt like they were spot-on - the dim sum is delicious, but the service is lacking. We called ahead to make sure that they would be serving dim sum on a holiday, and showed up towards the end of lunch service. We were seated promptly and a cart showed up with a few different fried items, so we got a plate of fried dumpling ball thingies. After that, no one showed up with anything for at least 10 minutes. Finally, a server came by with a cart that contained nothing but chicken feet in oyster sauce (which I'd totally try if we had a larger group to share the experience). When we turned those down, she brought us a paper menu and a pencil to mark our order. In the future, we'll just ask for that menu. We picked out a few things and they trickled to our table over the next 20-30 minutes, which is pretty slow for dim sum in a not-so-crowded restaurant. But they were all quite good. The turnip cakes were some of the best I've ever had, with a nice firm consistency. The pork and chive dumplings had a great flavor and were very generously sized. The translucent shrimp dumplings were perfectly steamed. We decided to call it quits there, but I'd be interested in trying other items from the menu. Perhaps if we'd come a bit earlier, we could've gotten more off of the carts. The dim sum prices were very reasonable - we were decently full for less than $10 per person. I think it's pretty silly that they charge for the hot tea but also don't ask you if you want it - they just serve it automatically and then charge you. It wasn't very good tea, and got bitter quickly. But they're not the only restaurant to do that. My only major complaint is about service, which was really inattentive. It took a long time to flag anyone down to ask a question, place an order, get the check, etc. Our water glasses were frequently refilled, which was good, but that staff member was only cleaning tables and pouring water. Ironically, her English was the best of anyone working there, but she wasn't interacting with customers.
(3)
Dillon P.
This restaurant is a wonderful place to get authentic Chinese food. The place is crowded due to so much business, but that's because the food is scrumptious. This is the best place to get dim sum in the area, and definitely deserves at least a 4 star. However, the waiters are a bit slower than I would personally like, and their is a slight language barrier. The food is not as good as those in Vancouver, but it still a great place to get good food. Overall, this place is a wonderful place to get Chinese food, and I would recommend coming here.
(4)
Jesus B.
The management here is appalling. I have never seen a place more antagonistic to their customers. I was literally hounded by the manager over and over about how good their lunch special was when I explicitly came here to get dim sum. DO NOT TIP. It all goes straight to the management. The workers do not see a cent. Also when you don't tip, the management will once again antagonize you for it. I cannot justify going to a place that has such poor regard for their customers. The food is mediocre at best. Terrible experience. Was seated at a dirty table and next to the coat closet one time.
(1)
Nisha G.
Pretty good food but I've def had better individual dishes specifically the pork buns. It wouldn't hurt if more people spoke English. We ordered two orders of soup dumplings as that is my favorite dish and we got shrimp dumplings. Apparently shrimp and soup sound alike...kind of disappointing. We randomly got a complimentary dish which was pretty cool.
(3)
Dodikins D.
Food is a bit better than I recall from last time, but still not the best. Many items were quite greasy. - The ribs were unnecessarily fatty. Maybe half was fat, half was actual meat. - Water chestnut cakes were not fried, but still quite greasy. - I don't usually order congee at a restaurant, but it did help cut the greasy slick I felt building up. The congee had a good amount of pork and preserved egg in it, which was a pleasant surprise. - The tripe (in a brown sauce) was rather bland. - Siu mai was good. - The ha gao dumpling skin was a bit hard and crumbly, like it had been put into the fridge. The dumpling wasn't exactly cold, but it wasn't very warm either. Not very good. - The texture of the shrimp wrapped in rice sheets was a bit gummy. The shrimp also had a bit of a fishy smell. Not super strong, but like it wasn't the freshest. - Tea was in the form of a teabag, rather than loose leaf. This may or may not bother you, depending on what's traditional to you, and how picky you are about taste. I know cheaper Chinese restaurants and dim sum places aren't renowned for their service, but... service still needs work. It's truly off-putting. Our "5-10 minute" wait was closer to half an hour. They also may have skipped us somewhere along the way. Several parties in the waiting area were getting antsy and making comments amongst themselves. We were promised steamed barbecue pork buns, which never came. It's hard to tell who is staff and who is not. The people pushing the dimsum carts were dressed in black and white, but not a lot of the people bussing tables, seating guests, bringing water, or managers were. These other people dressed in things ranging from slacks to jeans to "jeggings" and sneakers -- blending in with the more casual customers. Service already wasn't very attentive (for anything other than the dimsum carts), and not knowing whom to look out for made it difficult to flag someone down for the check or to-go boxes. We finally had to ask one of the people pushing carts to do it for us... With the large volume of customers backed up in the waiting area, I would have thought that staff would be attentive to who is leaving so that they could turn over tables faster for the next party. It took a while to get the check and to get our to-go boxes. The manager (?) took our check and promised us boxes. He came back without them and when we reminded him, he waved us off with an impatient, "Lai le, lai le." He walked past us a couple times after that without anything and went to address other customers instead. We had to flag down a second person (to whom we also passed off our actual payment) to get our boxes. Not all boxes came with lids, either. The first guy never checked back in on us.
(2)
Rhex X.
Pretty good dim sum. Great prices too! Definitely going back. Oh and the staff are very attentive.
(4)
Marcus C.
I'm from New York City with family from Hong Kong, so I get to be a dim sum connoisseur, spoiled by great dim sum. Therefore, it may be hard to satisfy me. Food: Most of the food is mediocre, but I do recommend the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. Service: quite bad, even if someone at your table knows the owner. I guess it's due to a lack of competition that a place like this can survive. A place like this in Flushing would have died a terrible death. Decor: just okay on the cleanliness side within the dining area. I hope they have good standards in the kitchen.
(3)
Eve C.
We've given this place several chances because its so close to our house and we sometimes hear rumors that they've improved. But my husband made me promise him I'll never drag him here again. We'll drive the 25-30 minutes to the Dim Sum places in MoCo from now on. It's pretty apparent that they do not have a trained dim sum chef. Dim Sum - Majority of the dishes were Below Average (Shu Mai, Turnip Cakes and Spare Ribs were okay though) Staff - Not friendly (The lady I presume to be the manager is rude and loud. The staff walks around cluelessly.) Service - Poor; We arrived at 10:35 AM after they opened. They pushed the same sad cart around for 20 minutes. We didn't start eating until 10:55 AM. Prices - More expensive than most places Bonus - The tea, which is a big part of traditional dim sum, came in the form of a teabag in a pot.
(1)
F S.
The key with dim sum restaurants is to get there early. Otherwise, you will be waiting in a long queue to get a seat. Dim sum restaurants are not about gracious service; they are about inexpensive, hot, tasty bites that are too hard to make at home. If you expect courteous, refined hospitality, don't go to dim sum. That said, the dim sum here is good (not spectacular), with pretty reasonable selection. The chicken feet were right up there with those at the best dim sum restaurants I've tried (in NYC Chinatown). Prices are very reasonable for the area and lower than dim sum prices in Silver Spring/D.C. Would return.
(4)
C D.
My go-to for dim sum and take out. Very good food. Service is hit and miss due to crowds and bias toward Chinese speakers.
(4)
Sam O.
just came here yesterday for father's day and I don't know what was happening but this place is HORRIBLY managed. You'd think for having been in business for years and being able to juggle dim sum crowds that they'd have their act together. We got there at 6:30pm and literally the restaurant was not even half filled. We had a part of 5. We didn't get seated till 8:00. We saw large parties get seated before us (even a party of 20) with no reservation. We even saw a party of 8 get seated before us where they just pushed to smaller tables of 4 together. Why couldn't they have done that for us? Oh because they have 1 table in mind for us to sit at and the people there haven't left. They even sat us at a table of 4 and brought a seat there but then said wait here until your table is done. We wanted to order and just eat there but they insisted we wait. HORRIBLE SERVICE! The owner (i think she's the owner) basically just yelled at everyone too when they started complaining and she would be screaming cantonese to everyone, guests, staff, everyone. She did not make it enjoyable at all. Supposedly the take out people weren't happy at all either as one group had been waiting as long as us just to get their take out order. We ordered 4 dishes. The XO fish is probably the best dish and the pepper steak wasn't bad either. The rest were ok (bitter melon vegetables and a tofu seafood casserole). Luckily we got 3 out of our 4 dishes before the huge group of 20 (which didn't get a dish until probably 2 hours of them getting seated). They forgot about our XO fish until we finished all our other 3 dishes and they finally brought it out at 8:30 when we wanted the check. So basically waiting 1 hr 40 min and only eating for 20 min... i think that ratio is off.
(1)
Jane p.
Terrible and slow service. Servers scream at each other throughout the middle of the restaurant in Chinese. And some are mean! The server made an error on our order and got upset with us! Food is mediocre and place is dirty and needs to be updated. Next time, travel to silver spring for dim sum.
(1)
Blake S.
We go here about once every 4-6 weeks, and the experience is pretty consistent. Sundays are a nightmare. If you go Sunday, get there for before 11am. You can get there as early as 10:30 to get a good table, but be prepared to sit idle for a half hour waiting for the carts to deploy from the kitchen. Saturdays are far less busy. The food here won't win any awards, but it tastes good and is plentiful, so it gets the job done. I've never had anything here that wasn't good, and every time we go the food and service is exactly the same. There's a lot to be said for consistency. My only dislike is that they put non-dim sum entree items on some of the carts, e.g. crispy prawns or chow fun, and then they try and sell those off at a premium. No thank you! Also this is the only dim sum place that I know of that doesn't require a long and painful car ride to get to.
(3)
Farhan S.
This place used to have good dim sum but it has gotten worst. Last two times has been worst experience with not much dim sum and cold. Not coming here again.
(1)
Garvin C.
I've been here a several times for Dim Sum before today, and each time either the food or service (never both) were lacking a little. Typically, if I get good service, the food is a little overcooked, or in the case of today, the food was really great (not a single disappointing item!), but the service was slow. The service is a function of how busy things are though, which s a good sign too b/c it means this place is good enough to get many customers. The bad thing is that sometimes they will run out of certain items before the carts of food make it around the room. Additionally, sometimes certain parts of the restaurant get crowded, and the carts can't fit through, so they just don't end up making it over there. Anyway, the best thing to do in these instances is just to ask them for what you want, or go up to the cart when it is near and ask for it. You should not have to do this ideally, but oh well! The food in general though I pretty good. Typically, most of the food is well cooked and seasoned. I've never had a bland dish here or a heavily over seasoned dish. There are times rice noodle dishes are overcooked and too gummy, which is unfortunate, but has happened in other dim sum restaurants too. I'm giving this place 3 stars mostly because the service can use some help, but the food in general is very good. If the service improves and is consistent, I'd give this place a 4 b/c of the food, and because it is only dim sum place in the Columbia/Ellicott City area now (since Red Pearl has closed).
(3)
Derek J.
Pretty decent dim-sum (best I've found in the area), and definitely worth the long drive on route 40 from Baltimore city. The shrimp dumplings, and shrimp rice rolls are awesome and authentic tasting, as are most of the traditional dim-sum dishes. I'd stay away from the pre-made noodle dishes they always aggressively hawk to every table, you came here for the dim-sum! Oh yeah, the rice congee (with thousand year egg) and spare rib dish is tasty also. I've come in large groups a lot and have had no problem being seated right away in the large tables they have in the back. Although dim-sum is supposed to be served until 3PM they do sometimes run out, but they will let you order what you want and they can make it for you fresh.
(4)
Kelly F.
This is the only dim sum place within a 15-mile radius of Ellicott City. A better place is Oriental East in silver spring, but it's too far. Red Pearl in Columbia was THE BEST dim sum place, but it closed down :(. Anyway, I give this place 2 stars for the following reasons: - Dim sum is OK. Not the best, but not the worst either. The plate of ho fun noodles is literally just a plate of greasy noodles with almost no meat or vegetables in it. Kinda tells you where their head is at. - The #1 reason why I try not to come here is because it smells like old people. I really don't enjoy eating my meal while simultaneously getting whiffs of old rubbing alcohol and lotion scents mixed with the odor of a geriatric living facility... yuck. - The ambience is dark and uninviting. I don't feel warm and welcomed when I go in there. I just go if I REALLY, REALLY want dim sum. Everything is outdated, including the chinaware they use and the cups which look like they've been used for more than 25 years. Again, not so great. - Their saving grace is the service. Service is usually on par. They're attentive and navigate through to all the tables pretty quickly and evenly. I can't say the same about Oriental East where service is terrible. So, if you desperately want some dim sum and you live in the EC/Catonsville area, then this place is fine. Just don't expect anything too spectacular.
(2)
Erin S.
Atrocious service. The only thing they have going for them is a lack of competition close by.
(1)
Nikki G.
This dim sum restaurant has great food overall, but their customer service is sometimes lacking. I believe most issues are due to miscommunication because most of the employees are not very fluent in English. However, I will say that there is one server, who always remembers what we previously chatted about. She makes a huge effort to check up on my group even when she is not our main server. The cost is always reasonable, and it is a great experience for larger groups. I highly suggest bringing someone who is familiar with dim sum dishes so they can explain what is inside to you. For the most part, the employees will only tell you what type of meat or tofu is included.
(3)
Bobby Y.
This is the place for some decent Chinese food in Baltimore area. There is no place like it thus far. It is not best place if you are looking for good service. However, the food itself is in pretty reasonable price I am fan of it because it is kind of like your ma and pa shop in way that is run by a couple. Egg Tarts are good. I really like there Sui Mai
(4)
Alexandra M.
Wow. I have never had a restaurant experience like this. The food was pretty good and well priced - despite a slim vegetarian selection - and yeah I know it's dim sum and not to expect great service. But at the time of this writing there was a lot of confusion about their hours (10:30 on weekends and 11 on weekdays last I saw). Since the dim sum place in Silver Spring is so busy on the weekends I thought to get there early. After my family waited for half an hour to get in the door (despite not making it easy to find their hours, not really the staff's fault), the waitstaff was standing around chatting while we waited to be seated, greeted, and for food to come out. Just be forewarned that food doesn't get going till 11. I will say though I highly question the cleanliness. I went to use the washroom, and standing next to me at the sink as I washed my hands was a waitress pressing one nostril closed and blowing her nose into the sink. Just like that. If I wasn't already completely nauseated, on the way out we passed a woman vomiting in the parking lot. I swear to god, I am not making this stuff up. Of course I don't need to point out if that's what happens where customers CAN see... Needless to say I've not been back. Hoping against hope for better dim sum options in the area some day.
(2)
Dan C.
I came here for the first time and I can't imagine the service being anything less than excellent. That may have to do with the fact that it was not crowded at all however. In any case, I was tended to by several pleasant ladies and even the owner herself. They all reminded me of my aunts. The food was great and the cooking was authentic. I definitely look forward to coming in for dim sum on the weekend.
