Come here with the family when we are feeling Dim Sum on Sundays. The place is always packed from the morning to late afternoon. As soon as you walk in, make sure to go up the stairs and get a number. The wait can be long but make sure to wait till you hear your number or you will lose your seats and get pushed back. Once your number is called, you are seated and can start choosing what you want from the carts.The plates and utensils are sticky icky so your hands feel uncomfortable. Have to ask for soda or drinks which can be hard since they are so busy so I recommend ordering any side dishes and drinks right away when seated. There is also not much room so you feel squished in there. The food is average. Very oily and loaded with MSG. After eating it, you feel sluggish and get the itis.Standard Dim Sum food. Nothing special and service is below average.

My Dimsum place, love all their carts going around

Philly is not known for its dim sum. This is the only decent dim sum in the city. I do not go to Joy Tsin Lau b/c the food is salty, greasy and loaded up on msg. Ocean Harbor is the best you will get in philly for dim sum.

I'm from Vancouver, which is known for its hordes of immigrant Asians post-Hong Kong takeover, and thus awesome dim sum. When I first moved here for work, my wife and I needed our weekend dim sum fix. We've been coming here every other weekend with friends for almost a year now. The dim sum is nothing to write home about, but it's probably the best I can get in Philly.All I have are three comments:1. These guys do the old school cart pushing thing. As a result, the food is sometimes cold.2. Come at 10:30 am. It's late enough that you aren't all messed up from staying up on Friday night, but early enough that you'll be able to get a seat without waiting. 11 am is too late. Trust me.3. Where the fuck is the hot sauce? Am I going crazy? Dim sum places should have hot sauce - and I'm not talking about that hot chili oil shit in the middle of the table. You'll see when you get there.

You come here for the Dim Sum and you leave happy.Just in case you dont know what to expect, I will lay it out here:1) This place is busy during dim sum hours on the weekend. Very busy. You will wait for a table.2) This place is not super attentive. You need to listen for your number to be called for a table. You need to ask for things that you need or want (water, utensils, etc). You need to be clear and assertive with the staff. They are not rude, but they are super busy and they will basically just leave you to your own devices to some degree.3) The food is good, for the most part. And the price is right. Good enough that I give this place 4 stars even though the ambiance, staff, and all other things leave a lot to be desired.If you like Dim Sum, come and try out the authentic experience here!

It is a beautiful foggy and rainy Sunday in Philadelphia. You know what that means? It is time for dim sum (for some). Many, including myself, prefer this Chinese tradition to the typical eggs and bacon brunch, mostly for the variety of dishes offered in one sitting. In Philadelphia, the best dim sum is of course located in Chinatown and includes restaurants such as Dim Sum Garden, Joy Tsin Lau and Ocean City Restaurant.We followed the crowds to Ocean City where a crowd of people waited at the front for their turn to be seated. Luckily, the wait was not that long since we showed up after the 1pm lunch rush.The food is served in steam table trolleys usually stacked high with bamboo or metal steamer baskets. Waiters push them around the restaurant from table to table, and you get to point to the dish that you want and order. Each table gets a card that is stamped. Each order typically costs only a few dollars adding up. Once seated, our eyes went directly to the many food trolleys circling the room. We selected the Har Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), Shumai (pork), Siu Mai (open pork dumpling), a delicious shrimp and cilantro dumpling.The Siu mai is a open-topped steamed pork and/or shrimp dumpling made with a wheat flour wrapping and is often topped with fish roe or grated carrot. This is always a favorite and is always one of our orders.The zhaliang (friend, noodle-wrapped cullers) is a steamed rice noodle wrapped around crispy fried cullers topped with soy and hoisin sauce. The combination of the crispy and soft texture is a perfect contrast and tastes really good.The Har Gau or steamed shrimp dumplings is always a favorite. It is a translucent dumpling made with wheat starch skin and tapioca to give it that stretchy texture. It is typically filled with shrimp only but sometimes if you get lucky scallions and bamboo shoots are used. The Har Gau is hard to find as it is typically everyone's favorite. We waited around the longest for a basket of these.Overall, our dim sum experience at Ocean City was pretty good. Despite the crowds of people, the service was pretty good for dim sum standards. We ended up eating way too much and only paid $30 for a table of two. Where else can you find such a grand feast for so little?

Cheap, tasty dim sum. I didn't think it was as good as Joy Tsin Lau across the street, but it was a lot less crowded. Our large group was seated in the back corner so rather than having the carts come to us, we had to get up with our check slip and get the food ourselves.The food, however, is really good and makes up for the lack of service. I especially love their sticky rice (wrapped in bamboo leaves). They also have chrysanthemum tea, which I haven't had in years. There's a large variety of dishes, so there's something for every taste.Would recommend!

