The best place for dim sum in Boston - according to every grandma walking around Chinatown that I asked. If you want good dim sum in Chinatown Boston - just come here. I've been to this restaurant each time I've been in Boston - and its consistently good. Pricing is cheap compared to what I'm used to in Chicago as the small's are less than $3. They still do the carts for the dim sum - so you get that "experience" factor into it. Though I myself prefer ordering directly from the menu and being served the dishes a little at a time - though the opportunity to over order will be the same for both experiences - as the eyes are greater than the stomach could handle. A rule of thumb - for dim sum novices- if you see a dozen people crowd around a particular cart - bring your ticket over there and fight your way in for your dish. Its an active competition here - so send your most athletic team to box out and distract others to get your freshly baked char siu bao (bbq pork buns) - it was absolutely awesome. The entire pan of freshly baked baos went away in literally two minutes on a semi -busy monday morning! each dish was well-seasoned and consistent. Beware on the weekends - as it was completely packed (both the normal dining room and the basement dining room) on the Sunday that I checked it out a couple weeks ago. It is loud, it is chaotic -it is dim sum. Enjoy!
(4)
Debbie C.
I love dim sum big time, I think this place was ok for me but atmosphere was so good, über busy, we came at lunch time. For me was average food and price. Tho they were able to provide other dishes on request. Trolley ladies were helpful. Restroom was clean, FYI 12th September 2015
(3)
Dennis J.
Solid dim sum. Nothing particularly noteworthy in either the good or bad direction. We stopped by at noon on a Saturday as a party of four, and we were seated within 20 minutes; it's a surprisingly large space once you're inside. The carts come by relatively frequently and have a decent selection, and the quality of food is not bad although maybe just a touch oily (although no worse than most dim sum). Pricing is pretty average and overall the experience isn't bad; it doesn't feel too cramped in spite of there being so many people. Good, standard, run-of-the-mill dim sum.
(3)
Jose S.
I've been to this place twice, the first one alone to have dinner and the last one with some friends to lunch. When you enter staff will receive you and they will take you to your table. You will soon realize that this place is really huge, and if that's not enough there's another area of the size size downstairs, wow! The first time I want there were almost no people, maybe because it was too late. The first thing they do is serve you some tea and some water. In my first time I got the menu, no carries overt there, so as they had a comprehensive Dim Sum menu. I ordered some DimSum and they took some minutes to got them, but they were really good, they didn't look frozen or precooked, they were fresh and very tasty. Last time I went to have lunch it was really packed, the first floor was almost at full capacity, but we made a reservation, so we didn't have to worry. This time there were some ladies with the carries and offering some dishes to the customers ( I like it, I prefer to see instead knowing of the ingredients ). We had some DimSum ( yummy!), vegetables like pepper, tofu and eggplant ( I love this Chinese dish ). The service is not 5-star, but it's enough to have a good meal. A must if you like DimSum and Chinese food.
(4)
Ami P.
The food was really really good:.: however the service was pretty awful and there were flies... Everywhere. They also didn't have HALF of the things we wanted.. :(
(3)
Janet H.
Lots of available seating and pretty good dim sum... I've definitely had better, but I've been spoiled by San Francisco/Bay Area dim sum. Definitely bring friends so you can try more dishes! Also, someone who can speak Cantonese would be helpful =P
(3)
Juliana P.
We missed the dim sum hour but were able to order the steamed dishes on the dim sum menu. We got the pork buns, shrimp dumplings, leaf/rice thing, ribs, egg dumpling-like thing and other items I don't know the name of. Not too crowded either. (We went around 6pm on a Sunday and no wait for a party of 4.) Bad service, but perhaps that's part of the cultural experience.
(4)
Marlecka M.
I've been going to Hei La Moon for 5 years. And I loved it, I enjoyed the custard buns the most. But I really have to be honest and report my experience today, August 7th 2015-- I found a COCKROACH in my pork spare ribs. I had taken my twin cousins out on a day in Boston and they had only gone to Chau Chow but I wanted to show them something "better." We had eaten two steamers of shu Mai and ordered the pork spare ribs and the chicken feet. I grabbed a spare rib and flicked what I thought was a black bean that they steam it with. But my cousin said, "Wait!" He moved the bamboo steamer and there was the dead cockroach that I had flicked from the rib. The waitress took the bug and ribs away before I could take a picture but he only comped the ribs and chicken feet since we had finished everything else we ordered.
(1)
Chris P.
My standards aren't too high for Chinatown restaurants in general, but this place is nasty. All dishes here (regardless of what it is) will come in a thick coating of grease. Generic American Chinese food at its ugh-ist. The restaurant as a whole exudes a sense of being dirty. Lots of fruit flies were constantly buzzing around our table. Luckily I didn't find any worms or cockroaches in my food like other Yelpers have, otherwise I'd be making a call to Division of Health Inspections for the City of Boston. If I can avoid having to come back here for any social occasion (I only came because of a large family gathering for my grandfather's 80th birthday) I definitely will. Looking at the other reviews on this Yelp page I'm surprised this restaurant is even in business. However I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't for much longer. Do yourself a favor and have a microwave dinner at home.
(1)
Jenny K. L.
There was no wait at 10am on the Saturday of 4th July weekend. Doesn't have as many carts at other places but the food is solid and has all my meatless favorites! - shrimp dumpling - shrimp shumai - shrimp in a dumpling roll with sauce - fish on tofu - shrimp in eggplant The pork congee was also flavorful. Clean.
(4)
Jenna C.
Apparently Boston can have good dim sum. The Boston-resident cousin recommended this place for brunch. I believe he's had a lot of dim sum in his lifetime, so I trusted his suggestion. They sat us very quickly. They had all of the classics. I appreciated the vegetable options too! Fairly reasonable, but I guess nothing compared to LA!
(4)
Louis B.
Kick-butt dim sum. We got to Boston for a concert and our host took us to Hei La Moon for a leisurely lunch before the festivities at the concert hall. It was a memorable experience. By the way, there have been positive changes in the last two or three years according to the folks who were eating there at the next table so I'll take their word for it... First of all, finding the place is not as easy as it may seem. We walked from North Station and had a couple of friends who were supposed to join us and they wandered the streets for 15 minutes until they were able to get directions. But once inside, the cacophony of aromas was just delightful. As well as the vertiginous pace of the servers carrying numerous plates of everything from fish, octopus, calamari, duck, beef, chicken, noodles, you name it. We tried to decipher the menu but that wasn't to be, the menu is in Chinese. So we settled for just pointing and eating, pointing, and eating. Well, the waiter would tell us the selection anyway, but it was all delicious. Their steamed dishes, dumplings and other items were absolutely delicious. Together with plenty of tea, it made for a superb lunch. We left ready for a nap, not ready for a two-hour concert.... :-)
(4)
Cindy G.
On a Sunday morning, you will likely find my family having brunch here. This place is a dim sum staple for the Chinese community in Boston. The service here is definitely no Michelin star experience (if you know Cantonese, the waiters and hostesses will treat you better), but for the price, you get great portions and authentic Cantonese food. Carts also come by very quickly so you can get a quick meal if you are in a rush. The restaurant is large with two floors, so even when it's bustling on a Sunday, you will likely get seated very quickly. I've never had to share a table with other families (something that happens VERY commonly in NYC). I love the steamed pork buns, steamed shrimp dumplings, steam shrimp noodles, and tofu pudding. I recommend coming before 2pm if you want the best quality food.
(5)
Jenny B.
I went here for dim sum during off hours so they were not wheeling carts of endless food. They also were not offering their entire dim sum menu - only the steamed options were available, so we were not able to order anything fried or any of the dessert options like pineapple buns. They didn't even have egg tarts!! But from the food that we ordered (shu mai, shrimp dumplings, egg yolk bun, sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf, ribs), all of it was decent. Not a fan of the egg yolk bun but everything else was good especially the sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf! Maybe I would have had a better experience if I came during the normal dim sum hours but I have definitely had better dim sum before. If you are craving dim sum and happen to be near South Station, this place is literally a 3-4 minute walk though!
(3)
Will C.
I attended a banquet here back in June. The food was ok, although there were a few dishes that tasted not fresh such as the flounder. The day after the banquet, I woke up chills and fever. It's probably the sickest I've felt in a while. Fortunately I recovered later that afternoon. I suspect it was likely due to sanitation issues or food poisoning from the banquet. I am unlikely to come back to eat ever again unless I absolutely have to.
(2)
Chloe P.
My friend went to a wedding reception here. It would have been a normal wedding party until she took the leftover dish from the party home and put it in her microwave. Not one or two but 4 little white worms came out of the stir fried vegetables. She took it back to the restaurant but the manager and the staff were so rude. They blamed it on the seafood and even dared her to call Health Department. She recorded the video of the worms crawling out of the veggies and posted it on Facebook. So just take a look. I also take a screenshot of the worms in the food and post it on here. yelp.com/biz_photos/hei-… YUCKY! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This is the link of the video of the worms on Facebook: facebook.com/michelle.ng…
(1)
Lin G.
Many (hei la) moons have passed since Meow Bird had tasted dim sum. Her friend indulged her by meeting here on a Sunday afternoon. Seated right away. Huge bonus. Good service! Amazing for a Chinese restaurant. No one rushing you. Way to go Hei La! The food was sort of average though. Not the highest quality dim sum and they mix yucca/taro bits in with the ribs to bulk it up. Lame.
(3)
Noah L.
The epitome of culinary abuse. A cacophony of of sensory assaults. They seated us behind a huge wedding that was being hosted in the Restaurant. I figured they wouldn't offer to seat us if they were too overwhelmed... Guess not... All of the entrees were so poorly prepared, the calamari was not all the way cooked through and tasted rubbery. Had to ask them to cook it more thoroughly, only it took 2 waiters and a manager to make that happen. The waiters were so unresponsive, didn't give a shittt about our experience. Never refilled the tea, didn't give us water and napkins until we asked. Forgot to cook and bring out one of our entrees, and then took 20 minutes to get us a check. The first time I went here for lunch dim sum it was awesome- What a DISAPPOINTMENT.
(1)
Jason H.
Great place with lots of seating areas (which you don't find in Chinatown). We came here on a Sunday at 10:30 and was seated right away downstairs. Friendly staff, attentive. The folks pushing the dim sum carts are friendly as well. Quality of food is good, I can even say that it's better than china pearl down on Tyler St. Will definitely come back!
(5)
Connie K.
don't come here!!!!! listen to all the other reviews!! waitresses were horribly rude, would almost act like they didn't hear your requests. the dinner was not appetizing, food served lukewarm. beef was plastic like, we kept finding weird floating mystery items in our water. we were here as a large group and we ordered seven different dishes. nothing was good. fried shrimp, seafood soup, lobster, all of it was either bland, not cooked right, or just tasted bad. there's so many other great places in Chinatown. don't come here! (although I can't vouch for their dim sum which I have heard good things about)
(1)
Young P.
I'm not a huge fan of dim sum, but I do crave it from time to time. And when I do, I always go to Hei La Moon located in Chinatown. I'm not an expert when it comes to dim sum, but from my own personal experience, this place offers some of the most delicious dishes you can find around here. Some of my favorite dishes are their chicken feet (sounds gross but trust me they are delicious), pork with flat rice noodles, leaf rice, and their shrimp dumplings. I don't speak Chinese so it is hard to order at times but they go around often enough where you can kind of just point at whatever dish you want and they will give it to you. I noticed that people can also order main dishes but I have no idea how they do that since they don't have a menu or anything.... I think you have to ask them in Chinese so it would be of a great advantage to you if you go here with someone who can actually speak Chinese. Overall, this place offers everything I look for in a dim sum place and I highly recommend this place to anyone who is a fan of dim sum. My only caution would be it is really hard to find street parking so try to take the T instead of driving...They do validate parking tickets if you absolutely need to drive in!
(4)
Dan C.
Horrific experience here 2 nights ago. They simply triple booked for dinner with 2 weddings and a birthday party. Luckily we were one of those groups because what we witnessed around us was unfortunate. Regular patrons were escorted out to free up tables for the wedding upstairs. People with reservations were dismissed mid meal for the aforementioned reason. Our 6 course dinner started out smoothly, until more customers wandered in. The service we received was rushed to the point where dessert was served while our party was still eating entrees! No waters were refilled too. This is a case where the terrible service overshadowed the subpar food. Never again will we patron here.
(1)
Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is usually my go-to spot for Chinatown dim sum. This restaurant has 2 floors so you get seated quickly. Since its also located outside of Chinatown, parking is a little easier and there is also validated parking above it. Some of my favorites: -Baked Char Siu Bao (Roast Pork Bun) -Ja Lerng (Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Paper) -Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumplings) -Shumai You can't go wrong with Hei La Moon so check it out!
(4)
Quanzhi G.
Push-cart dim sum and bilingual servants. Better experience than my NYC one. A wide range of option but because of the huge space, might need to wait very long to get things wanted. We got char siew buns, shrimp dumplings, pork rib, chicken feet, egg tart, mustard bun, siew mai, durian pastries, taro-coconut tapioca and so on for TWO people! My favorites are the char siew buns and the shrimp dumplings. Very tender and flavorful pork inside and fresh big shrimps
(3)
Maddy M.
Had a hilarious, busy lunch on a wonderful Friday afternoon with coworkers. The banquet-sized restaurant was bustling with many people and servers pushing carts. The dumplings were my favorite as were the meatballs. The chicken feet were interesting, not a fan of the beef tendons. They're very chewy. You can make the meal as quick or as long as you want. It was the real deal.
I used to think this place has the best dimsum, but as I expanded more options, I've changed my vote, but their food is still good though, and has good selections. It seems like they have more desserts here than other places, and it looks appealing that I wanted to try them all, my fav. is durian balls, the texture is creamy and not too sweet, if you cant stand the smell of durian, dont try it. Eventhough they have 2 levels, upstair and downstair in the basement, but there's always a wait on the weekend, a very busy place. Lately I've seen some pictures capturing bugs in their food, for that reason definitely keep me away and hesitant to come back.
(3)
Samantha L.
After arriving into Boston late, my parents and I were craving authentic Chinese food so we came to Hei La Moon. The restaurant has two dining rooms - main floor and basement - that can accommodate parties of all sizes. The restaurant was decorated with numerous red lanterns. In summary, Hei La Moon is better for dim sum than for dinner. We started with Minced Beef with Parsley soup a.k.a. West Lake Style Soup. It consisted of minced beef, parsley, and egg white. It was quite flavorful and there was no need for additional condiments (e.g., salt, pepper, white pepper, vinegar, etc). We ordered the Filet of Sole in Tangy Sweet and Sour Sauce. It was Americanized version of what I thought it would be. It was heavily deep fried filet of sole with pineapple chunks, onion, and green peppers in a tangy, sweet and sour sauce. It was tasty and went well with white rice. We also ordered the Seafood Bird's Nest which consisted of stir fry of seafood (squid, conch, shrimp, fish filet) and vegetables (broccoli, snowpea) in a nest made of deep fried lo mein. There were broccoli surrounding the nest. This dish was rather bland and it looked better in photos.
(3)
Julie N.
Dim Sum #4dayz.... I'm a big fan of this place. Everything I ate was really good and on my morning walk to work at 10:30am, it's already packed. Everyone loves this place.
(4)
Pam C.
This is a review for the a la cart dinner service, not their dim sum! We came here on a Friday evening because they seemed to be the only restaurant who would take a large group. Were a bit surprised to see that it was mostly empty. Overall the experience was pretty good - the food was your typical Chinese restaurant food. Didn't have any objections and there wasn't anything that was stand-out bad or good. Service was a bit better than I would have expected - our tea was regularly filled and our dishes, even though we ordered quite a few, were promptly brought out. Prices were in line with what we would expect as well: ~$10 per dish on average, with portions a little on the smaller side. Overall, a pretty solid choice if you're looking to bring a large group for some Chinese food!
(3)
Katherine D.
This is slightly above average dim sum. The standards are all just standard, except Har Gow which is quite good. Other notable dishes include the Chicken Feet and the Beef Shu Mai and Cheese Mussels. Perks: Large so seating is not really an issue. Plentiful carts at high frequency. Coke Zero is available. Parking garage in the same building. Cons: I wish there were rotating BBQ carts. The Shu Mai isn't all that great. Inconsistently loaded carts and no discernible pattern so you may have to aggressively flag someone down. Tip: If you park in the garage on a weekend you can get an $8 validation at the front desk for ALL DAY PARKING! Killer.
(3)
Kim S.
We had an early flight back from vacation and wanted to find an affordable place for breakfast on a weekday. There was street metered parking in Chinatown and we walked across the street Hei La Moon for dim sum. The restaurant was very clean and the servers were not pushy at all (no pun intended). Food was average. Since it was still so early (9:30 AM) they didn't have some of my favorite dim sum specialties like calamari, crab claw balls or clams in black bean sauce. We got 7 plates and it only set us back $25.00. Great bargain!
(4)
LeAnn Y.
Worst dimsum! The waiters so rude we didn't get the shomai and wonton soup for my niece! We waited so long fir the food and they are not friendly....
(1)
Alexandra N.
It's just bad. Food cooked in cheap grease. Everything undersalted. Dirty chairs and floors.
(1)
Christopher W.
I expected authentic Chinese food from this restaurant based off previous experiences some time ago. Now it seems the food has been Americanized, tasting all sweet and sour. It's a shame....
(3)
Suely C.
Terrible service. The food was served lukewarm - they were not steamed long enough. Did not get our order of steamed BBQ pork buns. Complaining to the rude manager did not matter. Got handed the check to pay and that was it. Parking in garage above was $20/hour. So it was a ridiculously expensive bad meal.
(1)
Audrey H.
First time having Dim sum in Boston. didn't have as many selections as places I've been to in NY but it was still good. very spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't speak Chinese but still managed to order food, but it was hard to communicate with employees. other than that, it had good food and a good atmosphere.
(4)
Sophia N.
As a recent Boston transplant, I was very excited at the prospect of not having to go too far for decent dim sum. Based on other Yelp reviews and word of mouth, Hei La Moon seemed like a sure bet. Unfortunately it was not a match made in heaven. When I first walked in, I was filled with hope as I was greeted by the scent of various dim sum dishes. The shrimp dumplings (har gow) were sold out but more was coming which seemed promising. If it wasn't good, it wouldn't sell out right? Boy, was I ever wrong. The wrapper was thick and soggy, the filling tasted heavily of MSG, and fell apart way too easily. I ordered other dim sum staples such as shrimp in rice noodles, Phoenix Claws, steamed pork ribs, and egg tarts. None were much to write home about but most notably, many of the dishes didn't seem very fresh. The egg tarts were probably the most atrocious ones I've ever laid eyes on or tasted. The crust was too thick, too heavy, and the filling was nearly non-existent. I realized too late that someone had taken me to Hei La Moon many years back when I was visiting from out of town and I wasn't very fond of it then. Not much has changed in the intervening years except the har gow wrapper isn't nearly as soggy as it was five years ago and the filling was tastier than it is now. I am determined to find a great dim sum place in Boston because I refuse to believe Hei La Moon is the best Boston has to offer. One of the things that might have completely turned me off to this place was the bathroom odors. I could smell the bathroom from the dining room as I walked past to pay my food bill. This was also the same area where food carts were parked. Food smells + bathroom funk = no.
(1)
Vincent H.
I think this is one of the better dim sum places in Boston...if you even consider it good here. Crowded on a weekend and huge. Honestly thought this place was a mess with people walking up just to get food. Make sure you have a friend who can speak cantonese or else you might have to wait a little longer trying to figure out what you want. Service is so-so like any other busy Chinese restaurant but the portions are normal sized except for the price, which is higher than others.....
(3)
Vina A.
Not bad dim sum for Chinatown Boston, i.e. edible with minimal to no cringing. Do not go on Boston's holidays or around graduation. They skimp on quality and batter down the ingredients to stretch out their production. I think we had Ha Gao that was going bad on Memorial Day. Also, make sure you don't get seated next to a dish cart. One time I did, thinking it would get moved to another table that needed clearing, but no, nope, just got dishes thrown and continually clanked right over and behind my head the whole time, not to mention the huge towers of empty steamers threatening to come down on my head. They must have very strong dishes to withstand all this throwing but should have provided me with ear plugs, a poncho and a helmet. Pork ribs were their best dish.
(3)
Mala S.
This dim sum restaurant has push-carts, which makes it fun and easy to order. The carts came around often but you have to be quick on the up-take, since the ladies will breeze past your table if you don't make quick eye contact with them. All food was good, but the ribs were my favorite.
(4)
Linda M.
Please improve the service. Customers have been waiting so long to get some dishes to start with.
(1)
madalyne c.
Been twice for dim sum on Sunday morning. It is a big place with cart service. Go for the experience, the food is pretty good and you will leave stuffed. If you get there before noon you will probably get seated right away.
(4)
Jasmine X.
Mmm pretty good dim sum at such a cheap price! This place is gigantic. Apparently there's also a lower level seating which blows my mind. What blows my mind even more is the fact that despite all the seats that they have, they still have a ton of people waiting in line for more seats. My friend and I came around noon on a Saturday--prime dim sum hour. Despite this, we were able to get seated immediately which was awesome. We weren't seated in the best location since the carts didn't quite push into our area, so we had a bit of difficulty getting food. It ended up being us having to walk around to fetch our own food which wasn't a huge deal. My friend dines here a lot more often then I do and he said that this was pretty atypical and we just got unlucky. We got all the classic dim sum dishes, although I thought it was interesting how they seemed to do all the traditional dishes just a little differently. For example, their shrimp dumplings had little pieces of bamboo in it which I wasn't a huge fan of. Their pai gu, or short ribs were really good though, although interestingly, they were put on a bed of rolled rice noodles which was a combo that I haven't seen before. Their shu mai were on point though, as were their xia chang feng which I loved. I think we got the above dishes plus some pork buns--total came out to be $20 which was pretty respectable for two people. All the food was super delicious, and despite how many people were in the restaurants, I was impressed at how efficient and on-top-of-their-game the waiters were in terms of clearing plates, helping us get food, and getting our final check sorted out. tldr; Hei La Moon very much has the dim sum game down. With yummy food and cheap prices, how could one not like this place? My only qualm was that I wish the carts were a bit more efficient so you could actually get your food--I think our experience would have been really difficult for anyone who didn't already know what they wanted to order--it was good that we've both had dim sum before since we didn't need to see our options.
(4)
Matt L.
Bottom line: quick service at peak hours, very well done dim sum They had all the dim sum staples in healthy supply. We arrived with 3 people at 11:15 am on a Sunday morning , and we had the option to wait upstairs for our own table or go to the lower level to share a table. We were seated in ~7 minutes and shared a table downstairs with 2 other people, and it was not a problem at all. Food came quickly, was equivalent or better to NYC Dim Sum, and they gave us a new pot of tea instead of adding hot water. Service was standard for Dim Sum and no one pushed the specials on us. Total was $16 each and we were very full. I've never seen so many different buns offered at Dim Sum, but I didn't see soup dumplings either, if that's what you're after. I'm sure you could order whatever you want off the menu. When we left just past noon, the line was running well onto the sidewalk. Regarding transportation, we took the T and walked from the Tufts stop, a 5 minute walk.
(5)
Sara L.
American walking into this place is very overwhelming!!! No one spoke English and we were not sure what was going on with the carts. We ended up walking out. I wish we had been with someone who knew what was going on because I'm sure it was good..it was full of Chinese people!
(1)
Jeff T.
Dim sum yo..3.5 stars seems pretty accurate! SEATING AREA 8/10 - In this area I believe this is the biggest dim sum restaurant so it definitely is the most convenient for parties of 5 or more people. PARKING 6/10 - We parked on the street nearby, not sure if they have a parking garage.. But street parking was relatively ez to find. FOOD 6/10 - Not bad, definitely would consider coming back if im in the Boston area again. Don't set your expectations high.. flavor,quality, portion, overall they are all average. SERVICE 6/10 - It was fine, if you have been to standard chinese restaurants you know what to expect. We received everything we asked for so we have no complaints here. Early morning many steamed items will have to be ordered through your server. (Har gow, siu mai, etc)
(3)
Dominic W.
This is my favorite place for dimsum in Boston! Admittedly, I speak the language and know how to order, so that makes things less stressful for myself. The tea: this is a vital part of your dimsum experience. When you walk in and get a table, make sure you give your tea order if you have a preference (my fave = bo lei or teet goon yum). If not, they will give you the default mixed-leaf tea. Ordering food: much easier with a friend who speaks the language. But, here are a few good items: - har gao (shrimp dumpling) - cheung fun (ingredients rolled in rice sheets steamed) my favorite is the beef cheung fun - Shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) - Wu tau gok (fried taro snacks with minced mushroom and pork) - char siu bao (steamed bbq pork bun) Those items pretty much makeup your General dimsum meal. Now you can add whatever smells good to round out your experience! Try the chicken feet :) not my fave but some of my friends love how funny it is.
(4)
Julianne S.
Don't speak a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese? It's okay, neither do I! I was a little apprehensive about coming here without a native speaker but turns out I was worried about nothing. The waitstaff comes around with carts of food and you point at what you'd like. My friend and I took many chances at what each of the dishes were, but man, high risk, high rewards. We tried so many different dishes and we practically had to be rolled out of the restaurant. All for less than $15 a head. I'd glad return! Also great for groups, as there are large round tables to accommodate larger parties.
(5)
James N.
This place is supposed to be the best in Boston? I mean I know I am from San Francisco and we might have higher standards, but i really think the dim sum is substandard. The food quality is just not good. Most of my Chinese friends say this is the go to place in Boston Chinatown but I have been here twice now in 5 years and it's awful both times. Get your game together Boston, you can do better.
(2)
E. F.
Came when lunch was winding down. Very inattentive service. No eye contact. No water refills. Sweet and sour soup was inedible. But the other items we ordered were ok. We had to stand up and walk around for the check.
(3)
B C.
Loud, bustling and fun. Great food. Lots of dumplings, chicken feet, rice pancakes, prawn occasionally. All on rolling carts. Lots of Asian customers speaking Chinese. This is a great spot. There is a menu you can order from but the rolling carts are too. Bring a crowd.
(4)
Cristina R.
It's all Chinese to me. Hei La Moon can be a bit intimidating for those of us who are less familiar with this type of cuisine. So grab your best Chinese chum, and get ready for an exotic explosion! 11:30 AM for Saturday brunch, and the place is already packed. But it's also huge, so we get a table for 4 in the lower level immediately. Upon sitting, we receive a pot of green tea, and immediately carts are strolling past with intriguing options. It seems like we tried all the things - from chewy tripe to every version of a dumpling imaginable. Many thanks to our token Chinese friend who fielded all of our questions and made the majority of our decisions. There's definitely a lot of trust involved here. My personal faves were the steamed pork buns, sweet egg custard buns, red bean mochi, and fish cakes. The main downside is that some of the food is not completely hot and doesn't taste as fresh as if it were cooked to order (such as over at Windsor Cafe, which you should try btw). Also, the staff with the carts could come across as pushy at times (do they get paid commission per plate sold?), and we found it impossible to decode pricing for each. After you agree to take one, they just mark the paper on your table and set off. So we were pleasantly surprised when all the food that led to our bursting bellies only came out to around $11 per person! It's such a satisfying, social experience to be able to sample so many different foods and share with friends at such a minimal cost. The food quality may not be the highest, but the variety, authenticity, and experience certainly is! Pro tip: Avoid the bathrooms if you would like to still have an appetite upon your return to the table. And they'll only split checks on up to 2 cards.
(4)
Jason O.
A group of us came to eat here on a weekday in the evening for some dim sum. If you want dim sum anytime after breakfast, you have to ask them specifically for the menu or they won't bring it to you. If I am remembering correctly, each dish was $4. Not a bad deal but not that crazy cheap either. Food was mediocre. I really like the BBQ Pork buns.....mmmm... I thought the food was fine but one of my friends got sick...I think it was a stomach virus. I saw a picture on the Yelp page of a dead cockroach on the bottom of a dim sum container so I think we can all speculate the cleanliness of the place. For a weekday evening, it was quite packed. The waiters aren't that friendly either. Maybe if we had someone who could speak Cantonese or Mandarin, we would have gotten better service. Every time I asked the waiter for something, like water, he always seemed so pissed off and I was borderline scared he was going to pimp slap me before walking away. I also noticed every time they gave me water, there were white things floating in there so either they don't wash their dishes properly or there is something wrong with their piping system. Either way, it's still pretty gross.
(2)
Vic G.
Huge! First impressions first. This place is huge. As much as it seemed over the top and cacophonic while viewing it from outside, it was exactly the same from inside. Reminded me of a huge banquet hall booked for a wedding reception of sorts. Went there for dinner the other night (Friday) around 7:30pm and only one part (level 1) of the restaurant was open. It seems like a norm of sorts. Weekends are supposedly the busiest. We went in with the goal of feasting on the dim sums. Was just not meant to be. We were told only part of the menu was being served and many items were for day time only - especially anything fried. So on one hand, my calorie intake was going to take a big hit (happy face), on the other hand we decided to go for a non dim-sumy meal (sad face). Life as we know it... So let's break this down and compartmentalize as swiftly as I can. Starting with bad news first Service - 1.5 stars Not happy. This simply - as I should blame it on - was fate. From the time he walked up to place the tea pot on our table and flipped open his pad and uttered "ready" (and it almost sounded like a plain word being taught to a kid - just - "ready", and not a question being asked - "are you ready?"), I knew we had the very special waiter! The chosen one actually. We were not asked for drinks of any kind - almost as if it was written on our faces "we don't drink anything when we eat" - I was wondering why did he even bring the hot tea? That's liquid too. But I guess that was part of his ritualistic mechanics. During the 30 minute wait between placing the order, and watching the fun party happening a few feet away from us (a group of some 42 or so Asian kids celebrating something with lots of food and booze), i noticed the other 2 waiters who were in our area were not as dazed and in their own world like ours was. But again, I can easily rate the service as 5 - I might as well - maybe because it didn't seem like patrons who were dining really cared about service at all. So. I pretty much wanted to focus on only the food and my non dim-sumy adventure here. Service can take a hike and sure it did. I just told myself - "hey, you are dining somewhere out of this continent. Just enjoy!" Food - 3.5 stars We ordered 2 main dishes - given the mind set; No Dim-Sum, No Apps. 1. Tender beef chunks with black pepper in sizzling plate: Although this dish had a dazzling red chili next to it on the menu, I told our fun dude, "Very very spicy". He wrote it down. It came out looking very promising. Overall I rate it a 4/5. It was NOT 'very' spicy (blame my extra hot taste buds). It had a spicy touch to it. But the beef was tender and the sauce was very flavorful. i liked it! 2. House pan fried noodle special with shrimp, chicken, roast pork and vegetables: We asked this to be medium spicy. And it was as bland as it could possibly be. I had to flag down our favorite waiter of all times and uttered, "Hot chili paste?". A nod and he swiftly returned with my most favorite dish of the nite in a small white crucible (pic attached). Maybe I should rate the service a 4.5? Never mind. Lesson Learnt. Next time ask for - very very very very very spicy. Ambiance - 4.5 stars LOVED IT. I wish this was a self service place. The crowd spread across the entire grandness of the hall was having a blast - of some sort or the other. And so were we. With no body to answer any of our queries about the special card on our table written in mandarin (pic attached), we were left to our own devices to enjoy what we had on our table, transform it to our tastes, and enjoy the ambiance as it was - Huge, lively, everyone having a pretty good time. So did we! SPECIAL Mention: Men's room - Again, much Huger than what we expected, very clean and basically hygienic. Impressed! Overall - 3.75 stars While leaving, we concurred, we came in at a wrong time. We didn't get a chance to try what this place is really known for - the Dim-Sums (the fried, the steamed and the in between). We didn't get a chance to see the carts rolling down the hallways by other fun waiters handing out orders. We decided - we liked what we experienced, even the service, and in the words of the Arnold, "'I'LL BE BACK!"
(4)
Alex G.
This restaurant was very disappointing. The staff were very rude and clearly don't care about their customers. I went to dinner with two friends for dim sum. We ordered four items to share with the intention of ordering more. These dishes should have only taken a few minutes to come out. We waited forty minutes for our first dish and an additional half hour for our next three dishes even though staff and the manager insisted our food would be out in two minutes. The scallion pancake came out first, which was good. The pancake was very crispy, though there could have been more scallion flavor. Next came our seamed pork buns, which were very good. Finally, they brought us our shu mai and steamed spare ribs, which were the worst things we had during the meal. We ordered pork shu mai, but they brought us shrimp shu mai, which had a very slimy texture and little flavor. The spare ribs were the most disappointing at all. Spare ribs should fall off the bone, but what we got looked like the leftovers from the ribs. We ended up with little piece of bone no meat on them, our pieces were completely bone and fat. It was a huge letdown especially after the long wait. I told the manager that our meal should be comped because of the incredibly long wait. At the very least, the restaurant should have done something to compensate us. The manager proceeded to immediately yell at me telling me that I knew the wait would be a few minutes and I agreed to wait (even though he had severely undersold the wait time). He threatened to call the cops on us if we didn't pay the bill in full and said that we were paying for food, not service. He did not care that we had a long wait, that he told us the wrong wait time, made us wait for over an hour, and gave us the wrong dish. He was not willing to listen to our complaints or work with us in any way. His tone was hostile and aggressive. It was poor customer service to lie, make us wait over an hou r for our food, threaten to call the police on us, and refuse to even work with us or take the time to listen to our complains. Even if the service was better, the food itself was not worth the trip. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are several similar restaurants in the area so it is not necessary to come here and deal with mediocer food and terribel staff, management, and customer service.
(1)
Emily W.
I'm just thankful that a legit, cart-system dim sum restaurant exists near me. It's a bit on the pricier side- 2 people for $50. But it's worth it. Anyways, this is your typical crowded, no table seat sharing restaurant and their dim sum is pretty good! Although the chicken feet (usually my fav) looked old and broken apart, it tasted fine. I did really like the shuma, the cha siu bao and surprisingly the egg rolls. I usually never get egg rolls but these were fat and full of yummy stuffing. Egg tarts= NONO. They're flaky, cold, semi-flavorless, and everything that could go wrong with an egg tart went wrong! I wish I took some photos but I pretty much devoured the food before I took my phone out haha.
(3)
Ami N.
URGENT!! My grandma's friend discovered multiple wiggling worms (tapeworms? I don't know) in their to go meal. Ultimately shocked and disgusted. I have no words but beware and take caution for the seafood in Hei La Moon!
(1)
Mary T.
I rate this the BEST DIM SUM in BOSTON! The food here is always pretty fresh and the quality is better compared to other dim sum places. The price is really good too. I usually get their siu mai (pork dumplings) har gow (shrimp dumplings), cheung fun (rice roll with beef/shrimp/cha siu), fung jow (chicken feet), lo bat gow (turnip cake), wu tao gow (taro cake), cha siu bao (bbq pork bun). If you want the real dim sum experience, you should get the most popular dishes, which are siu mai, har gow, cha siu bao and cheung fun. The ladies that push the dim sum cart and the servers speak limited english so it's better to order in Cantonese. But they are pretty friendly. I wanted to order some dishes, but none of the carts were around so I asked the server and he got the dishes for me. They were also pretty quick when it comes to getting the tea for you, refilling the tea, and helping us with other requests that we had. Overall, the food and service has been pretty consistent the several times that I went. This is my go-to dim sum spot. It is always busy when I go on the weekends, but I never had to wait for a table yet, which is another reason why I come here.
(5)
Shaina P.
I went around noon today. My mind is still reeling from the experience. It's a HUGE conference-center-like space packed with tables for 10, 6, 4, 2... Very little wait time. Every corner is filled and not every corner is accessible or accessed or ever seen by those rolling steam and flame filled carts.. I missed several apps that I would have loved to have had.. When you enter, it's nuts. Give the lady at the front the number of your group and they'll just start calling you by number, not by name.. I did like the fact that they had tables for two. This place isn't for shy people. You gotta know a thing or two about what you're ordering because it's not easy to understand what's being offered without a menu and without servers who can deliver the ingredients to you in language that you can understand. Best approach: ask waiters stuff like, "is that shrimp?" rather than "what is that?" But I was successful in receiving a total of 5 dishes. I was 5 for 5 in terms of food I would have ordered anyway, including (not the Cantonese version): + soybean braised oxtail with rice noodle, + braised pork/shrimp wrapped in bean curd, + steamed shrimp dumpling in like a rice wrapper, + u-choy (greens), + shrimp and chives fried dumpling. What I would have liked that I didn't get but saw from afar: + congee w/ thousand year egg + pan fried turnip cake + soup dumpling + other pork dumpling Lessons learned in one visit: get up and follow the carts and grab what you want? (asking nicely of course). I saw the same four carts about 5 times, but didn't see the dishes that I really wanted.. ever. So, ask for what you want. Pay at the front. Come with as little as two peeps and as many as 10! Your head will spin.
(3)
Katie Y.
Their dim sum is okay but if you order from their menu, the Taishan Stir-Fried Rice (it's actually noodles but we translated that literally) and the Soy Sauce Lo Mein is really good (we order in Chinese so we have no idea what those two dishes are called in English. Apologies). The restaurant is very big (two floors: basement and first floor) and spreads all the way to Lincoln Street. Usually there are a ton of people there and the carts take quite a while to circle back (remember it's two floors) so we just track down the cart that has the stuff we want.
(3)
Lily C.
This place is a no no. I would NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone I know and to anyone read this. I searched and saw they have a good review,good rate, so my husband and I went here for dinner . IT WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I had chicken fried rice and the chicken was RAW. I called 2 dishes of dim sum, both were old and dry and nasty :( couldn't finish any of the dishes that we called.... About the plates, cups and server. Our plates were dirty, I can feel the old food left to dry off on the plate. Same with the cups (we got hot tea). The servers were not nice neither, even though we tried to be super nice with them (no complaining, no asking favors,...). This will be the first and the last.... NOT SUGGEST OR RECOMMEND.
(1)
Saacha M.
Oh Hei La Moon. I have been coming here for years and had my first dim sum experience here. The service isn't stellar and you have to yell to get what you want, but it definitely adds to the experience. I usually just point at what I want and it works. I have not had anything bad here, but my two favorite things are the egg custard buns and the almond cake. Both are awesome closings to the meal. They serve all dim sum wit team and you can ask for water and chili sauce on the side. For first timers, go with someone who's been before so that they can help you choose what to order. Anything with shrimp and steamed is a good choice, but it's also fun to get a little adventurous. There's everything from turnip cakes to chicken feet, so have fun!
(4)
Sophie P.
AMAZING DIM SUM! It was my first time having dim sum (I'm a bad Asian). You should definitely go with a Chinese person who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin, the waiters can understand Mandarin. They should lead you in what to order. If I went without my friend, I'd probably be doing a lot of pointing and raising my hand to get the carts' attention. Pork buns, steamed dumplings, fried taro, fried dumplings. Get all of it. It's very carb-y but you leave so full and happy. For 6 different plates from the carts, it came out to about $22. Are you serious? You can't eat that cheap in Boston. GO!
(4)
Rich L.
Not a bad place for dim sum in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. The typical steamed pork buns (char siu bau), egg custard tarts (daan taat), and tofu dessert (dou fu fa) were all very tasty. But it fell short in a few places. First, the shrimp dumpling (har gow) was all white. The outer dumpling skin is translucent for a reason - so you can see the pinkness of the shrimp. They basically washed out the color in the shrimp. Second was the Chinese sticky rice (law mei fan), one of my personal favorite dishes. But not here. It was served to us room temperature, dry, and a lot whiter than it should have been, which means they didn't use enough flavoring/seasoning. Upon tasting it, I was right. The upside is that the service was right on point. They were very quick about clearing our table of the empty dishes and refilling our teapot. And they were also very attentive to items we wanted to eat and were willing to get it for us instead of us having to wait for the carts to come around. It was my first time there so it was a learning experience for me. I would go back if I'm ever in town again but now I know what to get and what NOT to get!
(3)
Cady T.
In my opinion the best dim sum in Boston. Clean, conveniently located right outside of Chinatown, and consistent, if not too daring dim sum. Particularly good char siu bao, or steamed bbq pork bun. Steamed shrimp dumpling, har gau, consistently good. They make a chiu-chao dumpling with pork, peanuts, and fall spices that is outstanding. The watermelon soup, a seasonal dish served from a hollowed watermelon is chilled coconut milk spiked with miniature tapioca pearls and balls of melon. YUM! The fried taro is not very good, too starchy. The noodle rolls are too soft and the tea could be better. The bathrooms aren't the prettiest. The only place in Boston I will go to get dim sum. Its certainly not New York or San Francisco quality, but it hits the spot.
(4)
Mary B.
I've rode the lunch rocket to La Moon for both dim sum and food off the menu and ... I haven't been impressed. It's a little pink and red garbed orphan of the rest of the Chinatown resto scene, actually residing in the Leather district across the street from the gate. The lunchtime scene here usually quite chaotic, which is kind of part of the fun but not the best option if you're looking to have a cozy and serene dining experience. Service is quick and without frills, just straight up ask them if you need anything because they're not going to offer anything other than a plate and chopsticks on their own. The food is at best, adequate. If you're really craving dim sum goodies, you may be able to get your fix here, but there are better DS experiences to be had in the area. The regular menu has the breadth and scope that you would expect and the portions are served large for good family style sharing. It kind of pains me to call joints out on this, but at the last nom fest, we found hairs in a couple of the dumpling filled bamboo steamers. Yea. When we told a waiter and asked him to just clear it away, he brought the hairy dumplings back to us in a take-out container. 0_o The one thing I've ever eaten here that I really liked: garlic Chinese broccoli. Really lovely, but one dish does not a fan make.
(2)
Mary Beth R.
I took my family here for dim sum and it was totally amazing. Thought everything was great from service to food. The decor coud use an update but i think its kind of a cool vibe. My 4 year old loved the spring rolls and shrimp shumai. I loved the crispy shrimp and the sticky buns and tea! Yum yum. Cant wait to go back.
(5)
Reese D.
Went there with sis n bro-in-law at 2pm on Sat. Found out that it ia better to get there late. Everything is fresh n there is no wait for it. Will be going to the restaurant for late weekend dim sum from now on.
(5)
Kim V.
Almost every time I went for Dim Sum, this was the place everyone recommended. It has a nice variety, and is reasonably priced. It had my favorite dumplings and they were pretty good. Regardless of the group size, my party often got seated pretty quickly.
(3)
MJ L.
Can't go wrong with this Chinatown gem. Perfect for a dinner date or for hosting large events. Can cater up to 130 people. Food is authentic cantonese style. One of the best dimsum is also available for lunch. Have gone a dozen times and will definitely continue!
(4)
Virginia C.
Prob. the best in Chinatown, but I've def. had Better and I am a dim sum SNOB. 1) It is packed on the weekdays/weekends and the old ladies are not really friendly (even when I use my Cantonese!). Usually if I want something and I don't have it, there are other establishments that will make a special effort to get it for me. Ummm.. don't count on it here. 2) All dumplings are fresh (Har Gaw= DO IT) 3) Tofu Pudding. MM, and don't knock it until you try it. 4) Pork SpareRibs (Satisfying) 5) Cun Fun (Exceptional) 6) Everything else (Sui Mai, Chicken Feet, and Shrimp Rolls, or Whatever is pretty standard). They have a pretty great selection, and there are a variety of Cantonese and nonCantonese Peeps in this joint. During the weekend, please remember to get a number. In addition, Chinese people don't know how to wait for their turn= no such things as lines. Therefore, just push your way to the front, and don't let the short asians and pushy old ladies walk all over you. And, even if you don't speak Cantonese, this place is manageable :)
(3)
Josh S.
One of my favorite dim sum joints, located just outside of Chinatown proper, closer to the Leather District. HLM offers a great selection of dim sum dishes and traditional entrees, but on the last visit (out of 3 total) the service was extremely lacking - as in we sat there and weren't served for 20 minutes. Other experiences have been more positive.
(4)
Cindy K.
So I only give this three stars because I've been spoiled and have experienced much better dim sum in other cities (NYC & Toronto are at the top of my list for North America). HOWEVER, this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. (I've heard Windsor is very good too however its much smaller so everyone comes here) First off, if you hate crowded restaurants, do NOT come here on weekends for brunch - the place is packed and can get extremely loud. But if you're brave enough to trek over to Chinatown and looking for an authentic dim sum experience, this is where you want to be. Food is carted around by older Chinese ladies and you basically order what you want. They don't really speak English so if you aren't brave enough to just look and order either come with someone who is Chinese or someone who is really familiar with what to order. Most of the time everything is very good but it's hit or miss depending on the day. My favorites are shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, beef meatballs, shrimp rice cakes, and my absolute favorite is the tofu pudding for dessert.
(3)
Joe T.
Standard food and the service is really bad. I was serves beef spare ribs that were un-chewable and they refused to refund after i could not eat it. Gave them a chance again just to sit down 10min before some one came who ha trouble understanding what I wa ordering. Eventually he took the order and 20min later i asked where my order was. A lady said she did. not know!!!! I then took off. There way better places
(1)
Corey L.
This place is HUGE! Got there on a Sunday, didn't have to wait b/c they have 3000 tables. We were seated way in the back and I was nervous that we'd be left out. However, within a few minutes, we were surrounded by carts - like we were chum and they were shark-carts. My main complaint is that I think it's impossible to not order WAY too much food. The food was good and it was a cool experience to boot.
(4)
Brian L.
Like in my earlier review, this place is good. As always, packed (if there is one thing to know - when going to Chinese places, the more crowded, the better - that means fresh!).
(4)
Debby L.
OK fine, the Chinese food in Boston is not the Chinese food in San Fran or Monterey Park. But really... We were seated really fast despite the insane amounts of people outside. Their system was really efficient with the number calling and two floors of seating for patrons. Tons of students from the conventions flocked here as this was the recommended place to eat. We got shu mai, ha gao, Chinese broccoli, dumplings, and fried shrimp. The Chinese broccoli was the best dish, and that isn't saying much. The fried shrimp was ok, but the batter was really thick and there was barely any shrimp inside. Everything else was dry. I washed everything down with hot tea, and we got out of there. The bill was quite expensive for dim sum, and I spent double what I normally pay for half of what I normally eat. Lesson learned: when in Boston, eat Bostonian food. And it does not consist of Chinese food. So unimpressed.
(2)
Erika T.
The place is big, with 2 floors of dining - main floor and basement. There were a nice mix of large and smaller tables so you don't have that awkwardness of sharing a table with strangers, which I really liked. The dim sum was better than most. Good proportions and kept warm. My only complaint here is that there were so many tourists on the Sunday I was there. There was a table constantly taking pictures, not just of the food on their own table, but also of what was in the carts. Another table kept asking that each dish be identified of its contents. This made all the carts slow to get to the rest of the other tables, which was really annoying. So if you're looking for decent dim sum and have patience, then this is a place to try.
(4)
M T.
Dim sum is cold and not fresh. Will never come back again.
(1)
Vivian H.
They have a different selection than I'm used to, and it was kinda limited. Still got the usual shu mai, har gaw, and turnip cake, but we got to order clams in black bean sauce, calamari, and even the rice noodle-wrapped you tiao. They didn't have eggplant, which is my all-time favorite, or the fried taro thing so wtf. Everything we ordered was very good though. The meal was pricier than I'm used to for Chinatown at $40 for 3 people (and one didn't eat much since we couldn't find many vegetarian options). Next time, I want to try the dessert that comes out of the big watermelon (it's like tapioca with watermelon balls)!
(3)
Sandra C.
I'm a shameful Chinese person who cannot order in Chinese at all! But service is SO MUCH better if the servers UNDERSTAND you! So I always go with someone who can speak... The dim sum here is the same as all the other dim sum places in Chinatown (Emperor's Garden, China Pearl)...pretty standard. I came on a good day, where lines weren't too long, and carts weren't too busy. I could name several times when my family would come Sundays and the place would be PACKED with people. The waits can go pretty long too, so be wary.
(3)
Minah L.
DIM SUM was so freaking delicious. i was in a group of 7 people total and i have to say we ordered quite a lot. but even still everyone paid about ten bucks. i say that's a pretty good deal. their shumai and har gow and those dumpling looking things were pretty big. very fulfilling with just a couple. it was super crowded on a saturday early afternoon but i think it was definitely worth waiting for tables. :)) i wish i was back in boston just for dim sum here. a lot of their plates contained shrimp in it so one of my friends couldn't really eat much. but she was still able to enjoy this place with other things. im not sure if dim sum in general is just really shrimp based or this restaurant specifically. but either way.. if you want good dim sum. come to this place!!
(4)
Marissa P.
Classic dim sum experience: carts overflowing with tasty treats pushed around a huge, open space filled with round tables and happy, Chinese faces. I've only been here twice, but everything I tried was good. I especially like their shumai and their flat, wide noodle (not sure what the dish is called). My second time dining here, I took my boyfriend and his family. His grandparents were born in China. They are hard critics and they loved it! So, it must be good! Best part: you always leave with a full, satisfied tummy at a very reasonable price!
(4)
Madeline N.
Ok, here's the gist. Dim sum makes me happy. Specifically dim sum with carts. And with space for all my friends. Hei La Moon fits the bill! It is enormous and you'll probably be shunted to the downstairs floor if you arrive. Hardly any wait even when I roll in with 10 people. The carts make their rounds quite quickly and while there aren't all of the specialties, you're going to hit any cravings you might have. Short walk from the T. They validate parking if you park in the adjacent parking structure. Near Chinatown and grocery shopping if you're trying to be efficient.
(4)
Susan A.
Came here for dim sum this time instead of dinner. Traditional food done ok, food is solid. The shrimp quality though, wasn't that great... definitely not my expectations for Boston shrimp. Chicago, perhaps, but Boston, definitely no-no. Bumps it to a 3-star. Good selection, decent prices. The cart ladies though, remind me of dudes at a bar. Either waaaay too aggressive in-your-face, please can't you see i'm busy eating aka stuffing my face... to ones whose eye you try to catch but too antsy/antisocial to want to come up to you and you gotta REALLY flag 'em down!
(3)
Winnie T.
Want your dimsum fix? Come here. The dimsum isn't great, but this is probably among the best you'll be able to find in Boston (pathetic, I know). Go early, because it tends to fill up quick during noontime. This is a favorite among Boston locals along with China Pearl. Personally, I like this place better because it's bigger and the dimsum is more fresh since the chefs keep making it. Warm dimsum is never good; I want it scalding hot just so I know it hasn't been sitting on the cart. Oh, and another thing: don't get shafted and get seated downstairs if you're willing to wait a little longer for the tables upstairs. I've noticed that there are way more carts in circulation upstairs than downstairs.
(3)
Ferdinand H.
Solid four stars. Maybe with a plus. I recall that the first time that i went to Boston Dimsum, I was sorely disappointed. I guess I'd been hoping for an NYC level experience... perhaps not Toronto/HK, but maybe NYC, given all the HKers and southern chinese in the area. That first time, I wasn't very impressed, nor the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th nth... My friend took me here recently, and it was much improved from my memories. I ate until bursting... and still managed to stuff in egg tarts and sweet tofu. It's pretty authentic, with constant motion; quick tongued managers barking orders with occasionally withering glances (and quick smiles when needed...!). I felt like I was back in a southern chinese cultural stronghold. Ah... home... :) In general, I think that this place's dimsum is about right in terms of sodium, oil, amount of steaming. I've had better, but mostly out of the country. Cheers for Boston!
(4)
Michelle J.
I've eaten here and at China Pearl. It was a 11AM and the place was packed. Thankfully the group I was with either made reservations and got there early. The host at the front informed me my group was downstairs but when I got downstairs there was no staff that was available let you know where your group was. Luckily my friend had an excellent view from the stairs to wave at me when she saw people. The food was good and plenty. However they don't have the lazy susan round spinning things so often to get something across a 10 person table you have to constantly ask people to pass things to you. Food was great and plenty. As with most dim sum you'd eat. Sticky rice, dumplings and buns all delicious. There was a wall of folks waiting when we left so if you don't get there early I think you'll expect to wait a while for a table. Good luck during dinner time if you're not an early eater.
(3)
Ziyan C.
Can't say much for dim sum in Boston in general, but this place is probably the best that this city has to offer. The food is this best quality I've had in Chinatown (i.e. not overly oily, decent selection) and the restaurant has the nicest atmosphere (not crowded, more open, doesn't feel cheap). It also comes at pretty much the same price as any other dim sum place in Chinatown.
(3)
Eric F.
My other go-to dim sum spot in Boston, Hei La Moon has yet to disappoint. With two large floors, the wait here is virtually nonexistent even during peak weekend hours. The interior is easily the most upscale of the dim sum restaurants in Chinatown and is more or less on par with some of the better spots I've been to back in California. All the dishes are well done with particularly good custard-filled Pineapple buns, Malay Steamed Sponge Cake, and steamed tripe. To put some perspective on this, I've tried numerous places in the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, Vancouver, and Toronto, and the food here definitely still manages to hold its own.
I want to give this 3.5 stars, but one can't. Alas I had two very different experiences here. The first time I went here I had dinner. I brought a friend, and the place was empty. Completely. Empty. This doesn't usually bother me, except for the fact that the restaurant is ginormous and has tables as far as the eye can see. We were promptly seated, given a pot of hot tea, some water, and we ordered. To start off with we had the scallion pancakes and fried crab claw. Both were fine, nothing special. I ordered the sweet and sour fish, while my friend ordered pan fried calamari. Mine was bathing in sweet and sour sauce and was a bit on the greasy side. It was good, but a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they had cooked my friends calamari. It was juicy and lightly seasoned with some steamed vegetables on the side. Overall, the dining experience was standard take out fare. Dim-sum for Sunday brunch, on the other hand, was a full 180. The restaurant was packed, with a group of people waiting at the door to be seated. We walked in, luckily, with a party of 10 and were promptly seated, as no one else had taken up one of the massive tables. Dim-sum madness ensued. My friends kept taking things off carts, to the point where I no longer knew what I was putting in my mouth. Oh well, as long as it tasted good. And it all did. Everything I ate, which was a lot, tasted amazing. Stand-outs were the turnip cake, pork bbq buns, and breaded garlic prawns -- amazing. Every dumpling was perfectly squishy and juicy! The only disappointment was the sticky rice rolled in banana leaves with beef. A bit bland. As far as the actualy restaurant goes, it's tacky asian fare. Giant golden dragons decorate the ceilings and waiters wear ridiculous red satin vests. It's pretty dirty, not gonna lie, but hey it's about as authentic as a dim-sum experience as you'll geat. The nitty gritty. All in all, hit up the dim-sum, but skip dinner.
(3)
Patrick L.
This is where I go for Dim Sum in Boston. Can get v busy during weekends and around holidays. Lots to choose from and reasonable price. I like the carts, makes the experience a bit more interesting. Park upstairs and get it validated to pay a reduced rate. Nice that you can choose the type of tea you want! If you dont tell them then they give you Jasmine Tea. Enjoy!
(5)
Chu H.
I will not support a restaurant that mistreats their workers.
(1)
EricaLynn J.
---------- | : O : ~~|~~ : *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* | : : used: : : : : : : U R G H : : : M B S N : ---------------- ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* H __ __ __ __ M __ __ N like the simple game of letters and guesses and stick figures that you played during rainy days at sum
(3)
Leslie N.
Traveling to east coast from California. Chinese restaurants are not comparable to LA or SF. The dim sum are not fresh at all. Ha gao without a shrimp, carrot cake taste yuck, bun is cold inside. Only the congee, Cheung fun and tea are on standard, definitely not good. Service is soso. I do not recommend this restaurant
(1)
Sally B.
This Polish-French girl loves her dim sum, so believe me when I say Hei La Moon is worth visiting. My family and I go out to dim sum a few times a year, and this has been our only destination for this meal in the past three years. My sister can get the pork buns she's crazy about, my mom gets as much tea as she wants, my dad never leaves hungry, and I am always satisfied with the wide variety of veggie options available. The last time I came here, it was with two vegetarian friends, and we ate well and left an hour later, completely full and out only $10 each. That being said, you have to know a bit about dim sum to feel successful here. Say what you want, ask everyone (nicely) until you get it, and stay on the lookout for new and exciting food going by on carts. My absolute favorite dish is the fried dough wrapped in noodles with herbs on top, with silken tofu coming in a close second. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in Boston. If you see it coming past you, grab it. You'll be glad you did. The only downside to dim sum: you don't know what your meal is going to cost until it's over. But if you enjoy it, as I think you will here, it's always worth it.
(5)
E J.
Simply put you will love your meal at Hei La Moon. Roving steam carts piled with miniature bamboo steam baskets contain a wide variety of dim sum. Take as much as you want. Experiment. It's all wonderfully fresh, delicious, accessible to the Western palate, and surprisingly inexpensive! Despite reviews here to the contrary, the servers are NOT rude. They simply do not speak English well. That said, each server genuinely tried their best to explain what was contained in each dumpling. Wife and I tried many selections, all were wonderful, and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't finish our selections. All for 25 bucks. Go here. Don't think anymore. Just go. Your stomach will thank you later.
(5)
Nancy W.
I went here for dimsum on a Sunday afternoon, and we were lucky to be seated right away! The food here is pretty standard -- nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. They're pretty good about trying to get you what you want, but at the same time, their choices are limited. I wish they were offering 'cha shao su" (the bbq pork pastry), but we were still satisfied with our 98237 other dishes. We ordered 18 plates among 6 of us, and it came out to around $12 each. Not bad!
(4)
Heather B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I was brought here with a couple Asian friends and some other dim sum enablers. Seating takes less than 10 minutes, even though the crowd outside would suggest you'd be standing around all day. Once you're seated though, it makes sense. This is rapid fire. Thank god I was accompanied by people who know what they're doing! I couldn't tell you what I ate, but it tasted good. We were all stuffed in no time, and the bill came out to less than 10 bucks per person. This was a cheap fun adventure!
(4)
Kim P.
I've been here for both their Dim Sum menu and their normal food menu. I've been a fan of their normal menu, and found the food to be really good, but a tad bit expensive for the average college student. Granted, I went there with my parents at the time, haha :-p Sometimes it helps to go with bigger groups so you can split the costs and dishes. Their Dim Sum is really quick, but the location is kind of small and gets pretty crowded. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, seeing that populated places mean this place must have something good going. The cart rotation is generally quick, and they have an okay range of dim sum from the exotic to the basics. I was a little bit disappointed with the amount of seafood Dim Sum they had to offer though, but then again I'm just a fan of the seafood in general. Overall, it's fairly clean and their Dim Sum gets the job done in the end, so you'll leave with a full stomach.
(4)
Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is among my first choices for dim sum in Boston. You can tell when a dim sum restaurant is good if there is a large crowd and a waiting line. Hei La Moon definitely got those qualities. The har gow and siu mei are very good. The fried shrimp with taro shell is also super good. I've noticed the same stuffing in the siu mei is also in other dishes. Eating the same stuff gets old so that's why I took away one star.
(4)
May N.
I am no dim sum connoisseur, but I like food and I like cheap. Which may be why I don't usually do dim sum. But when an old friend called and invited me out for dim sum for Lunar New Year, how could I resist? We made reservations for 2 large tables at 12:30 Sunday and then invited a bunch of friends. I got there 15 min late, partially because I didn't realize the restaurant was located at the complete opposite end of Chinatown from the Chinatown T stop. Our group was already seated at 2 large tables, even though we weren't all present. Ladies speaking mostly Cantonese wandered around with carts of delicious-smelling goodies. As soon as our entire party arrived, we quickly started stopping carts for food, trying the pork buns, bean buns, many different iterations of pork/beef/shrimp wantons, taro, chicken feet, pork ribs, vegetables in oyster sauce, and custards for dessert. I thought the food was good and the ladies speak enough English to tell you what the food is. I was a little disappointed about lack of vegetarian options, but that could also be because we came in the middle/late part of usual dim sum time. The bill for our group of 15 came out to $10/person including tax & tip. We hung out for almost an hour after we paid the bill just drinking tea and catching up while the staff was cleaning up and did not get kicked out. I would come back, maybe earlier to try more stuff as available. Oh and they validate parking in a garage above the restaurant.
(4)
Kevin S.
Hands down the best dim sum in Boston Chinatown. It gets extremely crowded (and loud) during the weekends, but you can always try getting a table downstairs which is usually a bit more quiet. If you sit upstairs, try to avoid the back of the restaurant, as the carts do not go there as frequently. Variety of dim sum can't be beat, and is much more affordable than comparable restaurants like China Pearl. My family has been coming here for dim sum for years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
(4)
Lauretta L.
4 people Dim Sum was $54 inc. tax which was pretty decent. The food was okay...I'm used to pretty damn good dim sum so I'm picky. The Hai Gao and Shrimp and Chive dumplings are alright, although I've had better. The fried calamari and shrimp were over fried but I still enjoyed it since...almost anything fried tastes good. Not that impressed, but again, I have yet to compare it to other dim sum joints in Boston. Service is typical Chinese restaurant service...impatient and sometimes rude....unless of course you're Caucasian...then they dote on ya. Yeah, I said it.
(3)
Snuffles B.
This place is like Dim Sum with Attention Deficit Disorder. - The ladies who push carts do not go in any distinguishable pattern (the place is big, but not THAT big) - Every time one of the carts came by, there was someone different pushing it. - At any given time half the carts are parked outside the kitchen (full) and the ladies are milling around it. - Some of the carts just pick a random location to park, they should Twitter where they are for you to locate them. - The same cart of food would come by 5 times in 15 minutes and some carts would never come around. The food was decent, but not the best or the freshest, this was during prime hours on two different Sat. Steamed and pan fried dumplings and shumai had good skins and were decently flavored and generously filled (get anything with green veggies stuffed in) Fried items were room temp, sogging a little and heavy. Turnip cakes were average. What they excel in is glutinous rice: pumpkin flavored pancakes, fried sesame balls, and the best thing we had: coconut/peanut and mango/coconut glutenous rice balls - some of the best ones I've had. Price for about 8 medium/large plates - pre tip: $30. If I wasn't so persistent about chasing the carts around, I would have starved. Actually I probably net negative calories from all the chasing, so maybe this was a good idea.
(3)
Celeste M.
This place is huge, there are lots of seats and lots of carts. It is pretty overwhelming for someone not accustomed to dim sum. You kinda have to know what you want by sight, which of course is difficult the first time as you have never seen it. The first time I came to dim sum here, I was turned off by the food we had because it all seemed slimy and greasy. But the second time, I just stuck to drier fare, like buns, instead of various slippery objects. The watercress we got was good, as were the sesame buns and pork buns. We had some strange scary thing they said was vegetarian but just tasted like solidified pork fat. Maybe I just don't like this much "adventure" in my eating, but I like to know what I'm going to eat. So yeah, go with an experienced person or maybe a place that is more clear about what the food is.
(2)
Allen Y.
I think this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. It's large (two stories, banquet-hall style) and the food is about as good dim sum as you'll find on the east coast. Prices are reasonable, service is fine, and the carts come around quickly. Plus, it's easy to get to on the T (just a few blocks away from South Station, before the arch).
(4)
Lyn L.
No speak Chinese (even tho' I'm Chinese).....The sign for the restaurant is in Chinese characters...so you gotta go close up to see the English version of the sign...good thing the guy at the Chinese gift shop gave us a good explanation of where this place is The dim sum was very good...especially the black bean spare ribs and chicken feet!...We also had the siu mai, harm siu gok and spring rolls. At first I thought we were gonna get passed over....the lady at the front asked if we wanted to "share table"...figured that's faster, we agreed.....they sat us with other folks who spoke only Chinese...but our waiter was kind enough to help us get the food we want. I can say the name of food items, but can't speak Chinese...we got everything we wanted. They were really nice and the food was good...
(5)
Elizabeth D.
I was already to give them 3 stars... and then the House Special Pan Fried Noodles arrived and they instantly got another star. Topped with chicken, beef, shrimp, and Chinese broccoli, this is surely a dish to please. My father, who I often picky, really raved about this one. I wouldn't ever come here for dim sum alone because I don't believe they have enough variety in their selection, but with the pan fried noodles, it was a good meal. The service is not very good or particularly friendly, but then again it usually isn't at dim sum restaurants. Our favorite dim sum dish was the silken tofu topped with syrup. It reminded my mother of her childhood in the Philippines when a Chinese man living in her town would go around selling it. In the Philippines it's called "taho." It was delicious and very touching for me to try something my mother remembered from her childhood. Looks like I'll be back the next time my parents pop in for the weekend.
(4)
J T.
This place has the BEST dim sum in Boston! As a vegetarian, it's hard for me to find anything to eat when I go out with friends for dim sum. This place actually has quite a few to choose from. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not overwhelmed with veggie options. However, I do leave feeling stuffed.) If you're a fan of durian, they have a durian fried dessert that's pretty good! Also, if you don't find what you like, you can always order off of the regular menu. I usually order a veggie fried rice or a veggie fried noodle dish (in addition to eating whatever veggie foods come by on the carts). This place is cheap. Every time we go out with friends, each person pays no more than $10 - including tips! (We don't leave until everyone is stuffed!)
(5)
Momo K.
this place used to be okay but has gotten worst now. Maybe that's why there are less patrons than before. You used to have to wait in line for half an hour b4 you get a table but now you walk in and get it right away. It's getting expensive too, 25 pp and we didn't eat that much. ppl i know and from my experience the waiters here ask you for more tips. their shrimp dumplings is full of baking powder taste, beef rice noodle was the same. their beef short ribs tasted bland. the only thing that was passable was the lotus bun. i will stop coming here if i don't go dim sum in a large group since the quality has really declined.
(3)
C. C.
Best dim sum in Boston. (I used to be a China Pearl regular but converted once I discovered Hei La Moon). Located just one block outside of Chinatown. Friendly waitresses who want to make sure you aren't hungry! Cheap validated parking (although that garage is pretty scary). Favorite dishes: -steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots -steamed shrimp dumplings with chives -fried shrimp dumplings with chives -fried beef spring rolls -steamed shu mai Minus one point for dirty bathrooms and the chaos in getting a table.
(4)
Bob P.
Went for Dim Sum with a party of 10. Walked out fat and happy for $120 bucks plus tip for everyone. Everyone including the kids loved it. If you want 5 star service stay in the suburbs. If you want to have great food at a great price then get sum dim sum at Hei La Moon. This is not just a meal it's a life experience.
(4)
stephen s.
COCKROACHES!!!!! i see other reviews here about the insect infestation at Hei La. we had a similar experience last week. a good sized roach was sitting right on top of a scallion dumpling that i was about to eat. i showed the offending dish to our waiter who was extremely apologetic,,,HOWEVER, the manager couldn't care less! our waiter insisted that we wait for the manager to see how the restaurant would handle the offense. the manager kept us waiting, never apologized, and then made a big show of offering to not charge us for the tea and to take 20% off the bill. his attitude really was more offensive than the roach! when i told him that i should report the restaurant to the health board he quickly comped the meal! my partner is chinese...but that had absolutely no impact on how the manager treated us! we will spend our $ somewhere else in the future.
(1)
Quang H.
Aight, here's the run down. I've only been to three dim sum places in Boston since the day I could hold chopsticks, and it has been China Pearl, Hei La Moon, and Chau Chow City. Hei La Moon's is really spacious, and the wait in line on a super busy day is not too bad compared to China Pearl, since they have both a larger first and second floor. In regards to their dishes, it's pretty good. Pretty typical of any normal dim sum places. The one thing that bugged me though was that the employees who dragged the carts sometimes went MIA for extended periods of times, not covering all the floor. It's just a minor set back, but there is a highlight to this place! I definitely would recommend getting the watermelon tapioca desert they have. It's watermelon pieces with little bits of tapioca, all submerged in coconut milk. Definitely a great way to end the meal. I definitely would recommend Hei La Moon to any tourist visiting Chinatown. Do note though, i think Hei La Moon is a tad pricier than China Pearl. We had a group of 4 today, and the bill came out to be about $60. Usually it'd be a lot less from my experience. But nevertheless, good eating.
(3)
Ashleigh P.
I just realized I never updated my review post-dim sum experience. I went here with some friends and my mom for dim sum after I got my "I-have-way-too-many-degrees-and-I'm-already-a-Âlawyer-and-need-another-degree" graduation from BU. First the good: They had an amazing selection and cart service, which is getting more and more difficult to find, not just in Boston, but in general. Everything we had was delicious, especially the clams in black bean sauce. The bad: Many of the wait staff who work the dim sum service don't speak English. Of course my Chinese friend who was at my graduation didn't join us for lunch due to other commitments! We had a hard time communicating "no pork" to the people who came by with the carts. Other than that, the dim sum was great. I'll come back...but only with my friends who speak Chinese.
(4)
Julie T.
Stay the Hei la away from here. This place is dirtier than your avg dim sum joint. if your an experienced dim sum eater; you won't like this place. the fare is average with the usual suspects (cheung fun, bao, shu mai,etc) not being very good at all. better off getting frozen at a grocery store. no white people...in this case they know better......
(1)
Roseanne C.
Was trying to make a noon bus at South Station, so we popped in here b/c it was the closest place in Chinatown to the bus terminal at 11:20am. It was pretty packed for mid-morning on a Thursday. Additionally, almost no pale face round eye - also a good sign to me for a dim-sum spot. No one spoke english except the woman at the counter in the front and one waiter who seated us. We just pointed and ate with the quickness; the servers were very nice and everything was very tasty - I'm not that picky when it comes to dim-sum, I just want everything hot and fresh, and everything here fit the bill. I don't really dig the chicken feet, but theirs looked really good - very big and meaty. My fave had to be the little pork bits with the rolled up rice noodles. And cheap! Ordered quite a few little plates and was stuffed, and the whole bill came out to just under $20. Def plan to come back the next time in Boston.
(4)
Kevin C.
So, so typical of Boston Chinatown restaurants, i.e. wildly mediocre. Kind of limited selection, the servers are pretty slow, and the food itself is greasy and pallid. Really not a great option, but it might just be one of the better dim sum places in town, so I'm reserving my two stars for Empire Garden, which was fucking terrible.
(3)
Bata D.
Good food with a wide range of dim sum dishes and carts that make frequent trips around the floor. Can also park upstairs for $6 for the day. Still not as good as dim sum in NY or CA, but probably amongst the best in Boston.
(4)
Leslie F.
A walk through Boston's not so awesome Chinatown with my cousin in-law led us to his favorite dim sum restaurant, Hei la Moon. Embarrassingly enough, I've never had dim sum before but was overwhelmed with tasty treats coming at me every which way. We ordered shrimp dumplings, pork and scallion dumplings, black bean sauced clams, steamed BBQ pork buns and cilantro rice noodles. Without question, the dumplings left the most significant food impression on my palate. The handmade noodles, which encased the scrumptious shrimp filling, were soft and chewy, making them terrific in texture. The shrimp was fresh and generously stuffed into the delicious noodle pockets. The pork and scallion dumplings were salty in only the most perfect way making them a perfect companion to the sweet heat of Sambal chili sauce. Patrick devoured the black bean drowned perfectly steamed clams but fortunately I was able to pop a couple of these suckers in my chops before they were gone. A huge restaurant with patrons flocking in and out every second, this place does one serious lunch hour business. Luckily, they have the space to pull it all off and the service to keep people coming back for a speedy and delicious lunch every time. Did I mention this Chinatown restaurant was incredibly clean and tastefully decorated?
(4)
Peter C.
This place is okay, came here with my parents to tour Boston after I moved here. The sticky rice in banana leaf was a bit bland, missing the flavor of Chinese sausage, and the Phoenix claws did not have spicy peppers. Steamed BBQ pork buns were not piping hot. The peppered spare ribs were pretty good though. I just moved to Boston, having lived in New York for 12 years, and previously grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco where I ate dim sum every Sunday with my parents. I tried dim sum in all the major cities with Chinatowns, and my rating is calibrated to dim sum dining experience in Hong Kong and also the best dim sum restaurant in the SF Bay Area (vs. L.A. and NYC), Koi Palace in Daly City.
(2)
Irene Y.
Pretty authentic Chinese experience, but it doesn't quite compare to dim-sum in LA and Canada. It's tasty, but I've had better.
(3)
Blair H.
Things you should know about Hei La Moon, dim sum, and yum cha: 1) It's chaaaeeeep - Imma hungry dude, and I can pack it down plus order some for the late night munchies for $15, out the door 2) Them ish is good - I'm not fancy like some of these folk that know the names of everything, but I know good food. Stick to the steamed basics - pig dumps, some dim, and dum buns. The fried shtuff is alway nasty...everywhere. Also, stick to the carts, nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering fried rice...and having a big ass. 3) Order tea. Dim sum is traditionally served with tea. It's kind of the whole point. Hei La will hook you up with all kinds of tea (maybe even the "cold" kind...jeezus, don't order iced tea), free of charge. I like freebees. Nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering a coke for brunch...except, see above. 4) Bathrooms are always gross...I'm going to assume that the kitchen is juuuust as nasty. See above (stick to the carts). 5) Service always sucks. They can't speak your language, and we can't speak theirs. Just wave your arms around and point at stuff. Just don't point at a coke or fried rice...see above (big ass white dude). 6) Don't pay attention to the dead fish in the tank. They're just playin'. It's a survival tactic, you get eaten last.
(4)
Tanya S.
I've only been to this place for dim sum in Boston, but it's pretty tasty. They even handled us well when none of us spoke Chinese. Very attentive service, especially if you come not too late in the day. The pork buns are soooo good :)
(4)
Helen W.
Yummy dim sum!
(4)
Laura T.
Best dim sum in Boston. Fresh flavorful dumplings, and quick cart service. Easily accessible location right off the highway exit. If you come during the summer make sure to get the watermelon soup.. and try to avoid any fried specialties.. they tend to be dry.
(4)
R B.
Great dim sum at a great price! I went there for lunch on a Wednesday as was seated and served right away. The BBQ pork buns and shrimp har gau were my favorites-- I thought the glutinous rice was a tad overcooked. It helped that I was with a friend who spoke Cantonese. Way better than that massive dim sum place in the old opera theatre. Definitely recommend.
(5)
Lilo P.
Dim sum. The greatest thing ever! And this place does a pretty good job. The one and only thing I wish for every time is pai gwut fan (sp? [obviously the spelling is off...]) but it is just so scarce? I never come at the ideal time. Which leads to my next point. Sometimes when you come too late from morning batch and not late enough for the next batch of Dim Sum, they food quality goes down... Or has this only happened to me? Anyways, beef rice noodles, I love you! And their fa cha is very nice.
(4)
Hillary D.
When you see the 98% Chinese clientele elbowing each other out of the way to get at the food carts being rolled around, you know you are in the right place for dim sum! Although the carts come around slowly, it is sooooo worth the wait! Absolutely delicious. I ordered shrimp dumplings that were juicy and had lovely big chunks of shrimp in them. Also shrimp shui mei and two large chicken in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. I loved this dish! Baked within the sticky rice was chicken and a fried egg. An entire meal in one package. I know. I ordered way too much for one person, but it all tasted so good I couldn't resist! So I then picked out a dish of large shrimp stuffed mushrooms that when you bit into it you could taste a subtle hint of sherry coating the mushroom. I also stopped a cart for wonderful little green shrimp crescents, which I dipped into soy sauce mixed with sweet hot chili paste. Yum! And yes, I did weaken and stop just one more cart! This time for amazing Barbequed Pork Buns that were light as air and filled with a rich and slightly sweet Barbequed Pork. The dim sum at Hei La Moon were not dainty or inventive or even different. However, they had superb flavor. And that's all that counts. I am definitely making this my favorite dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)
Lily X.
Great dim sum place in Boston!! We came here on a Saturday morning by the red line train. This place is huge! They have spacious dining rooms on two stairs. The dim sum section is the downstair one. Three of us got chicken feet, sticky rice with chicken, shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice roll, taro buns, BBQ pork buns, chinese cruller, sweet soy milk, tofu with ginger sauce and finally watermelon tapioca as dessert. Every dish is simply fantastic!! I wish we had more people so we could try more dishes. The total came out to be $42 including the tips. Compared to the other dim sum places I have been to, the waitress are more friendly here (they are willing to speak mandarin with me)! Overall, highly recommend it!
(5)
Sara Z.
I made the mistake of going there for dinner, not dim sum. Bad idea! The winter melon soup was about as mediocre as it gets. The duck with mushrooms was not worth the price. Tasted like canned mushrooms and leftover duck (not to mention ridiculously salty). The calamari was bland. The billcame to $40 and I would not come back for dinner again.
(2)
Kendall L.
I was with 5 other people and the bill came to $65. It's incredibly cheap for the amount of food you get. That should be reason enough to run here every Saturday and Sunday! I'm not too hard to please when it comes to dim sum, so this place gets an easy A. Come hungry. Come often.
(5)
Mike M.
We had dinner at this place and it was supposed to be a great celebration. But the service was so slow it took 3 hours to complete. We placed the order at 6pm and there was no food until 7pm. And between each course we had to wait 10 minutes. Also there were two wrong dishes. Terrible service. Don't go here.
(1)
K S.
My favorite dim sum spot in boston. The service is ehhh but hey, its a cultural experience, (pretend youre in china), They conveniently have a parking lot above instead of fighting for street parking in chinatown. beats china pearl and chau chow!
(4)
Sarah A.
