KL Restaurant

July 7, 2014. Update. This restaurant has closed shop. There’s a note on the windows saying the building will re open in august under another name. Not sure if it’ll be a dim sum restaurant anymore.

I found two baby bugs– one on the table and one in my egg custard bun. AND my friend said she saw a cockroach in the rice last time. I won’t be back. One extra star just because the server was nice. Eat here if you are a daredevil. That is all.

The dim sum lunch was average compared to the other places around the Richmond and San Francisco area.
Do visit the bathroom, however. The décor rivals bathrooms seen on popular television shows such as MTV Cribs or Million Dollar Listings.

Hmm, what can I say about this place… guess this place was closeby where I was staying and within walking distance and it was cheap. To sum it up though, I have to say this place was just plain terrible. First I found plastic in my food. Then I found hair in one of the dishes, I mean look at that hair! its thick and curly… you know what that means… NASTY. Third, one of the dim sum dishes order had filling that tasted awful, like it was burnt! Three strikes and you’re out! San Fran has choke chinese restaurants, would not recommend coming to this one. If you ask me, this place warrants a visit by a health inspector

Vegetarians and pescatarians, be warned. There is meat, mostly pork, in most of the dishes, even the ones that specify «shrimp dumpling» or «tofu with noodles». Similarly, there is shrimp in dishes described «pork dumpling», so God forbid you have a shellfish allergy and have a pork bao craving. When I brought the unwanted meat situation in my five dishes (that’s right: five dishes in which I didn’t want meat and all five did) to the manager, he actually explained that it was my fault for «stirring the meat that was on the side of my tofu dish in with the noodles» (though, seriously, thin, pathetic strips of pork that truly didn’t look like pork drenched in a heavy sauce? If I were a meat eater, I’d be pissed.) and clearly said that all the dumplings have «a little bit of this and a little bit of that» in them. There was no apology, no switching of our dishes for ones I could actually eat (I have a meat allergy… trust me, it’s not a pretty sight), but instead we got a «next time you should order the bean cake» and a $ 50 bill for food I got to stare at while my husband pecked. Meat excess aside…
The place is super dirty (crumbs, stains, and grease spots on the linens), the customer service and waitstaff are not timely, friendly or attentive, the food was really overcooked — soggy, mushy dumplings are just gross, the food is not fresh (do you know what old pork taste like? Ass. It tastes like ass.) and everything is really overpriced. And why does everybody consider this place a dim sum restaurant? It’s got maybe 20 appetizers (actually on the appetizer menu) that happen to be dumplings. Even our server said, verbatim, «It’s not really dim sum. We don’t have much.» Straight from the horse’s mouth.
I haven’t been this disappointed in a restaurant in over a decade.

I’m updating my review because their dim sum is stellar now. I know awhile back the fried stuff was just mired in oil. I’m talking about oil puddles on the bottom of the plate folks! However they must have hired better staff because the dim sum was good.
I really liked the fried taro ball (not a lot of local dim sum places offer it but they do and it was good), shrimp rice noodle, chive ball (yum yum!) and har gow. A lot of people liked their egg custard bun too.
Service was ok. They didn’t over charge because I did the math on their paper place mat — fair warning to you if you try to pull anything funny.
One strange thing. They have 2 versions of egg roll. Veggie egg roll and KL egg roll. There is only two in a veggie egg roll but you get the general 3 for the KL one. Not much difference in either so why not streamline and get rid of the veggie?
Also, they covered their windows with ginormous posters of food. Not sure why they did that because it only makes the dining room look dim.
I would come back here for dim sum.

My friend brought me here once for the geoduck sashimi and soup dish and it was good. So last night I was craving steamed spotted shrimp and was told it should be decently priced her… I almost went to kim thanh but didn’t feel like waiting for a table as I was hangry! :) so we came and orders 1 lb of the steamed spotted shrimp but it was $ 32/​lb! Waaaahhhh ordered it anyway because that’s the main reason we went there. They were big and some has roe (eggs) but when I saw them fishing them out for another order after ours, some in the tank looked dead, um just because you out them in a tank doesn’t mean it’s fresh… We also ordered honey walnut prawn (usual nothing spectacular), house spare ribs (looked like kalbi but was chewy ans marinaded but I couldn’t even describe the flavor), pea leaf with garlic (I don’t think anyone can mess up this dish so it was fine) and we orders the mustard tofu and salted yolk soup (everything but the salted toll was good, it was dry like the kind in a moon cake)…but the bill came out to about $ 89 after tax but with too over $ 100 for 3 people for just average food. Unless you order straight fresh seafood steamed or sashimi but the prices were high for a hole in a wall with slightly slippery/​slimed floors. don’t think it was worth it at all! I’ll be going to kim thanh next time.