So strangely, until recently, I'd never done Dim Sum. I mean, I've had the food itself multiple times, love dumplings and buns and random fried "I ate what?". But I'd never done the weekend dim sum brunch, the real shebang with the carts piled high with steamer rings. And so we gathered a large group and showed up at the moment they opened.It's definitely an experience. We walk upstairs into a big, open banquet hall with tightly packed tables and awkward stackable chairs. It doesn't really make a good first impression, as it feels rather dated and run-down. A server takes us to one of the largest tables in the back near the stage, and quickly brings us tea and water as we wait for the rest of our group. I'm told to grab a seat on the aisle, to more readily assess the options on the cart.Initially, the carts come fast and full. We get pork and shrimp dumplings, as well as tripe and tendon, and obligatory spring rolls. I have some of each, and want more, except for the tendon. Another cart wheels buy and now we have what I'm told are bamboo dumplings. some sort of pork pastry, bbq pork buns, and something that's pork in fried taro. I missed out on the sticky rice wrapped in a lotus leaf, the other side of the table bogarted those.Now the wait between carts is longer, the hall in almost full, and people can be seen waiting in the entrance. We flag down another cart, and get more delicious dumplings, and a fried noodle dish. A waiter finally plunks a pitcher of water on our table, leaving us to refill our glasses. We snag some broccoli and scallion buns to round out the meal.So all in all, I had a fitting baptism for dim sum. The bill at the end was entirely reasonable, the food was decent, and the threadbare dining room faded into the background of an energetic morning crowd and good company at my table. So the only question remaining is "When can I go back?"

We've been here three times over the last year, and are going back soon again, for a girls' bonding time. Keep in mind this is a very large Chinese restaurants, smack in the middle of China town, where the majority of patrons are Chinese: so the culture, atmosphere and service are all in line with the "culture". So, don't expect overly attentive waiters, jumping at your every glance and running to do your bidding. They are busy, they are noisy,and they will get around to you when they get around to you.But do expect a wide variety of dim sum, carted around the restaurant, almost in tandem, with non-chalant servers tossing the offerings to eager diners. You can stay with "safe" choices of various dumplings, buns, ribs, sticky rice in lotus leaves, and egg custards. But you can also try the spicy kimchi (yes, a staple Korean offering in a Chinese restaurant), congee, turnip cakes, and my childhood favorite: chicken feet, this version served in a spicy sauce. Of course, you can always select items off a typical menu, as well as numerous steamed vegetables.Come about 11 am, to avoid long lines, yet ensure that there are plentiful Dim Sum choices already being served. Open up your mind, give something new a try. For a dim sum place outside of Chna or Hong King, this is quite good.

I love dim sum so why not try this place. HORRIBLE SERVICE RUDE and not many choices. They came by our table once. Every time they pull the dim sum cart by they never stopped at our table. We had one one order of shumai in 45 mins. I asked and waved them when they pull the cart by but they just ignore us. I dont know why. I wasted my time here. I told the owner if she can tell someone to bring us some food and she just ignored. I dont know why this place gets so crowded when the service is horrible. May be they like only Chinese speaking people. Since I am not Chinese.This place is pricey compare to other dim sum places in Chinatown. I go to 4 different dim sum in Chinatown and this is the worst. Serious if you can't speak Chinese dont come here. They treat you like shit.We paid for one order of shumai and went to Joy Tsin Lau across the street to continue our dim sum.Dont come here go across the street to Joy Tsin Lau.Ocean Harbor is pricey compare to other dim sum place, horrible service, rude staff and owner, Not many dim sum choices

I'll start with the pros: the food wasn't too bad and fulfilled a hankering I had for dim sum, which is really pretty difficult to fulfill in this city.However:This place is really busy from 11-1 and service is DISMAL. We waited a good 45 minutes for a table and then were seated in the back, where carts barely came by. The table itself was dirty, and it was impossible to get service for anything - food or water. Some of the food was cold by the time it got to us. Having never tried other dim sum in Philadelphia, I can't speak to whether it's the best in this particular town - but it's certainly the worst dim sum experience overall I've ever had in the North American continent.

Okay, forget Joy Tsin Lau, this place is definitely more organized, more popular, and has a larger variety of food. All of the dim sum was delicious, plentiful, and of course...sooo affordable. The line seemed somehow more organized than other dim sum places I have been to, and the staff even seemed happier to answer questions about the food. Overall, the best dim sum in Chinatown. There, I said it.