So delicious! The shark fin dumplings were my favorite! They also have a great selection of different steamed dumplings, some with vegetables, some with shrimp. For the most part, I had no idea what I was eating, but it sure was yummy. The atmosphere is very hectic. You've got a mass of people waiting to be seated at the front, the tables are a bit crowded together and then, of course, you have all the servers making their way around with their carts. Things move fast so, as others have said, don't expect pleasantries and detailed explanations of what is in each dish. Just point, get your card stamped and see if you like it. If not, pass it along to someone else at your table. Also, the prices are extremely reasonable. We came here with a group of five and ended up stuffing ourselves for about $60. Good food, good value, highly recommended. The only unpleasant experience we had was dealing with the crazy parking attendants in the garage above the restaurant. Note that you can get a parking coupon at the restaurant for $6 and then you can be reimbursed for your $24 "deposit" at the parking garage, essentially making the parking $6 (although you still need the $24 in cash to hand them while your car's there).
(4)
Saika C.
Most horrible customer service. Server wave me away when i approach to get dimsum. God, where is the manner! I speak Chinese. Cant just said please wait. Cold food!! Never in my life so mad. I m a Chinese. It is like a living style which we go dim-sum since my family came from Canton region. I will never recommend this place. There are many other choices. Chinese who knows about dim sum wont go to this place.
(1)
Priscilla T.
Good enough for me. Had most of the dim sum dishes I wanted: cheung fun (rice noodle rolls filled with beef), egg tarts, bean curd rolls, fried turnip cake... and also had sauteed pea shoots (my fave). Service is pretty helpful - definitely helps to speak Cantonese though. And get a reservation! The wait can be long.
(3)
Elen C.
Huge place...we were the only non Asian, which is usually a good sign if you are looking for authentic. We were starving, and the Dim Sum came quickly, and I thought they were quite good.
(4)
Angela Y.
The group I was traveling with went here for a dim sum lunch. It was pretty busy at lunch time but were seated very quickly after we arrived. One of the downsides is that most of the cart pushers do not speak any English (yes I know we are in a Chinese restaurant but basic words do help) which can be kinda of hard to communicate what specific items you are looking for. Food was good and authenic. The pork buns were our favorite and the pork meatballs and the chinese tamales(thats what my Asian husband calls them) were also very good. All in all for a cheap meal (fed 4 people for $35) it was pretty good.
(3)
Leean O.
Came here once and probably WOULD be back for dinner which according to the reviews on here doesn't seem to fare as bad as the early lunch experience I had. To summarize my experience in a nutshell, AND to point out I went with a very asian friend who served as my guide/consultant through our selections, ultimately we both left disillusioned with our dim sum fun. Food tasted like yesterdays left overs, poor texture, incorrect temperatures for certain options, and all around mediocrity at its finest. Again I do not like to give up on a joint, especially when I see promising reviews at later times of the day........ so I SHALL RETURN.
(2)
J. M.
Don't expect service or manners if you go here! First, the cashier always has a scowl on her face and really needs to know how having customers is actually a benefit to your business. After having dim sum, I noticed that there was a $1 charge on the bill. No biggie, but since it wasn't marked as to what it was for, I went up to the cashier and asked. She said it's for the tea, but when I informed her we didn't have tea, she changed her answer to water. What?!! Are you kidding me? I had a small dirty plastic cup of iced tap water, and that cost $1?? Me thinks not! Save your money and go elsewhere.
(1)
lisayelp c.
Have checked out almost all dim sum places in the greater Boston area, including the new ones like Windsor, Hei La Moon has been rated as one of my top in the past 4 years. I like inviting friends (~10 to 20 people) to go over there and enjoy the good dim sum brunch because the space is huge and food had been nice. However, I noticed that the quality has gone down in the past year, the chicken feet is not as tasty and the turnip cake is not as yummy. However, because of the $6 parking validation, we still like to go over there. Worst happened yesterday, and I decided I am not going to invite friends over there anymore. When we were there, service was slow, food cart didn't pass by fast enough to fill our table, and the dishes were not hot enough. When I asked for more tea leaves in the tea pot, the attitude was ok and he probably added 2 pieces of tea leaves in that pot. When we were leaving, we validated our parking ticket, and paid our $6. We took the ticket to the garage and they were to charge us $18, which means we ended up not getting any discount from dining at the restaurant. We went back to the restaurant and told the manager about it, she refused to help and refused to do anything about it. It was not a very friendly experience, and we decided we are not going there anymore. We certainly don't like to pay to eat and see other's attitude at the same time. Bad bad experience.. I am going back to China Pearl for big party and Windsor for small party.
(1)
Michelle T.
Having grown up in Hong Kong, this dim sum comes close to a few er...average restaurants in HK and above average compared to dim sum in Chicago's chinatown. This place is always busy (the 2 times i was there) and they seat you almost immediately! Love the trolley's that come by your table every 2 minutes, but hate that the same carts keep coming over and they always ask if you want the same stuff they asked if you wanted 10 minutes ago. :P Har gao - Shrimp dumplings are plump and stuffed with lump shrimp chunks. Hate the stuff filled with pork, but this stuff is gooood. Siu mai - are pretty large in size! Tasty, flavorful porky dumpling. Egg tarts - My bf can eat all 3 in the same meal. The crust is a little too doughy and thick for me though. Cold cucumbers - EW. I love Chinese cucumbers, but these suck. The cucumbers are bitter and the marinating sauce is tasteless. The only dish I didn't finish here. Chicken Feet - Could be steamed longer until the tendons fall off the bone, but still decent. The feet are skinnier, less meaty than what i'm used to in HK though. Shrimp rolls - They are fried, a little oily, but still flavorful. The minced shrimp they use it tasty, but I'm not a fan of the pieces of celery in there. Spring rolls - Average. Congee with shredded meat and century egg - love this stuff and can't get enough of it. :P Authentic. Yummy. I'd definitely come back again and even bring out of town guests from Asia, but skip that nasty cucumber. To stuff 2 people, ~$15/person is quite enough.
(4)
Cee C.
There is never a wait here. The seafood is fresh, and the prices are cheap. China Pearl's dimsum is soooo much better.
(3)
Lauren L.
This is my pick for dim-sum in Chinatown, over Chau Chow City (everything tasted a little cold and old here), China Pearl, and Emperor's Garden. There are lots of food carts rotating pretty quickly around so you rarely have to get up to flag one down. The food is always hot and fresh, and the prices are more than reasonable. Their standard dimsum dishes (shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, shumai, roast pork buns) are all good, but I think their more 'unique' dishes definitely take the cake here. If you see them, definitely try the fried eggplant stuffed with pork and get the dessert buns filled with custard (SO GOOD). If all these dimsum dishes are too heavy on the meats for you and you just want some simply prepared veggies, they can also cook up a plate of gai-lan (Chinese broccoli?) dressed with oyster sauce. Sodium overload AND dark leafy veggies that make you feel 'healthy' for less than $10 per person? Sign me up. I'm always down for a trip to Chinatown for Hei La Moon dimsum.
(4)
Jas L.
so i went here. i had a chicken foot. i was taken out of my comfort zone..... sounds successful for me. food is different (i cant say good beyond that it was good in my book.... no comparison though), and challenged me. They come around in carts and unleash this banquet of food on your table. i think i heard that this is a very older version of dim sum because it uses the carts. regardless everything is amazing and you just settle into this place of magical that is so different from the rest of the food you typically have. go on sundays. its slower around 12pm, but its still very busy. you wont wait its like three stories tall (i kid you not). this is on boston secrets list as dim sum goodness.
(5)
Sandra Y.
The dim sum staples like siu mai and har gow were really fresh tasting, while the less ordered things like sticky rice tasted stale. Overall the food was pretty good, not the best I've ever had but it definitely fills the spot. It was easy to make eye contact with the cart ladies and ask for the appropriate items, although they do run out of certain items pretty quickly (they didn't have char siu cheung when I was there) I recommend reserving a spot ahead of time so that you don't have to wait for a seat.
(4)
Theodore Y.
One of my favorite Dim Sum places in Boston. I either come here or China Pearl whenever I go dim sum with my parents or a large group of friends. 7/10 times i'll come here though. The food is great and some of my favorites here are the Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Noodles (called "jia leurng" in chinese), the pan friend Rice Noodles ("jeen cherng fun") and all the regular dumplings that are great. Compared to many other Chinese restaraunts, this establishment is noticeably cleaner. The only complaint I have of this place is that there are often not enough carts coming around (which is a bitch when you're hungry), though a waiter is willing to search for what you want. It just takes away from the experience and thrill of getting it off the cart.
(4)
Perry F.
One of my new fav places to have dim sum. The food comes out hot and steaming. The har gows are big and stuffed with shrimp. The chicken feet are plump, meaty (?) and flavorful. Try different types of steamed dumplings as they all have different fillings. The egg tarts have a flaky crust and custard-like egg filling. One of the best I've ever had! They even have a lower level that they open on the weekends to catch the overflow once the main level is full.
(4)
Elisa T.
Stumbled upon this place one day when I was walking by during lunch. I had a hunch it must be good because it was packed with Chinese people for lunch on a weekday, and all the dumplings and dim sum goodness looked so yummy from the window. I've been going there at least once every other week for dim sum lunch and went there on the weekend for the first time today. It is awesome! Fresh food, big variety, relatively good service (only got attitude from 1 cart lady, but it adds authentic character to the experience), and it's relatively clean. Definitely a go-to spot for dim sum!
(5)
E K.
I'm giving it four stars because everything is great, except the chicken feet. Nevertheless, I would come back again. A very authentic Hong Kong timsum feel with the pushcarts and people speaking Cantonese. A little pricier than the other dimsum joints, but the food was very good (except the chicken feet).
(4)
Mark D.
So the concierge at the hotel gave me a list of dim sum restaurants which included the likes of China Pearl. But knowing that cops always know the best eats in their beat, I asked him where the best dim sum in Chinatown was...and he told us to go to Hei La Moon. And it was perfect. It's your classic chaos inside with carts racing around, food always being thrown on the table and for Chinese New Years, lions dancing inside. The food was awesome...and the bathrooms were surprisingly clean!
(4)
Julia R.
delicious dim sum. seated immediately. pork buns were great. otherwise nice but average dim sum dishes.
(4)
Tyler C.
Probably the top amongst the 3 big places for dim sum in Boston. Prob a touch less tasty than, say, Millbrae, CA or Alhambra, CA, or Flushing, Queens, but that would be an unfair comparison based on per capita Cantonese population around these parts. Still, well prepared dishes. China Pearl and Chau Chau City have really taken a dive lately so unfortunately this is the only game in town. As with all humoungous dim sum palaces, be prepared to fight for a table. Fortunately, the lady with the bull horn at the front means business and gets people in and out. (note to all you overcrowded brunch places - get a good bull horn...)
(4)
Ben M.
The carts of steamed dim sum are really great. They have buns, dumplings, desserts. I just went here for dinner and the pan fried shrimp with shell on it was very tasty, with a nice sweet sauce. My friend's squid dish had good broccoli and a flavorful gravy. The tea is nice but has the leaves on the bottom, which you should be careful about.
(4)
Dennis L.
This Dim Sum restaurant across the street from the Chinatown Gate, I have been to a number of times since it opened for different occasions, ranging from business meetings, to wedding receptions, to elaborate family association dinners, to simple dim sum with the family. This review, I am focusing on the dinner faire, which I had at a business meeting aftermath yesterday night. I have always found the food to be middling, and my dinner yesterday night was not much different from other faire I have had here. I have yet to be blown away, but in comparison, the quality seems to be lightyears above the place I despise the most *cough*Emperor's Garden*cough* and a small step above China Pearl, but unfortunately, when I think high quality Chinese cuisine, the cha laos in Boston still has a ways to go. We ordered one of the set meals, which cost about $200 after tip to feed 9. The first course was a mixed seafood soup with crab meat and egg being the most defined flavors. It seemed more flavored by salt than by the seafood stock and extremely heavy on thickeners. It was passable, but not particularly good. Next was a bird's nest filled with mixed seafood. The bird's nest was cold and thus did not break apart easily, making interaction a bit difficult. The seafood within it is of reasonable size, using moderate-sized scallops and plenty of cuts of fish, not being overly laced with vegetables as filler. You can not go wrong with ginger and scallion tossed lobster, since it is such a simple and basic dish... but after seeing it so many times, it does not seem any different. I wish a Chinese restaurant out there would learn to blanch lobster, extract the meat, and slow simmer it to make it more tender, but that is but a dream... The beef short-ribs with black beans are served on a hot plate with onions and green peppers. The cuts of the short-ribs were varying in quality, some being very high in fat and seemingly untrimmed ends, others fine. There was a celery-like green Chinese vegetable that I forget the name of, served in broth, but I avoided because after experience with it in the past, the strands within are like celery in terms of getting caught in my teeth. The salt and pepper shrimp used whole live shrimp, so a bit more work is needed relatively, but the preparation method preserves the internal juices. This was fairly well-executed with the salt not overwhelming, which is a tendency I've seen with such. The steamed fish of the day was butchered very well and seemingly the highlight dish in terms of preparation, the bones parted without being broken, steamed with soy sauce and topped with scallions. The Haianese chicken was served somewhat tepid, though for me, that is better than cold, but I wish it were hot. However, it was butchered very well, the amount of work needed with my mouth to extract bones minimal for every piece, though about half the chicken was very light on meat compared to others. The admixed fried rice had ham, bean sprouts, beef, peas, and shrimp. Nothing unusual, except to note that the fried rice is seemingly not sauced and just lightly salted, which I personally prefer. It was not too dry, nor too sticky. For dessert, we had a chilled dessert soup of tapioca pearls and sweet potato. In terms of flavor and thickness, it was wonderful and light, the sweetness not overwhelming, but in terms of texture, a lot of the tapioca pearls were stuck together in large globs, meaning it was not stirred enough to keep it from sticking or the tapioca was left out too long to dry. Overall, Hei La Moon is a safe bet. It can cater to a large array of tastes, but it seems like a place to take the family rather than a date. If you are versed in Asian dishes, you will find nothing innovative here, but the standards executed fairly well. In comparison to the other dim sum/function hall restaurants in Chinatown, I'd say it is the best, but not by much. There is room for someone to craft a wonderful Chinese dining experience rather than a large room for dinner. The group meals offered here is good for when you want to focus on gathering with your family rather than spending time arguing over what to order. Just learn the even Chinese numbers, walk in, peer at the Chinese menu, point at the number of people you want, and get back to conversation. Let the restaurant take care of the rest.
(3)
Liezl P.
This place is huge and has a great selection of dimsum! I happily nibbled on braised chicken feet, lotus wrapped sticky rice, hargao, etc. on a recent visit. I just wish we had a place like this in DC.
(4)
Kit Y.
I am having difficulties rating this place, while I truly appreciated the food and restaurant, I did not like the service too much. For a staving vegan, dim sum usually sucks balls, but Hei La moon has lots of stuff, like the green veggie cart, and fat scallion rice noodles in sweet soy sauce, and some kind of mushroom roll in tofu skin- all good shit. The place was definitely not as crowded as most dim sum joints are at 11am on the weekends so that's a plus too, BUT- beware they will take advantage of you if you are not chinese!!! We went with friends non chinese and chinese and I was the only one who spoke chinese, so before I got there to save them, the dim sum cart ladies had already harrassed them into taking a bunch of dishes that they didn't want. So as a tip, just say no! if you d not want the dim sum that they are trying to force on you. If you can do this, then the dim sum here is pretty good.
(3)
Marlarissa M.
Fun and delicious lunch experience. Go with someone that speaks Chinese or you better be patient and adventurous.
(4)
Garett N.
This has risen up the ranks as one of the best dim sum places in Chinatown... on par with maybe China Pearl. With two floors, it's relatively easy to get a table if you arrive at a good time for dim sum. There is never a problem getting a table for dinner. Overall, it's very fresh, typical service, and recommended!
(4)
Mayo B.
Dim Sum is really good here. BBQ pork buns are excellent as well as the chive and shrimp dumplings! Shumai was generously stuffed and very tasty. The Fried Taro Cake is great too! Definitely check this place out!
(4)
Kristine M.
Yum! So far it's probably the best place I've eaten dim sum at in Chinatown. It's a little more expensive. Everything is piping hot and yummy! AND when I asked for water, they brought it within minutes! Best siu mai I've had in a long time. Go with an empty stomach and eat eat eat.
(5)
Jackie C.
Pretty good dim sum. This is the go-to place for dim sum these days, I just wish the wait for a table isn't so crazy during the weekend. I've also come here for dinner and the food is done all right, not bad for the price. They have downgraded some of their ingredients for their dishes this past year, probably in response to inflation and what not. If you're looking for decent dim sum and don't mind hectic wait (if you're going on the weekend), I say give this place a try.
(3)
Ashley M.
Ok this is important .... Hei La Moon vs Emperor's Garden.... price and quality being the same.... this is what i think is the big difference. Hei La Moon 1. better atmosphere - no horrible pink tablecloths across too huge tables Emperor's Garden 1. bigger, so no HUGE wait
(4)
Aditi R.
My first time trying Dim Sum and the experience was really nice! We walked in during lunch right before the crowd started really coming in, so around 12pm. We were immediately seated at the big table (we had a group of 5) on the platform. So it made us feel all smug and stuff :) Anyway, I'm really glad I came with people who knew what they were doing because all the ladies with their carts running around was quite overwhelming, but I have to say pretty exciting to see as well. There was just so much life in the place! I really liked the atmosphere. So I can't exactly name all the dishes we had and we had about 10 or so. But I can name a few. Please note I do not eat pork or beef so I was very limited in my selection at this particular place's dim sum. 1. There was a pork dish with rice around it and it was wrapped in a leaf. The rice was great! 2. Another pork dish with large flat noodles. Once again the noodles were phenomenal! 3. Finally a dish I can eat! Chicken buns. The buns were slightly sweet and there really wasn't enough chicken meat in the bun. But the bun was very light and I did like that about it. 4. We decided to go a little crazy and order chicken feet! Sounds disgusting I know, but it was pretty good. That's also because I like the chewy tender parts and I don't mind bones in my meat - most people were quite put off by it. But I liked it! 5. Silken Tofu with Sweet syrup - really good! We ate this as a kind of dessert and I was very pleasantly surprised. The texture was somewhat wierd and took a little time to get used to, but it was really good! 6. My favorite though, were these sesame covered balls with red bean sweet filling in it. OMG, uh-mazing! Had it not been for etiquette, I would have certainly eaten a good portion of that dish :) There were 4-5 more dishes, but since I didn't really eat them (or couldn't) I do not remember and cannot review them. The service was good. The ladies with carts came frequently and with plenty of dishes on their plate. That could also be because were on one of the main tables and right next to the kitchen as well. I never interacted with the ladies, but they didn't really speak english well. But I believe that's fairly characteristic of good dim sum places. The best of all!! The bill was less than 50 bux! for 10 dishes. I was absolutely amazed and could not believe it. Loved the experience and wish I could have tried all the dishes. For that reason and that reason alone is the reason why I'm giving the place 3 stars.
(3)
Jongpol J.
for the first 10 times i've been coming here i thought the place was called "sailor moon" .. -_-'' i always come here for dim sum. they can get very busy during morning-lunch time so the cart are sometime slow to come by... to solve this problem.. just grab ur bill and go look for any cart with the dish u wants to eat =] i've never been dissapointed with this place yet .. when we ask for something.. even when they're xtremely busy .. they still get it for us .. which is pretty awesome for a busy chinese restaurant (other restaurant often forget to get something for u when u ask)..
(5)
Captain H.
I prefer this place over China Pearl for dim sum. But I won't claim to be a dim sum expert or anything, I just like it because it tastes good and it's cheap. It also has a sushi boat appeal to me, that is, I don't know what I want until I see it. There are bad things about this place - mainly that most of the waitresses don't speak English (but you can point to your food!), the food tends to be greasy, and I always feel like they stick us white kids at terrible tables and often together in the same section. (And they always try to pass off certain foods to our tables that they don't in the rest of the place, although I didn't want chicken feet anyway so I don't really mind. I just make them show me everything and take what I want.) Overall though there are a lot of choices and the carts have pretty high turn around so the food usually tastes pretty fresh. We usually stuff ourselves and get away with $12/person bill. That's tough to beat, especially since my boyfriend had a huge pit for a stomach. My favorite is the fried shrimp w/ taro, although I kind of prefer the ones that are more gooey inside. (They have those too, but just taro no shrimp.) I went here once with a guy who didn't eat shrimp or pork and another guy who didn't eat beef. That was a bad idea. I don't think I would take a vegetarian or another picky eater here either. But, if like, you'll eat anything than go for it.
(4)
Chin C.
I went there a couple of months ago. There is only one reason keep me from going back there, BAD SERVICES!! OK, I don't remember about the food, to be honest, but I don't go to restaurant to only eat, good services are expected too. The place is clean and bright with nice ambient, better than many Chinese restaurants here. Here is the thing, the server gave us a dim sum that we didn't order so we called the waiter and told him about that. He was furious and asked us to confirm that we didn't order it and we told him so. Guess what he asked us again did we want it, and we said no. HE THREW THAT PLATE TO THE BASKET IN FRONT OF US. OK that's enough. Good bye not even want to go back!! Do I have to give one star for this place?
(1)
el e.
Had dinner here. Place was totally clean (the seating area, at least), the waitstaff was attentive, quick and friendly, and the food was super delicious. We got the egg rolls, the beef and vegetables, and the eggplant with black bean sauce. oooh, i missed eggplant and black bean sauce, and how. it was so delicious. they give you heaping plates of food, just like any chinese restaurant should. while the prices aren't dirt cheap, the food is actually very good in my opinion, so it all works out. hope to go again soon.
(5)
Jen Jen W.
Thought the dim sum was just ok...we ordered mainly lobsters/crabs and some other duck/chicken dishes and they were pretty good! If you have a big group you need to make reservation in advance!
(4)
Lindley E.
Ate here pretty recently and was impressed. I've been eating dim sum since I was a kid -- when they still counted plates rather than stamped your check -- and I think I know what tastes good. I've had dim sum in Hong Kong, in Guangdzou, in San Francisco, New York, and LA. I live for the stuff. This place ranks up there. While Hei La Moon isn't groundbreaking, the quality is very good to excellent. I'd recommend going early in the morning to take advantage of fresh-from-the-steamer quality. Very good har gau here -- I polished off a steamer full during my visit. Prices are reasonable. You will leave very satisfied. Chicken sticky rice also delicious. Brought a little extra home and ate it cold -- was still amazing.
(5)
Karman L.
My friend had her wedding here this past weekend. It was great that setup for her wedding. She was able to get the whole restaurant. Food was good (wish I actually had time to eat them all). I've been here for dim sum too, it's decent, and reasonable price.
(3)
Shawn F.
My family always comes to Hei La Moon for our dim sum adventures in Boston. Good selection, as long as you don't arrive too late. White tablecloths and a general attention to cleanliness makes the place seem a cut above some other establishments. Recommended.
(5)
Karsten R.
I've been a China Pearl die hard. Ever since '00. And today, I must say, I am moving up in the world to Hei La Moon. A large clean cavernous place that is crowded on a weekday lunch will undoubtably spill out on the street on the weekend. Quickly seated, I shared a table (fastest way to get served). The table had a table cloth...nice touch. The Shu Mai, Hai Gao and other standards were fabulous. Lighter and fresher looking. They really looked homemade. Grease content seemed lower than other places. I tried a fried nest of some sort. I think it was white carrot with some shrimp base....delicious. I recommend this place for a good lunch for weekdays. Fairly loud so dont bring older hard of hearing folks. 4-5 dishes and walked out for $13. It's $2 over the mythical $11 at China Pearl, but very very worth it. Our office is right next to Chinatown, and I am embarking on a winter long odysee to try every eatery in Chinatown.
(5)
Bo F.
The main boss lady who does the bills is extremely rude and so are some of the waiters. She does not even acknowledge you when you bring the money to her. To her benefit, it's really busy and she's used to Chinese people being rude to her so she doesn't make any effort. In addition, I feel like the place has a sense of arrogance, because it's close to the only elevated parking lot in chinatown and they get a lot of customers, they feel like they don't need to be that polite. One time, one of the waiters came up to us and yelled at us for not tipping enough in front of everybody. After about 5 minutes of yelling, we gave him 2 more dollars and he said thank you and left us alone. Another time, I asked if we can be seated on the first floor so my elderly grandparents don't have to take the stairs. The hostess said in Chinese "please...I'm sure they can manage." After these experiences, I boycotted them for about a year but went back simply out of convenience (it's closest to south station-red line) and the food is rather good. I've been to this place at least 10 times now. Compared to Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, the food selection is slightly larger and tastes slightly better.
(2)
jazzy l.
We didn't come here for dim sum but came here for dinner. We got two chinese orders of (party for 4) dinner specials. Baked Lobster, Steam fish, chicken fried rice with salted fish, and some other dishes. It came to under $100 for 7 people.
(3)
Kevin T.
One of the best dim sum places I have ever been to...period. First, let me start with the food. I love the variety of dishes that they have and the food is always warm or hot when served, as they should be. Flavor is great and the price is more than decent. Second, although you'll probably run into a fatty line outside, don't worry, the turn around time is fairly quick. I have never waited for more than 15 minutes with a big group. Third, they have a nice decor which makes the food even more appetizing. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking into a restaurant in chinatown where they have ugly decorations and dirty tables/utensils. When you pay, one thing that you might notice is that they don't really "ring you up" at their cash register. They add up the total themselves...and you might wonder how the heck they calculated the tax. From what I've seen, they have a tax table on the back of their carbon paper pad, which gives them rough estimates. The reason for the minus star....well, they have a few tables on the main level where the floor is elevated; therefore, the dim sum carts aren't able to be pushed next to the unlucky customers sitting there. The customers must get up every time to walk to the carts...ANNOYING! Thankfully, this has never happened to me but I've seen people get up and down and I feel pretty bad for them.
(4)
Raymond W.
After sampling the dim sum at King Fung Garden and China Pearl, I opted to select Hei La Moon for a Sunday Brunch. Upon calling in for a table of 12 reservation, we were able to get a large round table downstairs that actually had at least 4 large tables. The crowd was lively and the restaurant was humming along with various carts flying by. Sometimes it was hard to flag down carts if you didn't have you game face on or if you are busy in conversation. Over the course of the meal, we got shrimp and pork dumplings, spring rolls, Chinese broccoli, pickled vegetables, sticky rice, pork buns, shrimp wrapped in white rolls, egg tarts, chive dumplings, and a few others that elude me at the moment. For the 11 of us, the total came out to $12 per person including tax and tip. It has been a long time since I've had Chian Pearl and King Fung Garden, but I think I would label Hei La Moon above King Fung and on Par with China Pearl (possibly slightly ahead). The biggest frustration was flagging down non cart pushing staff to get water, tea, and the check.
(4)
David K.
After many years of happy dim-summery at China Pearl, I was happy to find an even better alternative in Hei La Moon. The food was fresh and delicious, and they had some nice dishes that I hadn't seen at Pearl. The one thing they didn't have was enough of the turnip cakes going around, and also the other dumplings that are warmed up on a skillet before serving. Yes, I obviously don't know the names of all the dishes but I know what they're supposed to taste like and Hei La Moon does a fine job. This is an excellent choice for a weekday lunch or weekend gathering. Prices are very reasonable.
(4)
David K.
Dim Sum here is probably the best and tastiest you will find on the eastern side of Toronto. That said, there a few good spots in NY City and short of taking that short cut on your way to San Francisco for the Best Dim Sum I have had in the USA -- Hei La Moon does a wonderful job of crankiing out all of the favorites. Lots of great little meat wrapped wonders, steamed things (admitting that I pretty much stick to the steamed things and shy away from the fried foods). The service is pretty decent and they send out a lot of carts since the whole restaurant is pretty much filled with Dim Sum customers v/s those who order off a menu. You can of course do a little of each --but I have always just gone with the really fresh and hot dim sum items.
(4)
Alex L.
So I went here for dim sum after reading all the rave reviews aaaaand... it was ok. The food was mediocre, the workers and staff were stupid and rude, but I guess that's to be expected. What really makes this a 2 star review is them charging us $1 for tea even though we didn't want any. They tried to tell us it was a mandatory charge, but what kind of place does that? They bring over tea, we tell them we don't want it, yet we get charged for it anyways, it wasn't on our table for more than about 5 seconds. I was absolutely disgusted by that.
(2)
A D.
Sunday morning line was very long, then the waitress "forgot" us, but it really took one of our friends to go inside until they "remembered" they "skipped" us. So huge -- that cart service was sparse and limited. The same one came to us several times...and others stayed in an entirely different part of the restaurant. The food matched most dim sum places I have been too, but nothing great or worth such a long wait, limited choice, and poor service.
(2)
Lis L.
This is one of the few authentic Chinese restaurants that I've been to that has a lot of non-Chinese people waiting outside to eat. It's very crowded and there are usually people standing outside waiting for their numbers to be called. You can expect to wait up to half an hour, and no, you won't get to pick where you want to sit. Once you're in, the food carts come by fairly quickly and you'll be on your way to Dim Sum heaven. The quality of the food is good but not "OMG I just came in my mouth!" quality. There's parking atop the building for $6.00 dollars after validation at the restaurant. If you eat a lot, you can expect to spend about $20.00 dollars. For Boston, this is as good as it gets.
(5)
Jenny N.
I've had great dim sum as well as not-so-good dim sum here. Generally, the later you go, the worse it is (and I think this applies to all teahouses). So go early (despite the huge crowd) to get the best selection because un-fresh dim sum really isn't anything special. I do think that this place is better than China Pearl and Chau Chow City for dim sum, but their stir-fried noodles were definitely sub-par. Bonus: you can get your parking validated here if you parked in the garage above the restaurant.
(3)
Andrew K.
My girlfriend and I come here every week, so that should mean something. Just get here early like we do, especially on the weekends. Fridays are a great day to go too. Siu mai here is my favorite, and remains as a go-to-dumpling. We also get the char siu bao (her favorite, but she is haole and calls them "cashew ball"). We also order the har gao every time, and on occasion, the sticky rice. You can have your choice of tea (but you have to ask!) and they are excellent about bringing you a second pot as quickly as possible. Overall, the food is pretty good here, and the table-service is beyond excellent. My only knock on this place is that sometimes, following the busy hours, they've fallen behind on food items and it takes 10-15 minutes before freshness comes the kitchen doors. Get here early!
(4)
Kip J.
One of the better dim sum places I've been to in Boston. I always like when they have the old ladies pushing around the carts instead of having to order off the menu, and this place does not disappoint. A huge place, so good for large groups, but also fine for a couple or small group. Busy, but doesn't feel rushed, and always good for people watching. Food is superb and pretty large portions for dim sum. They do everything well from the standard shui mai to chicken's feet and tripe. My favorites this time were shrimp & pork shui mai and a slow roasted sliced pork over picked veggies. Waitresses were generally good and appreciative of any Cantonese I attempted. Overall, a very good value for the price - for 3 people walking out stuffed, we paid under $13 each (includes tip)!
(4)
Yue G.
This should be zero stars. Beware of the parking scam! They tell you that if you pay them $6 for parking validation, you can get your parking fee ($11) refunded from the garage, but don't be fooled! They will ask for the parking stub and then keep it to get the refund themselves. We argued with the unresponsive and offensive woman working the phone at Hei La Moon to no avail, only to find out from the guy at the parking garage that this sort of thing happens frequently. Clearly, they can't be trusted. I won't be giving them any more business and neither should you.
(1)
AB H.
Dim Sum is best with loads of people, and since this is some of my friends favorite dim sum place, I keep going back. It is good, but not fabulous. Like all dim sum, there are SO many choices, I;m sure I've only tasted a small portion of their food. I use a wheelchair, and there is one step to get in. I;ve never been into the bathroom to know where it is accessible or not.
(3)
Valerie S.
Hei La Moon was great. We went around 1:30 on a Sunday and it wasn't a problem to get a table for 3. The place is clean, the carts were quick to come up. I thought the food was really good. I normally go to Chau Chau city, but someone else recommended this place. Turnip Cake was good...and so were the pork buns.. and the shrimp/pork dumplings were cooked well.. not soggy. I think our bill came out to $20 for the 3 of us and we were pretty comfortable afterwards.
(4)
Julie T.
I came here with my friend who promised that this was an awesome place for dim sum. We came pretty late, about 1 or 2pm on a Sunday afternoon is considered pretty late for dim sum. Unfortunately for us, not very many options were left and we ate a couple dishes and I didn't want to say it, but I was not satisfied at all. Good food and will try again, but will make the smart choice to go at a better time.
(3)
George P.
Great place for SUPER FOOD!!! Inexpensive. Great selection of Dim Sum. Will definitely go back! Service is a bit sketchy and make sure you go no later then 90 minutes before the end of Dim Sum for that day as you will not get the best food or service. Been there twice now and look forward to going back.
(4)
Julia C.
best dim sum in boston that i've had thus far, both in quality and authenticity. i really like that i've never had to wait to be seated. it's really cheap, too! i can eat my fill and some more with my boyfriend and the bill would be well under $10-15 per person, and believe me, we love our dim sum! my favouritest dish is their fried chives and shrimp dumplings, they taste just like the ones i used to get in taipei when i was little.
(4)
Michael D.
Today I took my sister to Dim Sum, because she's never been before, and what else were we to do when all of our friends are out of town for Thanksgiving? So, we arrived at 9:30 and almost walked past it, because the sign wasn't well displayed, but we quickly realized our error and went back. Once inside, we were quickly seated in the bustling dining room. Soon, the first cart stopped at our table. Since I've been studying Mandarin a bit, I decided this was my chance to give it at try and quickly asked, "What is this? What's in that dumpling?" The cart lady gave no indication of having heard me and just asked in English if I wanted any. I said yes to the pork and shrimp dumplings and sent her on. I had the same experience with the next two carts, where we ordered some pork buns, and some items that looked like latkes with shrimp, but could possibly have been made with taro instead of potato. After that, I decided to give up trying to speak Mandarin. All the food was really good, so they get four stars (my personal favorite being the sweet pork buns; I think my sister liked the shrimp dumplings the best). However, if you're interested in a place to go to practice your Mandarin, I wouldn't recommend it. It's too loud to really concentrate on the conversation, and it's possible that they only speak Cantonese.
(4)
E.N. Z.
Currently this place is my favorite Dim Sum spot in Boston. They offer very decent traditional Cantonese Dim Sum. By far, much better quality than China Pearl and Chau Chau City. However, a few years ago, there was this basement place on Beach St. where it also houses the Chinatown Eatery at the second floor, this basement restaurant had the best unique Dim Sum. I don't know why they closed shop, business was booming for them. Just one day, I saw the sign for renovation and then never another shred of news... I am still looking for the chef from this mysterious restaurant...
(5)
Kai L.
Yes, I admit, I am a dim sum snob. I have to be after 20+ years of religiously eating dim sum. I recognize this is Boston, not Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, or Vancouver. Hei La Moon was a delightful discovery after I moved from California to Boston 3 years ago, and it has been my only choice for dim sum after I investigated all of the dim sum places in Chinatown. Judged from its appearance, it must be a "newcomer" compared to its more established neighbors. It may not be as well known as the older establishments like Chow Chow City, China Pearl, or Emperor's Garden, it certainly has the best dim sum in the area. Good dishes: pork rips, pork rip noodles, sesame balls, tofu dessert, Har Gaau (shrimp dumplings), most of the "dumplings" wrapped in rice skins (e.g. chive/pork, taro/pork) Good dishes, but not always: coeng fun (steam rice rolls with beef/shrimp stuffing) is good most of the times, but not always consistent. A couple of times that it noodles was a little bit too wet. Siu Mai (dried pork dumpling) tends to be too big compared to traditional siu mai, making it a little bit too much to eat. Overall, I think it is definitely a good place to eat at a reasonable price, in a convenient location, and a decent ambience. In order to fulfill the increasing huge demand, it has recently (probably has been about 9 months) opened up its basement level, which pretty much doubled its capacity. Nonetheless, the line was still there (which attests its food quality). Try to go before noon, otherwise, be patient or agrees to share a bigger table with other strangers if you want to skip the line.
(4)
Steve M.
I'm from San Francisco, too, but can't pretend to know good dim sum from Mr. Chau's, having only been to The City's greatest on elementary school trips. What I can say is that I went here a few weeks ago with a best friend, and we over-ordered from the appetizer cart, and couldn't identify most of the things we ate, but loved it all, didn't feel especially pressured by the waitresses despite being part of a very small minority of non-Chinese speakers on a Saturday around noon (and they had everything left that we would have wanted). And the bill, after all that: $21 for two! Sweet.
(4)
Lisa C.
Hei La Moon can be a pretty good venue for a wedding. It fit about forty tables comfortably and the platform was perfect for pictures. The dance floor seemed to be a perfect size- not too small but not too big. The food was good. They could have staffed a couple of extra servers. I was drooling watching the lobster go to every table except mine.
(4)
Mike M.
It seems odd, but pretty often I end up picking up people at South Station, and this is really convenient for a quick lunch. Come to think of it, I started volunteering to pick people up after we found this place! It's a lot of fun, especially for an out-of-towner, and the food is good and varied. Never too many repeats, always a new favorite.
(4)
Ron U.
Fast service. Cheap prices. Even when it's packed, they move people out pretty quickly. Had a party of four, and we stuffed ourselves for just a little over $30. Decent dim sum selection. Come with somebody who recognizes the spread and can make recommendations.
(3)
Hiroko S.
Over all, the dim sums were good and very cheap! However their are big reason why I give three stars. First they served us water with huge spider. I hope it is not on purpose. I was fine because I don't usually drink water at dim sum place! We need to have tea. I believe this is the way how Chinese people keep their good shape even though they have greasy dim sum Second they didn't have Xiaolongbao. Probably I have to find Shanghai style dim sum place. I am not sure about Chinese food local differeces. Oh by the way, I went here Sunday afternoon. I probably wait 10min, so it is not so bad. This place was huge.
(3)
King C.
Hei La Moon's is an excellent dim sum place. Two things make it stand out from the rest -- it's got an extensive dim sum selection. They also have amazing beef ribs during dim sum. They are flavorful and tender; I've never had anything like this anywhere else. We couldn't resist -- we had to get a second order.
(4)
Deb D.
Our experience was mixed. It was our first trip to Hei La Moon. parking was easy there is a garage on top of it. The dumplings we tried were good and the portions were large. Lacked variety but maybe because it was after 1 when we got there. Staff pretty unfriendly. Bathrooms not clean. Going to keep looking for a better overall experience.
(2)
H Y.
Probably the best Dim Sum place in Chinatown right now. I grew up eating this stuff in Boston since I was four so I have a lot of experience. Frankly it really isn't my favorite type of food but I miss it every so often. Good turnover from the carts and interesting variety of dishes. All the staples of Dim Sum are good. The noodle dishes (you have to order them) are large and tasty. It's where my mom and relatives go and they are picky so that's how you know it's good. We used to frequent China Pearl (we know the manager there so no waiting) but Hei La Moon has the edge in freshness and tastiness. Service during Dim Sum is always hit or miss, especially if you don't speak Chinese (you are in Chinatown after all). That's why I always bring my Mom along. If you are a small enough party then you can ask to share a larger table to avoid waiting for your own.
(4)
Alexis L.
My husband and I went for dim sum and while the food was not revelatory it was very hot, fresh, decently executed, affordable and on Tuesday, at midday, there was no wait. We didn't have any complaints about our dishes, which were chive-pork steamed dumplings leaf-wrapped steamed rice mochi (with coconut and roasted peanuts within)] sesame balls with bean paste pepper-ginger steamed tripe shumai Hei La Moon compares favorably to much of the dim sum we've had in New York City. Worth a visit.
(4)
Mai T.
I usually go to Grand Chau Chau's for dim sum. Like one of the other reviewers said, there's not much good dim sum in Boston area. Based on the reviews my family thought we would give this place a try since GCC is not really that good anymore. The first visit (May 2010) was not bad. Since it was just a party of two, we were not able to order much but the food was definitely better than GCC. The second visit which was a month later with a large group fared to be better. The shu mai and har gow were generous sizes and tasty to boot. There was enough variety and most of it was fairly decent. However on our last visit which was a week ago (May 2011) , the dim sum was disappointing. Even though the dim sum tasted OK, there was a lack of variety. And not just a lack of variety but a lack of food! For the first time, I left the restaurant hungry because there wasn't enough of what we normally ordered to satisfy our party. Now we have to find another dim sum place but there really isn't any more out there.
(3)
joe t.
i really enjoyed it!
(4)
Roni E.
Alright, so the first time I went to this place, I would say that they probably earned 4 stars, but this time, they lost a star for service and bathroom cleanliness. We went at 10:30 am this time around and were seated immediately. However, the food selection this past weekend was not quite there. They didn't have as many types of food as they did a few months ago. On top of that there were a few carts that had lingered on the OTHER side of the restaurant for the whole 2 hours we were there. At one point we ended up going to the cart to get the food, but she said she'd be over. At even then it took her another half an hour to get to us. She went to everyone else first before she came to us. But then after getting us that one dish, we had asked her for another that is on her cart. She then said okay, and WALKED AWAY WITH HER CART! WTF!!! 20 minutes later, some random lady brought us the dish. We said we had ordered that a long time ago, and she still put it on our table and put it on our dim sum card! Lady - we don't even want it anymore, we're done with our dim sum! The food is still good, don't get me wrong, but for service around here, it sux! You don't get the attention you should be getting. The bathroom is gross. There were 2 toilets that were clogged and not one restaurant personnel came to fix them. On a busy Sunday morning, and only 2 toilets in the rest room! Blehhhh! Does anyone know if the garage knows that this place is charging $6 to get your parking validated?! I'm not sure if they have a contract our not, but it is the most silly thing I have heard. I have to pay $6 here to get my $10 back. Why don't they just friggin' validate my parking and give me $4 back in the garage instead?! Does that NOT make sense? Oh and if you're like me and not a real big fan of FOBs, this might not be the place for you. But then again, I remember why I never really venture out to Chinatown for a reason.
(2)
Diane H.
i dont know what the rave is all about..Long lines..and the food isnt that good... i'd go somewhere else. too crowdedd...downstairs is too hot in the summer
(2)
Mishka A.
Best dim sum place I've had in Boston. It's clean, large, fast service and good food - what else can you ask for? I try to go on Sat as it's busier on Sun. Go downstairs where there's no wait and rolling carts are plenty. I've brought large groups of 20 here before and if you call ahead, they'll gladly reserve tables for you. The restaurant is bright, spacious, lots of red and gold on the walls which makes it feel very festive. Small warning - don't expect the waitstaff to be overly nice, they're good enough, but nothing more. You'll have to waive a waiter down to get tea refills, they don't always stop by, but the service is pretty speedy. The carts are always stocked with fresh dim sum and I haven't had a bad meal yet. Usually costs about $10 to stuff your face. Takeaway: good cheap dim sum, friendly to small and large groups.
(4)
Phelim F.
eh ... (shrug)
(3)
Bob R.
My first Dim Sum experience. I really enjoyed the show but... the food (after all, I did have to eat) was overall disappointing. My son and I shared about half a dozen choices. We're both dumpling fans but the two varieties we tried were basically dough balls with a taste of meat inside. Stuffed eggplant was great. Everything else just OK. Will try other dim sum places because I have to say I did like the vibe... and the price.
(2)
Fortuna F.
Consistently rocking dim sum. Recent discovery was that if you sit on the first floor and close to the kitchen you can get the fresh cha siu bao as they come out and get a better sense of what is rolling out fresh. Hard to pick your table on the weekends but maybe get there on the weekend.
(5)
Hank L.
Food is typical dim sum but the attitude is awful. I don't mean slow service but after we sat down a waiter asked us whether we like some drinks. While we were trying to decide what to get he was making this bored and impatient reaction on his face. All he cared about is making money. Sorry for slowing down the money machine. If you must have dim sum at this place, you'll need to put up with the attitude.
(1)
Juggy W.
Not sure about dimsum, but this place is over priced for americanized Chinese food. $14 for hunan chicken and it doesnt even come with white rice... gimme a break.
(2)
Josh O.
Growing up in San Francisco we got Dim Sum all the time. Then, of course, there was the time I spent in China. We went to Hei La Moon for lunch today with a friend who's from Hong Kong and her husband. They both love it and eat there all the time, and I'm going to have to say I agree. Besides, for the four of us it was only about $30. I've spend over $60 for a similar lunch for _two people_ at Yank Sing in San Francisco.
(4)
Waterlily W.
busy busy busy best dim sum this side of the US (though I had better in Canada and Europe)
(4)
Andy H.
According to the other reviews, this should be the best Dim Sum that Boston has to offer. You HAVE to order the tofu with candy ginger syrup, the chicken feet (not boiled), and sesame balls ("that's what she said"). The typical Dim Sum shrimp and pork stuff is nothing special. I've had better Dim Sum from the Trader Joe frozen aisle. Why the four stars? THE SERVICE! Prompt, professional, and friendly...exactly what restaurants are suppose to be. Their employees are BAD ASS! One dude nonchalantly handled our HOT tea pot by its body. After he walked away, my friends and me were whispering to each other, "Did you see that? BAD ASS, he must know karate." haha.
(4)
Tae K.
one of the best dim sums in Boston
(4)
Mike C.
As many have already said, this place is quite simply the best place for dim sum for several reasons: there are parking meters all over the place near the restaurant, the food is excellent, there are two floors now, so the queue is cut down, and the staff is quick at refilling your tea and taking the empty bowls away. I wouldn't really recommend the dinner here: the dishes aren't quite as tasty. I would go to China Pearl as an alternative.
(4)
reese w.
I know the reviews are mixed for this place, but I have always had a good experience here. The service really isn't the greatest, but it has never been so bad that I've wanted to walk out. The food itself is pretty good, but sometimes it takes a while for the carts to come around with the ones you want, so if you aren't patient, this isn't the best place to go. I think it's definitely better than China Pearl.
(4)
Sisi Z.
Trust all the old Chinese ladies lining up out the door -- this place is the best and cheapest. It gets packed pretty early, so if you find yourself waiting for the elusive cart, grab a waiter and tell them your order directly. Service isn't the best, but if you're tired of Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, give this place a try.
(4)
Meg M.
Okay first off, I need to explain my history with Dim Sum. My mother is Chinese and my father is Irish... so needless to say my palate was developed like an ADD kid in an MCAST test. I was all over the place. My mom introduced me in dim sum when I was very very young and I have always loved it. Heres the thing, Chinese people do not operate the same way as Americans. They are not overly friendly and they will not spend long at your table. If you look around at the Chinese/Asian patrons you will see they simply point to what they want and the servers drop it on the table and stamp their card... there are few pleasantries exchanged. Dim Sum is a cultural experience... so stop thinking its like going to a Capital Grille. Thats not how dimsum is. I give this place 4 stars because the bows are the most amazing thing ever.. baked and steamed I cant get enough. MMMMMMMM. So bad for you... SO DELICIOUS. One star gets taken away for how HOT it is in there no matter what time of year. My suggestion.. wear layers ... I end up in my tshirt everytime.
(4)
Jungmin L.
The best dim sum you can find in Boston, which is not saying much. But I take what I can get.
(4)
Christina K.
WHO CARES about how friendly the servers are when they are delivering endless amounts of delicious food. When you are getting a stamp on a card for the food you are getting I am sure that means that this place isn't meant to have top notch service( they do offer you plenty options of food, many times, repeatedly which is fine service for me)... Also- when you eat your face off on a sunday afternoon and your portion of the bill is only 10 dollars I am not one to complain. No, sometimes I didn't know what I was eating, but everything I had was really good. Whatever the buns are called with the sweet bbq'ed pork(?) inside were absolutely amazing. When the fried cart comes around do not be shy because it will not come around for sometime and it was really good. The flower tea is also really good, I had about probably 15 of those small cups. There are some buns on the desert cart that look like they are covered in nuts, grab those, they are delicious.
(4)
Tiffany D.
I started coming here instead of China Pearl (if I wanted Chinatown dimsum, which my bf always prefers over suburb-dimsum) since I was introduced here by my friends and bf over the summer. It's pretty good and def. not as dirty and busy (altho it is busy but it's not overcrowded) and squished as China Pearl. I like it!!! I've been here many many many times!!!
(4)
Joanne L.
Yelp is a place where people can express their own opinions about their experiences at the restaurants they've eaten at so there's no reason why anyone should start bashing on reviewers. If you want to post a review, then write an actual review on the restaurant. It's up to the readers' discretion if they agree or disagree with the review. With that said....here's my review! :) I've been to Hei La Moon a few times and it's one of the newest dim sum restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. It's probably one of the most popular ones too because there's a long wait on weekends.. The food is good and I didn't think the service wasas bad as some others have said, but I do have one criticism. One of my favorite things to eat at dim sum restaurants is the shrimp dumplings. That dish is a staple dim sum dish. We waited for the shrimp dumpling cart to come by, but it never came. We asked several waitstaff and they kept saying that a new batch is coming out soon. We ate other dishes, but waited 40 minutes until we decided to leave. This was around noon. You would think that a dim sum restaurant would have an abundance of a staple dim sum dish available, but Hei La Moon didn't. However, even though this happened to me once, I would still go back again because they do have good dim sum.
(3)
Rally P.
Decent Dim Sum choices in Boston have generally been China Pearl and Chau Chau City. They're ok, and the quality seems to be cyclic - for awhile China Pearl is the best and then CC City is better. Unfortunately, neither are really great, they're ok, but not top of the line. Hei La Moon is a step better than China Pearl and Chau Chau City and for now, it's my favourite place. Both the variety and the quality of the food are a little better than the others. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up. Another plus, this seems to be a new place so the dining area still feels clean and fresh.
(4)
wsl l.
I came here last weekend and I think they changed their dim sum chef!! Ive been to Hei La Moon before and honestly it was nothing to write about. But now, I can honestly say that it s the best Ive had in Boston so far. Note* Dim Sum chefs are so fickle they tend to travel around and work at different places. .so who knows how long this will last. Get good dim sum while you can!! Anyhow, I came here with a party of 5 around 2pm. I thought it was late for dim sum as it usually ends at 3, but was pleasantly surprised that ppl were still there = food. Now many have said that the later you show up the less food. That is very very true, however, at Hei La Moon we got everything hot and fresh that we usually get at dim sum. We also ordered a specialty dim sum dish, and were extremely happy that even though it was late they were able to make it for us. Cool beans in my book and deserves 5 stars. Note* See if you can get seated in their new downstairs. So much better than their upstairs. ie: Newer and cleaner bathrooms! And that means ALOT in Chinatown.. hehe
(5)
Michele B.
All three of our restaurant went there to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We reserved the whole restaurant and ordered over a grand worth of food. The food came out fast and delicious. Tables felt a bit over clustered somettimes but the wait staff tried their hardest to clear plates. I got insulted when the manager came over to ask me if I wanted a fork. I was the only American there but have been adopted as Chinese since I have been with the restaurant for over 3 1/2 years. We did karaoke but I kept looking at this same manage who kept trying to rush us and looking at his watch etc.
(3)
JB C.
The best dim sum I've found in the area thus far. It's a huge restaurant so if you get there at the right time, you won't have to wait too long. It's really fresh and flavorful. And generally a pretty good selection although we've gone a couple of times when new stuff just wasn't coming out.
(4)
Victoria N.
Best dim sum place in Boston, I would say. Especially since this is where I meet my aunt for dim sum, and I trust her judgment. Came here again recently with Boyfriend. We were sat at a random, awkward table since it was probably just pulled out from a larger table for us. But whatevs. The people working there really vary. The guy who got our tea was a semi-douche who pretty much made fun of Boyfriend's attempt at Chinese. I also overheard him making fun of these Chinese ladies cos they asked him something in Mandarin. Most of the cart ladies were nice enough, one giggling (but clearly not making fun) at Boyfriend's dim sum ordering skillz. One, however, seemed a little unhappy with life. Anyhow, on to the food....I couldn't get over how steaming hot and fresh everything was this time! I swear I even saw flames inside one of those metal carts. Just three faults I saw with the food...the meatballs that are usually served with that delicious beancurd skin was served sans beancurd and with peas instead. Weird... (Later on, I discovered that this was actually the original way of serving them.) Also, the turnip cake cart didn't seem to make it's way to us from across the room. And no coconut buns! Boo.... Oh, and the total bill did seem more than your average two-person dim sum bill. Sigh. Still my go-to dim sum place, though.
(4)
Marisa N.
I can be pretty picky and well this restaurant brings that out. In a some what good way. The last time I went there I came there for a after-a- funeral thing and they brought out a fish which was okay i mean the fish had bones in it defiantly something i don't want to spend my time doing when to me didn't seem like a lot of fish but more bones. The crust of the fish was hard but it was worth it. Moving on there Buddha's delight was good i liked there noodles and there tofu inside. When i bit into it the flavors exploded in my mouth! Lastly there corn/ egg / tofu soup had a interesting taste to me it tasted like corn. Bland soupy corn. Well that is my review and that was only one time. Sometimes I love it Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I find it A okay.
(3)
Jae L.
This definately filled my Sunday afternoon dim sum and sodium craving. The various meat/vegi/seafood filled dumplings all hit the spot once it was dipped in a heart stopping amount of soy sauce. I fully recommend getting the chicken 's feet as well. There is nothing like sucking around the little bones for that yummy tendon ,skin and cartilage.
(5)
jenilee p.
i love bringing people to eat dim sum. they either love it or they hate it. if they hate it, i beat them fisticuffs style until they come to their senses. for realz. this is the best place in boston to experience dim sum, and one of those places that truly will become an excuse to come into the city if you don't frequently find yourself here. there is really little to nothing better than having your food come to you, and being able to pick and choose items regardless of whether you know what you will be chowing down on actually is. after a few times here, however, you'll begin to recognize what you like, so maybe i can give you guys a few recommendations. try to find the cart that has looks like it has a few bumps of shrimp that are rolled in a long, fat "burrito" blanket of a white noodle. not sure what the actual name is, but my friends and i call it the slippery noodle. they serve it t you with a salty/sweet sauce, squirted out of a bottle. there are also a plethora of dumplings: shyumai style with mushrooms is very good, ones with shrimp in the middle are very good (i think wrapped with a rice flour wrapper, but not sure), and then there are also the deep fried variety with onion, shrimp and beef filling (these may be the safest bet for the slightly timid eater). i also enjoy their variety of buns, especially those stuffed with barbecue pork. the place is a little hard to find, as it is outside of chinatown, but worth a special visit. also note that there is a parking garage upstairs, and the restaurant will validate your ticket. furthermore, though the place is almost always crowded for dim sum (not served at dinner time), i've never waited longer than about ten minutes for a table.
(5)
Ann C.
situated across from the main chinatown area lies hei la moon. this place is a lot cleaner and bigger, which makes eating here a lot more enjoyable and satisfying. i didn't check out the bathrooms though...which could take us to a whole new level...
(2)
Ryan T.
I still think China Pearl has better dimsum, but Hei La Moon has some great dinner specials for 4,6,8,10 people. They have great standard cantonese seafood dishes and the interior is pretty clean for a Chinatown joint. Order the salt and pepper pork and squid combo dish - it's like the best of both worlds in one plate!
(4)
Aaron W.
Just outside of the main chinatown area, Hai La Moon has been drawing a steady following over the last few years. The last time I went it was packed and the wait was long. The food was worth the wait, but i'd say it's an equal tradeoff to get into Chau Chow city faster with comparable quality dim sum.
(4)
Henry H.
Best dim sum in Boston. The only places comparable on the East Coast are those dingy "cafeterias" in NY Chinatown (where the tables are full of old men who look up from their newspapers only to stare en masse at whomever is walking in) or banquet halls all the way out in Flushing. There is no difference between the two floors in terms of food quality, and the dim sum on weekdays is just as good. On weekends, show up before 11 or after 1:30 to avoid long waits. There is no waiting for weekday lunch.
(4)
Kevin C.
Alright, the food is good, price reasonable....4 stars. But then, you really need to know the managers or the servers to get some decent services.... That makes me feel weird... I know, I'm also a Chinese, I know perfectly the importance of "connections"... but I dont like it. And plus the fact that it is not located right in the middle of Chinatown... 1 star less.... Overall 3 stars!
(3)
Catie L.
Really really delicious. Great selection, and you can ask for to go containers when you are full but still have a ton of food on your table. I would certainly recommend it.
(4)
Jeffrey M.
Went to Hei-la Moon for Father's Day, June 19, with family and in-laws. We are all dim sum lovers but it was our first time to this restaurant. We got there about 9:30 a.m. The place was very busy but there was no line, so we were seated immediately. The ambient aroma on entering was wonderful. The carts came around very quickly and the variety was excellent. I am no expert and I don't speak Chinese so I do not know the names of the various dumplings, but everything was delicious. Everything was flavorful and seemed fresh and delicately spiced. The women pushing the carts were friendly and explained what the ingredients were when we asked. The table was kept bussed and clean very efficiently. What amazed me was that even as we were finishing and were all happily full, more carts were coming around with even more types of dim sum than the many we had already seen and tried. We all agreed to come back and have a completely different array of dim sum on our next visit. The check was very reasonable, and we had a great time. We will definitely be recommending Hei-La Moon and we're looking forward to next time.
(5)
Alyssa N.
Decent dim sum. Less greasy than some of the other places I've been. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, but the staff was efficient about seating us right away.
(4)
Nosniv X.
Looking for fresh dim sum in Boston? This place is clean and the food was flavorful and fresh. No odd flavors either, which is a definite plus. The dim sum is served from carts pushed around the restaurant and the servers do not speak much if any English, so you should know a little about dim sum, and don't be afraid to step up to the cart and take a peek at what they are pushing around.
(4)
Atrebor B.
I've been having dim sum since I was 3 when my grandparents took me to my first dim sum parlour in Hong Kong. I realize that weekend dim sum has an almost ritualistic appeal to most Chinese and I am no exception. It would be unfair for me to compare it to places in HK since I'm in Boston. The dishes were alright, but it could definitely be better as in tastier with a greater attention and emphasis to quality as opposed to quantity. Nonetheless, they were piping hot and fresh. I am disappointed with the shrimp dumplings, since they are my must-haves at any dim sum meal. The ones' here suffer from a soggy skin with a powdery after taste; the shrimp filling was not as firm and packed with shrimp as I would have liked; falling apart into pieces after I dropped it from my chopsticks. Nonetheless, I must assume it is one of the better places in Boston judging from the line-up outside.
(2)
Richard L.
While dim sum was okay, we found their regular menu items to be mediocre at best. Indeed, when we passed by on the street in evenings, we found the restaurant to be almost empty. However, last Saturday, the place seemed to be full, and we thought that the place might have changed for the better so we entered and ordered a meal. What a mistake! We had the worst meal we've had in years. We ordered seafood soup and asked if it could be prepared without eggs. After a long wait the soup arrived and the waiter assured us that it had no egg, but it was loaded with egg. That, though, was just the beginning. We ordered Peking Duck. We got a dish with the skin of a sparrow sized duck. The skin was heavy with fat, and the dish had about 4 times as much shrimp cracker as fatty skin. The buns were bread like in thickness and consistency, and we initially got duck sauce instead of hoisin. We also ordered Chinese Eggplant in black bean sauce. The dish was simply black bean sauce with emulsified eggplant. It was essentially inedible. To top it all off, one of us got severely ill, and the rest of us mildly ill. Oh, did I mention it: the service was awful.
(1)
Denise K.
Nice place for dim sum. Went early (10:30 Sun morning), had no problems getting seated, and there was tons of food already going around in the carts. We sat downstairs. The place seems clean and pretty new, and not crowded like you can get at China Pearl. The variety of the dim sum was great - got some items I don't see all the time, including xiaolongbao, steamed buns filled with sticky rice, and cherg fun with fried dough. We didn't have to share a table which was nice, and it was quiet enough that we could hear each other talk. All in all, my new favorite place for dim sum.
(4)
Mags L.
meh. i went. i experienced. i was satisfied, but not super impressed.
(3)
Tony L.
I've had dim sum in the Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose, etc. where I grew up) as well as in Manhattan a few times, and didn't discover Hei La Moon until very recently (before this place I had only frequented Emperor's Garden for dim sum). The quality of the food was comparable to Mayflower's, a popular dim sum restaurant chain in California. The service was lacking a little, most likely due to the fact we were seated in the far corner, giving us a slight disadvantage in terms of exposure, so it took a while before the plates started to accumulate on our table. Timing your visit will essentially influence two factors: the later you arrive, the less time you will have to wait to be seated, but the selection of food declines as well. The decor fits your typical dim sum restaurant - a wide open space with large tables dispersed throughout. The pricing is quite affordable ($20 for two). Despite what I believe to be just unfortunate luck in terms of seating, I would still recommend this restaurant over Emperor's Garden and will most likely return for dim sum in the near future.
(4)
Kartik P.
Chaos, bloody chaos! Little chinese men women running around in circles pushing trolly of dim sums. Some just sitting on the table, packing food, some unpacking somethings else. Since its closer to the south station people walking in with bags, suitcases, college going kids adding the noise with their selfies and squeaky noises. But it dint bother me much , as I was hungry,cold and had loads of time in hand to observe people. I was seated in a quiet corner from where I had a good view of the entire flood and it is huge!! It took me a few mins to realize how the system works, but I was in no mood for dim sums, just wanted some curry and rice. So ordered my food and waited for it to come and in those 3.5 mins noticed another 7 trollys passing by with loads of bamboo steamers piled high. In all that chaos everyone knew what they were doing, somehow! It seemed to me as if it was a food symphony perfectly orchestrated by the food god! Next time may be when i have a little more time in hand will indulge in the dim sums with a company. Keep it up!
(3)
Jen D.
I would vote this 3.5 stars, -1 star for the tea situation. We were BAAAAAAAD patrons. I arrived first, got a table with no waiting (which tells you how late in the day we were) and then found out we were two more to our party. They were very nice about it. Given how late we were in the day, I can't complain about the variety of carts. Everything I tasted was legit and solid IMO--lotus rice was great, char siu bao and other dumplings fine. No standouts, but no disappointments, either. Nice to find a good dim sum place in walking distance. Their tea quality is lacking and the pots are HORRENDOUS (and it was so sloooow to come)--they're heavy and clog easily. To pour without drenching the tablecloth like I did: rest the pot on the table. Hook the spout on the cup. Gently tilt to fill the tea cup. I grew up in South San Francisco and grew up with dim sum. I'd like to think I'm not completely incompetent around a teapot. This place made me feel like an idiot pouring tea. Also: not enough red chili paste for the table. Had to ask a couple of times.
(3)
Amber E.
Very enjoyable dim sum experience. You wouldn't know it from the outside, but this place is HUGE, and very crowded. But we had made reservations in advance, and our party of 7 was quickly seated downstairs. Like any dim sum, some dishes are better than others. My favorite were the dumplings, especially the little pouches w/ pork, shrimp and cilantro inside - they were delicious. I also liked the stuffed eggplant, some pureed turnip dish, and the shrimp chive dumpling. Wasn't a big fan of the rice wrapped in leaves w/ some various meat items inside, or rice in taro. But overall a fun visit to Chinatown.
(4)
Sharon T.
My mantra when traveling is that you haven't really experienced a city's Chinatown scene unless you have had dim sum there. I came here on a Saturday afternoon with 3 other people. Funny story: I walked ahead of my friends to get a seat first, and when I first got a table, it was on the first floor, but because they only seat you once your party's here, I had to give up my seat until my friends arrived less than a minute later. They finally placed us in a table--downstairs. Talk about punishing for delay. It was almost like any other dim sum experience I've had, but I feel like the food options downstairs were lackluster. The carts came very slow, and I don't even think a dessert cart passed by us. The food was average; nothing special or extraordinary. My friends ordered a lot of shrimp foods and they particularly liked the Shumai. I ordered one of my dim sum staples--Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll--and they put SO much soy sauce in there. The rice noodles were kind of weak because they fell apart when I picked it up. I also had the Turnip Cake--can't complain about turnip cake when it's grilled in front of you! Overall, nice experience and wasn't crazy-crowded as I would have expected for a pretty notorious dim sum place. Nice staff, and food kept coming. Random, but I really enjoyed the Chrysanthemum tea they served. I think it's probably one of the best I've had, and anyone who's ordering a teapot should definitely choose that!
(3)
Corey H.
Excellent dim sum. Normally, my go to place is Windsor dim sum because I prefer the civility of a traditional suit down dining experience. However, the dim sum here is equally as good: just get ready for a traditional communal food free for all because you have to request your food from a cart passer by. The food cart process is easy but for the unintimidated it will be a new experience. Seating here is easy to get amd it is especially good for large groups. They also take reservations.
(5)
Lucy C.
Really good dim sum place with okay service. I like this place better than Manhattan Chinatown's Nom Wah Tea Parlor and Jing Fong. This place has amazing fried dragon balls--super super crispy sesame outside and soft gooey inside. It is stuffed with lotus paste, I believe. I would also recommend the chicken feet, which is really well marinated, the pork wrapped in tofu skin, and the meat wrapped in whatever that really soft white noodle sheet is called. So many great dishes here, come with a big party and try them all!
(4)
matt h.
Great for dim sum! Very accommodating to my kids. A definite stop if you are in Chinatown.
(4)
Debra L.
This has been my go-to for dim sum for the past 5 years and I'll come 3-4 times a year. Though admittedly, I haven't looked into other options for dim sum in the area. The restaurant is huge and even though it gets packed, you'll never wait too long for seats, even during Saturday brunch-time. The food is pretty good- they do my favorite dim sum staples pretty well. In particular, my favorites are their: + éŸèœè™¾é¥º - chives and shrimp dumpling in the clear skin + å‰çƒ§é…¥ - char siu pork in a pastry puff + 西瓜西米露 - coconut milk with sago and watermelon + 糯米鸡 - sticky rice and chicken wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf The worst part is the service- some of the waiters are almost notably unfriendly and curt and others just seem to be there to hang out with the other waiters and the customers are merely distractions. When you ask for anything, they are begrudging at best. Even though I speak Chinese, there is still a language barrier because most of the servers speak Cantonese, which is not unusual for dim sum. However, what IS unusual in terms of service is that my inquiries or requests have been met with unhappy "hmphs," displeased looks, and general huffiness. As a customer, this is a big problem and undermines what would otherwise be a very positive experience. Luckily, there is only minimal interaction needed during dim sum brunches as you can just look and point as the carts get pushed around, but as soon as I need to ask for something, the experience goes south pretty quickly.
(3)
Thom M.
A venerable dim sum spot in Boston. The place was packed on a recent Wednesday for lunch. The taro cake, har gao, shrimp rice roll and peppered ribs were all tasty. Service was prompt and the tea was freshly made. Overall its my favorite place for Dim Sum displacing an old favorite. Also parking in the upstairs garage can be validated which can save some money - especially if you are coming into Boston for the day.
(4)
Adam L.
All i can say about this place is that the quality of the food is much better than the rest of the Dim Sum places around China town. I've been to pretty much all of the Dim sum places around China Town. All i have to say is that the quality/flavor/portion sizes of Hei La Moon beats out the rest of the competition. I may be a little biased because i've only been here once, but from the 7-9 dishes i got it was a much better quality then the rest. I do know for a fact that the Chang Fun (The White Thick Noodles with shrimp inside) is at its game. We came here when it was about closing time, despite that, the quality was still has good as it would have been around noon!
(4)
Cathy S.
Hei La Moon is our go to spot for dim sum in Boston. The place is massive, with an upstairs and downstairs, and it's always packed on the weekend, although getting a table relatively quickly is usually not a problem. The service isn't always polite or attentive (not unusual for an authentic Chinese place), but the key is to be aggressive - flag down waiters if you need something or chase after a cart if you see something you want but they've gone past you. Because it's so big there's always a lot of carts out, and I feel that the turnover of food is quick, which is good. There's also a lot of variety in their dim sum items, and the meals can be very filling while remaining just over $10 per person. Overall I like the dim sum experience there, but it can be overwhelming for someone who has never had dim sum before.
(5)
May C.
Worst dim sum experience ever. I visited this place on last Saturday morning and was glad to find it open so early. I was seated immediately. But good experience stopped here. It took a long time before someone noticed me and asked me which of tea I want. I asked for menu, but was told no menu till 11 o'clock. So I began the journey of waiting for the carts to come and go, trying to figure what's on it. They speak cantonese to me which i cannot understand at all. To make it even worse, even though I knew exactly what I wanted when I walked in, I waited about 30 minutes for the cart carrying them to come to my table. I run out of patience after this waiting and asked for some other food. But I was told that either not served in the morning or I have to WAIT more. I knew many dim sum places using carts for serving dishes. But usually a menu was provided at the same time and the moving carts are a complimentary and interesting experience. Not here.
(2)
Stephanie C.
3.5 star, the stars are knocked down due to the lackluster service for dim sum on a Saturday at noon. Thankfully we didn't have to wait, at prime time. I went to college in Boston and have come to Hei La Moon a bunch of times- surprised I forgot to write a review till now. BF and I took a weekend trip to Boston, thinking, the dim sum can't top what we get in NYC. Well- it is surprisingly good, and surprisingly fresh. It is a cart-based environment, and my biggest complaint is that the carts do not come to each table without you haggling them big time. Yes this happens a bit everywhere but it was especially bad here. We were sitting on the inside row but I really felt like we were ignored. Anyway, onto the food: - Tofu fa- very good, and standard - Shrimp Dumplings- much better than what we get in NY, fresh, plump and more flavorful with garlic/ginger -Chicken and pork dumplings- twisted in a soup dumpling shape, we didn't like these as much as the shrimp but it was very different and big - Turnip cake- one of my favorites, DELICIOUS. Super fresh, crispy and spot on with hoisin -Beef rice roll- much better here than I've had elsewhere, fresh and not super soggy and steamed. We wanted the shrimp roll but it wasn't around until the end of our service (same as most dishes- we also sadly missed the steamed banana leaf fried rice) -Congee-flavorful, with lots of meat (including tripe), scallion and fried dough atop -Roast pork buns- very solid bao bread, and a lot of char siu meat as opposed to BBQ sauce -From the fried cart (which somehow came around 5 times), we had the egg-roll type of shrimp rolls- good, not too greasy, and unfortunately a fried veggie/fishcake dumpling which was a bit stale I might be forgetting a thing or two but this came to $36 for two of us. I've heard mixed reviews about this place but it always seems to be a hit for me, minus the service issues (though they were good about tea refills). They have big ass lobsters in their front tanks but I guess you can bet dinner is also equally as popular!
(3)
Alice S.
When it comes to dim sum in Boston, personally, I think most of the restaurants are pretty similar with their quality. I haven't had a terrible experience yet with a Chinatown restaurant. The great thing about Hei La Moon is that it is a really large restaurant with two floors. It can get pretty busy so there usually is a wait on the weekends. When it comes to their food - it's pretty solid. Nothing blow your mind spectacular, but it's definitely worth it to come.
(4)
Stephanie V.
The best time to go is around 9 am when it's not even time for brunch yet and all the reasonable people are enjoying a lie in. The clientele was mostly comprised of grandmas and grandpas leisurely drinking tea and reading Chinese newspapers. Those phantom carts with the sweet tofu and watermelon desserts came around 4 times! The downside though is that at 9 in the morning it's still a bit too early for dessert. It's definitely preferable to go in a big group. My friend and I were stuffed after 5 dishes. It's a little pricey at $21.65 but the shrimp dumplings (har gow?) is worth it for the delicate white dumpling wrappers. The only inconvenience we had was that we both didn't speak Chinese but we still managed to get what we wanted.
(3)
Jeff Y.
This restaurant is HUGE. Two stories, and a large room on each level. We were seated downstairs, which my friend surmised was for the "non-Chinese dominant" parties. My friends and I felt like dim sum so we came and chose this one out of the many Chinatown options. It was definitely significantly better dim sum than the options back in Richmond, but not quite as stellar as the ones back in California. It was a little difficult to flag down a waiter at times, and the arrangement of tables with some narrow areas made it a little difficult for some carts to get close to the tables, but we managed. A few carts also never made their way to us, and we had to ask for them. Overall, pretty standard dim sum fare, tasty and fresh. The only new thing I tried was the watermelon-tapioca-coconut dessert, which was served out of a large watermelon; pretty unique! Definitely noisy, especially after a group of more than 30 teenagers entered seemingly after some sporting event, but I expect liveliness at dim sum places.
(4)
Juan F.
Probably one of the better Dim Sum places I've had in Boston but it pales in comparison to what I can here in SoCal. This place gets pretty busy just like any other decent Dim Sum place. The restaurant is pretty big so the wait should be okay. They do have the carts which is good for us starving people. Everything was just regular and average and nothing outstanding. Parking in Chinatown is always a challenge. You can park at the structure next to it and I believe they validate.
(3)
R Y.
Go to place for dim sum for my family and so mine too. Used to the food here so nothing extraordinary to me. Food is great when it is fresh out the kitchen. Once found a piece of fish bone in my Sui Mai. But overall a decent place for dim sum.
(3)
Jennifer W.
Servers: great but at times, need to flag them down to get their attention Food: does the trick for dim sum. Crowded at times, but not a long wait. Validated parking is nice for $6.
(4)
Jessica L.
Let me start by saying...you're in Chinatown. You're in a dimsum restaurant that is literally the size of a wedding hall. You can't expect the quality of the food to be up to par with 4-star restaurants now, right? I was satisfied with my meal today. First of all, this place is HUGEEEE - as in you could probably come with a group of 20 people on a busy day, and they could probably find a spot for you within 5 minutes. I thought the food tasted delicious overall. There wasn't a single dish I did NOT think was yummy, BUT! I did find a piece of hair on one of my pork buns...I didn't eat that piece obviously, but gosh their pork buns were fabulous. Less filling than most of the pork buns I've had, but still delicious! Okay. this is going to be such a bad review because I don't know the names of anything else I ate...that brings me to my next point. You'll definitely be in good hands if you're with someone who speaks either Cantonese or Mandarin. Either that, or you can look clueless, point, and communicate with hand gestures, which worked out for me lol I ate until I was pretty full, and our bill came out to only $10 per person including tip! Niceee.
(3)
Tara S.
While I will always compare any dim sum to my favorite in Queens NY, this place was quite good! I was visiting Boston from CT and we had decided to do dim sum for breakfast. We went despite some of the negative reviews on yelp and were pleased. There are some reviews regarding the cleanliness of the place. We didn't see any issues, but I can believe that there may be some. Bottom line, worth a visit. We enjoyed the spare ribs, shumai, har gao (shrimp dumplings), char sui bao (sweet pork buns), deep fried pork dumplings and rice noodle rolls with shrimp.
(4)
Jie S.
Bad experience. Bad service and attitude. My friend got her card overcharged and the way the manager dealt with it was not polite and respectful at all.
(1)
Abhishek C.
The best large restaurant dim sum in Boston Chinatown. Reasonably priced. Fresh food. Seating almost always readily available. Have eaten there multiple times without disappointment.
(5)
Ana V.
I just left this place...it was amazing! At first I felt like a fish out of water...I wasn't sure what to get, (my boyfriend was no help) but the servers were helpful and pointed out to some great stuff (like the shumai) The place is huge, the tea was good and everything looked pretty clean. I will def be going back! p.s. if you park @ the garage right next to them. Save yourself some $$ ask the cashier for a reduced price ticket. ($8 cash)
(5)
Liliya M.
Admittedly, I only come to this place with a Chinese friend, but each time there seems to be more dim sum, more people, and a cheaper price-tag when the bill comes. It definitely feels like you up and got transported to another country. My recommendation is to go with a group of about a dozen, split a bunch of stuff, and then walk away absolutely stuffed and only about $13 dollars poorer!
(4)
Yiyu L.
Very bad experience. This is my first time to ever post a review but I am just too angry not to. At noon of August 9, 2015, they wrongly charged 350 dollars instead of 35 dollars from my card, and then immediately changed back to 35 dollars. However, because of delay of credit card company, I received a notification that 350 dollars were deducted in the evening. We immediately got a uber there and argued with them. Their night time manager accepted me and explained and asked me to wait for two days, which I accepted. However, when we asked about the compensation for money and time we spent on pursuing this matter, the manager started ignoring us and was extremely rude to us when asked for an explanation. He even shouted in public, and I quote (translated from more harsh Chinese), "I didn't ask you to come, you come yourself. I cannot help you with this. Whatever you like to do with this, I don't care.""What else do you want me to do? I didn't even scold or hit you!" Like scolding or hitting an unsatisfied customer is what he should be doing. Unbelievable! We don't care about the money and it's the absolutely awful attitude that bugs us. I have been to Hei La Moon for at least 10 times and they all recognize my face, and if that's how they treat me, imagine how they would treat other customers. We asked for an apology after being ignored for 10 minutes, and what we got from him was angry shouts and no apology concerning his attitude at all. His subordinates come to us and said that "it's not his fault, he was already scolded today and please just let him be", this is so weird and we didn't even know how to respond. Customers should keep their complaints because the manager has already been complained to? Doesn't that say something already? As a frequent customer who brought many business there, I have completely changed my opinion towards Hei La Moon and I will never ever go there again or bring any friends there. If you want to get into an unhappy conflict where you need to wait for your money to come back, get no compensation at all for your money and time spent on the dispute, and treated like sh*t, I strongly suggest you go to Hei La Moon.
(1)
Rhianna C.
