Yum Cha Cafe

The food is from good to bad. The prices kept going up every month & doesn’t justify the quality.

The place isn’t as busy as it used to be. The prices barely increased and the food is decent. It’s basically your hole in the wall dim sum place. The dim sum selection is alright but the combo plates and hot food are much better. The fried roasted pork is the best damn thing I’ve ever had haha I would keep coming back just for that meat. It’s not a roasted pork like the ones you see hanging at other restaurants. This is literally deep fried pork belly, seared at the top like chicharron to look like roasted pork. I would hands down choose this over regular roasted pork any day. But, if you aren’t into eating fat, then this is definitely not for you, it’s pretty much fat with a little meat: D

YUCK! Everything that I got from the dim sum line tasted old even though I went early in the morning right when they opened. They must have just reheated the food from the day before. Disgusting! I am never coming back here AVOID THIS PLACE IT IS NOT WORTH IT

Driving up to the restaurant and entering the restaurant may or may not make a newcomer think twice about buying food from this joint. I’ll admit, it’s not the cleanest area to eat. The tables look like they’ve been run down and never replaced and the sauce bottles make me nervous because of the dried sauce on the tips. If this bothers you, maybe you could buy the dumplings and use your own sauce at home.
In tall stacks of metal bowls lies a vast variety of dumplings filled to the brim. The clear shrimp dumplings and the rice rolls in sauce have become my favorite. For less than $ 10 (look at my photo!), you can get enough food for 2 and still take some home.
FYI, if they ask if you want the small or the medium rice rolls, just be aware that the medium rice roll order consists of the 2 – 3 entrée take-​out styrofoam container.

Came here for an early dinner. We were supposed to go to this Filipino restaurant across the street but they were shut down. We came here instead.
We walked in and saw all the food behind the glass cases. Everything we ordered was a la cart. It was between $ 1.80 for 3 or $ 2.89 for 3 dumplings. Pretty pricey when you order a lot. Total came to about $ 35.00. Not worth it. We got fried rice, chow fun, shu Mai, shrimp shu Mai, har gaw, steamed rice cakes, egg tarts, etc. I didn’t get a chance to take photos of everything. It was way too much food. Honestly I wasn’t impressed with everything. Some of the food was bland and needed soy sauce. My favorite was the shu Mai and shrimp shu Mai. Everything else tasted bland.
I was also looking around to see how unclean this place was. Made me want to not sit on the chairs or put my arms on the table. Hubby wanted to try this place out. My daughter was even picky about what she ate. Daughter and I were a little hesitant about the food but hubby ate most of it up. Maybe cause my hubby likes most of the stuff we ordered. I don’t think I could come back here.

Remembering you get what you pay for, understanding that, this is the least expensive Dim Sum in town. And offered not only at lunch time. Its a minimalist place, absolutely nothing fancy at all, styrofoam plates, plastic forks, but cheap Dim Sum and roasted duck, chicken and pork, etc. No Dim Sum carts, just order from serving display cases. Thanks to the San Diego Reader for tipping me off to this place last year. I visit anytime in the area.
My only complaints would be better plastic cutlery, theirs is the cheapest, smallest, thinest one can buy, and more importantly, I really wish they’d mark their table condiments. Can’t tell the different between soy sauce and fish sauce. And they water down their soy sauce big time. But again, «Cheapest Dim Sum»
COKE ALERT: Yes! They have Coke, Diet C, and Sprite in cans. No P products.
TOILET PAPER NAPKIN ALERT: Yes they have napkins as thin as toilet paper. Ask for a hand full. You’ll use up one with each wipe. I don’t understand how restaurateurs think they are saving money when one has to use 25 napkins per meal, when one normal napkin would do.

I came here because i was craving some dim sum and egg custard. The overall service was what i expected, waiting in line and ordering from the window of the food. The pork chym mai (idk how to spell it) was decent. I felt it could have been alot better. Felt kind of old to be quite honest. The taste however was nothing close to some dim sim i have had up near the LA area.
The egg custard on the other hand was extremely pleasing and satisfying in taste and price. I would only come back for that after tasting the other thing.