(5)
Lexie L.
My roommate from Guangzhou said it was pretty good. Yes, it is! 10 per person and we had various food.
(4)
J P.
It took us an hour to get a table of 5 when half the tables are empty. Tables r given based on how aggressive you are with the hostess and if you know the owners of the restaurant. The managers half the time don't know what is going on at their own restaurant. Called ahead of time for a reservation and don't be afraid to speak up or you will be constantly overlooked.
(2)
Gabriel K.
Their French Beef is amazing and savory.
(4)
Gary P.
Well this place isn't really anything special but if you are in the mood for dim sum and you don't want to make the drive down to Rockville this place will surely satisfy your craving. Nothing really jumped out to me here but the baked bun with coconut custard was pretty tasty. Don't bother getting the Chinese Brocolli, very bland and the sauce that accompanies it isn't that good plus it costs at least double what other dim sum dishes cost.
(3)
June L.
Food is decent but I think you are better off going to silver spring.
(3)
Crystal R.
So here's the deal I used to LOVE this place because it appeals to my husband Chinese side and eating dim sum is life for him. But I will NEVER eat there again! The staff is sweet except for, whom I believe, to be the owner, woman with a short hair cut, she's a bit aggressive. The last time I ate there we were seated near the bathroom at a small two person table and just was doing what we normally do on dim sum brunch until I caught of glimpse of something from the corner of my eye. A freaking ROACH was crawling on the wall. My first instinct was grab the napkin and squish it before it came any closer to me. I informed the older gentlemen, host, figuring he would disgusted but he just said "sometimes it happens", o_0 WTF?!?! We immediately left, the food still at the table, paid our full bill without a notice of the event. I'm so disappointed the food was pretty decent but really roaches EW!
(1)
Kevin Y.
I would say the food is ok but the service is terrible. I've never seen such a directionless staff in my life. 1). Got seated and had to get our own plate and chopsticks, wtf. 2). Asked if I needed to order certain items on the dim sum menu and the biach told me no. Later when I asked the manager she told me I need to order it. Wtf 3). Loud, rude, Cantonese speaking hostess/boss was not showing a friendly face due to pms. I waited 30 min for effin fried shrimp ball. Should've just drove to falls church.
(1)
Michelle W.
Underwhelmed. And I wasn't even expecting that much! I tailored (lowered) my expectations given that i grew up in the LA area and have lived in NYC... They were stingy with the shrimp in the "cheong fun". I also use the char siew bao as my metric to determine the quality of a dim sum place. This place did NOT pass...The steamed char siew bao has too much bao and not enough char siew. Good char siew bao should have a very thin and delicate layer of bao. The har gao skin was too sticky. On the whole everything felt really soggy. I will say, though, that the char siew sow puff pastry was very flaky, although the char siew itself wasn't that good - tasted like it was the left over bits. It was also odd that they were serving non-dim sum dishes on the carts, like "chao gui diu" (the noodles) among other things. That's not authentic! They also had a lot of lai wong baos. Many of the other tables ordered this. It's not really one of the dim sum top hits, so I thought it was interesting/ odd that they made so many of these, but it seemed popular. I don't know, maybe that's what they're known for and I should have tried this?
(2)
Geo L.
This is an update to my review of 3 years ago. I still say that this is the best catonese chinese restaurant in Baltimore. Their catonese food has stayed consistently excellent. Their traditional chinese dishes are superb --- on the level of NYC and SF Chinatowns. Go for their peking duck, steamed shciken and steamed fish dishes. Noodle dishes such as chow fun and chow mein are tops. They have dim sum which is hard to come by around Baltimore. Fortunately, it is superb. The har gow (shrimp dumplings), har cheurg, siu mai, bao (filled buns) and law bac go (turnip cake) are some of the best you will find anywhere. I find the service to be fine...better than most chinese restaurants. Parking is free and right in front or next door at the Home Depot. Place gets packed for weekend dim sum so be aware. Disclaimer: I have never had any of the other asian dishes they offer. If I want catonese food, I come here and that is all I will get.
(5)
Tim H.
I will have to say that my rating would have been higher if I would have done this review a year ago when I first dinned at this place. However, after visiting this place a half dozen times since, I have had to drop their rating due to the fact that things have changed in the taste department as well as the service. I was most recently here today for dim sum. My wife loves dim sum and so she was happy that this place serves it on the weekend. First let me say that at one time I liked the food here a lot. It was cooked very well and had a lot of flavor. I also liked the Hong Kong Pork Noodle soup here a lot at one time but the last time I had it made me stop liking it. Anyway, I think the chef and owner's have changed because I noticed that the head staff has changed and the owner's that use to be there aren't around and or visible anymore. I can also tell you that the taste of the food has changed and it is not very flavorful. The service was slow in certain aspects. It was fast to get a table and some dim sum items but slow to get a server to bring water, a soda and some hot sauce. I must have been there for at least 10 minutes before the server asked if my wife and I would like something to drink and or needed anything else. What we had today was okay. I have tasted it better there in the past. I did not have anything that made me want to go rushing back there like the HK Pork Noodle soup did for me in the past so I do not think I will be there any time soon. If you are in the mood for dim sum in Howard County, Maryland and do not feel like driving to Montgomery County, Maryland then try this place out. It will do if you just need to satisfy your craving. However, if you are looking for taste and a wide selection of items, I suggest driving to MC. Perhaps it is just the cook and he was told to start cooking a specific way or perhaps it is me. Try this place out and make up your own mind.
(2)
Jay L.
Empty place. Got seated quick. Very nice people. Food came quick. Fresh and good food. Would come back.
(4)
Maria E.
The staff here should be trained how to handle customers especially if they are swarmed by them. Sad to say this restaurant is a disappointment. Food is good but overall cleanliness is questionable.
(1)
Bernhard S.
Food was good , service spotty ( we had to wait for some dishes - we never really got to even try more than 6 dishes and there were 4 of us ! Then they ran out of food ! It was only 2:00 ! What ??? In addition, the manager/owner was very rude ! She basically berated us ( loudly ) for wanting to split the check . Some of us ordered some dishes to take home so we just wanted to pay for those dishes individually - not start world war 3 ! Definitely not a good way to do business.
(1)
Kevin O.
My wife and I had never tried Dim Sum and we left wanting more! Too bad we moved to Florida and won't be back there soon! Whenever I see a place advertising Dim Sum - my mouth waters because of the tasty food we experienced here. The atmosphere was OK (dirty fish tank kind of unpleasant to look at) but the taste of the food so made up for it! YUM!
(4)
C B.
Since I've moved to Baltimore, I've been looking for a good dim sum and chinese cuisine restaurant. I'm originally from the DC area which is only so-so for dim sum and pretty good for Chinese. But in Baltimore, it seems that there really isn't a lot of choices. So when I read about Asian Court in th Baltimore Sun, I was eager to try something that wouldn't require me to drive all the way south. I was taking some guests to a new place to get the dim sum cart experience. Unfortunately, we got there at the tail end of dimsum cart time on Saturday which ends at 3pm. Its funny, the boss lady also pushed the XO fish dish on me but I declined. The Good: - Above average tasting dim sum - Food delivery was prompt and fast...as soon as we sat down, they rolled carts to us - Was offered friendly recommendations - Had an aquarium to keep the kids busy - Large screen TV's with cultural shows adds to ambiance The Not-so-good - Service was a bit lacking...had to wave down help to clean tables, get silverware, etc - Carts did not have full menu (maybe because I was late) - a little hard to find All-in all, a recommend. I will not hesitate to return to eat again, however, not so stellar that I have in my calendar yet.
(4)
Laura W.
So good! Original, amazing, wonderful. First time there and I live 40 min away but plan to go back on a regular basis. Worth the drive. WAY above the rest.
(5)
Carter L.
Had the taste of Dim Sum a couple of weeks ago and headed to my fav Red Pearl only to find it CLOSED! WHAT?? Remembered reading about Asian Court but had never checked out. Found our way there and will no longer miss Red Pearl! Just simply excellent Dim Sum and very good service! Asian Court is not as fancy as Red Pearl was nor is it Orient East but it's good and prices are good too.
(4)
Ashley W.
Asian Court used to be good before the management changed. When my family went there, we all noticed a foul odor that surrounded the entire restaurant. The food was okay, but when we asked for a large bowl of rice, the waiter simply took a bowl of rice from another table and plopped it into ours (I'm not making any of this up). "Hooray". When we asked for a box to take home, the waiter brought us a dirty box, one covered in GREASE. Needless to say, we didn't take anything home.
(1)
Clint S.
A decent Chinese restaurant for tan area with few options. I always get take out. Their General Tso's chicken is great along with their Orange and Sesame chicken. Their vegetarian chicken substitute is really good. The first time my wife had it she started crying because she thought it was real chicken. We called back to double check and it was the substitute. The only issue I have with this place is that the flavor can be inconsistent.
(3)
Matthew L.
The first time a friend suggested going to Asian Court I balked purely because of the name. They assured me it was authentic and I had my reservations. I'll man up and say I was wrong. The place is fantastic. I've done both dim sum and dinner. Being Chinese, the only way to eat Chinese is family style. Some of my favorites, spare ribs (chinese style), steamed fish, shrimp and broccoli and lo mein. They have a Chinese only menu and if you have a reader with you, they have a couple of extra items. Make sure to take a large group so you can try a lot of things.
(4)
John V.
Okay, I admit it, I'm addicted to these things. Call it a ravioli, mandoo, pierogi, har gow, pelmeni, won ton, pot sticker, gyoza, I don't care. Just wrap dough of some sort around a savory filling, boil it or steam it or fry it, and I'm all over it. The pickings are slim in Annapolis, so I have to travel for my dumpling fix. Parking sucks in DC's Chinatown, and the lines to get in are ridiculous. So when opportunity knocks, I scoot up to Asian Court in Ellicott City for a dim sum lunch. I've been there a couple times recently, once on a Sunday during Chinese New Year (big mistake) and again, more recently after the big lunch rush. First, service. Service by rolling cart often seems haphazard at best. On a Sunday, with long lines and packed tables, it can be frustrating to get something you want. During Chinese New Year, when students at a local martial arts school came in to do the Lion Dance (very entertaining, by the way), it shut down the carts for nearly a half hour. Having just arrived and not gotten much to eat, waiting an extra 30 minutes was not fun. If, however, you go during the week, you order from a menu and the dim sum items come out fresh from the kitchen. Less fun than the carts, less (dare I say?) authentic, but the items are fresh, hot and haven't been rolling around the floor on carts. Aside from the table service, the hostesses, though often frazzled by the crush of people, have never failed to be friendly and polite, albeit rushed. The food ... I've eaten dim sum around the world, from New York to Hong Kong to Hawai'i and beyond. Some snobs here disparage Asian Court's dim sum, but I like it. I've been in places where the Har Gow wrapper was thin, gummy, or falling apart, with chopped water chestnuts used as filler to cut down the shrimp in the filling. Not here. Even during the rush, the Har Gow come to my table fresh, hot, and perfectly formed. Or consider the lowly Shiu Mai. In most places, barely a single bite. Here they're huge, with coarsely chopped pork and shrimp with real flavor. The food is anything but insipid here. And I'm also a big fan of their Sticky Rice in Lotus leaf. I love all the varied bits and pieces hidden between the layers of rice. I'll keep coming back here.
(4)
Joseph K.
Forgot to mention that they charge .75 cents for tea per person. I know some other dim sum places that do this as well ...still kinda dumb
(4)
Dan A.
I wasn't sure what to expect when i came here for dim sum. The particular location where Asian Court is has been home to many failed Chinese restaurants in the past. Upon entering, I was pleased to noticed a good amount of older Chinese people eating there. That's always a good sign. Since my girlfriend and I wanted to try a good amount of dim sum here (and also because our eyes are far bigger than our stomachs), we ordered 10 different dishes. It was a LOT of food and we had a lot of leftovers to take home. I'd think about 4-5 dishes should be sufficient for a party of two. Anyways, of the dishes we tried, the following were our favorites (the names and descriptions are from the dim sum menu we were given): 1. "Deep Fried Crescent Dumpling Filling with Meats" (Ham-Sui-Gok): This dish was very crispy and had the perfect amount of savory filling and flavoring. It was my girlfriend's favorite dish by far. 2. "Deep Fried Sesame Balls of Glutinous Rice Flour" (Jin-Dui): I really liked this sweet dish. The crisp outside had a very nice toasted sesame flavor while the inside filling was sweet with a hint of peanut as well. 3. "Steamed Basket Shaped Meat Dumpling" (Sui-Mai): We both enjoyed this dish. The meat was flavored well. 4. "Steamed Chicken Feet with Oyster Sauce" (Fung-Jeow): Though chicken feet probably is a hate-it-or-love-it dish, it was well made. It was very soft and flavorful. The prices were reasonable, ranging from $2.95 to$ 4.25. Most items were $2.95. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and hope this place sticks around for a bit. While it is not the same as NYC or even DC / Montgomery County dim sum, it is nice to have a decent dim sum place nearby.
(4)
X X.
This place is going downhill. Ordered my dish spicy. The lady at the counter confirmed that it was made spicy. Got home and it has zero spices in it. I've eaten there before and know what it's like when it is spicy. There are never customers in there when I get my food. The hostess always says "you come back tomorrow. I see you tomorrow." nope- I come back never. I see you never.
(1)
Lia B.
Lousy service, terrible foods. About a year ago, my husband and I dine here. We ordered from their menu but both of us we're "stirred" to ordered something else that our hostess promised to be delicious. Needless to say we both complied. Then she abandoned us for about 45 minutes. No drinks no crackers or other things while we waited. By the time she arrived with our foods and drinks, the foods were cold and looks terrible. It taste horrible too. Since we were both hungry, we eat some of it anyway (not much, just to put something to calm the stomach). Terrible mistake, no sooner we arrived home we both raced to the johnnies. We know it was not from the spicy hot foods because the foods weren't spicy hot at all. We never dine in this establishment since.
(1)
Jennifer H.
The service was ok, but their Dim Sum was not good. Lacking in flavor or too much salt. Did not taste fresh. Did not leave satisfied. I'll stick with going the extra distance for Oriental East or New Fortune Dim Sum.
(2)
Kevin L.
So far the best dim-sum place around Baltimore metro area. We go there once a month or so. They changed the owner several times. One of the waitresses there told us that if you tip the service, do NOT tip on your credit card bill. The waiters/waitresses won't get it at all...So throw some cash if you have in your wallet.
(3)
Abish O.