We came toward the end of the afternoon, when it seemed like most workers would rather go straight back to the kitchen than push the carts around. Usually, I love it here, but this trip left something to be desired. This was the first time the carts didn't all stop at our table. We found ourselves walking around the restaurant recruiting carts because we were hungry and the few carts that went by us were the dessert cart and one with chicken claws. Eventually it got a little better, but one of the ladies with a cart kept insisting the pork buns I adore did not exist... Even though I eat them here every time I come. Forget trying to track down our server to place an order. He avoided us like the plague. Compared to all the amazing visits I've had here, it's hard not to be incredibly disappointed with our last visit. Usually we get top-notch service and have no qualms getting carts to stop by our table. This visit just didn't meet my expectations.
(3)
Idy T.
Of all the dim sum places that I have tried in Chinatown, Boston, Hei La Moon is the best! This restaurant is huge! There are 2 floors so even if it gets too busy, the turnover time for a table should be relatively short. It is also one of the nicer and cleaner restaurants in Chinatown. For dim sum, I ordered har gow (shrimp dumplings), shrimp rice roll, chicken feet, turnip cake, pork ribs, and fish dumplings. Everything was fresh and delicious. The har gow wrapper however, was a little thicker than how I like it. The turnip cake was pan seared perfectly, making it crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I forced my friend to eat chicken feet with me :P and it was also really delicious. Service here is also superb! The servers refilled our tea right away when our teapot was empty. They also cleared the table when we were done with our dishes. Hei La Moon will be my new dim sum spot! I recommend this place to those who are looking for a delicious dim sum restaurant.
(4)
Robert C.
My new Dim Sum spot! Can't get over how much better their food is compared to the other joints. Quality, presentation, taste, they all pass in my records. I have to have Chinese broccoli in garlic and oyster sauce with my meal. My advice would be to know a little bit of what's offered at your typical dim sum place beforehand for first timers and come during rush hours or else you would get less attention. Don't know about their menu to tell you.
(4)
Thomas Y.
Very solid dim sum. Most of my experiences are in NYC. I'm only in Boston maybe once a year (for PAX East), and I got invited for breakfast by a new buddy I met at PAX, so we joined. First off, the dining area is much larger than you'd think, with a seriously huge lower level dining area. The food was very good. I'll say that the turnip cakes (law bok gow) we got were the best I've had, especially since they fry them right on the cart before serving. The shao mai and har gow were also very good, and the other staples (ribs, cheong fun, lotus leaf rice) were great. The service was excellent, and I never had to ask for a water refill, and new teapots came out quickly. A huge plus was that the staff seemed to understand English fairly well, too. I'd definitely recommend this place, and while next time I'm in town I'd try some other places (to explore), it's definitely a solid restaurant for authentic dim sum.
(5)
Victoria T.
My go-to place for dimsum. Pros: 1. CARTS! So much more fun than ordering from a menu. The only place (other than maybe Emperor Garden) that has carts. 2. Best shau mai that I've had in Boston. I'm not super picky about dimsum but I've definitely had bad shau mai at a few places. 3. Most variety in choices. Since its so much bigger, it has more options. In addition to the food in the carts, there is also a menu that you can order from. I always get the standard dimsum items like, shrimp dumplings, shau mai, bbq pork buns, turnip cake, cheong fun. I've always been satisfied with the items I've ordered. Cons: 1. Not necessarily a con...but be prepared to point a lot if you don't know at least a Chinese. Since there isn't really a menu for the dimsum items, you just have to wait for what you want to come by in the carts. 2. I would avoid trying to go to bathroom. One bathroom for a massive restaurant.
(4)
Heidi C.
First of all, be VERY CAREFUL when you dine here. We went there for Sunday lunch with a friend and she told me to be careful of my bag because her friend's bag got stolen in the restaurant couple weeks ago. Her bag was on an empty chair next to her and someone grabbed it and ran out. Then while we were eating there the table next to us had the exact same thing happen to them. We didn't see what happened but suddenly we see many people running out of the restaurant and yelling something. We overheard that a lady's bag was stolen AGAIN. About 30min later a police officer came. The restaurant is very loud and almost always packed so it's really not a surprise that most people dining there wouldn't even know what had just happened. Imagine my friend only just warned me and immediately it happens again. So be very cautious of your belongings if you sit along the walkway leading from the entrance. It must be something that happens regularly and the staff should really make an effort to prevent or make warnings. As for the actual visit...I go for Dim Sum very regularly, this was our 2nd visit to this place and this time around the food didn't taste as good (nor fresh) as the 1st. The Shrimp dumplings were too thick and too 'creamy' (meaning too much paste compare to the shrimp, and wasn't very fresh). Some of my favorites like braised pork pieces, chicken feet tasted a-okay. Egg plant stuffed with fish paste and Tofu stuffed with fish paste were both not very exciting. For dessert I always have the sweet beancurd and this always taste great. There's a station that cooks the rice roll next to your table, that tasted quite good.
(1)
Nick H.
Hei La Moon has been my family's go to dim sum location in Boston for years now. It's a big hall and it's usually packed. A packed dim sum location is actually a good sign because it means the items are constantly coming out and the carts are changing out for fresh inventory. This place is a cart based dim sum hall which compromises freshness for arguably better visibility and a more fun experience. The quality of the dim sum here does not disappoint but it also doesn't blow me away. Hei La Moon is a very solid choice for dim sum in chinatown; a very authentic experience. I would recommend Hei La Moon, especially for people new to dim sum.
(4)
Allen I.
I thought this was the best dim sum I may have had because it was the first I ever had. I went back last week and confirmed it. PLUS parking upstairs in the garage for 7.00 all day. What a deal. Wow, when the cart came my way with the tofu skin wrapped shrimp the game was over. Love the chicken feet. I love it all. And I would be there this morning but I happen to live five hours away.
(4)
Annamarie T.
So I didn't really know what to expect when my friend took me for dum sum, but whoa! This place was awesome. There is literally food everywhere! There are servers walking around with food and you choose the ones you want to try off the cart. This isn't a place for picky eaters, you need to be willing to eat everything to get the most out of the experience. It really was a matter of hmm whats that, not understanding, and saying okay that looks good and trying it. The dumplings we tried where delicious, and we even tried the chicken feet! Overall I would definitely recommend trying here for an awesome experience!
(4)
Yen D.
I like the dim sum here so much the first weekend I was in Boston, I came back the next weekend. I'm an old pro at dim sum (my family had it all the time when I was a kid) so when I say I'm pleased with the food here, that means a lot! There are two HUMONGOUS rooms, one at ground level and one downstairs. If you can, come with an Asian person, Chinese preferable, so you get better seats (this is just from observation; I'm Vietnamese so I sort of count). I suspect that the servers downstairs speak more English than the ones upstairs. We ended up getting tons of food both times, and meal was consistently $10-$14 a person. I love that about dim sum. I understand that many people prefer the check the box system and you get the food fresh to order, but I prefer the carts- I can see what I'm getting much better than on a printed page, and there's no need to bother with translations/trying to figure out what something is vs. just pointing. Again, something I grew up with. Food: quite enjoyed the standard har gao (shrimp dumpling, lots of shrimp), shumai (pork dumpling), roasted pork buns, egg tart, vegetables (chinese broccoli with oyster sauce), and the sticky rice +pork in lotus leaf super loved the fried turnip cakes, the shrimp chung food (wide noodles filled with shrimp and topped with sweet soy sauce), and roasted pork buns in sweet bread- I'd only ever had them in those fluffy white bao before, not in golden delicious bread. I enjoyed (but no one else did as much) the pork surrounded by taro and fried into a little spiky delicious golden thing that you might mistake for dessert. Also the fish+tofu! I heard the congee was great too, with lots of stuff in it. I thought the warm soft tofu with ginger syrup was just OK- I much preferred the THING IN THE WATERMELON GET THE THING IN THE WATERMELON. There are big cut up watermelon bowls on one of the carts and I was super curious about them, so we got a bowl from it. Some kind of sweet coconut milk + tapioca balls + watermelon balls = SO DELICIOUS. Also I thought the egg tarts were just OK- a little bit heavy. Often when I go to dim sum I feel a little gross/heavy after but I found that the lightness of the wrappers/relative little greasiness at this place totally mitigated that effect. I don't think you can go wrong! YUM! (esp. because I tried a diff dim sum place in Boston a few weeks later...)
(5)
Bonnie C.
Hei La Moon has gotten worse over the past several years. Their service is awful and the food is terrible. I came here to order pick up one day and the host was really rude. I asked them if I can park my car outside with my hazard lights on (I said it in perfect Chinese) to which she responded "look, I understand you have a car outside, but that is no excuse for me to hurry up your order". First of all, she didn't even answer my question, and second of all, that is really rude for her to snap at me like that. I was just asking her an innocent question. Then I went to pay for my food and I gave her an extra $20 by accident and she was like "you paid too much, lang mui" in a snappy tone. I find it rude when strangers call anybody a "lang mui". I thought she was having a bad day so I said "Thank you very much" with a smile on my face and she didn't even acknowledge me. I'm sorry, but if you can't even be nice to a customer who is doing a simple pick up order, I can't imagine how the service is like dining in.
(1)
Ann C.
If you like traditional dim sum, it is the right to come here. However, you should come after 10 oclock or come in the weekends since there are more options offered.
(4)
Lauren H.
I don't love writing bad reviews, but I had to for this place and this review is solely based on service. We tried to eat here last week. It was the tail end of lunch, the place was packed. We were seated right away. Normally, within a few minutes of being seated in dim sum restaurants, somebody brings you a pot of tea. There was nobody in sight, the table next to us was clearly also looking for a waiter. We finally spotted one, but he was running around servicing a ton of tables. The table next us finally flagged him down and ask for tea for both of our tables. While we were waiting for our tea, one of the carts stopped and we selected some pork shumai and shrimp balls. We couldn't eat our food because there was no chili paste or soy sauce on the table. Our food was getting cold. The waiter finally showed up with the tea and seemed very put out when I asked him for chili paste. He finally brought the chili paste. We ate....waiting for more carts to stop. They either walked right by us servicing the people around us or didn't come down our row of tables at all. We finished our shumai and shrimp balls, waited for 15 minutes, watching everybody else get served, not finding the waiter to ask if we could get the carts to stop for us, and finally were so frustrated, grabbed our stuff to go. The manager was working the register and when I tried to explain that we were leaving because nobody would stop and serve us food, it was clear she didn't care. We left and walked over to China Pearl where we were greeted warmly and promptly served all the food we wanted - with tea, chili paste and soy sauce! The sad part is that the food was good at Hei La Moon but based on the fact that they couldn't/wouldn't serve us, coupled with a non-caring manager, I would never return there. Too much competition for dim sum in Boston.
(1)
Rebecca Y.
Love this place for dim sum because I love the trolley carts that go around. It feels more authentic than ordering dim sum off a menu. My favorite item is the zimaqiu (the fried sesame balls with red bean paste stuffed inside). The ideal way to eat here is to come with a big group (at least 6 people) and order a lot. Everyone pays less than $10 for getting their faces stuffed and eating a wide variety of dim sum, it's fantastic. The quality of the dim sum here isn't amazing (especially if you're from Hong Kong), but it's decent.
(3)
Thanh H.
Not a bad place for Dim Sum. What I don't like aboutthis place is they cram too many seats in, so the dim sum carts have a hard time getting around when the restaurant is full. It's hard for me to recommend anything food wise since my wife orders and I just eat whatevr is in front of me. Except chicken feet, since they remind me of babies hands. You don't have to order dim sum, you can order from their regualr menu any time. I had to mark it down due to cleanliness of the place. At times I see dishes at the table still with greese on them. The bathrooms are messy and gross. If you only care about the food, give this place a try.
(3)
Simon L.
Dim sum sum dim. Served every day seven days a week. Lunch on weekends is packed. The space you see on entry - it's only half the actual dining area - the rest is downstairs. Hei La Moon is considered the best service in C-town. Order as the carts roll by - if you're unsure what is in the bamboo box, ask for a viewing. If you don't want it, pass and wait for the next cart. But, don't be afraid, order often so you can try various items. The frog legs and chicken feet are more delicious than one might expect - crispy skin with a reasonable amount of meat - adventurous? Lo Mai Gai - Chinese sausage, egg and chicken steamed in a lotus leaf with rice - a wonderful meal in and of itself. Shrimp dumplings - fresh shrimps in a light rice casing. Beef meatballs steamed. An amazing assortment of tastes and flavors. Quick service - beer if you ask.
(4)
Peter L.
Decent Dim sum place. I am from Hong Kong and I believe the food here is on par with some dim sum places in Hong Kong. (considering it is hard to find a decent dim sum place around, that's a +1 star for me right there) The price here is affordable and the more dinners at the table the better (for the sake of more variety) The draw backs I see so far is the lack for waitresses and the poor environment within the restaurant. Sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes to get my tea refilled. And I believe they should re-renovate this place soon as it kinda look dirty inside. This place is huge but the tables are not placed far apart from on another, not spacious at all. It'd better if you go with a friend who speaks Cantonese, some waiters/waitresses have broken English (though they are friendly :)).
(4)
Elena S.
A great place to have brunch with family or treat friends, 4 stars because of the Double Price with the same quality as the Cantonese restaurants in Philly China town...
(4)
Erica R.
Frequently enough when I'm in Boston, the friend I come to visit and I crave dim sum. He's taken me to a couple different dim sum restaurants thus far, but Hei La Moon is probably where we've visited the most. That's not to say it's especially spectacular or anything, but it's a solid option when you're trying to appease a craving. There's a large variety of options, all served off carts in what I can only assume is a fairly traditional manner. A lot about the experience of eating here also depends on where you're seated, it seems. We've been seated everywhere from in the middle of the room (sharing the table with a small family) to a smaller table in the very back of the restaurant (by the windows in the back, and against the corner). When you're in the middle of the room, you get to be a bit more laid back about checking out the carts and getting your food. Everything is basically passing you anyway. When you're tucked in the back corners though? You have to be more aggressive in even seeing what's on the carts. When you find something you like, you have to grab it too...because you're not exactly sure when a cart with those goodies is going to be back in your direction. All in all, the food is decent. I haven't found anything that I consider a "must have" from the carts, but the shumai is one of my go to options. I'm also pretty fond of anything with taro, so I tend to jump at those cart options. I'm sure I'll be back...it's decent and convenient. Somehow, I always leave this place having eaten WAY too much. The trick I always have to remember is to jump for 1) the carts newly filled with hot foods, and 2) be aggressive in looking to see what's available and getting what I want.
(3)
moe s.
THis place still sucks. I have gone there about half a dozen times hoping they would improve with their service, and nothing has changed. They tell me at lunchtime it is busy so they have no food? How about some PRE planning so you HAVE food when it is busy. Other restaraunts do it, and it seems to be working for them pretty good...
(1)
L H.
I meet friends here for dim sum every few weeks. Their dumplings and shumai are tasty and they have the usual dim sum offerings. It's fresher than other places I have been to. They also serve rice pudding and cake as dessert dim sum options.
(4)
Tiffany A.
tl;dr good food, efficient service, helpful staff The venue is always packed during weekend mornings. Food is fresh and the carts speed around. Quick service and great food! Our family always likes the buns and ha chung. Today, I left my phone at our table after we left the restaurant. Once I realized (a few minutes after we'd left), I came back and inquired with the front counter. They promptly asked what color and type of phone I had, as well as requested I call my number. Once I did so, they immediately returned it. The staff gave me no trouble and were extremely helpful.
(5)
Lianne T.
Ok so I Asian and I go dim sum to get some ha gao. But I here right now and the whole wall next to my table is covered in flies. The waiter saw me taking a trillion pictures of them and he didn't even do anything. Omg I was shaking out of fear that they fall in my dan taat. Made me so nauseous.
(2)
Lachland F.
Parking was easy and we didn't have to wait to sit in this cavernous and bustling venue, but that is where the good ends. By noon the fried fish was cold, the buns mealy, and the sticky rice over-salted. Bring on the antacids. The indifferent service has been much discussed elsewhere, but we didn't find it half as bad as the food. We will be looking for better.
(1)
moondizz y.
First off I'll say the manager is really nice. I had called to ask if they had the flat rice noodle and they had said yes. After all our other dim sum items were served (took their sweet time) they brought out a shrimp noodle dish which is what we hadn't ordered. Turned out thy had ran out of rice noodle dim sum- but had failed to mention that. The service was not that great - very slow and we asked if the turnips had pork and the waitress said no- after bringing out the dish we saw meat in it but she insisted it was not pork, till I called the manager and he apologised. I didn't understand why she lied though. Thy didn't charge is full Price for the wron dish- but I won't be back despite how nice the manager is .
(2)
Sheng M.
Best Shu Mai EVAR! Everything else is pretty tasty too, but Shu Mai FTW there. That is all. :)
(4)
Ben K.
Staff indifferent, food carts favor large tables, left hungry, food o.k., something floating in cup of water, something about check out help reminded me of the money lenders that Jesus "altercated" with, tea kettle had crusty somethings on it and was clogged. Didn't notice any active leaks in the ceiling so 2 stars.
(2)
Michelle K.
Because the fact this restaurant is huge, therefore we did not have to wait for a table was a plus, the food was so so and the service was awful. There wasn't much special about the dim sum, nothing terrible and not thing fantastic. The carts did not make it us for most of our lunch, and I ended up jumping up with my tab to chase down the dim sum ladies. That would have been fine, but man, these dishes were HOT! Carrying them back to my table was a bit tricky. Because of this, I did not write out a 15% tip on my bill. As I stood there to pay, (also a weird thing, why couldn't the serving staff bring it to me to sign?!) the lady had the audacity to say, "Tip is usually 15%." I told her, "I did not receive service that is worth 15% of my tab."
Hei La Moon dishes out perfectly fine dim sum. Chicken feet, siu mai, and those awesome rice blankets... yes. Service might not be stellar, but if you're a little aggressive, you can get the carts to come over to your table. If you can't speak Chinese, you'll probably be okay, too. There's two floors (weirdly I had not noticed the basement the first time I was there), so there's room for a crowd. We didn't have a problem seating a large group (16!) on a Sunday.
(4)
Jason L.
Walked in to meet a group of folks from work who said they'd be seated downstairs. The place was about an inch from chaos. Dim sum carts everywhere, nearly as humid as hell, and yelled instructions from all directions. I sat down and snagged every cart as it came by. Yeah, we'll take one of those. Double pork buns, please. More chicken feet. More gelatinous rolled up meat. Fun place to get dim sum, but I think cart dim sum places always suffer a bit in terms of quality. The experience, however, cannot be beat. Just be sure to be aggressive in snagging what you want, and say "yes" more often than "no" when the carts come around.
(4)
ted h.
Food was awesome! My only complaint was my stomach wasn't large enough to eat more. It was reasonably priced as well.
(5)
Winky C.
Their shaomai is good, the sweet soup with watermelon is also one of the signatures, their chicken finger is so so
(3)
Cathy N.
I do not understand what all the fuss is about. I came in to order take out on 5/21. Someone was paying and I started a line to put in my order. Someone came up behind up me, offered the check and money and the transaction completed without even looking my way. I went to leave and another hostess stopped me. I had to repeat three times that if the other person's money was more important than mine, then they were not going to get my order and therefore my money. She finally stepped out of my way. Despite the fact I told myself I would never return, I had more than an hour to kill after an appointment next door and I went on Wednesday. Meh. Thank heavens I didn't see the postings about bugs in the food until after I ate. The spare ribs were wonderful tastings, perhaps the best I ever had at dim sum. But why add what I thought were cubes of potatoes? The shrimp in rice noodles were tasteless and the noodles gummy. So much better at Sun Kong in Malden. I never saw stuffed mushrooms at a Chinese restaurant before but they were the best dish I had. Never got my teapot refilled and staff didn't seem happy when I asked for water and for the glass to be refilled. I would not have gone out of my way to go back for the food but now that I see the reports of bugs and worms, I wish the health department would shut them down. Go to Chau Chow City instead.
(1)
Phillip T.
I came here with my family for lunch after walking around the Boston Commons. I must say, the dim sum portions here are huge and filling! The restaurant itself was also spacious and had that authentic chinese cuisine vibe. When you sense that coming into a restaurant, you know you're in for the real deal. We had a party of six and we went through one and a half rounds of dim sum. I don't know what it was, but not only that they were huge portions, but they were also delicious. I must say the shu mai were one of the best shu mais I have ever had from a dim sum restaurant. There is this one dish with the chinese cruller (youtiao, for those pinyin peeps) wrapped in wonton noodles... you cannot miss out on that. That was the first time I have ever had that and I hope there are some dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area, CA that have this dish. That was amazing and if I were in Boston again, I would definitely come back here again!
(5)
Jane L.
Man their lobster was DELICIOUS!!! Best i ever had. My sister and I were craving seafood when we visited boston. We decided to go for a more cheaper alternative rather than going to an actual super expensive seafood restaurant. Our hostess (we stayed at her house for a couple of nights) recommended this place to us so we decided to go. The restaurant was really big and was pretty empty considering it was 9 PM on a friday, but there was a couple of parties there eating dimsum. But my sister and i were kind of glad because we were a bit worried about not being seated since theres a chance that this restaurant would be packed. Anyway, my sister and i ordered scallops in sizzling platter with black pepper, and lobster with garlic and scallions. It was my first time trying scallops so i was really hyped and it was so good with the sauce and the peppers. The lobster was the dish that my sister and i have definitely been waiting to try. Now, my sister and i are not a big fan of lobsters. We had tried them back in NY but there werent that fresh and it was not good. But the lobster dish has been chopped and sauteed with ginger and scallion flavors. Although the flavors only reached the surface of the lobster and not the lobster meat inside it, my sister and i could definitely taste the freshness of the lobster. We literally devoured the whole thing because it was so delicious. Lastly, just as a small craving of dimsum, i asked to order for shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. but they ran out :( so i decided for the shu mai instead and BOY THEY WERE BIG. Yet they were good :)
(5)
Geoff K.
It's been a while since we had dim sum but we missed a train and Hei La Moon has just a hop skip and a jump from South Station. Our expectations weren't extremely high for our impromptu meal, we were looking for something quick and relatively good. As many yelp reviewers have commented, the service is pretty poor. Depending on where you are seated some of the carts may completely miss you and there seems like there's little effort for them to make sure they hit all the tables. Mediocre service would have been tolerable if the food was any good. We got a number of different rounds of food with many of the pork options being of very low quality meat. The only real exception were the pork buns, which were solid. One of the pork dishes was nothing short of awful as well as the pork and shrimp wrapped in bean curd which was truly bad. When our waiter tallied our bill he charged us for tea, something I read is done to first timers. I noted it and he skoffed at me. The worst part of the whole experience at Hei La Moon is that several members of our party got food poisoning and were quite sick the next day. I'm all for authentic dim sum, have no issue being adventurous in my eating, but Hei La Moon fails on too many levels and when you add puking it all up to the equation it's just not worth it.
(1)
Matt F.
Dim sum here is decent. Good for large groups. Lots of seating. The pushcart ladies don't aggressively sell you everything in their cart. Quite the opposite. They seem a bit timid. So don't be shy. Wave them down and shout to see what they have. The price is reasonable and transparent. Service is pretty good for Chinatown. Harkow is skimpy on the shrimp though. But everything was good without much msg. You can tell if you sense an aftertaste or drymouth if they put msg in it. Looks like we will be back.
(4)
George N.
When you notice other diners experiencing the same reactions/mood that you are, that's when you know something is wrong in the kitchen. I came here for my brother's birthday with my family at around 7pm on a Friday. The staff were really busy as we sat down and progressively got busier as more people came in. I think there was also a private event going on at the same time. With the food....the teriyaki sticks tasted bland, the beef and broccoli tasted as if there was too much sauce in it...either that or something felt missing - not the typical/ordinary taste you'd expect, and the fired rice was too greasy. I think other diners experienced this too judging from their facial reactions. I think my mom noted that they didn't use taro for the birds nest in one of their dishes that we ordered when they should have, cost cutting? I think this experience would have been different if we came here for dimsum. I didn't want to take off any more stars to affect the over scale. So I felt two is a better grade than one.
(2)
Ana S.
There are a bajillion other reviews of Hei La Moon already posted, so I'll let those guys explain the essentials. Instead I'd like to wax philosophical about something. Dim sum comes in two variants: the kind where you order small dishes off of a menu and the kind where you point to those dishes being wheeled around on little metal carts. The former generally yields fresher food, since for the most part everything is made to order. So why does Hei La Moon use the ol' push cart system? Well for one thing, the restaurant is huge. I remember one Saturday when I was waiting for a friend to arrive before going in. I started getting worried about seating because huge (10+ people) groups kept showing up and yet somehow the restaurant absorbed them immediately. I too was eventually absorbed by the vortex of pork buns and dumplings. An army of push carts keeps the food rolling fast 'n' furious(ly). I think some of the nit-picky complaints about the place are forgetting just how massive of an operation this is. Logistics aside, the push cart system is far less intimidating for dim sum newbies. It's easy enough to see something rolling by and to just point to it like some kind of gluttonous child. Speaking of gluttony, the carts also provide instant gratification. There's nothing worse than ordering chicken feet and then having to wait 10 minutes for chicken feet (or, you know, something you actually want to eat).
(5)
Stanley G.
The food is ok but the service is really baaaad! If you order the shrimp dumpling, vinegar won't be with it, though it's necessary. All the waiters seems to be in really bad mood, except the manager in suit. Will never come again.
(2)
Jackie L.
Love this place! Everything is so good and because it's in a cart, you can see everything you get to order and you don't have to wait for the food.
(5)
Derek H.
When we were in Boston for work, one of locals suggested that we should go to Hei La Moon, which is a dim sum restaurant located on the edge of Chinatown. I was a dim sum virgin, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those who haven't had dim sum before, it's an interesting experience. Essentially, fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant by waiters/waitresses, for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. They come around fast and furious, and most of the time you have no idea what they are saying. Luckily, we had someone with us that had been here many times and knew the drill. I tried several dumplings that were filled with short ribs, shrimp, beef, etc. Some things (turnip pie) looked odd, so I passed on that. They are pretty pushy with some of the items, so be sure to give them a hard no when they ask if you want something. Many of the items are meant to be dipped in soy sauce. Overall, I thought the food was pretty good. I certainly felt more cultured afterwards. :) I did like the fact that I didn't feel overly full after I left here. I'd be willing to give this place another shot at some point, as it was pretty good. That said, I certainly wouldn't be running back here.
(3)
Ian Maren C.
We hadn't had dim sum in a couple of months so when we landed in Boston we decided to go straight to China town and check out the Dim Sum. Went to another place but it was so small and little seating. This place here is HUGE!!!! Tons of seating and lots of cart. A great selection, good staff. They accept credit cards. One of the best Dim Sums we have had.
(5)
Wu N.
came here with a tour group. ..the group arranged a lobster feast for us at 30$ a person. each of us will get a fresh boiled 1lb lobster and 6 courses to share for entire table. the lobster is ok, but the rest of the courses are just medicore, cheap, low quality, plus the terrible services they provided, this lobster feast just turned out to be another rip off arranged between the tour company and the restaurant. tourists be aware !! Im sure they make some good dishes, but stay away from their seafoods !! lobster - ok shrimp - no no fish - ok chicken - no string beans - no mapo tofu - no purple seaweed soup - hell no bok choy - ok service - hell no red bean soup, the free dessert after meal desert - the best out of all above items. if you ever came to socal, stop by new port seafood restaurant in rowland heights, for real quality Chinese style seafoods.
(2)
Judy L.
My family and I usually come here for dim sum and nowhere else because their BAKED honey glazed pork buns are delicious! Their other dishes are also great, particularly their sui mai, chicken feet, black pepper spareribs, and deep fried chive bells! Service on the other hand is not so great. The lady at the front is extremely rude and no matter how hard you try to get a table upstairs she will always point you downstairs (unless she knows you very well/you're a family friend). But for the food, it is worth it!
(4)
April K.
I think this is one of the better dim sum restaurants in Boston since it is spacious and (somewhat) cleaner. However, today seemed like a bad experience. The dim sum carts didn't come around much so it took us forever to wait for them and get our dishes one by one. One of the cart-pushers was also incredibly grouchy and rude to my mom. The bowl that they served congee to us in looked dirty as well. Usually we like this place because they are efficient and the plates are served hot. The har-gow is also better quality than the other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown.
(3)
Erin C.
Hei La Moon is a human version of underground ant tunnels. That is, it is teeming with chatter and staff scuttling carts around and diners moving about. This was the site of my first dim sum experience, so I have nothing to which to compare it. A quick sum up, though, would be: lotsa meat and noodles. The shrimp rice noodle roll is only eh, because it's watery and has too much noodle. There are two kinds of cha-siu buns, or BBQ pork buns. The steamed ones here were dry and eh. The baked ones were lighter, sweet, and delicious. It took me a while (read: til after I got online) to realize they were the same thing. It may have been because of our (rickety) table near a kitchen doorway, in proximity of which many carts seemed to pile up, but I didn't see much variety offered during our lunch. The same few dishes kept coming around, and most of them were shrimp items. We did get our hands on the Chinese broccoli and sauce, which were tasty (not that I could figure out how to eat it stalk and all very gracefully), but this was the absolute only non-starch, non-meat selection we ever saw. I don't know if this is completely par for the course, but I was pretty disappointed. Also frustrating was the extreme difficulty it was (and friends report it often is) to get a waiter to bring water to the table. Womp. But I really did like the baked pork buns.
(3)
Sarah L.
Very good Diem Sum. Went for breakfast to celebrate my daughter's birthday (that is what she asked for). We were not disappointed. Service and Price was good too. We would go again and would not hesitate recommending it to others.
(4)
Shuai W.
If I can give less stars I would, horrible service, food was cold, found a giant roach in our food.... I may throw up
(1)
P V.
DO NOT BOOK THIS PLACE FOR A WEDDING!!!!!!!!! If I was able to rate this restaurant BELOW 1 star, I definitely would!! THE SERVICE IS THE WORST OUT OF THE WORST. FOOD IS NOT GREAT. But, one great thing about this place is that it is spacious--which is why we were fooled into booking this for my sister's wedding (WORST DECISION EVER). If you ever think of booking this restaurant for a wedding, you WILL regret it. Your happy day will turn out to be a day of chaos and anger just from being there. First of all, the service was absolutely HORRIBLE. I have never ever ever been to a restaurant where the waiter refused to give me a hard boiled egg or a refill on my sauce. They demand us to finish that small plate of sauce before they can give out more. Man, how cheap is this. On top of this, from all the Asian wedding I have been to, the server would usually bring out food one after another, but weird thing is that we had to wait 10+ minutes for each dish. By our 4/9 dish, people were already on the dance floor or preparing to leave. Literally, the last dish was brought out at 10:30pm, and that was almost to the closing time. Secondly, the manager refused to give the DJ the WiFi password. I know that it's the DJ's fault to not have a backup CD of music we have requested, but based on his experienced, he claimed that every single wedding he had DJ-ed for has WiFi, BUT this one. Out of curiosity for this coincidence, I looked for the manager to asked if I can have the password, or if he can help us out. His response: "WiFi doesn't work. Too many people use it so it got shut down." How can this man LIE straight to my face. It was such a coincidence that the internet stopped working a couple days before the wedding and did not bother to let us know or fix it. I confronted him but he was so ignorant. Thirdly, they have tried to scam a few of the guest for their parking money. One of our guest said that their parking ticket does not work. When they asked the guy in the garage parking lot for help, he said to go to the manager and get a new one-- guess what? the manager claimed that they have to pay an extra $8 for a new ticket since the other one was not working. WTF? How is it their fault that the machine did not accept that ticket? Does the machine just magically spit out a duplicate ticket for us to pass on to another customer? Maybe that cheapa$$ should save some money and buy himself a new parking machine instead. Another thing is that some of our guests have to spend hours looking for parking in Chinatown because their $8 parking were full-- it was established that the parking was reserved for our guests. Lastly, they tried to cheat us from their beer. The first time when we were looking for a restaurant to book for my sister's wedding, they clearly said that it would cost $45 for a case of beer or buy our own beer and the license would cost $8 per case. Second time around, they raised it up to $50 per case of beer. Then, on the day of the wedding, they said it was $60 per case of 24 bottles of Heineken. $60?!-- Fine, we were willing to pay for it. But, due to their EXTREMELY BAD SERVICE, 10 minutes into the wedding, when a few of our guest requested for Heineken, they claimed that there were NO more left, so instead, they gave us some cheap beer instead. Up to the point that many people had complained, they were finally willing to open up cases of Heineken, charging each case $60. Also, the manager did not ever show up to greet us once during the wedding (not even a congratulation, nothing), but came out when we were about to leave---- why? to collect the money from us. That man only care about the money and himself. How selfish can he be? He even dare to ask for an extra $15 tip per table for the service--HAH. Man, we WOULD be happy to give more than $15 per table if the service was even a bit better. But that kind of service deserves nothing, just not even a penny worth-/sorry. I have NEVERRRR been so stress out being at a wedding before. It's suppose to be a fun night for the guests, the newly wed, and family members, not a day to complain or plead. To save you all a trip and money, DO NOT GO HERE AT ALL. AVOID IT THE BEST AS YOU CAN. You can thank me later :)
(1)
Cindy W.
Service deserves less than 1 star. I had my wedding reception/banquet here recently. Where do I begin to describe the awful service & treatment that was given to me by the manager, Mr. Chan. The only time he was nice & accommodating was when I met with him to discuss the details of our wedding banquet & to give him a deposit for the night. Once he got the money from my wedding deposit, it was all downhill from there. First off, he had originally OFFERRED the nicer and more private area in the back of the restaurant for our function & we agreed to this. We thought it would be great as the dance floor location was better, more private, & it was a better area for my DJ to set up his equipment. When we arrived to the restaurant on our wedding day, the WRONG area of the restaurant was set up for us!! The area Mr.Chan originally OFFERRED & PROMISED to us (in the back of the restaurant) was changed to the area at the entrance/front of the restaurant.... strike 1. As I got out of my limo in front of the restaurant, I noticed the wrong area was set up even before I walked in. It was the most AWFUL feeling on such a joyous day!!!! I walked in, went up to Mr. Chan & asked him about the wrong tables being set up, he rudely DENIED the fact that that he had set up the wrong area of the restaurant!! He brushed my shoulder as he stormed off & walked away from me... strike 2. We arrived with our wedding party before 5pm and my dinner was planned for 6:30p. I only had 15 tables total of guests/family and I asked if he could do the right thing and set up the 15 tables in the back of the restaurant before my guests arrived... He said NO! My wedding party offered to help the waitstaff move the table settings for the 15 tables and Mr. Chan said NO! I spoke to multiple members of his staff and they were all willing to make it right but Mr. Chan would not allow it! We witnessed members of his staff telling him that he is doing the wrong thing & he argued with his staff in front of me and my family!! Rude. Unprofessional. Awful. A few of my family members confronted him and he ADMITTED that he does not remember offering me the back of the restaurant and he did not "make note of it in his book"!! He also said that he had given away my reserved space to a group of Chinese tourists who all then arrived in tour buses!!!!! Over 100 tourists had to enter the restaurant and parade past me and all my guests to get to the area in the back of the restaurant (which was originally reserved for our wedding).... strike 3. My family had to ASK him and TELL him that he needed to set up partitions so that we could have some privacy as multiple tourists were taking pictures of me and my guests!!.... strike 4. I also noticed 16 tables instead of 15 tables were set up and I mentioned this to Mr. Chan as I did not want to be charged an extra table's worth of food. His response in Chinese: "What's it matter? You still have what you need!". I told him I didn't want the kitchen staff to make more food than necessary & I didn't want to get charged extra. He shook his head as if I was bothering him and waved me to go away.... strike 5. We dropped off our own beer/liquor at the restaurant the night before so it could get chilled for our dinner. When we arrived to the restaurant, we noticed that the cases of beer we brought in the day before were NOT CHILLED and were all sitting in boxes on the dance floor?!?!... strike 6. They weren't even on tables!! I bet the health department would not be ok with drinks being placed on the floor. I confronted Mr.Chan about that as they were about to serve warm beer to my guests & he yelled at the waitstaff to ice all the beer. Yes, he yelled at his staff in front of my guests & family!! The waiters brought out folding tables with tupperware bins filled with ice for the beer. They set up these tables on the dance floor!! I asked him where my guests were going to dance now? I told him if they had chilled the beer as promised the night before or even that morning then this would not be an issue! Mr. Chan said "there was no room in the refrigerator"?!? I told him if he was unable to chill the beer then he should have never told us that he could do it. I told him he had an obligation to tell me the truth instead of misleading me that it would be taken care of. The food was ok. Although, they did skimp on my bird's nest dish which was supposed to be made of taro (I specifically asked for it), they made it with egg noodles instead!... strike 7. We had to ask 3-4 times for take out containers to be given to my guests before they actually got them... strike 8. They also tried to keep the rest of my wedding cake.. until my maid of honor told them to please box it up!!.. strike 9. When it was time to tally the bill at the end of the night, Mr.Chan sat annoyingly with his legs wide open, pounded his hand on the table and said "let's just get this done!"... STRIKE 10!! I would not recommend going here.
(1)
Sharon C.
I'm an Taiwanese, who misses dim sum restaurant and haven't gotten a chance to have any in the states to have it. Today I went with my husband and his family (one of them is a regular). Got seated very quickly. And got pretty good speed of carts going around. Everything went great. Servers are not as described as other users. They are all friendly and smiled. I would go back again definitely!
(5)
Spike T.
They serve Dim Sum off of carts... the traditional way. The place is huge, the selection is extremely varied. May be the best Dim Sum in Boston. Be aggressive and ask the Cart Ladies to show you everything they've got under every lid of every steamer. They'll do it. They'll respect you for it. Fried, Pan Fried, Steamed, Baked... they've got a dumpling stuffed with something you'll like. Sit back and wait for service and the carts will just pass you by. Don't be a wimp, stop 'em and get what you want... you'll be glad you did. Perfect way to start your Saturday or Sunday.
(4)
Sofia Z.
I have been to almost all dim sum places in Boston, and being somebody from southern China, I am always raise an eyebrow when I try these "Americanized" dim sum places. But Hei La Moon, is home. I am surprised that it only has 3 and a half stars, and it certainly does not do it justice. Everything I've tried is delicious, and their services are always fast and friendly. To top it off, it is soooooo cheap! I love it! I even got my fiance to love chicken feet, which is unthinkable for him. Woo hoo!
(5)
Lau F.
Excellent fresh Cantonese food. The dim sum is excellent. Very busy especially lunchtime and weekends. Parking garage available at reduced rate.
(5)
Scott S.
Food was just ordinary. And, I couldn't get over the fact that when I walked in the door, a whole bunch of us were standing at the entrance unattended and wanting seats, while this chubby maitre d sat at the front table stuffing her face and ignoring us. Really bad way to run a business.
(2)
Jennifer L.
My favorite dim sum place in boston . The service is not consistent, but the food is pretty good.
(5)
Fay L.
Great variety and always busy on the weekends. There is a great variety in types of dishes offered and the classic ones that I order are always good. There are two floors, so you know the food turnover is high and always fresh when the carts come around.
(4)
Philip P.
This place is the best Dim Sum place I have found since The Nice Restaurant in NYC got closed for stealing tips (tsk tsk). Be sure to get there early as the place (like most Dim Sum places) fills up around noon.
(5)
Joyce H.
Yum! Came here for a wedding banquet on Saturday night. This venue is amazing. They know how to feed 500 people a 10-dish banquet very efficiently. My favorite dishes included the very fresh seafood, including the abalone and lobster. Everything else was also fairly solid with good flavor. We came here the next day for dim sum, and it was also pretty solid - we ordered mostly seafood small plates. I'm not an expert in dim sum but I know that it was fresh and the flavor was good! I left pretty satisfied and feeling pretty good. I would definitely come back for dim sum to try it again!
(4)
Wei W.
So apparently Sunday night banquets are a norm at Hei La Moon, especially when the date is fortuitous for all. At least that was the case for the baby banquet I had attended - we were seated next to a wedding reception (which thankfully had temporary walls separating us from that group) and regular dinner guests. The downstairs was being fully utilized that September evening as well for a second wedding reception - there was so much confusion as to which event was located where that I was surprised that guests of every which party found their way to their respective locations. But of course this is the chaos that ensues at any Asian restaurant that boasts two floors of seating space. The food wasn't too bad for how many people were being served - we had 11 courses, starting with the red-dyed hard-boiled eggs and ending with a bowl of warm red bean soup. The chicken, fish, rice, noodle, and bird's nest dishes were pretty flavorful, despite the large order that had been placed for our banquet alone. Our waitress was quite entertained by our table, and often had a good laugh whenever she brought out the next dish, as we would often cheer her on for the incoming plate of food. It helped greatly that we had an unending supply of Heineken distributed to our table - perhaps it was this and singing along to "Gangnam Style" playing in the adjacent wedding reception that made dinner bearable.
(3)
Brian R.
Don't eat the dim sum at night. They hauled it out if the fridge and it was either cold or the pork in the sui Mai was raw.
(1)
Manya C.
Hmm, if a group is going to eat dim sum in Boston, maybe u could come here. Enjoy the happiness but not hold high expectations on the food.
(3)
Handsome R.
Robert Irvine {from 'Restaurant Impossible'} where are you? This place needs your help! Yes, it's HUGE but everything is outdated. I wonder which is older, the carpet on the floor or the waiters uniform. Also, the bathrooms are dark and dingy so what does that tell you about the food. It's tells you that if you want to cleanse yourself all day in the toilet, this is the place.
(2)
Kristina N.
Good dim sum, big enough for any party size ever. I think this one is currently my family's favorite.
(4)
Laris L.
The lady at the cashier was very rude. Dinner sucked. The food was nowhere near neighboring restaurants' like Jumbo Seafood and Taiwan Cafe. They were pretty poor Chinese food. And not only was the food not good, the lady would make personal attacks on you if you ever complained. She had no manners at all! I just left with anger. It was a pretty poor experience. They don't accept feedback.
(1)
John W.
A group of friends and I went here for dim sum recently. If you are into dim sum it's excellent. It was Chinese New Year but they did an excellent job in serving us. I also went here for my birthday last year. Great fried rice, great noodles....hey....everything is good. They have to be one of the best restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)
Brian C.
This is one of the best if not the best dim sum place in Boston. Hei la moon is conveniently located between Chinatown and South Station and is easily accessible from the T whether you take the orange line to Chinatown or the green line to Bolyston. The restaurant is spacious so I never had to wait for a table even during the peak hours of dim sum. The waiters are very attentive and always nearby if you ever need anything and the carts are always constantly moving so you'll get to see all the delicious dishes that the restaurant has to offer. Some of the best appetizers offered in the carts include the shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and lo bat gow which is turnip cake dipped in oyster sauce. The beef tripe is also very enticing here and the best compared to other nearby dim sum restaurants. Even if you don't know how to speak Chinese fluently, you can easily point to the foods that you want because everything in the cart is very visible. If you want a dish that isn't offered in the carts, i would recommend the seafood lo mein because you get a combination of shrimp, scallops, and calamari which all taste savory. The food here normally tastes fresh compared to restaurants that are nearby. Overall the atmosphere is tremendous and its good for both big and small groups. The prices were better than i expected; eating at Hei la moon is worth every penny and definitely a restaurant you will want to eat at again.
(5)
William D.
I was in Boston for the weekend, visiting some friends, and they never had dim sum and wanted to try it. I told them they are missing out, and they should look up dim sum places. Hei La Moon popped up on their search. This place has good dim sum, but the service is not great. When we arrived, there was a long wait. People were waiting outside. It seemed we would be waiting a while for table, but when I went to inquire, the hostess said it would be about 15 minutes, and to take a number. So we stood outside, hearing the hostess calling out numbers. After about 20 mins, we stopped hearing numbers being called. We thought all the tables were filled. That was not the case. A person went inside and found out they decided to stop calling numbers. Thanks for not notifying anyone Hei La Moon! When we entered, we were seated pretty quickly. The dishes we had were great. The buns, dumplins, etc., were all amazing. However, the service was very slow. It took us a very long time to be served by a cart when we first arrived. Also, some of the ladies pushing the carts would skip our table if they believed it would be something a non-Chinese person would not like. I didn't like that at all. Overall, it was a good experience. I would go back, but when it was not so busy. If you are in Boston and want to have dim sum, Hei La Moon is not a bad option.
(3)
Brenda T.
I downed 8 dumplings in 30 minutes - It was no easy feat but I had limited time before a business appointment a few T stops away. It was worth it! The shrimp dumpling wrapper was thicker than I prefer, but I loved every bite of the siu mai (pork dumpling) -- large, juicy and plump. So flavorful you don't need soy sauce, just a dip in the chili sauce if you like spice. I also tried a new dim sum dish -- chicken, pork, black mushroom and taro root stuffed inside of tofu skin and braised. It was interesting and my favorite part was the starchy taro root and mushroom. I'm bringing a friend next time so we can dive into the xa xiu bao (buns with bbq pork). Fresh dim sum on a weekday? Yes, please. I don't get this option in Atlanta.
(4)
Damien S.
Shocking Confessions of a Yelp CM: I've never had dim sum. I mean, I've had it, but not from the bumper cart system: stainless feasts on wheels passing every potential consumer with scandalous taunts and bakery case appeal, only to have their featured plates dished off to voracious mouths in an endless cascade of dumplings, sweet breads and bamboo baskets. My dim sumginity was taken on sweaty flash on a blustery Saturday morning at Hei La Moon, and it was quite the experience. Steamed and baked carts grabbed me by the giblets, as my unnatural fear of traveling fried foods keep me from some of the more exotic options. Pork, shrimp, mushrooms and scallions, in varying degrees and volumes, occupied most of the large, dense shumai and dumplings. A little smear of pepper relish and a dip in vinegar (Blair H sez "Soy is like white dude ketchup"), those puppies are good to go. Check the eye/stomach ration - even at a buck a pouch, three will fill you up something serious. The winner of the day came late, but oh so appreciated: baked char sui bao, or minced BBQ pork buns. Sweet pork in a tender, yeasty breading brushed and browned with salty butter - had I started with these mounds of ecstacy, I'd only have eyes for the piping hot baked goods. After our feast with unlimited tea, the damage was a whopping $10pp. Stupid cheap eats in a massive complex of chaos, chicken feet and carpeting. Bring the kids! No seriously, bring the kids - they'll get a balloon.
(4)
Diana L.
Nooo! I love dim sum. I get it with my boyfriend. A lot of the dishes here were cold, or bad, or both (whatta combo). Shrimp shumai were *fine*, actually the spiced pork buns were quite good, egg rolls were incredibly greasy and cold, rice wrapped in green bamboo (?) was inedible, shrimp in rice noodle was fine, and apparently tripe and chicken feet were good (I don't eat them though). Another dish that I usually order was wildly bad here. Had dim sum in NYC and Montreal and this was the worst experience of the 3 in terms of food quality by faar.
(2)
Betty C.
Excellent dim sum and banquet food for the masses. A popular spot for weekend goers, locals and tourists. Great lobsters!
(4)
Lotus M.
The sad thing about this place is that some of the food is actually good...however the service is downright dishonest. For starters, I'm not a fan of the "what do I have to order to get...."; I wanted what I ordered. When I opened my takeout it was filled with onions and a deviation of what I had ordered, a huge deviation. My shrimp-stuffed tofu was nothing of the sort but rather a soupy mess of burnt hard tofu pieces with no shrimp in sight. Now, I have ordered the aforementioned in the past and it was quite good, however it seems on this occasion the chef decided to give me the end of the night's scraps rather than just say the kitchen was closing and he/she couldn't fill my orderl. To make matters worse, they overcharged me and when confronted about it said they would give me a "discount", which took my bill to the price it should have been originally--plus 20 cents. Overall, this place does have great dim sum, but I would avoid it at all costs for anything else, as they clearly try to take advantage of people who they think know nothing about Chinese food. Especially, with Chinese food being something I am well-versed in. Bottomline is, raw unions in water does not equal curry chicken with vegetables.
(1)
Nikhil M.
I think that I need to write a bad review after my experience. I came to yelp before going here and felt excited about this place. Let me start out with the food: Mediocre and definitely not worth the price. I am not a snobby food eater, and I am telling you, its mediocre. **Disclaimer is that I did not come for the dimsum, as I came on a Tuesday evening, so my family ordered from the menu. My experience could be totally different if I came at dimsum time. Second point. The service.... was awful. Apathetic rude and awful waiter. Our appetizers come without any sauces, and we ask for sauces and it looks like we asked him to travel to china for them. He also gets our entree order wrong. There was no silverware at the table. There were no chairs, and we are standing around the table waiting for one of them to pull up chairs, even though the place had plenty of tables with 4 chairs. They dont bring out our silverware even after the appetizers come. He forgets that I ordered a beer and charged me for one but I never got it. I order lobster. The lobster arrives at my table with no lobstershell cracker thing. I pull off the tail and eat that part but its straight up impossible to eat the claws without a cracker. So I ask for one and the guy is sulking and unapologetically sarcastic. Positive note: The schezuan duck was quite fantastic. Also, you definitely have to order their bok choy. We got it in garlic sauce and its solid. Overall: Do not come here for any expectation of service whatsoever.They have some good dishes but overall, its mediocre.
(1)
Cassie C.
They don't serve fried items in the evening but overall the food was very nice.
(5)
David C.
Hei La Moon (not to be confused with Howl at the Moon, which is what at least half the people I've told about it since first dining have confused it with) has quickly become one of my favorite spots in Chinatown. That it technically exists outside the Chinatown gates is beside the point. The last time I went, my friends and I hadn't even gotten to sit down in our chairs when three separate people descended upon us with carts carrying what seemed like countless dim sum delicacies. Waiters were also quick with water and requests for various sauces. Sometimes, things happen TOO quickly at Hei La Moon. You really need to know how to pace yourself, otherwise you will be stuffed to the gills in no time flat. Be warned: the food is so good (I want more steamed pork buns ASAP), you may forget to breathe between bites.
(5)
Heoun Joo K.
Good taste, not much in the way of service, do not expect to communicate freely in English.
(3)
Devika S.
We ate here twice in July 2012 and the dim sum was delicious! The pork buns, turnip cake, and various dumplings were among the best I've ever had in the US. Highly recommended!
(5)
Catherine W.
Returned on a busy Sunday for dim sum. Food was better than I remembered from my last meal there. All the standards tasted great. The cooked to order fried foods (fried radish cake and fried rice noodles) took forever to cook though.
(3)
Charles G.
This is the best Dim Sum restaurant in Boston. There are a large number of varied and interesting selections. The place is usually packed and there is a line out the door on Sunday mornings. It is also chaotic and you should not be shy about flagging down the ladies with the carts. I would also add that the selection is not consistent. I love their sticky rice but its not always there. It is a bit of catch as catch can.
(4)
Bryan B.
Great dim sum. Teapot was a little dirty though. Had sesame balls, sticky buns, rice and chicken cake, tofu wraps and pork shumai, all delicious.
(4)
Criselle O.
This place is super huge... two large floors. Geez. Hmm... we were seated pretty quickly and got our food super fast... & it was a sunday too!! Everything was on point. Cheap and good food. Just how I like it. The only thing I didn't like was that it took days for us to find a waiter to get us some water. Plus they seated us next to the door and it was freezing cold. Not cool man.
(4)
Leo C.
Hei La Moon is one of the best dim sum places in the Boston area, with good value. It's roomie, offers up very tasty eats, and as my friends have called it, it's "Legit Dimsum!" I highly recommend coming to eat here. Since my first visit to Boston, I've been here three times now. Everytime, the quality of food has been consistently good. I would not hesitate to come back here again if I'm in Boston and looking for dimsum. One caveat that I'd like to throw out here though - yes the staff can seem aloof and sometimes mean. That's not grounds for taking stars off... that's just how these restaurants are! Sorry to go on a rant here, but folks, let's be fair and compare the right comps. :) Eat on!
(4)
Alyssa J.
I've eaten a lot of dim sum in my time and I don't think I've had a more erratic dim sum experience than at Hei La Moon. The food was pretty standard, although it did make one of my co-workers barf. The pork buns are delicious, the chicken feet....were not. The people working there were completely out to lunch (get it?) and wandered over to our table pretty sporadically. It's definitely not the best dim sum joint in Chinatown, but it'll do.
(3)
Sami B.
I would rate it less if that was possible. Horrible service, disgusting food. I will never return.
(1)
Rona H.
Went on a Sunday around 11 with my friend and was immediately seated in the basement. The room was mostly busy, and the push carts were being pushed up and down the aisles. I am not Asian enough to know the names of the dishes that I ate; I can only point to what I want. I do know that we ordered 6 dishes and paid $27. Some dishes were good, and some were just okay, but for the value and the experience (this restaurant is the biggest one I've seen in Boston), I can't complain too much. The waiters and waitresses' English were okay depending on the individual, but it's all a part of the Chinatown experience I think :). Despite this, most of them had smiles on their faces, which was greatly appreciated. Our water glasses were re-filled constantly. I will return when in the mood for more dim sum :).
(5)
Chryssandra B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I still can't tell how I feel about it. I think we arrived at a weird time -3:00 on a Sunday- and it seemed like the carts were slowing down. We had no idea what we were doing or what we were eating (one cart lady told me something was beef--it was absolutely not. pretty sure it was tripe) and no one could really tell us exactly what the status was with the pork buns- were more coming out or did we need to order them? very confusing. All the other reviewers seemed pretty ticked about the service, but that didn't really bother us. At the end of the day the food was okay and it was insanely cheap- I think we got about 10 things and only paid 40$. I think I need to read up before I go back, but would try it again!
(3)
Amy L.
When my friends and I feel like eating dim sum, this is one of our usual places. Food is good and we usually don't have to wait long to get a table. Dim sum restaurants on weekends get incredibly crowded, but this place is so big that even when they're busy, you can still get seated quickly. I've also been to a couple of weddings here, so if you're looking to have a Chinese wedding banquet, this is a good place for that.
(4)
Alyssa W.
Blech. The only thing this place has going for it, is that it is one of the few chinese restaurant that can cater to wedding banquets. The food tonight was nothing great. Everything was super salty or just boring. The waiters...useless. I don't even know where to begin. The table cloth was grungy, the plates were dirty. We wanted water and got a pitcher...and then the pitcher had something in it. EW. I think I'll go elsewhere.
(1)
Xiao Z.
Best Dim Sum in the Boston Chinatown, hands down. The variety is superb and the price very reasonable and I love the taro root fried cakes and they're always freshly made in front of you. If you're new to Chinatown and have never tried Dim Sum, then definitely come here. The food is fresh, constantly brought to you by the minute and will not understand a word you say, no matter what you point to. Dim sum: 5 stars Service: 2 stars Ambiance: 2 stars
(4)
Matt L.
About average. Prices are alright. No substitution for dim sum in China, but good enough. The èåœç³• (turnip cake) has kind of a weird consistency those who are regular eaters may be taken aback a little.
(3)
Casey F.
Hadn't had Dim Sum in quite a while.. who knew it would be in Boston's Chinatown when I did.. This place was great.. cart after cart after cart.. so much good food.. needless to say I left a fat and happy man!
(4)
Vee K.
Not much of a wait except weekend lunches. Decent Dim Sum even for Hong Kong palette. Friendly folks. Definitely recommend T-ing to South Station and walking over. Oh - and get some take out cuz you will want another char siu bau when you get home.
(4)
Mary M.
Food was decent but the service was really pretty terrible. We had to flag them down (and we hate doing that) but after waiting a very long time for them to come to us we felt we had no choice. When the server finally came he was abrupt and not helpful. Bathrooms were also disgusting. I'd find somewhere else for dinner.
(2)
Pxan N.
Today we attended Hei La Moon for a friend's wedding. We paid $8 for a discounted parking ticket that did not work. The extremely rude man at the garage told us to exchange the ticket for a new one. After running inside the restaurant, I encountered a Chinese man with a nasty attitude that refused to exchange the ticket for a new one, stating that this is the first he has ever heard of this. I could not persuade him any other way, and he told me I have to pay again. So, one of the bride's family member had to pay for another ticket as I left my wallet and phone in the car, unable to contact my boyfriend to come into the restaurant. It absolutely annoys me to come onto yelp and to see - lo and behold - there is a post from another yelper written just last week for the same situation that occurred to us. Such dishonesty from the owner! It didn't help that the man at the garage was extremely rude to my boyfriend because he kept rushing my boyfriend to back up the car in such a cramped up garage so that other cars could have access to the gate. You know something funny...? When you feed the discounted ticket into the machine, it stays in the machine. It does not come out again where you can pass the ticket to someone else to reuse. There's no possible way that can happen. I had proof of the defected ticket in my hand... oddly that Chinese owner just didn't believe me. Sighh.
(1)
Karina L.
If you're craving for dim sim, you're not going to have many options in Boston. Hei La Moon is very solid. The service is questionable (e.g.: it'll take you eons to get a glass of water, and when it does the glass is teeny tiny), but I dare you to find a dim sum place that doesn't have rushed and impersonal service. It's the nature of dim sum, I swear! The ground floor is big, but not big enough to necessitate patrolling the floor for your favorite goodies. My favorite part about dimsum is getting the food IMMEDIATELY after you sit down, and Hei La Moon did not disappoint. The cart ladies are efficient and maybe a little bit aggressive. The traditional dim sum delicacies - shu mai, har gow (shrimp dumplings) cha siu bao (pork buns), chicken feet, spare ribs, and sticky rice in lotus leaf (not sure what to call this in Chinese) -- are all solid. My only complaint is that I didn't see a dessert cart (egg tarts, where art thou?), and some carts took a long time to come out of the kitchen. We came here on a Saturday around noon time, and we were seated pretty quickly so I wouldn't worry about time/being seated.
(4)
Linda W.
I was originally going to round up to 3 stars for the nostalgia aspect but honestly when factoring the annoying service even for a restaurant in chinatown (frustration with the cart rotation, inattentive staff, and servers peering down your shoulder until you've finished signing the credit card receipt) it 's hard to justify a better rating. This place used to be a family favorite years ago along with Empire Garden which have contributed to a handful of early morning happy memories. Unfortunately the quality of the food here has gone down... quite noticeably. The chicken feet (my personal favorite!) aren't steamed long enough leaving them with a strange and bland overly chewy texture. Beef noodles seemed overcooked and were almost cold when reached the table. Sauce is meh. Maybe I'm biased but the sauce for the beef noodles at Winsor (a few streets down) is just straight up delicious.... Definitely leaves more to be desired. On the upside, I do like the ha gao (shrimp dumplings) but definitely not enough to excuse the mediocrity of all the other dishes. :( What happened Hei La Moon?
(2)
Susan Z.
Came here on a weekday for the first time -- and there's still cart service! They're less busy (obviously) and the customer service was great. They were friendly and got us whatever we asked for, even if it wasn't on the carts that were coming around. It's relatively cheap - with tip and special-order tea, it came to about $15 a person for more than enough food to fill you up. The quality of the dim sum is still, I believe, the best in Boston. We also recently came with a large group of 26 on a Sunday. Luckily we made a reservation, and everyone had a good time. Would only suggest that they put a lazy Susan on the table next time, but otherwise they were very accommodating to our large group and the wait staff were very nice.
(5)
Eunice E.
I really enjoy dim sum, and especially dim sum from Hei La Moon. I've tried other places in Chinatown (NYC) and Flushing, and there's just something about this place that does it for me. Maybe it's the garish red and gold all over the place; maybe it's the old ladies who push the carts around who yell at me in Cantonese when I speak not a lick of it; maybe it's the AMAZING TURNIP CAKE CART... okay, it's probably all the above. I love it all. I like to go with Chinese speakers (specifically, Canto Chinese speakers) because I don't really know how to order there besides pointing and praying nothing is made with crab. I also like to order a nice hot pot of tea ("cha"--the one word I can say since it's the same in Korean) to go with my dim sum. And I'm always impressed with the swiftness with which these people calculate our tab. Be sure to flag down the people in the red vests--they're the ones who do it, not the ones in the black vests. Anyway, definitely a winner in my book, and any time I'm in the mood for dim sum, I'll be sure to hop on the Red, get off at South Station, and walk on over to this little Chinatown gem.
(4)
Gray L.
Do not come here Saturday nights. We have been waiting for our food for over an hour. We didn't even get our drinks (two cokes). The table next to ours got fed up and finally left. When we asked how much longer we have to wait, the waiter told us to wait 20 more minutes without an apology. I will never ever return.
(1)
Erica D.
Very good dim sum! I grew up eating dim sum in Boston's Chinatown. Our oldest haunt closed many many yrs ago and China Pearl makes you order off of cards and it all comes at once! No fun!!!! Hei la moon is still the traditional roaming carts with nice but curt ladies. The offerings are plentiful but you may have to work a bit to get them. Trying to chase carts can be frustrating so I say flag down a server in the vest and ask for what you want. It's not a guarantee but better than the first option. The place is huge!!! Two floors and they do cram us in there. The carts do pass by but can't always get to all the tables. I am not Chinese but have never felt punished for this. Yes they do tend to send lots of people downstairs but it's always mixed clientele on both levels. I have started asking to be upstairs if it's only 2-4 of us but if we are here with a big group, who cares!!! Food is all the same up or down. One can eat a ton and have great fun for very little $$ Eat at noon or after and you don't have to eat again all day!! The crowds do thicken around 12:30 on so if you want less hassle and quicker seating make it an earlier start. 9-12 is easier! All in all good fun dim sum.
(4)
Jenna K.
So I'm American and I still love this place. I don't speak any other language than English, but I don't find that to be a problem here. There are certain restaurants where there is definitely a language barrier. Note that if you do not want to share your table with 4 random strangers, this is not the place for you. I was taken off guard the first time this happened to me so fair warning. The seating is mostly communal so be prepared to make some new friends. Food: Great. I love everything they have. The only problem is they are out of things quite frequently. I would not go into this place thinking you must have that one dish because chances are they are going to be out. If you want some awesome dim sum this is your place. Price: It does not get cheaper than this place. Dim sum 24/7 and two people can eat and feel stuffed for 15 bucks. Service: Slow and very impersonal but that is kind of how it is.
(4)
Catrina W.
One of the worse dim sum place I have ever had... Very bad customer service and very mediocre food. Dun have beverages except the foundation drink. It took them 15 min to cook some dim sum, and after rushing the order, the food delivered was not fully cooked...!!!?
(2)
Jared H.
Old school dim sum is one of my favorites and Hei La Moon does it well. I always would go to dim sum in NYC and had not tried to find a place in Boston. A friend took me here and I have been going ever since. They do dim sum everyday from 8-3pm. It is the traditional dim sum that is wheeled around on carts and you pick what you want and the person stamps your check. I was used to going just on weekends in NYC but now I can even get dim sum for weekday lunch. The place gets crowded on weekends from around 10am-2pm so if you don't want a loud, busy environment, check it out on a weekday. The shu mai, shrimp dumplings, and slippery shrimp are my favorites. The staff speaks a decent amount of english and was helpful.
(5)
Ha-Young K.
Personally, I am huge fan of Chinese food. My friends and I decided to come to Chinatown for some sightseeing and dimsum. So we came here. In the beginning when we entered the restaurant, it was very nice and the aura had a golden sort of warmish feel to it, with which I was very comfortable. My friends and I were all Asian, a few Chinese, so the waiter immediately began to speak in rapid Chinese, which sort of threw me off. However, after we sat down, the service was quite terrible. The food was okay, but I discovered that I was not a fan of Chinese cuisine. Since that was more my personal preference, I decided to just sit and smile and be polite. I was then eating part of a dish, but then found a hair in it. Okay so that happens, but I decided to not leave a tip because frankly it was disgusting. But when we were paying the bill, when I did not to write a tip amount on the receipt before giving it back to the cashier, who to my surprise just returned my receipt and said "Tip: $7.13". I was a bit thrown off and so were the rest of my friends. After a short silence I said "Why?" just to be responded with "You forgot." Since there was a long line and everything was overall hectic, I wrote the amount down and returned to my seat. Then I got bad digestion for the next 2 days. Definitely not going again.
(1)
Margaret J.
Good, but not great. Not a lot of vegetarian options and the waiters were very hard to understand. Wish they had custard buns. But the food was good and our primary waiter was very nice. I just like the places where you can check off what you want.
(3)
Jeff F.
Literally (literally) the busiest and most organized food chaos I've ever seen. Dim sum on a weekend morning is like the Chinatown DMV and Gourmet Dumpling House rolled into a two story, 3,000 square foot arena. Complete with microphone and thrown-elbows. Food is great if you're willing to point and eat (it comes around on carts without explanation). Best bet is to go with a Chinese friend and/or practice your elbow-throwing, Chinese-accented-American-name-calling identification skills. Try the taro root bun cake ( img.photobucket.com/albu… ). And thank me later.
(4)
Shiri Y.
Wonderful dim sum lunch. Great variety. Everything was really great. On Sunday get there before 11 and there's no line
(5)
Craig N.
Incredibly friendly service. We have 3 kids and most of the staff went out of their way to make them comfortable. Food was great. Only minor complaint was not enough carts. We were downstairs so may have more carts upstairs
(4)
Jiyea C.
I was torn on how many stars to give Hei La Moon. I've been here on multiple occasions, and when I want dim sum, I usually end up here as it has two floors of seating (meaning no wait every time I've been here). The dim sum isn't amazing but it takes care of the craving, and I'm a fan of the small plates/family style of eating. This past weekend, we decided to get an order of the chinese broccoli. We had gone through half of it when I discovered a ladybug sitting in the broccoli. EW! One of the waiters gave us a choice of a replacement OR taking it off of our bill. I honestly thought BOTH of those things should have happened WITH an apology, but alas, this is Chinatown and expectations regarding service should be realistic(ally low). On top of that, my dining companion did not wish for me to make a fuss about it (he said "at least it's not a cockroach..." really?!) ugh. Needless to say, this definitely curbed my appetite for the rest of the meal, and I will hesitate before coming here again. I think a search for a new dim sum spot is in order.
(2)
Julie M.
Super DimSum place :-) A friend took me there while visiting Boston and we had an awesome time for a fair price. The place is packed and noisy but the food and service are great.
(4)
Maria R.
Don't come here if you are a vegetarian. Everything has pork, even if you ask and they tell you of doesn't. My tofu rolls were filled with pork. Also, just not very good in general, in terms of desserts, which was the only thing I could eat.
(1)
Peter Y.
My favorite dim sum place in Boston. I make it a goal to go at least once a week. It's not too friendly for morning hangovers though, because their food tends to lean a bit on the greasy side. Anyways, they have a huge selection of different dim sum, and you're almost guaranteed something you like. The pricing is fair, and the dim sum as good as it gets (at least for Boston).
(4)
Big B.
A better place than nyc dim sum place. Their food is more tasty and authentic. Worth a try but not to go regularly.
(3)
Victoria P.
Managed to get a table on the main floor, but at a table hidden by a column so there wasn't much cart traffic flowing through. For the food we actually managed to get, it was just okay. The deep fried whole shrimp was the best thing I had - fried perfectly and very flavorful. Other than that, I prefer dim sum at China Pearl - I always get what I want and it's been consistently delicious.
(2)
Ailynda W.
The food was good. Cheap. Service was not attentive at all. Dirty plates, cups, bathroom. They are very busy during lunch time eventhough on weekday. I gave 4 stars only to food and price.
(4)
Brian L.
Solid dim sum spot, probably in contention for top in Chinatown along with Chau Chow City. Got here fair early just before 10 on a Saturday, and it was not very crowded. Brags (+): Tasty, well-put together dishes that aren't really greasy or fall-aparty (a word, fyi). We got the shumai, fengzhao (chicken feet), taro sticky rice, congee, and shrimp changfen. They also had come sort of milky dessert dish served from a watermelon, which I've actually never seen before. Beats (-): Service ain't that great... but then again, I've never gotten good service at a dim sum place in my 20+ years of eating it, so vying for the wait staff's attention is just part of the experience as far as I'm concerned. As for the food, my only complaint was that the changfen had too much noodle in relation to the shrimp. Variance (~): As is typical in getting dim sum, the cart-ladies are constantly pushing food in your face. Good if you're hungry, maybe slightly annoying once you're full.
(4)
Anne W.
Their dimsum has improved.. yes, they have tons of seating so it's ideal for the large parties. But.. this last time I went there.. we uncovered a bug that was sitting on the table... dead. Euw. We told the waiter.. basically he scooped it up before I can snap a picture on my phone. He refused to do anything about it until we complained for 15 minutes. They took some money off our bill.. but that's typical Chinese. Sigh.
(2)
Kai L.
Very bad service, especially the cashier. We brought my 82 year old mom to eat and they gave us a table in second floor. We asked them to switch the table to the first floor. They refused with an attitude. Who wants to go back there.
(1)
Silver L.
Hei la Moon is great for Dim Sum. I really really love the pork buns. We usually go on Sunday morning. It gets crowded!!! Service is fast. The main entrance is not wheelchair accessible, however they will direct persons in wheelchairs to a seldom used side entrance or they will offer to carry you and your chair in the main entrance. Chinatown, the North End and much of Boston lacks wheelchair accessibility,so they are no better or worse than others. Food is superb!!!!
(4)
Kristina N.
I've eaten here three times. Because the place is huge, there is usually not a wait. The food is good and decently priced. I order at least 8 dishes if it's just myself and another friend because we want to try different things. If I'm with a party of 4 (including myself) we order at least 10-15 dishes. Good staples are the sticky rice in tea leaf, spare ribs, any of the many dumplings, the shrimp in noodle, and the bean curd-wrapped pork and shrimp dish. For Boston, this dim sum place does quite well (but I am biased - lots of great dim sum places in New York which are cheaper and taste better!)
(3)
Cody C.
I really want to like this place. All of my friend adore it. Two of my friends even had the Chinese side of their wedding here! But I've really got no love for this place. Every. Single. Time.... I get banished to the basement floor no matter how many times I ask to be at the ground level... and the options downstairs are really like 50% of what is offered upstairs. In the basement it's the same 5 carts pushing the same 8 items and that's it. Service blows pretty hard and on more than one occasion I've just gone over to the server station and picked up my own soy sauce. Once I was told that we couldn't have any chili sauce because they don't do that for dim sum... and I've never been offered vinegar. *sigh* The sunny side: The steamed char siu bao was nice and juicy. I'm sure I'll be back - but nothing in Chinatown (that I've tasted so far) will take my allegiance from Windsor Dim Sum Cafe. :)
(2)
Joanna R.
When I was growing up, my father invited a couple of his Chinese business partners over for lunch on Sunday. The men would teach my mother how to cook some of the traditional Beijing dishes in addition to creating "beginner" chopsticks for my sister and me. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about Chinese food, but I felt like a novice when I tried dim sum a couple of years ago. My visit to Hei La Moon was my third time experiencing dim sum and it was by far my favorite so far. My friends and I went on Memorial Day, the place was buzzing but not overly crowded. We were seated immediately on the lower level and within 30 seconds we had our first round of dumplings. Most of the dumplings or shumai are filled with meat, pork or beef, or shrimp. So if you're a vegetarian definitely make sure you ask before diving in. One of my favorites (so hard to choose from!) was the sticky rice and meat wrapped in a lotus leaf. From the presentation to the taste, the dish hit the spot for me. I asked one of my friends at the table spent some time living in Shanghai and she didn't know the name for it. I'll just call it delicious. Another major perk- reasonably priced. For the amount of tasty food we consumed I felt like the bill should have been much higher. I'm not complaining and I will definitely return to try more new dishes!
(4)
Deborah H.
Probably the best dim sum in the area, though my friend warns that if you go without Chinese people in the party, they will probably stick you in some drafty corner where the dim sum carts never go. Sadness. Had banquet-style dinner here and it was fine but nothing to write home about (I miss you, Congee Village). I will continue searching for a delicious Cantonese restaurant in Boston. The best-kept secret is probably the $6 validated parking that's good for 24 hours, even on the weekend!!
(3)
Rose C.
Given the over-abundance of Asians, I had pretty high expectations for this place. Sadly it was pretty disappointing. The items were limited, it was the same items brought around and around. The push-cart ladies know it too, they' don't even stop at every table. I'm not sure if this has to do with the fact that we were shoved to the basement :( I read in another review that upstairs had more options, maybe I'll go back, hopefully I don't get pushed to the basement again. In general, the food were more greasy than your average dim sum. I thought the sticky rice, chicken feet, tripe, and the bean curd rolls were pretty good. The shrimp dumplings were disappointing though. The price was average for dim sum, we paid about $25 for the two of us. Is anything a "small" item anymore? The service was also average, the ladies could care less about you and had a hard time understanding both English and Mandarin.
(3)
Art L.
Since I'm a New Yorker, I love comparing Boston Chinatown dim sum restaurants to those here in New York. What I can say is that Hei La Moon is very similar in quality to old-line Chinatown restaurants in New York, like Hop Shing and Delight 28 in the old core of New York's Chinatown. Everything is done in the old way which are thicker skins, thicker cheong fun, lot's of black beans in the chicken feet, heavy sauces, and just generally larger everything. This is not a negative but I see as an affirmation that old-style dim sum restaurants can survive into the 2000's. Hei La Moon is conveniently located just steps away from the T and from Boston's South Station. The dining room is large and cavernous with plenty of round tables but a few smaller tables for small parties. Service is pretty good and some dim sum cart ladies even speak English! The biggest plus in dining at Hei La Moon is despite the multitudes of people and tables, you will never feel crowded here as the tables are set apart far enough for comfort.
(3)
Richard C.
"Hong Kong Quality Push Cart Dim Sum. One of the Best Dim Sum restaurants in Boston." Hei La Moon has above average quality dim sum for a US city. The huge basement dinning floor with push cart dim sum took me back to my time in Hong Kong. I've lived in Hong Kong, had dim sum countless times and would say that this is on par with Hong Kong dim sum, not the better than Hong Kong, but still very good for the US and Boston.
(4)
Less H.
Now that I'm no longer a dim sum virgin I'm all over sticking all kinds of dim sum in my mouth. Seriously, dim sum get in mah belly! This time I went with a friend who speaks Mandarin. We let her order for us. This assured us of knowing what we were putting in our mouths. This seemed to take away from the adventure of Dim Sum but it was good to learn about the various fillings. The food was great. We were in the basement and through reading other reviews I hear that you really want to be upstairs. The carts come by pretty slowly and depending on where you sit you can end up with a lot of repeats. I tried a lot of new things and liked most of them. We ate so much food for not a lot of money. Really good.
(4)
Krit P.
The best dim sum place in Boston!! More variety of foods. Better service. Reasonable price. Overall they are a lot better than their competitor across the street!
(5)
Ashley A.
I've been eating dim sum since I sampled it at the Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York City in 1969. Back then, dim sum was hardly known -- a rare Asian delight. Today, dim sum is widely available. It's almost faddish for Chinese restaurants to offer it. I even had some in Madrid, Spain, under the headline "Tapas Chinos". It was horrid -- just microwaved frozen dim sum that was soggy and gelatinous. Fortunately, the half a dozen or so places in Boston's Chinatown that have dim sum are all pretty darn good. For me, that means: a wide variety of fresh offerings, without overlong delays, served steaming hot, with appropriate sauces as accompaniment, a tasty tea, and a reasonably clean bathroom. It's helpful if the place has the ability to accommodate a group of 12 or more -- since I sometimes entertain large parties. I've been to all of the dim sum places in Boston's Chinatown; Hei La Moon is at the top of my list. I have never been disappointed with soggy sui mai, tepid har ghow, cold chopped spare ribs in black bean sauce, or undercooked chicken feet. And there are always new items I've never tried to keep my taste buds hopping. I tend to go on Saturday or Sunday late morning or early afternoon -- at which time the place is crowded, but still with enough space to entertain a large group meal (usually downstairs). Service can slow some during the most crowded times -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- as it leaves time to actually enjoy and digest the food I've ordered before snarfing down new offerings from a passing cart. Prices are reasonable. I've also found the waitstaff to be more engaging and accommodating than in other dim sum places. But that could easily just have been the luck of the draw -- as there are easily 30 people working out on the floors at any one time.
(4)
Geri V.
This dim sum place is the best I've been to in the Boston/china town area.. They don't have a huge variety but it's pretty decent and flavorful. The staff are pretty friendly and they try their best to get you what you want.
(4)
Drew S.
The best dimsum in Chinatown on Saturday and Sundays! Try the crispy shrimp if they go by and order off the menu for some yummy vegetables. Can be hit or miss during the week in non peak times but weekends always blow me away.
(5)
Amelia A.
His: Went late when it was after the peak of dim sum hours and it seemed as they were closing. Service was horrible. It was dirty. Food was okay not even that great. Hers: I've been here twice. The first time, I went with a bunch of girlfriends, and it was the typical dim sum experience - fun, continuous food, etc. We went on a weekend afternoon, and it was certainly busy, so lots of food came our way. My favorite is the shrimp wrapped in soft rice noodle (?). Also, the sweet, gingery tofu soup was really good too! The second time I came was incredibly disappointing. It made me embarrassed to give the idea of coming there for dim sum =/. We came after the typical hours of dim sum apparently - I wasn't aware dim sum had a particular time span because in NY, they seem to be operating all the time. The service was absolutely horrible. They hardly had any food, and what they did still have was just okay - most likely left overs. They were trying to clean the restaurant while there were still a few parties there. Needless to say the sound of a vacuum cleaner running around your table was super annoying. In conclusion, if you're going to go, make sure you go when everyone else does. Otherwise, you're going to have a bad experience.