My husband and I love dim sum. We usually eat it at both Chinese restaurants and hole in the wall places like yum Cha café. First of all, they increased the price so it’s not as cheap as it was before. Second of all, the food is so bland!!! It wasn’t this bland before and now you need to add a ridiculous amount of soy sauce to make the food edible. And lastly, they cough on the food!!! I don’t have a phobia of germs but this is just disgusting and unsanitary. I know it’s the flu season but I don’t get why they don’t cover their mouths and instead cough all over my dimsum when they’re putting it in the plastic container. We decided not to eat half of it and with every bite we regret it. we’re going to get donuts instead to make us happy

Ahh wanted to like this place so bad but sadly no. Came here on a Thursday morning and there was no line, with this I decided to go crazy and try way more than I anticipated. Was really excited as everything was under $ 26. But no.
Will start with the good, which is only ²⁄₁₀ dishes.
— spareribs — my favorite and would def recommend, maybe even get two orders! Really good flavor and the meat is tender enough.
— rolled noodles — slightly biased on this bc I’m just a sucker for the chow fun type of noodle texture, these were just ok but for the amount you get and for the price, made them probably taste better than they really were lol.
Now the bad.
— pork shumai — not flavorful at all, pretty small, and slightly rubbery.
— har gow (shrimp dumplings) — again, small. Not the best by any means, but better than the shumai (they were in the same container).
— meat wrapped in tofu skin — this had a really gingery flavor that I didn’t expect, was just ok. The meat inside was scarce and a bit questionable. Wouldn’t recommend.
— fried shrimp ball — after seeing pictures from other reviewers, I was really excited to try this one. But was very disappointed: they were cold, stale, and had a slightly sour taste.
— daikon cake — good texture, blah taste.
— steamed buns with custard — yeah, these were supposed to be pork buns but was given the wrong ones. When I bit into it (I should’ve known since it was marked with yellow on top), I was very disappointed, not only was it not meat, but it was super dry and tasteless.
— chicken and sticky rice — another tasteless dish, rice is good consistency though.
Also got the egg tarts, but haven’t gotten around to them as I’m just kinda over it.

Hole in the wall type of place!
PROS:
— to go dim sum foods
— har gow, chicken feet, and pork shumai are my favorites
— huge parking lot
— friendly woman that takes my order
— still available in the late afternoon
— spacious so you can eat there if you’d like
— the salted flavored chicken was pretty good as well
— cheap
— short wait
CONS:
— cleanliness (flies in particular)
— seafood shumai was pretty bland
Overall, it was a 3.5 for me, but I rounded up because the food is yummy :)

Seriously there is no good dim sum in town but here, reminds me of when I lived in SF! SUPPPPPPER cheap, $ 25 will get u completely stuffed & have plenty of left overs for the next day. I love the rice in the lotus leaf, I always get 2 orders of that, har gow, chicken feet, spare ribs, and so many of the good baked goodies like bbq pork sweet bun, noodles and fried rice is good. chicken wings are a little oily but still good. Vegetable soup is DELICIOUS to cleanse your palate.
They prefer cash but $ 10 minimum on CCs

It is a hole in the wall, but the food there is DELICIOUS! Better than SF and the bay area. And it’s dirt cheap.
Stay away if you can’t handle authentic Chinese food, a.k.a meat on bones, greasy…

I go here all the time! I always get the shrimp dumplings, steamed fish balls and chicken feet. I used to go to Jasmine but their service sucked and it was extremely over priced. So when I found out where this place was I was so happy!
You can eat here or you can just order your food and go. What I usually do is order my dim sum and get it to go. This place might look like a whole in the wall place but you get your food fast and there is never a wait.
The only downfall is probably the environment. The floors look like they need to be scrubbed and their chairs and tables can be sticky. That is why you order take out and everything will be fine.
Their food/​dim sum is just the same as Emerald and Jasmine, just cheaper. So what’s better? I recommend coming here because it taste just as great as any other dim sum place.

$ 10 order minimum for credit card payment.
I have not ordered their dim sum dishes. While in the area, I had to come by and get their Hainan chicken dish again after over 5 years.
They also rolled out new lunch dishes and it’s 20% off during lunch. They ran out of curry beef brisket, so I picked up some lemongrass pork chops special instead.
Hainan chicken rice ($ 6.99): They raised the price since years ago. No Problem. They were out of the steamed chicken and so substituted a soy sauce chicken instead, sure. The ginger/​scallion dip has not scallions. Eh. The chicken was fine, the rice was definitely 2.5 stars, too soft, flavors of chicken is not really fragrant enough.
Conclusion: with just $ 2 more, J&T Thai café 5 minutes away has the best Hainan chicken rice in town.
Lemongrass porkchop (3.5 stars): well seasoned, but a bit over salted. Comes with rice and a side of salad with light mayo.