Came to KL restaurant with a couple of my Uncles and Aunts about two weeks ago – the fact I can remember ever dish we ordered is testament to how much I enjoyed it. Last time their friends pre-​ordered the king crab legs. While the prices seemed a little crazy, (I’m always satisfied with a nice dungeness crab) everything else seemed reasonable.
We enjoyed the following dishes:
–seasoned peanuts: They bring these to you and refill until you are content. Can never go wrong with these unless you are allergic to peanuts! :-/​
–ginseng and ginger chicken soup: Piping hot, flavorful and really delicious. Would go back for just this!
–ginger & scallion frog legs: Very enjoyable, especially the next day as leftovers.
–black bean tofu with scallops: Instead of your typical tofu with meat on top, they topped it with a scallop – very delicious.
–hainan chicken: Chicken was tender and had nice taste. They served it with the same sauce as the typical «bok cheek gei» which I always enjoy.
–steamed rock cod: This dish is so simple, but always a favorite. A tasty whole steamed fish – perfect balance of soy and scallions. So gooood!
–golden egg and pumpkin dungeness crab: Personally I prefer the salt and pepper or ginger & scallion dungeness crab, so this was a tad too sweet for my liking. But the crab was fresh and meaty so can’t complain.
We did come on a Monday night so it may not be representative of the typical, however the entire staff was very attentive and welcoming, constantly checking our tea pot to add hot water and noticeably looking over to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. If they can carry on this same service during a busy night, kudos to them! Too bad this spot isn’t walking distance from my place – I’d be a regular!

KL is in the hong kong genry type of eatery. was planning on trying the dim sum but wasn’t handed a dim sum check list, just a regular menu.
menu lists the usual chow mein/​fun, porridge, wonton noodles. noticed later the hong kong specialities written on the white board.
eats: won ton soup (5.95)
–10 golf ball size won tons with lots of bok choy
–free soup too.
–won ton had mostly crispy shrimp, a bit salty
–broth veggie and msg flavored
3.5 stars
*would be 4 stars if msg wasn’t present., won tons very good.

GUNG HAY FAT (ass) CHOY
(3 stars)
It was someones bright idea to ring in Chinese New Years as a group and have dinner together. They say having dinner the night of NY brings you good luck. I guess we’ll go to a hole in the wall and do it over cheap, greasy, msg laced Chinese food.
— FOOD, ok — i guess
— PRICES, cheap
— SERVICE, ok
— AMBIANCE, grimmy chinese restaurants you wouldn’t typically walk in
Party of 17. Family style eats, ordered two bundles off the menu and paid $ 472 (minus tip). Food comes out FAST and your have NO ROOM on the table so they start stacking the dishes ontop of each other. CRAZY!!! never seen that before. I kind of felt rushed and compelled to eat as fast as i can so we can «un“stack the dishes. Was the food good? UHM… some and some not.
Family Dinner (for 10 persons) $ 168
Seafood Dry Scallop Soup
House Special Appetizers Platter (large)
Peking Style Beef Cubes
Sauteed Squid & Fish Cake
Two Lobsters in Broth
Black Mushroom over Mustard Green
Steamed Cat Fish w/​Black Bean Sauce
House special Hai Nan Chicken (whole)
Seafood Fried Rice
Family Dinner (for 10 persons) $ 198
Ginseng Chicken Soup (10 servings)
House Special Appetizers Platter (large)
Pumpkin & Beef Short Rib w/​Golden Egg Yolk
Honey Walnut Prawn
House Special Roasted Squab
Two Crabs w/​Ginger & Scallions
Bamboo Pith Over Mustard Green
Steamed Black Bass
Fried Sticky Rice
HEFER STATUS.
* Seafood Dry Scallop Soup — it was good. had scallops and tofu.
* House Special Appetierz Platter — WTF. some of the items on the platter were «mystery» meat — i couldn’t touch them. But i did get to try jellyfish for the first time and it is CRACKIN.
* Peking Style Beef Cubs — One of my favorite dishes of the night. tender beef cubes with lovely flavor and lots of veggies
* Two lobsters in a broth — SO GOOD. they cracked the lobster up so it was easier to eat.
* Black Mushroom over Mustard Greens — definitely need some veggies, this is the dish. very good
* House Chicken Hai Nan Chicken (whole) — WTF!!! didn’t even touch it and didnt event to look at it. do not order this. some parts of the chicken were bloody, and they mixed the chicken head in the meat as if you wont notice it (see my pictures). that chicken head was SO disturbing.
* Seafood Fried Rice — typical but good
* Pumpkin and Beef Short Rib — my other favorite of the night. it was typical shortribs and they deep fried a few pumpkin pieces that tasted like sweet potatoe.
* Honey Walnut Prawns — you can NEVER go wrong with this dish. So good
* Two crabs with ginger and scallions — OH MY SOO GOOD. the only thing was they didnt provide crab crackers so it was hard trying to eat crab meat.
* FREE MANGO PUDDING DESSERT — yum.
Will I be back? Likely not. If ever, just for the beef cubes.
Until the next review…

I don’t eat dim sum much but this place is pretty good! Everything we ordered was good. Just make sure whatever you order line up on the paper. We ordered Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce but got sticky fried rice

Still a fan of this place, we had over 20 of us… reserved 2 tables…
Great family style restaurant, way out on Balboa near the residential section…
Gotta try it if you guys want some real fresh seafood, always make sure how much you want, otherwise, they will get you the largest, priciest piece…

Affordable and delicious dim sum. There are a lot of items on the walls, don’t be overwhelmed. This is a good place to go for quick dim sum that won’t break your wallet. There are other dim sum places that may be better, but it also requires a 45+ minute wait. Who has time for that sometimes?
The food isn’t greasy and all the staples are great: shrimp dumpling, pork dumplings, rice noodle wraps, steam spare ribs, egg tarts, fried egg dumplings, etc.