I've had my fair share of dim sum in NY and this one is just as good as any dim sum place up there. They have the typical assortment of dim sum dishes you would find in any other restaurant. I have never been a fan of tripe (the whole thought of eating cow's stomach didn't sit well with me), but I tried it at this restaurant and it was AMAZING. More than the tripe, it was the sauce the tripe was in that made it taste so good. When we finished the tripe I started dipping other dishes into the tripe sauce. It was that good. My personal favorite is the ngeo-jai-gwat (beef ribs). It's very savory and has a peppery spice to it which I love on meats. Even though the food is really good, the price is more than what I am used to paying. There was also a separate charge for the tea, which I feel is customary to dim sum places. I don't live in Ellicot city so the drive there was a lot of gas. If you are already around the area I would definitely check it out. The drive there would only be worth it if I was really craving some dim sum. As for service, you will have to shout for their attention at times because they have 3 carts that rotate around the whole restaurant. We went early afternoon so there wasn't a long wait, but the place started filling up as we were eating, so expect to wait during peak hours. Oh yeah! Don't forget the sesame balls or egg tarts. You can't find tasty ones in Baltimore and it's a great ending to this delicious meal.
(4)
Janice L.
Food was great but that was the only thing. Service was horrible. They were in a rush for everything and there was only about 15 people in there when we were...we didn't have a waitress to come around and check on us..we had to keep constantly asking for things more than once. They checked the tip as we were standing there getting ready to leave! Who does that! Then started talking Chinese. Had the nerve to give us an attitude when we would ask for things but when the bill came, the asian lady goes oh you beautiful girl, you phillipino or chinese? ....oh no im not either! Vietnamese! I know good dim sum in Houston and Austin! Took boyfriend here for his first experience with dim sum and the service ruined it! Looks like next time we'll just make the drive to Silver Spring!!
(1)
Chuck N.
I have eaten here five times over the past year, mostly because its close in proximity. Today will be the last time I try to eat at Asian Court. Something happened recently, maybe it was an influx of customers because of publicity, maybe the owners have decided to turn over a new leaf and be jerks, but it is clear that Asian Court does not need any more business, especially during the dim sum hours. Look, sometimes you want to eat some greasy but perfectly decent chinese food. You don't feel like being a putz and eating at Panda Express, so you pop by Asian Court to get satisfactory food at a decent price. That's great - Asian Court satisfies a need. It's just when Asian Court gets a following to the point where people will wait for an hour to get a seat to eat ordinary dim sum, then some of us are no longer going to go to Asian Court. During dim sum hours, take a trip up to Rockville or Silver Spring. Don't go to Asian Court and puff up the egos of the elderly owners. Then, off hours, those puffed up egos lead to a weird, infuriating mixture of inattentive service with pushy, grating suggestions. I will put up, unhappily, with a wait, meh service, and ego, but the food better be transcendent. In this case, definitely not.
(1)
L A.
I was totally irritated with the service and lack of professionalism. The manager/owner was completely inappropriate when she yelled at me and my friends (all adults) for a miscommunication that actually was initiated by one of her own employees who was trying to accommodate us!!!! Btw, she went on for at least 5 minutes. Food is good but having served Dim Sum for a number of years, how can you run out of food when the restaurant is still packed?!!! I felt sorry for some customers because they waited for carts that never came out.... Honestly, it was one of the most nerve-racking meals I've EVER experienced. Right now, I would even drive to Chinatown, NY for a more satisfying Dim Sum
(1)
Aurora A.
This is the first dim sum place I've tried in Baltimore. The only other dim sum places I've eaten at were in Chinatown in NYC. As most of the other reviews say, this place is totally sufficient neither fantastic nor bad. I'd definitely go again and again and expect to leave happily satisfied and very stuffed. WE ate chicken feet (one of the best things I had), tripe (many really liked), clams in spicy bean paste, balls w/ pork and/or beans inside steamed and fried), bean curd, spare ribs (really tasty), shrimp shumai, tofu pudding, sesame balls, Chinese broccoli (a big hit), dumpling w/ lotus and pork?, sticky rice w/ sausage and other stuff wrapped in a leaf, crispy pork (a big hit), and probably some stuff I'm forgetting. Everything was good. The only critique I'd say is that the ground pork was very greasy, which i found somewhat permeated some dishes in a not-so-pleasant way. The one thing I can say was bad was parking. The parking lot is totally ridiculous in design leading to a lot of unnecessary frustration.
(4)
Danny C.
I've read the Baltimore Sun the other day and there was an article about this place. Overall rating was pretty good. I havent had any Chinese food lately so I decided to give this place a try. Me and the broski came here during lunch and from the outside looking in, this place looks run down. You go inside and the ambiance is actually quite stunning. Atleast for me. We go inside and we're the only ones here. They seated us down and the woman that works there was yelling at us (She normally acts like this, not to be disrespectful but this is who she is.) to get the Fish in XO sauce. We listened. But we also wanted to try the short ribs in french sauce? It was recommended by the Baltimore Sun. And every time I go to a Chinese restaurant, I always get Generals Tso Chicken. The woman didnt want us to get the "Americanized Chinese" food, but I wanted to try anyways. So 3 dishes... We spoke for less than 5 minutes when our first dish arrived. Flounder in XO sauce. Wow. Amazing. The fish alone was flavorful, soft and tender. Not too tender but not firm either, just perfect. Plump pieces and plenty of it for 2. Our next dish came within 2 minutes, the short ribs. Salty and savory. The textures of the ribs went really well with the fish. A great combination. Then our last dish came and it was actually quite different than the typical Chinese chicken dish. Sweet and salty but also a bit different flavor. Mostly meat with minimal batter. Lots of it. The food was so good that we ate it with little talking. More moaning, less talking. hahaha. We had a great time overall here. And they offered us 2 free buns. Bread bun with pineapple filling... Delicious! Next time we will come by to try out their famous dim sum!
(4)
Yaka H.
Been here a few times for dim sum. The quality of dim sum here is okay if you need to get your dim sum fix (not as good as Flushing, NY & NYC restaurants) and the variety of dim sum here is not great (Their menu is quite small compared to NYC/Flushing). The dishes are served on carts though. This place is probably good for those who want to try dim sum, but those used to a blown-out dim sum in heavily Chinese neighborhoods, you may be a bit disappointed in offerings, taste, and price. SX finds to place to be satisfying, especially since this place is nearby. I don't like how this place does my favorites (sometimes not warm enough/lukewarm food, not crispy enough, not even on the menu, etc; Food can be hit or miss). Service can be a bit slow here as well (Hit or miss service). The one redeeming factor here is that they do make a decent Yang Chou Chow Fun (different from American costumer ordered fried rice, it's the fried rice that Chinese people order). The parking lot here is oddly shaped, so parking may be an issue on the weekends when business is high. FYI: This place is a restaurant, not a food court. SX and I were confused at what this place was originally due to their namesake. Court = High Court/Royalty Court, not Food Court.
(2)
Jo N.
The first time i went here was for dim sum. The dim sum was ok and the services was ok, The second time i went to this place was for dim sum again in the evening with my mom thinking and hoping this place served dim sum all day! So in the end we missed dim sum and decided to order egg noodle soup that has dim sum like dumplings in the soup. Also we ordered steamed chicken wontons. The waitress barley spoke English and wasn't very friendly when i placed our order. She calls over another rude waitress and says something in chinese and the other waitress looks at us rude and says " why dont you order the lobster! its on sale todays special!" I say oh really i didnt see that but no thank you im not in the mood for lobster. So she gives me a nasty face and shakes her head and walks away angry! The hot tea they gave us my mom didnt care for so i ask her can we change the tea and she said ok ok and walked away to get someone else order. Then comes back and rudely snatches the hot tea away spilling it on our table. When we actually get our food it had no flavor and wasn't worth eating. When we left she was quick to grab her tip that we kindly left on the table. I don't think ill ever come back to this place, I'd rather drive from baltimore to silver spring va and eat at good fortune , oriental east , or paul key!!
(2)
Mantong Z.
Absolute authentic dim sum, I would say best in the area. Very reasonable price as well. Will go back for sure.
(5)
Gregory S.
RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!!!!!! I took my 2 daughters there for lunch on Saturday because my 4 year-old wanted to eat rice. We were second in line to get a table, but then they got very busy and they skipped over us and seated a table of 4 instead. After 25 minutes, we got seated at a table and they told me I have to leave in 20 minutes because they have a lion dance coming in and they need the space. My 4 year old was hungry so I had no choice but to order white rice for her and hope they they bring the carts around quickly. Well, all I was able to get were 3 dim sum dishes and a bowl of white rice. I didn't get a chance to eat when my baby started crying so I had to feed her. They came around and asked if I was done. After telling them that I'm not done, that I had to feed the children, and that I did not get a chance to order from the carts; they then threw some food on my table, and told me they have to push my table to the side. I wanted to leave b/c the service is sooooo rude but I was stuck there until my baby finished eating. So I had to let them push our table against another party's table. Finally, the baby was done and I told them I was done. They cleared my table so fast that I did not have time to put all our coats on. I have NEVER been to a restaurant in which the service rushes and throws you out like that. They should not seat anyone at that table if they need to clear it in 20 minutes. Their service is too slow to make it possible. I have been there before and have never been treated that way! There must be different owners there! I can't believe I paid $15 for a bowl of rice and 3 bites. They made me so angry that I lost my appetite. I am a paying customer and they made me feel like an unwelcomed person. They should be grateful for my business but instead acted like they were doing me a favor to serve me food. If my kids weren't there, I would have told them off! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN! I hope others will read this post and realize they should not subject themselves to such rudeness.
(1)
Rose B.
Decent food, but bad service. My husband and I now drive out to Silver Springs to get our Dim Sum on.
(3)
Joseph B.
The whole experience was average. Much like this review, very average.
(2)
Tiffany H.
So.....I am at Asian Court (9/22/13 at 1:15 PM)....it was not my choice (I wanted to go to Good Fortune in Wheaton but they stop serving dimsum by 1PM). I really did not want to deal with their 1 PM rush, but alas, it has happened again. When we showed up there was already a line of disgruntled people. It looked like they were doing a better job controlling skipping people today, as everyone around us actually had numbers. However, after sitting in line for half an hour, we realized somehow we were getting skipped again!! We checked the list and they had crossed off our number and given it to someone else...they did apologize and we got seated immediately afterwards, however, there was barely any food left! I have now been sitting here for half an hour more, with the same carts going by with food nobody wants. I tried ordering my favorite baked pork buns to take home, but they were out. My friend ordered the wrong buns (steamed) and went to tell the server never mind, and witnessed her dropping the bun on the floor and putting it back in the steamer....thank god we didn't want them anymore. Everyone sitting here is not going to leave, because they are all hungry and there is no food. We have to ask repeatedly for water and tea to be refilled. 5 min later, the table next to us that arrived 10 min after still has not gotten more than one dish. People are starting to get up and leave, they don't want to wait anymore. I feel bad for everyone here, the servers are all nice, there are just too many people and not enough food. I have to be honest, I do like the food here, but I won't be coming back anymore. There are plenty of other places closer to me that are more organized. For those of you who want to, I would recommend trying to get here as early as possible, before they run out of food. It is not a pleasant experience sitting hungry in a dimsum restaurant.
(1)
Emily W.
Dim sum without having to travel to the DC area? I'll take it! Service is ok (I'm sure I'll catch slack for this comment but I generally don't expect great service when I choose to eat Chinese/dim sum), but more importantly food is delicious and there's a decent selection. Just sorry I waited so long to try this place out!
(5)
Andrew K.
This was the second time I came here for dimsum. Most of the plates are pretty cheap at $2.95 and there were some good ones. It's a little on the greasy side but I thought it tasted pretty good. I'm not good at judging what really good dimsum tastes like but it tasted good enough to me. Some of my favorites were the shumai, spare ribs, sticky rice and the pineapple bun. The service was pretty good and they have a nice dimsum menu with pictures and a description of what it is in English which really help for those who are new to dimsum.
(4)
Jennifer S.
I've been to asian court a couple of times for dim sum. It's really good. My husband thinks most dim sum tastes like "dish water" (where he gets that I have no idea) but he likes Asian Court. I had to knock it down one star just b/c it's not NYC chinatown dim sum. I'm not asian so I can't pick apart each dish b/c I really don't know what they're called. I just get random stuff and my staples, shrimp shumai, etc and it's always been delicious. The staff can be a little pushy but I think that's pretty standard of any dim sum place.
(4)
Clint U.
Situated between a cigar store and a tire dealership, this stripmall spot has seen Chinese restaurants come and go every two years for over a decade. Another new one just opened up so I wandered in to check it out. Scanning the menu my eye catches the chef specialties: 1. Pigs Skin Duck Blood with Ginger & Scallion 2. Pigs Feet w/Bean Curd Sauce 3. Duck Feet with Black Mushroom 4. Sizzling Conch with Black Pepper Sauce 5. Deep Fried Frog Leg Sauteed with Salt & Pepper 6. Spicy Deep Fried Quail 7. Sauteed Pigs Intestine with Sour Cabbage 8. Ox Tail and Rice Vermicelli in Soup 9. A column of food of 3 dozen vegetarian dishes 10. 2 columns of food of 6 dozen Japanese dishes including ikura, ika, unagi, tako, etc. 11. A column of 30 different noodle dishes 12. A menu of over 100 Chinese dishes including dim sum... Did I just walk into the filming of Bizarre Foods? Spinning around to look for Andrew Zimmern, I spot a middle aged Chinese in a white shirt and tie, half the height and weight of Zimmern with the look of "owner in hock to my eyeballs" written all over his face. After some small talk but enough to detect the edge of a carnival barker trying to bring in business (now convinced he is the owner) I agreed to bring in my family for dim sum. Coming back an hour later with my brigade, we try an assortment of items 1. Shao Mai, shiu mai,: Good standard rendition...but could have used a little more black mushrooms in the mix 2. Har Gow: They used pretty decent sized whole shrimp...not diced or chopped. 3. Char Shu Bow, Baked and Steamed: Good flavor and quality for both....but little on the small size. 4. Steamed spareribs with black bean: Could have had more black bean seasoning in this dish...typical serving...lots of bones in 1/2 inch cubes 5. Tofu wrapped BBQ pork and vegetables: Good dish but not spectacular 6. Passed on the custard tarts....one inch sized tarts...way too small PRICE: $110 for 6 adult sized appetites. To me that's kinda high for dim sum in the suburbs. Scanning the menu, the prices of the ala carte dishes were between $10 to $25. On an apples to apples comparison, this place is about 30-40% higher than my regular Chinese take out place Would be a 3 star restaurant in LA or SF. 4 stars for Baltimore and for now. I will try more of their dishes and modify this rating as necessary
(4)
Erica D.