The only thing I come here for is the shrimp hargow.
Definitely not the best but for the price, it’s not bad. :)

Not the best dim sum but it I’m not complaining since everything is DIRT CHEAP!
I love dim sum at anytime of day, I just hate dealing with the weekend crowds and the steep prices. This place has got you covered! I came by for a pre-​dinner snack and got some orders of pork siu mai and bbq pork buns. Total came out to under $ 5 for those two items. It was the end of the day so I know my food had been sitting out for a bit but I didn’t care. It was still good to me! Their menu is pretty extensive and I’m sure it’s a lot better when everything is fresh. China Max and Jasmine trumps this place quality and flavor wise but price wise and ease of crowds/​parking give this place a solid 3 stars for me.

This is the first place I’ve tried dim sum at in San Diego. I usually only eat it when I’m back home in the Bay Area. I have to admit, judging off the ratings and reviews at all the dim sum places I’ve come across in San Diego, I’ve been real reluctant to try any of them out.
Today, I gave in though. After living here in San Diego for 4 years, I decided I can’t keep holding out for trips back home to have dim sum.
I really only had a strong craving for har gow. So I jumped in my car, headed over to Yum Cha, and was prepared to deal with the lunch hour rush. To my surprise, at 12:12, there was NO wait! I ordered two orders of har gow (8 pieces total) to go, paid my $ 4.25 and went on my way.
I ate it as soon as I got to work and it was still nice and hot! It was pleasantly better than I had expected and by the time I was done inhaling it, I wished I had ordered at least 2 – 3 more orders.
I wasn’t too impressed on the hot sauce they give for to go orders. It’s a little too vinegar-​y for me. I like the real stuff with the chili flakes in it.
Other than that– this place is perfect for lunch time dim sum cravings. Avoid the whole sit-​down thing, and come to Yum Cha. If you know what you like and don’t want to spend a lot of time (and money!) on a dim sum lunch– Yum Cha is your spot.
SO happy I found a place that will satisfy my dim sum cravings!

Trying to find good dim sum in San Diego County is an exercise in futility. You’re most likely gonna pay a king’s ransom for mediocre to bad dim sum. The prices at Yum Cha Café are affordable because it’s a dim sum bakery and BBQ shop. No frills. Zero frills. It’s a little dingy. You get what you pay for.
I’ve been getting dim sum to go and other cheap eats from here for years. I headed over when I started craving shrimp dumplings and Chinese donuts wrapped in rice noodle. They didn’t have the rice noodle dish which wasn’t a surprise. It’s not that popular. I left with one order of shrimp dumplings for a couple of bucks. The four dumplings were pretty small. Smaller than the last time. But at least there were four of them. Typically, you can get a lot of food here for not a lot of dough. Porridge, rice, noodles, and BBQ can fill you up for not a lot of green. It just might not taste that great. At least you won’t be getting completely ripped off like you will at the big seafood restaurants.

When dim sum on a weekday doesn’t open until 11am and you’re really hungry and really want some dim sum at 9am this is the place to be.
This is not your typical sit down, cart passing dim sum restaurant. Its more a point-​point joint and pay. Its connected to the grocery store right next door so you can people watch as they shop.
This place has not only dim sum (I think I got that point across) but roasted duck, drinks and other hot plate food to order. I think I saw they even had family party portions too
In any case… the dim sum. Its limited in selection but what they have in limitations makes up for taste in some of the dishes… not all… some. Like the shrimp pillows (fun noodle with shrimp) is tasty even without the sauce. I liked their egg tarts because it wasn’t overly flaky or dry. Skip the har gow and sui mai, to me it was cold and a bit flavorless. This maybe they also took the tins from the way top so not steam was keeping it warm.
Its a great place to get dim sum on the go as a snack or midday meal but its not a place where you would want to bring your grandma for her birthday… well my Chinese grandma.

Came here after work around 6:30pm and i was surprised that they were still completely stocked up on dim sum ! I was worried that they might not have that much, but it was still piled up high.
Most of the dimsum here are about $ 2.09 per order. Each order will come with about 3 – 4 pieces.
The ones i tried:
Fried Wonton Shrimp Balls
These were delicious. Lots of shrimp meat packed into a ball with a crunchy wonton outer layer.
BBQ Pork Buns
These were ok. The bun dough was how it should be but the meat inside was lacking.
Daikon Turnip Cake
I did not like these because it was very mushy on the inside and hard/​chewy on the outside.
Shrimp Rice Noodle Cakes
These were pretty good, but I noticed the inside filling was mashed up shrimp instead of whole shrimp like other dim sum places.
OVERALL, best place for CHEAP dim sum. Not your best, but good for the money.