Packed, I'm giving it 4 stars because the patrons KEEP coming back. Luckily I went before 11 so that helped. By 12, expect a wait. At the same time, you know what that means when you have to wait esp for a HUUUUGE restaurant such as this. This is worth a try on a weekend if you can make it early OR if you can wait.The dim sum dishes were all pretty standard, some were better than the others.. but if you want the philly dimsum experience, I believe this is the most popular joint in that part of town. So go for it! Have some tea and dimsum. What I noticed was that the carts were being refilled constantly... at which I immediately ask for the ones fresh out of the kitchen, still steaming hot.. . usually the ladies will give those to you first thing.. but just in case they don't, you can request for it with a point of a finger (but please don't make a scene.. i mean if they don't give it to you, dont get upset now. haha it's not the end of the world.)Also, the dimsum approach is sort of a distraction from a heavy Brunch with pancakes/waffles/french toast... this was my way of just getting something different just for once. YUUUPPP!!

Meh. Only ok. It's a fairly standard dim sum place--food was nothing stellar. We got a large variety of food, and everything was just so-so--not great, but not terrible. Service was rude, but that's pretty typical of most dim sum places, where there are constantly carts whizzing around.Normally, this would constitute a 3 in my book--but I spent most of my time fretting about the cleanliness of the place. We drove up to Philly that morning (from DC), and so my first stop was to the restrooms...which are on a separate floor (near the entrance), and the cleanliness was a little...suspect. Further, when the waiters and waitresses were clearing the plates and stuff of nearby tables, they didn't seem to do a very thorough job wiping everything down. My plate and cup were old, chipped, and scratched, and I had a stray grain of rice stuck to the back of my plate. A couple flies hanging out near the giant container of presumably "clean" chopsticks were the final straw.I didn't get sick, though...so maybe it's not as bad as I perceived it to be.

The food is good but the service is very very horrible. We have been here many times over the years and the service get wirse and wirse. Today is our final attemp to support this horrible local business. This morning right after we finished paying for our meal and the waiter who wasn't even waited on us came over and demanded tips in cash. My husband was upset and told him we weren't ready to go yet and we were about to leave the tip. I left tip anyway. What kind of restaurant demanding tip before the customer even leave the restaurant? Tip is based on the performance of the service. From the scale from 1 to 10. This place gets a minus 10 for service. Why should anyone even leave tip at the first place?

The wait can be kind of long, especially on weekends, but their dim sum is definitely worth it!!! I mainly only go here for dim sum because I think they're the best in Philly. Their "Cha Leurng," which is a fried dough wrapped in a thin sheet of rice noodle, is a definite must try, along with the traditional dim sum favorites - shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings and chicken feet...Mmmmm!!!!!If you decide to go on a Saturday or Sunday, plan to go early (before 11am) or plan to wait at least 45 mins.

Hands down the worst dim sum I've ever tried. Everything was either cold or overcooked and mushy. Nothing stands out, and I'm not really sure why the wait was so long. The noodles are cold/gluey, the dumpling skins are mushy and the siu mai is just overcooked. Hubby and I tried a number of dishes and were pretty unhappy with everything. To top it off, it was $40 - how/why/wth?!?No thanks. No matter how much I crave dim sum, I won't be back.

Okay, so here's my two cents on this place.I used to come here pretty regularly for dim sum. To be honest, it's because there really are no great dim sum places in Philly's Chinatown. Sometimes you just have to go because you just want dim sum.The food I would say is sub-average to average. Most of the dim sum classics are offered including chicken feet which I like, BBQ pork buns, shumai, har gow, egg tart, fried taro balls, etc. Nothing really stands out, but at the same time, nothing is terrible and inedible either. The food is often cold though.I know that service in Chinatown is usually pretty lacking, and being from Los Angeles I understand that. The servers here are probably overworked and there aren't enough of them. But even for a restaurant in Chinatown, the service is so terrible it's quite insulting.Here are a few examples, Chinese New Year: We ordered the preset meal for a large party (13 of us). There are a few choices on the soup, the first course. They brought out the wrong soup. Okay, honest mistake. We sent it back since a few people in our party were unable to eat that soup due to diet restrictions. They brought the same soup back a second time. Wrong one. Possibly a second mistake. We sent it back asking for the original order. Finally they brought out the same soup. A third time. I'm not sure exactly what was going on in the head of the waitress at this point, whether she was just slow or incredibly inept, but when we sent the soup back a third time, she hissed at us rudely. Yes hissed. Like a cat.The other thing that happened that night was then we got our rice. And that was it. For 2 hours we ate rice and soup. Now anyone familiar with Chinese dining knows that there should always be several dishes on the lazy Susan along with the rice. At least one would be nice. Finally we were so frustrated that we stood up and decided to leave. The waitress quickly snatched a steamed fish off of another table and served it to us! We refused the fish, paid for whatever we ate and left. What started out as a celebratory event ended up a terrible experience for all of us.Even after that experience, I came back for dim sum. I would usually expect some tea or water with the dim sum. Tea is customary. Of course it did not come. After trying to hail down the waiter (this time the guy... seriously if you've been to this place more than once you probably know who I'm talking about) for about 30 minutes, and him obviously seeing us and ignoring us, I went up to the water station myself to pour myself a glass of water. I would have left it at that, but when I finally did that he ran over and yelled pointing me back to my seat. Did the water come then? Nope. Not for another ten minutes.Please. We need a better dim sum place in Philly.