(3)
Stephanie S.
Came here on a weekday lunch (Friday at 1pm). We were seated on the main floor. Service: They didn't give us any tea, then sat a Chinese couple in front of us, and gave them a pot of tea. We had to ask 2 different people before we received a pot of tea minutes later. Some ladies pushing the cart were very difficult to understand, and others were easy. Food: Dim sum was pretty bad. The fried rice was almost cold. The vegetable spring roll had mushrooms inside and that's about it. They had many shrimp dishes, and no chicken. No chicken dumplings and no pork dumplings! What?! Every time they came around with the cart, it was the same stuff: more shrimp. The only thing that was good was the sesame ball which was filled with a lot of red bean paste. I would not come back here ever again for dim sum.
(2)
Jessica B.
I've been to Hei La Moon a few times, today with a group of 15. As always, the food was delicious. Here's a few tips for first timers. If you are going on a weekend, avoid the noon rush and make a reservation for a large party. We went at 1:30 and did not have to wait for a table. When the carts come around indicate what you want and the server will add a stamp to your bill. After the meal they total the bill and did not include tip for us, so you need to add that on. They aggressively close at 3. The food carts really slow down around 2 so grab your food before then. If you don't see what you want, they will also let you order off the menu. I find Hei La Moon a little intimidating and usually go with my Chinese friend who knows what everything is. This is what I have tried so far. Sorry if I get any descriptions a little off, I'm a novice: Shrimp Hargow - Delicious shrimp in dumplings. Shrimp Chung Foon - Shrimp in pancakes with tasty sauce. Even better than Shrimp Hargow. Soybean Jello - This is scary, scary stuff. It's liquid tofu with ginger sauce. My husband likes tofu and ordered it and was a little surprised that it was so gooey. No one else at the table was too interested. Pan Fried Turnip Cake - These rule. They are liked fried mashed potatoes. Really delicious. I also had Chinese broccoli and a dish of something that looked like tofu but tasted like coconut. Both of these were delicious. I did not try a bowl of chopped up bones and meat that looked like vertebrae. I wonder what it was? The service is not particularly awesome, but the food is great and it's fun for something different.
(4)
CJ N.
mmmm dumplings and buns.... Gahhhh.... Dim sum here in Boston's Chinatown is worth it. It's fresh, hot, fun, and flavorful. My first experience was under the tutelage and guidance of a Mandarin-speaking friend. She gave me insider info, which basically boiled down to - if it looks good, try it. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And - don't be afraid to turn something down politely. Bring friends and visitors to dim sum - it's a fun and good experience. The carts come by with great regularity, and feature all kinds of goodies, and some things that are meant only for Andrew Zimmern. Share various dishes with your group, tapas-style. Your cart server will mark your order slip. At the end, (when you've reached your point of actually turning into a stuffed bun), you pay at the front. Then you are free to walk around Chinatown and maybe walk up to Copley Square and catch a movie or walk in the park if the weather is good. Enjoy!
(5)
Jen K.
So I came here on a weekday night after reading all the yelp reviews on how this is the best dim sum ever with the carts and everything...am I missing something?? Is dim sum with carts a weekend thing? Why did have I not received the dim sum memo?? The restaurant is absolutely massive, and we were the only ones there in a sea of tables with white table clothes. Kinda weird, haha, but the food was good and I ordered a few items from the dim sum menu. So I guess I'll have to go back on a Sunday to get the true dim sum experience
(4)
Ambrose C.
Are you looking for some of the most fundamental dishes of Cantonese Chinese cuisine served in small dishes right here in Boston? This place may have your answer, and it has constantly been one of my primary choices in getting dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Cantonese morning meal. Please be aware that this place may not have the best dim sum (if you are comparing to New York, Toronto, and San Francisco) but I believe they can do a fine job. Here's my review on most of the dim sum dishes I have ordered and eaten during my most recent visits with family and friends. Siu Mai - Probably the plumpest pork dumplings I have found in a dim sum restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. Probably my favorite version of this dish, and I think they do a great job. Ha Gau - The shrimp dumplings are also fairly plump. Very soft exterior on the outside with a nice tenderness from the shrimp on the inside. Lo Mai Gai - The sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves are decently good, and I usually enjoyed the tender chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage inside. Lo Bak Go - The turnip cakes are cooked right in front of you, and have a slight crispiness on the outside, and a nice softness on the inside. It's not too oily, which is good. The dark sauce provided just makes the turnip cake even better. Cha Siu Bau - I usually get the steamed variety of the Roasted Pork Bun (white buns with a dark red opening on the top). It has a nice warm fluffiness on the outside and a good meaty flavor on the inside. A great choice if you want to start getting your stomach full. The baked variety (brownish gold buns) is not a bad choice, but does not have the nice and warm fluffiness. Ha Cheung Fun - The shrimp rice noodle roll is not a bad choice, did not have much shrimp, but the texture of the rice noodle and the flavor of the sauce was good. Sin Juk Guen - I do not have an English name for this, but this is usually called the Tofu Skin Roll. It's a great and tasty choice if you want a mouthful of a little tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and some bits of meat. Gam Chin Tou - This is steamed tripe made with a little garlic sauce and some oil. A good choice for a light appetizer. I really liked the texture. Wu Kok - The fried taro dumplings are pretty good. Liked the slight sweetness of the taro, and the outside was pretty crispy. So far, the dim sum has been tasty so far. I was with a group of probably 12 people on that day, we ordered 10+ dishes, and we only paid about $12 including tax and tip. Overall, this place will remain my primary choice for good dim sum especially when I am with my family or an entourage of friends. It is not my primary choice if I want a great Chinese dinner in Boston's Chinatown unless I need a lot space for a traditional Chinese banquet.
(4)
Yue Z.
This is a review for the actual dinner food, not dim sum. I had to head for the restroom 5 minutes upon getting home. We came here for Chinese New Year dinner, as a part of a large group. We ordered all the same food banquet style, and had reservations beforehand. They waited almost an hour before serving anything, and even then brought the dishes out very slowly. The lobster was not fresh, neither was the fish. The fried chicken was super salty, the crab soup had way too much msg. The sweet and sour pork was very sweet...and sour with a ton of unhealthy sauce. The fried rice was super dry and the chow mein was more like soy sauce with limp noodles. The veggies were the typical cheap medley of carrots, broccoli, celery. And there's too much oil on everything. O, and they charged us $6 for a Tsingdao beer. Perhaps it's best to stick to their dim sum menu.
(1)
Alex C.
Located just outside Chinatown in the Leather District, Hei La Moon used to have lengthy waits for weekend dim sum until they opened a basement level of the restaurant a few years ago. The reason for those lines will become immediately clear when you sit down to eat. The circulating carts serve up well made and delicious dumplings and buns in great variety, upwards of at least two dozen, with all the favorites (hargow, shiu mai, steamed pork buns, chive dumplings, etc) frequently showing up at your table. The restaurant is large, clean, always busy, very inexpensive and gets my vote for best dim sum in town.
(4)
Ben P.
My dim sum prowess is not legendary, but I've been around the block a few times. I've ordered off the regular menu and dim sum menu and I liked the hot and sour soup, shrimp shu mai and any steamed bun the most. I really like the food (as do our out of town friends) but the service is a little stiff at times, although it is a gigantic restaurant. Just raise your hand like you are in class though and they will take care of you.
(4)
Jeremy W.
Been coming to Chinatown since 1997 and over the years there have been many Dim sum places that have been my favorite. Since 2008, I've come to Hei La Moon consistently for Dim Sum and it's great every time. What people have to understand when they come here is that you have to get used to the culture here. If you are a first timer, you are going to be overwhelmed, ESPECIALLY if you are coming here with people who have not had the experience of a dim sum place. Be mindful!! Once you've graduated from rookie status, this place is a quick and delicious place to get dim sum. I usually get the same dishes every time and it has consistently been good. It's hard to order in english for me because I actually don't know the name of the dishes in english so I always order in Chinese. As a staple I get the pork steamed shu mai and the shrimp dumplings. This my bread and butter, and usually other people's as well. From there I get a variety of things- all super good. Remember, if you are coming here as a newbie be prepared to be VERY adventurous with the food you are going to try (you might not even know what it is inside at times). I recommend to BRING A FRIEND WITH EXPERIENCE (I recommend 5+ times for the best experience). It will really help. Nonetheless- go try this asian tradition here at Hei La moon. Fantastic place for dim sum and best in Chinatown at the moment.
(4)
Monique S.
This was my first experience at any Dim Sum place. I had a blast. The carts kept coming. The tofu was quite good along with the dumpling in many dumplings. I do not even know what they were. But whatever they were, they were delicious. The space is huge. No one speaks English. Point and smile. They do not serve beverages. Bring one. They didn't really understand when we asked for water.
(4)
Kelly O.
Finally I got a chance to experience a traditional dim sum meal, with someone in the know, and Hei La Moon was an excellent place to do it. We barely sat down before carts came by and we started feasting. Hei La Moon has pretty decent quality food IMO... I found their pork buns and hargau to be particularly good (better than most I've had, actually), but pretty much everything I ate was decently tasty with the exception of the sesame ball which was on the cold side and a major bummer (everything else seemed fresh and hot though). For 3 of us to be completely stuffed, we each paid $12 (which included tip). Insanely cheap for a filling, tasty meal. As with any traditional dim sum experience, you pretty much need to know what you're doing... if you don't know Cantonese and are picky/have lots of food aversions, or are operating on a budget, or want a balanced meal, or want your entire meal to arrive at once, or want a non-chaotic eating experience, you're out of luck. Fortunately the friend I was with was able to identify from experience most of the fillings of the various dumplings and buns and balls, which was helpful because the cart ladies can basically only tell you the main type of meat or filling that's involved and nothing else (major language barrier here, plus they're not really known for their service). I think personally, as a bit of a control freak I prefer the Windsor-type of experience, where you get a menu with descriptions, prices, and pictures of each of their offerings, and use a checklist for ordering... I like having control over my meal (making it balanced with different types of eats, rather than a million of the same), being able to price things out beforehand, knowing exactly what's in each item, and not having to worry about timing or language barriers. But that's just me, and that's for dim sum in general (not Hei La Moon in particular). Come for the pork buns and hargau, and enjoy the chaos.
(3)
Helen H.
Decent- shrimp balls good seasoning Good food good priced No sharing tables
(3)
Kayan H.
Pretty good place for dim sum. The standard fare was yummy, my friend even got us to try the watermelon tapioca and tofu desserts which were good. There was a waiter who was SUPER attentive and came by to check on us several times, asking whether we needed more food and personally brought them to our table. A+ for service! (which is not normal for a dim sum place!)
(4)
Nancy C.
I can't speak for their dim sum, as I've never tried it, but we went here as part of a Chinese Language Partner Speaking Program for NEU a couple of weeks ago. Now, the program coordinator did order all the food, so maybe that's why it was so bad, but it was BAD. Like, straight up Americanized Chinese food, but the thing is even the jiao zi (pan fried dumplings) were bad. They weren't even recognizable as dumplings. Maybe a good indicator of how bad it was is how empty the restaurant was at dinner time, which is when the crowds come in for most restaurants. I think I literally ate bowls of rice and picked broccoli off some veggie dishes. Not a good experience. Maybe their dim sum is good, who knows, but I'm not too keen on trying it after this experience.
(1)
Nikhil P.
Oh, sweet dim sum. After totally disappointing experiences at China Pearl, and a slightly weird, creepy experience at Empire Garden, this is THE place for Dim Sum in the city. Dim sum carts are rolling, grandparents, kids, strollers, possibly illegal workers, random guys, and people wearing suits are shouting into walkie-talkies, and chaos reigns. And amidst that, the food is freaking awesome. We had great Cantonese-speaking friends who helped navigate the language barrier, but even without that we generally scored with the point-and-shoot method. Dim Sum at a place like this is an exercise in assertiveness training. You want water, pork buns, hot sauce, or a napkin? Ask, and you will receive. And ask again when you get the wrong item. Tonnes of food for 4 people = $70 with tip. Damn cheap and amazing.
(5)
Stefanie Y.
Honestly, I want to give this place a 4/5. Their dim sum is delicious and the carts are fun. I came here the other day and had a great meal. But alas, my friend and I brought a bunch of people here for Chinese New Year and we had a heinous experience. We had made a reservation, but had to wait for about 15 minutes until we were seated. Understandable, seeing that we were a 10-person party. Less understandable was why it took 30 minutes for a waiter to take our order, and least understandable of all was why it took another 45 for even ONE dish to make it to our table. Being Chinese-American, I was...confused. Literally every Chinese place I've ever been to has really fast service. To make it all worse, they messed up our order, which we had ordered in Chinese, so it's not really like they misunderstood us. One of the girls in our group had an allergy and if the Chinese members of the group hadn't recognized the dish as being the wrong one, she could have had an attack. The allergy thing is really what made me knock off a star. I still get nervous thinking about it. Then the food wasn't even that great. Half of the dishes came out cold. We ordered traditional Chinese New Year dishes, yet many of them were very greasy, saucy, and tasteless, kind of like bad American-Chinese food. My party left two and a half hours later, dissatisfied. I want to reiterate that the dim sum is great. I love how traditional this place is (they even have this weird watermelon jelly thing that I haven't ever seen outside of the mainland), and they really execute their dim sum dishes well. I'm confused as to why their dinner is so sub par considering that dim sum dishes are much harder to make than, say, steamed fish.
(3)
Chelsea L.
Two words: Dim Sum. Although it does get crowded on the weekend afternoons, my roommates and I are always down to squeeze our way through the crowded doorway, past the large parties of people waiting in order to get our group on the waiting list. Why, do you ask? Because of the shmorgasboard (did I spell that right?) of food that is awaiting your consumption both on the ground level and downstairs in the basement. Dim sum isn't too easy to mess up, so while I LOVE the typical foods (shu mai, har gow, cha siu bao), it was all pretty standard. The service there is typical of an authentic chinese restaurant: no chitchat, you wave them over if you want something, and they get it for you ASAP. Bing Bang Bong. I still don't really understand how some of the waiters do the math on the check so fast though. I'm always in awe as I watch them add up all of the dishes and even factor in the tax (carry the 3, multiply that by 2....except imagine 10 more of those calculations in 5 seconds flat). I always come here with people who sometimes have no idea what the heck any of the dishes are. And because me and my family are dim sum freaks, we can usually navigate through all of the names and contents of the food with little frustration. Everything that we have tried at Hei La Moon has been yummy, no complaints there. There was just this one incident that we joke about even to this day. Last year one of my friends really wanted those fried sesame balls with the sweet paste in the middle. However, I guess they were in high demand that day so one minute we saw them from across the room but before the cart came to our table, all of them were gone. Needless to say, my friend was about to have an aneurysm and it soon became a little cat-and-mouse game at our table to eye those sesame balls when they came out of the kitchen and find a way to snatch em up before they disappeared onto another table. I'm sure that was an isolated incident though because all of the other times, there have been plenty of sesame balls for us. Bottom line: Don't have high expectations for the service and don't predict that you will be blown away by the food. But for yummy, authentic, affordable, Chinese cuisine (4 of us were full for $40 total), put on your fat pants and come to Hei La Moon!
(4)
Rani P.
Any excuse to go somewhere new with two of my chef-friends is never an opportunity I want to pass up... So I wasn't surprised to find myself eager to dim sum de-virginize myself with two of my favorite Asian chefs walking me through it. I have to say- I don't know why I put it off so long. Was it the overwhelming feeling of strange, unusual things surrounding me in carts? Or was it the surprises you find hiding inside the giant green pastry balls? Well, whatever it was- it was worth the wait. Who knew you had to leave the Chinatown gate to find something so delicious. What made this experience so good was not only the amount of food we ate for little to nothing- but it was the pork rolls. THE PORK ROLLS! Who would have guessed... and they don't even have shrimp in them. It was pretty packed in there- but we got a table quickly.. and the service was just as insane as I expected it to be- but the experience was worth it all!
(4)
Kat H.
good for hitting up your dim sum cravings but the food was a little more bland than most dim sum places. i know that heila moon gets a lot of hype but the tastiness of my usual faves was not up to par. i think that if this was the only dim sum place in the area, i would go since the food was still decent. shrimp dumplings are good here! a bit crowded on the weekends, i'd recommend going early.
(3)
Mary H.
We eat here very often! The food is really good. You can see the food pushed out in carts to see if you like them. Parking is horrible of course. But not they don't make the steamed lotus paste buns!!!!!! Soooo sad!!! I loved them! Other than that, it's a great place for dim sum.
(3)
Matt C.
Great late night spot... Salt and pepper Shrimp, what-what son! Just don't come in smelling like that loud-loud or the host will talk shit. I think he just wanted some for himself lol. They refused to serve us cold tea? really? I guess our chinese to non-chinese ratio wasn't good enough, oh well, we really didn't need it anyway. Even so, this place was the heat and no matter what the food is worth it.
(5)
John R.
My Dim Sum location of choice. Service is good, keeping in mind that in a cart based Dim Sum food will sometimes come in waves and can take a while to come around. I don't like that parking garage upstairs where validated parking is. Ate lunch once and was good but can't speak to dinner menu really.
(4)
Ivy G.
First time, I was amazed by its food quality and it tasted very traditional Dim Sum. But after several visits, I kind of thinking their food quality is decreasing. I am so disappointed that every time I order some new items, I usually regret. So I would stick to my old fashioned favorites. Hope it can back to the first taste that I had one year ago
(4)
Cindy W.
great yum cha place!!! an authentic yum cha taste!!! love it!!!!
(5)
Chi C.
Friends won't let friend host their wedding at this sh#t hole Promise 40 tables and we get the entire first floor, booked 45 and might add 5 more. The manager Mr. Chan over book another 7 tables at the back for a small wedding and completely ruined both wedding. Never go to this place for wedding. Search online and you will see this happens often for this place.
(1)
Nicholas S.
My favorite place for dim sum. Keep an eye out for the giant watermelon dessert.
(4)
Maureen D.
Went for mid-day dim sum on a weekend. We were seated downstairs, which was difficult for the two friends carrying babies/strollers. We were served immediately when we sat, even without all of our party there. We ate until we nearly popped. When they ran out of a dish, they quickly made more. Someone in our party asked for something he wanted, but didn't see, and they made it just for him (I think), though it took a bit longer. And it was cheap! $10 per person. I will return, with a big hungry group.
(4)
Ziliang Y.
Good Dim sum place
(4)
Annie G.
The dim sum here is decently priced, and you're sure to find all your favorites. There's tons of space on the main floor and in the basement to accomodate the giant influx of customers on weekends. We went for the tail end of brunch time, and it wasn't super busy, but service was still really slow. My friends and I weren't sure if it's because we were a bunch of Americans (things usually go pretty quick when we have our proper Chinese parents around to do all the ordering) or if there just wasn't that much left. Whatever the case, we did not partake of the customary stuffing of faces ritual that usually takes place when we go dim sum it up, but instead left unhungry but not stuffed. The shao mai (shumai) were merely meh but I thought the chicken feet were pretty good if you're into that kind of stuff. The little riblets were also quite tasty. Your best bet if you're a dim sum noob (or your Chinese sucks) is to just wave down a cart, take a peek, and make your decision that way. If the dish looks questionable, perhaps make further inquiries. ;) Have fun!
(4)
Kimberly Y.
My family and I had came here for a late lunch on the weekend (around 2 pm) and they had pretty much sold out of all their dim sum. We left hungry. Hubby and I came here for breakfast (around 9 am) on a weekday and there was not much available yet. We had to order through the waiters since the carts didn't have much of a selection. I may have to come here at noon just to see what selection of dim sum they offer. Of what we did manage to order the food was pretty standard dim sum fare. Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant. Probably will come back to check out the dim sum selection but not sure if the wait will be worth it.
(3)
Shang S.
Best Dimsum in Chinatown. Authentic, loud, cart experience, and quite affordable.
(4)
Michelle L.
Seriously, I absolutely love this place. Everyone in Boston always tells me to go to China Pearl or that other one that used to be an old theatre. I've tried both of those and they don't compare. I know it's REALLY hard to find good dimsum in Boston, but this is as good as it gets. I can't come here without getting shumai, hargao, the various other dumplings in that cart (those who come here will know what I'm talking about because the ones I mentioned above are all in the same cart), and of course the tofu as desert. I've come to this place throughout the week and on weekends. Great place to come with friends, especially if your friends are daring enough to try the chicken feet. Don't come here with friends that think crab rangoons are their favorite Chinese food.
(3)
Virginia C.
Dimsum snob here. Service was just OK (wait staff was not very proactive--you have to ask for everything). Food was good but I've had better. No almond tofu (at least when I was there) but other than that, the selection was OK.
(3)
Jenn T.
Came here for some saturday mid-day dim sum! I've never had dim sum in Boston before, nor have I experienced chinatown in the city as well. This was a pretty large restaurant, with 2 floors. We were quickly ushered downstairs, where we were immediately seated! SCORE! The carts came around and luckily our chinese speaking friend was able to order on our behalf. The dishes were yummy, pretty decently cooked compared to what I've had at home. The portions were pretty good, as my har gau had 2 shrimps inside each dumpling! The service otherwise was sort of lacking, as our water never got refilled and needed to be requested, as well as asking for the check as well. The restaurant itself isn't the cleanest or nicest, but gets the job done. The bathrooms are pretty dirty too. Overall, decent dim sum for a decent price with lots of happy tummies at the end!
(3)
Paul J.
Worst Chinese Food I ever ate and I've been all over the world. Spring Rolls were slightly warm on outside; ice cold on inside. Hot and Sour Soup was inedible. A fly was flying around and it was in the middle of winter. Waitresses think they are doing you a favor. Maybe it's because I'm Caucasian. Would never eat there again.
(1)
Melissa D.
Hei La Moon is geared towards massive parties and quick dim sum. The place is massive. two floors and even though it can be packed, the most I have waited was 15 minutes on peak times. The servers are kind of rude but it is what it is. Area is kind o dirty as well. Definitely get there early since they will only serve what they have left so the good stuff is usually gone near the end of brunch. The fried shrimp is ok and some of the dishes seemed to have been sitting around for awhile. The dumplings and rice noodles with shrimp are nice but nothing surprisingly good. If you don't know much about dim sum, it will be hard to decipher the cart ladies. Of course, prices are amazingly cheap. We had about 10-12 dishes and it came to around $40
(2)
Philip H.
This is my favorite Dim Sum place in Boston. We actually came here with friends the day after we got married and did our rehearsal dinner here as well in 2011. Most people come for the dim sum, but their Chinese banquet style food was really top notch. I was very caught off guard how good it was. Very similar to what you'd get in Southern California. Parking is always the issue, so I recommend taking the T or biking here. The parking lot next door is the narrowest, creepiest parking lot ever. You are going to waste your time getting trapped here. They don't even watch over the keys for you very carefully. Back to the Dim Sum, order the shark fin dumpling, actually any of the dumplings are awesome here, the Chinese broccoli or Beijing Kale, turnip cake, Beef Tripe (Ngau Pak Yip), Bean Curd Roll in Oyster Sauce (Ho Yao Seen Juk Guen). Here is a dim sum menu decoder for some of the more popular dishes that you'll see rolling around Hei La Moon: yumchajunkies.wordpress.… The food is pretty comparable to China Pearl, but I like how there windows and the place is better lit than China Pearl. Also, the room feels much more open and spacious. It doesn't feel as crazy compacted as CP and overwhelming.
(4)
Ross G.
Hei La Moon is one of the most authentic restaurants in all of China Town. Do not be fooled by the size in the exterior. The place is massive on the ground floor, and even bigger in the basement. My gf and I have been here for Dim Sum, lunch, dinner, and a Wedding! Food is very good. The language barrier is tough to overcome though. Yes it makes it more authentic, but it does also make it difficult. It is more of a point and hope game sometimes. Dim Sum is very packed. If you can park on side streets before 10:00am do so. Church lets out right after so you can get a spot if you get there. When you use the restrooms downstairs you get a peek into the kitchen if you dare, and can see all the dim sum being prepared lightning quick. The lobster Cantonese style is delicious, and is served on a huge platter. Even the Americanized food is very good. I give it 4 stars because the language barrier is tough sometimes to an American like me, and I think there is 1 other place that is better all around in China Town for Dim Sum and late night food, reserved for my 5 stars.
(4)
Kan C.
The food there is great, definitely authentic Chinese dim sum. However, service could use a little improvement, thus the minus one star.
(4)
Katrina B.
My favorite place for dim sum in Boston. Lots of variety, not too greasy, and packed for that awesome dim sum ambiance.
(4)
Linh H.
Came here because of all the good reviews... Absolute worst experience ever. Waiter didn't seem like he wanted to work. Meal was okay until... Nasty critter ruined it... Yep found 2 dead roaches in our dim sum. Best dim sum? Yeah okay...
(1)
Karen D.
I was about to get on a bus for a long trip, and I wanted to have a good mid morning meal. Having dim sum as a single diner is kind of a drag but I suffered through. The hosts are not exactly the friendliest, but the lady maître d did show me to one of their small tables on the first floor. The tea came out quickly and the waiter was very nice to this Caucasian woman. Har gow and shumai showed up by my table...both good. Not the best I've ever had, but certainly, not the worst either. Then I asked the lady with the spare ribs cart if she had chicken feet. She gave me that "really???" look and ran to another cart close by and brought me an order. She showed them to me before putting them on the table just to make sure I really wanted them. The ladies were quite impressed and I was their friend after that. Again, a solid choice. I ended with turnip cake which is fried right on the cart. So good, albeit, a tad greasy. My breakfast set me back 14 bucks. Easy on the stomach and the wallet.
(4)
JD M.
Just came home from dinner there. The stars are for nice service, every staff including our waiter was very nice and patient, though not so helpful in assisting us to pick from the menu. Our order looked nice, but then so called zhu Sheng and veggie was full of tasteless can veggie: can baby corn, can mushrooms and lots fried tofu The other Ba Zeng Bao is filled with the same fried tofu! only noticed taste was MSG, which made my tummy feel very bad, still now... Quantity was big, but all cooked with lots starched sauce, lots of msg, too, yuck...
(3)
Mike N.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the only place to go for Dim Sum in Boston, because not only is the food exquisite (and damn cheap!) but the dining experience is not to be missed. Walking to your table is like a live-action video game where scores of servers pushing food-laden carts at break-neck speeds maneuver around a packed subterranean cavern of a room while somehow managing to not steamroll grandparents, toddlers and each other. If you can somehow manage to wade through this unchoreographed Brownian ballet and make it to your table, you still face the challenge of flagging down servers as they barrel by your table. The trick is to approach this the same way you would hail a New York cab after a movie lets out in the pouring rain. Be bold, be audacious and above all show no fear. Don't bother asking the server what you're getting (unless you speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin, that is). Just take a glance at what they're serving, and provided it smells/looks OK, keep it, because it's really, really hard to go wrong. That said, some of the things to look out for are the steamed pork buns and steamed spinach. And be all means, make an effort to try the sesame-coated red-bean balls. They are like little drops of heaven.
(5)
Le N.
3.5 stars really. When my family (we're vietnamese) is craving for some dim sum, we often find ourselves here if we're not too lazy to travel. They make the best dim sum (other than windsor's). VERY big - so great for groups. Though if you're coming on a Sunday morning, get ready to wait along with all the other asian families! There are ladies pushing around carts and opening them up for you to look - so don't be wary if you can't speak chinese. There is so much variety - a little something for everybody! =)
(4)
Jeff J.
Good fundamentals, not enough variety. Very fast turnover. There's not much else to say, right? The jian dui were subpar. Everything else was as expected.
(3)
The Throwin S.
This place is now superior to China Pearl and Chou Chou City. While the others have declined, HLM has remained consistent. The pork shu mai were much fresher and tastier than my recent experience in China Pearl-where they smelled like a wet dog. The shrimp dumplings and fried turnip cakes were superb. Nothing was bad. Unlike another recent reviewer, I thought that the chicken feet were fine (if you like that sort of thing). The beef tripe is prepared in a curry sauce, which is not my preference. The wait staff was actually attentive! We asked them to make some Chinese broccoli a la carte--and they responded promptly with fresh (and real) Chinese broccoli. A typical maneuver from the wait staff at China Pearl would be to snicker at you... then later bring a not-so-fresh alternative vegetable buried in a greasy oyster sauce 35 minutes later. This is now the go-to dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)
Jeffrey C.
We were catching the BoltBus outta town, so we were looking for a place close to South Station to get our grub on. With Chinatown in proximity and a jonesing for dim sum, we green-lighted Hei La Moon based on Yelp reviews. We've got extended dim sum experience, so I feel comfortable enough in saying that Hei La Moon was solid but unspectacular. We arrived at a little past 11 on a Friday, and the place was already fairly packed. However, we got a nice little two-seater in the corner. I was a bit worried that the carts would pass us by, but they all did a solid job of rotating around to our end. However, the cart ladies spoke little Mandarin and even less English, making it slightly difficult since neither the girlfriend nor myself have any concept of Cantonese. Nonetheless, we got by. Dish-wise, we picked up quite a few plates (that's what dim sum is for, right?). The shrimp dumplings and chicken bau stood out as particularly delicious. The chrysanthemum team we ordered hit the spot as well, although no verdict on whether it cost extra. The only real disappointment was the seafood congee, which was watered down and tasteless. It also saddened me that they weren't serving radish cake, which is my go to dim sum dish. Especially compared to Houston, the overall bill was a tad expensive, which is driven by the fact that the clipboard they mark off doesn't show any prices, so you have no idea how much your meal costs until the very end. That's some shady business practices, but hey, it's Chinatown.
(3)
Siu A.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic dim sum. Amazing food!
(4)
Jon L.
Hei La Moon, you've been warned. I remember when I first visited you more than 3 years ago; after being disappointed by many of the other Chinatown restaurants, you restored my faith in Boston's taste in dim sum. I loved the noise and bustle, a nostalgic reminder of NYC places. I came for your law bok gaw and jiu cai bao, stayed for your chicken feet, and didn't even mind when my friends would injudiciously order the over-salted beef tripe. But, you've been slowly changing. Cutting corners on the char siu bao (too little filling) and the stuffed vegetables (too much flour, not enough shrimp). Substituting pollock (or some other cheap fish) for shrimp in the stuffing of other dishes. Turning over tables far too quickly during peak times without cleaning them properly. Not paying attention to when those egg rolls and other fried dishes have been circulating on the carts too long. The past three trips we've made to Hei La Moon have been out of deference to your reputation. You used to be really good - the go-to weekend dim sum spot. You still can be.
(2)
Wendy L.
The shumai here is on steroids! This place is my number 1 place for dim sum in Boston. It's not always consistent and you are not guaranteed the same dishes every time. This is the downside of the carts-style vs. being able to place orders a la carte. Some days you will have all the dishes you want in 5 minutes if the carts all come by your table and other times you will be waiting forever to get one dish. This place is huge so they tend to run out of the good stuff early so be sure to go between 11-1pm especially on weekends. Try not to get seated in the basement because they do not have as many carts down there so your choices will be limited. My favorite by far is the pepper spare-ribs (hak jiu pai guat - in cantonese). I think they have the best here compared to all the other dim sum places I've been around here.
(3)
Vivi L.
I love this dim sum place. The place is quite busy when you come on the weekend. If you come earlier, you can probably get seated immediately but if you come after 11 AM, the place is usually mobbed and you might have to wait a little. The turn around time is pretty fast though. The food selection is great and they make their rotation pretty frequently. The food quality is also great. The place is great for large group. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)
Judy L.
Best dim sum option in Boston, though I still miss the dim sum restaurants in California. Dumplings are delicious, and the cart service is friendly and rather quick.
(4)
John C.
Enjoyed visit to Hei La Moon. Atmosphere pleasant/quiet (based on where we sat), and food was delicious. I had the Hot & Sour Soup and Vegi Lo Mein - would go back for these dishes for sure!
(4)
Matthew H.
Probably my favorite place to get dim sum in Boston, but don't expect to be treated like royalty in here, whether you speak Cantonese or not. Depending on where you sit, you will either be inundated with carts and choices or exiled to Planet Hoth, where you have to make sad puppydog faces at the nice people pushing the carts. I've never had a bad experience with the food here, although I've heard from friends who aren't as keen on it as when we first started going. The char siu bao is good (not great), the rice is consistently great, the siu mai is unctuous and tasty, the har gow is fluffy pillowy awesomeness, the greens are steamed perfectly w/ a really nice sauce, and the cheung fun are a pile of starchy-shrimpy wonderfulness. The parking situation is always kind of strange, made even more so by the fact that they don't own the lot and the folks who run it are rude assholes. Get the ticket validated and hope for the best. Also... when you're done, just pay up and leave. There are plenty of people who are waiting for your table, and I'm probably one of them,
(4)
Jon S.
This place is massive. Situated in the leather district across from the chinatown gate, it has 2 floors that big enough for a small casino. The dim sum is good, better than China Pearl. The portions are bigger and the servers come more often with a bigger selection. All in all a good place for weekend dim sum!
(4)
Rob E.
Came here for dim sum today. Everyone I know, raves about this place. I didn't think the dim sum was that good. The food was not as fresh as expected. The duck feet was too salty. The short ribs order from the cart only had 4 ribs in it! I think there are other places within chinatown that serve up better dim sum
(2)
Celia Z.
We pigged out this time, getting 5 helpings of the shrimp Mei Fun, four helpings of the steamed dumplings, three helpings of the Baozi, chicken feet, beef tripe, pork ribs, and a million other dishes. All for just fifteen dollars each. Which just shows how far money goes at Hei La Moon. The boys at our table had a huge competition to see who could eat more. They're still arguing who won...
(4)
Nicole W.
Yum yum! Yay for dim sum! Great selections. 3 of us got seated right away at 1PM on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Being total non-connoisseurs, we just peeked inside the bamboo steamers, asked if it was shrimp or pork, and adventured our taste buds away- loved it all. We did get passed by a few times- maybe they were profiling, and I wasn't offended- not interested in chicken feet, although I've heard they are pretty good. The dumplings and shu mei were fresh and delicious, loved the sesame paste buns, not so much the red bean paste. We DID have a laughable Soup Nazi moment when my friend may have asked one too many questions about a dish and the cart lady just sped off, insinuating "No dim sum for you!" But later, when a cart lady only had pork dumplings, she remembered that we wanted shrimp and soon returned with some! Got outta there STUFFED for $17 each, including tip.
(4)
caley t.
Came here for dim sum for the first time a few days ago, and I have to say, I was a little under impressed. The set up is pretty traditional- a big room where you eat with a bunch of friends by ordering from carts that are pushed by. My friends rave about this place, so perhaps I hit it on a bad day, or wasn't in the right mood or something. I'm also pretty sure that the fact that I am pescatarian didn't help (they don't speak much english and everything seems to have pork in it.) The cart system didn't seem to be set up very well- they hardly ever came by and we kept getting the same ones. A glass of water would have been nice too- my drink was gone quickly and we never saw the drink cart again, leaving me extra thirsty with all the sodium rich food. We also had a really hard time getting soy sauce- had to ask about 6 people before it finally came. When all was said and done, all we ended up eating were a ton of dumplings and some bao. I would have liked to try other things, but like i said, the carts never seemed to come by, so we just kept ending up with the same dumplings and not much else. That being said, the dumplings were actually very good. But frankly, I can't see paying 20 dollars again to sit around and wait for dumplings when I can just order a bunch of them somewhere else in chinatown for about 5 dollars.
(3)
Ranley K.
Being an out of towner and living in the NY area with awesome dim sum, I wanted to see what Boston had to offer. We sat down only to see that there were multiple carts going around the place. Being on a table full of dim sum noobs..we ordered everything that was out of the ordinary (for them). Honestly, I couldn't pin point anything that was amazing, all the food was good! The place itself was more suited for a wedding banquet with everything from the chairs to the walls all in red. Bottom Line: Very asian..thus very good. Everything was stellar and well prepared. I mean the place was packed with Chinese people along with some non-Chinese (who clearly were in the right place because they were the minority) Two thumbs up!
(4)
Arcadian B.
Great dim sum although the Wait was really long It's a probably one of the biggest restaurants in Chinatown Be aware of the restrooms!!!
(4)
Pete G.
My absolute favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. And I've done the research. The buns, the dumplings, the fried things, the other fried things. Everything is amazing. I have a rule that whenever I go to dim sum, I always try something completely new. This has burned me in the past, but not here. Oh no. Example: I went with some friends back in January. All of them are Chinese-American, I'm not. Half-Filipino so you'd assume I'd get a little Asian cred, but no. They start dropping off plates, and one of the waitresses asks me "do you need a fork?" Offended, I reached out with my chopsticks and say "No thanks. I;m good." and I picked up a piece of tripe. The thing is: I think tripe is repellent. But this dish was actually delicious. Maybe because it was flavored with spite, maybe because Hei La Moon knows what the hell they're doing with everything they serve. I'd highly recommend every type of pork bun they serve, the spare ribs, the chicken feet (if you can get over the texture, they're melt in your mouth delicious), the deep fried whole shrimp and squid. It's a huge, clean place, so I can't imagine you would ever have to wait too long. The staff is very friendly, and the language barrier is easily overcome. definitely worth the trip. Last warning: when the dessert truck rolls around you might see a plate with a couple green balls rolled in sesame seeds. You might think that you were looking at some lotus or red bean buns. You are not. They are durian fruit, and they are disgusting. Avoid. avoid!
(5)
Wolfe S.
Great dimsum, although less options for vegetarian/vegans. Especially great for large groups with no reservation.
(5)
Samantha L.
I think Hei La Moon has actually been going down hill the past few years. A few years back I said their dim sum was comparable if not better than Flushing's dim sum. Now, it's only becoming acceptable to me. But of course, to each their own. They have typical standard fare, nothing out there or extradordinary. If you need a dim sum fix, cannot parallel park and need to stop at the C-Mart you mind as well stop here since you can do all that in one fell swoop at HLM. Park in the garage next to the place, get a stamp at the restaurant or if you're going to buy more than $75 worth of groceries, get a stamp at the C-Mart around the corner instead and you'll get FREE parking. Anyways, I've only had dim sum here... and we leave full, but not super wowed at all. But the food is always hot, service is pretty decent for a place that is always so busy and packed. I just hate that you leave smelling like the place. I would recommend avoiding most of the fried dishes that are not in a hot box/cart thing because they're probably not very warm or hot like the rice noodles, shrimp etc. I usually avoid the steamed black bean spare ribs because there isn't much meat, mostly fat or bones and nothing else.
(3)
Phan H.
Just your usual wednesday afternoon dim sum. This place wasn't as large as your usual sunday dim sum, but it was definitely cozy, and we got the window corner seat. The food was decent, the selection was okay, and the service was fast. Nothing too characteristic about this place from most places, other than that they weren't as aggressive, but probably because it wasn't Sunday. They validate parking for the lot that is adjacent to it, but I'm totally confused how they do it. They make you pay $6 up front, and give you a voucher for $6. I'm still confused.
(3)
Anita C.
Good dim sum. Similar to all the other places in Boston but the only difference is that they are quick and you get seated immediately. So if you want good dim sum and good service, I highly recommend this place. Every time I come to Boston I've always been hesitant to go to dim sum because of the long wait and the inability to ever get glasses of water. Here, there's no wait, good dim sum and you get water!! We ordered the standard dim sum stuff but I was impressed with the steamed pork buns and the sticky rice!!! Don't order the noodles, as they were a bit dry.
(3)
Skye G.
I figured since the Dim Sum was so good I'd try it for dinner. When I walked the huge dining room was empty which should have been a red flag but figured what the heck. The fried dumplings were terrible. They were burnt and yet soggy so the flavor was such a mix. The hot sauce made it go down, well kind of. The house pan fried noodles looked right. Pan fried thin noodles with shrimp, beef, chicken and veggies in a brown sauce poured over the top. This was better but not great. The stir fried squid with green scallions and onions had a kick to it and had actual flavor and was not chewy. Thumbs up for the Dim Sum and thumbs down for dinner.
(2)
Henry P.
Just got back with having brunch with the family today, this was my first time trying out Hei La Moon's dim sum after reading so many rave reviews on yelp. I can honestly say I am very pleased! Thanks yelp! Hei La Moon is located near Boston's South End on the other side of Chinatown which is usually ignored. It sits underneath a huge parking garage so its not that hard to miss. Inside the restaurant has BEAUTIFUL red and gold decor with golden dragons decorated around the restaurant as if they were dancing around you as you are eating. The service was the usual, if you're a non-native speaker of Chinese dialect, its basically a bunch of pointing and choosing and hoping nothing gets lost in translation, it usually it goes pretty smoothly. I've been to other dim sum restaurants nearby and so far I'd say hands down that this is so far the BEST place to get dim sum out of the others. The dim sum here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap, not as cheap as others but with the quality that you are getting its outrageous. Succulent, moist shrimp Shu-mai thats just PACKED with flavor and expertly wrapped so tight that the contents just bursts in you're mouth as you take a bite. Their chicken congee was hot and sticky, with fair amount of chicken that just gives it a unique flavor, freshly chopped green onions on top with chinese fried dough gives it that extra kick! The marinated chicken feet were steamed to perfection within its own savory black bean sauce, melts in your mouth! Everything else that we ordered was also on par in quality. Also one thing that I would like to add, those who frequent Chinese restaurants alot should know that their bathrooms are usually very....meh... But SURPRISINGLY the bathroom here was REALLY clean and very actually pretty fancy and up to date, I was shocked! Just thought I'd throw that out there. Will definitely be coming back here for my dim cum cravings from now on!
(4)
Lily N.
I went to take out last Sunday night. The girl took my order at the cashier was terrible. I changed my order due to the price for the Cantonese style fried rice was almost doubled than those fried rice listed on the menu. I went back to pick up the Singaporean fried noodle and beef fried rice after I placed the order for 15 minutes. The girl who took my order didn't even get out from the chair. In stead, she pointed at my take-out and said "your food is here!" She looked at me with very despiteful eyes and didn't even say "thank you" when I was walking out of the restaurant. After I ate the fried noodles and the fried rice, I started to have diarrhea for two days.
(1)
Angeline P.
This review is actually 3.5 stars. I came with one other person, so we couldn't really try everything, but what we did try was pretty good. Har gow was as you would expect. Chive dumpling with shrimp was good. The skins on their dumplings were actually pretty good. They don't compare to Hong Kong Lounge, but for not being made fresh on the spot, they were pretty good. Preserved egg porridge and sweet tofu hit the spot, but I guess I've never had a bad porridge or bad sweet tofu. The fried taro was the only thing I take issue with, because it was mostly bland with not much meat. But everything else we had was good. The 0.5 star is for getting seated right away on a Sunday at 11:45am. No wait at all! But I guess there were only two of us...
(3)
Helen L.
Okay, so I've been to Hei La Moon AND China Pearl, and I don't really see a huge difference in terms of food tastes. They serve the same things and it tastes the same to me. HOWEVER, I've noticed that 1) China Pearl has longer lines and less seating space so maybe that's also why its more crowded sometimes and 2) Hei La Moon never has the variety of food that China Pearl does, or if it they do, the carts come out MUCH slower so you don't get to eat as much of a variety. The second time I went to Hei La Moon for dim sum, I only got like 3 dishes because I didn't have many options to choose from. I kept looking to see when other carts with more food options would come out, but it never happened. I was disappointed. I ended up paying like $15 for three lousy dishes and it was a rip off without the variety. I'm not sure I'd go again.
(2)
Alice C.
From my experience, Boston's Chinatown has more Vietnamese and half-baked Chinese eateries, and it's a bit harder here to find good Cantonese food. Maybe I have just been looking in the wrong places? However, one place that I have found to serve consistently good dim sum is Hei La Moon. Another friend of mine from Hong Kong also comes here regularly to get her fix of home food. Sure, it's nothing like Hong Kong, but after having tried a few places in Boston, I think this is the best you can get in the area. Definitely try their pea sprout dumplings (dau miu gau) .
(4)
Harri S.
Saying the name of this place you instantaneously sound 100% more Chinese. It also sounds suspiciously like Sailor Moon. Alright, enough with being racist. I came here with my friend and foodblogger Charlene W, her friend from high school and the Biff, who did a stint in Hong Kong and incorrectly believes he's of the Asian Persuasion. Whatever, we all really like Dim Sum, so we did the proper thing and came for breakfast. This place is EXACTLY like the massive dim sum halls of San Francisco: crowded, bustling and a place that you'll get away with all sorts of body language. We had the traditional shu mai, Biff had to get the pork buns, cause Charlene W. said no way AND we got chicken feet amongst numerous other things. Not to mention we had massive volumes of tea to accompany all this. Alright, so all I really want to talk about is the chicken feet, which seriously sound DISGUSTING, but man am I glad I tried 'em. They were marinated in this delectable chili sauce and deep fried. You don't eat the whole thing, just the skin, so basically if don't like the skin off your Popeye's deep fried chicken, don't bother. Otherwise this is a taste explosion you won't regret. The ridiculously large amount of food came out to $10 each INCLUDING tip. Damn! Full stomach and full wallet, I left VERY happy.
(5)
Lauren P.
Starving on a weekend morning ? Nothing hits the spot better than some steaming dumplings at Hei La Moon. This place is huge so no waiting time. Try the shrimp cheung foon besides the usual shu Mai and pork bun staples. Best part - you'll be stuffed to the brim without putting a dent in your wallet.
(4)
Thanh L.
Nothing special about this place. Overpriced Chinese food. Went here for a wedding. Staff was not friendly or helpful. At time, we have to tell the same person what we needed and there was flies everywhere. The food is horrible.
(2)
Kittery R.
I was here for Dim Sum, we had a huge group, so had to get 3 tables. I find that this is a large restaurant but the foods is not so good/fresh. This was on a Saturday at peak time, so if foods are not fresh then, I cant imagine how fresh they are on other days. Waiter/Waitress are the worst of Chinatown, we ask for some cake waited 30 minutes and still nothing, when we asked again, they brough in like 20 minutes later when everyone was done. The waitress were so rude and wanted to forced us to take it the dishes they didnt bring us 50 minutes ago, but We were all full and didnt want to pay, so the waitress was all angry. Not santiarize and foods not so fresh and horrible service. Pearl and Burcha cha has better dim sum. there is another place, but I cant remember the name. All are better than this place.
(1)
Hubert H.
I'm writing about both the dimsum and the dinner options. Dimsum was fine. A step about China Pearl in that the restaurant is cleaner, and the items more steaming hot. Fair cuts of shrimp in the hao gao, and nicely done sticky chicken rice inside lotus leaf. One thing to note is that on weekdays not many varieties of dishes are presented, so it might be useful to complement the dimsum with a noodle dish or rice. Another thing: once in a while they throw in an experiemental item: this time it was bits of taro, celery, and cilantro inside a sticky rice flour wrapper. Dinner was fine as well. Be sure to order off the Chinese only menu as that menu is the only one that has the group dinners (2-person, 3-person, etc.). Ours came with a seafood and vegetable dish, a fried rice, a seafood soup with crab and fish stomach, and a ginger/scallion stir-fried lobster. We also added a hot pot with chicken, salted fish, and tofu, which was a nice complement to all the other seafood. The stir-fry technique was solid and there was plentiful to eat.
(4)
Jennifer J.
Good Cantonese dim sum. Nothing to complain about.
(4)
Jamal G.
This place has gone downhill. The carpeting is filthy, sticky, and soggy. We went here for dim sum at lunch, which was... ok. All of us have had better. It just wasn't all that great and the cost was $22 per person plus tip and parking. I'll give them credit for validating parking for the adjacent garage for $6. I don't think any of us will come back here again.
(2)
ana l.
My friends and I come here when we can wake up for our "11am Dim Sum Sundays." 11am is the best time to go--usually there is no wait and the food is hot and "fresh." The restaurant is spacious, but I've decided sitting on the main level leaves you with the best experience and first choice for food. I like their siu mai (steamed shrimp & pork dumplings), cheong fun (rice noddles-stuffed with either shrimp, beef, or fried dough), steamed ribs, taro dumplings (stuffed with pork and veggies), and steamed tofu (with lots of ginger flavored sugar syrup). So, get your friends together for a dim sum sunday (even if you can't wake up at 11am, the wait is worth it) and try everything!
(4)
Marty C.
Atrocious service... scratch that, the service is nonexistent. Why support a restaurant that customarily disregard proper etiquette? Won't you question the amount of care put into the food that will eventually go into your body? Service is more important to me than good food. Let me explain further why HLM is getting one star (equivalent to zero stars in my book). I went in with a party of 5 in a half-empty restaurant. The waiter decided on seating us at a square table and pulled an additional chair to one corner. We explained that it is uncustomary for us to sit in such fashion and please allow us to sit at one of the many available round tables. One waiter said yes while another forbid us to do so. We walked out immediately without any further discussion.
(1)
Del S.
I know I have been spoiled with better dim sum in the CA bay area, but dim sum at Hei La Moon was acceptable and probably plenty good enough for Boston since there aren't that many Chinese here. The service was fast and efficient. The waiter was setting up plates on the table like throwing Frisbees. I was impressed that we didn't need to wait long for dim sum at Sunday lunch hour. The biggest surprise was the chicken feet (phoenix claws)!! The texture was soft, chewy but not soggy, and tasty without being too salty. It's a bit sweet, a bit salty, a bit of garlic taste with some black bean sauce taste... great combo for your taste buds! In contrary, I'd recommend you to stay away from their fried dishes. The fried Taro ball was soggy with very unfresh greasy taste. We suspected they probably reused the frying oil way too many times, or it could have been days old left over oil. The typical dim sum dishes such as shrimp dumplings and shiu mai all tasted decent here. If you are in the area and crave for dim sum, this is probably the place to go but try not to have a high expectation.
(3)
Thomas F.
I went with a number of friends for dim sum. We enjoyed it greatly. Everything was very fresh and flavorful, with our usual selection of favorite items. As reported by other reviewers, the pork buns are indeed superb. In general I would say that the quality is on par with what you could expect from China Pearl if you arrive at CP in the morning when things are plentiful and fresh, although HLM's pork buns are slightly better. Unfortunately they had few of some items on the carts, so we left wishing we'd been able to get more pork buns, and I felt the selection, while good, wasn't quite as large as the selection at China Pearl. The prices were excellent: we all ate until we were full with no concern about prices of items, and we also ordered several additional items just to taste, and it worked out to a mere $12 per person. Overall, I would be delighted to return to Hei La Moon with friends or family, and will view it now as one of several excellent dim sum restaurants I can choose from in Boston.
(4)
Jane Z.
To make the deal even sweeter, a friend recently showed me the City of Boston's health inspection record for this place upon reading the other poster's comment about the glass in his congee, and it is revolting to think I ever went there. Toxic chemicals, mice, chickens dripping onto equipment, unsanitary treatment of cooking utensils.....CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS. I encourage everyone to Google their health inspection record!!!
(1)
fred n.
Terrific dim sum. I am just in love with all their delights. This is pretty darn crowded on the weekends, but I believe worth the wait (40min). You'll definitely have a happy and healthy full tummy. Atmosphere is like a busy cafeteria with excitement. You might share a table with others if you're group is a small size (4) and it's peak. Don't be shy...everyone is friendly. Only draw back is that when it's busy it's tough to get beverage refills. And sometimes you wait 5-7 min for that tasty cart to make the rounds. Yum.
Went there recently for dim sum. It was pretty good! I'd say they're the best dim sum place in Boston. Must Try: Can't get enough of the Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling), Chang Fen with Yu Za Kuei (Noodle with Chinese Crueller), Fried Shrimp and Chinese Chives, Fried Taro and Shrimp. Service: Way better than China Pearl, the staff are friendly. Ambiance: Super clean compare to other establishments in Chinatown, especially compare to China Pearl. Best time to hit them is earlier in the morning or before 2 PM for dim sum. The 11 am slots tend to be busier. I'd give them a 3 out of 5 star as far as food goes. Overall, they are probably the best dim sum spot in Boston. Too bad that there is no place like Yank Tsing (San Francisco dim sum joint) in Boston. Yank Tsing would be 10 out of 10 stars.
(4)
Ligaya T.
Know how to say 'mediocre' in Cantonese? Warning: poor pin yin ahead. For dim sum rookies this place is a steaming, bamboo pot wonderland. A hectic maze of lazy Susaned round tabled obstacle course for bumbling, uniformed oompa loompas pushing carts who don't speak English but whom respond well to pointing. For dim sum lovers this place deserves a shrug. They've got all the standards: har gao, shu mai, baozi, chicken feet, tsong tzi, etc but nothing really outstanding or creative. The carts you really want to intercept are the ones with the lo bo gao (savory turnip cake) grill and the vat of dofufa (watery tofu). To get greens you'll have to be more aggressive. Try the dao miao or the kong ching tsai (Chinese watercress) for spinach-like veggies. Three stars for fresh, warm, clean and always having a seat!
(3)
Christine S.
Because my visit here was only the third time I've had dim sum in my life, this review may be more helpful for people who are also new to dim sum. We came here on a Saturday around noon and only waited about 15 minutes to be seated. It was busy and crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The cart ladies weren't too aggressive that day, although I do wish they were able to speak enough English to at least say if the contents of their dim sum dishes are vegetable, bean, animal or mineral. My vegetarian friend definitely got a mouthful of pork when trying an unidentified dumpling. Speaking of pork, their BBQ pork buns were really good - a little too much of the bread for me, but that may be the way those buns are. The filling was sweet and tasty. Another deliciosity was some kind of piece of lightly fried fish wrapped around sauteed veggies and tied with a spring onion. SO GOOD. The fish was cooked perfectly. Too bad we didn't know it's name and never saw the cart again, or we would have gotten several more. One of the best parts of the meal was some kind of green leafy vegetable that was cooked right by our table, then drizzled with a delicious sauce. The cart lady identified the vegetable as "broccoli," although it looked more like leaves on long thick stems and tasted like a combination of spinach, asparagus and broccoli. It was bright green and delicious and I really wish I knew what it was. We got one of those glutinous coconut balls wrapped around a filling for dessert. Now, at Chau Chow City we got those and they had granulated sugar and chopped nuts inside. Here, there was a delicious fresh mango filling!! Is that normal? I have no idea! Can I find it somewhere else? I wouldn't even know how to ask! But it was yum! My only concern was that when we paid our bill and asked for an explanation of the different ways they charged for the items, the lady at the cash register did not want to answer. It was clear that she spoke enough English to understand what we were asking, and yet she just kind of ignored our questions. I'm a little bit wary of being taken advantage of because we obviously can't read Chinese, but the bill didn't seem too out of proportion - it came out to about $9 per person. So, we will definitely be back!
(4)
Brady B.
I'm with Aimee S. on this one. Granted, I only had dim sum once here, but when I did my friend and I quickly decided we didn't need to come back here. It wasn't the worst dim sum I ever had, but quite bland and uninspiring. Overall our service was very lackluster....especially when it came time to having our bill tallied up. Maybe I'll give them another try based on these glorious reviews. When I do I'll be sure to update. Until then, my heart (and palette) belongs to China Pearl.
(2)
Tessa C.
My new favorite dim sum place. Everything is fresh and delicious. If you want to avoid lines - then show up as a small group - less than 4 people and come at off peak hours before 11AM and after 1PM. My sister and I came here around 1PM and the quality of food was still good. I recommended this place to my out-of-town friend for his post wedding brunch. His family is Taiwanese and they were impressed by the quality of food. Dim Sum is best experienced with someone who knows the food and a very large group. What a great way to spend brunch with friends for less than $12 per person!!! As others have warned - you will be surrounded by loud Chinese families and served by people who know very little English. But they do their best to help you out. Parking tip: Park on the roof of the South Station garage during the weekend for a flat rate around $6. This is also great for the evening.
(5)
Susan K.
We love to eat here for breakfast on the weekends. The service is usually quick, and food/dishes consistent. Some waitresses don't speak English, but they are happy to show the dishes to you before you choose. You can park in the lot for a discount, if you eat here, but if we get here before 10am-11am, we usually don't have that much trouble getting parking on the street.
(4)
Yvonne W.
I went all around the Chinatown area trying to find this place this morning with my boyfriend to find out that it's actually not IN Chinatown -- it's across the street from the gate (we didn't have the address originally)! I'm so happy that we found it, though -- we waited less than 5 minutes before being seated. And then all the food started rolling by on those carts that I love.. We had ham sui gok (sweet deep fried yumminess pastry with savory meat filling), feng zhua (chicken feet), pie gwat (spareribs steamed with black bean sauce), luo bo gao (radish cake), wu gok (deep fried taro with meat filling), seen jook goon (pork wrapped in yummy tofu wrapper), beef chang fen, and dau fu fa (silky tofu dessert in a gingery syrup). It was all so good, and the food comes out so fast! A pleasant surprise in the pie gwat were these small cubes of cut-up taro. It provided a nice flavor/texture contrast with the salty black bean and the spareribs. The service here is kind of strange. We really wanted to end our meal with dau fu fa, and when we asked one of the servers, she said she'd look out for the cart for us and tell that cart person to come by our table. That never happened. Five minutes later, we asked another worker for dau fu fa, and she sort of had a scowl on her face but did proceed to bring us our beloved dau fu fa. :-D And the prices are pretty decent here for dim sum, too. This is now our Boston dim sum place.
(4)
Edwin O.
Very solid Dim Sum. After going to China Pearl for so many years, I was surprised to hear about this place, having never eaten there before a few months ago. The traditional favorites are done well. My wife feels their garlic shrimp is the best in Chinatown. My daughter plows through their shrimp dumplings and sticky rice with relish. The parking garage above the restaurant is very handy, and is one of the cheaper garages to park at in the area, I believe.
(4)
Tom E.
Hei La Moon always makes me think of 'hey the moon', said in a fashion to distract the other person whilst you run away (first you point to the sky behind them). I guess in that way it's like the Goodyear Blimp - 'hey, look it's the goodyear blimp!' - but as this analogy lingers on too long I think it's worth comparing Hei La Moon to the Goodyear Blimp in two other ways... 1. Handily, it's always just over there when you suddenly think about it (across the old surface 93 from regular chinatown). 2. It's big as bigness permits. Shall I think of a third analogy? 3. Christopher Walken uses it to try and kill James Bond. Okay - 3rd analogy is not so accurate. Let's stick to reality All-in-all it's another average large dim sum parlour. It doesn't impress but it doesn't let down either. If you've had dim sum in SF, London, HK or Canada you'll know that this kind of summary means 3 stars all the way. Its size means it's good for groups but its 'Best of Boston' title of 'Best place to take your foodie friends' is laughably patronising, even for those of us who'd contemplate suicide at being called a foodie.
(3)
Ezra E.
I guess I should preface this review by saying that I had only eaten dim sum once before and didn't really know what I was in for. I'll start with the good stuff. The place is huge and was packed, but they still sat us within about 10 minutes which was nice. The carts come by very frequently, and fresh food seems to be brought out very regularly. It is very reasonably priced and you can eat a wide variety of foods for not a lot of money My biggest complaint was not really knowing what I was eating most of the time. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I like to at least know what sort of animal/vegetable I'm chowing down on. Even the dim sum that I could identify just didn't taste very good (some kind of shumai, i think, not sure what was in it, definitely a some shrimp, but other slimy stuff too, egg rolls, some has brown looking thing, and maybe a few others). We decided to try their regular menu and ordered won ton soup, chicken with broccoli and beef with broccoli. The won ton soup was inedible, the broth tasted like water someone had soaked their feet in, and the won tons were filled with the same squishy-slimy meat as the "shumai". The chicken w/ broccoli was in a clear sauce (i prefer the brown sauce) and tasted kind of fish-like. The beef with broccoli wasn't much better. It was definitely an interesting experience, and judging by the number of 4/5 star reviews here other people really seem to like it, but I will not be going back.
(1)
Anna W.
My family has dim sum ADD. We can never stay loyal to one place for too long. It started off with Golden Palace (truly the best dim sum place ever... RIP), then China Pearl, then Chau Chau, then Empire Garden, and now it's Hei La Moon. I've been there for dim sum as well as dinners/receptions, etc. Dim Sum is pretty good. It gets packed here on weekends, so you have to go either really early or really late. It's great for large groups of people. The place is always loud and abuzz with lots of Chinese yip yap. Be open-minded about the food. Never ask what anything is because the answer will most likely be "shimp" (shrimp), even if it's not. Yeah, it looks different, and tastes different, but it's GOOD! :-) Their family-style dining is better than some of the other places in Chinatown. They need a drastic makeover and a good interior designer though. Though the food is good, I would never want my wedding reception here or anything. The interior is just drab and blah. The last event that I attended, the restaurant let us bring our own coolers of beer and wine, which was cool. They could have suckered us into buying alcohol from them, but they decided to be decent instead. They don't take reservations for dim sum, but they will at night. My favorite dish is the mayonnaise-covered shrimp with walnuts. Sooooo delicious. I don't care if my coronary artery just closed up as I was typing that. Also, the garage upstairs offers validated parking. It's kind of a shitty place to park and the columns are oddly placed, but if you have good motor skills (haha, I made a funny), you should be able to maneuver yourself around well enough to get in and out without harming anyone. Hopefully, my family decides to stick with this place for a while.
(4)
Matthew M.
Let me break it down for you. I'm from San Francisco. I grew up eating Dim Sum. I moved to Boston in August and so far have generally been disappointed by the quality of the Dim Sum here. Until that is, I found Hei La Moon. This place competes with the very best Dim Sum places in SF both in terms of the quality of the dishes as well as the price (about $10 per person). For the uninitiated: prepare to wait in line for a long time before you get seated; prepare for the waitstaff not speaking english (they don't really need to since 90% of the clientele are chinese anyway); prepare to eat things without knowing ahead of time what's in it. Warning: If your idea of good chinese food is sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls and pot-stickers, you better stick to places that specialize in those things because you'll probably be disappointed by all the chicken feet and tripe. For Dim Sum afficionados: try to show up early if possible, because after about 12:30 the variety of dishes starts to decline (we showed up at 12 and there were no more char siu bau); also, if you like fried turnip cake: unfortunately it's a little mushy here, but it's worth forgoing this one dish because all the others are so phenomenal.
(5)
Marilyn T.
Coming from California and having visiting Asia on many occasions, I have pretty high standards for dimsum. The restaurant offers many typical dishes but lacks on more unique items. It definitely caters to the crowds, and it gets very busy on weekends. As most dimsum is, it gets pretty hectic. Dishes are greasy and pretty standard. I don't think it's worth the wait, though.
(2)
Katy P.
A group of three of us went for dim sum on a Sunday morning. The line was long, but we didn't wait terribly long since we agreed to be seated with a few other folks. The food was delicious and I really enjoyed the douhua dessert (warm tofu pudding with a sweet ginger syrup) and all of the dumplings. My only issue with this place is the pricing. Make sure you watch the servers like a hawk. We ate plenty of food but our bill came to over $70 for 3 ppl which is robbery for dim sum. Of course, no one spoke English well enough to explain the bill so I have a sneaking suspicion that we got taken advantage of. Whatever...next time I'm bringing someone who can read Mandarin, suckers!
(4)
Charles T.
When this place first opened the quality was pretty good but I feel like the standard has dropped over the last couple of years. Overall ok dim sum but nothing spectacular, especially compared to other cities.
(3)
Tony O.
My 'go-to' dim sum place. Excellent Dim Sum - fresh, clean flavors and responsive service even on the most hectic weekend mornings. All the lightbulbs seem to exhibit some slightly perceptible 'surging' (rapid cycle of slight dimming followed by bright surging). A whole new take on some dimming while having Dim Sum . . .
(4)
Khantha S.
Nice big restaurant with pretty good dim sum. This place is a few walks from chinatown
(4)
Derrick C.
Better than China Pearl
(3)
Nina N.
I was tempted. Very very tempted. To say. That this place was better than China Pearl. It was what I wanted to say after trying the shumai and rice pork meatballs. I am glad I did not let myself say this until I tried all of the other dishes because it was not true. I have to say, the crowd/mob mentality got me thinking I was being served really excellent food. What do I mean? Since when does a large crowd mean good food? It's assumed that good food draws a lot of people and therefore the store is always crowded. Well, here is my theory. When you eat around happy and loud people, you feel like you can eat more, let loose, and even have good and loud conversations yourself without disturbing a neighboring table. No need to be shy. And somehow, you think the food is better since there is so many people squished in the room with you and they must also be enjoying their food too right? And how they manage to always find seats for you is amazing considering the long lines waiting for the seat and how packed the place is the whole time you're eating. Well, this does not necessarily mean good food. When I slowed down, after the peak of the new place, new food, and the "I haven't had breakfast yet!", I realized that not all of the food was good. The shumai was definitely good. Piping hot and steamy. The rice covered pork meatball reminded me of sea urchins. Strange eh? It was my first time having this dish and it was pretty good. Very hot and juicy. The ha cao (not sure of the spelling) or the shrimp dumpling was not so good. It was juicy which was not right. Oil dripped from the dumpling when I bit into it. Then it fell apart. Uh oh. The beef tripes was ok. At first I thought it was really good but the more I eat it and try to disect the flavors, I realized that it was quite pungent. The ginger and green onion did not do it's job to mask the smell of the tripe. It could be that they did not boil the tripe long enough before steaming it. The egg rice congee was really good. It was really hot. Not spicy hot but steaming hot. It was watery compared to the slightly thicker congee I would get from other places. This is perfect for me though. We also had the chicken feets in black bean sauce. It was good. Not the best I have had but decent. The soft tofu in a sugar syrup was cold. That bothered me. I was not happy at all with this. I would definitely give it to Hei La Moon for having a packed restaurant and always seeming to have seats and piping hot and steaming dishes (except the tofu dish I had) of food when the carts go around. Quality wise, I was not satisfied.
(3)
Danny F.
food alone is 3 stars; it's very very O.K.-la and perfectly competitive with anything else in boston/manhattan. variety is somewhat limited to the standards, but enough to keep me happy. carts came around fairly quickly, and were constantly replenished, so food always arrived at my table hot and fresh. also seemed less oily to me than lesser establishments. but...there's no wait, and the room is airy, bright and clean! so due to the fact that i cannot give half stars, it luckily gets a 4 star rating from me.
(4)
Albert D.
I can safely say that this is the best you'll get in Boston. Normally I'd be all snide about it since Boston asian food is nothing to write home about. BUT, this place is actually decent! It can be a wait, but there are lots of tables, so probably wont be more than a 30 minute wait. If you can wait an hour to get into Cheesecake Factory, then this should be a breeze. I batted my eyes and winked at the hostess and she hooked it up with a seat even earlier (actually, i said that we were in a rush, and pleaded with her... but details, details..) As far as dim sum goes, everything we've gotten was good. Some things should not be missed, like the BBQ pork buns (the white ones), shumai, and OF COURSE THE CHICKEN FEET. They infuse it with heroin from what I've been told? For dessert, get the soft tofu with ginger sugar sauce on top. It's a sweet-dessert-soup-triple-screaming-orgasm in your mouth. It gets a four because the utensils were dirty. But I was on the fence about marking them down for that. Cause it just takes a quick wipe-down.
(4)
Ulf V.
Stopped by on Labor day for some Dimsum.. Been here many times before, this time no different. Food was good, seating a bit cramped, but got upstairs digs. Many carts to choose from and all told, 4 of us ate plenty and bill came to $40. Tried the taro wrapped rice for the 1st time.. very tasty!
(4)
Miriam L.
I can't believe it had been so long since I'd had dim sum! I came here for the first time in probably five years yesterday afternoon. The waiting area was crowded, but we were assured that the wait wouldn't be more than 10 minutes. About 8 minutes later, the hostess seated another party of two people whose number was after ours. Oops! I think she realized her mistake, and a few minutes later asked if we minded sharing a table. We said we didn't, and were seated with two other groups: an older Chinese couple, and a young couple with their daughter. I think at first the older woman thought we'd never had dim sum before, because she started explaining what the different dishes were and asking which ones we wanted to try. It was really sweet, but I think she realized quickly that we actually were familiar with dim sum. I think the ability to use chopsticks will do that. The food was mostly very good, though the first shrimp dumplings we got were a little on the cold side. Other than that, the food was great; broccoli rabe with fish sauce, steamed pork buns, fried shrimp and spinach dumplings...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I'll definitely be coming back more often with friends.
(4)
Justin Gwailo H.
I used to go to China Pearl. I would have to say, comparing the two, Hei La Moon (a.k.a. Xi Ling Men) is the BEST dim-sum place in Boston area. They don't have the food stations like China Pearl, but the food quality is far superior. Although, I am not impressed with their non-Dim Sum dishes.
(4)
Allison N.
It is a fairly traditional dim sum restaurant - huge room (I think there are two floors, actually), lots of Chinese people giving me, the only white person, funny looks, and women with carts. Solid food for a reasonable price.
(3)
monica m.
Went to eat here for lunch today because I was having a major dim sum craving and heard this place was the place to go. I have mixed feelings about Hei La Moon...mostly negative, but I DO have a positive. First of all, the place was packed, but we were real lucky. We went in around 1pm and it looked like the majority of the lunch crowd was gone and we were able to be seated within minutes. Dim sum at this place goes until 3:30 so we had plenty of time to eat. Went to go to the restroom and it was FILTHY. There was water all over the floor and it was just gross. They must have a lot of foot traffic during lunch because I felt like I was crossing a small moat just to use the facilities. As I got back to the table, I see that my family had already started getting food to the table. Took a bite of the shrimp, pork, and shrimp & pork shumai and they were delish! We had the pork buns, ha-gao, and dan-tat and they were just as delicious! My family and I were so happy as we were munching on the food. My mother wanted the Chinese broccoli so we ordered it from the waiter, but after 5, 10, 15 minutes, the broccoli didn't come out. We finally flagged down one of the carts and asked for it. It was really tasty. We decided to order another one so we did again from the waiter because the cart lady disappeared. Took them another 15 plus minutes to get that out as well. It was really frustrating. Our server looked miserable and the ladies that pushed the carts didn't speak a word of English. That was also frustrating. Whenever we wanted something, the lady would look at us and say "no" or "retire" and then we'd see it 10 minutes later in another cart. So, the food was really good, but the service really stinks! After lunch, we asked for the check and it was a whopping $57 for 4 adults! $65 if you include tip. Half the awesomeness of dim sum is that it's cheap. This was not cheap! We were able to feed 5 adults for half that amount at a really good dim sum place in Southern California. I expected better from Chinatown! Well, we left the restaurant feeling full, a little disappointed about the price and service, but happy with the taste of the meal. Until an hour after... I had a huge headache, felt dehydrated, and had a stomach ache. In fact, I still have a sensitive stomach and it's been about 8 hours since eating. Found out why too. My mom said that the food had a lot of MSG, which I now think I am incredibly allergic to. So, for those that are sensitive to MSG, please beware before eating here! I know that many people state that all Chinese food has MSG, but I've eaten dim sum and not gotten sick after wards so I know that no or little MSG in Chinese food is possible. Like I said in the beginning, the only thing that is a positive for this place is the brief deliciousness that it gave me while eating their food. The service, MSG overkill, bathrooms, and price is what keep me from coming back.
(2)
Erik S.
A decent Dim Sum restaurant. Tons of people and tons of food. They kept bringing food by but they didn't seem to have that much variety. It seemed like they kept bringing by the same things. Everything was good but nothing was great. One thing going for it was that it was super cheap.
(3)
Julian M.
This is certainly the best dim sum I've had in Boston. It's all kept rather fresh with decently-thin skins. It has some slightly newer dishes. But it still doesn't keep its dishes as up-to-date as some of the places in the San Francisco area. It's no Hong Kong, of course, but I've not had better in Boston.
(4)
Jeanette Y.
Authentic dim sum with a traditional banquet feel. Everything I had here was delicious. Great (and fun!) for large groups of people. One of the best things about Hei La Moon that you don't get in NYC Chinatown is that you can come early or mid-afternoon, and it is always bustling with plenty of food. In NY Chinatown, you would need to come at 9:00am - any later and the restaurant would be all out of food.
(4)
Byron M.
If you are familiar with Chinatown, this place, like China Pearl, is a larger restaurant that is designed as a dim sum place during the day and a full banquet facility in the evening. They also serve dinner for individuals and small parties as well. Because they are located on the street level this place is better suited for persons with disablities as not all places in Chinatown are able to accomodate folks in this area. The dim sum is on par with China Pearl and the dinner menu and quality is a bit better. This restaurant also offers discounted parking on the evenings and weekends in the garage upstairs. The banquet food is also very good and recommended for larger parties.
(3)
Kenny L.
For those that aren't familiar with Sailor Moon, she is a teenage middle school girl with magical powers to defend the evils of the universe. In this episode, she teams up with Sailor Venus (Roni E., official Cantonese translator of the day), Sailor Mars (Nate Y.) and myself, Sailor Mercury to find allies and opponents along the path to battle Dim Sum, the warriors of unknown powers. The war was fierce. We encountered the clear skin dumplings with shrimp (won), wonton soup with only shrimp wontons (lost), turnip cakes (won), small soup dumplings (won), sticky rice (won), egg custard (won), flour skinned meatballs with mushroom (lost), and sweet tofu flower soup for dessert (won). Key: won=good taste, lost=bad taste. In the end, the powerful Sailor Scout Team beat Dim Sum. But even though most battles were won, some were almost borderline tasty. It was definitely unlike the battles fought in NYC, LA, SF, and even less so in the motherland of Hong Kong. We will wait patiently for the next battle in Boston and we hope to win in a larger margin. Maybe next time Tuxedo Mask will come to save the day, or at least Trish the Dish.
(3)
Nancy L.
Hei La Moon is the rival to China Pearl for the best authentic dim sum experience in Boston Chinatown. In my book, HLM is very good but not better than China Pearl. It has bigger portions, each of the dumplings, buns, or shumai are all bigger than that of China Pearl and it is more accessible. If you park in the parking lot above HLM, you can have it validated after your meal at HLM and only pay around 6 dollars for a whole day of parking, a pretty good deal in Boston on a weekend. However the food at China Pearl is better and has more variety and more authenticness to it. It's something that I cannot put into words completely. The same rules of agressive queuing up for the wait list, stopping the ladies who push the cart, and fighting for the last dumpling still applies to HLM. Very loud and busy on weekend with prompt wait service.
(4)
Matt L.
I originally submitted a review back in Sept 2006 and since then it's been a twice a month (if not more) dim sum house of choice. Hei La Moon are from the same owners as China Pearl so back then it was like all the (food) of China Pearl but in a shiny new room. Oh how things change over time. For years, we've coming for dim sum, often early in the morning on weekends, yet inexplicably the hostess continues to direct us downstairs regardless of how few people there are in the primary (non subterranean) dining room. The first couple of times, we obliged and went downstairs to find that not only is the "new car smell" gone, but replaced by "old, greasy, needs a 'Stanley Steamer" guy to steam clean this whole nasty carpet" smell. The point of continued maintenance and cleaning was lost - replaced by the old Chinatown saying, "f*ck it!". More recently, we insisted on being seated upstairs - even accepting a longer wait. The funny thing, the wait was never any longer, so why were we "guided" to sit downstairs in the first place? Do I have some kind of "Brad Pitt carved asshole sign on my forehead" (e.g. "Inglorious Basterds")? That had to be the case, as I saw no other clear seating pattern - with a random blend of old and young; Chinese and non - that warranted the Yankee fan at Fenway treatment. Anyhow despite the second class seating preference we continued to come - now more out of habit than anything else - although the food was still consistent. Until.... On our last visit, I ordered a bowl of congee (a Chinese rice porridge) . To my surprise, I hit a crunch. Not a yummy, "was that peanut or cashew crunch." Not a "cookoo for cocoa puffs crunch" but rather a, "does someone have the number of my dentist crunch!" There was a peanut sized hunk of glass in my congee! Luckily it was not sharp but rather thick and well rounded - kind of like a piece broke off a thick glassed (blue) vase. Either way, not cool. I raised my hand and brought this to the attention of one of the wait staff. She too was shocked. So much so that she ripped the piece of glass out of my hand (still dripping from spit and congee) and inspected it carefully. Really? No napkin, nothing - nor did I see her was her hands before helping other customers. No additional comment needed. So she came back, apologize and took the ONE DISH off the check. Umm....really?!?! REALLY!?!?! One of the head waiters ultimately came back and wiped out the whole check. A nice gesture, but all things considered, we decided that would be our last trip for the foreseeable future. We've switched back to Empire Garden - a favorite of my aunt's and I must say, it's been a pleasant trip back. Finally, can't a first class dining experience and awesome Chinese food in Chinatown be synonymous? And we're not talking about a dramatic change in the food, but more so update the presentation and service. Pay the workers industry standard wages so they don't look like they just rolled out of bed (not their fault in my opinion). Restaurateurs, please take note.
(1)
Meg M.
I've been to three dim sum restaurants so far in chinatown and this is the best of the three. The food is fresh, cheap and very filling. You eat like it's thanksgiving and pay only $10. The only downside is going on the weekends when the line is out the door. It's best to go during the weekdays. Have the shu mai and pork buns.
(4)
Jack P.
very good dim sum, but not the absolute best
(4)
Kathleen M.
