Dinesty Dumpling House

Although my previous experience at the new Dinesty at Metrotown was disappointing, I was willing to chalk it up to the location being new and give them another try.
Mistake.
Well over a week ago I made a reservation. When I tried to change it to two smaller tables but more seats in total, it was initially approved, but later they called me and told me they wanted a $ 100 deposit for the second table. I ask for 2 more seats and they want $ 100. Really?
Anyway, I kept my reservation. They are of course well aware of Chinese New Year, so I was not surprised to find the restaurant of course packed for their 7pm second seating. What I wasn’t expecting was the staff shortage – It took very long to just order anything. But even so, floor staff kept their cool with customers and were at least professional though clearly so overworked most basically had to ignore you unless you walked right up and talked to them, in which case they typically asked you to wait a moment.
Dishes also came out quite slowly. The kitchen was probably working at full capacity of course, but surely management could have called in all hands to help with Chinese New Year at least on the floor for bussing and helping with customers? The dishes at our table were basically never cleared. How the kitchen survived without their plates and steamers returned was a mystery. Potstickers and various items came with no condiments. I even saw another large table get their own replacement bowls and soup spoons from the service counter.
Sadly I didn’t get every photo before hungry hippos dove into the food, so not quantities on the plates in the picture are as they came from the kitchen…
Overall, food was between mediocre and substandard, especially certain staples, like Hot and Sour Soup. Xiao Long Bao (soup buns) could not be counted on to actually have soup inside, which was extremely disappointing.
We tried quite a few things. Only a few notes here:
Simmer Chicken & Chestnuts in Brown Sauce («Chk+Chestnuts in Bro»; $ 12.95)
–The sauce is pretty tasty here, and they give you lots of it.
Stir Fried Prawns, Scallop & Squid («Fr Prawn Scallop+Squ»; $ 14.95)
–So much bean I thought it should be included in the name of the menu item.
–Prawns strangely salty here.
Large Hot and Sour Soup («Hot+Sour Soup (L)»; $ 7.95)
–Spicy-​hot in a peppery way, but not sour at all.
–Good for maybe 6 bowls of soup.
Steamed Pork Buns («Steamed Pk Buns»; $ 3.95 for 3)
–At just over $ 1 a piece, in price it is way less than the new-​ish steamed bun place nearby, Bao Place. A little smaller, though, and the filling not as tasty, but the Bao Place isn’t exactly super-​tasty either.
Gongbao Chicken («Gongbao Chk»; $ 13.95)
–Watch out for the chilies!
–Felt lacking in peanuts, but otherwise not bad.
Shrimp & Pork Shaomai («Shrm+Pk Shamomai»; $ 7.95 for 6)
–One shrimp on the top of a filling of pork. Pretty meaty — you get slightly more filling than one of their soup buns.
Fried Noodles with Seafood («Fr Ndl w Sfood»; $ 9.50)
–Strangely bland except for a peppery flavour.
–NOT a «chow mein» with the crunchy pan-​seared noodles, if that’s what you are hoping for when you order. Look at the picture in the menu carefully. Not sure if they actually have that style of noodles on the menu.

I have to agree with the other guests who have been to this Dinesty branch in Burnaby.
First of all the service was slow and inefficient. The staff were there for show instead of catering to the guests. They were slow, and disorganized. Requests for the bill and take-​away boxes took 10 – 15 minutes.
The food was shockingly tiny for the amount we paid. There was more style/​décor on the plate than actually food. (Style over substance as they say).
If the food was tastier I would give it another star, but I’ve had better Chinese food in other places.
I would definitely go to a different Chinese restaurant next time… This establishment was not worth returning to. My family and I were very disappointed with the food and service.

With a chain like Dinesty, you would except at least similar food and service to their Richmond locations but this location really did not reflect upon their popular name across metro Vancouver.
The chopsticks we received were extremely greasy and even after having them replaced, the new set was also greasy. We ordered the noodle soup with slated vegetable and pork which was lacking taste and below mediocre. You can definitely find this dish someone where else for 10 times the taste. Then we had the regular XLB which was also lacking taste and not very similar to the XLB they serve in their Richmond locations. We also ordered their three spiced chucked which was very bland and mostly just bones. Lastly, we ordered their cold cucumber in garlic sauce which was super old and not fresh at all. You can tell they mixed in a piece of fresh cucumber among the rest to try and portray something.
Overall, the food was very bland and mediocre, service was not responsive and seemed like half the waitresses didn’t know what they were doing. I would recommend giving them a few more months of improvement before visiting. Better off going to the Richmond locations!

It says they close at 10 PM on sundays but i guess its actually 9 PM?
our group of 10 wanted to eat so we thought we’d try the new Dinesty at Metro, we’re pretty familiar with the one in Richmond. half of us got to the restaurant at 8:45 and was told that they are closing soon so last order will be at 9:10 and need to pay the bill at that time too, and we r ok with that. so after sitting down we ordered some food first and kept a menu for the rest of the group to order something later. at 8:55 the waitress came and asked when the rest of the group will get here and they are doing last call * didn’t you say last call was at 9:10!?* seems like they really want to us to order eat and get the hell out so they can clean up and go home. 2 mins later rest of group came and ordered some more food. really felt rushed and had the pressure of eating fast cuz the staff wanted to get off early. what an unpleasant experience! one of the noodles we ordered came with just the sauce and no noodles… looks like the kitchen wanted to go home early too. rushed through the whole meal and called it a night. I didnt expect we were having «fast food» that night.
after reading the other reviews I now know they have a XLB loyalty card? we ordered 4 orders and the waitress didnt mention anything about it? why have a loyalty card when you dont want customers to find out about it?
leaving two stars because the food was still okay (Richmond still better) but if it was only on the service and experience I’d give just one star.
should have went somewhere else and saved the $ 25 per person unpleasant experience.

Food is consistent like other locations, newly opened. This place reminds me of Din Tai Fung. Ordered the usual staples, Siu long Bao and Shanghai fried noodles. One of the better places in town for Siu long bao. Service is great however, English may be bit of challenge as some service personnel English is not their first language.