Went to Ocean Harbor today for dim sum but found out that they stop serving dim sum after 3. We got there around 6:15 and were the only people there because it is Chinese New Year. Normally the lines are really long during lunchtime. We went ahead and ordered from the menu.Food is pretty good overall. Service was OK given that we were the only people there, had to wave hard to get the waiter's attention at times. The price was reasonable, and delivery was quick. We had a big table of 12 people and are full with dishes. Try the seafood there and the roast duck.Would go back again during dim sum hours and wait in line.

In Short At the top of a short flight of stairs, a host or server points--and sometimes leads--incoming customers to open tables in a large, loud, rosy-hued dining room. Dim sum is served here at all hours. Standout entrees include vinegary ...?

The food was good but the atmosphere was alittle stuffy. Our bill was almost 100.00 and that was for dinner for 2 with wine. We have had as good of food for less money elsewhere. ...?

I went here while in Philly for the weekend, the food was excellent. My boyfriend and I dragged along two friends who were in town as well and they both LOVED it. It took us about 25 minutes to be seated though, but thats what happens ...?

If you want to eat above-average Chinese food in Philly, I would recommend Ocean Harbor. Their banquet/special-event menu is superb (think of many sumptuous courses of food for about $15 a person), but even the dim sum (lunch) is tasty. ...?

One review suggested do not go to Joy Tsin Lau but go across the street to Ocean Harbor for better service and food. The service was very poor. It was not at all busy and we waited way to long and had to get the attention of the waitress ...?

I tried this place for dinner and found the food to be not really very good and a bit pricey for what you get. Ordering simple stir fry dishes, which ought to be easy for any chinese place to provide, I was unpleasantly surprised. ...?

It is REAL authentic Chinese food for Chinese people, not a tourist trap like some of the places that get rated higher. I get the feeling that a lot of Zagat raters don't really know or like real Chinese food and want old familiar dishes. ...?

This is a GREAT place for Dimsum in Traditional Cantonese Style Just Like Hong Kong... Noisy, Smokey,, Loud..Lots of children, Few non-Chinese faces and those only with Chinese as leaders OR if they have been to Asia before. ...?

Enjoy it to your heart's content. You may not be able to understand what the servers say or what your eating, but it will be delicious. The food is worth the mass confusion at lunchtime. Try to get a table by an aisle so that you get a wide ...?

We were taking a break from the Philadelphia Flower Show and decided to go to Chinatown for lunch. We were looking for seafood and picked Ocean Harbor after the first couple of restaurants weren't open. The restaurant was about half full ...?

I've eaten at Ocean Harbor several times and each time was very good to excellent, but here's the problem I see with all the bad reviews I've read so far. This is a very Asian-oriented restaurant and, that said, and it's no fault of you ...?

We went at 11am on a Sunday and the place was packed, but we only had to wait 15 minutes for a table. All the food was really good, but several dishes were cold. I highly recommend the whole salted shrimp they were fantastic. ...?

This restaurant is very crowded on Christmas Day but since they open at 9:30am you just have to come early (before 10:30) to beat the crowds. It is typical dim sum so you'll find something you'll like. The food is good and the carts come ...?

Visited Ocean Harbor Restaurant during our recent visit to Philadelphia in June 2009. I used to live in Philadelphia so I've been to Ocean Harbor several times before. Went to the restaurant around 1pm on Thursday. Had various dim sums ...?

Been here many times; but I must conclude that Ocean Harbor has the worse dim sum service in the world. Wait service acknowledges your existence and never fulfills your requests. It took 5 requests to 3 different waitstaff to get our tea ...?

Evening dinner service was relaxed but adequate. The food was some of the best I had eaten. The portions were very large and we felt bad, not being able to finish it all. Great meal. I wanted to go back the very next night. 4 stars in my ...?