King Tin Restaurant

Please note — this is not a review. This is to advise that the King Tin Restaurant will be reopening at their new location in a couple or three weeks, they said. They are in the midst of setting it up. The new address is 318 Spruce St. Waterloo, On. 519−497−8322. We have really been missing the Dim Sum weekends and some of the menu dishes that nobody else in the area prepares. Be good to see them back in the saddle again.

This has got to be the best Chinese food in Kw. The duck, lobster, and beef with Chinese broccoli are my favourite dishes.

Went for «Dim Sum» on sunday, prime time 12:30. We ordered off the carts and off the menu. Off the carts we ordered spicy squid which was very oily, tough and cold. Bbq pork in pastery, would be great if warm. The meat and egg dumpling was nice. Off the menu was the best of the meal. We ordered the «Egg plant with garlic and chili sauce $ 10.50. We have had this before and I can say that the plate size has shrunk conciderably over the last few years. But taste was as usual fantastic. I am giving a 3 because of the egg plant dish. If it was just the Dim Sum… maybe just 2.

I went for the lunch buffet a few days ago, so this review is only on that.
I’m definitely not impressed, but for $ 8.25, you get what you paid for. There are very few options, most of which are either very greasy or very bland. Personally I did not enjoy the food at all.
On the bright side, I did enjoy the service, which is why I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1. I admit there was minimal amount of service since it was a buffet, but the waitress was very nice and friendly, exchanging pleasantries her customers. The buffet gets refilled very frequently and I don’t recall any of the items every running out. But again, the quality isn’t great — the best I can say is mediocre.
When I was leaving, I saw a half-​rotten orange placed in a small bowl at the bottom of the window by the door. I guess they probably put it up as a décor for Chinese New Year (in February) or something, and forgot to take it down (by April). Nevertheless, it didn’t bother me that much, since it is far away from the kitchen and they probably just didn’t realize it’s sitting there. But it’s something to think about.
If you are looking for a place to have a quick & cheap lunch to fill you up, this is the place to go. With a steam table, all the food is already there and you can finish your lunch in just a few minutes if you are in a rush. I’m unlikely to return to this place, at least for a lunch buffet, but if I return, that is the reason.

I came for the Sunday dim sum, which was surprisingly popular. The food was alright. They actually have push carts to bring the dim sum around to all the tables. All the servers spoke English, which was a first for me. We had a large group so we got one of the private rooms. I ate until I was stuffed, and my portion of the bill costed only $ 15.
The quality of the food is so-​so, hit-​or-​miss. I was surprised by how bad the shrimp dumplings were. The sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf, or machang, was pretty good. The stuffed eggplant and fish paste in green peppers were delicious.
I think for dim sum in Waterloo, this place is not bad. Good enough for me on a lazy Sunday morning.

I absolutely love King Tin! Definitely one of my go to Chinese places in KW. I’ve gone to their lunch buffets and weekend dim sum and have never had a problem.
Their lunch buffets are offered from 11:30am to 3pm for a cheap price ($ 8-​$ 9). They offer a good amount of selection. However, the dim sum that they offer during the lunch buffet are often left overs from the weekend.
Now, their dim sum weekends are great! It doesn’t compare to some of the good places in the GTA though. The prices aren’t cheap, but King Tin does offer one of the cheapest dim sum prices you’ll find in KW.
Overall, I have a great experience every time I come here, and I DEFINITELY recommend their hot and sour soup. One of the best I’ve had in all my life!

they have a wide variety of dimsum and decently tasted. the hargow’s layer is not so durable, it often rips when picked up by chopsticks.

The value for the price you pay is there, the food is there, the oil is there, but the quality isn’t.
They have a weekday lunch buffet and needless to say, the quality is not good. All the food comes out greasy, though the buffet counter is always in stock with several different rotating items. There are the usual rice and noodle dishes, then there are also various dim sum dishes such as cheung fun rice noodle (shrimp, beef, chicken (?), etc.) which was more rubbery than smooth, siu mai, dumplings, sticky rice, bbq pork buns, meatballs made with dumpling and dumpling filler/​fat soaking in oil, roasted eggplant and various steamed vegetables. My friend gagged when he had the cheung fun (rice noodle) and I don’t think I’ve ever had worse anywhere else.
It’s $ 8.25 for weekday buffet lunch, taxes included. Water is self-​serve at the counter. Cheaper than Crystal Palace at Erb and King and my lunch buddy prefers King Tin (Chinese food is more «real», and he likes the dim sum selection) while I find Crystal Palace healthier («less unhealthy», can’t go wrong with the fake Chinese foods), though it is marginally more expensive ($ 7.99 + HST).

Writing an update about their dim sum. The prices have increased over the years for dim sum dishes, and because they are pre-​made and carried around the trolleys, don’t expect fresh food. There is a good variety, however, and the service is pretty decent despite how crowded it gets.
If you want good dim sum in Waterloo, I’d recommend Empire at the Waterloo plaza, instead.