My husband and I went to this restaurant two Sundays ago. I expected the plain service before we went, however, both of us were still taken by how they neglected us. Basically, the dimsum carts did not really stop for us--I guess since we have just two people, they do not expect us for good business. There was one cart that did not even bother to stop for us. Therefore, we finally had enough and left after the long agonizing wait. To be more specific, we only got to order 4 items before our patience ran out. Poor waiters were running around and never came back to check on us, so it took us about 10 minutes to get some ice water. Beyond the bad service, the food was OK, their Chicken Feet is really good though, soft and juicy.
(2)
A. C.
(02/20/2010) Went here to celebrate Chinese New Year. We'd been waiting for dim sum in the Baltimore Metro area for a while, and was excited to see this place. Dim sum is good, if you need a dim sum fix, and don't want to haul down to Wheaton or Silver Spring. They have all the standards, and do them pretty well (they might want to change the oil a little more frequently for the fried items). On the table: deep fried glutinous rice dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf, tripe, chicken feet, steamed BBQ pork bun, shu mai. They did have something you don't see too often crispy skinned roast pork belly, definitely worth a try. Be prepared for Chinese-style service (no nonsense, and a little surly). We've been several times since, and the quality and portions of food have suffered over time. The dishes have the weird presence of too much sugar. Not quite at the level of DC, and DC's nowhere near LA or NYC, but so far, up until recently the best greater Baltimore had.
(4)
Charlotte B.
Reasonable, but not great, dim sum. But probably the best available for now in this area.
(3)
Wendy Q.
They have a new management and it is great!! I went there for dim sum and the lion dance and I was very impressed. The new boss was a cute, and friendly little Chinese woman. The staff was also very kind and I enjoyed the environment. I would def go here again! :)
(5)
Stu E.
We met family here for Dim Sum, my first time here and my wife and kid's second or third. I thought the food was great and the service was good too. My son thought the duck and spare ribs we're quite good. I highly recommend the shrimp dumplings. Can't remember everything we ordered but we were quite happy.
(4)
Marsha W.
We have since returned and found the hall to be void of chairs (there was a large party the first night we were there so I think it was temporary storage). And the TV was on the Discovery channel!
(4)
Emily C.
This restaurant has changed hands so many times in recent years it's hard to keep track. But I think this most recent change (around Feb 2008) is an improvement. The dim sum is a lot better, service is friendlier and faster. And they're open late--10 or 11pm (by Ellicott City standards, that's pretty late). I hope it's here to stay. There needs to be a good dim sum place closer to Baltimore. It's not always convenient trekking down to Rockville of Silver Spring.
(4)
Ross M.
dim sum! warning: don't drink the water, it tastes like toilet water! get the jasmine tea. wow wow wow, everything was so fast. 10 seconds after we came in we were seated and 2 carts came by and we were loaded up and ready to go! i've been to new fortune and oriental east and mark's duck house in va, i thought the dim sum was pretty good. we had an assortment of stuff, everything was good, including the chicken legs! yummy! lots of bones in some of the dishes, more than i am use to. apparently the chicken legs went through me rather quickly (was my first time trying them) as i walked towards the wachovia atm across the parking lot, i had an emergency diarrhea leak go down my leg. i had to run to the einstein bagels bathroom (thank god not far). i pretty much exploded in the bathroom and made a mess. maybe no more chicken legs for me...my stomach is still upset. i will return though! yum!
(4)
Sara J.
Service was really good, which is rare for a chinese restaurant. Staff was very helpful and nice, we were also there not during a busy time. The chow mein is good with yellow noodles, and the dim sum plates were good. Favorite plate of mine is the shrimp in roll noodles!~ yummm~ they also give a a choice of a variety of dim sum teas. (green tea, jasmine, etc)
(4)
Jed K.
Good dim sum! Don't have to drive down to Silver Spring for dim sum now.
(5)
Tatyana M.
To my deep sorrow I have to report that today was the day we visited Asian Court the last time. If you've read my two previous reviews you already know that we've been very loyal and grateful patrons of this place from the very beginning of their existence. Unfortunately we can't say it anymore. The main reason for this decision is their unclear and seems to us not honest charges they started to put lately in our bills. We didn't question their charges to them because it's hard to prove anything without understanding their marking system on the card at dim sum dining. But we have been noticing for quite a wile that our bills become higher and higher for the same amount of our favorites we order every time. First we thought maybe their prices rose? We checked the menu and the changes were not that significant if any. If before we paid from $35 to $45 for about 10 to 12 dim sum dishes, now it was close to $50/$60 and sometimes $70. We tried to match our orders with their menu and couldn't find the answers. Some dishes they served we couldn't even find on the menu. Beside this reason, the quality of the food became inconsistent and we would be paying more for the food that didn't bring the same satisfaction as it was earlier. So we've decided to quit. As for you my friends, if you still enjoy their fare at least check your bills.
(3)
Dave Z.
This is the first dim sum place I've tried in the area, and it was not bad. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was amazing, but I thought everything was pretty good on the dim sum menu. I was especially excited about a fried taro dim sum dish - I don't see taro too often on menus, which is a shame. I'd like to go back and try one of their regular dishes as well.
(3)
Howard I.
We used to eat at this place frequently, and appreciated the pretty good food and vegetarian faux meat selections. We went last week and were so offended that we will likely never return. My party arrived and were told to wait just a minute and the greeter would be right back. To her credit, she seemed busy, but she took at least three take out orders, and let another 5 people pay their bills. Soon, someone from the restaurant complained that they were absolutely starving and ordered 5 dishes, but only got one, and really needed the rest. We had waited 10 minutes and the server, Kyoko, seemed to have no interest in us whatsoever. My husband went into the restaurant to tell her we would leave if we couldn't be seated soon, and she basically invited us to do so. She said there were no tables available, but there were tons, and plus, she hadn't mentioned that when we arrived, and it would have been nice to know instead of just wasting 15 minutes sitting around waiting for a table. Kyoko was really rude. It's too bad.
(1)
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Address :9180 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD, 21042
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Kathalina M.
My friend came to visit & she wanted Dim Sum for lunch. Took her here cos it was closer to my house & I am glad we came here despite the not so good reviews on Yelp. We went on a Wednesday around 1 pm, the place was about half full and we were seated immediately. A pot of hot tea was brought to our table. I saw a Yelper mentioned it was not free but we still drank it ( We were only charged $.75 for the pot so that was a steal!!) We were famished & I just knew we were gonna order way too much food than we can handle but heyyyyyy we decided to YOLO it out , just order what we want & take leftovers with us lol! All the dim sum dishes we ordered were great, I was glad the dim sum dishes did not come all at the same time so we can pace ourselves while eating. I tried chicken feet, it was different but good! We saw a waitress bring a giant plate of beef chow fun & it smelled AMAZING so of course we ordered that too. You can taste what Chinese people call "Wok Hei" (breath of the wok) which is the essence of frying the noodles in a hit wok (did I even explain that correctly??) The only complaint I had about the chow fun was that it was a bit greasy but it had great flavor. We also ordered a plate of Chinese broccoli over oyster sauce and it was great. Vegetables were not over cooked. Our waitress seemed curt when we first got there but eventually stopped by our table a few times to check on us, made small talk & helped us pack our leftovers. My friend enjoyed her meal & I kept my reputation as an awesome food recommender...Win-win if you ask me.
(5)Anne A.
I went here with some friends on a Saturday. One of them has been recommending this place to me for the better part of a year. He and his girlfriend go here so often that the owner knows them. We were seated quickly. As the only non-Chinese speaker in our group, I had to relay my order to my friends who would then order for me. And the servers never acknowledged me or talked to me, so I have no idea if they knew English at all. It definitely made me feel unwelcomed. Anyway, the food was underwhelming. Nothing extraordinary. Crispy shrimp balls are one of my usual dim sum orders and I was really disappointed with their version of it. The shrimp balls looked like shrimp egg roll and there was more wrapper than shrimp. Overall, I'm glad I checked it out. But the food isn't good enough to drive more than 30 minutes to get here when I have Chopstix dim sum about 10 minutes away.
(2)Jade H.
This is real dim sum with the ladies and the carts! Good selection: chicken feet, pork buns, pork chops, lotus-leaf-wrapped rice, long noodle with shrimp or beef, shrimp dumplings...all delicious!
(5)Tunaidi A.
I was skeptical at first because of the prior reviews and the fact that I've never heard of this place. However, I left pleasantly surprised about Asian Court. The 4/5 rating is inflated. Not sure if Asian Court would garner even a 2/5 in larger cities, but for Baltimore and the surrounding suburbs, you bet this is the best dim sum you'll be able to get without traveling to Rockville or Silver Springs. No, service isn't the best. No, the selections aren't the best. No, the quality isn't the best. But hey, Asian Court has servers pushing around the carts with the small plates; the dim sum options are authentic; the traditional dishes and staples are available; chef specials are surprisingly delicious; prices are naturally cheap. In an area deprived of good Chinese food, complaining about the dim sum here would just be ungrateful.
(4)Jill B.
It would be 5 stars, but I need to come back and try the dishes that came out after we were too full to try them: the duck, clams, and chicken. So this was my first dim sum experience and it was amazing. I was with one other novice and two folks who had experienced a one high end dim sum in San Francisco and one in L.A. All of us were very happy. The dishes were flavorful, better than the majority of american chinese food at even the best restaurants. The folks with the carts were happy to explain what was in each bun, or each plate. The variety of foods will allow even the pickiest of eaters to find something they like. The things I would highly recommend: salt and pepper shrimp (don't peel it just eat it), salt and pepper calamari, the pork with peppers (so spicy!), the chicken feet (spit out the bones), and pretty much anything else that catches your eye! The taro cakes (like latkes stuffed with shrimp) may be my new favorite food, but avoid the taro cake - the grilled side is delicious, but the soft underbelly leaves much to be desired. If you are a first timer, here are some tips. TAKE YOUR TIME! don't eat so fast that you don't see what other carts have to offer. BRING A GROUP The more folks you have, the more dishes you can sample without getting stuffed. DONT TRY TO DIVIDE THE CHECK BY WHAT EACH PERSON ATE there is literally no way to do this unless you each have your own sheet and you don't share anything (which ruins the experience anyway) so go in knowing it's gonna get split evenly. ENJOY! From the tea to the sweet buns, you will enjoy the Weekend and Holiday Dim Sum. All the dishes are available all other days, just not brought around on carts. I also need to go back and try their chefs specialties when it's not dim sum. The menu looked awesome!
(4)Wing P.
I came here today because I really wanted dim sum and this is the only place in Columbia/Ellicott city to have dim sum. In the past, I have been disappointed with the quality and wait time on the food. If you eat there on the weekend, the owner often rush you to finish, so she can open up a new table. Today, I decided to get carry out, the owner told me it would take 20 minutes. Turned out..I waited for 50 minutes!!! This terrible experience continues...I opened the food after I got home and realized the translucent noodles portion got cut in half than the regular portion. The radish cake was greasy and sour! Yes it's sour!!! Never had worst dim sum in my life! I will never return there from this point on! If you want bad food and dining experience, this is the place to be! Good luck!!!
(1)Joey L.
Ordered take out yesterday since my husband likes dim sum. We were disappointed for calling ahead 20 mins ahead of time and assuming the order will be ready, but by the time we get there we still have to wait another 15 mins; which means the total waiting time from order to pick up is 35 minutes. The place is no as crowded as before, maybe people started not coming to this place. When we got home and took out the orders - 1 order of the Lo-Mai-Gai was missing but they have already charged me. I called them right away and told them I want my money back. Then I found out they have put 2 chicken buns within the order of steam pork bun (chai Sui bao). It is totally defraud!! - as least that's how I feel - they cheated! Very disappoint with this place and will not go back and do not recommend anyone to try. They just gonna give you what ever they have left and cannot sale instead of what you ordered.
(1)Tiffany H.
Love this place especially the lobsters and clams.The services are excellent. You don't have to go to Rockville for authentic Chinese food.
(5)Lhoi R.
Great authentic Chinese foods! But the place is really old and smelly. The waitresses are friendly but sounded rude at first. The place needs a complete renovation, clutter every corner! We just love the taste of food and we will try to be back by lunch time to experience the dimsum time!
(4)Yaofu Z.
I have been to this place a lot of times. I agee with a lot of other reviewers that the service could be spotty at times. But I gave them 4 stars for the food and for being available in Howard Co. I have ate dim sum and off regular menus. Dim sum are decent in my opinion and I found it more affordable than some other places in DMV. I usually order take out for regular menu. I like their cantonese menu options and they usually do a good job. I find their $20 combo a very good deal as well.
(4)Top B.
Food was good but the servers were way too pushy. I didn't give in to them as they tried to steer me to the most expensive dishes but my dinner companions did and they regretted it. Seemed like the servers should be working in a car lot or carnival. it was enough of a turn off for me not to return.
(3)Tiffany S.
There is a severe lack of readily available dim sum near me, so I desperately wanted Asian Court to be good. I went in with the highest of hopes and left feeling a little let down. The wait wasn't long at all, despite the weekend crowd, and the servers were more than helpful. There was a wide array of dishes from char siu bao to chicken feet, loads of shumai and I recall seeing some vibrant veggies in there as well. Sadly, most of the steamed meats were slimy and a bit on the bland side. The roasted pork belly I was so delighted to see on the cart was crispy, yes, but lacking flavor and a bit tough. I had to rely on the sauce served with it to really enjoy it, and that's sad. On the upside, the fried octopus was tossed with fresh green onion and schezuan peppers that cut nicely through the richness of the dish, and the soy sauce pan fried noodles were tasty as well. My companions raved over the har su gao (forgive my spelling) and the sesame balls were a delight as well. I adored I'll go back and try it again, perhaps on a less crowded day or at a time when I can order directly off the menu.
(2)Yun C.
Bad Service. Came here during the weekend for dim sum with my sister's family. We asked for a booster seat for her two toddlers and the lady who seated us completely ignored us. We end up grabbing a young server who speak little to no English who just stood there staring at us, we had to communicate with our hands to tell her we need a booster seat. There were only 2 carts going around over and over with the same food that we didn't want not much variety what so ever, we only had 4 of the small plates all together. We got Har Gow and Shumai both were very mushy and meat not fresh. We asked for chopsticks and they ran out, they gave us plastic forks instead....Seriously? The owner (lady who was wearing a traditional dress) came up to our table we asked is that all you have? "She said yes plenty of good food" It seems like she was trying to rush us out. Bad service and terrible food, don't waste your time and money coming here..
(1)Patrick B.