By far my favorite dim sum place in town. I shouldn't scream that too loud because I have always found the wait much shorter here than at places like China Pearl or Chau Chow City. Spacious set-up with upstairs and downstairs seating, just outside the Chinatown gate. Food is always fresh and carts rotate pretty frequently. They cook up all your dim sum faves, and my Chinese pals swear by the tripe and "phoenix claws" here, but none for me, thanks. Sadly, the least frequent cart contains turnip cakes, which are my favorite dim sum delight. I do advise you, though, to hunt this cart down--quite delicious and best when hot off the griddle. Just don't frighten the person with the cart as you charge across the enormous dining room in a focused effort to obtain just a small bit of this turnipy goodness, we don't want to do anything to further reduce the frequency of the cart!
(4)
Corey B.
Ok, this place is probably the best Dim Sum place in Boston. That said, I recently had a terrible experience there. I went recently with three others and we had a great meal, though they apparently make the calamari once in a year as we have been several times since January and only saw that once- it was excellent! Okay, the bad experience: After our meal we paid with a credit card, but decided to tip in cash. The person collecting the check saw no tip on the card receipt and ripped into the card holder about how he should have tipped. She had no shame, and she only brought us the check and provided no other service, therefore would not have had any idea as to our dining experience- she was telling him to tip 15%. She should have said nothing because it is not her choice to make- what if the service was dismal? (It wasn't) and was a honest misunderstanding, but demanding a tip is not a good business practice. My out of town friend will never go for Hei La Moon again.
(4)
Jennifer L.
Is it just me, or does all dim sum taste the same? To be fair, I've only been twice, once to Hei La Moon and once to China Pearl, but seriously, the dim sum at both places taste exactly the same to me. The dishes seemed to be exactly the same. My experience is, if you get something with filling (besides the pork buns, which were ok), you can choose from some combination of pork, shrimp, and scallions.
(2)
Danae B.
Best Dim Sum in Boston, hands down. Just watch out not not to get hit by one of the carts. It smarts!
(4)
Tony Z.
Excellent dim sum restaurant. I personally prefer this over China Pearl, another very popular Chinatown dim sum restaurant since the overall taste is much more flavorful and tasty. Be sure to come at the right time as the wait can be a bit long. Also, parking is nearly impossible to find on a weekend.
(4)
Leili T.
I've been to much better places for Dim Sum. The food wasn't that special and it smelled a little. I will never go back. It killed my interest in Chinese food altogether and I used to be a huge fan of Chinese food and specially Dim Sum.
(1)
Al N.
For the Dim Sum: 5 Stars. They got all my favorites, from turnip cakes to pork ribs in black bean sauce to chicken feet to taro cakes (shrimp cakes with crispy shredded taro stuck to the outside--amazing) to wide noodles with XO sauce. Good prices, fun to eat, fast service. So why the two stars? It it weren't for the great Dim Sum in the earlier hours, I'd give them zero. I went at night with four friends, all of whom are white. I look white enough, even though I'm half Asian. Not like it matters. First of all, there's no Dim Sum. Second, I order the Peking Duck and they only tell me ten minutes later that they're out. I know that takes a day to make it, but if it's on the menu, WTF? The biggest offense of all was NOT the waiters constantly looking over at our table, pointing, and laughing (yeah, we're ugly dorks, but have some manners), but the way that no matter what we ordered, THEY GAVE US THE WUSSIFIED GWEILO VERSION. We asked for chicken with ginger and scallions--repeated it twice, actually. They brought chicken with broccoli. I asked very clearly so as to be absolutely sure that the waiter understood that I wanted Spicy Salted Shrimp WITH SHELL and HEADS. They brought decapitated, shelled shrimp. When I said it's not what I wanted, the waiter said, "This is better." What a load of crap--shrimp without shell is like bowling ball without liquid center. They missed one dish entirely. It's like Hei La Moon is two different restaurants, one a fantastic Dim Sum place and the other run by a idiots so afraid of offending customers' palettes that they completely disregard what was ordered. Don't go at night. If for some reason you feel you must, bring a lawyer.
(2)
Moookao K.
Is it just me or have Chinese people gotten heavier over the years? If so, it's all because of this place. The dim sum is the best in Boston!!! and I know my dim sum. It's in my genes for goodness sakes. Before I found this place, I was worried about surviving the next 3 years in Boston without good dimsum -- given that I come from the motherland of dimsum -- CA. Unlike the dim sum offered by China Pearl or Chau Chow City, the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Especially noteworthy were there beef noodle rolls (chang fun), meat balls, shu mai, hargow, and leek/veggie dumplings. Also yummy are anything bun related -- BBQ pork buns and the sweet custard bun. The bread is the perfect balance of fluffy and chewy. Damn, I'm salivating all over my computer again. Oh yeah...and the service is great and the dining room is spacious and clean! Why not 5 stars? cuz I'm a spoiled dimsum whore and have had the best of dimsums from around the world, SF, LA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan. Sorry Boston. Though you're the best here, you don't compare to the rest of the world. But congrats on the 4 stars!
(4)
Jimmy C.
Dim sum heaven. The spareribs over rice noodles are delicious!
(5)
Liana K.
Dim sum is yum yum! While I can't recall the names of everything that ended up being swallowed, it was all good. Pricewise wasn't too bad since it came out to like $62 for 8 people.
(4)
Thuy Tien L.
I used to get my dim sum fix at China Pearl, but one day I decided to investigate the place with the long lines out the door of Chinese families, and I found Hei La Moon. Oh man. I love this place! Best dim sum I've ever had, and definitely the best in Chinatown. Bring a Chinese friend (it might help you get a table faster, and it'll be easier to get food), and try one of everything. Everything. They serve pretty much every food item anyone could ever want to eat at dim sum, so bring an empty stomach. Come early to avoid the crowds (before 10 am, esp on a weekend) or else you'll be half-dead from hunger by the time you get a table. And you'll DEFINITELY need a Chinese speaker in your crowd in that situation, because numbers are called out in both Cantonese and Mandarin but rarely ever in English. Shady, but true. Another useful tip: either come in small groups (2-4) or giant extended family-sized groups (10-12). Sometimes large round tables are saved for large parties, sometimes several small groups get put together at one of these tables. Seating often depends on your group's size and table availability, so numbers aren't called in order. The food is absolutely amazing and really fresh because they get so much business. I often drop around ten bucks for a gut-busting, soul-fulfilling meal. Heaven.
(5)
Mark W.
Excellent Dim Sum!
(4)
James C.
Dim sum review. The food is good but the service is spotty. The carts come so infrequently that people go to the carts. Service in general is poor
(2)
Andra Z.
This is a great place for dim sum, and for someone who isn't Asian, an experience not to forget. It's always busy when I've gone, which makes the experience even better. The carts are packed with yummy dim sum goodies and the staff is helpful enough to give you some sort of indication as to what you're eating. I wouldn't go in if I weren't willing to experiment. The broccoli rabe is fantastic, I highly recommend it. And I've always stayed away from the cart with the chicken feet. I have eclectic tastes, but not that eclectic. The prices are incredibly reasonable for the amount of food you can and will consume.
(4)
Jennifer S.
don't go for anything but dim sum. like another poster mentioned their food is really bland and flavorless. no soy, no ginger, garlic NOTHING. lots of cornstarch though. so yucky. but their shrimp dumplings (Har Gow) are a delight.
(2)
Lynn C.
Keep in mind the four star is strictly for the food only (don't expect super service from most authentic Chinese places. Just be happy the Chinese lady pushing the cart didn't force-feed you their dishes), and based on Boston Chinese food rating standard (if I were in NYC or Toronto, the food here would just be a 3.) This is the place where I go to satiate my cravings for Dim Sum. At first I thought it'd be difficult to find actual good dim sum here in Boston, but a friend of mine introduced me to Hei La Moon and the food here is actually legit. The variety is good enough, you have all the basics like har gow, siu mai, cha siu bao, lai wong bao, and chicken feet (yum!), and the taste is right. The push cart ladies are standard pushy, standard because I've seen a lot worse at dim sum places. The dude who owns the restaurant and his wife are pretty rude. I've seen the owner yell at the push cart ladies with a real chinese foul mouth, and his wife, who's downstairs taking in the money, has a sour face and would chase you down if you don't pay at least 15% tip. In essence, the real Chinese dim sum experience, minus the tip part... Oh, and tip for this restaurant: go downstairs and they will seat you right away.
(4)
David G.
Came here on a sunday afternoon right before heading on a bus back to NY. Its one of the bigger places for dim sum in boston. I came with a group of 5 and they sat us on a table of 4 which i didnt mind, but the tables were so close to each other. I just wish they would space out the tables better. I'm probably biased since im from NY and i eat dim sum in flushing & chinatown all the time. The dim sum here is just average. There wasn't a huge selection of items. The shrimp in rice rolls was pretty good, its hard to mess this one up (unless the rice rolls were hard or the soy sauce was shitty) but neither was the case. I love chicken feet...but the chicken feet here was not so good. It was not tasty nor appetizing. The feet that was placed on my table looked extra wrinkly for some reason. The next time i visit boston, i think i'd rather skip on the dim sum.
(3)
Anastasia R.
Everything I love about China town can be found in this restaurant on a Sunday morning. Pork buns, shrimp wrapped in those weird big rice noodles with something-sauce all over them, black bean pork, Chinese broccoli, but most of all, mystery. I try to order at least one thing I am completely unfamiliar with every time I go to a dim sum restaurant. Granted, I can't in good conscience recommend this to everyone, but I can now say that I have eaten fried chicken feet. I smugly consider this a gastronomic triumph.
(4)
Chris G.
I've gotten a lot of dim sum in a lot of different places during my life and I would definitely rank this place at the bottom. The food had no taste and anything that was fried was way too greasy. They really sacrifice quantity for quality. For example, the wu gok and ham siu gok here are the biggest I've ever had but also the least flavorful. I sat in the basement seating and definitely noticed the lack of diversity with the food selection. I will definitely never return here. Just go to Winsor Dim Sum Cafe. There aren't any carts so you miss the real dim sum experience, but trust me. It is just not worth it.
(1)
Mike H.
I've been in China Pearl's corner for a long, long time, but Hei La Moon has opened up my eyes to a better food quality overall. My friends and I usually come here around noon on the weekends, and we're usually seated right away which is so surprising. Unlike so many Dim Sum fares, Hei La Moon doesn't peddle the same crap on the carts for hours until it's too hard to eat. There aren't ant shared tables either, so you can feel free to have as many un-PC conversations with your friends as you want without the fear of having people call the cops on the crazies at their table talking about inappropriate things. It's technically outside of the Chinatown gates, so I don't know if I can truly consider this true Chinatown Dim Sum, but that might just be the picky little prick in me. There are plenty of tables, and plenty of options, but I do have two gripes: 1) They seem to have an odd layout downstairs so the food cart path was never really established and it was kind of a free for all. 2) They don't have the crispy crab balls with the crab claw sticking out of it like China Pearl does. 3) The hostess doesn't know my name yet unlike China Pearl where all she has to say is "Michael! how many in your party today?" (But since that's just plain sad, I'll let that one go. Give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.
(4)
Phil C.
Although I've been here for wedding banquets (and they're generally very good, perhaps best in Chinatown), I'll write a dim sum review. Hei La Moon, for the most part, gets the job done, but there are some things that a dim sum stickler could make a Federal case over. However, the restaurant is spacious and can handle a weekend crowd. The ladies pushing the carts were particularly annoying. They'd hover over your table and generally remain until someone at the table physically tells them that they're not interested in their wares. I should threaten them with a taser the next time. The food itself was okay, with some basics being pretty decent and others lacking. The siu mai was very good, as it was flavorful and warm. The beef tripe was excellent, having a good peppery flavor. The dan tat (egg custard tart) was decent. The ha cheung (shrimp rice rolls) was just average; nothing special. The sticky rice wrapped in leaf wasn't too salty and had pretty good pork stuffing. However, the fried taro pastry stuffed with pork was below average. It came cold and was bland. I ordered a bunch of ha gow, but since I was doing the ordering, I didn't get a chance to try it as it disappeared quickly. I never saw any ha gow again, which isn't a good sign either. For Boston, this place gets the job done and I'd choose it over some of the places around. I don't really care for the upstairs parking arrangement - more complicated than it has to be.
(3)
Julie L.
I have come here for a preset Chinese New Year dinner and weekend dim sum. Both deserve a 3 star rating. The prices are very affordable but the quality is just average. I found everything (dinner entrees and dim sum) to be way too oily. Even the vegetables were drenched in oil. Good selection of dim sum so if you're here with a larger party there's probably something that caters to everyone. Also, the restaurant is huge (2 floors) and significantly larger than other dim sum places like Windsor so it's a good option if you want to get seated relatively quickly.
(3)
Ngoc T.
I came on a Sunday morning, the restaurant was crowded but it took me 5 minutes to get a table so not too bad. Waitress seemed a little annoyed when I asked her about the food, and then walked away without answering. Some just walked away and smiled at me after I asked her a question - odd but ok. Overall, bad service. On the bright side, their food was good.
(3)
Miguel R.
One moment while I rub my temples as I decide where to begin. OK, I was brought here by a good, native-Chinese-speaking friend. In retrospect, I am glad she was chaperoning me, because I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of Chinatown. Not Boston Chinatown -- New York Chinatown. I half-expected one of the aggressive cart-ladies to wave a live chicken in my face or drop a flapping fish on my plate. The à la carte menu is simple enough to figure out, but the dim sum carts are anyone's guess. My hostess told me she was being 'conservative' with her selections, which I was fully aware of; once you've had menudo, you've had all the basic training you'll ever need to spot an animal stomach from a mile away. In short, I enjoyed myself because I have a high noise-and-chaos tolerance and because I was accompanied by a very kind interpreter. I recommend you come here with someone who knows anything about authentic Chinese food or who can actually speak Chinese. Some offerings are not for the American faint of heart.
(3)
Kenneth F.
Great place for dim sum in Boston, much better than two other places I have tried in Chinatown. Here are some of the dish highlights: Good: Giant Har Gow...seriously, check out my picture, I placed a tea cup next to it for comparison. Although the dish came with two only, it was much better than the one that came with four. Tofu dessert...I forgot the exact english translation, but you'll see this cart strolling around and serving up a storm. Some dogweed/shrimp dish...never seen it at another restaurant before, but it's good here! Mediocre/Not so good: Chicken feet rice noodle (cherng fun)
(4)
Josephine L.
Been here for dim sum a few times and it's always a guaranteed good experience. They do dim sum the old school Cantonese way, with frowning old ladies pushing carts full of food while curious and somewhat bewildered diners gaze warily at the contents before finally settling on an item and ordering it through a mixture of sign language and overly loud English. Unless you already speak Cantonese (or Mandarin), in which case you breeze through the process. Everything is delicious, solid and decently authentic. The beef tripe is wonderfully chewy and ginger-y, the chicken feet are tasty, the steamed pork buns (a favorite with the boyfriend) are fluffy, mango pudding is delish, congee is hot and comforting and the custard pastries are fabulous. You pretty much can't go wrong with anything you pick, and if it looks unusual, eat it anyway (unless you have allergies) because life is short and you only eat once. Per meal. Er....you know what I mean.
(4)
Alma C.
The dim sum here tastes good and has above average selection compared to the other dim sum in the area. I ranked this place a two at first b/c the first time I went here, one of the dishes had a hair in it. I saw it before anyone in my party touched it, but when I called over the waitress to tell her, she could not speak a lick of English and I had to point at my head and then the plate and then my head again for her to understand. She then quickly brought a replacement dish and the rest of the meal was fine. Since this is probably one of the better places for dim sum around Boston, I'm giving it a few more chances to redeem itself from that first time visit. I've actually been here a couple times since and it's been fine.
(3)
John L.
Been here countless times since the mid 90's. It's just a block outside of Chinatown, actually right outside the sign for Chinatown. Super busy on Sunday, but Saturday can hold it's own too. Very good dim sum, service is always great in Chinese restaurants. But please keep in mind that the waiters and waitresses will NOT ask you how the food is. They will take away your empty dim sum plate in less than two seconds flat but you'll be waiting until the next blue moon if you want some TLC from the staff. Oh and when you are done with your meal, simply flag down a wait staff by waving your dim sum card and never expect the waiter to add your total in a calculator. If he/she whips out a calculator, you are not in a real dim sum restaurant. Just sayin. I also suggest coming here for dinner for some authentic Chinese dishes. Bring a large party b/c the dishes are large and Chinese dishes are best shared!
(4)
Bailey Z.
Hei La Moon is your standard dim sum joint. It's large enough to accommodate groups and serves the typical dim sum fare. The food is decent, the prices are reasonable, and the place is relatively clean. It's a big step up from China Pearl, but I still liked Winsor better. Get here before 10 am because both levels of this restaurant fill up fast.
(3)
Deanna D.
Dim Sum Review: The service is push cart style so you can see everything but the servers don't tell you what in the dish, so when you ask they just put it on your table. No explanation or menu + no prices =down side to this type of dim sum. You end up with random stuff that looks cool but not knowing what your eating is not cool. Not a huge selection since its essentially the same stuff passing over and over again. Fried rice was horrible--too sticky like it was over cooked/steamed. BBQ pork buns were delicious--the best dish we had Shrimp in bean curd was ok--the strange consistency was not appealing and lacked flavor Shrimp & Leek fried wantons were tasty BBQ pork ribs were not very good--lots of fat pieces in a tiny order Shrimp steamed dumpling was flavorless. No condiments on the table to sauce up your dish--not a good thing since I'm a sauce whore. Overall not a great meal. The restaurant was clean, the staff was friendly and the food was OK. We won't be back anytime soon. I prefer Winsor for Dim Sum--more selection, tastier food, real menu and cheaper too.
(2)
Jerrica J.
Was in Boston last weekend due to a family emergency. My boyfriend and I ate a lot. I liked how big this restaurant was. Everything was tasty. My favorite was the har gow and shui mai. I was sad that at 1:30 they ran out of my favorite egg custard tarts. One star off because the servers were a little lazy and didn't want to check for dishes for me. I had to flag people down numerous times. They forgot our water.
(4)
Joanna C.
Came here for dinner and a book club meeting last week! The facility was a tiny bit hard to find (my GPS kept telling me to make right turns down one way streets in the opposite direction and I almost ran over a tiny Asian woman because I was so distracted!), but regardless, showed up and was able to find street parking (Sweet!). The place was EMPTY. And oh yeah, it's also GIANT! Clear out those tables and we can have a touch football match! But anyway - great for our book club since we could talk and eat and not be worried we would be taking up a needed table. The servers seemed to have a tiny bit of a comprehension issue with understanding everyone's questions, but we were finally able to order our food and settled in for a nice discussion. When suddenly, a tour bus pulled up and out jumps out about a hundred or so people?? They poured into the restaurant and it's chaos! We were promptly forgotten as the servers ran around trying to accommodate the HUGE group. Our entrees arrived haphazardly. We weren't offered rice (and couldn't order it until about 20 minutes after our entrees because no one was within our vicinity). Our tea went empty for a while as we tried to flag someone down. But all in all, a pretty solid meal (once it arrived)! I definitely recommend the aromatic beef (deep fried beef strips!), and the empress chicken (we were all stealing bites of that!). Service left some to desired, but what can you expect from (right outside) Chinatown? I do need to hit it for dim sum soon!
(3)
Hung L.
Came here for a wedding, quite possibly the worst Chinese food in Boston. Typical 10 course wedding meal, one of the dishes that came out had the same reaction from everyone, "steak? never seen steak at a Chinese wedding before" Probably the most chewy piece of steak I have ever ate. Fried rice...tasted more like plain rice with veggies thrown in it. Red bean dessert, was like eating red bean in water, didn't taste sweet at all. I would have to say 2 out of the 10 dishes were acceptable. Definitely not gonna do my wedding here. Hei La Moon definitely needs to sound proof their rooms better, another wedding was going on next to us and they were obnoxiously loud. I saw the other bride, definitely a bridezilla, clubbing music and no one in your party was even dancing.
(2)
Adam C.
1st timer to Boston Chinatown (in many many years). Went with my son & my mom. Fri. 24 June 2011, about 12:30pm. It was a very large place, very noisy, and very crowded..lots of pushy people. All of us are mega dumpling fans, so it was a no-brainer.. We ate all types of dimsum, I couldn't tell you what type they weer, but most were great. Different locations in the restaurant had different foods on the carts..we were in the front of the place, and at the rear, there were balls of something being carted around. My take-sit somewhere else and your menu will change ? The cart pushers didn't offer any explanation as to what it the itemes were... I did notice that some of the young asian business men were waited and douted over by the younger female staff :-) not the cranky cart ladies. I liked it very much, for the food and the crazy atmosphere. I want to go back....
(4)
Meridith H.
This is only the 2nd place in Boston that I've tried for Dim Sum, and I already know that I've found my regular place. The atmosphere outside the restaurant is just as frenetic as the atmosphere inside - within seconds of being seated, my partner and I already had 2 choices of dessert on our table. Within minutes, we had a feast. Obviously, service was quick. It was also friendly, and the language barrier was no barrier (unless you really want to know what's inside those steaming buns or the steaming pot stickers...but if you want to know that, then where did your sense of adventure go? My partner took out his cell phone to look up the menu, but I call that cheating). I liked most of what I ate, and can't wait to come back with an empty stomach to try more of their offerings. The location is great, too; it's a quick walk from the Boylston stop on the Green or the South Station stop on the Red Line.
(4)
Nik C.
Had the most surreal experience here. Came on a Sunday 6/5, arrived at about 9:30am. Upstairs had a fair number of people. We were seated downstairs. Nobody was there. And I mean nobody; we were the only ones eating there. The carts sort of hovered around our table. Nobody else showed up for the whole time we ate. Nobody. It was very strange. We're used to this place being absolutely packed. Dunno what the story was. It was the strangest thing.
(4)
douglas h.
Dim Sum My favorite dim sum place in the Boston area. Potential to stand in a line.
(4)
Tammy L.
My favourite DS place in Boston! I love almost everything that I've tried at HLM, especially the char siu bows. The cart ladies can be persistent but some of them are really friendly. Dinner at HLM is another story. I've had about five family dinners at this place. The dishes are bland so I usually have to add soy or hot sauce on everything. Normally I would just eat everything the way it is, but not at HLM. But hey, the dim sum is fabulous. My only complaint is the long, long wait.
(4)
Z T.
My first experience there, dimsum is pretty good, but service and speed is the slowest I've seen in Chinatown. Nearly impossible to get what we wanted. I went back the 2nd time, and service was excellent, but this time we have a bigger crowd.
(4)
Yan L.
It is these sort of places that makes me want to move back to Hong Kong. Sure, you may say it's not a fair comparison, but that doesn't excuse the horrible dim sum. Where shall I start? -- Shrimp dumplings (har gao) had skin which was too thick. But thick here doesn't mean strong, actually (you'd think it would) because the moment you pick it up with chopsticks, it breaks and all the filling spills out. -- Lotus leaf rice (lor mai gai) was dry on the inside. Rice was undercooked and had a grainy texture. (Btw, eating undercooked glutenous rice is not good for your stomach.) -- Siew mai had a dot of pink food coloring on top to substitute for roe (usually orange). At least I hope it was food coloring. Very suspicious. -- Fried taro dumplng was too oily and tasted stale. Had to spit it out. -- Char siew buns had too little filling. The bun was cooked for too long and probably with not enough steam, making it dense and hardened. -- Chicken feet in soy sauce. This one was actually alright. Though I'd be surprised if they could ruin this. -- Century egg pork porridge. Nothing redeeming. Bland and not cooked long enough to get the flavors of the ingredients out. I suspect the only reason why so many people come to this place is because the wait is short (if any), as they have a lot of space on multiple floors. So i guess it depends on whether you want to subject yourself to longer waits elsewhere to get better food, or get a quick shot of crap.
(1)
Helena Q.
Most of the food here is definitely above average and quite good. Suffers from the common problem of inconsistent push carts, so definitely make sure to try and sit in an area where lots of other people are. I do feel that it's a bit expensive for dim sum though. My biggest complaint is that the chrysanthemum tea / other tea mix we got had only one flower in it... (I don't actually know the English name of the tea)
(4)
Alex L.
By far the best dim sum in Boston. Period. End of sentence. After living here for 4 years at some point in my life, I regret wholeheartedly that I never knew about this place during my entire tenure. It was just outside the gates of chinatown, which I suppose made it out of our line of vision at the time. The food here tastes amazingly fresh and they do a great job on pretty much every dish I care about (Tripe, Shumai, Chung Fun). On an average trip, you can expect each person to spend ~$12-15 for the meal, but thats not particularly different than anywhere else worth checking out in Chinatown Boston.
(5)
Oiyan P.
I took my whole family out to dim sum today to celebrate my return from LA and completion of my Ph.D. Since I haven't been around much in a while I let my parents pick a place. The first thing they said was that they didn't think there was any place good in Boston, but then said that Hei La Moon was decent in their opinion. Oh goodness... it was just not good. My elders (aunts, uncles, parents) just wouldn't eat half of the dishes. The shrimp rice rolls (har cheung) was kinda cold, and the rice roll tasted gritty like the cooks hadn't mixed up the powder enough or something. The shrimp dumpling (har gau) wrapping was too thick (couldn't see through it) and the shrimp tasted funny. So I asked my dad what he thought of it, and he and the other elders thought that the shrimp had gone bad! So we didn't finish those 2 dishes. The cold/pickled chicken feet were pretty good - not too vinegary, and had a good texture to it. The only really good thing was the vegetarian rice rolls (jai cheung) and that's cuz it was brought out to us on a special order. It was hot, straight from the kitchen. Tasty with the smooth rice rolls with a good balance of cilantro. Everything else was pretty forgettable. The other good thing was that at $117 (not including tip) for 16 people, it was a pretty good bargain. But when I asked for a receipt (I paid cash), the hostess was hella rude to me, asking me why I needed it. Damn, biatch! I want it for my tax records. Also, the parking validation is really weird. There's a garage right above the place. You pay an $11 deposit, and after dining you ask for parking validation in the restaurant, which gives you a sticker and $5. Or something like that. Too many transactions!!! I don't know if I've just been spoiled by Chinese food in California, but wow... this was unimpressive. Come on Boston! We deserve good dim sum!
(2)
Dominique N.
Is the "yum cha" here as good as Hong Kong or Vancouver or the Bay Area? Obviously not. But it really hits the spot and is great compared to the generally poor state of Boston Chinese food. Plus they still have the old-school dim sum carts (not ordering at the table) which is awesome! Instant gratification + ability to check out new dishes before buying. Finally it's very cheap - I never end up paying more than $10-12 per person here for more dim sum than I can eat. Har Gow are a good measure of dim sum since it's basically shrimp + dumpling skin- if the shrimp aren't crisp or are overly seasoned, there's nowhere to hide it. The har gow here are good - nice flavor, large in size and the shrimp are fresh. In addition to the regular dim sum (like har gow or sew mai) Hei La Moon has some more authentic dishes like dow foo fah (sweet tofu dish) and ja leung (Chinese donut wrapped in a rice noodle). These are Cantonese favorites and usually pretty hard to find. This restaurant can get mobbed so the best bet is to go on Saturday mornings (versus the more popular Sunday mornings). If the upstairs seems mobbed try heading downstairs to the basement and ask to be seated by the hostess there. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes. I think they also take reservations. There is also validated parking in the attached parking garage - it's a little confusing. You pay the parking garage the full amount (something like $6-10?) and then take your parking pass to Hei La Moon, where you pay THEM another $3. You then take your stamped parking ticket back to the parking garage and they refund your original payment. There has to be a more efficient way, but that's how it works.
(4)
Iv L.
2.5 Star. Nice big place , did some renovation to expand the back. Dim sum cart rolling around and you get to take what you want. average dim sum food.
(2)
Jeffrey L.
Best dim sum in boston, everyone knows it too. Went to China pearl for years and saw the ship sinking for years so I had to find a new gem. Their Shu Mai are easily the best, much bigger and succulent with black mushroom. So if they did dim sum only I would be cheering all the way BUT they do dinner items as well and that's where they honestly deserve 2 stars. Their dinner items are very poorly constructed and the flavors are usually bland. I just love the dim sum too much to give it below 4 stars, plus the decor and service are always good especially for Chinatown and there's parking above.
(4)
Marc L.
This is the new hotspot for Dim Sum in Boston. The restaurant isn't new but their Dim Sum selection and service has improved considerably and has replaced China Pearl as the premiere Dim Sum place around Chinatown. The place was packed on a weekday at 10am. Can be very noisey, but so is any popular place. Thats a good sign. The servers are friendly, food was so fresh. You could tell the food was prepared that morning. Prices were very reasonable.
(4)
Crystal E.
Went there for dim sum and a friend's birthday. Both pretty good for dinner and dim sum. Crazy on Sunday since dim sum hours.
(4)
Qichen Z.
A huge restaurant in Chinatown. Easy to miss because it's tucked away on the end of Beach Street, close to the harbor. Food was okay. Didn't get to see the menu since I went there for a friend's party, but I imagine it to be comprehensive. Seafood was pretty good, but do NOT order the raw fish. The lobster and fried cod were delicious. Overall, the food was good, but the ambience was a little weird. It only has one huge dining space so you feel like you're eating in the middle of a tackily-decorated ballroom. They served Sapporo and Tsingtao (surprisingly hard to find in Boston), so they get points for that. Go here if you have a large party, not necessarily if you want to have an intimate conversation.
(3)
Chris P.
No joke...people told me this place was going to be busy, and they were right - there must have been 500 people eating in there when I was in there, but they are set up to handle it and (for the most part) we weren't left waiting on food. I went on a cold Saturday morning with a couple of friends and on the recommendation of a local. There were carts-a-plenty rolling around all over and bottomless green tea to keep us warm. We ate and ate - great dumplings, beef, clams - basically everything we tried was delicious. The only complaint I have is that there was a period of about 10 minutes where we didn't see any carts come by, but it's a stretch to be upset about this. Three people, we all stuffed ourselves and got out of there for $39. You're not going to beat that. The food is legit, the service pretty good, and the atmosphere lively. A good place to keep on your list!
(4)
Soooap L.
If I crave dim sum, at normal dim sum hours (breakfast - lunch time), I go to Hei La Moon. (I married Cantonese and been to HK a few times so I think it's the best here in Boston compared to the others : Emperor's Garden, China Pearl). Pretty standard selection, hot and fresh (at peak hours) and decently priced. If you go in a larger group, you get more value, of course. but if you're craving dim sum AFTER peak hours, go to Windsor instead where you can get fresh dim sum. I give the food 4 stars, but the service 3 stars. Even if you do speak Chinese, the staff are generally rude and rarely friendly.
(4)
M. Deloris D.
After fostering a love affair between ourselves, the dude and I planned a pre-honeymoon staycation in an attempt to begin a love affair with our fair city, Boston. A menage a trois of sorts, that is to say, he, me and Hei La Moon. A friend recommmended this place. She, a bonafied Asian and self proclaimed AZN (which she claims is an ultra-hip, in the know, Asian). It was seconded by the Yelp family and so it was, that we made our way over to Beach Street to experience the magic. The first issue here is being seated. The top level can get a bit busy as the hostess is the first station of attack past the double doors. We were first timers. We collected a number and waited less than ten minutes to be seated. It was the most confusing ten minutes of my adult life, with numbers being shouted out in three languages (I'm sure one was English, I assume the others were Cantonese and Mandarin). Some folks walked in and breezed through to tables, others collected numbers and waited, others stood and waited without numbers and some just went downstairs. Our strategy worked and I think it's the one we'll implement going forward. The pace at Hei La Moon is breakneck. Carts fly past and the servers only ask if you want to try something once before they pass to the next table, which can be a problem once you figure things out because you start saying yes to everything (except chicken's feet, we never say yes to chicken's feet) once you realize it might be a while before these carts come back around. This can lead to being stuffed prematurely. If you're super starvolated, get a dish to tide you over and wait to survey the carts as they pass the tables and approach you. Nearly everything at Hei La Moon was tasty though I'd say skip the steamed vegetables which were gorgeously green and utterly bland. Go for the beef wrapped in noodle and fried dough wrapped in noodle. The char siu bao were tasty and other dumplings were tastetastic whether boiled, fried or steamed. The pork and black bean spare ribs were tender and delicious. He loved the varied, fried, small fish, squid and shrimp. I was weirded out by the roe in the fish. Roe separate from fish? Yummy. Roe inside the fish? Ummm...ew. A final piece of advice, when heading to dim sum at Hei La Moon, be sure your party is at least three people, that way you'll be able to order more and taste a broader array of the delicious offerings. If you're taking the T, South Station is your best bet. Dig in!
(4)
Clara L.
Another tasty dim sum. Every table upstairs and downstairs was full, there was a few minute wait, longer for parties of 4 our more. Just try not to get seated at the back of the restaurant away from the kitchen if you have a choice, carts don't get back here often and quick enough, some of our dishes were not that warm and we didn't get the best pick of items.
(3)
Sara M.
Went to this restaurant for dim sum on New Year's Day. Didn't actually make it to the restaurant until around 1:15PM, but we were seated within five minutes of arriving. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. I like dim sum restaurants that have the old style carts being wheeled around throughout the meal. We had a great time picking new things to try, and we especially loved any of the dishes involving shrimp (the one with rice noodles was great!). We also liked the sesame balls. There were plenty of different dishes so we felt like we had many options. We ate fairly light, and the bill for four people came to $37. Will definitely return!
(4)
Shao H.
The char siu sou there is the best.
(3)
Jo-Anna L.
Be sure you're willing to go on an adventure before coming here. If you're coming here and you're not Asian, be prepared for the shock of being one of the only non-asians in the restaurant. But, I'd say that must mean it's authentic, right? There's a few normal things to sample here, but I'd say the experience here isn't complete without trying the chicken feet or the tripe. I was less impressed with the variety of dishes here, I found that nearly every dumpling contained shrimp, so if you don't eat shellfish, you're out of luck. There were also a few other dishes, like steamed buns that I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't find (except for some red bean filled ones). But, at least, go on a weekend at brunch time for the best selection as this is the typical time for eating dim sum!
(4)
Nate Y.
One of several restaurants that serve Chinese brunch otherwise known as dim sum, Hei La Moon is situated in the outskirts of Chinatown or the area known as the Leather District. I scored street parking with an "out of service" parking meter. So far so good. The decor was fairly clean and not too shabby. We were seated fairly quickly and had our choice of tea. As we ordered the many different dishes from the carts, we picked what we were familiar with. In a sense it was comfort food for us. The tastes were familiar, but nothing really stood out. The service was fine. Even for those who don't speak Chinese there wouldn't be much of a problem of getting service although it does help knowing what the dishes are. For those who haven't had dim sum before this is a fine choice to try it, but for the experienced don't expect more than the usual.
(3)
Happy Eater B.
Went here for a party. Tons of food, all of it tasty. Definitely a quantity over quality place, as the huge amounts of food lost a bit of finesse. Service was also a little lacking - trouble getting water, extra chopsticks, etc. because the wait staff was so busy. But a solid four stars for a great experience overall. An excellent place for large groups.
(4)
Kevin L.
Considering this appears to be the most highly rated dim sum joint in Boston, I'm pretty shockingly disappointed. It doesn't even compare to the dim sum options in and around the DMV... and the ones that we have are pretty abysmal in comparison with the offerings of San Francisco, New York, or even Chicago. Let's start off with the lack of variety in dishes. The carts that kept passing us by offered up the same set of roughly a dozen different items. One has to order chong fun (the long wide tubes of rice noodle) specially - they don't come around in carts like other dishes? Also, where were the greens, or the guo tie? Then, let's talk about the fact that they appeared to have a single lone cart offering luo buo gao. One. And that lady was -way- slow in serving them up. It took readily upwards of ten minutes for a single order. And even when that came, it was mediocre. Boo. Perhaps it's a function of where we ended up sitting (at a table with a dead-end, so carts could only pass us in one plane of motion), or perhaps it was due to the time of day (we sat down roughly around 1330). The bottom line is that I left completely unimpressed. On the up side, if you pay $11 to park in the cluster of a garage directly above this restaurant on a Saturday, then pay the restaurant $6 for a coupon, they'll refund you the parking fee at the cashier's stand when you exit the garage. Basically, dropping the price down to $5. Presuming you remember to purchase the coupon from the restaurant, and are willing to deal with the hassle of obtaining your money back when you exit.
(2)
H W.
Authentic and affordable dim sum that you can be confident in.
(4)
Ryan L.
Great service and good food consistency. Found the parking a pain, but there's definitely plenty of tables in this place. Always busy during the peak times of the day and the waiters are right on top of it. I'd say this place is the best Dim Sum in Boston.
(4)
Jen M.
We've eaten dim sum many times in many cities. Today we tried hei la moon. Our first Boston dim sum. It's definitely average-above average food-wise. The service was pretty good and the cart ladies were able to communicate fairly well. We got there before noon on a Sunday as a party of six and we were seated immediately I think it helped to have gramma with us because none of the cart ladies was surly with her or us. Had it just been us non-Chinese folks it might have been different. Two downsides on the food...(1) They did not seem to serve scallion pancakes which always keep the kids happy. Luckily I brought a snack for one my picky eater. Also they did not have juice so if you bring young kids you should pack their drinks. (2) They did not seem to have many of the steamed dumplings I love and have come to expect at dim sum.
(3)
Peter W.
The Dim Sum is good. The diversity was not that great, but the quality is good (e.g., not too greasy). The experience of getting a table or service for water or tea is something to just sit back and laugh off. Have fun.
(4)
Billy Su B.
ok so hei la moon is the latest thing for me to OBSESS over. here is the tale: upon arrival, things were looking grim. a teeny chinese girl, beneath the gaudiest chandelier you have ever laid eyes on, stood behind a booth at the entrance. she was handing out mangled little pieces of paper with numbers scribbled on them with one hand, and holding a microphone with the other, which she would periodically half say, half.. kind of, sort of shriek: NEKSA PAHTY!! NUMMA SEEKS!!!! is this dim sum or chinese bingo? either way i feel like i win. before she could call our number over her microphone though, a huffy little man motioning violently to and fro confiscated our ticket and sent us down a grand staircase where a lady looked at us solemnly and pointed to a dirty table. mike and i looked at one another skeptically and sat down. is this punishment? must we be flogged with dumplings now? he made a face as he flicked a stray piece of rice onto the floor and glanced reluctantly at the remaining debris. mulling all about us were waiters in the filthiest uniforms i have ever seen. seriously, do the employees all roll around in the dim sum before each shift? was there a food fight? are the crusties their version of "flair?" was someone's mother dissed? so there we were in the middle of this dining room when a waiter pulled up with a broke-ass cart with some duct tape on the side. my eyebrows were about to assume the sassy position when i spotted the food: steaming, fresh, gorgeous, aromatic plates heaped with dumplings, shumai, sweet pork belly buns.. ladies and gents, the food was FANTASTIC. the shumai was unusual, saturated in savory goodness and atypical spices. the pork belly buns were MY FAVORITE! like little desserts! i had a banana leaf stuffed with hot rice and pork-sausage with egg that was so so yummy.. bingo? yes, it would seem so after all. hei la moon, i will brave your crusty waiters, your bad chandeliers, your shrieking hostess, and your one injured toilette with no seat. really? no seat? let's just neutralize it, shall we? / / / / two stars off for being a dirty debbie. ( * * ) | ___ ___ |___ / | | | _______________/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | dumpling cart! | m---- ---m | | | | | | | | | ______________ | | | ( ) ( ) | |
(3)
Angel C.
If you have a big group and want to go for dim sum, you either go here or you go to China Pearl. This place is maybe a little better than China Pearl. One thing I like about China Pearl, though, is that they have a bigger dessert selection (hooray for my sweet tooth!), although HLM recently started serving tapioca in coconut milk, which is one of my favorites, so yay! If you want to avoid waiting, go before 11AM.
(4)
David B.
This place is always crowded-a good sign.We always try to get there early on a sunday.If you get there past 11:30 or 12 there can be a bit of a wait. It is worth it.Shrimp in rice noodles,slippery and tasty.Har gow is always good as are various other shrimp dumplings.Good sticky rice in lotus leaves and the sticky rice under glass.The turnip cake is good but Windsor's is better.Pork buns are tasty and stuffed w/sweet bbq pork.If you go and they have the soup in the hollowed out watermelon,get it.It is a treat.A fun,noisy,tasty place for dim sum.
(4)
Calvin N.
A LOT BETTER than the other place I went the day before for Dim Sum out here in Boston. Food tasted fresher and the lighting is def a lot better. It feels cleaner here and a lot friendlier service. Once I get back to Boston I will come here only for Dim Sum.
(4)
Hannah F.
Once again, I must admit that I've been spoiled by food in Los Angeles. That said, I went into Hei La Moon with hope. I did. I read some reviews on Yelp and there were good ones on there. I've been dying for good dim sum since moving to Boston but alas... I have not found my place yet. Hei La Moon has a good, energetic dim sum atmosphere. That's a good start. Plus, the servers milling around with the carts were able to tell us, in English, what the food was, so that's a plus since I'm (sadly) allergic to shrimp and crab and definitely didn't want to make an early afternoon trip to the ER. The biggest food plus has to be the BBQ pork buns. I may seem weird for saying this, but I'm slightly obsessed with them. I had actually been craving one for a week or so before deciding to go to dim sum so this was perfect timing. The buns didn't disappoint. Piping hot, super tasty... DEFINITELY have them if you go there. The rest of the food didn't wow me at all. Hence the 'meh, I've had better' rating. Maybe I just have higher standards. I don't know. I went with my parents, boyfriend and a family friend who lives in Boston. He loved it. The rest of us were underwhelmed. Honestly, it might just be because we've had the best of the best dim sum at home. We had dumplings with all kinds of fillings, vegetables, sesame sticky balls, shrimp balls (not for me but for everyone else), tofu and a few other things. We lost track. But the fabulous tastes you expect with dim sum just weren't there. Slightly too salty or bland or oily...what have you. Nothing really popped (aside from the BBQ pork buns). That being said, the waiters and waitresses were all very nice, prompt and courteous. But the food just did not deserve a stellar rating. I wish I could rate it higher...but I just can't. I can't help but wonder, is this just good dim sum for Boston? I hesitate to try another dim sum place for fear of the same result... General disappointment and a little queasiness after the fact.
(2)
tritri j.
Damn, Boston, 3 and a half stars? Really? Sheesh no one in this city knows what real, quality Chinese food tastes like! Apart from the tummy ache I incurred later that night and the questionable bowel movement that followed later, their kung pao chicken had veryyy little chicken and was pumped FULL of celery! google kung pao chicken - none will have celery in the pictures. Another plate (shrimp with cashews) was also chock full of celery. I mean, could the place be any cheaper? We're supposed to pay $12-15 a plate for stir-fry celery? C'mon.. Also, the service was terrible, which is not surprising, but what did surprise us was when one of our party handed over her credit card to pay, the waitress brought back 2 credit cards! After we told her it wasn't ours, she just looked at it like she didn't know what to do with the situation! Fair warning for everyone - you may be charged for someone else's crappy food! Avoid this place!!
(1)
Maithili R.
I've been here twice and wasn't excited about it either time. The first time we had dim sum and it was just very mediocre. Nothing to write home about. The second time around, we got entrees. This time two sets of our chopsticks were sticky and had left over food on them. Then later, one of my coworkers found a hair in her food. Between the chopsticks and the hair, we've decided to not go back here. I have to say the curry chicken was delicious. But between taste and hygiene, I choose hygiene.
(1)
Jon H.
Okay, so I came here with a friend around Saturday at noon. Already, I have decided that its WAYYY better to come here on Saturday instead of Sunday. We waited only about ten minutes, then were seated downstairs. Almost immediately we started our dimsum cart ordering, and had a ton of different plates on our table. Like I said previously, the food is all great here, with a ton of traditional type dishes that are all very flavorful and good portion sizes. The service was much better this time, although we had to wait until the end to get our chicken porridge. I love the fact that when you order taro cake, they fry it to order in front of you. Two people, a good amount of food for 22 bucks. I'd say the prices felt much better the second time around. If you don't wait long, and you get lucky with the carts, there's no better place to experience DimSum. Oh yeah, it might also help that we just paid $10 and parked in the parking structure on top/side of the restaurant. That saved me a GIANT headache.
(4)
Keith S.
Best and authentic dim sum restaurant. Always crowded which is a good sign. We've started eating here at least once a week. Huge variety of dishes that can make both meat lovers and vegetarians happy. Service is outstanding in a traditional Chinese style (ie fast, efficient) Looking at another yelpers review- finally did get up the nerve to try the chicken feet. Not bad but there must be some technique that I haven't quite mastered yet. We eat slowly, enjoy the table conversation and the banter with the ladies on the pushcarts. Lots of tea and for the time spent and dishes consumed, we have always paid a reasonable price. Favs are the shrimp fun and the beef fun; soft tasty broad rice noodles around the filling. Also baked Chau Su Bau - the best!
(5)
Tracy C.
I want to start this review by stating the fact that Boston has no good Chinese food. So, the ratings and review are not based on the standard of real Chinese food, it is merely relative, to other Chinese food establishment in Boston. For that, I give Hei La Moon a 4-star, not because I don't know better, but because there ain't much choices in Boston. I like how the restaurant is spacious, the dining rooms are clean and the decor is extremely traditional Chinese--kinda lame but also cute. I always order shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and the noodle thingy w/ shrimp inside ( I don't know how to call those in English). Sometime I also get congee, sweet tofu soup, some fried taro shrimp cake stuff, shu mai and sticky rice chicken in lotus leaf. Nothing comes close to what one'd expect in China, Taiwan or HK, but here in Boston/Mass, there's only two other places (windsor, and the huge weird place in Saugus) that I think match up to Hei La Moon.
(4)
Burger B.
Oh, Hei La Moon! -squeezes restaurant and pinches cheek- You are so wonderful. Unlike other dim sum locations, you always seem to know the right moment to send the steam cart wheeling by our table, brimming with hot shumai and har cao. When it's time for our meat fix, the tripe comes gliding past our table. *YOINK!* So perfectly chewy with just a slight hint of spiciness. Ambiance is wonderful. Go on a Saturday or Sunday morning (preferably before 10am) and you'll see a ton of close-knit families noshing together and catching up on their week. Another plus -- They don't use copious amounts of MSG in their food. (I'm very sensitive to MSG and don't get the headaches and fatigue after eating here when compared to some of their competitors).
(5)
Prudence L.
My first time and last time to Hei La Moon...what a disaster! My husband and I were sat in the lower level, seated in the back corner where the carts were few and far between in stopping by to offer us food. The waiter was late to give us hot tea, never offered us water (we had to ask) and rarely stopped by to see if we needed anything. The food was barely tolerable. - Beef & shrimp wrapped in wide noodles (over cooked, the noodles were cracked) - Chicken feet (over cooked, really bland) - Stuffed eggplant (bland - could not even taste the seafood stuffing) - Pork shumai (one of the two dishes that tasted good) - Fried chive dumplings (again, very bland) - Pan fried turnip cakes (the second of two dishes that was better) - Steamed pork dumpings (never tasted them because there was a COCKROACH in it) The manager comped us on the pork dumplings and the hot tea, but outside of the cockroach, the experience was so poor that I will never go there again.
(1)
Jeannie H.
This place serves tolerable dim sum in a pinch but it hardly qualifies as good eats. The dim sum is tolerable but it's not nearly as refined as what you would find in Hong Kong, no matter what anyone else posts on here. The ingredients are not of good quality nor are they fresh. ATMOSPHERE - It's relatively clean for a dim sum standards, which is scary and not saying much. I'm Chinese but will never understand why my people insist on having filthy bathrooms in their restaurants. It gets horribly humid during peak hours with the carts rolling around. It's the quintessential dim sum experience and will definitely appeal to the non-initiated since you can point to the tasty treats of your choice. SERVICE - Don't expect anything. FOOD - Everything is decent but nothing is particularly good. The har gow skin isn't delicate enough, the rice crepe too thick and boggy, the shu mai too dense, and the chicken feet undercooked. No dish stands out but nothing is inedible either.
(3)
Chase S.
This place serves ok dim sum, but there's at least 3 other places within 200 yards that have fresher food, better decor, and charge less. I'd pretty much only come here if the other 3 places had a wait and this place didn't. It's not bad, it's just that...well... there are better choices. I'm not a hater! Don't you label me!!!!
(3)
Jean Luc P.
It's the place to go if you want a Hong Kong dim sum experience in Boston. The push cart system is very authentic and reminds me of my childhood. It's also great place to go with friends who enjoy a more interactive dinning experience. The dim sum tasted the way it is meant to taste, I've been there with chinese friends, I've been there with non chinese friends, they all had a good time, I've been there by myself. My recommendation is "Ha Gui" (shrimp ball), "Sui Mai" (pork dumplings), "Pai Kug" (short rips), "Gar Nui" (rice noodle wrapped fired dough - happens to be a favorite for many first time dim sum tasters) "chung fan" (rice noodle wrapped, can be with beef, shrimp or veggie, ask the cart lady for your preference). A tip for my non chinese friends, if you want more tea, just lift the cap off your tea pot and place it on the table, and someone will come by to add hot water. You are suppose pour tea to others before you pour yourself, even if their cup is full you still need to make the gesture. If you see a chinese person tapping the table next to his cup with two finger as you pour tea, they are not asking for more, the gesture means "thank you". Here is a food video of my last visit youtu.be/TNRrKxcbshQ
This place is our go-to place for dim sum. I have been here pretty much every time we get that Dim Sum Craving. I like it because it's big, you never have to wait as long as you would at a smaller restaurant and you get what you want. All you have to do is hassle someone to direct the desired cart over. This place has so much food. Beware. One time we ordered mochi balls and we just did not understand the lady when she gave us the description. We eat it anyways...and it turns out to be durian. puke. die.roll over. die again. Just know your shit when you get here so you don't fail like we did. I'm not that adventurous when I eat dim sum, but this place is good on those days where I do wanna try something new. I also like the carts; it's nostalgia.
(4)
Gwen S.
Carts of mouth watering dumplings. This restaurant will hit the spot and will top my list of preferred restaurants. The staff was a little rough and I couldn't understand them, and even though I had no idea which dumplings we chose, they were all pretty damn good. When you see alot of chinese people dining here, that means that their is something good that waits inside. I was not disappointed other than the rude service.
(4)
Ally W.
I think Win Sor is the dim sum spot in Boston nowadays but we do miss the fun of ordering from carts. We decided to eat at Hei La Moon for brunch on a Sunday. Food is usually mediocre, nothing special about the dishes. We do appreciate the brighter atmosphere and cleaner-looking dishes. However, this was probably the last time we will ever step foot into this joint. While we were looking for our usual dishes, we noticed the turnip cake lady had a minor accident with her cart. The top part of her cart fell over and spilled all the turnip cakes on the floor. Her peers did not help her clean up the mess, instead they kept pushing their carts and looked curiously at the mess. When the girl was about to sweep up the turnip cakes from the floor, one of the kitchen managers rushed out to the floor and handed the girl a big tray. The girl carefully stacked the turnip cakes and carried them back into the kitchen. Of course, the cart came out with ""fresh" turnip cakes in a few minutes. We noticed that some of the cakes were broken into pieces, maybe from the fell... very unethical way of doing business to save a few bucks.
(1)
Julien P.
One of the better dim sum places in Boston. My wife and I have been to this place 4-5 times. Usually we order very similar stuff. Once you know what dim sum is, you really don't go out of your comfort zone. The food in general is good. You get seated fairly quickly despite the fact that it's always super crowded. Smaller parties up to 4 obviously benefit from faster table turnaround. I think the most inconvenient part about this location is finding parking around there. What a pain. The parking garage above charges something like $10 but it's one of the triple transaction things (you pay a larger sum, get validated, get reimbursed partly), quite annoying in fact. My wife who is Chinese gives this place 3 stars but agrees it's one of the better places in Boston. Maybe she knows what she's talking about more than I do. From my experience though, I would say that comparing cities, Boston in general is better than Seattle or Chicago for dim sum. There are 3-4 places in Boston I would give 4 stars to, and this one is in the top 2. The best dim sum I've had, which gets my 5 stars, was in KL, Malaysia. What's good here, flavor-wise (not authentic-wise): the crepes, the chicken feet (except this one time - today!), pork ribs, shrimp and pork dumplings (ha gao, shiu mai...)... actually too many things to list. Most are fairly good. I was surprised they had soy milk w/ Chinese fried crullers in the carts. My first time trying it in a place other than a Taiwanese breakfast places. What did I think? Not good! I think the tau fu fah (tofu in ginger/sugar sauce dessert) is better at Chow Chau but the wifey totally disagrees and says it is silkier and smoothier here. Service: well, typical for big dim sum place. Not much service but no charge for tea. Ambience: typical, busy, crowded, but at least not dirty I come back to this place on a rotation with the other 3-4 places in town. When friends visit, this is one of the better places to take them because it is not directly in Chinatown but is close enough for a walk.
(4)
Jim K.
A decent dim sum place. They still use the traditional bamboo steamer trays in their carts, unlike many others who have switched to stainless containers. They had a number of good dumplings that I hadn't seen before, and all were tasty. Were this restaurant falls down is on cleanliness. Our teapot, cups, glasses and plates were all bespeckled with food chunks - not the most appetizing.
(3)
Winnie T.
I've only been here twice,maybe three times? but that just goes to show you this place is not memorable for me. During my last visit here with my mom, there weren't many options available at 11:45am. Some of the dishes were bland, some tasted odd and the others just weren't good. On the bright side, there was no wait. But I'd still rather wait for a table elsewhere than be seated right away and eat at Hei La Moon.
(2)
Sarah S.
This is the only place I go for dim sum in the Boston area. It is authentic and awesome. Try all the dumplings and steam buns you can while drinking endless tea at this Chinatown gem! The spare ribs over noodles are surprisingly good, the steamed greens are excellent, I love the turnip cake fried to order on a rolling grill-cart and the yummy desserts (the sweet soft tofu is delicious as are the sesame balls and gummy sweet green tea and coconut balls).
(5)
Robert D.
It doesn't seem possible that I've lived in Boston for over two decades, am on a quest for the best Chinese food and I've never really had Dim Sum. Well, I've had it at local suburban places where you order off the menu, but not the so-called traditional experience of the carts. Today, I did, and it was FANTASTIC. The line, while intimidating, moved quickly. All of the food was fresh, delicious and non-greasy (I know that sounds like faint praise but if you've eaten bad Chinese food you know that's important). A lot of folks were raving about the pork buns, which were great, but not the best thing there, especially if you're trying to favor the low-carb side of the world. They are better than the chicken buns in my opinion. The ribs, shumai, taro and shrimp dumplings were excellent. All the greens I had-- from the cucumber salad to the junior bok choy were also scrumptious. I had a wrapped cabbage thing that I didn't know what it was which I'm sorry for because it was also delicious. My least favorite things were the salt-n-pepper shrimp because, for me, eating lots of shells gets tiresome quickly, and the tofu soup. I was sad that I had run out of room before I had run out of options, but I think that means that I will return soon. I also got a nice couple of take out boxes to go, so now I'm full and happy.
(4)
Claudia H.
If you are looking for a good dim sum place in Boston, stop the search because you already found it. Hei La Moon has the best dim sum in town in my opinion. You can't go wrong there. Special attention to the bbq pork steamed buns. I don't give it a 5-star because service can still improve. Sometimes it takes several minutes to get the waiters attention and order a glass of water.
(4)
pauline l.
It's alright. Good enough for the US. Their ingredients are usually pretty fresh. There are 2 decently-sized floors, so the wait is rarely very long. I like that they've started to bring out the za leung (fried bread stick wrapped in rice noodle) on the carts instead of having to special order it from a waiter. The nice thing about this place is that you don't *have* to climb up any stairs -- except for one step at the entrance, I think -- or deal with an elevator, which means you can bring grandma and grandpa here without worrying too much about accessibility issues. Plus, they have validated parking upstairs for $6. (You can pay for your food with a credit card but you'll need to pay cash for the validated parking.) I think I'd rate this place 3.5 stars marked down to 3 without the two convenience factors, but considering that bringing grandma to dim sum is pretty much the only reason I go to Chinatown these days and almost all the other restaurants there have a lot of stairs, I'm bumping it up to four.
(4)
Lily C.
My father was a partner with the owner of Hei La Moon wayyy back in the day so I might be biased.... + = pros - = cons + cheap dim sum ..but not cheaper than empire garden + good selection of dim sum + good for dim sum/wedding receptions + the push carts go around fairly fast so you get food quickly + the food itself doesn't have as much MSG in it compared to other places - not that great of a place for dinner although the price may be worth it - dinner food kinda sucks - street parking in the area sucks - can definitely be extremely crowded - the tables are pretty close to each other so you might be bumping into other people with your chair A-OK place for dim sum. Not my personal favorite, but acceptable for what you pay.
(3)
Ying M.
Hei La Moon is my go-to dim sum restaurant in Boston- less greasy, in my experience, than China Pearl. It's loud and crowded and sometimes you have to chase down carts, but hey! that's what dim sum is all about. Standard dim sum fare is good here- you can't go wrong with har gao or siu mai (although sometimes they run out of what you're looking for). The dofu-hua (sweet tofu soup) is quite good. I'm personally not a huge fan of their pastries- it's probably a better idea to get your sweet fix at one of the myriad bakeries in Chinatown (I highly recommend Eldo for their dan tat). If you're smart about ordering and go with a big enough group, the prices are ridiculously low. I think one time we managed to pay something like $6 a person. Don't bother ordering anything off the menu- it most likely won't be worth it. Summary: Not the best dim sum I've ever had, but certainly not the worst. 4 stars for Boston (would be something like 3-3.5 in LA). If you've got a dim sum craving, Hei La Moon is the place to go!
(4)
Deann M.
Shrimp and chives dumpling - my new fave Everything else - pretty darn good Went here twice within 3 days. Probably the best dim sum that I've ever had - and at $10 a piece for a feast, you can beat it!
(5)
Doug P.
By far the best Dim Sum in Chinatown. I can't even keep track of how many times I have been here. The food is really good and it shows because they are always packed on the weekends and quickly expanded to add a basement level. I'm craving their chicken feet and tripe just thinking about it......
(5)
Dan R.
I'm not a fan of dim sum, and Hei La Moon didn't change my mind. Getting to the restaurant was pretty easy, seating took about ten minutes. Even though we sat right in front of the kitchen, it took a long time to get the food that we wanted. The staff was so preoccupied with other things that we were skipped over plenty of times. I used to think that the worse the service, the better the food in Chinese restaurants. This place is the exception. None of the food was memorable, just decent enough to eat.
(3)
Aimee S.
I don't know why people like this place so much. The food is average at best, and the staff is so rude. Not to mention how dirty the place is. Oh, and I almost forgot--one time I was in the bathroom, and I saw one of the employees walk out without washing her hands after using the facilities. I was horrified, and told my mother when we got back to the table, and she promptly complained to the manager. I got dirty looks from the employee for the rest of the night. Excuse me for worrying about my health.
(2)
Sophie H.
Unequivocally better than China Pearl. I've come here many times for dim sum, and I've never been disappointed. We find something new and delicious every time. Everyone leaves happy and stuffed for only about $10 each - who can complain? My only caveat is that you really have to be aggressive if you want them to give you water in the first place, let alone refill your glass. But this problem is so minor, and so easily fixed, that it doesn't cost Hei La Moon even half a star in my book.
(5)
Alex H.
Where should I begin? Was in Boston last week for a conference; decided to visit Chinatown for dinner. I wanted to have dim sum, but didn't know it's a weekend thing. It is a weekend only thing, right? Anyway, the place was empty, only a few customers at the time of our arrival. This is normally not a good sign. Quite often I won't even enter an empty restaurant, but decided to give Hei La Moon a try. Kind of glad I did. Had only two dishes - the Orange Chili Shrimp (I think that's what they call it) and the Crispy Duck. Both dishes were loaded with vegetable that were perfectly cooked - not too limp and not to crunchy. Cannot remember going to a Chinese restaurant and getting perfect veggies. The shrimp dish was absolutely the best I ever had. Perfectly cooked and sauced shrimp, orange-flavored with visible chili flakes. The best! The duck, too, was a great dish. Not to greasy, but perfect duck to fat ratio. Enjoyed that as well. My only issue is the restaurant could stand a shampooing, especially amongst the high traffic areas. Another reviewer noted the same. One note - there's a special menu written in Chinese. No, folks, it's not a myth....Hei La Moon has such a menu menu. There are such favorites as Stir fried Duck Tongue. Not sure if many of you would each such a thing, but I would have loved to give my evening a little adventure. If you go, ask 'Mike' for the Chinese menu. He'll be happy to translate for you.
(4)
Amy L.
We are from CA, Came here with a tour group. Paid $28 a person to have their 1 LB lobster.. Came with 2 veggie dishes 1 plain chicken dish, shrimps and steamed fish. We basically got ripped off. You would think a table with 10 ppl x$28 would give you a family meal with at least 8 dishes. The lobster was plain... Did not came with any sauces. My advice: if you are going here with a tour group, skip the lobster "dinner", roam around and find something else. I'm sure the lobster back in your hometown is better. i cannot review this place for their menu, because we were not served anything that was from the menu besides the lobster.
(1)
Ed M.
I cannot wait to go back already. I was a dim sum virgin and went with my wife and a friend/former co worker who knew what he was doing (parents from Hong Kong, lived there for a few years). I felt like we had everything but I know we didn't. We were seated instantly and watched in amazement as all the carts passed by with interesting things. Everything was fantastic. Thanks to the website for helping me out with most of this list, we tried and loved the following: -jasmine tea -tsingtao beer -shrimp hargow -steamed chicken feet -BBQ pork bun -BBQ pork cake -sweet egg cake -pork shiu mai -sticky rice and we also ordered a beef with noodles dish from the kitchen. We arrived at 10:30am and it was near empty downstairs, when we left around noon-ish, it was jam packed with no empty tables. I cannot wait to go back. Awesome meal.
(5)
Lisa D.
Every once in awhile, I need a good dim sum fixing and Hei La Moon is MY FAVE dim sum place to go. Some people may think all dim sum tastes the same, but NO, it does not. At least after eating at Hei La Moon, you can definitely taste a slight, delicate difference. I think their dim sum has much more flavor. And my favorite dim sum, har gau are plumper than other places. =D To have a good dim sum experience you must 1) Go at a prime time, usually before 1, I think 11 or 11:30am is best for those of us who still love sleeping in late, but hey, if you want to show up at 9 or 10am, go right ahead. There is A LOT more variety of these tasty little dishes when you go earlier. I think by 1 or 2, they only cook the standard dim sum fair. 2) Go with a large group. Large group = more plates = try more things = if you don't like something, make someone else finish it. 3) ORDER: shumai (pork and shrimp dumplings), har gau (shrimp and bamboo shoots in a translucent wrapper, my favoorite), the spare ribs (i think they have two kinds here), chicken feet (just do it, it's tender and flavorful), fried turnip cakes, asian meatballs that kids seem to love, and beef and shrimp wrapped in a fresh made thin sheet of rice noodle. Uh, I think I covered most of it, but I'm probably being lazy because I've put off finishing this review for a month, yelp me if you want more suggestions! 4) finish off with some dofu fa or tofu pudding with a side of sweet syrup to flavor the delicate, silky tofu to your level of saccharine. 5) split the bill with n amount of people and realize that you guys only spent like $10 each and leave full and happy!
(4)
Stephanie L.
This place has blown me away in the couple times I've returned. The servers still are friendly, and they manage to find a plethora of veg options I'm able to eat - and they taste AMAZING. (Try the green ball pastry with the yellow filling ... mmmm. Sorry, I don't know its name.). The servers are also really sweet about letting you sit there for however long you want, and if you want takeout boxes for every little morsel you have left, totally cool. Hei La Moon, I love you. Even more than I love many of the dim sum places in NYC ... your dishes are even more interesting and unique than theirs.
(5)
Benny D.
I came here with friends for Dim Sum. The service, food, and price is good. This place do get crowded after noon.
(5)
Jade Y.
I would give this 3 and half stars if I could. I had fun here. We came in a group of 5 on Sunday late morning and they were able to seat us immediately. They have an upstairs and downstairs room that are both giant. The dimsum was all there: ha gao, shu mai, cha shao bao, etc..all pretty good too. Will definitely come back next time we get a chance.
(3)
Heather G.
I don't understand the stellar reviews. The wait is LONG and when we did get a table, they tried to seat a small group of us (4) at one side of a larger table, with another party on the other side - makes for a really awkward meal. We were asked to move, and a few minutes later we found ourselves at a new table next to what was a main-traffic aisle. Despite the table-placement, carts came by so infrequently and it took just short of leaping out of my chair to get someone to stop. The food was generally the same as the other dim sum places, and nothing stood out one way or the other on that front. 2 stars for poor service, rating unaffected by food.
(2)
Omar F.
I really love dim sum in general, but particularly i think Hei La Moon is a good place to go. I got there at around 11:30am this morning, none of my friends had arrived yet and it was a group of 8 people total, so I was just standing around since usually at Dim Sum places you're not seated until the whole party (or most of it) is there. After a few minutes an official looking woman told me to just walk around and find a table. That was nice! I went and found a round table for 8 right away so I just sat there and my friends didn't arrive until ~5-10 minutes after. Nevertheless I was served tea and no one bothered me for seating by myself at a table for 8 people. It was nice. The dim sum was really nice, and it is one of the easiest places to actually get a waiter to get you water, sauces, etc. It's not like other big dim sum places in which 30 mins can go by and you still don't get that freaking soy sauce or mustard you asked for. Anyway, the place is great and has a great selection. My friends and I were able to get everything we really like to order at dim sum places, so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It was delicious.
(4)
Tani S.
My review is closer to 3.5 stars but giving them the benefit of the doubt and rounding up. We've been here three times and were suitably impressed each time. It isn't the best dim sum we've had...we enjoyed the dim sum more that we sampled in San Francisco/Mountain View but this does come above what we regularly have in Seattle. It is fairly inexpensive and has such a wide selection of dumplings. We preferred sitting upstairs to our downstairs experience but they always seem reluctant to seat us there. We enjoyed their bbq pork buns and all the interesting varieties of shrimp dumplings.
(4)
Sarah C.
Solid food. I like it better than China Pearl. It is the closest I'll get to the bliss encountered in SFO. I love the little fried tofu rolls and sauteed broccoli, those are always a favorite.
(3)
Walter G.
this place rules. my friends took me here for brunch like a month and a half ago and i've been back twice since. i just love the atmosphere. nice ladies and gents pushing around carts filled with the likes of pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and chicken fried rice. specifically i like the raised "stage" type thing along one wall with the huge golden dragons. it looks like the owner of the restaurant should be sitting there in a fancy robe overseeing everything. at least that's what I'D do if i was the owner. i can't decide how i feel about how the waiter immediately brought forks over to my table last time i was here... it's reasonable i guess since we were the only non-asians in the restaurant and a lot of white people probably don't know how to use chopsticks. more than anything i guess it's indicative of considerate service. which is a plus. it's good times though, i'd definitely hit this place up. i don't think the dim sum is necessarily "better" than the dinners but it's a lot more fun so for your first visit i'd recommend making it a weekend mid-morning.
(4)
Milee S.
Ever feel like you were lost in translation? That's how I felt when I tried Dim Sum for the first time ever and friends took me here. We had about a 2 minute wait, and the lady up front called numbers out in English. The place was packed with hardly any non-Chinese people in there. To me that is a good sign. We started with tea and the shrimp steamed dumplings. Those were pretty good. Next we got the sweet tofu, which was fantastic. A must have. After that, we got the fried shrimp pancakes with stuff that looked like coconut, but wasn't. That was my favorite. We tried the broccoli and then finished off with the sweet red bean cake. It was about $25 for the three of us. While the food was good, I kinda wish there were a couple more veggie options (like a spring roll or something) and/or signs telling us what things were. Even basic signs like, shrimp roll, or beef stew. Trying to point and say "shrimp?" didn't work very well. My group didn't want pork or beef and a lot of the options were just those. I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't go every weekend.
(4)
Michelle H.
My favorite dim sum place on the east coast! The food is always fresh, not too greasy and good portion sizes. Beware, this place is always packed on the weekends!! But the wait goes by fast and it's definitely worth the wait. I've had dinner here too, but I thought it was so so. Dim sum all the way!!
(4)
Wendy H.
We went there on a Saturday at 1pm. In 45 minutes, only 3 types of carts rolled around. Our side of the room, about 10 tables had the same experience. The bottom floor was hot and stuffy. China Pearl has better food, more selection, and better service.
(1)
Kelly C.
My favorite part is sitting down, and 30 seconds later there is food on your table. I'm still trying to figure out the best time to go, to maximize options of food. We were there on Saturday around 11, and there wasn't much available. Well, nothing new and exciting. The typical siu mai and har gow (sp?) abound. I love when they come out of the kitchen with plates of steaming treats. We got a yummy dish of rice wrapped in tarro , and some fried green ball(not sure what was inside and I didn't really like it) They are way better about getting ice water!
(4)
Serena L.
I moved here from SF a few years ago and was anxious to find a good dim sum spot. Being Chinese, I know my dimsum and am very picky! After trying another place in Chinatown, I came here with some friends and loved it! Yes, it does get crowded on the weekends with all the families but that's a given! There is nothing bad that I can say about this place because everything is so good! I took my in-laws here for their first dimsum experience and they enjoyed it. I have yet to try China Pearl so I don't know how it matches with Hei La Moon.
(4)
Robert J.
I recently visited a dear old friend in Boston. She has been living in Boston for the past two years. We went to Hei La Moon on a recent Saturday afternoon. I asked her at the beginning of the meal, "So, this is your dim sum spot?" I was very encouraged to see all the Chinese faces in the background. Superimpose my 1/8 Chinese, 7/8 Filipino face and her 100% Chinese face, and you've got me feeling like we're in the right place. This is especially so, because both floors of Hei La Moon were filled nearly to capacity. The unfortunately damning comment--though I don't think she meant it that way--that she made was, "It's not the best I've had before, but it's the best I've found in Boston." That was enough warning. She and I have shared countless dim sum meals in the past. Most of those meals have been in the Far East--in various places in and around the Manila area where there is a very large Chinese population. Some of those dim sum meals have been here in the U.S. This was the first one we had while she was living in Boston. I trusted her judgment that this would be the best dim sum I could find in Boston. I only bring up our shared history of eating dim sum together to illustrate that she knows me and that I know her. We know implicitly what we both expect and hope for in a meal. For her to say what she did was a signal to me that I was going to think that the meal was fine, but it wasn't going to be particularly memorable. I found that to be the case with the food at Hei La Moon. We started off with some radish cakes, which I had never had before. We both enjoyed those. The shrimp rice noodle rolls were decent. Unfortunately, the beef short ribs were leathery, but they had great flavor. The spicy salted shrimp was probably the highlight of the meal. We also had some fish, which kind of reminded me of smelt, but I'm not sure what they were. They came around with the spicy salted shrimp cart. The fish was quite delicious. The har kaw and shumai were fine, but not outstanding. The chicken feet were had nice flavor, but also were not outstanding. Overall, Hei La Moon, which two friends call the go-to spot for dim sum in Boston, isn't bad. Again, I wouldn't say that it's outstanding in any way. Even the best dish I had, the spicy salted shrimp, wasn't particularly fantastic. It was probably too breaded for me. It was also cold and dry compared to what I usually would want. Still, it was serviceable. It was decently enjoyable enough to give us that dim sum fix without making us feel completely disappointed.
(2)
Emily S.
I was here on a Sunday for brunch, and I now miss it every day I'm not there. I just got back from China but I think Hei La Moon is better. Is it more authentic? Probably not. Do I care? Hell, no, I want tasty snacks right after I wake up from a late Saturday night. As much as I love Chau Chow, this place trumps it and rocks my world. Hei La Moon will keep me wanting more. More turnip cake, more bbq pork buns. More, more, more. :)
(5)
Liz M.
Dim sum was disappointing. And I'm not comparing is to NY Chinatown or Flushing. Just plain disappointing. Actually, the one good thing was dan ta (egg tart) but they probably get it from a local bakery. I've attended weddings here. The weddings were fun, food was not so fun. Unfortunate. I like my jellyfish slippery and my Chinese cold cuts somewhat dry, not the other way around. Lastly, I was pretty peeved when a group of us paid cash and they charged us for tea and rice. Yes, yes, its recession, but we paid cash and its not like we were gonna ask them to take away tax (yea they charged us tax too!)
(2)
Michael M.
Hei la Moon at first seemed like it was going to be another mediocre Chinatown eatery... After a while they all seem the same - large room with round tables and a big stage with golden dragons on the stage. I couldn't have been more wrong - the food at Hei La Moon is phenomenal, arguably the BEST chinese in Boston. I took a friend from Vietnam after telling her that I read about it on Yelp, she was skeptical and said that she had low expectations and expected "Americanized" cuisine... Since our first time she has been back 10 times in 2 months. Some of the highlights: - Hot and Sour Soup - so yummy, the perfect blend of spicy and sour without tasting too much of vinegar - Dry shortribs - fantastic - crispy and spicy - Pan Seared dumplings - again, phenomenal
(4)
Tara B.
My favorite place to go for dim sum in Boston. You know how you know it's good? There are only white people when accompanied by Asians. I love seeing all those lovely bamboo steamer baskets loaded onto those windowed carts being sped around by the grumpy ladies. It's fantastic. Also fantastic, listening to your Asian gatekeeper yell at the ladies in Mandarin. It's like dinner & a show. You can get rolly-polly panda fat for under $15. Tis a beautiful thing. Some of my faves: - Sticky rice with it's nuggets of mystery meat wrapped up in a leaf - Pork belly buns with that tasty bbq-sweet meatyness in the most delectable white-bready bun - Dumplings of any shape, size or content. BRING ME DUMPLINGS! - Those sweet buns made with condensed milk
(4)
Sue P.
I went here on a Sunday morning for Dim sum with some friends and was highly annoyed to see a huge line of people waiting to get in. Luckily my friend had already gotten a table inside so we just went right in. This place is huge! I couldn't believe it was so popular. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was distributed on carts that circled the entire restaurant. I'm not Chinese, and I haven't had dim sum more than a handful of times. Frankly I didn't even recognize half of the things I ate. Luckily I went with a friend who was perfectly fluent in Cantonese, although I think I would have been fine on my own just pointing at everything that looks appealing. The dumplings were fabulous, especially the chive ones. My friends went absolutely gaga over the pork buns. I don't think I tried anything that I didn't like. Who knew that dim sum could be so delicious! I'll definitely be going back time and time again.
(5)
Jake L.
Serviceable dim sum, but doesn't compare to Toronto. Mad dash for a seat. We spoke directly to a hostess and were seated rather earlier than i was expecting. Bonus.
(3)
Linda M.
This place was great for authentic and fresh dim sum. They have all the traditional dim sum dishes and a couple of nice surprises too - so there's lots of variety. It's clean, fast and the staff are very nice. I will definitely return for more!
(4)
Alex B.
So this place is still great and I go a lot but thought I should mention, you need to be SHAMELESS. LIke if you like what you see on that cart GO FOR IT. There is a little cart which three levels... FIND IT. It looks like a desert cart and actually has some deserts but on the upper deck is usually the best crispy items in the whole place. One is a dumpling shape, and has has herbs, shrimp, and other goodness stuffed in it (amazing). Another is a disc which looks like it needs a shave but its actually taro shreds (I think) fried on some shrimp thing. NO that didn't make sense or sound appealing but yes it is accurate and it is delicious. So if this passes you by, don't be ashamed about walking across the room, politely tap the lady's shoulder, then awkwardly hand signal that you need her now, right now, at your table.
(5)
KoreanSoup S.
Good dim sum. I've tried about 4 places so far in china-town and this is one I like the most in terms of food. There are still quite a few more, however, that I have not tried.
(3)
Alfred D.
My favorite dim sum in boston. I grew up eating China Pearl, but the older I got, the worse they seemed to get. And then I discovered Hei La Moon. They have a really bright ambiance, and all the food is good! BBQ pork buns are fluffy and delicious. They have these really good dumplings with fresh celery in them. So yummy! Another bonus is the hygiene. My mother and sister were both very impressed by the relative cleanliness of the bathrooms. So skip over China Pearl, Winsor, Emporer's Garden, and Chau Chau City, and pick Hei La Moon for your dim sum cravings!
(5)
Ray m.
being from hong kong, I constantly try to look for dim sum that matches home. its' hard to find but this place is pretty close. the haw gow and sui mei was outstanding! 4 diff dishes with tea, total price was $14.95. not too shabby....otherwise it'd be 5 stars located off the orange line subway chinatown exit almost into the center of china town. also part of the appeal is the food carts that roam around enticing you to order more food. I'd definitely come back next time I am visiting
(4)
Jason L.
My father is from hong kong, so my family always eats dim sum. Been here a couple times now, usually a small selection, not enough variety compared to china pearl. I think i've tried everything (minus the porridge), and I really can't think of anything that was standout. It's one of the better places for Boston chinatown though. To judge a dim sum restaurant, you have to start with the classic shrimp dumpling [har gao]. The filling was average, could use more bamboo flavor, wrapper was ok. Pretty much sums up the rest of the dim sum there. China pearl's chong fen is better. Shumai's not bad here. This place draws large crowds on the weekend, probably because its big, clean, new, and has easy parking. Good atmosphere. Reasonably priced (~$10 a person). Spotty service. Food (6/10) Service (3/5) Decor (4/5) Value (4/5)
(3)
Wen Y.