I came here at least 4 times before. The food was okay. Salty, MSG, oily.
I liked the desert chicken dish.
However, I ordered a veggie dish (baby bak-​choy with oyster mushroom) and although it tasted good — while eating, I found a BIG BLACK BUG (around the size of my pinky nail and was hard shelled) in the between the bak-​choy. It kinda looked like a cockroach or some bug in the wild. either way
it totally grossed me out. The manager didnt seem to care too much about my complaints, told me it’s normal that vegetable have bugs in them (WELL YOU definitely didnt wash your veggie properly!!!)
She just waived that dish as free and refused to give any other dish or drink to compensate — well whos gonna pay for a dish with BUG.
NEVER GOING BACK. TOO DIRTY

Dirty — food encrusted on the tea pot. Dishes were greasy dirty, wiped down with my napkin, which came back yellowed.
Poor food quality — har gow was salty, little, did not taste like shrimp, let alone har gow. Spareribs — Still pink. Unsafe to eat raw pork.
Expensive! Three dishes came to $ 12!
We ordered only three dishes and that was three too many. I think we were only there for 15 minutes.
Can’t understand where all the high ratings are coming from.

With meatballs that looked like a brain tumor, I’m not sure if I can recommend this restaurant. In general, everything was pretty oily and mediocre and nothing really stood out. I’d recommend coming early to get the freshest dim sum as the food can stay on the carts for hours at a time (some of our food was cold). There are definitely better dim sum restaurants in Waterloo (try crystal palace in uptown. It’s not that much better but its still better).

I’ve been here many times throughout the years with my family. They have a huge selection of food with many interesting combinations and varieties. My favorite is the Japanese tofu dish, it is a must try! Unlike many chinese places, King Tin doesn’t serve greasy foods, always staying healthy and delicious! The restaurant is convenient for university students but the parking is a bit of a pain.

Not as good as I thought.

This was my very first dim sum experience ever, and it got me hooked.
If you’re in Waterloo and feeling like dim sum and have lots of time on your hands, then this is the place to go! This place does cart style dim sum where they wheel around food on carts for you to choose from. Because the dining room here is pretty small it gets pretty cramped. That being said, I like the cart service here because I do like to see what I’m getting before I order it. Also, because this place isn’t too big the food on the carts ends up staying very hot. I’ve been to some dim sum places with the carts and by the time they get around to your table the food is just warm verging on cold.
This place does get very busy, especially around noon on the weekends, and I have experienced many times where the wait is upwards of an hour. Its best to go as soon as they open or later in the afternoon. This place is great for groups because of the large round tables and they even have a couple private rooms to eat in.
I’ll keep going back when I’m in Waterloo, if I can get a table…

I’ve only been there once and I can tell you that there are countless of other better options in the KW area.
What really set me off in this restaurant is their lack of basic hygiene. The tables are covered with something that doesn’t invite you to put your food down and the general ambiance of the restaurant screams «health inspector!!». There was also a guy who was hurling some heavy crates from the storage room right next to our table, dressed with rubber gloves and boots. He resembled one of those fishermen on the docks that gut the fish.
The food is OK towards good, definitely nothing to keep me yearning for more. This and the fact that we were the only 2 Caucasian customers in the restaurant and everybody looked at us funny makes me wonder if I’m ever coming here again.

I’ve been there a couple of times. Their food is pretty good in general. Except for a crab meat soup. It tasted really watered down and hardly had any crab meat in it. Also, their service is super slow! especially when they get a bit busier at night or during busy seasons, ie. chinese new year. Their chopsticks feels sticky too once we sat down, so we had to rinse them ourselves with some tea.

My family is a regular here, it is the only Chinese restaurant we go to in Waterloo region. The foods are authentic and taste pretty good. We usually get the corn soup, fried rice, sizzling beef plate, Beijing duck and fried tofu. The only problem is that in the recent years the prices are going up and the portions are shrinking. Some seafood and meat dishes only have meats on the top layer and the plate is stuffed with veggies like carrots and bean sprout. But this problem exists in most Chinese restaurants in the area.
The Dim Sum on Sundays are extremely expensive and the servings are way too small. There are also not a lot of varieties so it is not worth going.
The service is generally pretty good, the owner and servers are friendly. Sometimes they gave us free soup with our meal. There are always free desserts for everyone during dinner. Red bean soup on the weekends and coconut bubble tea on weekdays. They are actually my favorite part of coming here, so delicious.

It’s pretty good for the cost. I’ve come here a lot over past 20 years growing up in the area. It’s kind of been an establishment for Chinese immigrants who have settled in the area. The restaurant itself has also moved a few times.
Not entirely sure I’d call it cheap — our bill for dinner recently came to $ 95 pre-​tax and tip for 6 adults (4 male, 2 female) and we were quite full after. The highlights were oysters in a stone pot, crab with ginger and egg white sauce, and an assorted mushroom and vegetable dish. One of my favorite dishes here (though I suppose this could be a personal taste thing since some people might not be used to the consistency) is the vegetables, pearl mushrooms and white crab sauce on top.
Like other Chinese restaurants in the area, it has taken a few steps to improving the ambiance — though it’s not quite my style (think red velvet and wood).
One cautionary note — avoid Thursdays. The owner typically goes to Toronto on Thursdays and the food quality seems to drop drastically in some cases.
Parking is sort of an issue here. It’s limited around the front and at the back and on the sides it’s mostly reserved parking for other tenants in the building. If you park in front, you kind of have to drive along the side walk and park in at an angle.

This place is actually good enough to make a trip to Waterloo (if you are driving along the 401). I discovered it at the end of my last year at Laurier, which was a shame, but, suffice to say, I visited it about 8 times within the first four weeks after I found it! The lunch buffet is quite good on weekdays, but the real show-​stopper is the dim-​sum. It is some of the best I have ever had. Also, their general tsao’s chicken is absolutely one of the best I have ever had. The price range is quite reasonable too! What is there to not love about this place?