One star here - and for good reason. Read all below. Alright, lets get this out of the way - the dim sum here quality here is below average to average compared to other places. I guess it's alright for being in Ellicott City. The reason they get 1 star is because of the dishonest practices they have. Now I absolutely refuse to go here unless am invited by a family member, in which I am obligated to make a celebrity appearance. Other than that I'd never go here. Went here for dinner once and ordered the soy sauce chicken, some sort of fried lobster dish, and some sort of crab dish. Cant remember the exact names but that doesnt matter. A family member ordered it directly from the manager and I asked her how fresh the seafood was. She assured me that 1 - the chicken is fresh; 2 - the lobsters were big and fresh; 3 - the crabs were not frozen. ALL BULLSHIT The chicken came out cold and had a green hue to it. The lobster was pathetic and definitely not fresh at all. The crabs were horrible and the meat was powdery - the tale tale sign of over frozen meat. I have a family member that is very loyal to this place regardless of their shitty food and has given them probably thousands of dollars over the years in business. The fact that they lied to myself and others is unacceptable. While I'm sure my family member will continue to go there I certainly will not. The food is below average but my standards to dim sum and Chinese food is VERY high. This place would be a good start to try dim sum if you have not ever had it. But you will probably run the risk of hatting it and getting ripped off. Then lets talk sanitation - bathroom was filthy with piss and shit all over the floor. I highly recommend that you do not eat at this place.
(1)Tanya C.
Pretty decent dimsum place especially for the area. The prices are good though the selection and English description are not so good. Service is okay. Ambiance is that of a typical Chinese restaurant geared towards Asians. In terms of dimsum, the ha how was ok. The baked and steamed pork rolls were good. Did not really enjoy the bean curd fried shrimp, but the short ribs were pretty good. Overall good for the location. Would probably go back more if it was closer, but with it being 50 minutes away makes it less probable that we will return soon.
(4)Vida O.
Considering the lack of good Cantonese style food in the area this place is not that bad. The decor and bathroom reminds me of NYC style places - needs improvement. But the dim sum is pretty good all around and they offer a lot of choices. It is a family style restaurant and really casual. Expect to be sitting close to someone. I do think it is kind of pricey for dim sum but considering the rarity in the Baltimore area, I guess that isn't an issue.
(4)Yi S.
Dim sum is good. Lunch special dishes are just soso.
(3)David S.
I'm originally from California and have been living in Maryland for almost 6 months. Being from California, I have had great dim sum. I have been exploring the area in search for something similar. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed with this place, Asian Court. I had high hopes since just the week before, I found a good dim sum place I enjoyed in Wheaton, MD. I wanted to try something closer to Baltimore. Price wise, it's what you would expect--its comparative to other places I have tried. Flavor wise, while it wasn't horrible, it was neither great or to praise about. I though that the sticky rice, cha siu bao, shrimp ball, and har gow, all lacked flavor; it tasted a lot more bland than what I was expecting. The other disappointment was that even though I did not have tea (and I told them I was not having tea when I sat down), they still charged me for it. Granted, it was only 75 cents. After I told what seemed to be the manager, he said something to one of the waiters. After waiting 15 minutes, I just paid the bill (with the 75 cents for tea) and then left since it was not worth my time over waiting for. They did not get a tip from me. Overall, I don't think I will be coming back. I would rather drive slightly farther to Wheaton, MD, to the mall, and have dim sum there.
(2)Jim W.
Best dim sum place in the area, we go probably once a month and almost always on the weekends when they roll around the dim sum carts. We go with our young kids, who have a time limit, and dim sum is great because the food gets to the table quickly. All of the standard favorites are available and the specialty dishes like clams, beef chow fun, and the like are also there. You can wait until they get made and are walking around or you can order it directly, I recommend ordering it direct. The service is good, the servers and staff are very friendly. The manager is nice too though but if you're not used to the directness and gruffness of what you'd expect in China, it can be off putting, especially when it gets busy. If you fancy dim sum but don't want to wait around, you can always order it off the menu when it's not the weekend. We've done this a few times and it's worked out well because you know it's fresh (they make it to order). There is one knock - not enough parking. The place gets very busy during lunch over the weekend and if you get there past 11:30, you'll have to park up by the Home Depot. It's not far, just less convenient. If you know of a better dim sum place in the area, I'd love to hear about it.
(5)Landy L.
Have been here for dim sum multiple times and can be hit or miss. Their Shu Mai can either be quite succulent or on the dry side as it was today. Their lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice with pork belly and Chinese sausage is consistently delicious. Some offerings such as the bbq ribs are strange for dim sum but I guess you cater to your crowd which is a mix of Asians and non Asian. Service today not the best...had to ask for water and tea twice before finally receiving it 10 min after we started eating. Plate was also dirty. The owner lady does work hard though, bussing tables right along with her waitresses.
(3)Henry W.
This place is one of the rare dim sum restaurants within the Baltimore vicinity unless you travel farther to silver spring or Virginia areas. This place is solid when it comes to dim sum. The taste is pretty decent but i feel they may put a tad much MSG since afterwards I seem to get thirsty after eating there. The place has nice decor and a decent amount of seating. It's a traditional dim sum place where they roll the carts around. Overall the dim sum is okay but I've definitely had better (usually have to go farther for better quality)
(3)Amber E.
I enjoyed the dim sum experience here. I have had better... In NYC. But locally, this is pretty good. And to be honest I can't much complain since I'm not any kind of authority on the issue. All in all I would return
(3)Rhea F.
Awesome! Been looking for Authentic Chinese dim sum for a while. 22 mins away from home, Yeahhhh!
(5)Kelly H.
Reviews here seemed so so but I was really in the mood for dim sum so I decided to stop in for a weekday lunch. Happy I did!! First of all, the dishes are huge, I was over ordered with the baked BBQ buns, coconut jello, shrimp dumplings, and one other dish. The service here was fine (it wasn't super crowded at lunch though so maybe the other reviewers are focused on weekends). I'd definitely come back but with a bigger group so I can try more dishes!
(4)Mike C.
It's a great place for Dim sum, interesting place, not as big as boston but it's a great place to eat if you're in ellicot city, I would've given it more 5 stars if we weren't sharing our table with 2 other parties, But overall the food is as tasty as can be.
(4)Jeremy R.
It had been a while since my first review so I thought I would give y'all an update. It is great to see a good restaurant get even better. This is THE place for dim sum in the Baltimore area. We have been there over 20 times and are never disappointed. There are no weak links in their food chain and the staff and management are friendly and helpful. Call for a reservation if you are going on a weekend to minimize wait times.
(5)Ann K.
3.5. Asian Court is getting busier during dim sum on weekend. It is no fun if you show up for dim sum with no one there. They offer basic repetoire of dim sum but they are tasty and hot. Big plus for that. The pork bun is good either bakedmor steamed. My chicken legs are mouthwatering. Uber full now. Time to get a shot of bubble ea at Shilla Bakery on the southbside of route 40. Then, Nap time.
(3)Tom T.
We went during dinner hour during the week. The restaurant was empty except for a few tables. I have eaten there for several years on and off. The food overall was fair but service was ok. The one person that really irritates me most is the lady with short hair so called the manager/owner. Every time I go in there. I try to avoid her as much as possible. She was very pushy and when you try to order s dish, she tried to push for some of the other dishes on the menu. She won't even let you try order something you want. In other words, she won't give you s chance to talk!!!!! I happened to have my mother and sister visiting here in Maryland. They're from New York. I was born and raised in New York. The food don't compare to New York. The next day I went in for a take out order and of course. The lady owner/manager was there. I was hoping to avoid her. Trying to order what I wanted wasn't to the owners satisfaction. She kept pushing and pushing for the dishes she recommended. So I gave and give it a try. It was ok. In the future if I come across her (the owner - manager) again. I will certainly giver her a piece of my mind and its not going to be pretty !!!!!!!!
(2)Karen P.
I would give 4.5 if I could. We are used to dim sum in Silver Spring area but now that we live in Clarksville this is a lot closer. They had all my favorites and they were great. The carts came at a good interval and the service was very good too. They even had the chrysamthemum tea and rock sugar which is always a special treat with our dim sum. We will be back.
(4)Ravi S.
Being a self professed Asian food aficionado, the place has very authentic Cantonese cuisine. Best place to have dim sum in all of Howard county. I am a regular at this place and all the dishes I have tried is extremely flavorful. On weekends they have dim sum on the cart. They also have whole roasted ducks and chicken. My favorite is their spare ribs and chicken feet. They also serve sweet tofu on the weekends. A must try.
(4)Kat L.
Very tasty dim sum and very good prices. Love the shumai and their crispy squid! Definitely will come back soon to try the duck or pork! Service has room for improvement. Very disorganized when it gets busy.
(3)Brandon E.
Went to this place Dim sum and it was very very very bad. This place looks very dirty, food is not that great, and most was not even Dim sum! Food was warm or cold when it got to the table. Carts came by very slow, and had a very limited selection. Don't waste your time on this this place, I will never go back ever.
(1)J C.
Good dim sum in general, but great for the area. There's not a lot of dim sum places around Maryland, so this place really hits the spot when I have that hunger.
(3)Ru S.
Dim sum is not good. At all. Or at least, not the dishes I've had when I've come. The waiters/owner (not sure who) can't figure out how to split a check into multiple credit card payments, even though it's very simple math. Like, "put this amount on each credit card" simple. And did I mention the food doesn't taste good? If this is the best dim sum place in the area, as some other reviewers are saying, then do yourself a favor and drive an additional 30 minutes to MoCo. Or get really drunk before you come here. Either way, you'll thank me afterwards.
(2)Sara M.
I'd scanned the reviews before we ate lunch here, and I felt like they were spot-on - the dim sum is delicious, but the service is lacking. We called ahead to make sure that they would be serving dim sum on a holiday, and showed up towards the end of lunch service. We were seated promptly and a cart showed up with a few different fried items, so we got a plate of fried dumpling ball thingies. After that, no one showed up with anything for at least 10 minutes. Finally, a server came by with a cart that contained nothing but chicken feet in oyster sauce (which I'd totally try if we had a larger group to share the experience). When we turned those down, she brought us a paper menu and a pencil to mark our order. In the future, we'll just ask for that menu. We picked out a few things and they trickled to our table over the next 20-30 minutes, which is pretty slow for dim sum in a not-so-crowded restaurant. But they were all quite good. The turnip cakes were some of the best I've ever had, with a nice firm consistency. The pork and chive dumplings had a great flavor and were very generously sized. The translucent shrimp dumplings were perfectly steamed. We decided to call it quits there, but I'd be interested in trying other items from the menu. Perhaps if we'd come a bit earlier, we could've gotten more off of the carts. The dim sum prices were very reasonable - we were decently full for less than $10 per person. I think it's pretty silly that they charge for the hot tea but also don't ask you if you want it - they just serve it automatically and then charge you. It wasn't very good tea, and got bitter quickly. But they're not the only restaurant to do that. My only major complaint is about service, which was really inattentive. It took a long time to flag anyone down to ask a question, place an order, get the check, etc. Our water glasses were frequently refilled, which was good, but that staff member was only cleaning tables and pouring water. Ironically, her English was the best of anyone working there, but she wasn't interacting with customers.
(3)Dillon P.
This restaurant is a wonderful place to get authentic Chinese food. The place is crowded due to so much business, but that's because the food is scrumptious. This is the best place to get dim sum in the area, and definitely deserves at least a 4 star. However, the waiters are a bit slower than I would personally like, and their is a slight language barrier. The food is not as good as those in Vancouver, but it still a great place to get good food. Overall, this place is a wonderful place to get Chinese food, and I would recommend coming here.
(4)Jesus B.
The management here is appalling. I have never seen a place more antagonistic to their customers. I was literally hounded by the manager over and over about how good their lunch special was when I explicitly came here to get dim sum. DO NOT TIP. It all goes straight to the management. The workers do not see a cent. Also when you don't tip, the management will once again antagonize you for it. I cannot justify going to a place that has such poor regard for their customers. The food is mediocre at best. Terrible experience. Was seated at a dirty table and next to the coat closet one time.
(1)Nisha G.
Pretty good food but I've def had better individual dishes specifically the pork buns. It wouldn't hurt if more people spoke English. We ordered two orders of soup dumplings as that is my favorite dish and we got shrimp dumplings. Apparently shrimp and soup sound alike...kind of disappointing. We randomly got a complimentary dish which was pretty cool.
(3)Dodikins D.
Food is a bit better than I recall from last time, but still not the best. Many items were quite greasy. - The ribs were unnecessarily fatty. Maybe half was fat, half was actual meat. - Water chestnut cakes were not fried, but still quite greasy. - I don't usually order congee at a restaurant, but it did help cut the greasy slick I felt building up. The congee had a good amount of pork and preserved egg in it, which was a pleasant surprise. - The tripe (in a brown sauce) was rather bland. - Siu mai was good. - The ha gao dumpling skin was a bit hard and crumbly, like it had been put into the fridge. The dumpling wasn't exactly cold, but it wasn't very warm either. Not very good. - The texture of the shrimp wrapped in rice sheets was a bit gummy. The shrimp also had a bit of a fishy smell. Not super strong, but like it wasn't the freshest. - Tea was in the form of a teabag, rather than loose leaf. This may or may not bother you, depending on what's traditional to you, and how picky you are about taste. I know cheaper Chinese restaurants and dim sum places aren't renowned for their service, but... service still needs work. It's truly off-putting. Our "5-10 minute" wait was closer to half an hour. They also may have skipped us somewhere along the way. Several parties in the waiting area were getting antsy and making comments amongst themselves. We were promised steamed barbecue pork buns, which never came. It's hard to tell who is staff and who is not. The people pushing the dimsum carts were dressed in black and white, but not a lot of the people bussing tables, seating guests, bringing water, or managers were. These other people dressed in things ranging from slacks to jeans to "jeggings" and sneakers -- blending in with the more casual customers. Service already wasn't very attentive (for anything other than the dimsum carts), and not knowing whom to look out for made it difficult to flag someone down for the check or to-go boxes. We finally had to ask one of the people pushing carts to do it for us... With the large volume of customers backed up in the waiting area, I would have thought that staff would be attentive to who is leaving so that they could turn over tables faster for the next party. It took a while to get the check and to get our to-go boxes. The manager (?) took our check and promised us boxes. He came back without them and when we reminded him, he waved us off with an impatient, "Lai le, lai le." He walked past us a couple times after that without anything and went to address other customers instead. We had to flag down a second person (to whom we also passed off our actual payment) to get our boxes. Not all boxes came with lids, either. The first guy never checked back in on us.
(2)Rhex X.
Pretty good dim sum. Great prices too! Definitely going back. Oh and the staff are very attentive.
(4)Marcus C.
I'm from New York City with family from Hong Kong, so I get to be a dim sum connoisseur, spoiled by great dim sum. Therefore, it may be hard to satisfy me. Food: Most of the food is mediocre, but I do recommend the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. Service: quite bad, even if someone at your table knows the owner. I guess it's due to a lack of competition that a place like this can survive. A place like this in Flushing would have died a terrible death. Decor: just okay on the cleanliness side within the dining area. I hope they have good standards in the kitchen.