Aw yes… KL Restaraunt… I finally know your true English name after eating dim sum and dinner here for the past 10 years of my life. How did I not know the English name? Until I finally decided to check «Current Location» restaurants one day while eating dim sum… and KL Restaurant matched the description.
But OK… my review may be biased because I’ve been here a gazillion times and my dad knows the owner… but I really do like the food here. Dim sum is always (most of the time actually) fresh and hot out of the kitchen. Plus, the waiters here are generally friendly and nice… even to non-​Chinese speaking guests.
Still shocked at how I did not know the English name of this restaurant. KL. now I have no idea what that stands for… but if you’re in outer Richmond area… this is one of the best dim sum joints out there.

Good place in Richmond to get fresh seafood. Had live geoduck and surf clams. Very fresh! Reasonable price as well

This is the best dim sum place I have ever been to. Nothing in the south bay can compare to how consistent and fresh everything tastes here. We usually come with the grandparents for family lunch and order a table full of delicious food. I love the tripe, the beef rice roll, the XO fried rice rolls, shrimp and cilantro dumplings. I would say everything on the dim sum menu have not let us down. They also have super cheap prices on seafood so we will be coming back for some lobster and crab next time. Great place!!!

My family and I are regulars here because the food comes in generous portions, affordable prices and is most importantly, delicious. We come so often that one of the waiters even says hi to me on my beach runs (gotta work off that food somehow).
They serve dim sum everyday 10−3PM and then they reopen at around 5PM for dinner I believe. There’s always a wait on weekends and finding parking is a struggle, but at least you won’t have to pay for it like in the Inner Richmond/​Sunset. The dim sum is made to order, so that they come freshly steamed. All items range from $ 1.95 to $ 4.95 and they charge $ 0.60 pp for tea on weekends/​holidays.
For dim sum, I’d recommend the beef ball, sparerib steamed rice noodle, chive dumpings, and pork blood/​skin w/​chives (if you’re into that stuff). As for dinner items, get the garlic giant surf clams or seafood. Actually, you can’t really go wrong with any dish here, so choose anything to your heart’s –or stomach’s– desire. They have set dinner meal plans for multiple party sizes but you can switch out dishes from them.
Anyways, we always average less than $ 10 pp with tips/​tax included. AND we get doggie bags for lunch the next day. Score.

If you’re hungry before 1PM, go for the dim sum, which is always on point. Steamed pork buns, chicken feet, mango pudding, stuffed taro… So good. There’s always a house soup to start the meal off right too. Get ready for a long afternoon nap after this one.
At any other time of the day, go for dinner. I’ve never had a bad dish from their dinner menu, which covers everything from steamed giant clams with shaved scallions and noodles to slow-​cooked pork belly with preserved vegetables. All the classics (think steamed fish with garlic and black bean sauce, westlake soup, walnut shrimp, and peking duck) are in there too.
Prices are always low and the waiters are nuts. Definitely one of my favorite Chinese restaurants of all time.

Chinese food on Christmas! Of course they’re open. Today’s dim sum visit was consistent with all the other times I’ve visited this place (my relatives live nearby) — wait was about 30 minutes, food was okay*, and service was on par with the standard Chinese restaurant treatment. Prices are relatively cheap — less than $ 100 for our table of 10.
Overall, not a bad choice if you’re in the area. Parking is kind of a nightmare though — it’s nestled in a residential area, and it’s street parking only.
*Except for a piece of still-​raw pork dumpling… but this was a one-​time occurence in many visits. Still, if you’re concerned about food safety, this (and many other Chinese restaurants) might be a skipper.

It is true what you read here.
the staff treats you better if you are a regular customer here. But even if you aren’t, you still are treated okay.
The owner eats and converses with the customers during dinner time (thats only because he knows the customers really well or they are relatives). he won’t sit at random tables and talk to you if you don’t know him lol.
the dim sum service here is standard. instead of women pushing carts, you order the food on a card. The quality of dim sum is okay here.
the dinner portion of the restaurant is the part to rave about. They have really delicious king crab legs and wintermelon soup (you must preorder it). My favorite entrée is the fried tofu with shrimp & crab meat on bellpepper. it is so yummy :)
yes, the bathroom is dirty here and sometimes the utensils are not the cleanest. So you pick your battles. But this restaurant is worth going if you want authentic Hong Kong style food.