Fook Lam

My absolute favorite dim sum place on the island. We have been coming here for years! Out favorites are the chicken feet which is so masterfully marinated and it comes with some peanuts at the bottom also. The shrimp and chive dumplings are a must and the siu mai is delicious. The owners are very nice. They told me they close in April for vacation and to come visit them any other month. Parking is via paid lots all around Chinatown. Indoor seating. Casual. They still push the carts around at this place.

Has cart service, seated fairly quickly on a holiday weekend, aggressive service (they try to push you to get more things), reasonable price(Flavor/taste)Dim sum - average Chow fun - averageWonton noodle soup - really good, would come back just for the wontonsPorridge - below averageUnlike most dim sum places, they have siu mai/pork hash and har gow readily available. Made to order food also came relatively quick

NEVER JUDGE A CHINESE RESTAURANT BY THE SERVICE. The ruder the better when it comes to dim sum. Apparently some of the servers use telepathy; they put dishes on your table before you even decide. Fook Lam is located adjacent to the river in a seedy part of China town. You can watch men gambling outside while you wait for a table.FOOD IS PRETTY DARN GOOD. House special Look Fun is excellent--tempura style shrimp with shreds of lettuce wrapped in chow fun noodles--has great texture and flavor. The Fook Lam style jook was the best jook I've ever had. Mix of beef, chicken, fish, and pork with a dash of white pepper was heaven (no thousand egg thank god). The paigu (Chinese spare ribs) were steaming with bits of garlic--super good. The shumai was a tad anemic. The shrimp with scallion and shrimp with spinach were colorful (come as three pieces only). Har gow was standard.Xiaolongbao was very good. Custard tarts were out of this world. The gailan (Chinese broccoli) was a bit overcooked.The place is typical chaotic Chinese restaurant. Go for the food! The manager was friendly and smiling (once she rang up the check LOL)I'll go back for sure

(Dined 05/21/23 SU @ 8:30am): Fook me... a dim sum restaurant with carts!A friend and I were meeting others for dim sum Sunday brunch at Fook Lam Restaurant. I loved dim sum and would eat it every day (I seemed to be able to eat ANYTHING everyday!), so I was excited about this. I always felt dim sum should be eaten during any time of the day, but rarely were you able to find anywhere that served it past lunch time. Was it fookin' good for my first time having dim sum on the island!?PURCHASEShanghai Soup Dumplings 6pc ($13.95): Hot juicy suckers that were small enough to fit entirely in your mouth and exploded with steaming soup while the casing was chewy and sticky. It was always an adventure when I ate this because I rarely ever sucked the soup out first. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=jHVh8fPPG2AWWOp2A3Aj4gHere were additional notes of the partial food spread that was eaten: https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=urQjXLAdVqOxiEhuX5cxIQ~Baked/Steamed Char Siu Bun 3pc ($5.50): Fluffy, sweet, and packed with pork.~Chinese Red Bean Malasada 3pc ($5.50 x2): Cut in half for easier sharing, I felt they lacked red beans although the dough was chewy and nice.~Deep Fried Mochi w/Meat 3pc ($5.50): Nice flakiness and loaded with seasoned minced meat.~Deep Fried Spring Roll 3pc ($5.50): Standard and crispy.~Steamed Shrimp Dumpling 3pc ($5.50): Lots of shrimp, and I could eat these all day with some hot spicy dipping sauce.~Deep Fried Seaweed Roll 3pc ($7.25): Delicate and wasn't satisfying.~Shrimp Look Fun ($8.50): I wished the shrimp was cut into bits instead of whole.~Steam Fish Ball 3pc ($8.50): Packed fish in a ball!~Steam Shrimp Ball 3pc ($8.50): Equally-packed shrimp in a ball!~Chinese Style Salty Creamy Egg Bun 4pc ($9.95): A lovely dessert like a Cadbury egg.My first plate, and I was getting full! https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=nKT1PU3oF2cpseWnXFxDiQSERVICEMy friend and I showed up a tad late to meet others, so we buzzed past the older hostess and made a beeline to where they were sitting. Some food was already present, so we simply dug in. When it was time to hail someone for more food, one of the ladies pushing the carts https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=P7NZ4XDXrFLCYx7CY85oZQ got to us rather quickly. We weren't checked on frequently, so if we wanted more food, water, or to pay the bill, we had to hail someone down... which was pretty standard in dim sum circles. Once we were done, we simply split the receipt evenly and off we went - xie xie!PARKING (Varied; FREE this instance)Located in downtown Chinatown where parking could be difficult and pricey, it was a Sunday, so we found FREE parking along one of the many nearby streets and walked the rest of the way. Usually, this type of parking was either metered or timed. Otherwise, there were also paid parking structures all around - 'nuff said.ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCEA large spacious dining room https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=OVkmWzRnxN81qnhswZZwYA filled wall-to-wall with chairs and tables both round and square in addition to a few corner booths, a display case of various goodies once you entered, and a tiny counter at the front door to ask for a seat or pay your bill. There were a handful of framed pictures hung on the walls. Plenty of natural lighting came in through the large surrounding glass wall windows and front doors while many electric ceiling lights filled in the rest. There were no TVs nor any background music but plenty of chatter. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=maLHoIO5lku7lKmCM6VzVwATTIRETotally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops.OVERALLIt was nice to catch up with fellow Yelp friends over dim sum at Fook Lam Restaurant, and I would consider a future visit. Generally-speaking, I enjoyed the food and the portion sizes were good. However, the prices seemed to be a bit elevated, and the service was what I've experienced elsewhere (i.e. curt and direct). Plus, I always preferred to support small mom & pop businesses. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience per person was around $26.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, although they accepted credit cards, not mine of choice... AMEX! 4.0 STARS