(3)Eve C.
We've given this place several chances because its so close to our house and we sometimes hear rumors that they've improved. But my husband made me promise him I'll never drag him here again. We'll drive the 25-30 minutes to the Dim Sum places in MoCo from now on. It's pretty apparent that they do not have a trained dim sum chef. Dim Sum - Majority of the dishes were Below Average (Shu Mai, Turnip Cakes and Spare Ribs were okay though) Staff - Not friendly (The lady I presume to be the manager is rude and loud. The staff walks around cluelessly.) Service - Poor; We arrived at 10:35 AM after they opened. They pushed the same sad cart around for 20 minutes. We didn't start eating until 10:55 AM. Prices - More expensive than most places Bonus - The tea, which is a big part of traditional dim sum, came in the form of a teabag in a pot.
(1)F S.
The key with dim sum restaurants is to get there early. Otherwise, you will be waiting in a long queue to get a seat. Dim sum restaurants are not about gracious service; they are about inexpensive, hot, tasty bites that are too hard to make at home. If you expect courteous, refined hospitality, don't go to dim sum. That said, the dim sum here is good (not spectacular), with pretty reasonable selection. The chicken feet were right up there with those at the best dim sum restaurants I've tried (in NYC Chinatown). Prices are very reasonable for the area and lower than dim sum prices in Silver Spring/D.C. Would return.
(4)C D.
My go-to for dim sum and take out. Very good food. Service is hit and miss due to crowds and bias toward Chinese speakers.
(4)Sam O.
just came here yesterday for father's day and I don't know what was happening but this place is HORRIBLY managed. You'd think for having been in business for years and being able to juggle dim sum crowds that they'd have their act together. We got there at 6:30pm and literally the restaurant was not even half filled. We had a part of 5. We didn't get seated till 8:00. We saw large parties get seated before us (even a party of 20) with no reservation. We even saw a party of 8 get seated before us where they just pushed to smaller tables of 4 together. Why couldn't they have done that for us? Oh because they have 1 table in mind for us to sit at and the people there haven't left. They even sat us at a table of 4 and brought a seat there but then said wait here until your table is done. We wanted to order and just eat there but they insisted we wait. HORRIBLE SERVICE! The owner (i think she's the owner) basically just yelled at everyone too when they started complaining and she would be screaming cantonese to everyone, guests, staff, everyone. She did not make it enjoyable at all. Supposedly the take out people weren't happy at all either as one group had been waiting as long as us just to get their take out order. We ordered 4 dishes. The XO fish is probably the best dish and the pepper steak wasn't bad either. The rest were ok (bitter melon vegetables and a tofu seafood casserole). Luckily we got 3 out of our 4 dishes before the huge group of 20 (which didn't get a dish until probably 2 hours of them getting seated). They forgot about our XO fish until we finished all our other 3 dishes and they finally brought it out at 8:30 when we wanted the check. So basically waiting 1 hr 40 min and only eating for 20 min... i think that ratio is off.
(1)Jane p.
Terrible and slow service. Servers scream at each other throughout the middle of the restaurant in Chinese. And some are mean! The server made an error on our order and got upset with us! Food is mediocre and place is dirty and needs to be updated. Next time, travel to silver spring for dim sum.
(1)Blake S.
We go here about once every 4-6 weeks, and the experience is pretty consistent. Sundays are a nightmare. If you go Sunday, get there for before 11am. You can get there as early as 10:30 to get a good table, but be prepared to sit idle for a half hour waiting for the carts to deploy from the kitchen. Saturdays are far less busy. The food here won't win any awards, but it tastes good and is plentiful, so it gets the job done. I've never had anything here that wasn't good, and every time we go the food and service is exactly the same. There's a lot to be said for consistency. My only dislike is that they put non-dim sum entree items on some of the carts, e.g. crispy prawns or chow fun, and then they try and sell those off at a premium. No thank you! Also this is the only dim sum place that I know of that doesn't require a long and painful car ride to get to.
(3)Farhan S.
This place used to have good dim sum but it has gotten worst. Last two times has been worst experience with not much dim sum and cold. Not coming here again.
(1)Garvin C.
I've been here a several times for Dim Sum before today, and each time either the food or service (never both) were lacking a little. Typically, if I get good service, the food is a little overcooked, or in the case of today, the food was really great (not a single disappointing item!), but the service was slow. The service is a function of how busy things are though, which s a good sign too b/c it means this place is good enough to get many customers. The bad thing is that sometimes they will run out of certain items before the carts of food make it around the room. Additionally, sometimes certain parts of the restaurant get crowded, and the carts can't fit through, so they just don't end up making it over there. Anyway, the best thing to do in these instances is just to ask them for what you want, or go up to the cart when it is near and ask for it. You should not have to do this ideally, but oh well! The food in general though I pretty good. Typically, most of the food is well cooked and seasoned. I've never had a bland dish here or a heavily over seasoned dish. There are times rice noodle dishes are overcooked and too gummy, which is unfortunate, but has happened in other dim sum restaurants too. I'm giving this place 3 stars mostly because the service can use some help, but the food in general is very good. If the service improves and is consistent, I'd give this place a 4 b/c of the food, and because it is only dim sum place in the Columbia/Ellicott City area now (since Red Pearl has closed).
(3)Derek J.
Pretty decent dim-sum (best I've found in the area), and definitely worth the long drive on route 40 from Baltimore city. The shrimp dumplings, and shrimp rice rolls are awesome and authentic tasting, as are most of the traditional dim-sum dishes. I'd stay away from the pre-made noodle dishes they always aggressively hawk to every table, you came here for the dim-sum! Oh yeah, the rice congee (with thousand year egg) and spare rib dish is tasty also. I've come in large groups a lot and have had no problem being seated right away in the large tables they have in the back. Although dim-sum is supposed to be served until 3PM they do sometimes run out, but they will let you order what you want and they can make it for you fresh.
(4)Kelly F.
This is the only dim sum place within a 15-mile radius of Ellicott City. A better place is Oriental East in silver spring, but it's too far. Red Pearl in Columbia was THE BEST dim sum place, but it closed down :(. Anyway, I give this place 2 stars for the following reasons: - Dim sum is OK. Not the best, but not the worst either. The plate of ho fun noodles is literally just a plate of greasy noodles with almost no meat or vegetables in it. Kinda tells you where their head is at. - The #1 reason why I try not to come here is because it smells like old people. I really don't enjoy eating my meal while simultaneously getting whiffs of old rubbing alcohol and lotion scents mixed with the odor of a geriatric living facility... yuck. - The ambience is dark and uninviting. I don't feel warm and welcomed when I go in there. I just go if I REALLY, REALLY want dim sum. Everything is outdated, including the chinaware they use and the cups which look like they've been used for more than 25 years. Again, not so great. - Their saving grace is the service. Service is usually on par. They're attentive and navigate through to all the tables pretty quickly and evenly. I can't say the same about Oriental East where service is terrible. So, if you desperately want some dim sum and you live in the EC/Catonsville area, then this place is fine. Just don't expect anything too spectacular.
(2)Erin S.
Atrocious service. The only thing they have going for them is a lack of competition close by.
(1)Nikki G.
This dim sum restaurant has great food overall, but their customer service is sometimes lacking. I believe most issues are due to miscommunication because most of the employees are not very fluent in English. However, I will say that there is one server, who always remembers what we previously chatted about. She makes a huge effort to check up on my group even when she is not our main server. The cost is always reasonable, and it is a great experience for larger groups. I highly suggest bringing someone who is familiar with dim sum dishes so they can explain what is inside to you. For the most part, the employees will only tell you what type of meat or tofu is included.
(3)Bobby Y.
This is the place for some decent Chinese food in Baltimore area. There is no place like it thus far. It is not best place if you are looking for good service. However, the food itself is in pretty reasonable price I am fan of it because it is kind of like your ma and pa shop in way that is run by a couple. Egg Tarts are good. I really like there Sui Mai
(4)Alexandra M.
Wow. I have never had a restaurant experience like this. The food was pretty good and well priced - despite a slim vegetarian selection - and yeah I know it's dim sum and not to expect great service. But at the time of this writing there was a lot of confusion about their hours (10:30 on weekends and 11 on weekdays last I saw). Since the dim sum place in Silver Spring is so busy on the weekends I thought to get there early. After my family waited for half an hour to get in the door (despite not making it easy to find their hours, not really the staff's fault), the waitstaff was standing around chatting while we waited to be seated, greeted, and for food to come out. Just be forewarned that food doesn't get going till 11. I will say though I highly question the cleanliness. I went to use the washroom, and standing next to me at the sink as I washed my hands was a waitress pressing one nostril closed and blowing her nose into the sink. Just like that. If I wasn't already completely nauseated, on the way out we passed a woman vomiting in the parking lot. I swear to god, I am not making this stuff up. Of course I don't need to point out if that's what happens where customers CAN see... Needless to say I've not been back. Hoping against hope for better dim sum options in the area some day.
(2)Dan C.
I came here for the first time and I can't imagine the service being anything less than excellent. That may have to do with the fact that it was not crowded at all however. In any case, I was tended to by several pleasant ladies and even the owner herself. They all reminded me of my aunts. The food was great and the cooking was authentic. I definitely look forward to coming in for dim sum on the weekend.
(5)Lexie L.
My roommate from Guangzhou said it was pretty good. Yes, it is! 10 per person and we had various food.
(4)J P.
It took us an hour to get a table of 5 when half the tables are empty. Tables r given based on how aggressive you are with the hostess and if you know the owners of the restaurant. The managers half the time don't know what is going on at their own restaurant. Called ahead of time for a reservation and don't be afraid to speak up or you will be constantly overlooked.
(2)Gabriel K.
Their French Beef is amazing and savory.
(4)Gary P.
Well this place isn't really anything special but if you are in the mood for dim sum and you don't want to make the drive down to Rockville this place will surely satisfy your craving. Nothing really jumped out to me here but the baked bun with coconut custard was pretty tasty. Don't bother getting the Chinese Brocolli, very bland and the sauce that accompanies it isn't that good plus it costs at least double what other dim sum dishes cost.
(3)June L.
Food is decent but I think you are better off going to silver spring.
(3)Crystal R.
So here's the deal I used to LOVE this place because it appeals to my husband Chinese side and eating dim sum is life for him. But I will NEVER eat there again! The staff is sweet except for, whom I believe, to be the owner, woman with a short hair cut, she's a bit aggressive. The last time I ate there we were seated near the bathroom at a small two person table and just was doing what we normally do on dim sum brunch until I caught of glimpse of something from the corner of my eye. A freaking ROACH was crawling on the wall. My first instinct was grab the napkin and squish it before it came any closer to me. I informed the older gentlemen, host, figuring he would disgusted but he just said "sometimes it happens", o_0 WTF?!?! We immediately left, the food still at the table, paid our full bill without a notice of the event. I'm so disappointed the food was pretty decent but really roaches EW!
(1)Kevin Y.
I would say the food is ok but the service is terrible. I've never seen such a directionless staff in my life. 1). Got seated and had to get our own plate and chopsticks, wtf. 2). Asked if I needed to order certain items on the dim sum menu and the biach told me no. Later when I asked the manager she told me I need to order it. Wtf 3). Loud, rude, Cantonese speaking hostess/boss was not showing a friendly face due to pms. I waited 30 min for effin fried shrimp ball. Should've just drove to falls church.
(1)Michelle W.
Underwhelmed. And I wasn't even expecting that much! I tailored (lowered) my expectations given that i grew up in the LA area and have lived in NYC... They were stingy with the shrimp in the "cheong fun". I also use the char siew bao as my metric to determine the quality of a dim sum place. This place did NOT pass...The steamed char siew bao has too much bao and not enough char siew. Good char siew bao should have a very thin and delicate layer of bao. The har gao skin was too sticky. On the whole everything felt really soggy. I will say, though, that the char siew sow puff pastry was very flaky, although the char siew itself wasn't that good - tasted like it was the left over bits. It was also odd that they were serving non-dim sum dishes on the carts, like "chao gui diu" (the noodles) among other things. That's not authentic! They also had a lot of lai wong baos. Many of the other tables ordered this. It's not really one of the dim sum top hits, so I thought it was interesting/ odd that they made so many of these, but it seemed popular. I don't know, maybe that's what they're known for and I should have tried this?
(2)Geo L.
This is an update to my review of 3 years ago. I still say that this is the best catonese chinese restaurant in Baltimore. Their catonese food has stayed consistently excellent. Their traditional chinese dishes are superb --- on the level of NYC and SF Chinatowns. Go for their peking duck, steamed shciken and steamed fish dishes. Noodle dishes such as chow fun and chow mein are tops. They have dim sum which is hard to come by around Baltimore. Fortunately, it is superb. The har gow (shrimp dumplings), har cheurg, siu mai, bao (filled buns) and law bac go (turnip cake) are some of the best you will find anywhere. I find the service to be fine...better than most chinese restaurants. Parking is free and right in front or next door at the Home Depot. Place gets packed for weekend dim sum so be aware. Disclaimer: I have never had any of the other asian dishes they offer. If I want catonese food, I come here and that is all I will get.
(5)Tim H.
I will have to say that my rating would have been higher if I would have done this review a year ago when I first dinned at this place. However, after visiting this place a half dozen times since, I have had to drop their rating due to the fact that things have changed in the taste department as well as the service. I was most recently here today for dim sum. My wife loves dim sum and so she was happy that this place serves it on the weekend. First let me say that at one time I liked the food here a lot. It was cooked very well and had a lot of flavor. I also liked the Hong Kong Pork Noodle soup here a lot at one time but the last time I had it made me stop liking it. Anyway, I think the chef and owner's have changed because I noticed that the head staff has changed and the owner's that use to be there aren't around and or visible anymore. I can also tell you that the taste of the food has changed and it is not very flavorful. The service was slow in certain aspects. It was fast to get a table and some dim sum items but slow to get a server to bring water, a soda and some hot sauce. I must have been there for at least 10 minutes before the server asked if my wife and I would like something to drink and or needed anything else. What we had today was okay. I have tasted it better there in the past. I did not have anything that made me want to go rushing back there like the HK Pork Noodle soup did for me in the past so I do not think I will be there any time soon. If you are in the mood for dim sum in Howard County, Maryland and do not feel like driving to Montgomery County, Maryland then try this place out. It will do if you just need to satisfy your craving. However, if you are looking for taste and a wide selection of items, I suggest driving to MC. Perhaps it is just the cook and he was told to start cooking a specific way or perhaps it is me. Try this place out and make up your own mind.
(2)Jay L.
Empty place. Got seated quick. Very nice people. Food came quick. Fresh and good food. Would come back.
(4)Maria E.