The best dim sum I have ever known!
(4)
Lisa C.
We went to this place for a dim sum brunch after hearing rave reviews from many people (and, in fact, ran into a coworker while there) and we were incredibly disappointed. The wait wasn't too long to be seated, and we were given a nice table to share with other people we didnt know. Having grown up eating dim sum in new york, this didn't bother me, but we were unfortunately seated with some really ignorant people who made fun of the food and didn't know what anything was. I'll give them credit for trying things even though they didn't understand what they were being served, but hearing them making fun of another culture's food was just annoying. Once we were seated, it took FOREVER to get food. I'm so used to having food on the table from several carts within 3 minutes of sitting down. It probably took us at least 30 minutes to finally get what we wanted. The food itself was solid and not expensive which is always nice, but having to wait that long for dim sum? no way.
(2)
Jodi Y.
Dim sum that hits the spot! Good standard "yum cha" issue. Nothing too funky or creative, but old-school traditional. They bent over backwards and accommodated 2 tables of 12 of us and kept helping us squeeeeze in more chairs as more of our friends arrived. Brush up on your Canto food terms or bring a Hongkie (not to be confused with Honkie) if you want lightning fast service! PROS: Never over $10/pp CONS: The usu loud Chinese crowd (but you know it's authentic) SPECIALS: They were giving away free tea sets for bills over $100. Happy Year of the Tiger!
(4)
Chris G.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Hei La Moon. We stopped here one Saturday afternoon and were seated right away, although unfortunately it was right by a waiters station. Our first dish was a plate of garlic fried prawns that you could eat heads and all. Crispy and delicious! We did have to wait a while for the dumplings and sticky rice carts to come by, which seems like an eternity when you are hungry. But once they did arrive we gorged ourselves - the portions were substantial and the quality was good. For example the sticky rice had huge pieces of pork inside. I would definitely come back to Hei La Moon.
(4)
Huan z.
Was invited to have dim sum with few American friends. Even though I don't speak Cantonese, I enjoyed the food. I felt it tastes better than few other dim sum places here in Chinatown. Not every dishes has shrimp in it which is a plus. Will try some other time if I am happen to be in Chinatown.
(3)
Annie I.
oh my god....dim sum here is amazing. you can get a ton of food for a very reasonable price, and the pork buns are life changing!
(4)
Lindsay B.
The food was yummy at first BUT I found THREE hairs - all of different textures and lengths - in my food. I'm still nauseas thinking about it. I looked up their health code history and it was NOT pretty.
(1)
Lisa P.
Went here on Christmas or the day after, can't remember, for some good ol dim sum. The line was really long and parking is impossible. We ended up parking upstairs in the garage. But once we were seated, the food was yummy! They had a good selection of dishes. The bathroom, however, was a bit dirty and greasy.
(4)
Josh K.
First off, I got to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Hei La Moon as I absolutely destroyed the beautiful white tablecloth on top of our table. Even though the tablecloth looked like my friend took a caveman for lunch, I did clumsily try to use the chopsticks, but some of the pieces of dim sum were big and hard to maneuver. The right thing would have been to leave my business card to pay for the ensuing cleaners' bill to clean the white tablecloth. I mean no extra strength Tide will take care of the mess I made; that cloth is going to need to be dry cleaned. I thoroughly enjoyed my food at Hei La Moon contrary to what one might think by looking at half of the food I left scattered on the tablecloth. The place works out well for a large group and also has some smaller tables but it's definitely not the type of place to have a romantic dinner with wine, flowers, and such as the noise level is quite high. The service is great as you just tell the staff what you would like off the cart carrying multiple types of dim sum. My friend did the ordering, and all the dim sum was delicious and flavorful. I even had a chance to try chicken feet but that might have been the only choice that I was not a fan as it was simply too much work for so little nourishment. For dessert, I had the small bean paste roll with coconut on the outside and mango center. The coconut provided a nice texture and was not overpowering, so that you also could enjoy the taste of the mango inside. The entire meal was only $28 dollars between the two of us. I would highly recommend Hei La Moon for dim sum; just next time I might bring my own fork or newspaper to cover the table for extra food stain protection.
(4)
J L.
Had to spit out the beef balls. It's so nasty my gag reflex kicked in. The Phoenix claws tasted like they dropped the whole winter's salt in them.
(1)
Naomi U.
The absolute worst Chinese food I have ever eaten in my life anywhere. We had three take-out dishes Not many chinese ingredients were in evidence...and many huge chunks of vegetable like 3/4" celery and carrots...as well as canned white western muchroons and western cabbage in evidence.... It was as though the worst dorm food chef in 1950's NE directed unwilling 17 year old student serfs in making Chinesesque chop suey without any crunchy noodles.
(1)
Justin M.
Only ate here for Dim Sum. Being a native San Franciscan, I really hate to be biased about eating dim sum from other metro cities. To me, their dim sum was just average. Since I've heard that Boston's Chinese food is not the greatest, I would have to say that Hei La Moon is just ok for what is available in B-Town. The service was good. The minute you sit down, you're surrounded by the dim sum carts. Choose your selection and go from there. We went during a weekday with a large group and didn't have to wait that long. I'm sure that a weekend visit would pan out a different story. It seem that they like to heavily season their food with "white pepper." Almost every dim sum dish we ordered seems to have that similar distinct white pepper flavor. It's ok to season with this, but it's overly too consistent. I also usually judge a dim sum place on how well they make their flavored chicken feet. It was ok. Didn't experience the pushy staff forcing plates on us. If this is the only somewhat decent dim sum place in Boston, then I would probably give another star.
(3)
Ayuka H.
The #1 dimsum place in Boston!
(4)
Dee H.
The dim sum is pretty good. They've got all the family standards, plus the variations of the same that we usually ignore. The extra star is for the cleaner and newer facilities than the old standby China Pearl, and for bringing out full cans of soda when we asked for a glass of diet coke and a glass of sprite for the boys.
(4)
E C.
Recently had dinner here with a group of friends. The food was good and plentiful. We had 5 tables with 48 people and each table ordered off the menu. Each table ordered 8 meals and then everyone ate family style. There were no complaints on the food it was all good. For a last minute reservation the restaurant was cordial and handled our group with ease, although they did try to get us to purchase the group dinner specials we insisted on ordering off the menu and they did a fine job of getting us feed and keeping us happy.
(4)
Mia D.
UPDATE: Went again when my father in law was in town. We went EARLY, like before 11 and that was the key! We got in right away and the food carts swarmed down on us quickly, I was pointing and saying yes so fast! This time we were more impressed with the variety of food we got and it was tasty!!!! We ate in less than an hour and were all stuffed when we left! Again, we decided to skip dessert mainly because we never really saw a dessert cart go by and got dessert at the bakery down the street. Still a solid four stars!!! It will never get 5 from me because my fav dim sum place is in SF and London... OH and we found that the garage right next to Hei La Moon is a flat rate of $10!!! Finally, I've discovered a great dim sum place! I'm so excited!!! After hearing from people that this was the best in Boston, my family decided to check it out. We got there around 11am on a Sunday and there were already packs of people waiting! After shoving my way to the entrance and after people rudely shoving their way ahead of me, I looked the lady who was handling the "list" and put up 4 fingers (the lady behind me was already speaking in Chinese to her, trying to get a number before me!), she graciously gave me my number first (HA!) and then it was the waiting game. Having 2 little kids with us, that was fun, let me tell you! I had to keep standing by the lady calling out the numbers, because it was so hard to understand her! She had her mouth too close to the mic, so the sounds were all muffled! Frustrating... But finally, we got seated in a pleasant window seat with plenty of room for my kids to be comfy. The food came fast and it was worth it! Soooo delicious and warm and BIG! I couldn't believe how big the dumplings were! So, why only 4 stars? Well, the variety wasn't great, I am used to a lot of different things, and the only vegetable we saw was the broccoli, which we got. And my husband almost got sick when he saw how dirty the bowls were that the woman serving up the tofu was using. I mean DIRTY like they had never been cleaned before! Luckily we didn't get that and also after that we were on the lookout for substandardly clean utensils, plates, bowls, etc... And the desserts were seriously lacking, mainly because she kept avoiding us even after we flagged her down! The service isn't great, they try to explain what it is, but unless you speak their language, sometimes it's tough to understand what is inside some of the items. However, the price is wonderful! It was only $40 for us to eat and that EASILY would have been doubled at my fav place in SF Yank Sing. We ended up getting perfectly pleasant pastries at the store down the street. My only complaint about Chinatown is the lack of parking. Anyone have tips for cheap parking, I'd sincerley appreciate it!!!
(4)
Anthony Y.
Why are all the good Dim Sum not in NYC? Hei La Moon is a perfect example of what Dim Sum should be across all cities as it follows this supposedly simple (but apparently not so) template: - Spacious (so you don't have to sit with randoms) - Fresh food (too often in other cities the dim sum looks microwaved) - Clean! (a previous review I wrote recounts where this was lacking) Now I guess the only minus I saw was the variety was a little too standard which meant very few options for those who don't eat pork or shellfish (which I need to keep in mind for my gf). But since she wasn' there, I definitely ate my fill and appeased my craving. Actually, there's another minus... the soup dumplings weren't soup dumplings. It made me look like a dumbass ordering them trying to explain how to eat one only for it to be a lame knock off (that is the moment the 5 stars went to 4). My quest for quality NYC dim sum continues...
(4)
Monty W.
The best place for dim sum in Boston - according to every grandma walking around Chinatown that I asked. If you want good dim sum in Chinatown Boston - just come here. I've been to this restaurant each time I've been in Boston - and its consistently good. Pricing is cheap compared to what I'm used to in Chicago as the small's are less than $3. They still do the carts for the dim sum - so you get that "experience" factor into it. Though I myself prefer ordering directly from the menu and being served the dishes a little at a time - though the opportunity to over order will be the same for both experiences - as the eyes are greater than the stomach could handle. A rule of thumb - for dim sum novices- if you see a dozen people crowd around a particular cart - bring your ticket over there and fight your way in for your dish. Its an active competition here - so send your most athletic team to box out and distract others to get your freshly baked char siu bao (bbq pork buns) - it was absolutely awesome. The entire pan of freshly baked baos went away in literally two minutes on a semi -busy monday morning! each dish was well-seasoned and consistent. Beware on the weekends - as it was completely packed (both the normal dining room and the basement dining room) on the Sunday that I checked it out a couple weeks ago. It is loud, it is chaotic -it is dim sum. Enjoy!
(4)
Debbie C.
I love dim sum big time, I think this place was ok for me but atmosphere was so good, über busy, we came at lunch time. For me was average food and price. Tho they were able to provide other dishes on request. Trolley ladies were helpful. Restroom was clean, FYI 12th September 2015
(3)
Dennis J.
Solid dim sum. Nothing particularly noteworthy in either the good or bad direction. We stopped by at noon on a Saturday as a party of four, and we were seated within 20 minutes; it's a surprisingly large space once you're inside. The carts come by relatively frequently and have a decent selection, and the quality of food is not bad although maybe just a touch oily (although no worse than most dim sum). Pricing is pretty average and overall the experience isn't bad; it doesn't feel too cramped in spite of there being so many people. Good, standard, run-of-the-mill dim sum.
(3)
Jose S.
I've been to this place twice, the first one alone to have dinner and the last one with some friends to lunch. When you enter staff will receive you and they will take you to your table. You will soon realize that this place is really huge, and if that's not enough there's another area of the size size downstairs, wow! The first time I want there were almost no people, maybe because it was too late. The first thing they do is serve you some tea and some water. In my first time I got the menu, no carries overt there, so as they had a comprehensive Dim Sum menu. I ordered some DimSum and they took some minutes to got them, but they were really good, they didn't look frozen or precooked, they were fresh and very tasty. Last time I went to have lunch it was really packed, the first floor was almost at full capacity, but we made a reservation, so we didn't have to worry. This time there were some ladies with the carries and offering some dishes to the customers ( I like it, I prefer to see instead knowing of the ingredients ). We had some DimSum ( yummy!), vegetables like pepper, tofu and eggplant ( I love this Chinese dish ). The service is not 5-star, but it's enough to have a good meal. A must if you like DimSum and Chinese food.
(4)
Ami P.
The food was really really good:.: however the service was pretty awful and there were flies... Everywhere. They also didn't have HALF of the things we wanted.. :(
(3)
Janet H.
Lots of available seating and pretty good dim sum... I've definitely had better, but I've been spoiled by San Francisco/Bay Area dim sum. Definitely bring friends so you can try more dishes! Also, someone who can speak Cantonese would be helpful =P
(3)
Juliana P.
We missed the dim sum hour but were able to order the steamed dishes on the dim sum menu. We got the pork buns, shrimp dumplings, leaf/rice thing, ribs, egg dumpling-like thing and other items I don't know the name of. Not too crowded either. (We went around 6pm on a Sunday and no wait for a party of 4.) Bad service, but perhaps that's part of the cultural experience.
(4)
Marlecka M.
I've been going to Hei La Moon for 5 years. And I loved it, I enjoyed the custard buns the most. But I really have to be honest and report my experience today, August 7th 2015-- I found a COCKROACH in my pork spare ribs. I had taken my twin cousins out on a day in Boston and they had only gone to Chau Chow but I wanted to show them something "better." We had eaten two steamers of shu Mai and ordered the pork spare ribs and the chicken feet. I grabbed a spare rib and flicked what I thought was a black bean that they steam it with. But my cousin said, "Wait!" He moved the bamboo steamer and there was the dead cockroach that I had flicked from the rib. The waitress took the bug and ribs away before I could take a picture but he only comped the ribs and chicken feet since we had finished everything else we ordered.
(1)
Chris P.
My standards aren't too high for Chinatown restaurants in general, but this place is nasty. All dishes here (regardless of what it is) will come in a thick coating of grease. Generic American Chinese food at its ugh-ist. The restaurant as a whole exudes a sense of being dirty. Lots of fruit flies were constantly buzzing around our table. Luckily I didn't find any worms or cockroaches in my food like other Yelpers have, otherwise I'd be making a call to Division of Health Inspections for the City of Boston. If I can avoid having to come back here for any social occasion (I only came because of a large family gathering for my grandfather's 80th birthday) I definitely will. Looking at the other reviews on this Yelp page I'm surprised this restaurant is even in business. However I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't for much longer. Do yourself a favor and have a microwave dinner at home.
(1)
Louis B.
Kick-butt dim sum. We got to Boston for a concert and our host took us to Hei La Moon for a leisurely lunch before the festivities at the concert hall. It was a memorable experience. By the way, there have been positive changes in the last two or three years according to the folks who were eating there at the next table so I'll take their word for it... First of all, finding the place is not as easy as it may seem. We walked from North Station and had a couple of friends who were supposed to join us and they wandered the streets for 15 minutes until they were able to get directions. But once inside, the cacophony of aromas was just delightful. As well as the vertiginous pace of the servers carrying numerous plates of everything from fish, octopus, calamari, duck, beef, chicken, noodles, you name it. We tried to decipher the menu but that wasn't to be, the menu is in Chinese. So we settled for just pointing and eating, pointing, and eating. Well, the waiter would tell us the selection anyway, but it was all delicious. Their steamed dishes, dumplings and other items were absolutely delicious. Together with plenty of tea, it made for a superb lunch. We left ready for a nap, not ready for a two-hour concert.... :-)
(4)
Cindy G.
On a Sunday morning, you will likely find my family having brunch here. This place is a dim sum staple for the Chinese community in Boston. The service here is definitely no Michelin star experience (if you know Cantonese, the waiters and hostesses will treat you better), but for the price, you get great portions and authentic Cantonese food. Carts also come by very quickly so you can get a quick meal if you are in a rush. The restaurant is large with two floors, so even when it's bustling on a Sunday, you will likely get seated very quickly. I've never had to share a table with other families (something that happens VERY commonly in NYC). I love the steamed pork buns, steamed shrimp dumplings, steam shrimp noodles, and tofu pudding. I recommend coming before 2pm if you want the best quality food.
(5)
Jenny B.
I went here for dim sum during off hours so they were not wheeling carts of endless food. They also were not offering their entire dim sum menu - only the steamed options were available, so we were not able to order anything fried or any of the dessert options like pineapple buns. They didn't even have egg tarts!! But from the food that we ordered (shu mai, shrimp dumplings, egg yolk bun, sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf, ribs), all of it was decent. Not a fan of the egg yolk bun but everything else was good especially the sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf! Maybe I would have had a better experience if I came during the normal dim sum hours but I have definitely had better dim sum before. If you are craving dim sum and happen to be near South Station, this place is literally a 3-4 minute walk though!
(3)
Will C.
I attended a banquet here back in June. The food was ok, although there were a few dishes that tasted not fresh such as the flounder. The day after the banquet, I woke up chills and fever. It's probably the sickest I've felt in a while. Fortunately I recovered later that afternoon. I suspect it was likely due to sanitation issues or food poisoning from the banquet. I am unlikely to come back to eat ever again unless I absolutely have to.
(2)
Chloe P.
My friend went to a wedding reception here. It would have been a normal wedding party until she took the leftover dish from the party home and put it in her microwave. Not one or two but 4 little white worms came out of the stir fried vegetables. She took it back to the restaurant but the manager and the staff were so rude. They blamed it on the seafood and even dared her to call Health Department. She recorded the video of the worms crawling out of the veggies and posted it on Facebook. So just take a look. I also take a screenshot of the worms in the food and post it on here. yelp.com/biz_photos/hei-… YUCKY! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This is the link of the video of the worms on Facebook: facebook.com/michelle.ng…
(1)
Lin G.
Many (hei la) moons have passed since Meow Bird had tasted dim sum. Her friend indulged her by meeting here on a Sunday afternoon. Seated right away. Huge bonus. Good service! Amazing for a Chinese restaurant. No one rushing you. Way to go Hei La! The food was sort of average though. Not the highest quality dim sum and they mix yucca/taro bits in with the ribs to bulk it up. Lame.
(3)
Noah L.
The epitome of culinary abuse. A cacophony of of sensory assaults. They seated us behind a huge wedding that was being hosted in the Restaurant. I figured they wouldn't offer to seat us if they were too overwhelmed... Guess not... All of the entrees were so poorly prepared, the calamari was not all the way cooked through and tasted rubbery. Had to ask them to cook it more thoroughly, only it took 2 waiters and a manager to make that happen. The waiters were so unresponsive, didn't give a shittt about our experience. Never refilled the tea, didn't give us water and napkins until we asked. Forgot to cook and bring out one of our entrees, and then took 20 minutes to get us a check. The first time I went here for lunch dim sum it was awesome- What a DISAPPOINTMENT.
(1)
Jason H.
Great place with lots of seating areas (which you don't find in Chinatown). We came here on a Sunday at 10:30 and was seated right away downstairs. Friendly staff, attentive. The folks pushing the dim sum carts are friendly as well. Quality of food is good, I can even say that it's better than china pearl down on Tyler St. Will definitely come back!
(5)
Young P.
I'm not a huge fan of dim sum, but I do crave it from time to time. And when I do, I always go to Hei La Moon located in Chinatown. I'm not an expert when it comes to dim sum, but from my own personal experience, this place offers some of the most delicious dishes you can find around here. Some of my favorite dishes are their chicken feet (sounds gross but trust me they are delicious), pork with flat rice noodles, leaf rice, and their shrimp dumplings. I don't speak Chinese so it is hard to order at times but they go around often enough where you can kind of just point at whatever dish you want and they will give it to you. I noticed that people can also order main dishes but I have no idea how they do that since they don't have a menu or anything.... I think you have to ask them in Chinese so it would be of a great advantage to you if you go here with someone who can actually speak Chinese. Overall, this place offers everything I look for in a dim sum place and I highly recommend this place to anyone who is a fan of dim sum. My only caution would be it is really hard to find street parking so try to take the T instead of driving...They do validate parking tickets if you absolutely need to drive in!
(4)
Dan C.
Horrific experience here 2 nights ago. They simply triple booked for dinner with 2 weddings and a birthday party. Luckily we were one of those groups because what we witnessed around us was unfortunate. Regular patrons were escorted out to free up tables for the wedding upstairs. People with reservations were dismissed mid meal for the aforementioned reason. Our 6 course dinner started out smoothly, until more customers wandered in. The service we received was rushed to the point where dessert was served while our party was still eating entrees! No waters were refilled too. This is a case where the terrible service overshadowed the subpar food. Never again will we patron here.
(1)
Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is usually my go-to spot for Chinatown dim sum. This restaurant has 2 floors so you get seated quickly. Since its also located outside of Chinatown, parking is a little easier and there is also validated parking above it. Some of my favorites: -Baked Char Siu Bao (Roast Pork Bun) -Ja Lerng (Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Paper) -Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumplings) -Shumai You can't go wrong with Hei La Moon so check it out!
(4)
Quanzhi G.
Push-cart dim sum and bilingual servants. Better experience than my NYC one. A wide range of option but because of the huge space, might need to wait very long to get things wanted. We got char siew buns, shrimp dumplings, pork rib, chicken feet, egg tart, mustard bun, siew mai, durian pastries, taro-coconut tapioca and so on for TWO people! My favorites are the char siew buns and the shrimp dumplings. Very tender and flavorful pork inside and fresh big shrimps
I used to think this place has the best dimsum, but as I expanded more options, I've changed my vote, but their food is still good though, and has good selections. It seems like they have more desserts here than other places, and it looks appealing that I wanted to try them all, my fav. is durian balls, the texture is creamy and not too sweet, if you cant stand the smell of durian, dont try it. Eventhough they have 2 levels, upstair and downstair in the basement, but there's always a wait on the weekend, a very busy place. Lately I've seen some pictures capturing bugs in their food, for that reason definitely keep me away and hesitant to come back.
(3)
Samantha L.
After arriving into Boston late, my parents and I were craving authentic Chinese food so we came to Hei La Moon. The restaurant has two dining rooms - main floor and basement - that can accommodate parties of all sizes. The restaurant was decorated with numerous red lanterns. In summary, Hei La Moon is better for dim sum than for dinner. We started with Minced Beef with Parsley soup a.k.a. West Lake Style Soup. It consisted of minced beef, parsley, and egg white. It was quite flavorful and there was no need for additional condiments (e.g., salt, pepper, white pepper, vinegar, etc). We ordered the Filet of Sole in Tangy Sweet and Sour Sauce. It was Americanized version of what I thought it would be. It was heavily deep fried filet of sole with pineapple chunks, onion, and green peppers in a tangy, sweet and sour sauce. It was tasty and went well with white rice. We also ordered the Seafood Bird's Nest which consisted of stir fry of seafood (squid, conch, shrimp, fish filet) and vegetables (broccoli, snowpea) in a nest made of deep fried lo mein. There were broccoli surrounding the nest. This dish was rather bland and it looked better in photos.
(3)
Julie N.
Dim Sum #4dayz.... I'm a big fan of this place. Everything I ate was really good and on my morning walk to work at 10:30am, it's already packed. Everyone loves this place.
(4)
Pam C.
This is a review for the a la cart dinner service, not their dim sum! We came here on a Friday evening because they seemed to be the only restaurant who would take a large group. Were a bit surprised to see that it was mostly empty. Overall the experience was pretty good - the food was your typical Chinese restaurant food. Didn't have any objections and there wasn't anything that was stand-out bad or good. Service was a bit better than I would have expected - our tea was regularly filled and our dishes, even though we ordered quite a few, were promptly brought out. Prices were in line with what we would expect as well: ~$10 per dish on average, with portions a little on the smaller side. Overall, a pretty solid choice if you're looking to bring a large group for some Chinese food!
(3)
Katherine D.
This is slightly above average dim sum. The standards are all just standard, except Har Gow which is quite good. Other notable dishes include the Chicken Feet and the Beef Shu Mai and Cheese Mussels. Perks: Large so seating is not really an issue. Plentiful carts at high frequency. Coke Zero is available. Parking garage in the same building. Cons: I wish there were rotating BBQ carts. The Shu Mai isn't all that great. Inconsistently loaded carts and no discernible pattern so you may have to aggressively flag someone down. Tip: If you park in the garage on a weekend you can get an $8 validation at the front desk for ALL DAY PARKING! Killer.
(3)
Kim S.
We had an early flight back from vacation and wanted to find an affordable place for breakfast on a weekday. There was street metered parking in Chinatown and we walked across the street Hei La Moon for dim sum. The restaurant was very clean and the servers were not pushy at all (no pun intended). Food was average. Since it was still so early (9:30 AM) they didn't have some of my favorite dim sum specialties like calamari, crab claw balls or clams in black bean sauce. We got 7 plates and it only set us back $25.00. Great bargain!
(4)
LeAnn Y.
Worst dimsum! The waiters so rude we didn't get the shomai and wonton soup for my niece! We waited so long fir the food and they are not friendly....
(1)
Alexandra N.
It's just bad. Food cooked in cheap grease. Everything undersalted. Dirty chairs and floors.
(1)
Christopher W.
I expected authentic Chinese food from this restaurant based off previous experiences some time ago. Now it seems the food has been Americanized, tasting all sweet and sour. It's a shame....
(3)
Suely C.
Terrible service. The food was served lukewarm - they were not steamed long enough. Did not get our order of steamed BBQ pork buns. Complaining to the rude manager did not matter. Got handed the check to pay and that was it. Parking in garage above was $20/hour. So it was a ridiculously expensive bad meal.
(1)
Audrey H.
First time having Dim sum in Boston. didn't have as many selections as places I've been to in NY but it was still good. very spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't speak Chinese but still managed to order food, but it was hard to communicate with employees. other than that, it had good food and a good atmosphere.
(4)
Maddy M.
Had a hilarious, busy lunch on a wonderful Friday afternoon with coworkers. The banquet-sized restaurant was bustling with many people and servers pushing carts. The dumplings were my favorite as were the meatballs. The chicken feet were interesting, not a fan of the beef tendons. They're very chewy. You can make the meal as quick or as long as you want. It was the real deal.
(4)
Connie K.
don't come here!!!!! listen to all the other reviews!! waitresses were horribly rude, would almost act like they didn't hear your requests. the dinner was not appetizing, food served lukewarm. beef was plastic like, we kept finding weird floating mystery items in our water. we were here as a large group and we ordered seven different dishes. nothing was good. fried shrimp, seafood soup, lobster, all of it was either bland, not cooked right, or just tasted bad. there's so many other great places in Chinatown. don't come here! (although I can't vouch for their dim sum which I have heard good things about)
(1)
Alex L.
So I went here for dim sum after reading all the rave reviews aaaaand... it was ok. The food was mediocre, the workers and staff were stupid and rude, but I guess that's to be expected. What really makes this a 2 star review is them charging us $1 for tea even though we didn't want any. They tried to tell us it was a mandatory charge, but what kind of place does that? They bring over tea, we tell them we don't want it, yet we get charged for it anyways, it wasn't on our table for more than about 5 seconds. I was absolutely disgusted by that.
(2)
A D.
Sunday morning line was very long, then the waitress "forgot" us, but it really took one of our friends to go inside until they "remembered" they "skipped" us. So huge -- that cart service was sparse and limited. The same one came to us several times...and others stayed in an entirely different part of the restaurant. The food matched most dim sum places I have been too, but nothing great or worth such a long wait, limited choice, and poor service.
(2)
Lis L.
This is one of the few authentic Chinese restaurants that I've been to that has a lot of non-Chinese people waiting outside to eat. It's very crowded and there are usually people standing outside waiting for their numbers to be called. You can expect to wait up to half an hour, and no, you won't get to pick where you want to sit. Once you're in, the food carts come by fairly quickly and you'll be on your way to Dim Sum heaven. The quality of the food is good but not "OMG I just came in my mouth!" quality. There's parking atop the building for $6.00 dollars after validation at the restaurant. If you eat a lot, you can expect to spend about $20.00 dollars. For Boston, this is as good as it gets.
(5)
Jenny N.
I've had great dim sum as well as not-so-good dim sum here. Generally, the later you go, the worse it is (and I think this applies to all teahouses). So go early (despite the huge crowd) to get the best selection because un-fresh dim sum really isn't anything special. I do think that this place is better than China Pearl and Chau Chow City for dim sum, but their stir-fried noodles were definitely sub-par. Bonus: you can get your parking validated here if you parked in the garage above the restaurant.
(3)
Andrew K.
My girlfriend and I come here every week, so that should mean something. Just get here early like we do, especially on the weekends. Fridays are a great day to go too. Siu mai here is my favorite, and remains as a go-to-dumpling. We also get the char siu bao (her favorite, but she is haole and calls them "cashew ball"). We also order the har gao every time, and on occasion, the sticky rice. You can have your choice of tea (but you have to ask!) and they are excellent about bringing you a second pot as quickly as possible. Overall, the food is pretty good here, and the table-service is beyond excellent. My only knock on this place is that sometimes, following the busy hours, they've fallen behind on food items and it takes 10-15 minutes before freshness comes the kitchen doors. Get here early!
(4)
Kip J.
One of the better dim sum places I've been to in Boston. I always like when they have the old ladies pushing around the carts instead of having to order off the menu, and this place does not disappoint. A huge place, so good for large groups, but also fine for a couple or small group. Busy, but doesn't feel rushed, and always good for people watching. Food is superb and pretty large portions for dim sum. They do everything well from the standard shui mai to chicken's feet and tripe. My favorites this time were shrimp & pork shui mai and a slow roasted sliced pork over picked veggies. Waitresses were generally good and appreciative of any Cantonese I attempted. Overall, a very good value for the price - for 3 people walking out stuffed, we paid under $13 each (includes tip)!
(4)
Yue G.
This should be zero stars. Beware of the parking scam! They tell you that if you pay them $6 for parking validation, you can get your parking fee ($11) refunded from the garage, but don't be fooled! They will ask for the parking stub and then keep it to get the refund themselves. We argued with the unresponsive and offensive woman working the phone at Hei La Moon to no avail, only to find out from the guy at the parking garage that this sort of thing happens frequently. Clearly, they can't be trusted. I won't be giving them any more business and neither should you.
(1)
AB H.
Dim Sum is best with loads of people, and since this is some of my friends favorite dim sum place, I keep going back. It is good, but not fabulous. Like all dim sum, there are SO many choices, I;m sure I've only tasted a small portion of their food. I use a wheelchair, and there is one step to get in. I;ve never been into the bathroom to know where it is accessible or not.
(3)
Valerie S.
Hei La Moon was great. We went around 1:30 on a Sunday and it wasn't a problem to get a table for 3. The place is clean, the carts were quick to come up. I thought the food was really good. I normally go to Chau Chau city, but someone else recommended this place. Turnip Cake was good...and so were the pork buns.. and the shrimp/pork dumplings were cooked well.. not soggy. I think our bill came out to $20 for the 3 of us and we were pretty comfortable afterwards.
(4)
Julie T.
I came here with my friend who promised that this was an awesome place for dim sum. We came pretty late, about 1 or 2pm on a Sunday afternoon is considered pretty late for dim sum. Unfortunately for us, not very many options were left and we ate a couple dishes and I didn't want to say it, but I was not satisfied at all. Good food and will try again, but will make the smart choice to go at a better time.
(3)
George P.
Great place for SUPER FOOD!!! Inexpensive. Great selection of Dim Sum. Will definitely go back! Service is a bit sketchy and make sure you go no later then 90 minutes before the end of Dim Sum for that day as you will not get the best food or service. Been there twice now and look forward to going back.
(4)
Julia C.
best dim sum in boston that i've had thus far, both in quality and authenticity. i really like that i've never had to wait to be seated. it's really cheap, too! i can eat my fill and some more with my boyfriend and the bill would be well under $10-15 per person, and believe me, we love our dim sum! my favouritest dish is their fried chives and shrimp dumplings, they taste just like the ones i used to get in taipei when i was little.
(4)
Michael D.
Today I took my sister to Dim Sum, because she's never been before, and what else were we to do when all of our friends are out of town for Thanksgiving? So, we arrived at 9:30 and almost walked past it, because the sign wasn't well displayed, but we quickly realized our error and went back. Once inside, we were quickly seated in the bustling dining room. Soon, the first cart stopped at our table. Since I've been studying Mandarin a bit, I decided this was my chance to give it at try and quickly asked, "What is this? What's in that dumpling?" The cart lady gave no indication of having heard me and just asked in English if I wanted any. I said yes to the pork and shrimp dumplings and sent her on. I had the same experience with the next two carts, where we ordered some pork buns, and some items that looked like latkes with shrimp, but could possibly have been made with taro instead of potato. After that, I decided to give up trying to speak Mandarin. All the food was really good, so they get four stars (my personal favorite being the sweet pork buns; I think my sister liked the shrimp dumplings the best). However, if you're interested in a place to go to practice your Mandarin, I wouldn't recommend it. It's too loud to really concentrate on the conversation, and it's possible that they only speak Cantonese.
(4)
E.N. Z.
Currently this place is my favorite Dim Sum spot in Boston. They offer very decent traditional Cantonese Dim Sum. By far, much better quality than China Pearl and Chau Chau City. However, a few years ago, there was this basement place on Beach St. where it also houses the Chinatown Eatery at the second floor, this basement restaurant had the best unique Dim Sum. I don't know why they closed shop, business was booming for them. Just one day, I saw the sign for renovation and then never another shred of news... I am still looking for the chef from this mysterious restaurant...
(5)
Kai L.
Yes, I admit, I am a dim sum snob. I have to be after 20+ years of religiously eating dim sum. I recognize this is Boston, not Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, or Vancouver. Hei La Moon was a delightful discovery after I moved from California to Boston 3 years ago, and it has been my only choice for dim sum after I investigated all of the dim sum places in Chinatown. Judged from its appearance, it must be a "newcomer" compared to its more established neighbors. It may not be as well known as the older establishments like Chow Chow City, China Pearl, or Emperor's Garden, it certainly has the best dim sum in the area. Good dishes: pork rips, pork rip noodles, sesame balls, tofu dessert, Har Gaau (shrimp dumplings), most of the "dumplings" wrapped in rice skins (e.g. chive/pork, taro/pork) Good dishes, but not always: coeng fun (steam rice rolls with beef/shrimp stuffing) is good most of the times, but not always consistent. A couple of times that it noodles was a little bit too wet. Siu Mai (dried pork dumpling) tends to be too big compared to traditional siu mai, making it a little bit too much to eat. Overall, I think it is definitely a good place to eat at a reasonable price, in a convenient location, and a decent ambience. In order to fulfill the increasing huge demand, it has recently (probably has been about 9 months) opened up its basement level, which pretty much doubled its capacity. Nonetheless, the line was still there (which attests its food quality). Try to go before noon, otherwise, be patient or agrees to share a bigger table with other strangers if you want to skip the line.
(4)
Steve M.
I'm from San Francisco, too, but can't pretend to know good dim sum from Mr. Chau's, having only been to The City's greatest on elementary school trips. What I can say is that I went here a few weeks ago with a best friend, and we over-ordered from the appetizer cart, and couldn't identify most of the things we ate, but loved it all, didn't feel especially pressured by the waitresses despite being part of a very small minority of non-Chinese speakers on a Saturday around noon (and they had everything left that we would have wanted). And the bill, after all that: $21 for two! Sweet.
(4)
Lisa C.
Hei La Moon can be a pretty good venue for a wedding. It fit about forty tables comfortably and the platform was perfect for pictures. The dance floor seemed to be a perfect size- not too small but not too big. The food was good. They could have staffed a couple of extra servers. I was drooling watching the lobster go to every table except mine.
(4)
Mike M.
It seems odd, but pretty often I end up picking up people at South Station, and this is really convenient for a quick lunch. Come to think of it, I started volunteering to pick people up after we found this place! It's a lot of fun, especially for an out-of-towner, and the food is good and varied. Never too many repeats, always a new favorite.
(4)
Ron U.
Fast service. Cheap prices. Even when it's packed, they move people out pretty quickly. Had a party of four, and we stuffed ourselves for just a little over $30. Decent dim sum selection. Come with somebody who recognizes the spread and can make recommendations.
(3)
Hiroko S.
Over all, the dim sums were good and very cheap! However their are big reason why I give three stars. First they served us water with huge spider. I hope it is not on purpose. I was fine because I don't usually drink water at dim sum place! We need to have tea. I believe this is the way how Chinese people keep their good shape even though they have greasy dim sum Second they didn't have Xiaolongbao. Probably I have to find Shanghai style dim sum place. I am not sure about Chinese food local differeces. Oh by the way, I went here Sunday afternoon. I probably wait 10min, so it is not so bad. This place was huge.
(3)
King C.
Hei La Moon's is an excellent dim sum place. Two things make it stand out from the rest -- it's got an extensive dim sum selection. They also have amazing beef ribs during dim sum. They are flavorful and tender; I've never had anything like this anywhere else. We couldn't resist -- we had to get a second order.
(4)
Deb D.
Our experience was mixed. It was our first trip to Hei La Moon. parking was easy there is a garage on top of it. The dumplings we tried were good and the portions were large. Lacked variety but maybe because it was after 1 when we got there. Staff pretty unfriendly. Bathrooms not clean. Going to keep looking for a better overall experience.
(2)
H Y.
Probably the best Dim Sum place in Chinatown right now. I grew up eating this stuff in Boston since I was four so I have a lot of experience. Frankly it really isn't my favorite type of food but I miss it every so often. Good turnover from the carts and interesting variety of dishes. All the staples of Dim Sum are good. The noodle dishes (you have to order them) are large and tasty. It's where my mom and relatives go and they are picky so that's how you know it's good. We used to frequent China Pearl (we know the manager there so no waiting) but Hei La Moon has the edge in freshness and tastiness. Service during Dim Sum is always hit or miss, especially if you don't speak Chinese (you are in Chinatown after all). That's why I always bring my Mom along. If you are a small enough party then you can ask to share a larger table to avoid waiting for your own.
(4)
Alexis L.
My husband and I went for dim sum and while the food was not revelatory it was very hot, fresh, decently executed, affordable and on Tuesday, at midday, there was no wait. We didn't have any complaints about our dishes, which were chive-pork steamed dumplings leaf-wrapped steamed rice mochi (with coconut and roasted peanuts within)] sesame balls with bean paste pepper-ginger steamed tripe shumai Hei La Moon compares favorably to much of the dim sum we've had in New York City. Worth a visit.
(4)
Tae K.
one of the best dim sums in Boston
(4)
Mike C.
As many have already said, this place is quite simply the best place for dim sum for several reasons: there are parking meters all over the place near the restaurant, the food is excellent, there are two floors now, so the queue is cut down, and the staff is quick at refilling your tea and taking the empty bowls away. I wouldn't really recommend the dinner here: the dishes aren't quite as tasty. I would go to China Pearl as an alternative.
(4)
Mai T.
I usually go to Grand Chau Chau's for dim sum. Like one of the other reviewers said, there's not much good dim sum in Boston area. Based on the reviews my family thought we would give this place a try since GCC is not really that good anymore. The first visit (May 2010) was not bad. Since it was just a party of two, we were not able to order much but the food was definitely better than GCC. The second visit which was a month later with a large group fared to be better. The shu mai and har gow were generous sizes and tasty to boot. There was enough variety and most of it was fairly decent. However on our last visit which was a week ago (May 2011) , the dim sum was disappointing. Even though the dim sum tasted OK, there was a lack of variety. And not just a lack of variety but a lack of food! For the first time, I left the restaurant hungry because there wasn't enough of what we normally ordered to satisfy our party. Now we have to find another dim sum place but there really isn't any more out there.
(3)
joe t.
i really enjoyed it!
(4)
Roni E.
Alright, so the first time I went to this place, I would say that they probably earned 4 stars, but this time, they lost a star for service and bathroom cleanliness. We went at 10:30 am this time around and were seated immediately. However, the food selection this past weekend was not quite there. They didn't have as many types of food as they did a few months ago. On top of that there were a few carts that had lingered on the OTHER side of the restaurant for the whole 2 hours we were there. At one point we ended up going to the cart to get the food, but she said she'd be over. At even then it took her another half an hour to get to us. She went to everyone else first before she came to us. But then after getting us that one dish, we had asked her for another that is on her cart. She then said okay, and WALKED AWAY WITH HER CART! WTF!!! 20 minutes later, some random lady brought us the dish. We said we had ordered that a long time ago, and she still put it on our table and put it on our dim sum card! Lady - we don't even want it anymore, we're done with our dim sum! The food is still good, don't get me wrong, but for service around here, it sux! You don't get the attention you should be getting. The bathroom is gross. There were 2 toilets that were clogged and not one restaurant personnel came to fix them. On a busy Sunday morning, and only 2 toilets in the rest room! Blehhhh! Does anyone know if the garage knows that this place is charging $6 to get your parking validated?! I'm not sure if they have a contract our not, but it is the most silly thing I have heard. I have to pay $6 here to get my $10 back. Why don't they just friggin' validate my parking and give me $4 back in the garage instead?! Does that NOT make sense? Oh and if you're like me and not a real big fan of FOBs, this might not be the place for you. But then again, I remember why I never really venture out to Chinatown for a reason.
(2)
Diane H.
i dont know what the rave is all about..Long lines..and the food isnt that good... i'd go somewhere else. too crowdedd...downstairs is too hot in the summer
(2)
Mishka A.
Best dim sum place I've had in Boston. It's clean, large, fast service and good food - what else can you ask for? I try to go on Sat as it's busier on Sun. Go downstairs where there's no wait and rolling carts are plenty. I've brought large groups of 20 here before and if you call ahead, they'll gladly reserve tables for you. The restaurant is bright, spacious, lots of red and gold on the walls which makes it feel very festive. Small warning - don't expect the waitstaff to be overly nice, they're good enough, but nothing more. You'll have to waive a waiter down to get tea refills, they don't always stop by, but the service is pretty speedy. The carts are always stocked with fresh dim sum and I haven't had a bad meal yet. Usually costs about $10 to stuff your face. Takeaway: good cheap dim sum, friendly to small and large groups.
(4)
Phelim F.
eh ... (shrug)
(3)
Bob R.
My first Dim Sum experience. I really enjoyed the show but... the food (after all, I did have to eat) was overall disappointing. My son and I shared about half a dozen choices. We're both dumpling fans but the two varieties we tried were basically dough balls with a taste of meat inside. Stuffed eggplant was great. Everything else just OK. Will try other dim sum places because I have to say I did like the vibe... and the price.
(2)
Meg M.
Okay first off, I need to explain my history with Dim Sum. My mother is Chinese and my father is Irish... so needless to say my palate was developed like an ADD kid in an MCAST test. I was all over the place. My mom introduced me in dim sum when I was very very young and I have always loved it. Heres the thing, Chinese people do not operate the same way as Americans. They are not overly friendly and they will not spend long at your table. If you look around at the Chinese/Asian patrons you will see they simply point to what they want and the servers drop it on the table and stamp their card... there are few pleasantries exchanged. Dim Sum is a cultural experience... so stop thinking its like going to a Capital Grille. Thats not how dimsum is. I give this place 4 stars because the bows are the most amazing thing ever.. baked and steamed I cant get enough. MMMMMMMM. So bad for you... SO DELICIOUS. One star gets taken away for how HOT it is in there no matter what time of year. My suggestion.. wear layers ... I end up in my tshirt everytime.
(4)
Jungmin L.
The best dim sum you can find in Boston, which is not saying much. But I take what I can get.
(4)
Ryan T.
I still think China Pearl has better dimsum, but Hei La Moon has some great dinner specials for 4,6,8,10 people. They have great standard cantonese seafood dishes and the interior is pretty clean for a Chinatown joint. Order the salt and pepper pork and squid combo dish - it's like the best of both worlds in one plate!
(4)
Aaron W.
Just outside of the main chinatown area, Hai La Moon has been drawing a steady following over the last few years. The last time I went it was packed and the wait was long. The food was worth the wait, but i'd say it's an equal tradeoff to get into Chau Chow city faster with comparable quality dim sum.
(4)
Christina K.
WHO CARES about how friendly the servers are when they are delivering endless amounts of delicious food. When you are getting a stamp on a card for the food you are getting I am sure that means that this place isn't meant to have top notch service( they do offer you plenty options of food, many times, repeatedly which is fine service for me)... Also- when you eat your face off on a sunday afternoon and your portion of the bill is only 10 dollars I am not one to complain. No, sometimes I didn't know what I was eating, but everything I had was really good. Whatever the buns are called with the sweet bbq'ed pork(?) inside were absolutely amazing. When the fried cart comes around do not be shy because it will not come around for sometime and it was really good. The flower tea is also really good, I had about probably 15 of those small cups. There are some buns on the desert cart that look like they are covered in nuts, grab those, they are delicious.
(4)
Tiffany D.
I started coming here instead of China Pearl (if I wanted Chinatown dimsum, which my bf always prefers over suburb-dimsum) since I was introduced here by my friends and bf over the summer. It's pretty good and def. not as dirty and busy (altho it is busy but it's not overcrowded) and squished as China Pearl. I like it!!! I've been here many many many times!!!
(4)
Joanne L.
Yelp is a place where people can express their own opinions about their experiences at the restaurants they've eaten at so there's no reason why anyone should start bashing on reviewers. If you want to post a review, then write an actual review on the restaurant. It's up to the readers' discretion if they agree or disagree with the review. With that said....here's my review! :) I've been to Hei La Moon a few times and it's one of the newest dim sum restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. It's probably one of the most popular ones too because there's a long wait on weekends.. The food is good and I didn't think the service wasas bad as some others have said, but I do have one criticism. One of my favorite things to eat at dim sum restaurants is the shrimp dumplings. That dish is a staple dim sum dish. We waited for the shrimp dumpling cart to come by, but it never came. We asked several waitstaff and they kept saying that a new batch is coming out soon. We ate other dishes, but waited 40 minutes until we decided to leave. This was around noon. You would think that a dim sum restaurant would have an abundance of a staple dim sum dish available, but Hei La Moon didn't. However, even though this happened to me once, I would still go back again because they do have good dim sum.
(3)
Rally P.
Decent Dim Sum choices in Boston have generally been China Pearl and Chau Chau City. They're ok, and the quality seems to be cyclic - for awhile China Pearl is the best and then CC City is better. Unfortunately, neither are really great, they're ok, but not top of the line. Hei La Moon is a step better than China Pearl and Chau Chau City and for now, it's my favourite place. Both the variety and the quality of the food are a little better than the others. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up. Another plus, this seems to be a new place so the dining area still feels clean and fresh.
(4)
wsl l.
I came here last weekend and I think they changed their dim sum chef!! Ive been to Hei La Moon before and honestly it was nothing to write about. But now, I can honestly say that it s the best Ive had in Boston so far. Note* Dim Sum chefs are so fickle they tend to travel around and work at different places. .so who knows how long this will last. Get good dim sum while you can!! Anyhow, I came here with a party of 5 around 2pm. I thought it was late for dim sum as it usually ends at 3, but was pleasantly surprised that ppl were still there = food. Now many have said that the later you show up the less food. That is very very true, however, at Hei La Moon we got everything hot and fresh that we usually get at dim sum. We also ordered a specialty dim sum dish, and were extremely happy that even though it was late they were able to make it for us. Cool beans in my book and deserves 5 stars. Note* See if you can get seated in their new downstairs. So much better than their upstairs. ie: Newer and cleaner bathrooms! And that means ALOT in Chinatown.. hehe
(5)
Michele B.
All three of our restaurant went there to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We reserved the whole restaurant and ordered over a grand worth of food. The food came out fast and delicious. Tables felt a bit over clustered somettimes but the wait staff tried their hardest to clear plates. I got insulted when the manager came over to ask me if I wanted a fork. I was the only American there but have been adopted as Chinese since I have been with the restaurant for over 3 1/2 years. We did karaoke but I kept looking at this same manage who kept trying to rush us and looking at his watch etc.
(3)
JB C.
The best dim sum I've found in the area thus far. It's a huge restaurant so if you get there at the right time, you won't have to wait too long. It's really fresh and flavorful. And generally a pretty good selection although we've gone a couple of times when new stuff just wasn't coming out.
(4)
Victoria N.
Best dim sum place in Boston, I would say. Especially since this is where I meet my aunt for dim sum, and I trust her judgment. Came here again recently with Boyfriend. We were sat at a random, awkward table since it was probably just pulled out from a larger table for us. But whatevs. The people working there really vary. The guy who got our tea was a semi-douche who pretty much made fun of Boyfriend's attempt at Chinese. I also overheard him making fun of these Chinese ladies cos they asked him something in Mandarin. Most of the cart ladies were nice enough, one giggling (but clearly not making fun) at Boyfriend's dim sum ordering skillz. One, however, seemed a little unhappy with life. Anyhow, on to the food....I couldn't get over how steaming hot and fresh everything was this time! I swear I even saw flames inside one of those metal carts. Just three faults I saw with the food...the meatballs that are usually served with that delicious beancurd skin was served sans beancurd and with peas instead. Weird... (Later on, I discovered that this was actually the original way of serving them.) Also, the turnip cake cart didn't seem to make it's way to us from across the room. And no coconut buns! Boo.... Oh, and the total bill did seem more than your average two-person dim sum bill. Sigh. Still my go-to dim sum place, though.
(4)
Marisa N.
I can be pretty picky and well this restaurant brings that out. In a some what good way. The last time I went there I came there for a after-a- funeral thing and they brought out a fish which was okay i mean the fish had bones in it defiantly something i don't want to spend my time doing when to me didn't seem like a lot of fish but more bones. The crust of the fish was hard but it was worth it. Moving on there Buddha's delight was good i liked there noodles and there tofu inside. When i bit into it the flavors exploded in my mouth! Lastly there corn/ egg / tofu soup had a interesting taste to me it tasted like corn. Bland soupy corn. Well that is my review and that was only one time. Sometimes I love it Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I find it A okay.
(3)
Jae L.
This definately filled my Sunday afternoon dim sum and sodium craving. The various meat/vegi/seafood filled dumplings all hit the spot once it was dipped in a heart stopping amount of soy sauce. I fully recommend getting the chicken 's feet as well. There is nothing like sucking around the little bones for that yummy tendon ,skin and cartilage.
(5)
jenilee p.
i love bringing people to eat dim sum. they either love it or they hate it. if they hate it, i beat them fisticuffs style until they come to their senses. for realz. this is the best place in boston to experience dim sum, and one of those places that truly will become an excuse to come into the city if you don't frequently find yourself here. there is really little to nothing better than having your food come to you, and being able to pick and choose items regardless of whether you know what you will be chowing down on actually is. after a few times here, however, you'll begin to recognize what you like, so maybe i can give you guys a few recommendations. try to find the cart that has looks like it has a few bumps of shrimp that are rolled in a long, fat "burrito" blanket of a white noodle. not sure what the actual name is, but my friends and i call it the slippery noodle. they serve it t you with a salty/sweet sauce, squirted out of a bottle. there are also a plethora of dumplings: shyumai style with mushrooms is very good, ones with shrimp in the middle are very good (i think wrapped with a rice flour wrapper, but not sure), and then there are also the deep fried variety with onion, shrimp and beef filling (these may be the safest bet for the slightly timid eater). i also enjoy their variety of buns, especially those stuffed with barbecue pork. the place is a little hard to find, as it is outside of chinatown, but worth a special visit. also note that there is a parking garage upstairs, and the restaurant will validate your ticket. furthermore, though the place is almost always crowded for dim sum (not served at dinner time), i've never waited longer than about ten minutes for a table.
(5)
Ann C.
situated across from the main chinatown area lies hei la moon. this place is a lot cleaner and bigger, which makes eating here a lot more enjoyable and satisfying. i didn't check out the bathrooms though...which could take us to a whole new level...
(2)
Henry H.
Best dim sum in Boston. The only places comparable on the East Coast are those dingy "cafeterias" in NY Chinatown (where the tables are full of old men who look up from their newspapers only to stare en masse at whomever is walking in) or banquet halls all the way out in Flushing. There is no difference between the two floors in terms of food quality, and the dim sum on weekdays is just as good. On weekends, show up before 11 or after 1:30 to avoid long waits. There is no waiting for weekday lunch.
(4)
Kevin C.
Alright, the food is good, price reasonable....4 stars. But then, you really need to know the managers or the servers to get some decent services.... That makes me feel weird... I know, I'm also a Chinese, I know perfectly the importance of "connections"... but I dont like it. And plus the fact that it is not located right in the middle of Chinatown... 1 star less.... Overall 3 stars!
(3)
Catie L.
Really really delicious. Great selection, and you can ask for to go containers when you are full but still have a ton of food on your table. I would certainly recommend it.
(4)
Jeffrey M.
Went to Hei-la Moon for Father's Day, June 19, with family and in-laws. We are all dim sum lovers but it was our first time to this restaurant. We got there about 9:30 a.m. The place was very busy but there was no line, so we were seated immediately. The ambient aroma on entering was wonderful. The carts came around very quickly and the variety was excellent. I am no expert and I don't speak Chinese so I do not know the names of the various dumplings, but everything was delicious. Everything was flavorful and seemed fresh and delicately spiced. The women pushing the carts were friendly and explained what the ingredients were when we asked. The table was kept bussed and clean very efficiently. What amazed me was that even as we were finishing and were all happily full, more carts were coming around with even more types of dim sum than the many we had already seen and tried. We all agreed to come back and have a completely different array of dim sum on our next visit. The check was very reasonable, and we had a great time. We will definitely be recommending Hei-La Moon and we're looking forward to next time.
(5)
Alyssa N.
Decent dim sum. Less greasy than some of the other places I've been. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, but the staff was efficient about seating us right away.
(4)
Nosniv X.
Looking for fresh dim sum in Boston? This place is clean and the food was flavorful and fresh. No odd flavors either, which is a definite plus. The dim sum is served from carts pushed around the restaurant and the servers do not speak much if any English, so you should know a little about dim sum, and don't be afraid to step up to the cart and take a peek at what they are pushing around.
(4)
Atrebor B.
I've been having dim sum since I was 3 when my grandparents took me to my first dim sum parlour in Hong Kong. I realize that weekend dim sum has an almost ritualistic appeal to most Chinese and I am no exception. It would be unfair for me to compare it to places in HK since I'm in Boston. The dishes were alright, but it could definitely be better as in tastier with a greater attention and emphasis to quality as opposed to quantity. Nonetheless, they were piping hot and fresh. I am disappointed with the shrimp dumplings, since they are my must-haves at any dim sum meal. The ones' here suffer from a soggy skin with a powdery after taste; the shrimp filling was not as firm and packed with shrimp as I would have liked; falling apart into pieces after I dropped it from my chopsticks. Nonetheless, I must assume it is one of the better places in Boston judging from the line-up outside.
(2)
Richard L.
While dim sum was okay, we found their regular menu items to be mediocre at best. Indeed, when we passed by on the street in evenings, we found the restaurant to be almost empty. However, last Saturday, the place seemed to be full, and we thought that the place might have changed for the better so we entered and ordered a meal. What a mistake! We had the worst meal we've had in years. We ordered seafood soup and asked if it could be prepared without eggs. After a long wait the soup arrived and the waiter assured us that it had no egg, but it was loaded with egg. That, though, was just the beginning. We ordered Peking Duck. We got a dish with the skin of a sparrow sized duck. The skin was heavy with fat, and the dish had about 4 times as much shrimp cracker as fatty skin. The buns were bread like in thickness and consistency, and we initially got duck sauce instead of hoisin. We also ordered Chinese Eggplant in black bean sauce. The dish was simply black bean sauce with emulsified eggplant. It was essentially inedible. To top it all off, one of us got severely ill, and the rest of us mildly ill. Oh, did I mention it: the service was awful.
(1)
Denise K.
Nice place for dim sum. Went early (10:30 Sun morning), had no problems getting seated, and there was tons of food already going around in the carts. We sat downstairs. The place seems clean and pretty new, and not crowded like you can get at China Pearl. The variety of the dim sum was great - got some items I don't see all the time, including xiaolongbao, steamed buns filled with sticky rice, and cherg fun with fried dough. We didn't have to share a table which was nice, and it was quiet enough that we could hear each other talk. All in all, my new favorite place for dim sum.
(4)
Mags L.
meh. i went. i experienced. i was satisfied, but not super impressed.
(3)
reese w.
I know the reviews are mixed for this place, but I have always had a good experience here. The service really isn't the greatest, but it has never been so bad that I've wanted to walk out. The food itself is pretty good, but sometimes it takes a while for the carts to come around with the ones you want, so if you aren't patient, this isn't the best place to go. I think it's definitely better than China Pearl.
(4)
Tony L.
I've had dim sum in the Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose, etc. where I grew up) as well as in Manhattan a few times, and didn't discover Hei La Moon until very recently (before this place I had only frequented Emperor's Garden for dim sum). The quality of the food was comparable to Mayflower's, a popular dim sum restaurant chain in California. The service was lacking a little, most likely due to the fact we were seated in the far corner, giving us a slight disadvantage in terms of exposure, so it took a while before the plates started to accumulate on our table. Timing your visit will essentially influence two factors: the later you arrive, the less time you will have to wait to be seated, but the selection of food declines as well. The decor fits your typical dim sum restaurant - a wide open space with large tables dispersed throughout. The pricing is quite affordable ($20 for two). Despite what I believe to be just unfortunate luck in terms of seating, I would still recommend this restaurant over Emperor's Garden and will most likely return for dim sum in the near future.
(4)
Fortuna F.
Consistently rocking dim sum. Recent discovery was that if you sit on the first floor and close to the kitchen you can get the fresh cha siu bao as they come out and get a better sense of what is rolling out fresh. Hard to pick your table on the weekends but maybe get there on the weekend.
(5)
Hank L.
Food is typical dim sum but the attitude is awful. I don't mean slow service but after we sat down a waiter asked us whether we like some drinks. While we were trying to decide what to get he was making this bored and impatient reaction on his face. All he cared about is making money. Sorry for slowing down the money machine. If you must have dim sum at this place, you'll need to put up with the attitude.
(1)
Juggy W.
Not sure about dimsum, but this place is over priced for americanized Chinese food. $14 for hunan chicken and it doesnt even come with white rice... gimme a break.
(2)
Josh O.
Growing up in San Francisco we got Dim Sum all the time. Then, of course, there was the time I spent in China. We went to Hei La Moon for lunch today with a friend who's from Hong Kong and her husband. They both love it and eat there all the time, and I'm going to have to say I agree. Besides, for the four of us it was only about $30. I've spend over $60 for a similar lunch for _two people_ at Yank Sing in San Francisco.
(4)
Waterlily W.
busy busy busy best dim sum this side of the US (though I had better in Canada and Europe)
(4)
Andy H.
According to the other reviews, this should be the best Dim Sum that Boston has to offer. You HAVE to order the tofu with candy ginger syrup, the chicken feet (not boiled), and sesame balls ("that's what she said"). The typical Dim Sum shrimp and pork stuff is nothing special. I've had better Dim Sum from the Trader Joe frozen aisle. Why the four stars? THE SERVICE! Prompt, professional, and friendly...exactly what restaurants are suppose to be. Their employees are BAD ASS! One dude nonchalantly handled our HOT tea pot by its body. After he walked away, my friends and me were whispering to each other, "Did you see that? BAD ASS, he must know karate." haha.
(4)
Sisi Z.
Trust all the old Chinese ladies lining up out the door -- this place is the best and cheapest. It gets packed pretty early, so if you find yourself waiting for the elusive cart, grab a waiter and tell them your order directly. Service isn't the best, but if you're tired of Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, give this place a try.
(4)
Thanh L.
Nothing special about this place. Overpriced Chinese food. Went here for a wedding. Staff was not friendly or helpful. At time, we have to tell the same person what we needed and there was flies everywhere. The food is horrible.
(2)
Lynn C.
Keep in mind the four star is strictly for the food only (don't expect super service from most authentic Chinese places. Just be happy the Chinese lady pushing the cart didn't force-feed you their dishes), and based on Boston Chinese food rating standard (if I were in NYC or Toronto, the food here would just be a 3.) This is the place where I go to satiate my cravings for Dim Sum. At first I thought it'd be difficult to find actual good dim sum here in Boston, but a friend of mine introduced me to Hei La Moon and the food here is actually legit. The variety is good enough, you have all the basics like har gow, siu mai, cha siu bao, lai wong bao, and chicken feet (yum!), and the taste is right. The push cart ladies are standard pushy, standard because I've seen a lot worse at dim sum places. The dude who owns the restaurant and his wife are pretty rude. I've seen the owner yell at the push cart ladies with a real chinese foul mouth, and his wife, who's downstairs taking in the money, has a sour face and would chase you down if you don't pay at least 15% tip. In essence, the real Chinese dim sum experience, minus the tip part... Oh, and tip for this restaurant: go downstairs and they will seat you right away.
(4)
David G.
Came here on a sunday afternoon right before heading on a bus back to NY. Its one of the bigger places for dim sum in boston. I came with a group of 5 and they sat us on a table of 4 which i didnt mind, but the tables were so close to each other. I just wish they would space out the tables better. I'm probably biased since im from NY and i eat dim sum in flushing & chinatown all the time. The dim sum here is just average. There wasn't a huge selection of items. The shrimp in rice rolls was pretty good, its hard to mess this one up (unless the rice rolls were hard or the soy sauce was shitty) but neither was the case. I love chicken feet...but the chicken feet here was not so good. It was not tasty nor appetizing. The feet that was placed on my table looked extra wrinkly for some reason. The next time i visit boston, i think i'd rather skip on the dim sum.
(3)
Anastasia R.
Everything I love about China town can be found in this restaurant on a Sunday morning. Pork buns, shrimp wrapped in those weird big rice noodles with something-sauce all over them, black bean pork, Chinese broccoli, but most of all, mystery. I try to order at least one thing I am completely unfamiliar with every time I go to a dim sum restaurant. Granted, I can't in good conscience recommend this to everyone, but I can now say that I have eaten fried chicken feet. I smugly consider this a gastronomic triumph.
(4)
Chris G.
I've gotten a lot of dim sum in a lot of different places during my life and I would definitely rank this place at the bottom. The food had no taste and anything that was fried was way too greasy. They really sacrifice quantity for quality. For example, the wu gok and ham siu gok here are the biggest I've ever had but also the least flavorful. I sat in the basement seating and definitely noticed the lack of diversity with the food selection. I will definitely never return here. Just go to Winsor Dim Sum Cafe. There aren't any carts so you miss the real dim sum experience, but trust me. It is just not worth it.
(1)
Mike H.
I've been in China Pearl's corner for a long, long time, but Hei La Moon has opened up my eyes to a better food quality overall. My friends and I usually come here around noon on the weekends, and we're usually seated right away which is so surprising. Unlike so many Dim Sum fares, Hei La Moon doesn't peddle the same crap on the carts for hours until it's too hard to eat. There aren't ant shared tables either, so you can feel free to have as many un-PC conversations with your friends as you want without the fear of having people call the cops on the crazies at their table talking about inappropriate things. It's technically outside of the Chinatown gates, so I don't know if I can truly consider this true Chinatown Dim Sum, but that might just be the picky little prick in me. There are plenty of tables, and plenty of options, but I do have two gripes: 1) They seem to have an odd layout downstairs so the food cart path was never really established and it was kind of a free for all. 2) They don't have the crispy crab balls with the crab claw sticking out of it like China Pearl does. 3) The hostess doesn't know my name yet unlike China Pearl where all she has to say is "Michael! how many in your party today?" (But since that's just plain sad, I'll let that one go. Give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.
(4)
Alice C.
From my experience, Boston's Chinatown has more Vietnamese and half-baked Chinese eateries, and it's a bit harder here to find good Cantonese food. Maybe I have just been looking in the wrong places? However, one place that I have found to serve consistently good dim sum is Hei La Moon. Another friend of mine from Hong Kong also comes here regularly to get her fix of home food. Sure, it's nothing like Hong Kong, but after having tried a few places in Boston, I think this is the best you can get in the area. Definitely try their pea sprout dumplings (dau miu gau) .
(4)
Phil C.
Although I've been here for wedding banquets (and they're generally very good, perhaps best in Chinatown), I'll write a dim sum review. Hei La Moon, for the most part, gets the job done, but there are some things that a dim sum stickler could make a Federal case over. However, the restaurant is spacious and can handle a weekend crowd. The ladies pushing the carts were particularly annoying. They'd hover over your table and generally remain until someone at the table physically tells them that they're not interested in their wares. I should threaten them with a taser the next time. The food itself was okay, with some basics being pretty decent and others lacking. The siu mai was very good, as it was flavorful and warm. The beef tripe was excellent, having a good peppery flavor. The dan tat (egg custard tart) was decent. The ha cheung (shrimp rice rolls) was just average; nothing special. The sticky rice wrapped in leaf wasn't too salty and had pretty good pork stuffing. However, the fried taro pastry stuffed with pork was below average. It came cold and was bland. I ordered a bunch of ha gow, but since I was doing the ordering, I didn't get a chance to try it as it disappeared quickly. I never saw any ha gow again, which isn't a good sign either. For Boston, this place gets the job done and I'd choose it over some of the places around. I don't really care for the upstairs parking arrangement - more complicated than it has to be.
(3)
Julie L.
I have come here for a preset Chinese New Year dinner and weekend dim sum. Both deserve a 3 star rating. The prices are very affordable but the quality is just average. I found everything (dinner entrees and dim sum) to be way too oily. Even the vegetables were drenched in oil. Good selection of dim sum so if you're here with a larger party there's probably something that caters to everyone. Also, the restaurant is huge (2 floors) and significantly larger than other dim sum places like Windsor so it's a good option if you want to get seated relatively quickly.
(3)
Ngoc T.
I came on a Sunday morning, the restaurant was crowded but it took me 5 minutes to get a table so not too bad. Waitress seemed a little annoyed when I asked her about the food, and then walked away without answering. Some just walked away and smiled at me after I asked her a question - odd but ok. Overall, bad service. On the bright side, their food was good.
(3)
Sophia N.
As a recent Boston transplant, I was very excited at the prospect of not having to go too far for decent dim sum. Based on other Yelp reviews and word of mouth, Hei La Moon seemed like a sure bet. Unfortunately it was not a match made in heaven. When I first walked in, I was filled with hope as I was greeted by the scent of various dim sum dishes. The shrimp dumplings (har gow) were sold out but more was coming which seemed promising. If it wasn't good, it wouldn't sell out right? Boy, was I ever wrong. The wrapper was thick and soggy, the filling tasted heavily of MSG, and fell apart way too easily. I ordered other dim sum staples such as shrimp in rice noodles, Phoenix Claws, steamed pork ribs, and egg tarts. None were much to write home about but most notably, many of the dishes didn't seem very fresh. The egg tarts were probably the most atrocious ones I've ever laid eyes on or tasted. The crust was too thick, too heavy, and the filling was nearly non-existent. I realized too late that someone had taken me to Hei La Moon many years back when I was visiting from out of town and I wasn't very fond of it then. Not much has changed in the intervening years except the har gow wrapper isn't nearly as soggy as it was five years ago and the filling was tastier than it is now. I am determined to find a great dim sum place in Boston because I refuse to believe Hei La Moon is the best Boston has to offer. One of the things that might have completely turned me off to this place was the bathroom odors. I could smell the bathroom from the dining room as I walked past to pay my food bill. This was also the same area where food carts were parked. Food smells + bathroom funk = no.
(1)
Vincent H.
I think this is one of the better dim sum places in Boston...if you even consider it good here. Crowded on a weekend and huge. Honestly thought this place was a mess with people walking up just to get food. Make sure you have a friend who can speak cantonese or else you might have to wait a little longer trying to figure out what you want. Service is so-so like any other busy Chinese restaurant but the portions are normal sized except for the price, which is higher than others.....
(3)
Vina A.
Not bad dim sum for Chinatown Boston, i.e. edible with minimal to no cringing. Do not go on Boston's holidays or around graduation. They skimp on quality and batter down the ingredients to stretch out their production. I think we had Ha Gao that was going bad on Memorial Day. Also, make sure you don't get seated next to a dish cart. One time I did, thinking it would get moved to another table that needed clearing, but no, nope, just got dishes thrown and continually clanked right over and behind my head the whole time, not to mention the huge towers of empty steamers threatening to come down on my head. They must have very strong dishes to withstand all this throwing but should have provided me with ear plugs, a poncho and a helmet. Pork ribs were their best dish.
(3)
Mala S.
This dim sum restaurant has push-carts, which makes it fun and easy to order. The carts came around often but you have to be quick on the up-take, since the ladies will breeze past your table if you don't make quick eye contact with them. All food was good, but the ribs were my favorite.
(4)
Jenny K. L.
There was no wait at 10am on the Saturday of 4th July weekend. Doesn't have as many carts at other places but the food is solid and has all my meatless favorites! - shrimp dumpling - shrimp shumai - shrimp in a dumpling roll with sauce - fish on tofu - shrimp in eggplant The pork congee was also flavorful. Clean.
(4)
Jenna C.
Apparently Boston can have good dim sum. The Boston-resident cousin recommended this place for brunch. I believe he's had a lot of dim sum in his lifetime, so I trusted his suggestion. They sat us very quickly. They had all of the classics. I appreciated the vegetable options too! Fairly reasonable, but I guess nothing compared to LA!
(4)
Linda M.
Please improve the service. Customers have been waiting so long to get some dishes to start with.
(1)
madalyne c.
Been twice for dim sum on Sunday morning. It is a big place with cart service. Go for the experience, the food is pretty good and you will leave stuffed. If you get there before noon you will probably get seated right away.
(4)
Adam L.
All i can say about this place is that the quality of the food is much better than the rest of the Dim Sum places around China town. I've been to pretty much all of the Dim sum places around China Town. All i have to say is that the quality/flavor/portion sizes of Hei La Moon beats out the rest of the competition. I may be a little biased because i've only been here once, but from the 7-9 dishes i got it was a much better quality then the rest. I do know for a fact that the Chang Fun (The White Thick Noodles with shrimp inside) is at its game. We came here when it was about closing time, despite that, the quality was still has good as it would have been around noon!
(4)
Jasmine X.
Mmm pretty good dim sum at such a cheap price! This place is gigantic. Apparently there's also a lower level seating which blows my mind. What blows my mind even more is the fact that despite all the seats that they have, they still have a ton of people waiting in line for more seats. My friend and I came around noon on a Saturday--prime dim sum hour. Despite this, we were able to get seated immediately which was awesome. We weren't seated in the best location since the carts didn't quite push into our area, so we had a bit of difficulty getting food. It ended up being us having to walk around to fetch our own food which wasn't a huge deal. My friend dines here a lot more often then I do and he said that this was pretty atypical and we just got unlucky. We got all the classic dim sum dishes, although I thought it was interesting how they seemed to do all the traditional dishes just a little differently. For example, their shrimp dumplings had little pieces of bamboo in it which I wasn't a huge fan of. Their pai gu, or short ribs were really good though, although interestingly, they were put on a bed of rolled rice noodles which was a combo that I haven't seen before. Their shu mai were on point though, as were their xia chang feng which I loved. I think we got the above dishes plus some pork buns--total came out to be $20 which was pretty respectable for two people. All the food was super delicious, and despite how many people were in the restaurants, I was impressed at how efficient and on-top-of-their-game the waiters were in terms of clearing plates, helping us get food, and getting our final check sorted out. tldr; Hei La Moon very much has the dim sum game down. With yummy food and cheap prices, how could one not like this place? My only qualm was that I wish the carts were a bit more efficient so you could actually get your food--I think our experience would have been really difficult for anyone who didn't already know what they wanted to order--it was good that we've both had dim sum before since we didn't need to see our options.
(4)
Matt L.
Bottom line: quick service at peak hours, very well done dim sum They had all the dim sum staples in healthy supply. We arrived with 3 people at 11:15 am on a Sunday morning , and we had the option to wait upstairs for our own table or go to the lower level to share a table. We were seated in ~7 minutes and shared a table downstairs with 2 other people, and it was not a problem at all. Food came quickly, was equivalent or better to NYC Dim Sum, and they gave us a new pot of tea instead of adding hot water. Service was standard for Dim Sum and no one pushed the specials on us. Total was $16 each and we were very full. I've never seen so many different buns offered at Dim Sum, but I didn't see soup dumplings either, if that's what you're after. I'm sure you could order whatever you want off the menu. When we left just past noon, the line was running well onto the sidewalk. Regarding transportation, we took the T and walked from the Tufts stop, a 5 minute walk.
(5)
Sara L.
American walking into this place is very overwhelming!!! No one spoke English and we were not sure what was going on with the carts. We ended up walking out. I wish we had been with someone who knew what was going on because I'm sure it was good..it was full of Chinese people!
(1)
Jeff T.
Dim sum yo..3.5 stars seems pretty accurate! SEATING AREA 8/10 - In this area I believe this is the biggest dim sum restaurant so it definitely is the most convenient for parties of 5 or more people. PARKING 6/10 - We parked on the street nearby, not sure if they have a parking garage.. But street parking was relatively ez to find. FOOD 6/10 - Not bad, definitely would consider coming back if im in the Boston area again. Don't set your expectations high.. flavor,quality, portion, overall they are all average. SERVICE 6/10 - It was fine, if you have been to standard chinese restaurants you know what to expect. We received everything we asked for so we have no complaints here. Early morning many steamed items will have to be ordered through your server. (Har gow, siu mai, etc)
(3)
Dominic W.
This is my favorite place for dimsum in Boston! Admittedly, I speak the language and know how to order, so that makes things less stressful for myself. The tea: this is a vital part of your dimsum experience. When you walk in and get a table, make sure you give your tea order if you have a preference (my fave = bo lei or teet goon yum). If not, they will give you the default mixed-leaf tea. Ordering food: much easier with a friend who speaks the language. But, here are a few good items: - har gao (shrimp dumpling) - cheung fun (ingredients rolled in rice sheets steamed) my favorite is the beef cheung fun - Shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) - Wu tau gok (fried taro snacks with minced mushroom and pork) - char siu bao (steamed bbq pork bun) Those items pretty much makeup your General dimsum meal. Now you can add whatever smells good to round out your experience! Try the chicken feet :) not my fave but some of my friends love how funny it is.
(4)
Julianne S.
Don't speak a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese? It's okay, neither do I! I was a little apprehensive about coming here without a native speaker but turns out I was worried about nothing. The waitstaff comes around with carts of food and you point at what you'd like. My friend and I took many chances at what each of the dishes were, but man, high risk, high rewards. We tried so many different dishes and we practically had to be rolled out of the restaurant. All for less than $15 a head. I'd glad return! Also great for groups, as there are large round tables to accommodate larger parties.
(5)
James N.
This place is supposed to be the best in Boston? I mean I know I am from San Francisco and we might have higher standards, but i really think the dim sum is substandard. The food quality is just not good. Most of my Chinese friends say this is the go to place in Boston Chinatown but I have been here twice now in 5 years and it's awful both times. Get your game together Boston, you can do better.
(2)
E. F.
Came when lunch was winding down. Very inattentive service. No eye contact. No water refills. Sweet and sour soup was inedible. But the other items we ordered were ok. We had to stand up and walk around for the check.
(3)
B C.
Loud, bustling and fun. Great food. Lots of dumplings, chicken feet, rice pancakes, prawn occasionally. All on rolling carts. Lots of Asian customers speaking Chinese. This is a great spot. There is a menu you can order from but the rolling carts are too. Bring a crowd.
(4)
Cristina R.
It's all Chinese to me. Hei La Moon can be a bit intimidating for those of us who are less familiar with this type of cuisine. So grab your best Chinese chum, and get ready for an exotic explosion! 11:30 AM for Saturday brunch, and the place is already packed. But it's also huge, so we get a table for 4 in the lower level immediately. Upon sitting, we receive a pot of green tea, and immediately carts are strolling past with intriguing options. It seems like we tried all the things - from chewy tripe to every version of a dumpling imaginable. Many thanks to our token Chinese friend who fielded all of our questions and made the majority of our decisions. There's definitely a lot of trust involved here. My personal faves were the steamed pork buns, sweet egg custard buns, red bean mochi, and fish cakes. The main downside is that some of the food is not completely hot and doesn't taste as fresh as if it were cooked to order (such as over at Windsor Cafe, which you should try btw). Also, the staff with the carts could come across as pushy at times (do they get paid commission per plate sold?), and we found it impossible to decode pricing for each. After you agree to take one, they just mark the paper on your table and set off. So we were pleasantly surprised when all the food that led to our bursting bellies only came out to around $11 per person! It's such a satisfying, social experience to be able to sample so many different foods and share with friends at such a minimal cost. The food quality may not be the highest, but the variety, authenticity, and experience certainly is! Pro tip: Avoid the bathrooms if you would like to still have an appetite upon your return to the table. And they'll only split checks on up to 2 cards.
(4)
Jason O.
A group of us came to eat here on a weekday in the evening for some dim sum. If you want dim sum anytime after breakfast, you have to ask them specifically for the menu or they won't bring it to you. If I am remembering correctly, each dish was $4. Not a bad deal but not that crazy cheap either. Food was mediocre. I really like the BBQ Pork buns.....mmmm... I thought the food was fine but one of my friends got sick...I think it was a stomach virus. I saw a picture on the Yelp page of a dead cockroach on the bottom of a dim sum container so I think we can all speculate the cleanliness of the place. For a weekday evening, it was quite packed. The waiters aren't that friendly either. Maybe if we had someone who could speak Cantonese or Mandarin, we would have gotten better service. Every time I asked the waiter for something, like water, he always seemed so pissed off and I was borderline scared he was going to pimp slap me before walking away. I also noticed every time they gave me water, there were white things floating in there so either they don't wash their dishes properly or there is something wrong with their piping system. Either way, it's still pretty gross.