Fook Lam has always been my go to place for dim sums and morning breakfast! The line moves very fast and service is super quick too! Make sure to try out the dim sums there! The aunties usually go around offering you dim sum, so make sure to try those out.They also have really good jook, so definitely try those out! Their look fun is also really good, so make sure to order those as well! Definitely come here and share your food with your friends and family to try out more dishes.Don't be intimidated by the line or the crowd! It moves really fast and the aunties are really accommodating and friendly. Definitely come here for breakfast or brunch so you can get their best dishes early!

Very good authentic dimsum [Honolulu HI]Since my knowledge of dimsum is limited to only shu mais and xiao long baos, my friend Kathy did all the ordering for us. The ladies would come around with their dimsum cart and this is what we got:Deep Fried Taro PuffFried Shrimp WontonShanghai Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)Pan Fried Shredded Taro CakeCustard Tart (egg tart)Chicken Feet w/ Black Bean SauceSteamed Spinach and Shrimp DumplingBeef Look FunShu MaiSeafood RollSteam Shrimp BallHar GowMost of the dimsum came in threes. What my friend did was she set a third plate for my hubby who couldn't join us. She would set the 3rd piece on the extra plate. Towards the end of our meal she had the plate wrapped to go so I can take it to him. Everything we ordered was delicious... except I still will not try the chicken feet. Parking is available in the building with inexpensive parking rates. Fook Lam Seafood Restaurant is located in the Chinese Cultural Plaza in Chinatown Honolulu. Thank you, Kathy! Review #3573

Located by the canal, parking can be on the street or at a small parking garage nearby with good rates. You'll also get a good view of the Asian men gathering around tables playing cards lol. It's a popular dim sum spot but I personally think there are better dim sum choices out there. I tried a couple of dim sum and they weren't as good as we hoped. The skin wrapper was either mushy or too thin that they broke apart when the dumplings were being picked up by chopsticks. The flavor wasn't lackluster. The congee was OK but nothing to write home about. The best item there that we all enjoyed was the deep fried sesame balls. Very crispy, good amount of sweetness, light and airy, a true delight! I feel like their deep fried food might be worth trying more than their steamed items.

So while looking for a good place to eat we passed by and said that we have to stop by and try this place.The food is excellent and the service was awesome. Gina and team was great.

Delicious Sunday Breakfast! Posting a little late as I went a couple of weeks ago...but this is a great spot in Chinatown, Honolulu. Great for big families, it was us and our friends with their kids, who had called a head to reserve a table. Dim sum is fresh and delicious, very flavorful. Lots of options to chose from. Everything comes out fast since they are so busy they anticipate such a huge rush and come out with food to choose from. Really friendly service too!!

Very good dim sum place located in Chinatown. It wasn't too busy since there were a lot of available seats but the flavor and quality remain consistent. Service is what you expect at any dim sum restaurant, slow and not as attentive. Their dim sum and the cooked large dishes are delicious. Full of flavor and tasty.