The staff here should be trained how to handle customers especially if they are swarmed by them. Sad to say this restaurant is a disappointment. Food is good but overall cleanliness is questionable.
(1)Bernhard S.
Food was good , service spotty ( we had to wait for some dishes - we never really got to even try more than 6 dishes and there were 4 of us ! Then they ran out of food ! It was only 2:00 ! What ??? In addition, the manager/owner was very rude ! She basically berated us ( loudly ) for wanting to split the check . Some of us ordered some dishes to take home so we just wanted to pay for those dishes individually - not start world war 3 ! Definitely not a good way to do business.
(1)Kevin O.
My wife and I had never tried Dim Sum and we left wanting more! Too bad we moved to Florida and won't be back there soon! Whenever I see a place advertising Dim Sum - my mouth waters because of the tasty food we experienced here. The atmosphere was OK (dirty fish tank kind of unpleasant to look at) but the taste of the food so made up for it! YUM!
(4)C B.
Since I've moved to Baltimore, I've been looking for a good dim sum and chinese cuisine restaurant. I'm originally from the DC area which is only so-so for dim sum and pretty good for Chinese. But in Baltimore, it seems that there really isn't a lot of choices. So when I read about Asian Court in th Baltimore Sun, I was eager to try something that wouldn't require me to drive all the way south. I was taking some guests to a new place to get the dim sum cart experience. Unfortunately, we got there at the tail end of dimsum cart time on Saturday which ends at 3pm. Its funny, the boss lady also pushed the XO fish dish on me but I declined. The Good: - Above average tasting dim sum - Food delivery was prompt and fast...as soon as we sat down, they rolled carts to us - Was offered friendly recommendations - Had an aquarium to keep the kids busy - Large screen TV's with cultural shows adds to ambiance The Not-so-good - Service was a bit lacking...had to wave down help to clean tables, get silverware, etc - Carts did not have full menu (maybe because I was late) - a little hard to find All-in all, a recommend. I will not hesitate to return to eat again, however, not so stellar that I have in my calendar yet.
(4)Laura W.
So good! Original, amazing, wonderful. First time there and I live 40 min away but plan to go back on a regular basis. Worth the drive. WAY above the rest.
(5)Carter L.
Had the taste of Dim Sum a couple of weeks ago and headed to my fav Red Pearl only to find it CLOSED! WHAT?? Remembered reading about Asian Court but had never checked out. Found our way there and will no longer miss Red Pearl! Just simply excellent Dim Sum and very good service! Asian Court is not as fancy as Red Pearl was nor is it Orient East but it's good and prices are good too.
(4)Ashley W.
Asian Court used to be good before the management changed. When my family went there, we all noticed a foul odor that surrounded the entire restaurant. The food was okay, but when we asked for a large bowl of rice, the waiter simply took a bowl of rice from another table and plopped it into ours (I'm not making any of this up). "Hooray". When we asked for a box to take home, the waiter brought us a dirty box, one covered in GREASE. Needless to say, we didn't take anything home.
(1)Clint S.
A decent Chinese restaurant for tan area with few options. I always get take out. Their General Tso's chicken is great along with their Orange and Sesame chicken. Their vegetarian chicken substitute is really good. The first time my wife had it she started crying because she thought it was real chicken. We called back to double check and it was the substitute. The only issue I have with this place is that the flavor can be inconsistent.
(3)Matthew L.
The first time a friend suggested going to Asian Court I balked purely because of the name. They assured me it was authentic and I had my reservations. I'll man up and say I was wrong. The place is fantastic. I've done both dim sum and dinner. Being Chinese, the only way to eat Chinese is family style. Some of my favorites, spare ribs (chinese style), steamed fish, shrimp and broccoli and lo mein. They have a Chinese only menu and if you have a reader with you, they have a couple of extra items. Make sure to take a large group so you can try a lot of things.
(4)John V.
Okay, I admit it, I'm addicted to these things. Call it a ravioli, mandoo, pierogi, har gow, pelmeni, won ton, pot sticker, gyoza, I don't care. Just wrap dough of some sort around a savory filling, boil it or steam it or fry it, and I'm all over it. The pickings are slim in Annapolis, so I have to travel for my dumpling fix. Parking sucks in DC's Chinatown, and the lines to get in are ridiculous. So when opportunity knocks, I scoot up to Asian Court in Ellicott City for a dim sum lunch. I've been there a couple times recently, once on a Sunday during Chinese New Year (big mistake) and again, more recently after the big lunch rush. First, service. Service by rolling cart often seems haphazard at best. On a Sunday, with long lines and packed tables, it can be frustrating to get something you want. During Chinese New Year, when students at a local martial arts school came in to do the Lion Dance (very entertaining, by the way), it shut down the carts for nearly a half hour. Having just arrived and not gotten much to eat, waiting an extra 30 minutes was not fun. If, however, you go during the week, you order from a menu and the dim sum items come out fresh from the kitchen. Less fun than the carts, less (dare I say?) authentic, but the items are fresh, hot and haven't been rolling around the floor on carts. Aside from the table service, the hostesses, though often frazzled by the crush of people, have never failed to be friendly and polite, albeit rushed. The food ... I've eaten dim sum around the world, from New York to Hong Kong to Hawai'i and beyond. Some snobs here disparage Asian Court's dim sum, but I like it. I've been in places where the Har Gow wrapper was thin, gummy, or falling apart, with chopped water chestnuts used as filler to cut down the shrimp in the filling. Not here. Even during the rush, the Har Gow come to my table fresh, hot, and perfectly formed. Or consider the lowly Shiu Mai. In most places, barely a single bite. Here they're huge, with coarsely chopped pork and shrimp with real flavor. The food is anything but insipid here. And I'm also a big fan of their Sticky Rice in Lotus leaf. I love all the varied bits and pieces hidden between the layers of rice. I'll keep coming back here.
(4)Joseph K.
Forgot to mention that they charge .75 cents for tea per person. I know some other dim sum places that do this as well ...still kinda dumb
(4)Dan A.
I wasn't sure what to expect when i came here for dim sum. The particular location where Asian Court is has been home to many failed Chinese restaurants in the past. Upon entering, I was pleased to noticed a good amount of older Chinese people eating there. That's always a good sign. Since my girlfriend and I wanted to try a good amount of dim sum here (and also because our eyes are far bigger than our stomachs), we ordered 10 different dishes. It was a LOT of food and we had a lot of leftovers to take home. I'd think about 4-5 dishes should be sufficient for a party of two. Anyways, of the dishes we tried, the following were our favorites (the names and descriptions are from the dim sum menu we were given): 1. "Deep Fried Crescent Dumpling Filling with Meats" (Ham-Sui-Gok): This dish was very crispy and had the perfect amount of savory filling and flavoring. It was my girlfriend's favorite dish by far. 2. "Deep Fried Sesame Balls of Glutinous Rice Flour" (Jin-Dui): I really liked this sweet dish. The crisp outside had a very nice toasted sesame flavor while the inside filling was sweet with a hint of peanut as well. 3. "Steamed Basket Shaped Meat Dumpling" (Sui-Mai): We both enjoyed this dish. The meat was flavored well. 4. "Steamed Chicken Feet with Oyster Sauce" (Fung-Jeow): Though chicken feet probably is a hate-it-or-love-it dish, it was well made. It was very soft and flavorful. The prices were reasonable, ranging from $2.95 to$ 4.25. Most items were $2.95. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and hope this place sticks around for a bit. While it is not the same as NYC or even DC / Montgomery County dim sum, it is nice to have a decent dim sum place nearby.
(4)X X.
This place is going downhill. Ordered my dish spicy. The lady at the counter confirmed that it was made spicy. Got home and it has zero spices in it. I've eaten there before and know what it's like when it is spicy. There are never customers in there when I get my food. The hostess always says "you come back tomorrow. I see you tomorrow." nope- I come back never. I see you never.
(1)Lia B.
Lousy service, terrible foods. About a year ago, my husband and I dine here. We ordered from their menu but both of us we're "stirred" to ordered something else that our hostess promised to be delicious. Needless to say we both complied. Then she abandoned us for about 45 minutes. No drinks no crackers or other things while we waited. By the time she arrived with our foods and drinks, the foods were cold and looks terrible. It taste horrible too. Since we were both hungry, we eat some of it anyway (not much, just to put something to calm the stomach). Terrible mistake, no sooner we arrived home we both raced to the johnnies. We know it was not from the spicy hot foods because the foods weren't spicy hot at all. We never dine in this establishment since.
(1)Jennifer H.
The service was ok, but their Dim Sum was not good. Lacking in flavor or too much salt. Did not taste fresh. Did not leave satisfied. I'll stick with going the extra distance for Oriental East or New Fortune Dim Sum.
(2)Kevin L.
So far the best dim-sum place around Baltimore metro area. We go there once a month or so. They changed the owner several times. One of the waitresses there told us that if you tip the service, do NOT tip on your credit card bill. The waiters/waitresses won't get it at all...So throw some cash if you have in your wallet.
(3)Abish O.
I've had my fair share of dim sum in NY and this one is just as good as any dim sum place up there. They have the typical assortment of dim sum dishes you would find in any other restaurant. I have never been a fan of tripe (the whole thought of eating cow's stomach didn't sit well with me), but I tried it at this restaurant and it was AMAZING. More than the tripe, it was the sauce the tripe was in that made it taste so good. When we finished the tripe I started dipping other dishes into the tripe sauce. It was that good. My personal favorite is the ngeo-jai-gwat (beef ribs). It's very savory and has a peppery spice to it which I love on meats. Even though the food is really good, the price is more than what I am used to paying. There was also a separate charge for the tea, which I feel is customary to dim sum places. I don't live in Ellicot city so the drive there was a lot of gas. If you are already around the area I would definitely check it out. The drive there would only be worth it if I was really craving some dim sum. As for service, you will have to shout for their attention at times because they have 3 carts that rotate around the whole restaurant. We went early afternoon so there wasn't a long wait, but the place started filling up as we were eating, so expect to wait during peak hours. Oh yeah! Don't forget the sesame balls or egg tarts. You can't find tasty ones in Baltimore and it's a great ending to this delicious meal.
(4)Janice L.
Food was great but that was the only thing. Service was horrible. They were in a rush for everything and there was only about 15 people in there when we were...we didn't have a waitress to come around and check on us..we had to keep constantly asking for things more than once. They checked the tip as we were standing there getting ready to leave! Who does that! Then started talking Chinese. Had the nerve to give us an attitude when we would ask for things but when the bill came, the asian lady goes oh you beautiful girl, you phillipino or chinese? ....oh no im not either! Vietnamese! I know good dim sum in Houston and Austin! Took boyfriend here for his first experience with dim sum and the service ruined it! Looks like next time we'll just make the drive to Silver Spring!!
(1)Chuck N.
I have eaten here five times over the past year, mostly because its close in proximity. Today will be the last time I try to eat at Asian Court. Something happened recently, maybe it was an influx of customers because of publicity, maybe the owners have decided to turn over a new leaf and be jerks, but it is clear that Asian Court does not need any more business, especially during the dim sum hours. Look, sometimes you want to eat some greasy but perfectly decent chinese food. You don't feel like being a putz and eating at Panda Express, so you pop by Asian Court to get satisfactory food at a decent price. That's great - Asian Court satisfies a need. It's just when Asian Court gets a following to the point where people will wait for an hour to get a seat to eat ordinary dim sum, then some of us are no longer going to go to Asian Court. During dim sum hours, take a trip up to Rockville or Silver Spring. Don't go to Asian Court and puff up the egos of the elderly owners. Then, off hours, those puffed up egos lead to a weird, infuriating mixture of inattentive service with pushy, grating suggestions. I will put up, unhappily, with a wait, meh service, and ego, but the food better be transcendent. In this case, definitely not.
(1)L A.
I was totally irritated with the service and lack of professionalism. The manager/owner was completely inappropriate when she yelled at me and my friends (all adults) for a miscommunication that actually was initiated by one of her own employees who was trying to accommodate us!!!! Btw, she went on for at least 5 minutes. Food is good but having served Dim Sum for a number of years, how can you run out of food when the restaurant is still packed?!!! I felt sorry for some customers because they waited for carts that never came out.... Honestly, it was one of the most nerve-racking meals I've EVER experienced. Right now, I would even drive to Chinatown, NY for a more satisfying Dim Sum
(1)Aurora A.
This is the first dim sum place I've tried in Baltimore. The only other dim sum places I've eaten at were in Chinatown in NYC. As most of the other reviews say, this place is totally sufficient neither fantastic nor bad. I'd definitely go again and again and expect to leave happily satisfied and very stuffed. WE ate chicken feet (one of the best things I had), tripe (many really liked), clams in spicy bean paste, balls w/ pork and/or beans inside steamed and fried), bean curd, spare ribs (really tasty), shrimp shumai, tofu pudding, sesame balls, Chinese broccoli (a big hit), dumpling w/ lotus and pork?, sticky rice w/ sausage and other stuff wrapped in a leaf, crispy pork (a big hit), and probably some stuff I'm forgetting. Everything was good. The only critique I'd say is that the ground pork was very greasy, which i found somewhat permeated some dishes in a not-so-pleasant way. The one thing I can say was bad was parking. The parking lot is totally ridiculous in design leading to a lot of unnecessary frustration.
(4)Danny C.
I've read the Baltimore Sun the other day and there was an article about this place. Overall rating was pretty good. I havent had any Chinese food lately so I decided to give this place a try. Me and the broski came here during lunch and from the outside looking in, this place looks run down. You go inside and the ambiance is actually quite stunning. Atleast for me. We go inside and we're the only ones here. They seated us down and the woman that works there was yelling at us (She normally acts like this, not to be disrespectful but this is who she is.) to get the Fish in XO sauce. We listened. But we also wanted to try the short ribs in french sauce? It was recommended by the Baltimore Sun. And every time I go to a Chinese restaurant, I always get Generals Tso Chicken. The woman didnt want us to get the "Americanized Chinese" food, but I wanted to try anyways. So 3 dishes... We spoke for less than 5 minutes when our first dish arrived. Flounder in XO sauce. Wow. Amazing. The fish alone was flavorful, soft and tender. Not too tender but not firm either, just perfect. Plump pieces and plenty of it for 2. Our next dish came within 2 minutes, the short ribs. Salty and savory. The textures of the ribs went really well with the fish. A great combination. Then our last dish came and it was actually quite different than the typical Chinese chicken dish. Sweet and salty but also a bit different flavor. Mostly meat with minimal batter. Lots of it. The food was so good that we ate it with little talking. More moaning, less talking. hahaha. We had a great time overall here. And they offered us 2 free buns. Bread bun with pineapple filling... Delicious! Next time we will come by to try out their famous dim sum!
(4)Yaka H.