(2)
Vic G.
Huge! First impressions first. This place is huge. As much as it seemed over the top and cacophonic while viewing it from outside, it was exactly the same from inside. Reminded me of a huge banquet hall booked for a wedding reception of sorts. Went there for dinner the other night (Friday) around 7:30pm and only one part (level 1) of the restaurant was open. It seems like a norm of sorts. Weekends are supposedly the busiest. We went in with the goal of feasting on the dim sums. Was just not meant to be. We were told only part of the menu was being served and many items were for day time only - especially anything fried. So on one hand, my calorie intake was going to take a big hit (happy face), on the other hand we decided to go for a non dim-sumy meal (sad face). Life as we know it... So let's break this down and compartmentalize as swiftly as I can. Starting with bad news first Service - 1.5 stars Not happy. This simply - as I should blame it on - was fate. From the time he walked up to place the tea pot on our table and flipped open his pad and uttered "ready" (and it almost sounded like a plain word being taught to a kid - just - "ready", and not a question being asked - "are you ready?"), I knew we had the very special waiter! The chosen one actually. We were not asked for drinks of any kind - almost as if it was written on our faces "we don't drink anything when we eat" - I was wondering why did he even bring the hot tea? That's liquid too. But I guess that was part of his ritualistic mechanics. During the 30 minute wait between placing the order, and watching the fun party happening a few feet away from us (a group of some 42 or so Asian kids celebrating something with lots of food and booze), i noticed the other 2 waiters who were in our area were not as dazed and in their own world like ours was. But again, I can easily rate the service as 5 - I might as well - maybe because it didn't seem like patrons who were dining really cared about service at all. So. I pretty much wanted to focus on only the food and my non dim-sumy adventure here. Service can take a hike and sure it did. I just told myself - "hey, you are dining somewhere out of this continent. Just enjoy!" Food - 3.5 stars We ordered 2 main dishes - given the mind set; No Dim-Sum, No Apps. 1. Tender beef chunks with black pepper in sizzling plate: Although this dish had a dazzling red chili next to it on the menu, I told our fun dude, "Very very spicy". He wrote it down. It came out looking very promising. Overall I rate it a 4/5. It was NOT 'very' spicy (blame my extra hot taste buds). It had a spicy touch to it. But the beef was tender and the sauce was very flavorful. i liked it! 2. House pan fried noodle special with shrimp, chicken, roast pork and vegetables: We asked this to be medium spicy. And it was as bland as it could possibly be. I had to flag down our favorite waiter of all times and uttered, "Hot chili paste?". A nod and he swiftly returned with my most favorite dish of the nite in a small white crucible (pic attached). Maybe I should rate the service a 4.5? Never mind. Lesson Learnt. Next time ask for - very very very very very spicy. Ambiance - 4.5 stars LOVED IT. I wish this was a self service place. The crowd spread across the entire grandness of the hall was having a blast - of some sort or the other. And so were we. With no body to answer any of our queries about the special card on our table written in mandarin (pic attached), we were left to our own devices to enjoy what we had on our table, transform it to our tastes, and enjoy the ambiance as it was - Huge, lively, everyone having a pretty good time. So did we! SPECIAL Mention: Men's room - Again, much Huger than what we expected, very clean and basically hygienic. Impressed! Overall - 3.75 stars While leaving, we concurred, we came in at a wrong time. We didn't get a chance to try what this place is really known for - the Dim-Sums (the fried, the steamed and the in between). We didn't get a chance to see the carts rolling down the hallways by other fun waiters handing out orders. We decided - we liked what we experienced, even the service, and in the words of the Arnold, "'I'LL BE BACK!"
(4)
Alex G.
This restaurant was very disappointing. The staff were very rude and clearly don't care about their customers. I went to dinner with two friends for dim sum. We ordered four items to share with the intention of ordering more. These dishes should have only taken a few minutes to come out. We waited forty minutes for our first dish and an additional half hour for our next three dishes even though staff and the manager insisted our food would be out in two minutes. The scallion pancake came out first, which was good. The pancake was very crispy, though there could have been more scallion flavor. Next came our seamed pork buns, which were very good. Finally, they brought us our shu mai and steamed spare ribs, which were the worst things we had during the meal. We ordered pork shu mai, but they brought us shrimp shu mai, which had a very slimy texture and little flavor. The spare ribs were the most disappointing at all. Spare ribs should fall off the bone, but what we got looked like the leftovers from the ribs. We ended up with little piece of bone no meat on them, our pieces were completely bone and fat. It was a huge letdown especially after the long wait. I told the manager that our meal should be comped because of the incredibly long wait. At the very least, the restaurant should have done something to compensate us. The manager proceeded to immediately yell at me telling me that I knew the wait would be a few minutes and I agreed to wait (even though he had severely undersold the wait time). He threatened to call the cops on us if we didn't pay the bill in full and said that we were paying for food, not service. He did not care that we had a long wait, that he told us the wrong wait time, made us wait for over an hour, and gave us the wrong dish. He was not willing to listen to our complaints or work with us in any way. His tone was hostile and aggressive. It was poor customer service to lie, make us wait over an hou r for our food, threaten to call the police on us, and refuse to even work with us or take the time to listen to our complains. Even if the service was better, the food itself was not worth the trip. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are several similar restaurants in the area so it is not necessary to come here and deal with mediocer food and terribel staff, management, and customer service.
(1)
Emily W.
I'm just thankful that a legit, cart-system dim sum restaurant exists near me. It's a bit on the pricier side- 2 people for $50. But it's worth it. Anyways, this is your typical crowded, no table seat sharing restaurant and their dim sum is pretty good! Although the chicken feet (usually my fav) looked old and broken apart, it tasted fine. I did really like the shuma, the cha siu bao and surprisingly the egg rolls. I usually never get egg rolls but these were fat and full of yummy stuffing. Egg tarts= NONO. They're flaky, cold, semi-flavorless, and everything that could go wrong with an egg tart went wrong! I wish I took some photos but I pretty much devoured the food before I took my phone out haha.
(3)
Ami N.
URGENT!! My grandma's friend discovered multiple wiggling worms (tapeworms? I don't know) in their to go meal. Ultimately shocked and disgusted. I have no words but beware and take caution for the seafood in Hei La Moon!
(1)
Mary T.
I rate this the BEST DIM SUM in BOSTON! The food here is always pretty fresh and the quality is better compared to other dim sum places. The price is really good too. I usually get their siu mai (pork dumplings) har gow (shrimp dumplings), cheung fun (rice roll with beef/shrimp/cha siu), fung jow (chicken feet), lo bat gow (turnip cake), wu tao gow (taro cake), cha siu bao (bbq pork bun). If you want the real dim sum experience, you should get the most popular dishes, which are siu mai, har gow, cha siu bao and cheung fun. The ladies that push the dim sum cart and the servers speak limited english so it's better to order in Cantonese. But they are pretty friendly. I wanted to order some dishes, but none of the carts were around so I asked the server and he got the dishes for me. They were also pretty quick when it comes to getting the tea for you, refilling the tea, and helping us with other requests that we had. Overall, the food and service has been pretty consistent the several times that I went. This is my go-to dim sum spot. It is always busy when I go on the weekends, but I never had to wait for a table yet, which is another reason why I come here.
(5)
Shaina P.
I went around noon today. My mind is still reeling from the experience. It's a HUGE conference-center-like space packed with tables for 10, 6, 4, 2... Very little wait time. Every corner is filled and not every corner is accessible or accessed or ever seen by those rolling steam and flame filled carts.. I missed several apps that I would have loved to have had.. When you enter, it's nuts. Give the lady at the front the number of your group and they'll just start calling you by number, not by name.. I did like the fact that they had tables for two. This place isn't for shy people. You gotta know a thing or two about what you're ordering because it's not easy to understand what's being offered without a menu and without servers who can deliver the ingredients to you in language that you can understand. Best approach: ask waiters stuff like, "is that shrimp?" rather than "what is that?" But I was successful in receiving a total of 5 dishes. I was 5 for 5 in terms of food I would have ordered anyway, including (not the Cantonese version): + soybean braised oxtail with rice noodle, + braised pork/shrimp wrapped in bean curd, + steamed shrimp dumpling in like a rice wrapper, + u-choy (greens), + shrimp and chives fried dumpling. What I would have liked that I didn't get but saw from afar: + congee w/ thousand year egg + pan fried turnip cake + soup dumpling + other pork dumpling Lessons learned in one visit: get up and follow the carts and grab what you want? (asking nicely of course). I saw the same four carts about 5 times, but didn't see the dishes that I really wanted.. ever. So, ask for what you want. Pay at the front. Come with as little as two peeps and as many as 10! Your head will spin.
(3)
Katie Y.
Their dim sum is okay but if you order from their menu, the Taishan Stir-Fried Rice (it's actually noodles but we translated that literally) and the Soy Sauce Lo Mein is really good (we order in Chinese so we have no idea what those two dishes are called in English. Apologies). The restaurant is very big (two floors: basement and first floor) and spreads all the way to Lincoln Street. Usually there are a ton of people there and the carts take quite a while to circle back (remember it's two floors) so we just track down the cart that has the stuff we want.
(3)
Lily C.
This place is a no no. I would NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone I know and to anyone read this. I searched and saw they have a good review,good rate, so my husband and I went here for dinner . IT WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I had chicken fried rice and the chicken was RAW. I called 2 dishes of dim sum, both were old and dry and nasty :( couldn't finish any of the dishes that we called.... About the plates, cups and server. Our plates were dirty, I can feel the old food left to dry off on the plate. Same with the cups (we got hot tea). The servers were not nice neither, even though we tried to be super nice with them (no complaining, no asking favors,...). This will be the first and the last.... NOT SUGGEST OR RECOMMEND.
(1)
Saacha M.
Oh Hei La Moon. I have been coming here for years and had my first dim sum experience here. The service isn't stellar and you have to yell to get what you want, but it definitely adds to the experience. I usually just point at what I want and it works. I have not had anything bad here, but my two favorite things are the egg custard buns and the almond cake. Both are awesome closings to the meal. They serve all dim sum wit team and you can ask for water and chili sauce on the side. For first timers, go with someone who's been before so that they can help you choose what to order. Anything with shrimp and steamed is a good choice, but it's also fun to get a little adventurous. There's everything from turnip cakes to chicken feet, so have fun!
(4)
Sophie P.
AMAZING DIM SUM! It was my first time having dim sum (I'm a bad Asian). You should definitely go with a Chinese person who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin, the waiters can understand Mandarin. They should lead you in what to order. If I went without my friend, I'd probably be doing a lot of pointing and raising my hand to get the carts' attention. Pork buns, steamed dumplings, fried taro, fried dumplings. Get all of it. It's very carb-y but you leave so full and happy. For 6 different plates from the carts, it came out to about $22. Are you serious? You can't eat that cheap in Boston. GO!
(4)
Rich L.
Not a bad place for dim sum in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. The typical steamed pork buns (char siu bau), egg custard tarts (daan taat), and tofu dessert (dou fu fa) were all very tasty. But it fell short in a few places. First, the shrimp dumpling (har gow) was all white. The outer dumpling skin is translucent for a reason - so you can see the pinkness of the shrimp. They basically washed out the color in the shrimp. Second was the Chinese sticky rice (law mei fan), one of my personal favorite dishes. But not here. It was served to us room temperature, dry, and a lot whiter than it should have been, which means they didn't use enough flavoring/seasoning. Upon tasting it, I was right. The upside is that the service was right on point. They were very quick about clearing our table of the empty dishes and refilling our teapot. And they were also very attentive to items we wanted to eat and were willing to get it for us instead of us having to wait for the carts to come around. It was my first time there so it was a learning experience for me. I would go back if I'm ever in town again but now I know what to get and what NOT to get!
(3)
Kartik P.
Chaos, bloody chaos! Little chinese men women running around in circles pushing trolly of dim sums. Some just sitting on the table, packing food, some unpacking somethings else. Since its closer to the south station people walking in with bags, suitcases, college going kids adding the noise with their selfies and squeaky noises. But it dint bother me much , as I was hungry,cold and had loads of time in hand to observe people. I was seated in a quiet corner from where I had a good view of the entire flood and it is huge!! It took me a few mins to realize how the system works, but I was in no mood for dim sums, just wanted some curry and rice. So ordered my food and waited for it to come and in those 3.5 mins noticed another 7 trollys passing by with loads of bamboo steamers piled high. In all that chaos everyone knew what they were doing, somehow! It seemed to me as if it was a food symphony perfectly orchestrated by the food god! Next time may be when i have a little more time in hand will indulge in the dim sums with a company. Keep it up!
(3)
Jen D.
I would vote this 3.5 stars, -1 star for the tea situation. We were BAAAAAAAD patrons. I arrived first, got a table with no waiting (which tells you how late in the day we were) and then found out we were two more to our party. They were very nice about it. Given how late we were in the day, I can't complain about the variety of carts. Everything I tasted was legit and solid IMO--lotus rice was great, char siu bao and other dumplings fine. No standouts, but no disappointments, either. Nice to find a good dim sum place in walking distance. Their tea quality is lacking and the pots are HORRENDOUS (and it was so sloooow to come)--they're heavy and clog easily. To pour without drenching the tablecloth like I did: rest the pot on the table. Hook the spout on the cup. Gently tilt to fill the tea cup. I grew up in South San Francisco and grew up with dim sum. I'd like to think I'm not completely incompetent around a teapot. This place made me feel like an idiot pouring tea. Also: not enough red chili paste for the table. Had to ask a couple of times.
(3)
Amber E.
Very enjoyable dim sum experience. You wouldn't know it from the outside, but this place is HUGE, and very crowded. But we had made reservations in advance, and our party of 7 was quickly seated downstairs. Like any dim sum, some dishes are better than others. My favorite were the dumplings, especially the little pouches w/ pork, shrimp and cilantro inside - they were delicious. I also liked the stuffed eggplant, some pureed turnip dish, and the shrimp chive dumpling. Wasn't a big fan of the rice wrapped in leaves w/ some various meat items inside, or rice in taro. But overall a fun visit to Chinatown.
(4)
Thom M.
A venerable dim sum spot in Boston. The place was packed on a recent Wednesday for lunch. The taro cake, har gao, shrimp rice roll and peppered ribs were all tasty. Service was prompt and the tea was freshly made. Overall its my favorite place for Dim Sum displacing an old favorite. Also parking in the upstairs garage can be validated which can save some money - especially if you are coming into Boston for the day.
(4)
Sharon T.
My mantra when traveling is that you haven't really experienced a city's Chinatown scene unless you have had dim sum there. I came here on a Saturday afternoon with 3 other people. Funny story: I walked ahead of my friends to get a seat first, and when I first got a table, it was on the first floor, but because they only seat you once your party's here, I had to give up my seat until my friends arrived less than a minute later. They finally placed us in a table--downstairs. Talk about punishing for delay. It was almost like any other dim sum experience I've had, but I feel like the food options downstairs were lackluster. The carts came very slow, and I don't even think a dessert cart passed by us. The food was average; nothing special or extraordinary. My friends ordered a lot of shrimp foods and they particularly liked the Shumai. I ordered one of my dim sum staples--Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll--and they put SO much soy sauce in there. The rice noodles were kind of weak because they fell apart when I picked it up. I also had the Turnip Cake--can't complain about turnip cake when it's grilled in front of you! Overall, nice experience and wasn't crazy-crowded as I would have expected for a pretty notorious dim sum place. Nice staff, and food kept coming. Random, but I really enjoyed the Chrysanthemum tea they served. I think it's probably one of the best I've had, and anyone who's ordering a teapot should definitely choose that!
(3)
Corey H.
Excellent dim sum. Normally, my go to place is Windsor dim sum because I prefer the civility of a traditional suit down dining experience. However, the dim sum here is equally as good: just get ready for a traditional communal food free for all because you have to request your food from a cart passer by. The food cart process is easy but for the unintimidated it will be a new experience. Seating here is easy to get amd it is especially good for large groups. They also take reservations.
(5)
Debra L.
This has been my go-to for dim sum for the past 5 years and I'll come 3-4 times a year. Though admittedly, I haven't looked into other options for dim sum in the area. The restaurant is huge and even though it gets packed, you'll never wait too long for seats, even during Saturday brunch-time. The food is pretty good- they do my favorite dim sum staples pretty well. In particular, my favorites are their: + éŸèœè™¾é¥º - chives and shrimp dumpling in the clear skin + å‰çƒ§é…¥ - char siu pork in a pastry puff + 西瓜西米露 - coconut milk with sago and watermelon + 糯米鸡 - sticky rice and chicken wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf The worst part is the service- some of the waiters are almost notably unfriendly and curt and others just seem to be there to hang out with the other waiters and the customers are merely distractions. When you ask for anything, they are begrudging at best. Even though I speak Chinese, there is still a language barrier because most of the servers speak Cantonese, which is not unusual for dim sum. However, what IS unusual in terms of service is that my inquiries or requests have been met with unhappy "hmphs," displeased looks, and general huffiness. As a customer, this is a big problem and undermines what would otherwise be a very positive experience. Luckily, there is only minimal interaction needed during dim sum brunches as you can just look and point as the carts get pushed around, but as soon as I need to ask for something, the experience goes south pretty quickly.
(3)
Cathy S.
Hei La Moon is our go to spot for dim sum in Boston. The place is massive, with an upstairs and downstairs, and it's always packed on the weekend, although getting a table relatively quickly is usually not a problem. The service isn't always polite or attentive (not unusual for an authentic Chinese place), but the key is to be aggressive - flag down waiters if you need something or chase after a cart if you see something you want but they've gone past you. Because it's so big there's always a lot of carts out, and I feel that the turnover of food is quick, which is good. There's also a lot of variety in their dim sum items, and the meals can be very filling while remaining just over $10 per person. Overall I like the dim sum experience there, but it can be overwhelming for someone who has never had dim sum before.
(5)
Lucy C.
Really good dim sum place with okay service. I like this place better than Manhattan Chinatown's Nom Wah Tea Parlor and Jing Fong. This place has amazing fried dragon balls--super super crispy sesame outside and soft gooey inside. It is stuffed with lotus paste, I believe. I would also recommend the chicken feet, which is really well marinated, the pork wrapped in tofu skin, and the meat wrapped in whatever that really soft white noodle sheet is called. So many great dishes here, come with a big party and try them all!
(4)
matt h.
Great for dim sum! Very accommodating to my kids. A definite stop if you are in Chinatown.
(4)
May C.
Worst dim sum experience ever. I visited this place on last Saturday morning and was glad to find it open so early. I was seated immediately. But good experience stopped here. It took a long time before someone noticed me and asked me which of tea I want. I asked for menu, but was told no menu till 11 o'clock. So I began the journey of waiting for the carts to come and go, trying to figure what's on it. They speak cantonese to me which i cannot understand at all. To make it even worse, even though I knew exactly what I wanted when I walked in, I waited about 30 minutes for the cart carrying them to come to my table. I run out of patience after this waiting and asked for some other food. But I was told that either not served in the morning or I have to WAIT more. I knew many dim sum places using carts for serving dishes. But usually a menu was provided at the same time and the moving carts are a complimentary and interesting experience. Not here.
(2)
Tara S.
While I will always compare any dim sum to my favorite in Queens NY, this place was quite good! I was visiting Boston from CT and we had decided to do dim sum for breakfast. We went despite some of the negative reviews on yelp and were pleased. There are some reviews regarding the cleanliness of the place. We didn't see any issues, but I can believe that there may be some. Bottom line, worth a visit. We enjoyed the spare ribs, shumai, har gao (shrimp dumplings), char sui bao (sweet pork buns), deep fried pork dumplings and rice noodle rolls with shrimp.
(4)
Jie S.
Bad experience. Bad service and attitude. My friend got her card overcharged and the way the manager dealt with it was not polite and respectful at all.
(1)
Stephanie C.
3.5 star, the stars are knocked down due to the lackluster service for dim sum on a Saturday at noon. Thankfully we didn't have to wait, at prime time. I went to college in Boston and have come to Hei La Moon a bunch of times- surprised I forgot to write a review till now. BF and I took a weekend trip to Boston, thinking, the dim sum can't top what we get in NYC. Well- it is surprisingly good, and surprisingly fresh. It is a cart-based environment, and my biggest complaint is that the carts do not come to each table without you haggling them big time. Yes this happens a bit everywhere but it was especially bad here. We were sitting on the inside row but I really felt like we were ignored. Anyway, onto the food: - Tofu fa- very good, and standard - Shrimp Dumplings- much better than what we get in NY, fresh, plump and more flavorful with garlic/ginger -Chicken and pork dumplings- twisted in a soup dumpling shape, we didn't like these as much as the shrimp but it was very different and big - Turnip cake- one of my favorites, DELICIOUS. Super fresh, crispy and spot on with hoisin -Beef rice roll- much better here than I've had elsewhere, fresh and not super soggy and steamed. We wanted the shrimp roll but it wasn't around until the end of our service (same as most dishes- we also sadly missed the steamed banana leaf fried rice) -Congee-flavorful, with lots of meat (including tripe), scallion and fried dough atop -Roast pork buns- very solid bao bread, and a lot of char siu meat as opposed to BBQ sauce -From the fried cart (which somehow came around 5 times), we had the egg-roll type of shrimp rolls- good, not too greasy, and unfortunately a fried veggie/fishcake dumpling which was a bit stale I might be forgetting a thing or two but this came to $36 for two of us. I've heard mixed reviews about this place but it always seems to be a hit for me, minus the service issues (though they were good about tea refills). They have big ass lobsters in their front tanks but I guess you can bet dinner is also equally as popular!
(3)
Alice S.
When it comes to dim sum in Boston, personally, I think most of the restaurants are pretty similar with their quality. I haven't had a terrible experience yet with a Chinatown restaurant. The great thing about Hei La Moon is that it is a really large restaurant with two floors. It can get pretty busy so there usually is a wait on the weekends. When it comes to their food - it's pretty solid. Nothing blow your mind spectacular, but it's definitely worth it to come.
(4)
Stephanie V.
The best time to go is around 9 am when it's not even time for brunch yet and all the reasonable people are enjoying a lie in. The clientele was mostly comprised of grandmas and grandpas leisurely drinking tea and reading Chinese newspapers. Those phantom carts with the sweet tofu and watermelon desserts came around 4 times! The downside though is that at 9 in the morning it's still a bit too early for dessert. It's definitely preferable to go in a big group. My friend and I were stuffed after 5 dishes. It's a little pricey at $21.65 but the shrimp dumplings (har gow?) is worth it for the delicate white dumpling wrappers. The only inconvenience we had was that we both didn't speak Chinese but we still managed to get what we wanted.
(3)
Jeff Y.
This restaurant is HUGE. Two stories, and a large room on each level. We were seated downstairs, which my friend surmised was for the "non-Chinese dominant" parties. My friends and I felt like dim sum so we came and chose this one out of the many Chinatown options. It was definitely significantly better dim sum than the options back in Richmond, but not quite as stellar as the ones back in California. It was a little difficult to flag down a waiter at times, and the arrangement of tables with some narrow areas made it a little difficult for some carts to get close to the tables, but we managed. A few carts also never made their way to us, and we had to ask for them. Overall, pretty standard dim sum fare, tasty and fresh. The only new thing I tried was the watermelon-tapioca-coconut dessert, which was served out of a large watermelon; pretty unique! Definitely noisy, especially after a group of more than 30 teenagers entered seemingly after some sporting event, but I expect liveliness at dim sum places.
(4)
Juan F.
Probably one of the better Dim Sum places I've had in Boston but it pales in comparison to what I can here in SoCal. This place gets pretty busy just like any other decent Dim Sum place. The restaurant is pretty big so the wait should be okay. They do have the carts which is good for us starving people. Everything was just regular and average and nothing outstanding. Parking in Chinatown is always a challenge. You can park at the structure next to it and I believe they validate.
(3)
R Y.
Go to place for dim sum for my family and so mine too. Used to the food here so nothing extraordinary to me. Food is great when it is fresh out the kitchen. Once found a piece of fish bone in my Sui Mai. But overall a decent place for dim sum.
(3)
Jennifer W.
Servers: great but at times, need to flag them down to get their attention Food: does the trick for dim sum. Crowded at times, but not a long wait. Validated parking is nice for $6.
(4)
Jessica L.
Let me start by saying...you're in Chinatown. You're in a dimsum restaurant that is literally the size of a wedding hall. You can't expect the quality of the food to be up to par with 4-star restaurants now, right? I was satisfied with my meal today. First of all, this place is HUGEEEE - as in you could probably come with a group of 20 people on a busy day, and they could probably find a spot for you within 5 minutes. I thought the food tasted delicious overall. There wasn't a single dish I did NOT think was yummy, BUT! I did find a piece of hair on one of my pork buns...I didn't eat that piece obviously, but gosh their pork buns were fabulous. Less filling than most of the pork buns I've had, but still delicious! Okay. this is going to be such a bad review because I don't know the names of anything else I ate...that brings me to my next point. You'll definitely be in good hands if you're with someone who speaks either Cantonese or Mandarin. Either that, or you can look clueless, point, and communicate with hand gestures, which worked out for me lol I ate until I was pretty full, and our bill came out to only $10 per person including tip! Niceee.
(3)
Abhishek C.
The best large restaurant dim sum in Boston Chinatown. Reasonably priced. Fresh food. Seating almost always readily available. Have eaten there multiple times without disappointment.
(5)
Yen D.
I like the dim sum here so much the first weekend I was in Boston, I came back the next weekend. I'm an old pro at dim sum (my family had it all the time when I was a kid) so when I say I'm pleased with the food here, that means a lot! There are two HUMONGOUS rooms, one at ground level and one downstairs. If you can, come with an Asian person, Chinese preferable, so you get better seats (this is just from observation; I'm Vietnamese so I sort of count). I suspect that the servers downstairs speak more English than the ones upstairs. We ended up getting tons of food both times, and meal was consistently $10-$14 a person. I love that about dim sum. I understand that many people prefer the check the box system and you get the food fresh to order, but I prefer the carts- I can see what I'm getting much better than on a printed page, and there's no need to bother with translations/trying to figure out what something is vs. just pointing. Again, something I grew up with. Food: quite enjoyed the standard har gao (shrimp dumpling, lots of shrimp), shumai (pork dumpling), roasted pork buns, egg tart, vegetables (chinese broccoli with oyster sauce), and the sticky rice +pork in lotus leaf super loved the fried turnip cakes, the shrimp chung food (wide noodles filled with shrimp and topped with sweet soy sauce), and roasted pork buns in sweet bread- I'd only ever had them in those fluffy white bao before, not in golden delicious bread. I enjoyed (but no one else did as much) the pork surrounded by taro and fried into a little spiky delicious golden thing that you might mistake for dessert. Also the fish+tofu! I heard the congee was great too, with lots of stuff in it. I thought the warm soft tofu with ginger syrup was just OK- I much preferred the THING IN THE WATERMELON GET THE THING IN THE WATERMELON. There are big cut up watermelon bowls on one of the carts and I was super curious about them, so we got a bowl from it. Some kind of sweet coconut milk + tapioca balls + watermelon balls = SO DELICIOUS. Also I thought the egg tarts were just OK- a little bit heavy. Often when I go to dim sum I feel a little gross/heavy after but I found that the lightness of the wrappers/relative little greasiness at this place totally mitigated that effect. I don't think you can go wrong! YUM! (esp. because I tried a diff dim sum place in Boston a few weeks later...)
(5)
Bonnie C.
Hei La Moon has gotten worse over the past several years. Their service is awful and the food is terrible. I came here to order pick up one day and the host was really rude. I asked them if I can park my car outside with my hazard lights on (I said it in perfect Chinese) to which she responded "look, I understand you have a car outside, but that is no excuse for me to hurry up your order". First of all, she didn't even answer my question, and second of all, that is really rude for her to snap at me like that. I was just asking her an innocent question. Then I went to pay for my food and I gave her an extra $20 by accident and she was like "you paid too much, lang mui" in a snappy tone. I find it rude when strangers call anybody a "lang mui". I thought she was having a bad day so I said "Thank you very much" with a smile on my face and she didn't even acknowledge me. I'm sorry, but if you can't even be nice to a customer who is doing a simple pick up order, I can't imagine how the service is like dining in.
(1)
Ann C.
If you like traditional dim sum, it is the right to come here. However, you should come after 10 oclock or come in the weekends since there are more options offered.
(4)
Allen I.
I thought this was the best dim sum I may have had because it was the first I ever had. I went back last week and confirmed it. PLUS parking upstairs in the garage for 7.00 all day. What a deal. Wow, when the cart came my way with the tofu skin wrapped shrimp the game was over. Love the chicken feet. I love it all. And I would be there this morning but I happen to live five hours away.
(4)
Lauren H.
I don't love writing bad reviews, but I had to for this place and this review is solely based on service. We tried to eat here last week. It was the tail end of lunch, the place was packed. We were seated right away. Normally, within a few minutes of being seated in dim sum restaurants, somebody brings you a pot of tea. There was nobody in sight, the table next to us was clearly also looking for a waiter. We finally spotted one, but he was running around servicing a ton of tables. The table next us finally flagged him down and ask for tea for both of our tables. While we were waiting for our tea, one of the carts stopped and we selected some pork shumai and shrimp balls. We couldn't eat our food because there was no chili paste or soy sauce on the table. Our food was getting cold. The waiter finally showed up with the tea and seemed very put out when I asked him for chili paste. He finally brought the chili paste. We ate....waiting for more carts to stop. They either walked right by us servicing the people around us or didn't come down our row of tables at all. We finished our shumai and shrimp balls, waited for 15 minutes, watching everybody else get served, not finding the waiter to ask if we could get the carts to stop for us, and finally were so frustrated, grabbed our stuff to go. The manager was working the register and when I tried to explain that we were leaving because nobody would stop and serve us food, it was clear she didn't care. We left and walked over to China Pearl where we were greeted warmly and promptly served all the food we wanted - with tea, chili paste and soy sauce! The sad part is that the food was good at Hei La Moon but based on the fact that they couldn't/wouldn't serve us, coupled with a non-caring manager, I would never return there. Too much competition for dim sum in Boston.
(1)
Rebecca Y.
Love this place for dim sum because I love the trolley carts that go around. It feels more authentic than ordering dim sum off a menu. My favorite item is the zimaqiu (the fried sesame balls with red bean paste stuffed inside). The ideal way to eat here is to come with a big group (at least 6 people) and order a lot. Everyone pays less than $10 for getting their faces stuffed and eating a wide variety of dim sum, it's fantastic. The quality of the dim sum here isn't amazing (especially if you're from Hong Kong), but it's decent.
(3)
Thanh H.
Not a bad place for Dim Sum. What I don't like aboutthis place is they cram too many seats in, so the dim sum carts have a hard time getting around when the restaurant is full. It's hard for me to recommend anything food wise since my wife orders and I just eat whatevr is in front of me. Except chicken feet, since they remind me of babies hands. You don't have to order dim sum, you can order from their regualr menu any time. I had to mark it down due to cleanliness of the place. At times I see dishes at the table still with greese on them. The bathrooms are messy and gross. If you only care about the food, give this place a try.
(3)
Annamarie T.
So I didn't really know what to expect when my friend took me for dum sum, but whoa! This place was awesome. There is literally food everywhere! There are servers walking around with food and you choose the ones you want to try off the cart. This isn't a place for picky eaters, you need to be willing to eat everything to get the most out of the experience. It really was a matter of hmm whats that, not understanding, and saying okay that looks good and trying it. The dumplings we tried where delicious, and we even tried the chicken feet! Overall I would definitely recommend trying here for an awesome experience!
(4)
Simon L.
Dim sum sum dim. Served every day seven days a week. Lunch on weekends is packed. The space you see on entry - it's only half the actual dining area - the rest is downstairs. Hei La Moon is considered the best service in C-town. Order as the carts roll by - if you're unsure what is in the bamboo box, ask for a viewing. If you don't want it, pass and wait for the next cart. But, don't be afraid, order often so you can try various items. The frog legs and chicken feet are more delicious than one might expect - crispy skin with a reasonable amount of meat - adventurous? Lo Mai Gai - Chinese sausage, egg and chicken steamed in a lotus leaf with rice - a wonderful meal in and of itself. Shrimp dumplings - fresh shrimps in a light rice casing. Beef meatballs steamed. An amazing assortment of tastes and flavors. Quick service - beer if you ask.
(4)
Peter L.
Decent Dim sum place. I am from Hong Kong and I believe the food here is on par with some dim sum places in Hong Kong. (considering it is hard to find a decent dim sum place around, that's a +1 star for me right there) The price here is affordable and the more dinners at the table the better (for the sake of more variety) The draw backs I see so far is the lack for waitresses and the poor environment within the restaurant. Sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes to get my tea refilled. And I believe they should re-renovate this place soon as it kinda look dirty inside. This place is huge but the tables are not placed far apart from on another, not spacious at all. It'd better if you go with a friend who speaks Cantonese, some waiters/waitresses have broken English (though they are friendly :)).
(4)
Elena S.
A great place to have brunch with family or treat friends, 4 stars because of the Double Price with the same quality as the Cantonese restaurants in Philly China town...
(4)
Erica R.
Frequently enough when I'm in Boston, the friend I come to visit and I crave dim sum. He's taken me to a couple different dim sum restaurants thus far, but Hei La Moon is probably where we've visited the most. That's not to say it's especially spectacular or anything, but it's a solid option when you're trying to appease a craving. There's a large variety of options, all served off carts in what I can only assume is a fairly traditional manner. A lot about the experience of eating here also depends on where you're seated, it seems. We've been seated everywhere from in the middle of the room (sharing the table with a small family) to a smaller table in the very back of the restaurant (by the windows in the back, and against the corner). When you're in the middle of the room, you get to be a bit more laid back about checking out the carts and getting your food. Everything is basically passing you anyway. When you're tucked in the back corners though? You have to be more aggressive in even seeing what's on the carts. When you find something you like, you have to grab it too...because you're not exactly sure when a cart with those goodies is going to be back in your direction. All in all, the food is decent. I haven't found anything that I consider a "must have" from the carts, but the shumai is one of my go to options. I'm also pretty fond of anything with taro, so I tend to jump at those cart options. I'm sure I'll be back...it's decent and convenient. Somehow, I always leave this place having eaten WAY too much. The trick I always have to remember is to jump for 1) the carts newly filled with hot foods, and 2) be aggressive in looking to see what's available and getting what I want.
(3)
moe s.
THis place still sucks. I have gone there about half a dozen times hoping they would improve with their service, and nothing has changed. They tell me at lunchtime it is busy so they have no food? How about some PRE planning so you HAVE food when it is busy. Other restaraunts do it, and it seems to be working for them pretty good...
(1)
L H.
I meet friends here for dim sum every few weeks. Their dumplings and shumai are tasty and they have the usual dim sum offerings. It's fresher than other places I have been to. They also serve rice pudding and cake as dessert dim sum options.
(4)
Tiffany A.
tl;dr good food, efficient service, helpful staff The venue is always packed during weekend mornings. Food is fresh and the carts speed around. Quick service and great food! Our family always likes the buns and ha chung. Today, I left my phone at our table after we left the restaurant. Once I realized (a few minutes after we'd left), I came back and inquired with the front counter. They promptly asked what color and type of phone I had, as well as requested I call my number. Once I did so, they immediately returned it. The staff gave me no trouble and were extremely helpful.
(5)
Lianne T.
Ok so I Asian and I go dim sum to get some ha gao. But I here right now and the whole wall next to my table is covered in flies. The waiter saw me taking a trillion pictures of them and he didn't even do anything. Omg I was shaking out of fear that they fall in my dan taat. Made me so nauseous.
(2)
Lachland F.
Parking was easy and we didn't have to wait to sit in this cavernous and bustling venue, but that is where the good ends. By noon the fried fish was cold, the buns mealy, and the sticky rice over-salted. Bring on the antacids. The indifferent service has been much discussed elsewhere, but we didn't find it half as bad as the food. We will be looking for better.
(1)
moondizz y.
First off I'll say the manager is really nice. I had called to ask if they had the flat rice noodle and they had said yes. After all our other dim sum items were served (took their sweet time) they brought out a shrimp noodle dish which is what we hadn't ordered. Turned out thy had ran out of rice noodle dim sum- but had failed to mention that. The service was not that great - very slow and we asked if the turnips had pork and the waitress said no- after bringing out the dish we saw meat in it but she insisted it was not pork, till I called the manager and he apologised. I didn't understand why she lied though. Thy didn't charge is full Price for the wron dish- but I won't be back despite how nice the manager is .
(2)
Sheng M.
Best Shu Mai EVAR! Everything else is pretty tasty too, but Shu Mai FTW there. That is all. :)
(4)
Ben K.
Staff indifferent, food carts favor large tables, left hungry, food o.k., something floating in cup of water, something about check out help reminded me of the money lenders that Jesus "altercated" with, tea kettle had crusty somethings on it and was clogged. Didn't notice any active leaks in the ceiling so 2 stars.
(2)
Michelle K.
Because the fact this restaurant is huge, therefore we did not have to wait for a table was a plus, the food was so so and the service was awful. There wasn't much special about the dim sum, nothing terrible and not thing fantastic. The carts did not make it us for most of our lunch, and I ended up jumping up with my tab to chase down the dim sum ladies. That would have been fine, but man, these dishes were HOT! Carrying them back to my table was a bit tricky. Because of this, I did not write out a 15% tip on my bill. As I stood there to pay, (also a weird thing, why couldn't the serving staff bring it to me to sign?!) the lady had the audacity to say, "Tip is usually 15%." I told her, "I did not receive service that is worth 15% of my tab."
(2)
Matt F.
Dim sum here is decent. Good for large groups. Lots of seating. The pushcart ladies don't aggressively sell you everything in their cart. Quite the opposite. They seem a bit timid. So don't be shy. Wave them down and shout to see what they have. The price is reasonable and transparent. Service is pretty good for Chinatown. Harkow is skimpy on the shrimp though. But everything was good without much msg. You can tell if you sense an aftertaste or drymouth if they put msg in it. Looks like we will be back.
Hei La Moon dishes out perfectly fine dim sum. Chicken feet, siu mai, and those awesome rice blankets... yes. Service might not be stellar, but if you're a little aggressive, you can get the carts to come over to your table. If you can't speak Chinese, you'll probably be okay, too. There's two floors (weirdly I had not noticed the basement the first time I was there), so there's room for a crowd. We didn't have a problem seating a large group (16!) on a Sunday.
(4)
Jason L.
Walked in to meet a group of folks from work who said they'd be seated downstairs. The place was about an inch from chaos. Dim sum carts everywhere, nearly as humid as hell, and yelled instructions from all directions. I sat down and snagged every cart as it came by. Yeah, we'll take one of those. Double pork buns, please. More chicken feet. More gelatinous rolled up meat. Fun place to get dim sum, but I think cart dim sum places always suffer a bit in terms of quality. The experience, however, cannot be beat. Just be sure to be aggressive in snagging what you want, and say "yes" more often than "no" when the carts come around.
(4)
ted h.
Food was awesome! My only complaint was my stomach wasn't large enough to eat more. It was reasonably priced as well.
(5)
Winky C.
Their shaomai is good, the sweet soup with watermelon is also one of the signatures, their chicken finger is so so
(3)
Cathy N.
I do not understand what all the fuss is about. I came in to order take out on 5/21. Someone was paying and I started a line to put in my order. Someone came up behind up me, offered the check and money and the transaction completed without even looking my way. I went to leave and another hostess stopped me. I had to repeat three times that if the other person's money was more important than mine, then they were not going to get my order and therefore my money. She finally stepped out of my way. Despite the fact I told myself I would never return, I had more than an hour to kill after an appointment next door and I went on Wednesday. Meh. Thank heavens I didn't see the postings about bugs in the food until after I ate. The spare ribs were wonderful tastings, perhaps the best I ever had at dim sum. But why add what I thought were cubes of potatoes? The shrimp in rice noodles were tasteless and the noodles gummy. So much better at Sun Kong in Malden. I never saw stuffed mushrooms at a Chinese restaurant before but they were the best dish I had. Never got my teapot refilled and staff didn't seem happy when I asked for water and for the glass to be refilled. I would not have gone out of my way to go back for the food but now that I see the reports of bugs and worms, I wish the health department would shut them down. Go to Chau Chow City instead.
(1)
Phillip T.
I came here with my family for lunch after walking around the Boston Commons. I must say, the dim sum portions here are huge and filling! The restaurant itself was also spacious and had that authentic chinese cuisine vibe. When you sense that coming into a restaurant, you know you're in for the real deal. We had a party of six and we went through one and a half rounds of dim sum. I don't know what it was, but not only that they were huge portions, but they were also delicious. I must say the shu mai were one of the best shu mais I have ever had from a dim sum restaurant. There is this one dish with the chinese cruller (youtiao, for those pinyin peeps) wrapped in wonton noodles... you cannot miss out on that. That was the first time I have ever had that and I hope there are some dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area, CA that have this dish. That was amazing and if I were in Boston again, I would definitely come back here again!
(5)
April K.
I think this is one of the better dim sum restaurants in Boston since it is spacious and (somewhat) cleaner. However, today seemed like a bad experience. The dim sum carts didn't come around much so it took us forever to wait for them and get our dishes one by one. One of the cart-pushers was also incredibly grouchy and rude to my mom. The bowl that they served congee to us in looked dirty as well. Usually we like this place because they are efficient and the plates are served hot. The har-gow is also better quality than the other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown.
(3)
Jane L.
Man their lobster was DELICIOUS!!! Best i ever had. My sister and I were craving seafood when we visited boston. We decided to go for a more cheaper alternative rather than going to an actual super expensive seafood restaurant. Our hostess (we stayed at her house for a couple of nights) recommended this place to us so we decided to go. The restaurant was really big and was pretty empty considering it was 9 PM on a friday, but there was a couple of parties there eating dimsum. But my sister and i were kind of glad because we were a bit worried about not being seated since theres a chance that this restaurant would be packed. Anyway, my sister and i ordered scallops in sizzling platter with black pepper, and lobster with garlic and scallions. It was my first time trying scallops so i was really hyped and it was so good with the sauce and the peppers. The lobster was the dish that my sister and i have definitely been waiting to try. Now, my sister and i are not a big fan of lobsters. We had tried them back in NY but there werent that fresh and it was not good. But the lobster dish has been chopped and sauteed with ginger and scallion flavors. Although the flavors only reached the surface of the lobster and not the lobster meat inside it, my sister and i could definitely taste the freshness of the lobster. We literally devoured the whole thing because it was so delicious. Lastly, just as a small craving of dimsum, i asked to order for shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. but they ran out :( so i decided for the shu mai instead and BOY THEY WERE BIG. Yet they were good :)
(5)
Geoff K.
It's been a while since we had dim sum but we missed a train and Hei La Moon has just a hop skip and a jump from South Station. Our expectations weren't extremely high for our impromptu meal, we were looking for something quick and relatively good. As many yelp reviewers have commented, the service is pretty poor. Depending on where you are seated some of the carts may completely miss you and there seems like there's little effort for them to make sure they hit all the tables. Mediocre service would have been tolerable if the food was any good. We got a number of different rounds of food with many of the pork options being of very low quality meat. The only real exception were the pork buns, which were solid. One of the pork dishes was nothing short of awful as well as the pork and shrimp wrapped in bean curd which was truly bad. When our waiter tallied our bill he charged us for tea, something I read is done to first timers. I noted it and he skoffed at me. The worst part of the whole experience at Hei La Moon is that several members of our party got food poisoning and were quite sick the next day. I'm all for authentic dim sum, have no issue being adventurous in my eating, but Hei La Moon fails on too many levels and when you add puking it all up to the equation it's just not worth it.
(1)
Sofia Z.
I have been to almost all dim sum places in Boston, and being somebody from southern China, I am always raise an eyebrow when I try these "Americanized" dim sum places. But Hei La Moon, is home. I am surprised that it only has 3 and a half stars, and it certainly does not do it justice. Everything I've tried is delicious, and their services are always fast and friendly. To top it off, it is soooooo cheap! I love it! I even got my fiance to love chicken feet, which is unthinkable for him. Woo hoo!
(5)
Lau F.
Excellent fresh Cantonese food. The dim sum is excellent. Very busy especially lunchtime and weekends. Parking garage available at reduced rate.
(5)
George N.
When you notice other diners experiencing the same reactions/mood that you are, that's when you know something is wrong in the kitchen. I came here for my brother's birthday with my family at around 7pm on a Friday. The staff were really busy as we sat down and progressively got busier as more people came in. I think there was also a private event going on at the same time. With the food....the teriyaki sticks tasted bland, the beef and broccoli tasted as if there was too much sauce in it...either that or something felt missing - not the typical/ordinary taste you'd expect, and the fired rice was too greasy. I think other diners experienced this too judging from their facial reactions. I think my mom noted that they didn't use taro for the birds nest in one of their dishes that we ordered when they should have, cost cutting? I think this experience would have been different if we came here for dimsum. I didn't want to take off any more stars to affect the over scale. So I felt two is a better grade than one.
(2)
Ana S.
There are a bajillion other reviews of Hei La Moon already posted, so I'll let those guys explain the essentials. Instead I'd like to wax philosophical about something. Dim sum comes in two variants: the kind where you order small dishes off of a menu and the kind where you point to those dishes being wheeled around on little metal carts. The former generally yields fresher food, since for the most part everything is made to order. So why does Hei La Moon use the ol' push cart system? Well for one thing, the restaurant is huge. I remember one Saturday when I was waiting for a friend to arrive before going in. I started getting worried about seating because huge (10+ people) groups kept showing up and yet somehow the restaurant absorbed them immediately. I too was eventually absorbed by the vortex of pork buns and dumplings. An army of push carts keeps the food rolling fast 'n' furious(ly). I think some of the nit-picky complaints about the place are forgetting just how massive of an operation this is. Logistics aside, the push cart system is far less intimidating for dim sum newbies. It's easy enough to see something rolling by and to just point to it like some kind of gluttonous child. Speaking of gluttony, the carts also provide instant gratification. There's nothing worse than ordering chicken feet and then having to wait 10 minutes for chicken feet (or, you know, something you actually want to eat).
(5)
Stanley G.
The food is ok but the service is really baaaad! If you order the shrimp dumpling, vinegar won't be with it, though it's necessary. All the waiters seems to be in really bad mood, except the manager in suit. Will never come again.
(2)
Jackie L.
Love this place! Everything is so good and because it's in a cart, you can see everything you get to order and you don't have to wait for the food.
(5)
Derek H.
When we were in Boston for work, one of locals suggested that we should go to Hei La Moon, which is a dim sum restaurant located on the edge of Chinatown. I was a dim sum virgin, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those who haven't had dim sum before, it's an interesting experience. Essentially, fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant by waiters/waitresses, for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. They come around fast and furious, and most of the time you have no idea what they are saying. Luckily, we had someone with us that had been here many times and knew the drill. I tried several dumplings that were filled with short ribs, shrimp, beef, etc. Some things (turnip pie) looked odd, so I passed on that. They are pretty pushy with some of the items, so be sure to give them a hard no when they ask if you want something. Many of the items are meant to be dipped in soy sauce. Overall, I thought the food was pretty good. I certainly felt more cultured afterwards. :) I did like the fact that I didn't feel overly full after I left here. I'd be willing to give this place another shot at some point, as it was pretty good. That said, I certainly wouldn't be running back here.
(3)
Ian Maren C.
We hadn't had dim sum in a couple of months so when we landed in Boston we decided to go straight to China town and check out the Dim Sum. Went to another place but it was so small and little seating. This place here is HUGE!!!! Tons of seating and lots of cart. A great selection, good staff. They accept credit cards. One of the best Dim Sums we have had.
(5)
Wu N.
came here with a tour group. ..the group arranged a lobster feast for us at 30$ a person. each of us will get a fresh boiled 1lb lobster and 6 courses to share for entire table. the lobster is ok, but the rest of the courses are just medicore, cheap, low quality, plus the terrible services they provided, this lobster feast just turned out to be another rip off arranged between the tour company and the restaurant. tourists be aware !! Im sure they make some good dishes, but stay away from their seafoods !! lobster - ok shrimp - no no fish - ok chicken - no string beans - no mapo tofu - no purple seaweed soup - hell no bok choy - ok service - hell no red bean soup, the free dessert after meal desert - the best out of all above items. if you ever came to socal, stop by new port seafood restaurant in rowland heights, for real quality Chinese style seafoods.
(2)
Judy L.
My family and I usually come here for dim sum and nowhere else because their BAKED honey glazed pork buns are delicious! Their other dishes are also great, particularly their sui mai, chicken feet, black pepper spareribs, and deep fried chive bells! Service on the other hand is not so great. The lady at the front is extremely rude and no matter how hard you try to get a table upstairs she will always point you downstairs (unless she knows you very well/you're a family friend). But for the food, it is worth it!
(4)
Erin C.
Hei La Moon is a human version of underground ant tunnels. That is, it is teeming with chatter and staff scuttling carts around and diners moving about. This was the site of my first dim sum experience, so I have nothing to which to compare it. A quick sum up, though, would be: lotsa meat and noodles. The shrimp rice noodle roll is only eh, because it's watery and has too much noodle. There are two kinds of cha-siu buns, or BBQ pork buns. The steamed ones here were dry and eh. The baked ones were lighter, sweet, and delicious. It took me a while (read: til after I got online) to realize they were the same thing. It may have been because of our (rickety) table near a kitchen doorway, in proximity of which many carts seemed to pile up, but I didn't see much variety offered during our lunch. The same few dishes kept coming around, and most of them were shrimp items. We did get our hands on the Chinese broccoli and sauce, which were tasty (not that I could figure out how to eat it stalk and all very gracefully), but this was the absolute only non-starch, non-meat selection we ever saw. I don't know if this is completely par for the course, but I was pretty disappointed. Also frustrating was the extreme difficulty it was (and friends report it often is) to get a waiter to bring water to the table. Womp. But I really did like the baked pork buns.
(3)
Sarah L.
Very good Diem Sum. Went for breakfast to celebrate my daughter's birthday (that is what she asked for). We were not disappointed. Service and Price was good too. We would go again and would not hesitate recommending it to others.
(4)
Shuai W.
If I can give less stars I would, horrible service, food was cold, found a giant roach in our food.... I may throw up
(1)
P V.
DO NOT BOOK THIS PLACE FOR A WEDDING!!!!!!!!! If I was able to rate this restaurant BELOW 1 star, I definitely would!! THE SERVICE IS THE WORST OUT OF THE WORST. FOOD IS NOT GREAT. But, one great thing about this place is that it is spacious--which is why we were fooled into booking this for my sister's wedding (WORST DECISION EVER). If you ever think of booking this restaurant for a wedding, you WILL regret it. Your happy day will turn out to be a day of chaos and anger just from being there. First of all, the service was absolutely HORRIBLE. I have never ever ever been to a restaurant where the waiter refused to give me a hard boiled egg or a refill on my sauce. They demand us to finish that small plate of sauce before they can give out more. Man, how cheap is this. On top of this, from all the Asian wedding I have been to, the server would usually bring out food one after another, but weird thing is that we had to wait 10+ minutes for each dish. By our 4/9 dish, people were already on the dance floor or preparing to leave. Literally, the last dish was brought out at 10:30pm, and that was almost to the closing time. Secondly, the manager refused to give the DJ the WiFi password. I know that it's the DJ's fault to not have a backup CD of music we have requested, but based on his experienced, he claimed that every single wedding he had DJ-ed for has WiFi, BUT this one. Out of curiosity for this coincidence, I looked for the manager to asked if I can have the password, or if he can help us out. His response: "WiFi doesn't work. Too many people use it so it got shut down." How can this man LIE straight to my face. It was such a coincidence that the internet stopped working a couple days before the wedding and did not bother to let us know or fix it. I confronted him but he was so ignorant. Thirdly, they have tried to scam a few of the guest for their parking money. One of our guest said that their parking ticket does not work. When they asked the guy in the garage parking lot for help, he said to go to the manager and get a new one-- guess what? the manager claimed that they have to pay an extra $8 for a new ticket since the other one was not working. WTF? How is it their fault that the machine did not accept that ticket? Does the machine just magically spit out a duplicate ticket for us to pass on to another customer? Maybe that cheapa$$ should save some money and buy himself a new parking machine instead. Another thing is that some of our guests have to spend hours looking for parking in Chinatown because their $8 parking were full-- it was established that the parking was reserved for our guests. Lastly, they tried to cheat us from their beer. The first time when we were looking for a restaurant to book for my sister's wedding, they clearly said that it would cost $45 for a case of beer or buy our own beer and the license would cost $8 per case. Second time around, they raised it up to $50 per case of beer. Then, on the day of the wedding, they said it was $60 per case of 24 bottles of Heineken. $60?!-- Fine, we were willing to pay for it. But, due to their EXTREMELY BAD SERVICE, 10 minutes into the wedding, when a few of our guest requested for Heineken, they claimed that there were NO more left, so instead, they gave us some cheap beer instead. Up to the point that many people had complained, they were finally willing to open up cases of Heineken, charging each case $60. Also, the manager did not ever show up to greet us once during the wedding (not even a congratulation, nothing), but came out when we were about to leave---- why? to collect the money from us. That man only care about the money and himself. How selfish can he be? He even dare to ask for an extra $15 tip per table for the service--HAH. Man, we WOULD be happy to give more than $15 per table if the service was even a bit better. But that kind of service deserves nothing, just not even a penny worth-/sorry. I have NEVERRRR been so stress out being at a wedding before. It's suppose to be a fun night for the guests, the newly wed, and family members, not a day to complain or plead. To save you all a trip and money, DO NOT GO HERE AT ALL. AVOID IT THE BEST AS YOU CAN. You can thank me later :)
(1)
Cindy W.
Service deserves less than 1 star. I had my wedding reception/banquet here recently. Where do I begin to describe the awful service & treatment that was given to me by the manager, Mr. Chan. The only time he was nice & accommodating was when I met with him to discuss the details of our wedding banquet & to give him a deposit for the night. Once he got the money from my wedding deposit, it was all downhill from there. First off, he had originally OFFERRED the nicer and more private area in the back of the restaurant for our function & we agreed to this. We thought it would be great as the dance floor location was better, more private, & it was a better area for my DJ to set up his equipment. When we arrived to the restaurant on our wedding day, the WRONG area of the restaurant was set up for us!! The area Mr.Chan originally OFFERRED & PROMISED to us (in the back of the restaurant) was changed to the area at the entrance/front of the restaurant.... strike 1. As I got out of my limo in front of the restaurant, I noticed the wrong area was set up even before I walked in. It was the most AWFUL feeling on such a joyous day!!!! I walked in, went up to Mr. Chan & asked him about the wrong tables being set up, he rudely DENIED the fact that that he had set up the wrong area of the restaurant!! He brushed my shoulder as he stormed off & walked away from me... strike 2. We arrived with our wedding party before 5pm and my dinner was planned for 6:30p. I only had 15 tables total of guests/family and I asked if he could do the right thing and set up the 15 tables in the back of the restaurant before my guests arrived... He said NO! My wedding party offered to help the waitstaff move the table settings for the 15 tables and Mr. Chan said NO! I spoke to multiple members of his staff and they were all willing to make it right but Mr. Chan would not allow it! We witnessed members of his staff telling him that he is doing the wrong thing & he argued with his staff in front of me and my family!! Rude. Unprofessional. Awful. A few of my family members confronted him and he ADMITTED that he does not remember offering me the back of the restaurant and he did not "make note of it in his book"!! He also said that he had given away my reserved space to a group of Chinese tourists who all then arrived in tour buses!!!!! Over 100 tourists had to enter the restaurant and parade past me and all my guests to get to the area in the back of the restaurant (which was originally reserved for our wedding).... strike 3. My family had to ASK him and TELL him that he needed to set up partitions so that we could have some privacy as multiple tourists were taking pictures of me and my guests!!.... strike 4. I also noticed 16 tables instead of 15 tables were set up and I mentioned this to Mr. Chan as I did not want to be charged an extra table's worth of food. His response in Chinese: "What's it matter? You still have what you need!". I told him I didn't want the kitchen staff to make more food than necessary & I didn't want to get charged extra. He shook his head as if I was bothering him and waved me to go away.... strike 5. We dropped off our own beer/liquor at the restaurant the night before so it could get chilled for our dinner. When we arrived to the restaurant, we noticed that the cases of beer we brought in the day before were NOT CHILLED and were all sitting in boxes on the dance floor?!?!... strike 6. They weren't even on tables!! I bet the health department would not be ok with drinks being placed on the floor. I confronted Mr.Chan about that as they were about to serve warm beer to my guests & he yelled at the waitstaff to ice all the beer. Yes, he yelled at his staff in front of my guests & family!! The waiters brought out folding tables with tupperware bins filled with ice for the beer. They set up these tables on the dance floor!! I asked him where my guests were going to dance now? I told him if they had chilled the beer as promised the night before or even that morning then this would not be an issue! Mr. Chan said "there was no room in the refrigerator"?!? I told him if he was unable to chill the beer then he should have never told us that he could do it. I told him he had an obligation to tell me the truth instead of misleading me that it would be taken care of. The food was ok. Although, they did skimp on my bird's nest dish which was supposed to be made of taro (I specifically asked for it), they made it with egg noodles instead!... strike 7. We had to ask 3-4 times for take out containers to be given to my guests before they actually got them... strike 8. They also tried to keep the rest of my wedding cake.. until my maid of honor told them to please box it up!!.. strike 9. When it was time to tally the bill at the end of the night, Mr.Chan sat annoyingly with his legs wide open, pounded his hand on the table and said "let's just get this done!"... STRIKE 10!! I would not recommend going here.
(1)
Sharon C.
I'm an Taiwanese, who misses dim sum restaurant and haven't gotten a chance to have any in the states to have it. Today I went with my husband and his family (one of them is a regular). Got seated very quickly. And got pretty good speed of carts going around. Everything went great. Servers are not as described as other users. They are all friendly and smiled. I would go back again definitely!
(5)
Spike T.
They serve Dim Sum off of carts... the traditional way. The place is huge, the selection is extremely varied. May be the best Dim Sum in Boston. Be aggressive and ask the Cart Ladies to show you everything they've got under every lid of every steamer. They'll do it. They'll respect you for it. Fried, Pan Fried, Steamed, Baked... they've got a dumpling stuffed with something you'll like. Sit back and wait for service and the carts will just pass you by. Don't be a wimp, stop 'em and get what you want... you'll be glad you did. Perfect way to start your Saturday or Sunday.
(4)
Scott S.
Food was just ordinary. And, I couldn't get over the fact that when I walked in the door, a whole bunch of us were standing at the entrance unattended and wanting seats, while this chubby maitre d sat at the front table stuffing her face and ignoring us. Really bad way to run a business.
(2)
Jennifer L.
My favorite dim sum place in boston . The service is not consistent, but the food is pretty good.
(5)
Fay L.
Great variety and always busy on the weekends. There is a great variety in types of dishes offered and the classic ones that I order are always good. There are two floors, so you know the food turnover is high and always fresh when the carts come around.
(4)
Wei W.
So apparently Sunday night banquets are a norm at Hei La Moon, especially when the date is fortuitous for all. At least that was the case for the baby banquet I had attended - we were seated next to a wedding reception (which thankfully had temporary walls separating us from that group) and regular dinner guests. The downstairs was being fully utilized that September evening as well for a second wedding reception - there was so much confusion as to which event was located where that I was surprised that guests of every which party found their way to their respective locations. But of course this is the chaos that ensues at any Asian restaurant that boasts two floors of seating space. The food wasn't too bad for how many people were being served - we had 11 courses, starting with the red-dyed hard-boiled eggs and ending with a bowl of warm red bean soup. The chicken, fish, rice, noodle, and bird's nest dishes were pretty flavorful, despite the large order that had been placed for our banquet alone. Our waitress was quite entertained by our table, and often had a good laugh whenever she brought out the next dish, as we would often cheer her on for the incoming plate of food. It helped greatly that we had an unending supply of Heineken distributed to our table - perhaps it was this and singing along to "Gangnam Style" playing in the adjacent wedding reception that made dinner bearable.
(3)
Brian R.
Don't eat the dim sum at night. They hauled it out if the fridge and it was either cold or the pork in the sui Mai was raw.
(1)
Manya C.
Hmm, if a group is going to eat dim sum in Boston, maybe u could come here. Enjoy the happiness but not hold high expectations on the food.
(3)
Handsome R.
Robert Irvine {from 'Restaurant Impossible'} where are you? This place needs your help! Yes, it's HUGE but everything is outdated. I wonder which is older, the carpet on the floor or the waiters uniform. Also, the bathrooms are dark and dingy so what does that tell you about the food. It's tells you that if you want to cleanse yourself all day in the toilet, this is the place.
(2)
Kristina N.
Good dim sum, big enough for any party size ever. I think this one is currently my family's favorite.
(4)
Laris L.
The lady at the cashier was very rude. Dinner sucked. The food was nowhere near neighboring restaurants' like Jumbo Seafood and Taiwan Cafe. They were pretty poor Chinese food. And not only was the food not good, the lady would make personal attacks on you if you ever complained. She had no manners at all! I just left with anger. It was a pretty poor experience. They don't accept feedback.
(1)
John W.
A group of friends and I went here for dim sum recently. If you are into dim sum it's excellent. It was Chinese New Year but they did an excellent job in serving us. I also went here for my birthday last year. Great fried rice, great noodles....hey....everything is good. They have to be one of the best restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)
Brian C.
This is one of the best if not the best dim sum place in Boston. Hei la moon is conveniently located between Chinatown and South Station and is easily accessible from the T whether you take the orange line to Chinatown or the green line to Bolyston. The restaurant is spacious so I never had to wait for a table even during the peak hours of dim sum. The waiters are very attentive and always nearby if you ever need anything and the carts are always constantly moving so you'll get to see all the delicious dishes that the restaurant has to offer. Some of the best appetizers offered in the carts include the shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and lo bat gow which is turnip cake dipped in oyster sauce. The beef tripe is also very enticing here and the best compared to other nearby dim sum restaurants. Even if you don't know how to speak Chinese fluently, you can easily point to the foods that you want because everything in the cart is very visible. If you want a dish that isn't offered in the carts, i would recommend the seafood lo mein because you get a combination of shrimp, scallops, and calamari which all taste savory. The food here normally tastes fresh compared to restaurants that are nearby. Overall the atmosphere is tremendous and its good for both big and small groups. The prices were better than i expected; eating at Hei la moon is worth every penny and definitely a restaurant you will want to eat at again.
(5)
William D.
I was in Boston for the weekend, visiting some friends, and they never had dim sum and wanted to try it. I told them they are missing out, and they should look up dim sum places. Hei La Moon popped up on their search. This place has good dim sum, but the service is not great. When we arrived, there was a long wait. People were waiting outside. It seemed we would be waiting a while for table, but when I went to inquire, the hostess said it would be about 15 minutes, and to take a number. So we stood outside, hearing the hostess calling out numbers. After about 20 mins, we stopped hearing numbers being called. We thought all the tables were filled. That was not the case. A person went inside and found out they decided to stop calling numbers. Thanks for not notifying anyone Hei La Moon! When we entered, we were seated pretty quickly. The dishes we had were great. The buns, dumplins, etc., were all amazing. However, the service was very slow. It took us a very long time to be served by a cart when we first arrived. Also, some of the ladies pushing the carts would skip our table if they believed it would be something a non-Chinese person would not like. I didn't like that at all. Overall, it was a good experience. I would go back, but when it was not so busy. If you are in Boston and want to have dim sum, Hei La Moon is not a bad option.
(3)
Brenda T.
I downed 8 dumplings in 30 minutes - It was no easy feat but I had limited time before a business appointment a few T stops away. It was worth it! The shrimp dumpling wrapper was thicker than I prefer, but I loved every bite of the siu mai (pork dumpling) -- large, juicy and plump. So flavorful you don't need soy sauce, just a dip in the chili sauce if you like spice. I also tried a new dim sum dish -- chicken, pork, black mushroom and taro root stuffed inside of tofu skin and braised. It was interesting and my favorite part was the starchy taro root and mushroom. I'm bringing a friend next time so we can dive into the xa xiu bao (buns with bbq pork). Fresh dim sum on a weekday? Yes, please. I don't get this option in Atlanta.
(4)
Ana V.
I just left this place...it was amazing! At first I felt like a fish out of water...I wasn't sure what to get, (my boyfriend was no help) but the servers were helpful and pointed out to some great stuff (like the shumai) The place is huge, the tea was good and everything looked pretty clean. I will def be going back! p.s. if you park @ the garage right next to them. Save yourself some $$ ask the cashier for a reduced price ticket. ($8 cash)
(5)
Yiyu L.
Very bad experience. This is my first time to ever post a review but I am just too angry not to. At noon of August 9, 2015, they wrongly charged 350 dollars instead of 35 dollars from my card, and then immediately changed back to 35 dollars. However, because of delay of credit card company, I received a notification that 350 dollars were deducted in the evening. We immediately got a uber there and argued with them. Their night time manager accepted me and explained and asked me to wait for two days, which I accepted. However, when we asked about the compensation for money and time we spent on pursuing this matter, the manager started ignoring us and was extremely rude to us when asked for an explanation. He even shouted in public, and I quote (translated from more harsh Chinese), "I didn't ask you to come, you come yourself. I cannot help you with this. Whatever you like to do with this, I don't care.""What else do you want me to do? I didn't even scold or hit you!" Like scolding or hitting an unsatisfied customer is what he should be doing. Unbelievable! We don't care about the money and it's the absolutely awful attitude that bugs us. I have been to Hei La Moon for at least 10 times and they all recognize my face, and if that's how they treat me, imagine how they would treat other customers. We asked for an apology after being ignored for 10 minutes, and what we got from him was angry shouts and no apology concerning his attitude at all. His subordinates come to us and said that "it's not his fault, he was already scolded today and please just let him be", this is so weird and we didn't even know how to respond. Customers should keep their complaints because the manager has already been complained to? Doesn't that say something already? As a frequent customer who brought many business there, I have completely changed my opinion towards Hei La Moon and I will never ever go there again or bring any friends there. If you want to get into an unhappy conflict where you need to wait for your money to come back, get no compensation at all for your money and time spent on the dispute, and treated like sh*t, I strongly suggest you go to Hei La Moon.
(1)
Rhianna C.
We came toward the end of the afternoon, when it seemed like most workers would rather go straight back to the kitchen than push the carts around. Usually, I love it here, but this trip left something to be desired. This was the first time the carts didn't all stop at our table. We found ourselves walking around the restaurant recruiting carts because we were hungry and the few carts that went by us were the dessert cart and one with chicken claws. Eventually it got a little better, but one of the ladies with a cart kept insisting the pork buns I adore did not exist... Even though I eat them here every time I come. Forget trying to track down our server to place an order. He avoided us like the plague. Compared to all the amazing visits I've had here, it's hard not to be incredibly disappointed with our last visit. Usually we get top-notch service and have no qualms getting carts to stop by our table. This visit just didn't meet my expectations.
(3)
Idy T.
Of all the dim sum places that I have tried in Chinatown, Boston, Hei La Moon is the best! This restaurant is huge! There are 2 floors so even if it gets too busy, the turnover time for a table should be relatively short. It is also one of the nicer and cleaner restaurants in Chinatown. For dim sum, I ordered har gow (shrimp dumplings), shrimp rice roll, chicken feet, turnip cake, pork ribs, and fish dumplings. Everything was fresh and delicious. The har gow wrapper however, was a little thicker than how I like it. The turnip cake was pan seared perfectly, making it crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I forced my friend to eat chicken feet with me :P and it was also really delicious. Service here is also superb! The servers refilled our tea right away when our teapot was empty. They also cleared the table when we were done with our dishes. Hei La Moon will be my new dim sum spot! I recommend this place to those who are looking for a delicious dim sum restaurant.
(4)
Robert C.
My new Dim Sum spot! Can't get over how much better their food is compared to the other joints. Quality, presentation, taste, they all pass in my records. I have to have Chinese broccoli in garlic and oyster sauce with my meal. My advice would be to know a little bit of what's offered at your typical dim sum place beforehand for first timers and come during rush hours or else you would get less attention. Don't know about their menu to tell you.
(4)
Thomas Y.
Very solid dim sum. Most of my experiences are in NYC. I'm only in Boston maybe once a year (for PAX East), and I got invited for breakfast by a new buddy I met at PAX, so we joined. First off, the dining area is much larger than you'd think, with a seriously huge lower level dining area. The food was very good. I'll say that the turnip cakes (law bok gow) we got were the best I've had, especially since they fry them right on the cart before serving. The shao mai and har gow were also very good, and the other staples (ribs, cheong fun, lotus leaf rice) were great. The service was excellent, and I never had to ask for a water refill, and new teapots came out quickly. A huge plus was that the staff seemed to understand English fairly well, too. I'd definitely recommend this place, and while next time I'm in town I'd try some other places (to explore), it's definitely a solid restaurant for authentic dim sum.
(5)
Victoria T.
My go-to place for dimsum. Pros: 1. CARTS! So much more fun than ordering from a menu. The only place (other than maybe Emperor Garden) that has carts. 2. Best shau mai that I've had in Boston. I'm not super picky about dimsum but I've definitely had bad shau mai at a few places. 3. Most variety in choices. Since its so much bigger, it has more options. In addition to the food in the carts, there is also a menu that you can order from. I always get the standard dimsum items like, shrimp dumplings, shau mai, bbq pork buns, turnip cake, cheong fun. I've always been satisfied with the items I've ordered. Cons: 1. Not necessarily a con...but be prepared to point a lot if you don't know at least a Chinese. Since there isn't really a menu for the dimsum items, you just have to wait for what you want to come by in the carts. 2. I would avoid trying to go to bathroom. One bathroom for a massive restaurant.
(4)
Liliya M.
Admittedly, I only come to this place with a Chinese friend, but each time there seems to be more dim sum, more people, and a cheaper price-tag when the bill comes. It definitely feels like you up and got transported to another country. My recommendation is to go with a group of about a dozen, split a bunch of stuff, and then walk away absolutely stuffed and only about $13 dollars poorer!
(4)
Heidi C.
First of all, be VERY CAREFUL when you dine here. We went there for Sunday lunch with a friend and she told me to be careful of my bag because her friend's bag got stolen in the restaurant couple weeks ago. Her bag was on an empty chair next to her and someone grabbed it and ran out. Then while we were eating there the table next to us had the exact same thing happen to them. We didn't see what happened but suddenly we see many people running out of the restaurant and yelling something. We overheard that a lady's bag was stolen AGAIN. About 30min later a police officer came. The restaurant is very loud and almost always packed so it's really not a surprise that most people dining there wouldn't even know what had just happened. Imagine my friend only just warned me and immediately it happens again. So be very cautious of your belongings if you sit along the walkway leading from the entrance. It must be something that happens regularly and the staff should really make an effort to prevent or make warnings. As for the actual visit...I go for Dim Sum very regularly, this was our 2nd visit to this place and this time around the food didn't taste as good (nor fresh) as the 1st. The Shrimp dumplings were too thick and too 'creamy' (meaning too much paste compare to the shrimp, and wasn't very fresh). Some of my favorites like braised pork pieces, chicken feet tasted a-okay. Egg plant stuffed with fish paste and Tofu stuffed with fish paste were both not very exciting. For dessert I always have the sweet beancurd and this always taste great. There's a station that cooks the rice roll next to your table, that tasted quite good.
(1)
Nick H.
Hei La Moon has been my family's go to dim sum location in Boston for years now. It's a big hall and it's usually packed. A packed dim sum location is actually a good sign because it means the items are constantly coming out and the carts are changing out for fresh inventory. This place is a cart based dim sum hall which compromises freshness for arguably better visibility and a more fun experience. The quality of the dim sum here does not disappoint but it also doesn't blow me away. Hei La Moon is a very solid choice for dim sum in chinatown; a very authentic experience. I would recommend Hei La Moon, especially for people new to dim sum.
(4)
Damien S.
Shocking Confessions of a Yelp CM: I've never had dim sum. I mean, I've had it, but not from the bumper cart system: stainless feasts on wheels passing every potential consumer with scandalous taunts and bakery case appeal, only to have their featured plates dished off to voracious mouths in an endless cascade of dumplings, sweet breads and bamboo baskets. My dim sumginity was taken on sweaty flash on a blustery Saturday morning at Hei La Moon, and it was quite the experience. Steamed and baked carts grabbed me by the giblets, as my unnatural fear of traveling fried foods keep me from some of the more exotic options. Pork, shrimp, mushrooms and scallions, in varying degrees and volumes, occupied most of the large, dense shumai and dumplings. A little smear of pepper relish and a dip in vinegar (Blair H sez "Soy is like white dude ketchup"), those puppies are good to go. Check the eye/stomach ration - even at a buck a pouch, three will fill you up something serious. The winner of the day came late, but oh so appreciated: baked char sui bao, or minced BBQ pork buns. Sweet pork in a tender, yeasty breading brushed and browned with salty butter - had I started with these mounds of ecstacy, I'd only have eyes for the piping hot baked goods. After our feast with unlimited tea, the damage was a whopping $10pp. Stupid cheap eats in a massive complex of chaos, chicken feet and carpeting. Bring the kids! No seriously, bring the kids - they'll get a balloon.
(4)
Diana L.
Nooo! I love dim sum. I get it with my boyfriend. A lot of the dishes here were cold, or bad, or both (whatta combo). Shrimp shumai were *fine*, actually the spiced pork buns were quite good, egg rolls were incredibly greasy and cold, rice wrapped in green bamboo (?) was inedible, shrimp in rice noodle was fine, and apparently tripe and chicken feet were good (I don't eat them though). Another dish that I usually order was wildly bad here. Had dim sum in NYC and Montreal and this was the worst experience of the 3 in terms of food quality by faar.
(2)
Betty C.
Excellent dim sum and banquet food for the masses. A popular spot for weekend goers, locals and tourists. Great lobsters!
(4)
Lotus M.
The sad thing about this place is that some of the food is actually good...however the service is downright dishonest. For starters, I'm not a fan of the "what do I have to order to get...."; I wanted what I ordered. When I opened my takeout it was filled with onions and a deviation of what I had ordered, a huge deviation. My shrimp-stuffed tofu was nothing of the sort but rather a soupy mess of burnt hard tofu pieces with no shrimp in sight. Now, I have ordered the aforementioned in the past and it was quite good, however it seems on this occasion the chef decided to give me the end of the night's scraps rather than just say the kitchen was closing and he/she couldn't fill my orderl. To make matters worse, they overcharged me and when confronted about it said they would give me a "discount", which took my bill to the price it should have been originally--plus 20 cents. Overall, this place does have great dim sum, but I would avoid it at all costs for anything else, as they clearly try to take advantage of people who they think know nothing about Chinese food. Especially, with Chinese food being something I am well-versed in. Bottomline is, raw unions in water does not equal curry chicken with vegetables.
(1)
Philip P.
This place is the best Dim Sum place I have found since The Nice Restaurant in NYC got closed for stealing tips (tsk tsk). Be sure to get there early as the place (like most Dim Sum places) fills up around noon.
(5)
Joyce H.
Yum! Came here for a wedding banquet on Saturday night. This venue is amazing. They know how to feed 500 people a 10-dish banquet very efficiently. My favorite dishes included the very fresh seafood, including the abalone and lobster. Everything else was also fairly solid with good flavor. We came here the next day for dim sum, and it was also pretty solid - we ordered mostly seafood small plates. I'm not an expert in dim sum but I know that it was fresh and the flavor was good! I left pretty satisfied and feeling pretty good. I would definitely come back for dim sum to try it again!
(4)
Charles G.
This is the best Dim Sum restaurant in Boston. There are a large number of varied and interesting selections. The place is usually packed and there is a line out the door on Sunday mornings. It is also chaotic and you should not be shy about flagging down the ladies with the carts. I would also add that the selection is not consistent. I love their sticky rice but its not always there. It is a bit of catch as catch can.
(4)
Bryan B.
Great dim sum. Teapot was a little dirty though. Had sesame balls, sticky buns, rice and chicken cake, tofu wraps and pork shumai, all delicious.
(4)
Criselle O.
This place is super huge... two large floors. Geez. Hmm... we were seated pretty quickly and got our food super fast... & it was a sunday too!! Everything was on point. Cheap and good food. Just how I like it. The only thing I didn't like was that it took days for us to find a waiter to get us some water. Plus they seated us next to the door and it was freezing cold. Not cool man.
(4)
Nikhil M.
I think that I need to write a bad review after my experience. I came to yelp before going here and felt excited about this place. Let me start out with the food: Mediocre and definitely not worth the price. I am not a snobby food eater, and I am telling you, its mediocre. **Disclaimer is that I did not come for the dimsum, as I came on a Tuesday evening, so my family ordered from the menu. My experience could be totally different if I came at dimsum time. Second point. The service.... was awful. Apathetic rude and awful waiter. Our appetizers come without any sauces, and we ask for sauces and it looks like we asked him to travel to china for them. He also gets our entree order wrong. There was no silverware at the table. There were no chairs, and we are standing around the table waiting for one of them to pull up chairs, even though the place had plenty of tables with 4 chairs. They dont bring out our silverware even after the appetizers come. He forgets that I ordered a beer and charged me for one but I never got it. I order lobster. The lobster arrives at my table with no lobstershell cracker thing. I pull off the tail and eat that part but its straight up impossible to eat the claws without a cracker. So I ask for one and the guy is sulking and unapologetically sarcastic. Positive note: The schezuan duck was quite fantastic. Also, you definitely have to order their bok choy. We got it in garlic sauce and its solid. Overall: Do not come here for any expectation of service whatsoever.They have some good dishes but overall, its mediocre.
