Welcome to China Chef

“ Really good dim sum! I've been coming here for 5 years now. Every time I come I feel so bad that the restaurant is so empty and it seems even worse after COVID. I'm hoping it's because people don't know this place has really good and cheap dim sum. I really do think they need to advertise it better since the outside of the restaurant does not look welcoming and you definitely would not think this place serves dim sum (with carts too!). I've been to the other ones in NJ - Aquarius, Dim Sum Station, Qin Dynasty, and China Chef wins. Please people visit China Chef and show them some love! I need this place open forever. Get the fried shrimp balls, siu mai, lava egg custard bun, bbq pork pastry, and thank me later. ”

Mandy M.

“ Don't fools around with decor or social media. This place it's worth for real foodies. I stopped by because my Chinese friends recommended it's tasty and Yes finally I tried there dishes. All I ordered was taste amazing and felt like dim sum made by order. Usually I always ask for more vinegar or sauce for dipping but nope. All dumplings yummy and Peking Pork Plum it's was fantastic. Taste very natural and last thing here are The pork chop not stinky. Service very kind and attentive. So great !! ”

Service S.

“ OK, I MUST get on my blowhorn here about this great dim sum gem. I seriously do not know how this restaurant is not crowded on weekends, but it absolutely DESERVES TO BE. When you look up "underrated" and "under the radar" in the dictionary, a picture of China Chef should be plastered front and center because this is a hidden gem of a dim sum restaurant. Finding good dim sum in Northern NJ is as difficult as finding a needle in a stack of needles. It's almost impossible. There are a few dim sum restaurants in the area, but I can count each and every one of them on my hand. In Central NJ, there are a few more options, but that's the length of the list. It's quite a sad state of dim sum restaurants or lack thereof in NJ. When I found China Chef on Yelp, I was as skeptical as many of the other reviewers. It was the same recurring theme - outdated, not busy, mom and pop ownership. When most people see "not busy", they move on. However, when I read a bit more, I saw that some customers said the food taste better than the place looks and it was actually very good. ENOUGH SAID, we were definitely going to give them a shot. We dropped in a quiet, drizzly, unassuming Saturday morning at 11am sharp, when they opened for business. As some past reviews said, the restaurant was indeed a bit drab and outdated. From the decor, this was not going to be mistaken for a Michelin star dim sum establishment. However, I was undeterred from the shabby internal dwellings and marched forward. We were quickly seated in the modest dining area and we were off to the races... We had our dim sum marker card on the table, but where were the carts? About 5 minutes after we situated ourselves - VIOLA - the ONE and ONLY cart made its long-awaited appearance. The cart actually circled around the restaurant to our table and we were served first! The woman manning the cart actually told some customers that we were first, hence why we got first dibs - sweeeeeeet. I had never seen a single cart system before used in a dim sum restaurant, but it ABSOLUTELY worked here. The single cart had a hodgepodge of dim sum favorites and, if they didn't have it on hand at that moment, they could easily make to order for you in the back. They...had...absolutely...everything! You would have never expected that this mom and pop operation had most, if not all, of the common dim sum dishes, but they did: Beef rice noodle rolls, shrimp rice noodle rolls, cruller stuffed rice noodle rolls, shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork dumplings (siu mai), chive/leek dumplings, black bean sauce chicken feet, sticky rice in lotus leaf, steamed beef meatballs, deep fried shrimp balls, shrimp stuffed eggplant, egg tarts and, even, coconut pudding/jell-o! There was actually even more that we didn't order. In addition, they had kitchen items that you could order as well, like, pan fried noodles, chow funs, rice dishes. OK, so it's great that they had such great variety, but how was the flavor of the food? EXCELLENT. In all honesty, everything was authentically delicious. I couldn't have been more satisfied with how good everything tasted. I wouldn't say my expectations were low, but the variety and taste of everything surprised me. I thought it was going to be OK, but it blew me away. Sadly, at the height of our meal, there were only about 6-7 tables occupied and many, many more that were not. The restaurant seemed to be clearly run by an elderly couple - both of whom took turns pushing the cart and cleaning the tables. There was literally no one else working the dining area. I love when I find quiet, hidden gems because I can always go back to it without it being crowded like a Friday night at the club, but this establishment deserves more business - the woman manning the cart was so friendly to us and asked us where we were from. She also kept thanking us back for the business when we thanked her (in Cantonese) for the dishes. And, of course, the dim sum - amazingly authentic and as good as it gets anywhere. If you're looking for dim sum in Northern NJ and haven't been, GO, GO, GO! Support the heck out of this local, mom and pop business because they deserve it! ”

Chris E.

“ I rounded up but I think this place deserves more kudos than it gets. We came here for dim sum first thing when they opened on a weekend. Surprised it was completely empty....why?? Since we were here first thing, everything was got was so fresh. Even though we were the only people in the restaurant, they still came out with the cart which was fun. We got all our usual dishes - char sui buns, shu mai, har gow, pheonix feet, pork pastry pie, turnip cake, ribs, etc. Everything was ON POINT and delicious. I was not disappointed at any of the items. Everything was so fresh!!! Again, we were the only ones so there was no wait whenever we ordered something. The Pork Pastry Pie was To Die For. Like, we actually ordered 4 orders of them - we just kept eating them. Sooooo buttery and flaky and full of flavor. Man, they did not skimp on flavor here. My family and I were thrilled we found this place. Definitely will come back again! Pricing was so reasonable too! Large parking lot. No idea why this place was empty when we got here. But it's fine, I'll take all the food for myself! (Yes it's a little run down on the inside but hey, the food speaks for itself here.) ”

Yuchen Z.

“ Going to be fully honest the dim sum is great, the service is not a strong point. With that said I would seriously go if you want real dim sum but temper your expectations with the service. I was there this past Sunday and there was literally 1 waitress for the entire dinning room and that type of stress eats at one's ability to provide quality service. Those ribs were fantastic, chicken feet equally as mouth watering, sticky rice uhhh yes. You will leave this place with a happy mouth if you just understand what you are getting into service wise. ”

Irving R.