Been here a few times for dim sum. The quality of dim sum here is okay if you need to get your dim sum fix (not as good as Flushing, NY & NYC restaurants) and the variety of dim sum here is not great (Their menu is quite small compared to NYC/Flushing). The dishes are served on carts though. This place is probably good for those who want to try dim sum, but those used to a blown-out dim sum in heavily Chinese neighborhoods, you may be a bit disappointed in offerings, taste, and price. SX finds to place to be satisfying, especially since this place is nearby. I don't like how this place does my favorites (sometimes not warm enough/lukewarm food, not crispy enough, not even on the menu, etc; Food can be hit or miss). Service can be a bit slow here as well (Hit or miss service). The one redeeming factor here is that they do make a decent Yang Chou Chow Fun (different from American costumer ordered fried rice, it's the fried rice that Chinese people order). The parking lot here is oddly shaped, so parking may be an issue on the weekends when business is high. FYI: This place is a restaurant, not a food court. SX and I were confused at what this place was originally due to their namesake. Court = High Court/Royalty Court, not Food Court.
(2)Jo N.
The first time i went here was for dim sum. The dim sum was ok and the services was ok, The second time i went to this place was for dim sum again in the evening with my mom thinking and hoping this place served dim sum all day! So in the end we missed dim sum and decided to order egg noodle soup that has dim sum like dumplings in the soup. Also we ordered steamed chicken wontons. The waitress barley spoke English and wasn't very friendly when i placed our order. She calls over another rude waitress and says something in chinese and the other waitress looks at us rude and says " why dont you order the lobster! its on sale todays special!" I say oh really i didnt see that but no thank you im not in the mood for lobster. So she gives me a nasty face and shakes her head and walks away angry! The hot tea they gave us my mom didnt care for so i ask her can we change the tea and she said ok ok and walked away to get someone else order. Then comes back and rudely snatches the hot tea away spilling it on our table. When we actually get our food it had no flavor and wasn't worth eating. When we left she was quick to grab her tip that we kindly left on the table. I don't think ill ever come back to this place, I'd rather drive from baltimore to silver spring va and eat at good fortune , oriental east , or paul key!!
(2)Mantong Z.
Absolute authentic dim sum, I would say best in the area. Very reasonable price as well. Will go back for sure.
(5)Gregory S.
RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!!!!!! I took my 2 daughters there for lunch on Saturday because my 4 year-old wanted to eat rice. We were second in line to get a table, but then they got very busy and they skipped over us and seated a table of 4 instead. After 25 minutes, we got seated at a table and they told me I have to leave in 20 minutes because they have a lion dance coming in and they need the space. My 4 year old was hungry so I had no choice but to order white rice for her and hope they they bring the carts around quickly. Well, all I was able to get were 3 dim sum dishes and a bowl of white rice. I didn't get a chance to eat when my baby started crying so I had to feed her. They came around and asked if I was done. After telling them that I'm not done, that I had to feed the children, and that I did not get a chance to order from the carts; they then threw some food on my table, and told me they have to push my table to the side. I wanted to leave b/c the service is sooooo rude but I was stuck there until my baby finished eating. So I had to let them push our table against another party's table. Finally, the baby was done and I told them I was done. They cleared my table so fast that I did not have time to put all our coats on. I have NEVER been to a restaurant in which the service rushes and throws you out like that. They should not seat anyone at that table if they need to clear it in 20 minutes. Their service is too slow to make it possible. I have been there before and have never been treated that way! There must be different owners there! I can't believe I paid $15 for a bowl of rice and 3 bites. They made me so angry that I lost my appetite. I am a paying customer and they made me feel like an unwelcomed person. They should be grateful for my business but instead acted like they were doing me a favor to serve me food. If my kids weren't there, I would have told them off! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN! I hope others will read this post and realize they should not subject themselves to such rudeness.
(1)Rose B.
Decent food, but bad service. My husband and I now drive out to Silver Springs to get our Dim Sum on.
(3)Joseph B.
The whole experience was average. Much like this review, very average.
(2)Tiffany H.
So.....I am at Asian Court (9/22/13 at 1:15 PM)....it was not my choice (I wanted to go to Good Fortune in Wheaton but they stop serving dimsum by 1PM). I really did not want to deal with their 1 PM rush, but alas, it has happened again. When we showed up there was already a line of disgruntled people. It looked like they were doing a better job controlling skipping people today, as everyone around us actually had numbers. However, after sitting in line for half an hour, we realized somehow we were getting skipped again!! We checked the list and they had crossed off our number and given it to someone else...they did apologize and we got seated immediately afterwards, however, there was barely any food left! I have now been sitting here for half an hour more, with the same carts going by with food nobody wants. I tried ordering my favorite baked pork buns to take home, but they were out. My friend ordered the wrong buns (steamed) and went to tell the server never mind, and witnessed her dropping the bun on the floor and putting it back in the steamer....thank god we didn't want them anymore. Everyone sitting here is not going to leave, because they are all hungry and there is no food. We have to ask repeatedly for water and tea to be refilled. 5 min later, the table next to us that arrived 10 min after still has not gotten more than one dish. People are starting to get up and leave, they don't want to wait anymore. I feel bad for everyone here, the servers are all nice, there are just too many people and not enough food. I have to be honest, I do like the food here, but I won't be coming back anymore. There are plenty of other places closer to me that are more organized. For those of you who want to, I would recommend trying to get here as early as possible, before they run out of food. It is not a pleasant experience sitting hungry in a dimsum restaurant.
(1)Emily W.
Dim sum without having to travel to the DC area? I'll take it! Service is ok (I'm sure I'll catch slack for this comment but I generally don't expect great service when I choose to eat Chinese/dim sum), but more importantly food is delicious and there's a decent selection. Just sorry I waited so long to try this place out!
(5)Andrew K.
This was the second time I came here for dimsum. Most of the plates are pretty cheap at $2.95 and there were some good ones. It's a little on the greasy side but I thought it tasted pretty good. I'm not good at judging what really good dimsum tastes like but it tasted good enough to me. Some of my favorites were the shumai, spare ribs, sticky rice and the pineapple bun. The service was pretty good and they have a nice dimsum menu with pictures and a description of what it is in English which really help for those who are new to dimsum.
(4)Jennifer S.
I've been to asian court a couple of times for dim sum. It's really good. My husband thinks most dim sum tastes like "dish water" (where he gets that I have no idea) but he likes Asian Court. I had to knock it down one star just b/c it's not NYC chinatown dim sum. I'm not asian so I can't pick apart each dish b/c I really don't know what they're called. I just get random stuff and my staples, shrimp shumai, etc and it's always been delicious. The staff can be a little pushy but I think that's pretty standard of any dim sum place.
(4)Clint U.
Situated between a cigar store and a tire dealership, this stripmall spot has seen Chinese restaurants come and go every two years for over a decade. Another new one just opened up so I wandered in to check it out. Scanning the menu my eye catches the chef specialties: 1. Pigs Skin Duck Blood with Ginger & Scallion 2. Pigs Feet w/Bean Curd Sauce 3. Duck Feet with Black Mushroom 4. Sizzling Conch with Black Pepper Sauce 5. Deep Fried Frog Leg Sauteed with Salt & Pepper 6. Spicy Deep Fried Quail 7. Sauteed Pigs Intestine with Sour Cabbage 8. Ox Tail and Rice Vermicelli in Soup 9. A column of food of 3 dozen vegetarian dishes 10. 2 columns of food of 6 dozen Japanese dishes including ikura, ika, unagi, tako, etc. 11. A column of 30 different noodle dishes 12. A menu of over 100 Chinese dishes including dim sum... Did I just walk into the filming of Bizarre Foods? Spinning around to look for Andrew Zimmern, I spot a middle aged Chinese in a white shirt and tie, half the height and weight of Zimmern with the look of "owner in hock to my eyeballs" written all over his face. After some small talk but enough to detect the edge of a carnival barker trying to bring in business (now convinced he is the owner) I agreed to bring in my family for dim sum. Coming back an hour later with my brigade, we try an assortment of items 1. Shao Mai, shiu mai,: Good standard rendition...but could have used a little more black mushrooms in the mix 2. Har Gow: They used pretty decent sized whole shrimp...not diced or chopped. 3. Char Shu Bow, Baked and Steamed: Good flavor and quality for both....but little on the small size. 4. Steamed spareribs with black bean: Could have had more black bean seasoning in this dish...typical serving...lots of bones in 1/2 inch cubes 5. Tofu wrapped BBQ pork and vegetables: Good dish but not spectacular 6. Passed on the custard tarts....one inch sized tarts...way too small PRICE: $110 for 6 adult sized appetites. To me that's kinda high for dim sum in the suburbs. Scanning the menu, the prices of the ala carte dishes were between $10 to $25. On an apples to apples comparison, this place is about 30-40% higher than my regular Chinese take out place Would be a 3 star restaurant in LA or SF. 4 stars for Baltimore and for now. I will try more of their dishes and modify this rating as necessary
(4)Erica D.
My husband and I went to this restaurant two Sundays ago. I expected the plain service before we went, however, both of us were still taken by how they neglected us. Basically, the dimsum carts did not really stop for us--I guess since we have just two people, they do not expect us for good business. There was one cart that did not even bother to stop for us. Therefore, we finally had enough and left after the long agonizing wait. To be more specific, we only got to order 4 items before our patience ran out. Poor waiters were running around and never came back to check on us, so it took us about 10 minutes to get some ice water. Beyond the bad service, the food was OK, their Chicken Feet is really good though, soft and juicy.
(2)A. C.
(02/20/2010) Went here to celebrate Chinese New Year. We'd been waiting for dim sum in the Baltimore Metro area for a while, and was excited to see this place. Dim sum is good, if you need a dim sum fix, and don't want to haul down to Wheaton or Silver Spring. They have all the standards, and do them pretty well (they might want to change the oil a little more frequently for the fried items). On the table: deep fried glutinous rice dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf, tripe, chicken feet, steamed BBQ pork bun, shu mai. They did have something you don't see too often crispy skinned roast pork belly, definitely worth a try. Be prepared for Chinese-style service (no nonsense, and a little surly). We've been several times since, and the quality and portions of food have suffered over time. The dishes have the weird presence of too much sugar. Not quite at the level of DC, and DC's nowhere near LA or NYC, but so far, up until recently the best greater Baltimore had.
(4)Charlotte B.
Reasonable, but not great, dim sum. But probably the best available for now in this area.
(3)Wendy Q.
They have a new management and it is great!! I went there for dim sum and the lion dance and I was very impressed. The new boss was a cute, and friendly little Chinese woman. The staff was also very kind and I enjoyed the environment. I would def go here again! :)
(5)Stu E.
We met family here for Dim Sum, my first time here and my wife and kid's second or third. I thought the food was great and the service was good too. My son thought the duck and spare ribs we're quite good. I highly recommend the shrimp dumplings. Can't remember everything we ordered but we were quite happy.
(4)Marsha W.
We have since returned and found the hall to be void of chairs (there was a large party the first night we were there so I think it was temporary storage). And the TV was on the Discovery channel!
(4)Emily C.
This restaurant has changed hands so many times in recent years it's hard to keep track. But I think this most recent change (around Feb 2008) is an improvement. The dim sum is a lot better, service is friendlier and faster. And they're open late--10 or 11pm (by Ellicott City standards, that's pretty late). I hope it's here to stay. There needs to be a good dim sum place closer to Baltimore. It's not always convenient trekking down to Rockville of Silver Spring.
(4)Ross M.
dim sum! warning: don't drink the water, it tastes like toilet water! get the jasmine tea. wow wow wow, everything was so fast. 10 seconds after we came in we were seated and 2 carts came by and we were loaded up and ready to go! i've been to new fortune and oriental east and mark's duck house in va, i thought the dim sum was pretty good. we had an assortment of stuff, everything was good, including the chicken legs! yummy! lots of bones in some of the dishes, more than i am use to. apparently the chicken legs went through me rather quickly (was my first time trying them) as i walked towards the wachovia atm across the parking lot, i had an emergency diarrhea leak go down my leg. i had to run to the einstein bagels bathroom (thank god not far). i pretty much exploded in the bathroom and made a mess. maybe no more chicken legs for me...my stomach is still upset. i will return though! yum!
(4)Sara J.
Service was really good, which is rare for a chinese restaurant. Staff was very helpful and nice, we were also there not during a busy time. The chow mein is good with yellow noodles, and the dim sum plates were good. Favorite plate of mine is the shrimp in roll noodles!~ yummm~ they also give a a choice of a variety of dim sum teas. (green tea, jasmine, etc)
(4)Jed K.
Good dim sum! Don't have to drive down to Silver Spring for dim sum now.
(5)Tatyana M.
To my deep sorrow I have to report that today was the day we visited Asian Court the last time. If you've read my two previous reviews you already know that we've been very loyal and grateful patrons of this place from the very beginning of their existence. Unfortunately we can't say it anymore. The main reason for this decision is their unclear and seems to us not honest charges they started to put lately in our bills. We didn't question their charges to them because it's hard to prove anything without understanding their marking system on the card at dim sum dining. But we have been noticing for quite a wile that our bills become higher and higher for the same amount of our favorites we order every time. First we thought maybe their prices rose? We checked the menu and the changes were not that significant if any. If before we paid from $35 to $45 for about 10 to 12 dim sum dishes, now it was close to $50/$60 and sometimes $70. We tried to match our orders with their menu and couldn't find the answers. Some dishes they served we couldn't even find on the menu. Beside this reason, the quality of the food became inconsistent and we would be paying more for the food that didn't bring the same satisfaction as it was earlier. So we've decided to quit. As for you my friends, if you still enjoy their fare at least check your bills.
(3)Dave Z.
This is the first dim sum place I've tried in the area, and it was not bad. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was amazing, but I thought everything was pretty good on the dim sum menu. I was especially excited about a fried taro dim sum dish - I don't see taro too often on menus, which is a shame. I'd like to go back and try one of their regular dishes as well.
(3)Howard I.
We used to eat at this place frequently, and appreciated the pretty good food and vegetarian faux meat selections. We went last week and were so offended that we will likely never return. My party arrived and were told to wait just a minute and the greeter would be right back. To her credit, she seemed busy, but she took at least three take out orders, and let another 5 people pay their bills. Soon, someone from the restaurant complained that they were absolutely starving and ordered 5 dishes, but only got one, and really needed the rest. We had waited 10 minutes and the server, Kyoko, seemed to have no interest in us whatsoever. My husband went into the restaurant to tell her we would leave if we couldn't be seated soon, and she basically invited us to do so. She said there were no tables available, but there were tons, and plus, she hadn't mentioned that when we arrived, and it would have been nice to know instead of just wasting 15 minutes sitting around waiting for a table. Kyoko was really rude. It's too bad.
(1)