(1)
Cassie C.
They don't serve fried items in the evening but overall the food was very nice.
(5)
David C.
Hei La Moon (not to be confused with Howl at the Moon, which is what at least half the people I've told about it since first dining have confused it with) has quickly become one of my favorite spots in Chinatown. That it technically exists outside the Chinatown gates is beside the point. The last time I went, my friends and I hadn't even gotten to sit down in our chairs when three separate people descended upon us with carts carrying what seemed like countless dim sum delicacies. Waiters were also quick with water and requests for various sauces. Sometimes, things happen TOO quickly at Hei La Moon. You really need to know how to pace yourself, otherwise you will be stuffed to the gills in no time flat. Be warned: the food is so good (I want more steamed pork buns ASAP), you may forget to breathe between bites.
(5)
Heoun Joo K.
Good taste, not much in the way of service, do not expect to communicate freely in English.
(3)
Devika S.
We ate here twice in July 2012 and the dim sum was delicious! The pork buns, turnip cake, and various dumplings were among the best I've ever had in the US. Highly recommended!
(5)
Catherine W.
Returned on a busy Sunday for dim sum. Food was better than I remembered from my last meal there. All the standards tasted great. The cooked to order fried foods (fried radish cake and fried rice noodles) took forever to cook though.
(3)
Leo C.
Hei La Moon is one of the best dim sum places in the Boston area, with good value. It's roomie, offers up very tasty eats, and as my friends have called it, it's "Legit Dimsum!" I highly recommend coming to eat here. Since my first visit to Boston, I've been here three times now. Everytime, the quality of food has been consistently good. I would not hesitate to come back here again if I'm in Boston and looking for dimsum. One caveat that I'd like to throw out here though - yes the staff can seem aloof and sometimes mean. That's not grounds for taking stars off... that's just how these restaurants are! Sorry to go on a rant here, but folks, let's be fair and compare the right comps. :) Eat on!
(4)
Alyssa J.
I've eaten a lot of dim sum in my time and I don't think I've had a more erratic dim sum experience than at Hei La Moon. The food was pretty standard, although it did make one of my co-workers barf. The pork buns are delicious, the chicken feet....were not. The people working there were completely out to lunch (get it?) and wandered over to our table pretty sporadically. It's definitely not the best dim sum joint in Chinatown, but it'll do.
(3)
Sami B.
I would rate it less if that was possible. Horrible service, disgusting food. I will never return.
(1)
Rona H.
Went on a Sunday around 11 with my friend and was immediately seated in the basement. The room was mostly busy, and the push carts were being pushed up and down the aisles. I am not Asian enough to know the names of the dishes that I ate; I can only point to what I want. I do know that we ordered 6 dishes and paid $27. Some dishes were good, and some were just okay, but for the value and the experience (this restaurant is the biggest one I've seen in Boston), I can't complain too much. The waiters and waitresses' English were okay depending on the individual, but it's all a part of the Chinatown experience I think :). Despite this, most of them had smiles on their faces, which was greatly appreciated. Our water glasses were re-filled constantly. I will return when in the mood for more dim sum :).
(5)
Chryssandra B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I still can't tell how I feel about it. I think we arrived at a weird time -3:00 on a Sunday- and it seemed like the carts were slowing down. We had no idea what we were doing or what we were eating (one cart lady told me something was beef--it was absolutely not. pretty sure it was tripe) and no one could really tell us exactly what the status was with the pork buns- were more coming out or did we need to order them? very confusing. All the other reviewers seemed pretty ticked about the service, but that didn't really bother us. At the end of the day the food was okay and it was insanely cheap- I think we got about 10 things and only paid 40$. I think I need to read up before I go back, but would try it again!
(3)
Amy L.
When my friends and I feel like eating dim sum, this is one of our usual places. Food is good and we usually don't have to wait long to get a table. Dim sum restaurants on weekends get incredibly crowded, but this place is so big that even when they're busy, you can still get seated quickly. I've also been to a couple of weddings here, so if you're looking to have a Chinese wedding banquet, this is a good place for that.
(4)
Alyssa W.
Blech. The only thing this place has going for it, is that it is one of the few chinese restaurant that can cater to wedding banquets. The food tonight was nothing great. Everything was super salty or just boring. The waiters...useless. I don't even know where to begin. The table cloth was grungy, the plates were dirty. We wanted water and got a pitcher...and then the pitcher had something in it. EW. I think I'll go elsewhere.
(1)
Xiao Z.
Best Dim Sum in the Boston Chinatown, hands down. The variety is superb and the price very reasonable and I love the taro root fried cakes and they're always freshly made in front of you. If you're new to Chinatown and have never tried Dim Sum, then definitely come here. The food is fresh, constantly brought to you by the minute and will not understand a word you say, no matter what you point to. Dim sum: 5 stars Service: 2 stars Ambiance: 2 stars
(4)
Pxan N.
Today we attended Hei La Moon for a friend's wedding. We paid $8 for a discounted parking ticket that did not work. The extremely rude man at the garage told us to exchange the ticket for a new one. After running inside the restaurant, I encountered a Chinese man with a nasty attitude that refused to exchange the ticket for a new one, stating that this is the first he has ever heard of this. I could not persuade him any other way, and he told me I have to pay again. So, one of the bride's family member had to pay for another ticket as I left my wallet and phone in the car, unable to contact my boyfriend to come into the restaurant. It absolutely annoys me to come onto yelp and to see - lo and behold - there is a post from another yelper written just last week for the same situation that occurred to us. Such dishonesty from the owner! It didn't help that the man at the garage was extremely rude to my boyfriend because he kept rushing my boyfriend to back up the car in such a cramped up garage so that other cars could have access to the gate. You know something funny...? When you feed the discounted ticket into the machine, it stays in the machine. It does not come out again where you can pass the ticket to someone else to reuse. There's no possible way that can happen. I had proof of the defected ticket in my hand... oddly that Chinese owner just didn't believe me. Sighh.
(1)
Karina L.
If you're craving for dim sim, you're not going to have many options in Boston. Hei La Moon is very solid. The service is questionable (e.g.: it'll take you eons to get a glass of water, and when it does the glass is teeny tiny), but I dare you to find a dim sum place that doesn't have rushed and impersonal service. It's the nature of dim sum, I swear! The ground floor is big, but not big enough to necessitate patrolling the floor for your favorite goodies. My favorite part about dimsum is getting the food IMMEDIATELY after you sit down, and Hei La Moon did not disappoint. The cart ladies are efficient and maybe a little bit aggressive. The traditional dim sum delicacies - shu mai, har gow (shrimp dumplings) cha siu bao (pork buns), chicken feet, spare ribs, and sticky rice in lotus leaf (not sure what to call this in Chinese) -- are all solid. My only complaint is that I didn't see a dessert cart (egg tarts, where art thou?), and some carts took a long time to come out of the kitchen. We came here on a Saturday around noon time, and we were seated pretty quickly so I wouldn't worry about time/being seated.
(4)
Linda W.
I was originally going to round up to 3 stars for the nostalgia aspect but honestly when factoring the annoying service even for a restaurant in chinatown (frustration with the cart rotation, inattentive staff, and servers peering down your shoulder until you've finished signing the credit card receipt) it 's hard to justify a better rating. This place used to be a family favorite years ago along with Empire Garden which have contributed to a handful of early morning happy memories. Unfortunately the quality of the food here has gone down... quite noticeably. The chicken feet (my personal favorite!) aren't steamed long enough leaving them with a strange and bland overly chewy texture. Beef noodles seemed overcooked and were almost cold when reached the table. Sauce is meh. Maybe I'm biased but the sauce for the beef noodles at Winsor (a few streets down) is just straight up delicious.... Definitely leaves more to be desired. On the upside, I do like the ha gao (shrimp dumplings) but definitely not enough to excuse the mediocrity of all the other dishes. :( What happened Hei La Moon?
(2)
Matt L.
About average. Prices are alright. No substitution for dim sum in China, but good enough. The èåœç³• (turnip cake) has kind of a weird consistency those who are regular eaters may be taken aback a little.
(3)
Casey F.
Hadn't had Dim Sum in quite a while.. who knew it would be in Boston's Chinatown when I did.. This place was great.. cart after cart after cart.. so much good food.. needless to say I left a fat and happy man!
(4)
Susan Z.
Came here on a weekday for the first time -- and there's still cart service! They're less busy (obviously) and the customer service was great. They were friendly and got us whatever we asked for, even if it wasn't on the carts that were coming around. It's relatively cheap - with tip and special-order tea, it came to about $15 a person for more than enough food to fill you up. The quality of the dim sum is still, I believe, the best in Boston. We also recently came with a large group of 26 on a Sunday. Luckily we made a reservation, and everyone had a good time. Would only suggest that they put a lazy Susan on the table next time, but otherwise they were very accommodating to our large group and the wait staff were very nice.
(5)
Eunice E.
I really enjoy dim sum, and especially dim sum from Hei La Moon. I've tried other places in Chinatown (NYC) and Flushing, and there's just something about this place that does it for me. Maybe it's the garish red and gold all over the place; maybe it's the old ladies who push the carts around who yell at me in Cantonese when I speak not a lick of it; maybe it's the AMAZING TURNIP CAKE CART... okay, it's probably all the above. I love it all. I like to go with Chinese speakers (specifically, Canto Chinese speakers) because I don't really know how to order there besides pointing and praying nothing is made with crab. I also like to order a nice hot pot of tea ("cha"--the one word I can say since it's the same in Korean) to go with my dim sum. And I'm always impressed with the swiftness with which these people calculate our tab. Be sure to flag down the people in the red vests--they're the ones who do it, not the ones in the black vests. Anyway, definitely a winner in my book, and any time I'm in the mood for dim sum, I'll be sure to hop on the Red, get off at South Station, and walk on over to this little Chinatown gem.
(4)
Gray L.
Do not come here Saturday nights. We have been waiting for our food for over an hour. We didn't even get our drinks (two cokes). The table next to ours got fed up and finally left. When we asked how much longer we have to wait, the waiter told us to wait 20 more minutes without an apology. I will never ever return.
(1)
Erica D.
Very good dim sum! I grew up eating dim sum in Boston's Chinatown. Our oldest haunt closed many many yrs ago and China Pearl makes you order off of cards and it all comes at once! No fun!!!! Hei la moon is still the traditional roaming carts with nice but curt ladies. The offerings are plentiful but you may have to work a bit to get them. Trying to chase carts can be frustrating so I say flag down a server in the vest and ask for what you want. It's not a guarantee but better than the first option. The place is huge!!! Two floors and they do cram us in there. The carts do pass by but can't always get to all the tables. I am not Chinese but have never felt punished for this. Yes they do tend to send lots of people downstairs but it's always mixed clientele on both levels. I have started asking to be upstairs if it's only 2-4 of us but if we are here with a big group, who cares!!! Food is all the same up or down. One can eat a ton and have great fun for very little $$ Eat at noon or after and you don't have to eat again all day!! The crowds do thicken around 12:30 on so if you want less hassle and quicker seating make it an earlier start. 9-12 is easier! All in all good fun dim sum.
(4)
Vee K.
Not much of a wait except weekend lunches. Decent Dim Sum even for Hong Kong palette. Friendly folks. Definitely recommend T-ing to South Station and walking over. Oh - and get some take out cuz you will want another char siu bau when you get home.
(4)
Mary M.
Food was decent but the service was really pretty terrible. We had to flag them down (and we hate doing that) but after waiting a very long time for them to come to us we felt we had no choice. When the server finally came he was abrupt and not helpful. Bathrooms were also disgusting. I'd find somewhere else for dinner.
(2)
Jenna K.
So I'm American and I still love this place. I don't speak any other language than English, but I don't find that to be a problem here. There are certain restaurants where there is definitely a language barrier. Note that if you do not want to share your table with 4 random strangers, this is not the place for you. I was taken off guard the first time this happened to me so fair warning. The seating is mostly communal so be prepared to make some new friends. Food: Great. I love everything they have. The only problem is they are out of things quite frequently. I would not go into this place thinking you must have that one dish because chances are they are going to be out. If you want some awesome dim sum this is your place. Price: It does not get cheaper than this place. Dim sum 24/7 and two people can eat and feel stuffed for 15 bucks. Service: Slow and very impersonal but that is kind of how it is.
(4)
Catrina W.
One of the worse dim sum place I have ever had... Very bad customer service and very mediocre food. Dun have beverages except the foundation drink. It took them 15 min to cook some dim sum, and after rushing the order, the food delivered was not fully cooked...!!!?
(2)
Jared H.
Old school dim sum is one of my favorites and Hei La Moon does it well. I always would go to dim sum in NYC and had not tried to find a place in Boston. A friend took me here and I have been going ever since. They do dim sum everyday from 8-3pm. It is the traditional dim sum that is wheeled around on carts and you pick what you want and the person stamps your check. I was used to going just on weekends in NYC but now I can even get dim sum for weekday lunch. The place gets crowded on weekends from around 10am-2pm so if you don't want a loud, busy environment, check it out on a weekday. The shu mai, shrimp dumplings, and slippery shrimp are my favorites. The staff speaks a decent amount of english and was helpful.
(5)
Ha-Young K.
Personally, I am huge fan of Chinese food. My friends and I decided to come to Chinatown for some sightseeing and dimsum. So we came here. In the beginning when we entered the restaurant, it was very nice and the aura had a golden sort of warmish feel to it, with which I was very comfortable. My friends and I were all Asian, a few Chinese, so the waiter immediately began to speak in rapid Chinese, which sort of threw me off. However, after we sat down, the service was quite terrible. The food was okay, but I discovered that I was not a fan of Chinese cuisine. Since that was more my personal preference, I decided to just sit and smile and be polite. I was then eating part of a dish, but then found a hair in it. Okay so that happens, but I decided to not leave a tip because frankly it was disgusting. But when we were paying the bill, when I did not to write a tip amount on the receipt before giving it back to the cashier, who to my surprise just returned my receipt and said "Tip: $7.13". I was a bit thrown off and so were the rest of my friends. After a short silence I said "Why?" just to be responded with "You forgot." Since there was a long line and everything was overall hectic, I wrote the amount down and returned to my seat. Then I got bad digestion for the next 2 days. Definitely not going again.
(1)
Margaret J.
Good, but not great. Not a lot of vegetarian options and the waiters were very hard to understand. Wish they had custard buns. But the food was good and our primary waiter was very nice. I just like the places where you can check off what you want.
(3)
Jeff F.
Literally (literally) the busiest and most organized food chaos I've ever seen. Dim sum on a weekend morning is like the Chinatown DMV and Gourmet Dumpling House rolled into a two story, 3,000 square foot arena. Complete with microphone and thrown-elbows. Food is great if you're willing to point and eat (it comes around on carts without explanation). Best bet is to go with a Chinese friend and/or practice your elbow-throwing, Chinese-accented-American-name-calling identification skills. Try the taro root bun cake ( img.photobucket.com/albu… ). And thank me later.
(4)
Shiri Y.
Wonderful dim sum lunch. Great variety. Everything was really great. On Sunday get there before 11 and there's no line
(5)
Craig N.
Incredibly friendly service. We have 3 kids and most of the staff went out of their way to make them comfortable. Food was great. Only minor complaint was not enough carts. We were downstairs so may have more carts upstairs
(4)
Jiyea C.
I was torn on how many stars to give Hei La Moon. I've been here on multiple occasions, and when I want dim sum, I usually end up here as it has two floors of seating (meaning no wait every time I've been here). The dim sum isn't amazing but it takes care of the craving, and I'm a fan of the small plates/family style of eating. This past weekend, we decided to get an order of the chinese broccoli. We had gone through half of it when I discovered a ladybug sitting in the broccoli. EW! One of the waiters gave us a choice of a replacement OR taking it off of our bill. I honestly thought BOTH of those things should have happened WITH an apology, but alas, this is Chinatown and expectations regarding service should be realistic(ally low). On top of that, my dining companion did not wish for me to make a fuss about it (he said "at least it's not a cockroach..." really?!) ugh. Needless to say, this definitely curbed my appetite for the rest of the meal, and I will hesitate before coming here again. I think a search for a new dim sum spot is in order.
(2)
Julie M.
Super DimSum place :-) A friend took me there while visiting Boston and we had an awesome time for a fair price. The place is packed and noisy but the food and service are great.
(4)
Maria R.
Don't come here if you are a vegetarian. Everything has pork, even if you ask and they tell you of doesn't. My tofu rolls were filled with pork. Also, just not very good in general, in terms of desserts, which was the only thing I could eat.
(1)
Peter Y.
My favorite dim sum place in Boston. I make it a goal to go at least once a week. It's not too friendly for morning hangovers though, because their food tends to lean a bit on the greasy side. Anyways, they have a huge selection of different dim sum, and you're almost guaranteed something you like. The pricing is fair, and the dim sum as good as it gets (at least for Boston).
(4)
Big B.
A better place than nyc dim sum place. Their food is more tasty and authentic. Worth a try but not to go regularly.
(3)
Victoria P.
Managed to get a table on the main floor, but at a table hidden by a column so there wasn't much cart traffic flowing through. For the food we actually managed to get, it was just okay. The deep fried whole shrimp was the best thing I had - fried perfectly and very flavorful. Other than that, I prefer dim sum at China Pearl - I always get what I want and it's been consistently delicious.
(2)
Ailynda W.
The food was good. Cheap. Service was not attentive at all. Dirty plates, cups, bathroom. They are very busy during lunch time eventhough on weekday. I gave 4 stars only to food and price.
(4)
Brian L.
Solid dim sum spot, probably in contention for top in Chinatown along with Chau Chow City. Got here fair early just before 10 on a Saturday, and it was not very crowded. Brags (+): Tasty, well-put together dishes that aren't really greasy or fall-aparty (a word, fyi). We got the shumai, fengzhao (chicken feet), taro sticky rice, congee, and shrimp changfen. They also had come sort of milky dessert dish served from a watermelon, which I've actually never seen before. Beats (-): Service ain't that great... but then again, I've never gotten good service at a dim sum place in my 20+ years of eating it, so vying for the wait staff's attention is just part of the experience as far as I'm concerned. As for the food, my only complaint was that the changfen had too much noodle in relation to the shrimp. Variance (~): As is typical in getting dim sum, the cart-ladies are constantly pushing food in your face. Good if you're hungry, maybe slightly annoying once you're full.
(4)
Anne W.
Their dimsum has improved.. yes, they have tons of seating so it's ideal for the large parties. But.. this last time I went there.. we uncovered a bug that was sitting on the table... dead. Euw. We told the waiter.. basically he scooped it up before I can snap a picture on my phone. He refused to do anything about it until we complained for 15 minutes. They took some money off our bill.. but that's typical Chinese. Sigh.
(2)
Kai L.
Very bad service, especially the cashier. We brought my 82 year old mom to eat and they gave us a table in second floor. We asked them to switch the table to the first floor. They refused with an attitude. Who wants to go back there.
(1)
Silver L.
Hei la Moon is great for Dim Sum. I really really love the pork buns. We usually go on Sunday morning. It gets crowded!!! Service is fast. The main entrance is not wheelchair accessible, however they will direct persons in wheelchairs to a seldom used side entrance or they will offer to carry you and your chair in the main entrance. Chinatown, the North End and much of Boston lacks wheelchair accessibility,so they are no better or worse than others. Food is superb!!!!
(4)
Kristina N.
I've eaten here three times. Because the place is huge, there is usually not a wait. The food is good and decently priced. I order at least 8 dishes if it's just myself and another friend because we want to try different things. If I'm with a party of 4 (including myself) we order at least 10-15 dishes. Good staples are the sticky rice in tea leaf, spare ribs, any of the many dumplings, the shrimp in noodle, and the bean curd-wrapped pork and shrimp dish. For Boston, this dim sum place does quite well (but I am biased - lots of great dim sum places in New York which are cheaper and taste better!)
(3)
Cody C.
I really want to like this place. All of my friend adore it. Two of my friends even had the Chinese side of their wedding here! But I've really got no love for this place. Every. Single. Time.... I get banished to the basement floor no matter how many times I ask to be at the ground level... and the options downstairs are really like 50% of what is offered upstairs. In the basement it's the same 5 carts pushing the same 8 items and that's it. Service blows pretty hard and on more than one occasion I've just gone over to the server station and picked up my own soy sauce. Once I was told that we couldn't have any chili sauce because they don't do that for dim sum... and I've never been offered vinegar. *sigh* The sunny side: The steamed char siu bao was nice and juicy. I'm sure I'll be back - but nothing in Chinatown (that I've tasted so far) will take my allegiance from Windsor Dim Sum Cafe. :)
(2)
Joanna R.
When I was growing up, my father invited a couple of his Chinese business partners over for lunch on Sunday. The men would teach my mother how to cook some of the traditional Beijing dishes in addition to creating "beginner" chopsticks for my sister and me. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about Chinese food, but I felt like a novice when I tried dim sum a couple of years ago. My visit to Hei La Moon was my third time experiencing dim sum and it was by far my favorite so far. My friends and I went on Memorial Day, the place was buzzing but not overly crowded. We were seated immediately on the lower level and within 30 seconds we had our first round of dumplings. Most of the dumplings or shumai are filled with meat, pork or beef, or shrimp. So if you're a vegetarian definitely make sure you ask before diving in. One of my favorites (so hard to choose from!) was the sticky rice and meat wrapped in a lotus leaf. From the presentation to the taste, the dish hit the spot for me. I asked one of my friends at the table spent some time living in Shanghai and she didn't know the name for it. I'll just call it delicious. Another major perk- reasonably priced. For the amount of tasty food we consumed I felt like the bill should have been much higher. I'm not complaining and I will definitely return to try more new dishes!
(4)
Rose C.
Given the over-abundance of Asians, I had pretty high expectations for this place. Sadly it was pretty disappointing. The items were limited, it was the same items brought around and around. The push-cart ladies know it too, they' don't even stop at every table. I'm not sure if this has to do with the fact that we were shoved to the basement :( I read in another review that upstairs had more options, maybe I'll go back, hopefully I don't get pushed to the basement again. In general, the food were more greasy than your average dim sum. I thought the sticky rice, chicken feet, tripe, and the bean curd rolls were pretty good. The shrimp dumplings were disappointing though. The price was average for dim sum, we paid about $25 for the two of us. Is anything a "small" item anymore? The service was also average, the ladies could care less about you and had a hard time understanding both English and Mandarin.
(3)
Art L.
Since I'm a New Yorker, I love comparing Boston Chinatown dim sum restaurants to those here in New York. What I can say is that Hei La Moon is very similar in quality to old-line Chinatown restaurants in New York, like Hop Shing and Delight 28 in the old core of New York's Chinatown. Everything is done in the old way which are thicker skins, thicker cheong fun, lot's of black beans in the chicken feet, heavy sauces, and just generally larger everything. This is not a negative but I see as an affirmation that old-style dim sum restaurants can survive into the 2000's. Hei La Moon is conveniently located just steps away from the T and from Boston's South Station. The dining room is large and cavernous with plenty of round tables but a few smaller tables for small parties. Service is pretty good and some dim sum cart ladies even speak English! The biggest plus in dining at Hei La Moon is despite the multitudes of people and tables, you will never feel crowded here as the tables are set apart far enough for comfort.
(3)
Richard C.
"Hong Kong Quality Push Cart Dim Sum. One of the Best Dim Sum restaurants in Boston." Hei La Moon has above average quality dim sum for a US city. The huge basement dinning floor with push cart dim sum took me back to my time in Hong Kong. I've lived in Hong Kong, had dim sum countless times and would say that this is on par with Hong Kong dim sum, not the better than Hong Kong, but still very good for the US and Boston.
(4)
Less H.
Now that I'm no longer a dim sum virgin I'm all over sticking all kinds of dim sum in my mouth. Seriously, dim sum get in mah belly! This time I went with a friend who speaks Mandarin. We let her order for us. This assured us of knowing what we were putting in our mouths. This seemed to take away from the adventure of Dim Sum but it was good to learn about the various fillings. The food was great. We were in the basement and through reading other reviews I hear that you really want to be upstairs. The carts come by pretty slowly and depending on where you sit you can end up with a lot of repeats. I tried a lot of new things and liked most of them. We ate so much food for not a lot of money. Really good.
(4)
Krit P.
The best dim sum place in Boston!! More variety of foods. Better service. Reasonable price. Overall they are a lot better than their competitor across the street!
(5)
Deborah H.
Probably the best dim sum in the area, though my friend warns that if you go without Chinese people in the party, they will probably stick you in some drafty corner where the dim sum carts never go. Sadness. Had banquet-style dinner here and it was fine but nothing to write home about (I miss you, Congee Village). I will continue searching for a delicious Cantonese restaurant in Boston. The best-kept secret is probably the $6 validated parking that's good for 24 hours, even on the weekend!!
(3)
Ashley A.
I've been eating dim sum since I sampled it at the Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York City in 1969. Back then, dim sum was hardly known -- a rare Asian delight. Today, dim sum is widely available. It's almost faddish for Chinese restaurants to offer it. I even had some in Madrid, Spain, under the headline "Tapas Chinos". It was horrid -- just microwaved frozen dim sum that was soggy and gelatinous. Fortunately, the half a dozen or so places in Boston's Chinatown that have dim sum are all pretty darn good. For me, that means: a wide variety of fresh offerings, without overlong delays, served steaming hot, with appropriate sauces as accompaniment, a tasty tea, and a reasonably clean bathroom. It's helpful if the place has the ability to accommodate a group of 12 or more -- since I sometimes entertain large parties. I've been to all of the dim sum places in Boston's Chinatown; Hei La Moon is at the top of my list. I have never been disappointed with soggy sui mai, tepid har ghow, cold chopped spare ribs in black bean sauce, or undercooked chicken feet. And there are always new items I've never tried to keep my taste buds hopping. I tend to go on Saturday or Sunday late morning or early afternoon -- at which time the place is crowded, but still with enough space to entertain a large group meal (usually downstairs). Service can slow some during the most crowded times -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- as it leaves time to actually enjoy and digest the food I've ordered before snarfing down new offerings from a passing cart. Prices are reasonable. I've also found the waitstaff to be more engaging and accommodating than in other dim sum places. But that could easily just have been the luck of the draw -- as there are easily 30 people working out on the floors at any one time.
(4)
Geri V.
This dim sum place is the best I've been to in the Boston/china town area.. They don't have a huge variety but it's pretty decent and flavorful. The staff are pretty friendly and they try their best to get you what you want.
(4)
Drew S.
The best dimsum in Chinatown on Saturday and Sundays! Try the crispy shrimp if they go by and order off the menu for some yummy vegetables. Can be hit or miss during the week in non peak times but weekends always blow me away.
(5)
Amelia A.
His: Went late when it was after the peak of dim sum hours and it seemed as they were closing. Service was horrible. It was dirty. Food was okay not even that great. Hers: I've been here twice. The first time, I went with a bunch of girlfriends, and it was the typical dim sum experience - fun, continuous food, etc. We went on a weekend afternoon, and it was certainly busy, so lots of food came our way. My favorite is the shrimp wrapped in soft rice noodle (?). Also, the sweet, gingery tofu soup was really good too! The second time I came was incredibly disappointing. It made me embarrassed to give the idea of coming there for dim sum =/. We came after the typical hours of dim sum apparently - I wasn't aware dim sum had a particular time span because in NY, they seem to be operating all the time. The service was absolutely horrible. They hardly had any food, and what they did still have was just okay - most likely left overs. They were trying to clean the restaurant while there were still a few parties there. Needless to say the sound of a vacuum cleaner running around your table was super annoying. In conclusion, if you're going to go, make sure you go when everyone else does. Otherwise, you're going to have a bad experience.
(3)
Stephanie S.
Came here on a weekday lunch (Friday at 1pm). We were seated on the main floor. Service: They didn't give us any tea, then sat a Chinese couple in front of us, and gave them a pot of tea. We had to ask 2 different people before we received a pot of tea minutes later. Some ladies pushing the cart were very difficult to understand, and others were easy. Food: Dim sum was pretty bad. The fried rice was almost cold. The vegetable spring roll had mushrooms inside and that's about it. They had many shrimp dishes, and no chicken. No chicken dumplings and no pork dumplings! What?! Every time they came around with the cart, it was the same stuff: more shrimp. The only thing that was good was the sesame ball which was filled with a lot of red bean paste. I would not come back here ever again for dim sum.
(2)
Jessica B.
I've been to Hei La Moon a few times, today with a group of 15. As always, the food was delicious. Here's a few tips for first timers. If you are going on a weekend, avoid the noon rush and make a reservation for a large party. We went at 1:30 and did not have to wait for a table. When the carts come around indicate what you want and the server will add a stamp to your bill. After the meal they total the bill and did not include tip for us, so you need to add that on. They aggressively close at 3. The food carts really slow down around 2 so grab your food before then. If you don't see what you want, they will also let you order off the menu. I find Hei La Moon a little intimidating and usually go with my Chinese friend who knows what everything is. This is what I have tried so far. Sorry if I get any descriptions a little off, I'm a novice: Shrimp Hargow - Delicious shrimp in dumplings. Shrimp Chung Foon - Shrimp in pancakes with tasty sauce. Even better than Shrimp Hargow. Soybean Jello - This is scary, scary stuff. It's liquid tofu with ginger sauce. My husband likes tofu and ordered it and was a little surprised that it was so gooey. No one else at the table was too interested. Pan Fried Turnip Cake - These rule. They are liked fried mashed potatoes. Really delicious. I also had Chinese broccoli and a dish of something that looked like tofu but tasted like coconut. Both of these were delicious. I did not try a bowl of chopped up bones and meat that looked like vertebrae. I wonder what it was? The service is not particularly awesome, but the food is great and it's fun for something different.
(4)
CJ N.
mmmm dumplings and buns.... Gahhhh.... Dim sum here in Boston's Chinatown is worth it. It's fresh, hot, fun, and flavorful. My first experience was under the tutelage and guidance of a Mandarin-speaking friend. She gave me insider info, which basically boiled down to - if it looks good, try it. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And - don't be afraid to turn something down politely. Bring friends and visitors to dim sum - it's a fun and good experience. The carts come by with great regularity, and feature all kinds of goodies, and some things that are meant only for Andrew Zimmern. Share various dishes with your group, tapas-style. Your cart server will mark your order slip. At the end, (when you've reached your point of actually turning into a stuffed bun), you pay at the front. Then you are free to walk around Chinatown and maybe walk up to Copley Square and catch a movie or walk in the park if the weather is good. Enjoy!
(5)
Jen K.
So I came here on a weekday night after reading all the yelp reviews on how this is the best dim sum ever with the carts and everything...am I missing something?? Is dim sum with carts a weekend thing? Why did have I not received the dim sum memo?? The restaurant is absolutely massive, and we were the only ones there in a sea of tables with white table clothes. Kinda weird, haha, but the food was good and I ordered a few items from the dim sum menu. So I guess I'll have to go back on a Sunday to get the true dim sum experience
(4)
Ambrose C.
Are you looking for some of the most fundamental dishes of Cantonese Chinese cuisine served in small dishes right here in Boston? This place may have your answer, and it has constantly been one of my primary choices in getting dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Cantonese morning meal. Please be aware that this place may not have the best dim sum (if you are comparing to New York, Toronto, and San Francisco) but I believe they can do a fine job. Here's my review on most of the dim sum dishes I have ordered and eaten during my most recent visits with family and friends. Siu Mai - Probably the plumpest pork dumplings I have found in a dim sum restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. Probably my favorite version of this dish, and I think they do a great job. Ha Gau - The shrimp dumplings are also fairly plump. Very soft exterior on the outside with a nice tenderness from the shrimp on the inside. Lo Mai Gai - The sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves are decently good, and I usually enjoyed the tender chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage inside. Lo Bak Go - The turnip cakes are cooked right in front of you, and have a slight crispiness on the outside, and a nice softness on the inside. It's not too oily, which is good. The dark sauce provided just makes the turnip cake even better. Cha Siu Bau - I usually get the steamed variety of the Roasted Pork Bun (white buns with a dark red opening on the top). It has a nice warm fluffiness on the outside and a good meaty flavor on the inside. A great choice if you want to start getting your stomach full. The baked variety (brownish gold buns) is not a bad choice, but does not have the nice and warm fluffiness. Ha Cheung Fun - The shrimp rice noodle roll is not a bad choice, did not have much shrimp, but the texture of the rice noodle and the flavor of the sauce was good. Sin Juk Guen - I do not have an English name for this, but this is usually called the Tofu Skin Roll. It's a great and tasty choice if you want a mouthful of a little tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and some bits of meat. Gam Chin Tou - This is steamed tripe made with a little garlic sauce and some oil. A good choice for a light appetizer. I really liked the texture. Wu Kok - The fried taro dumplings are pretty good. Liked the slight sweetness of the taro, and the outside was pretty crispy. So far, the dim sum has been tasty so far. I was with a group of probably 12 people on that day, we ordered 10+ dishes, and we only paid about $12 including tax and tip. Overall, this place will remain my primary choice for good dim sum especially when I am with my family or an entourage of friends. It is not my primary choice if I want a great Chinese dinner in Boston's Chinatown unless I need a lot space for a traditional Chinese banquet.
(4)
Yue Z.
This is a review for the actual dinner food, not dim sum. I had to head for the restroom 5 minutes upon getting home. We came here for Chinese New Year dinner, as a part of a large group. We ordered all the same food banquet style, and had reservations beforehand. They waited almost an hour before serving anything, and even then brought the dishes out very slowly. The lobster was not fresh, neither was the fish. The fried chicken was super salty, the crab soup had way too much msg. The sweet and sour pork was very sweet...and sour with a ton of unhealthy sauce. The fried rice was super dry and the chow mein was more like soy sauce with limp noodles. The veggies were the typical cheap medley of carrots, broccoli, celery. And there's too much oil on everything. O, and they charged us $6 for a Tsingdao beer. Perhaps it's best to stick to their dim sum menu.
(1)
Alex C.
Located just outside Chinatown in the Leather District, Hei La Moon used to have lengthy waits for weekend dim sum until they opened a basement level of the restaurant a few years ago. The reason for those lines will become immediately clear when you sit down to eat. The circulating carts serve up well made and delicious dumplings and buns in great variety, upwards of at least two dozen, with all the favorites (hargow, shiu mai, steamed pork buns, chive dumplings, etc) frequently showing up at your table. The restaurant is large, clean, always busy, very inexpensive and gets my vote for best dim sum in town.
(4)
Ben P.
My dim sum prowess is not legendary, but I've been around the block a few times. I've ordered off the regular menu and dim sum menu and I liked the hot and sour soup, shrimp shu mai and any steamed bun the most. I really like the food (as do our out of town friends) but the service is a little stiff at times, although it is a gigantic restaurant. Just raise your hand like you are in class though and they will take care of you.
(4)
Jeremy W.
Been coming to Chinatown since 1997 and over the years there have been many Dim sum places that have been my favorite. Since 2008, I've come to Hei La Moon consistently for Dim Sum and it's great every time. What people have to understand when they come here is that you have to get used to the culture here. If you are a first timer, you are going to be overwhelmed, ESPECIALLY if you are coming here with people who have not had the experience of a dim sum place. Be mindful!! Once you've graduated from rookie status, this place is a quick and delicious place to get dim sum. I usually get the same dishes every time and it has consistently been good. It's hard to order in english for me because I actually don't know the name of the dishes in english so I always order in Chinese. As a staple I get the pork steamed shu mai and the shrimp dumplings. This my bread and butter, and usually other people's as well. From there I get a variety of things- all super good. Remember, if you are coming here as a newbie be prepared to be VERY adventurous with the food you are going to try (you might not even know what it is inside at times). I recommend to BRING A FRIEND WITH EXPERIENCE (I recommend 5+ times for the best experience). It will really help. Nonetheless- go try this asian tradition here at Hei La moon. Fantastic place for dim sum and best in Chinatown at the moment.
(4)
Monique S.
This was my first experience at any Dim Sum place. I had a blast. The carts kept coming. The tofu was quite good along with the dumpling in many dumplings. I do not even know what they were. But whatever they were, they were delicious. The space is huge. No one speaks English. Point and smile. They do not serve beverages. Bring one. They didn't really understand when we asked for water.
(4)
Kelly O.
Finally I got a chance to experience a traditional dim sum meal, with someone in the know, and Hei La Moon was an excellent place to do it. We barely sat down before carts came by and we started feasting. Hei La Moon has pretty decent quality food IMO... I found their pork buns and hargau to be particularly good (better than most I've had, actually), but pretty much everything I ate was decently tasty with the exception of the sesame ball which was on the cold side and a major bummer (everything else seemed fresh and hot though). For 3 of us to be completely stuffed, we each paid $12 (which included tip). Insanely cheap for a filling, tasty meal. As with any traditional dim sum experience, you pretty much need to know what you're doing... if you don't know Cantonese and are picky/have lots of food aversions, or are operating on a budget, or want a balanced meal, or want your entire meal to arrive at once, or want a non-chaotic eating experience, you're out of luck. Fortunately the friend I was with was able to identify from experience most of the fillings of the various dumplings and buns and balls, which was helpful because the cart ladies can basically only tell you the main type of meat or filling that's involved and nothing else (major language barrier here, plus they're not really known for their service). I think personally, as a bit of a control freak I prefer the Windsor-type of experience, where you get a menu with descriptions, prices, and pictures of each of their offerings, and use a checklist for ordering... I like having control over my meal (making it balanced with different types of eats, rather than a million of the same), being able to price things out beforehand, knowing exactly what's in each item, and not having to worry about timing or language barriers. But that's just me, and that's for dim sum in general (not Hei La Moon in particular). Come for the pork buns and hargau, and enjoy the chaos.
(3)
Helen H.
Decent- shrimp balls good seasoning Good food good priced No sharing tables
(3)
Kayan H.
Pretty good place for dim sum. The standard fare was yummy, my friend even got us to try the watermelon tapioca and tofu desserts which were good. There was a waiter who was SUPER attentive and came by to check on us several times, asking whether we needed more food and personally brought them to our table. A+ for service! (which is not normal for a dim sum place!)
(4)
Nancy C.
I can't speak for their dim sum, as I've never tried it, but we went here as part of a Chinese Language Partner Speaking Program for NEU a couple of weeks ago. Now, the program coordinator did order all the food, so maybe that's why it was so bad, but it was BAD. Like, straight up Americanized Chinese food, but the thing is even the jiao zi (pan fried dumplings) were bad. They weren't even recognizable as dumplings. Maybe a good indicator of how bad it was is how empty the restaurant was at dinner time, which is when the crowds come in for most restaurants. I think I literally ate bowls of rice and picked broccoli off some veggie dishes. Not a good experience. Maybe their dim sum is good, who knows, but I'm not too keen on trying it after this experience.
(1)
Chi C.
Friends won't let friend host their wedding at this sh#t hole Promise 40 tables and we get the entire first floor, booked 45 and might add 5 more. The manager Mr. Chan over book another 7 tables at the back for a small wedding and completely ruined both wedding. Never go to this place for wedding. Search online and you will see this happens often for this place.
(1)
Nicholas S.
My favorite place for dim sum. Keep an eye out for the giant watermelon dessert.
(4)
Maureen D.
Went for mid-day dim sum on a weekend. We were seated downstairs, which was difficult for the two friends carrying babies/strollers. We were served immediately when we sat, even without all of our party there. We ate until we nearly popped. When they ran out of a dish, they quickly made more. Someone in our party asked for something he wanted, but didn't see, and they made it just for him (I think), though it took a bit longer. And it was cheap! $10 per person. I will return, with a big hungry group.
(4)
Ziliang Y.
Good Dim sum place
(4)
Annie G.
The dim sum here is decently priced, and you're sure to find all your favorites. There's tons of space on the main floor and in the basement to accomodate the giant influx of customers on weekends. We went for the tail end of brunch time, and it wasn't super busy, but service was still really slow. My friends and I weren't sure if it's because we were a bunch of Americans (things usually go pretty quick when we have our proper Chinese parents around to do all the ordering) or if there just wasn't that much left. Whatever the case, we did not partake of the customary stuffing of faces ritual that usually takes place when we go dim sum it up, but instead left unhungry but not stuffed. The shao mai (shumai) were merely meh but I thought the chicken feet were pretty good if you're into that kind of stuff. The little riblets were also quite tasty. Your best bet if you're a dim sum noob (or your Chinese sucks) is to just wave down a cart, take a peek, and make your decision that way. If the dish looks questionable, perhaps make further inquiries. ;) Have fun!
(4)
Kimberly Y.
My family and I had came here for a late lunch on the weekend (around 2 pm) and they had pretty much sold out of all their dim sum. We left hungry. Hubby and I came here for breakfast (around 9 am) on a weekday and there was not much available yet. We had to order through the waiters since the carts didn't have much of a selection. I may have to come here at noon just to see what selection of dim sum they offer. Of what we did manage to order the food was pretty standard dim sum fare. Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant. Probably will come back to check out the dim sum selection but not sure if the wait will be worth it.
(3)
Shang S.
Best Dimsum in Chinatown. Authentic, loud, cart experience, and quite affordable.
(4)
Michelle L.
Seriously, I absolutely love this place. Everyone in Boston always tells me to go to China Pearl or that other one that used to be an old theatre. I've tried both of those and they don't compare. I know it's REALLY hard to find good dimsum in Boston, but this is as good as it gets. I can't come here without getting shumai, hargao, the various other dumplings in that cart (those who come here will know what I'm talking about because the ones I mentioned above are all in the same cart), and of course the tofu as desert. I've come to this place throughout the week and on weekends. Great place to come with friends, especially if your friends are daring enough to try the chicken feet. Don't come here with friends that think crab rangoons are their favorite Chinese food.
(3)
Jenn T.
Came here for some saturday mid-day dim sum! I've never had dim sum in Boston before, nor have I experienced chinatown in the city as well. This was a pretty large restaurant, with 2 floors. We were quickly ushered downstairs, where we were immediately seated! SCORE! The carts came around and luckily our chinese speaking friend was able to order on our behalf. The dishes were yummy, pretty decently cooked compared to what I've had at home. The portions were pretty good, as my har gau had 2 shrimps inside each dumpling! The service otherwise was sort of lacking, as our water never got refilled and needed to be requested, as well as asking for the check as well. The restaurant itself isn't the cleanest or nicest, but gets the job done. The bathrooms are pretty dirty too. Overall, decent dim sum for a decent price with lots of happy tummies at the end!
(3)
Paul J.
Worst Chinese Food I ever ate and I've been all over the world. Spring Rolls were slightly warm on outside; ice cold on inside. Hot and Sour Soup was inedible. A fly was flying around and it was in the middle of winter. Waitresses think they are doing you a favor. Maybe it's because I'm Caucasian. Would never eat there again.
(1)
Melissa D.
Hei La Moon is geared towards massive parties and quick dim sum. The place is massive. two floors and even though it can be packed, the most I have waited was 15 minutes on peak times. The servers are kind of rude but it is what it is. Area is kind o dirty as well. Definitely get there early since they will only serve what they have left so the good stuff is usually gone near the end of brunch. The fried shrimp is ok and some of the dishes seemed to have been sitting around for awhile. The dumplings and rice noodles with shrimp are nice but nothing surprisingly good. If you don't know much about dim sum, it will be hard to decipher the cart ladies. Of course, prices are amazingly cheap. We had about 10-12 dishes and it came to around $40
(2)
Philip H.
This is my favorite Dim Sum place in Boston. We actually came here with friends the day after we got married and did our rehearsal dinner here as well in 2011. Most people come for the dim sum, but their Chinese banquet style food was really top notch. I was very caught off guard how good it was. Very similar to what you'd get in Southern California. Parking is always the issue, so I recommend taking the T or biking here. The parking lot next door is the narrowest, creepiest parking lot ever. You are going to waste your time getting trapped here. They don't even watch over the keys for you very carefully. Back to the Dim Sum, order the shark fin dumpling, actually any of the dumplings are awesome here, the Chinese broccoli or Beijing Kale, turnip cake, Beef Tripe (Ngau Pak Yip), Bean Curd Roll in Oyster Sauce (Ho Yao Seen Juk Guen). Here is a dim sum menu decoder for some of the more popular dishes that you'll see rolling around Hei La Moon: yumchajunkies.wordpress.… The food is pretty comparable to China Pearl, but I like how there windows and the place is better lit than China Pearl. Also, the room feels much more open and spacious. It doesn't feel as crazy compacted as CP and overwhelming.
(4)
Ross G.
Hei La Moon is one of the most authentic restaurants in all of China Town. Do not be fooled by the size in the exterior. The place is massive on the ground floor, and even bigger in the basement. My gf and I have been here for Dim Sum, lunch, dinner, and a Wedding! Food is very good. The language barrier is tough to overcome though. Yes it makes it more authentic, but it does also make it difficult. It is more of a point and hope game sometimes. Dim Sum is very packed. If you can park on side streets before 10:00am do so. Church lets out right after so you can get a spot if you get there. When you use the restrooms downstairs you get a peek into the kitchen if you dare, and can see all the dim sum being prepared lightning quick. The lobster Cantonese style is delicious, and is served on a huge platter. Even the Americanized food is very good. I give it 4 stars because the language barrier is tough sometimes to an American like me, and I think there is 1 other place that is better all around in China Town for Dim Sum and late night food, reserved for my 5 stars.
(4)
Kan C.
The food there is great, definitely authentic Chinese dim sum. However, service could use a little improvement, thus the minus one star.
(4)
Katrina B.
My favorite place for dim sum in Boston. Lots of variety, not too greasy, and packed for that awesome dim sum ambiance.
(4)
Linh H.
Came here because of all the good reviews... Absolute worst experience ever. Waiter didn't seem like he wanted to work. Meal was okay until... Nasty critter ruined it... Yep found 2 dead roaches in our dim sum. Best dim sum? Yeah okay...
(1)
Karen D.
I was about to get on a bus for a long trip, and I wanted to have a good mid morning meal. Having dim sum as a single diner is kind of a drag but I suffered through. The hosts are not exactly the friendliest, but the lady maître d did show me to one of their small tables on the first floor. The tea came out quickly and the waiter was very nice to this Caucasian woman. Har gow and shumai showed up by my table...both good. Not the best I've ever had, but certainly, not the worst either. Then I asked the lady with the spare ribs cart if she had chicken feet. She gave me that "really???" look and ran to another cart close by and brought me an order. She showed them to me before putting them on the table just to make sure I really wanted them. The ladies were quite impressed and I was their friend after that. Again, a solid choice. I ended with turnip cake which is fried right on the cart. So good, albeit, a tad greasy. My breakfast set me back 14 bucks. Easy on the stomach and the wallet.
(4)
Mike N.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the only place to go for Dim Sum in Boston, because not only is the food exquisite (and damn cheap!) but the dining experience is not to be missed. Walking to your table is like a live-action video game where scores of servers pushing food-laden carts at break-neck speeds maneuver around a packed subterranean cavern of a room while somehow managing to not steamroll grandparents, toddlers and each other. If you can somehow manage to wade through this unchoreographed Brownian ballet and make it to your table, you still face the challenge of flagging down servers as they barrel by your table. The trick is to approach this the same way you would hail a New York cab after a movie lets out in the pouring rain. Be bold, be audacious and above all show no fear. Don't bother asking the server what you're getting (unless you speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin, that is). Just take a glance at what they're serving, and provided it smells/looks OK, keep it, because it's really, really hard to go wrong. That said, some of the things to look out for are the steamed pork buns and steamed spinach. And be all means, make an effort to try the sesame-coated red-bean balls. They are like little drops of heaven.
(5)
Le N.
3.5 stars really. When my family (we're vietnamese) is craving for some dim sum, we often find ourselves here if we're not too lazy to travel. They make the best dim sum (other than windsor's). VERY big - so great for groups. Though if you're coming on a Sunday morning, get ready to wait along with all the other asian families! There are ladies pushing around carts and opening them up for you to look - so don't be wary if you can't speak chinese. There is so much variety - a little something for everybody! =)
(4)
Jeff J.
Good fundamentals, not enough variety. Very fast turnover. There's not much else to say, right? The jian dui were subpar. Everything else was as expected.
(3)
The Throwin S.
This place is now superior to China Pearl and Chou Chou City. While the others have declined, HLM has remained consistent. The pork shu mai were much fresher and tastier than my recent experience in China Pearl-where they smelled like a wet dog. The shrimp dumplings and fried turnip cakes were superb. Nothing was bad. Unlike another recent reviewer, I thought that the chicken feet were fine (if you like that sort of thing). The beef tripe is prepared in a curry sauce, which is not my preference. The wait staff was actually attentive! We asked them to make some Chinese broccoli a la carte--and they responded promptly with fresh (and real) Chinese broccoli. A typical maneuver from the wait staff at China Pearl would be to snicker at you... then later bring a not-so-fresh alternative vegetable buried in a greasy oyster sauce 35 minutes later. This is now the go-to dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)
Jeffrey C.
We were catching the BoltBus outta town, so we were looking for a place close to South Station to get our grub on. With Chinatown in proximity and a jonesing for dim sum, we green-lighted Hei La Moon based on Yelp reviews. We've got extended dim sum experience, so I feel comfortable enough in saying that Hei La Moon was solid but unspectacular. We arrived at a little past 11 on a Friday, and the place was already fairly packed. However, we got a nice little two-seater in the corner. I was a bit worried that the carts would pass us by, but they all did a solid job of rotating around to our end. However, the cart ladies spoke little Mandarin and even less English, making it slightly difficult since neither the girlfriend nor myself have any concept of Cantonese. Nonetheless, we got by. Dish-wise, we picked up quite a few plates (that's what dim sum is for, right?). The shrimp dumplings and chicken bau stood out as particularly delicious. The chrysanthemum team we ordered hit the spot as well, although no verdict on whether it cost extra. The only real disappointment was the seafood congee, which was watered down and tasteless. It also saddened me that they weren't serving radish cake, which is my go to dim sum dish. Especially compared to Houston, the overall bill was a tad expensive, which is driven by the fact that the clipboard they mark off doesn't show any prices, so you have no idea how much your meal costs until the very end. That's some shady business practices, but hey, it's Chinatown.
(3)
Siu A.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic dim sum. Amazing food!
(4)
John C.
Enjoyed visit to Hei La Moon. Atmosphere pleasant/quiet (based on where we sat), and food was delicious. I had the Hot & Sour Soup and Vegi Lo Mein - would go back for these dishes for sure!
(4)
Skye G.
I figured since the Dim Sum was so good I'd try it for dinner. When I walked the huge dining room was empty which should have been a red flag but figured what the heck. The fried dumplings were terrible. They were burnt and yet soggy so the flavor was such a mix. The hot sauce made it go down, well kind of. The house pan fried noodles looked right. Pan fried thin noodles with shrimp, beef, chicken and veggies in a brown sauce poured over the top. This was better but not great. The stir fried squid with green scallions and onions had a kick to it and had actual flavor and was not chewy. Thumbs up for the Dim Sum and thumbs down for dinner.
(2)
Jon L.
Hei La Moon, you've been warned. I remember when I first visited you more than 3 years ago; after being disappointed by many of the other Chinatown restaurants, you restored my faith in Boston's taste in dim sum. I loved the noise and bustle, a nostalgic reminder of NYC places. I came for your law bok gaw and jiu cai bao, stayed for your chicken feet, and didn't even mind when my friends would injudiciously order the over-salted beef tripe. But, you've been slowly changing. Cutting corners on the char siu bao (too little filling) and the stuffed vegetables (too much flour, not enough shrimp). Substituting pollock (or some other cheap fish) for shrimp in the stuffing of other dishes. Turning over tables far too quickly during peak times without cleaning them properly. Not paying attention to when those egg rolls and other fried dishes have been circulating on the carts too long. The past three trips we've made to Hei La Moon have been out of deference to your reputation. You used to be really good - the go-to weekend dim sum spot. You still can be.
(2)
Wendy L.
The shumai here is on steroids! This place is my number 1 place for dim sum in Boston. It's not always consistent and you are not guaranteed the same dishes every time. This is the downside of the carts-style vs. being able to place orders a la carte. Some days you will have all the dishes you want in 5 minutes if the carts all come by your table and other times you will be waiting forever to get one dish. This place is huge so they tend to run out of the good stuff early so be sure to go between 11-1pm especially on weekends. Try not to get seated in the basement because they do not have as many carts down there so your choices will be limited. My favorite by far is the pepper spare-ribs (hak jiu pai guat - in cantonese). I think they have the best here compared to all the other dim sum places I've been around here.
(3)
Virginia C.
Dimsum snob here. Service was just OK (wait staff was not very proactive--you have to ask for everything). Food was good but I've had better. No almond tofu (at least when I was there) but other than that, the selection was OK.
(3)
JD M.
Just came home from dinner there. The stars are for nice service, every staff including our waiter was very nice and patient, though not so helpful in assisting us to pick from the menu. Our order looked nice, but then so called zhu Sheng and veggie was full of tasteless can veggie: can baby corn, can mushrooms and lots fried tofu The other Ba Zeng Bao is filled with the same fried tofu! only noticed taste was MSG, which made my tummy feel very bad, still now... Quantity was big, but all cooked with lots starched sauce, lots of msg, too, yuck...
(3)
Vivi L.
I love this dim sum place. The place is quite busy when you come on the weekend. If you come earlier, you can probably get seated immediately but if you come after 11 AM, the place is usually mobbed and you might have to wait a little. The turn around time is pretty fast though. The food selection is great and they make their rotation pretty frequently. The food quality is also great. The place is great for large group. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)
Judy L.
Best dim sum option in Boston, though I still miss the dim sum restaurants in California. Dumplings are delicious, and the cart service is friendly and rather quick.
(4)
Matthew H.
Probably my favorite place to get dim sum in Boston, but don't expect to be treated like royalty in here, whether you speak Cantonese or not. Depending on where you sit, you will either be inundated with carts and choices or exiled to Planet Hoth, where you have to make sad puppydog faces at the nice people pushing the carts. I've never had a bad experience with the food here, although I've heard from friends who aren't as keen on it as when we first started going. The char siu bao is good (not great), the rice is consistently great, the siu mai is unctuous and tasty, the har gow is fluffy pillowy awesomeness, the greens are steamed perfectly w/ a really nice sauce, and the cheung fun are a pile of starchy-shrimpy wonderfulness. The parking situation is always kind of strange, made even more so by the fact that they don't own the lot and the folks who run it are rude assholes. Get the ticket validated and hope for the best. Also... when you're done, just pay up and leave. There are plenty of people who are waiting for your table, and I'm probably one of them,
(4)
Jon S.
This place is massive. Situated in the leather district across from the chinatown gate, it has 2 floors that big enough for a small casino. The dim sum is good, better than China Pearl. The portions are bigger and the servers come more often with a bigger selection. All in all a good place for weekend dim sum!
(4)
Rob E.
Came here for dim sum today. Everyone I know, raves about this place. I didn't think the dim sum was that good. The food was not as fresh as expected. The duck feet was too salty. The short ribs order from the cart only had 4 ribs in it! I think there are other places within chinatown that serve up better dim sum
(2)
Celia Z.
We pigged out this time, getting 5 helpings of the shrimp Mei Fun, four helpings of the steamed dumplings, three helpings of the Baozi, chicken feet, beef tripe, pork ribs, and a million other dishes. All for just fifteen dollars each. Which just shows how far money goes at Hei La Moon. The boys at our table had a huge competition to see who could eat more. They're still arguing who won...
(4)
Nicole W.
Yum yum! Yay for dim sum! Great selections. 3 of us got seated right away at 1PM on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Being total non-connoisseurs, we just peeked inside the bamboo steamers, asked if it was shrimp or pork, and adventured our taste buds away- loved it all. We did get passed by a few times- maybe they were profiling, and I wasn't offended- not interested in chicken feet, although I've heard they are pretty good. The dumplings and shu mei were fresh and delicious, loved the sesame paste buns, not so much the red bean paste. We DID have a laughable Soup Nazi moment when my friend may have asked one too many questions about a dish and the cart lady just sped off, insinuating "No dim sum for you!" But later, when a cart lady only had pork dumplings, she remembered that we wanted shrimp and soon returned with some! Got outta there STUFFED for $17 each, including tip.
(4)
caley t.
Came here for dim sum for the first time a few days ago, and I have to say, I was a little under impressed. The set up is pretty traditional- a big room where you eat with a bunch of friends by ordering from carts that are pushed by. My friends rave about this place, so perhaps I hit it on a bad day, or wasn't in the right mood or something. I'm also pretty sure that the fact that I am pescatarian didn't help (they don't speak much english and everything seems to have pork in it.) The cart system didn't seem to be set up very well- they hardly ever came by and we kept getting the same ones. A glass of water would have been nice too- my drink was gone quickly and we never saw the drink cart again, leaving me extra thirsty with all the sodium rich food. We also had a really hard time getting soy sauce- had to ask about 6 people before it finally came. When all was said and done, all we ended up eating were a ton of dumplings and some bao. I would have liked to try other things, but like i said, the carts never seemed to come by, so we just kept ending up with the same dumplings and not much else. That being said, the dumplings were actually very good. But frankly, I can't see paying 20 dollars again to sit around and wait for dumplings when I can just order a bunch of them somewhere else in chinatown for about 5 dollars.
(3)
Ranley K.
Being an out of towner and living in the NY area with awesome dim sum, I wanted to see what Boston had to offer. We sat down only to see that there were multiple carts going around the place. Being on a table full of dim sum noobs..we ordered everything that was out of the ordinary (for them). Honestly, I couldn't pin point anything that was amazing, all the food was good! The place itself was more suited for a wedding banquet with everything from the chairs to the walls all in red. Bottom Line: Very asian..thus very good. Everything was stellar and well prepared. I mean the place was packed with Chinese people along with some non-Chinese (who clearly were in the right place because they were the minority) Two thumbs up!
(4)
Arcadian B.
Great dim sum although the Wait was really long It's a probably one of the biggest restaurants in Chinatown Be aware of the restrooms!!!
(4)
Anita C.
Good dim sum. Similar to all the other places in Boston but the only difference is that they are quick and you get seated immediately. So if you want good dim sum and good service, I highly recommend this place. Every time I come to Boston I've always been hesitant to go to dim sum because of the long wait and the inability to ever get glasses of water. Here, there's no wait, good dim sum and you get water!! We ordered the standard dim sum stuff but I was impressed with the steamed pork buns and the sticky rice!!! Don't order the noodles, as they were a bit dry.
(3)
Pete G.
My absolute favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. And I've done the research. The buns, the dumplings, the fried things, the other fried things. Everything is amazing. I have a rule that whenever I go to dim sum, I always try something completely new. This has burned me in the past, but not here. Oh no. Example: I went with some friends back in January. All of them are Chinese-American, I'm not. Half-Filipino so you'd assume I'd get a little Asian cred, but no. They start dropping off plates, and one of the waitresses asks me "do you need a fork?" Offended, I reached out with my chopsticks and say "No thanks. I;m good." and I picked up a piece of tripe. The thing is: I think tripe is repellent. But this dish was actually delicious. Maybe because it was flavored with spite, maybe because Hei La Moon knows what the hell they're doing with everything they serve. I'd highly recommend every type of pork bun they serve, the spare ribs, the chicken feet (if you can get over the texture, they're melt in your mouth delicious), the deep fried whole shrimp and squid. It's a huge, clean place, so I can't imagine you would ever have to wait too long. The staff is very friendly, and the language barrier is easily overcome. definitely worth the trip. Last warning: when the dessert truck rolls around you might see a plate with a couple green balls rolled in sesame seeds. You might think that you were looking at some lotus or red bean buns. You are not. They are durian fruit, and they are disgusting. Avoid. avoid!
(5)
Wolfe S.
Great dimsum, although less options for vegetarian/vegans. Especially great for large groups with no reservation.
(5)
Samantha L.
I think Hei La Moon has actually been going down hill the past few years. A few years back I said their dim sum was comparable if not better than Flushing's dim sum. Now, it's only becoming acceptable to me. But of course, to each their own. They have typical standard fare, nothing out there or extradordinary. If you need a dim sum fix, cannot parallel park and need to stop at the C-Mart you mind as well stop here since you can do all that in one fell swoop at HLM. Park in the garage next to the place, get a stamp at the restaurant or if you're going to buy more than $75 worth of groceries, get a stamp at the C-Mart around the corner instead and you'll get FREE parking. Anyways, I've only had dim sum here... and we leave full, but not super wowed at all. But the food is always hot, service is pretty decent for a place that is always so busy and packed. I just hate that you leave smelling like the place. I would recommend avoiding most of the fried dishes that are not in a hot box/cart thing because they're probably not very warm or hot like the rice noodles, shrimp etc. I usually avoid the steamed black bean spare ribs because there isn't much meat, mostly fat or bones and nothing else.
(3)
Phan H.
Just your usual wednesday afternoon dim sum. This place wasn't as large as your usual sunday dim sum, but it was definitely cozy, and we got the window corner seat. The food was decent, the selection was okay, and the service was fast. Nothing too characteristic about this place from most places, other than that they weren't as aggressive, but probably because it wasn't Sunday. They validate parking for the lot that is adjacent to it, but I'm totally confused how they do it. They make you pay $6 up front, and give you a voucher for $6. I'm still confused.
(3)
Henry P.
Just got back with having brunch with the family today, this was my first time trying out Hei La Moon's dim sum after reading so many rave reviews on yelp. I can honestly say I am very pleased! Thanks yelp! Hei La Moon is located near Boston's South End on the other side of Chinatown which is usually ignored. It sits underneath a huge parking garage so its not that hard to miss. Inside the restaurant has BEAUTIFUL red and gold decor with golden dragons decorated around the restaurant as if they were dancing around you as you are eating. The service was the usual, if you're a non-native speaker of Chinese dialect, its basically a bunch of pointing and choosing and hoping nothing gets lost in translation, it usually it goes pretty smoothly. I've been to other dim sum restaurants nearby and so far I'd say hands down that this is so far the BEST place to get dim sum out of the others. The dim sum here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap, not as cheap as others but with the quality that you are getting its outrageous. Succulent, moist shrimp Shu-mai thats just PACKED with flavor and expertly wrapped so tight that the contents just bursts in you're mouth as you take a bite. Their chicken congee was hot and sticky, with fair amount of chicken that just gives it a unique flavor, freshly chopped green onions on top with chinese fried dough gives it that extra kick! The marinated chicken feet were steamed to perfection within its own savory black bean sauce, melts in your mouth! Everything else that we ordered was also on par in quality. Also one thing that I would like to add, those who frequent Chinese restaurants alot should know that their bathrooms are usually very....meh... But SURPRISINGLY the bathroom here was REALLY clean and very actually pretty fancy and up to date, I was shocked! Just thought I'd throw that out there. Will definitely be coming back here for my dim cum cravings from now on!
(4)
Lily N.
I went to take out last Sunday night. The girl took my order at the cashier was terrible. I changed my order due to the price for the Cantonese style fried rice was almost doubled than those fried rice listed on the menu. I went back to pick up the Singaporean fried noodle and beef fried rice after I placed the order for 15 minutes. The girl who took my order didn't even get out from the chair. In stead, she pointed at my take-out and said "your food is here!" She looked at me with very despiteful eyes and didn't even say "thank you" when I was walking out of the restaurant. After I ate the fried noodles and the fried rice, I started to have diarrhea for two days.
(1)
Angeline P.
This review is actually 3.5 stars. I came with one other person, so we couldn't really try everything, but what we did try was pretty good. Har gow was as you would expect. Chive dumpling with shrimp was good. The skins on their dumplings were actually pretty good. They don't compare to Hong Kong Lounge, but for not being made fresh on the spot, they were pretty good. Preserved egg porridge and sweet tofu hit the spot, but I guess I've never had a bad porridge or bad sweet tofu. The fried taro was the only thing I take issue with, because it was mostly bland with not much meat. But everything else we had was good. The 0.5 star is for getting seated right away on a Sunday at 11:45am. No wait at all! But I guess there were only two of us...
(3)
Helen L.
Okay, so I've been to Hei La Moon AND China Pearl, and I don't really see a huge difference in terms of food tastes. They serve the same things and it tastes the same to me. HOWEVER, I've noticed that 1) China Pearl has longer lines and less seating space so maybe that's also why its more crowded sometimes and 2) Hei La Moon never has the variety of food that China Pearl does, or if it they do, the carts come out MUCH slower so you don't get to eat as much of a variety. The second time I went to Hei La Moon for dim sum, I only got like 3 dishes because I didn't have many options to choose from. I kept looking to see when other carts with more food options would come out, but it never happened. I was disappointed. I ended up paying like $15 for three lousy dishes and it was a rip off without the variety. I'm not sure I'd go again.
(2)
Harri S.
Saying the name of this place you instantaneously sound 100% more Chinese. It also sounds suspiciously like Sailor Moon. Alright, enough with being racist. I came here with my friend and foodblogger Charlene W, her friend from high school and the Biff, who did a stint in Hong Kong and incorrectly believes he's of the Asian Persuasion. Whatever, we all really like Dim Sum, so we did the proper thing and came for breakfast. This place is EXACTLY like the massive dim sum halls of San Francisco: crowded, bustling and a place that you'll get away with all sorts of body language. We had the traditional shu mai, Biff had to get the pork buns, cause Charlene W. said no way AND we got chicken feet amongst numerous other things. Not to mention we had massive volumes of tea to accompany all this. Alright, so all I really want to talk about is the chicken feet, which seriously sound DISGUSTING, but man am I glad I tried 'em. They were marinated in this delectable chili sauce and deep fried. You don't eat the whole thing, just the skin, so basically if don't like the skin off your Popeye's deep fried chicken, don't bother. Otherwise this is a taste explosion you won't regret. The ridiculously large amount of food came out to $10 each INCLUDING tip. Damn! Full stomach and full wallet, I left VERY happy.
(5)
Lauren P.
Starving on a weekend morning ? Nothing hits the spot better than some steaming dumplings at Hei La Moon. This place is huge so no waiting time. Try the shrimp cheung foon besides the usual shu Mai and pork bun staples. Best part - you'll be stuffed to the brim without putting a dent in your wallet.
(4)
Nikhil P.
Oh, sweet dim sum. After totally disappointing experiences at China Pearl, and a slightly weird, creepy experience at Empire Garden, this is THE place for Dim Sum in the city. Dim sum carts are rolling, grandparents, kids, strollers, possibly illegal workers, random guys, and people wearing suits are shouting into walkie-talkies, and chaos reigns. And amidst that, the food is freaking awesome. We had great Cantonese-speaking friends who helped navigate the language barrier, but even without that we generally scored with the point-and-shoot method. Dim Sum at a place like this is an exercise in assertiveness training. You want water, pork buns, hot sauce, or a napkin? Ask, and you will receive. And ask again when you get the wrong item. Tonnes of food for 4 people = $70 with tip. Damn cheap and amazing.
(5)
Chelsea L.
Two words: Dim Sum. Although it does get crowded on the weekend afternoons, my roommates and I are always down to squeeze our way through the crowded doorway, past the large parties of people waiting in order to get our group on the waiting list. Why, do you ask? Because of the shmorgasboard (did I spell that right?) of food that is awaiting your consumption both on the ground level and downstairs in the basement. Dim sum isn't too easy to mess up, so while I LOVE the typical foods (shu mai, har gow, cha siu bao), it was all pretty standard. The service there is typical of an authentic chinese restaurant: no chitchat, you wave them over if you want something, and they get it for you ASAP. Bing Bang Bong. I still don't really understand how some of the waiters do the math on the check so fast though. I'm always in awe as I watch them add up all of the dishes and even factor in the tax (carry the 3, multiply that by 2....except imagine 10 more of those calculations in 5 seconds flat). I always come here with people who sometimes have no idea what the heck any of the dishes are. And because me and my family are dim sum freaks, we can usually navigate through all of the names and contents of the food with little frustration. Everything that we have tried at Hei La Moon has been yummy, no complaints there. There was just this one incident that we joke about even to this day. Last year one of my friends really wanted those fried sesame balls with the sweet paste in the middle. However, I guess they were in high demand that day so one minute we saw them from across the room but before the cart came to our table, all of them were gone. Needless to say, my friend was about to have an aneurysm and it soon became a little cat-and-mouse game at our table to eye those sesame balls when they came out of the kitchen and find a way to snatch em up before they disappeared onto another table. I'm sure that was an isolated incident though because all of the other times, there have been plenty of sesame balls for us. Bottom line: Don't have high expectations for the service and don't predict that you will be blown away by the food. But for yummy, authentic, affordable, Chinese cuisine (4 of us were full for $40 total), put on your fat pants and come to Hei La Moon!
(4)
Rani P.
Any excuse to go somewhere new with two of my chef-friends is never an opportunity I want to pass up... So I wasn't surprised to find myself eager to dim sum de-virginize myself with two of my favorite Asian chefs walking me through it. I have to say- I don't know why I put it off so long. Was it the overwhelming feeling of strange, unusual things surrounding me in carts? Or was it the surprises you find hiding inside the giant green pastry balls? Well, whatever it was- it was worth the wait. Who knew you had to leave the Chinatown gate to find something so delicious. What made this experience so good was not only the amount of food we ate for little to nothing- but it was the pork rolls. THE PORK ROLLS! Who would have guessed... and they don't even have shrimp in them. It was pretty packed in there- but we got a table quickly.. and the service was just as insane as I expected it to be- but the experience was worth it all!
(4)
Stefanie Y.
Honestly, I want to give this place a 4/5. Their dim sum is delicious and the carts are fun. I came here the other day and had a great meal. But alas, my friend and I brought a bunch of people here for Chinese New Year and we had a heinous experience. We had made a reservation, but had to wait for about 15 minutes until we were seated. Understandable, seeing that we were a 10-person party. Less understandable was why it took 30 minutes for a waiter to take our order, and least understandable of all was why it took another 45 for even ONE dish to make it to our table. Being Chinese-American, I was...confused. Literally every Chinese place I've ever been to has really fast service. To make it all worse, they messed up our order, which we had ordered in Chinese, so it's not really like they misunderstood us. One of the girls in our group had an allergy and if the Chinese members of the group hadn't recognized the dish as being the wrong one, she could have had an attack. The allergy thing is really what made me knock off a star. I still get nervous thinking about it. Then the food wasn't even that great. Half of the dishes came out cold. We ordered traditional Chinese New Year dishes, yet many of them were very greasy, saucy, and tasteless, kind of like bad American-Chinese food. My party left two and a half hours later, dissatisfied. I want to reiterate that the dim sum is great. I love how traditional this place is (they even have this weird watermelon jelly thing that I haven't ever seen outside of the mainland), and they really execute their dim sum dishes well. I'm confused as to why their dinner is so sub par considering that dim sum dishes are much harder to make than, say, steamed fish.
(3)
Kat H.
good for hitting up your dim sum cravings but the food was a little more bland than most dim sum places. i know that heila moon gets a lot of hype but the tastiness of my usual faves was not up to par. i think that if this was the only dim sum place in the area, i would go since the food was still decent. shrimp dumplings are good here! a bit crowded on the weekends, i'd recommend going early.
(3)
Mary H.
We eat here very often! The food is really good. You can see the food pushed out in carts to see if you like them. Parking is horrible of course. But not they don't make the steamed lotus paste buns!!!!!! Soooo sad!!! I loved them! Other than that, it's a great place for dim sum.
(3)
Matt C.
Great late night spot... Salt and pepper Shrimp, what-what son! Just don't come in smelling like that loud-loud or the host will talk shit. I think he just wanted some for himself lol. They refused to serve us cold tea? really? I guess our chinese to non-chinese ratio wasn't good enough, oh well, we really didn't need it anyway. Even so, this place was the heat and no matter what the food is worth it.
(5)
John R.
My Dim Sum location of choice. Service is good, keeping in mind that in a cart based Dim Sum food will sometimes come in waves and can take a while to come around. I don't like that parking garage upstairs where validated parking is. Ate lunch once and was good but can't speak to dinner menu really.
(4)
Ivy G.
First time, I was amazed by its food quality and it tasted very traditional Dim Sum. But after several visits, I kind of thinking their food quality is decreasing. I am so disappointed that every time I order some new items, I usually regret. So I would stick to my old fashioned favorites. Hope it can back to the first taste that I had one year ago
(4)
Cindy W.
great yum cha place!!! an authentic yum cha taste!!! love it!!!!
(5)
Miguel R.
One moment while I rub my temples as I decide where to begin. OK, I was brought here by a good, native-Chinese-speaking friend. In retrospect, I am glad she was chaperoning me, because I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of Chinatown. Not Boston Chinatown -- New York Chinatown. I half-expected one of the aggressive cart-ladies to wave a live chicken in my face or drop a flapping fish on my plate. The à la carte menu is simple enough to figure out, but the dim sum carts are anyone's guess. My hostess told me she was being 'conservative' with her selections, which I was fully aware of; once you've had menudo, you've had all the basic training you'll ever need to spot an animal stomach from a mile away. In short, I enjoyed myself because I have a high noise-and-chaos tolerance and because I was accompanied by a very kind interpreter. I recommend you come here with someone who knows anything about authentic Chinese food or who can actually speak Chinese. Some offerings are not for the American faint of heart.
(3)
Kenneth F.
Great place for dim sum in Boston, much better than two other places I have tried in Chinatown. Here are some of the dish highlights: Good: Giant Har Gow...seriously, check out my picture, I placed a tea cup next to it for comparison. Although the dish came with two only, it was much better than the one that came with four. Tofu dessert...I forgot the exact english translation, but you'll see this cart strolling around and serving up a storm. Some dogweed/shrimp dish...never seen it at another restaurant before, but it's good here! Mediocre/Not so good: Chicken feet rice noodle (cherng fun)
(4)
Josephine L.
Been here for dim sum a few times and it's always a guaranteed good experience. They do dim sum the old school Cantonese way, with frowning old ladies pushing carts full of food while curious and somewhat bewildered diners gaze warily at the contents before finally settling on an item and ordering it through a mixture of sign language and overly loud English. Unless you already speak Cantonese (or Mandarin), in which case you breeze through the process. Everything is delicious, solid and decently authentic. The beef tripe is wonderfully chewy and ginger-y, the chicken feet are tasty, the steamed pork buns (a favorite with the boyfriend) are fluffy, mango pudding is delish, congee is hot and comforting and the custard pastries are fabulous. You pretty much can't go wrong with anything you pick, and if it looks unusual, eat it anyway (unless you have allergies) because life is short and you only eat once. Per meal. Er....you know what I mean.
(4)
Alma C.
The dim sum here tastes good and has above average selection compared to the other dim sum in the area. I ranked this place a two at first b/c the first time I went here, one of the dishes had a hair in it. I saw it before anyone in my party touched it, but when I called over the waitress to tell her, she could not speak a lick of English and I had to point at my head and then the plate and then my head again for her to understand. She then quickly brought a replacement dish and the rest of the meal was fine. Since this is probably one of the better places for dim sum around Boston, I'm giving it a few more chances to redeem itself from that first time visit. I've actually been here a couple times since and it's been fine.
(3)
John L.
Been here countless times since the mid 90's. It's just a block outside of Chinatown, actually right outside the sign for Chinatown. Super busy on Sunday, but Saturday can hold it's own too. Very good dim sum, service is always great in Chinese restaurants. But please keep in mind that the waiters and waitresses will NOT ask you how the food is. They will take away your empty dim sum plate in less than two seconds flat but you'll be waiting until the next blue moon if you want some TLC from the staff. Oh and when you are done with your meal, simply flag down a wait staff by waving your dim sum card and never expect the waiter to add your total in a calculator. If he/she whips out a calculator, you are not in a real dim sum restaurant. Just sayin. I also suggest coming here for dinner for some authentic Chinese dishes. Bring a large party b/c the dishes are large and Chinese dishes are best shared!
(4)
Bailey Z.
Hei La Moon is your standard dim sum joint. It's large enough to accommodate groups and serves the typical dim sum fare. The food is decent, the prices are reasonable, and the place is relatively clean. It's a big step up from China Pearl, but I still liked Winsor better. Get here before 10 am because both levels of this restaurant fill up fast.
(3)
Deanna D.
Dim Sum Review: The service is push cart style so you can see everything but the servers don't tell you what in the dish, so when you ask they just put it on your table. No explanation or menu + no prices =down side to this type of dim sum. You end up with random stuff that looks cool but not knowing what your eating is not cool. Not a huge selection since its essentially the same stuff passing over and over again. Fried rice was horrible--too sticky like it was over cooked/steamed. BBQ pork buns were delicious--the best dish we had Shrimp in bean curd was ok--the strange consistency was not appealing and lacked flavor Shrimp & Leek fried wantons were tasty BBQ pork ribs were not very good--lots of fat pieces in a tiny order Shrimp steamed dumpling was flavorless. No condiments on the table to sauce up your dish--not a good thing since I'm a sauce whore. Overall not a great meal. The restaurant was clean, the staff was friendly and the food was OK. We won't be back anytime soon. I prefer Winsor for Dim Sum--more selection, tastier food, real menu and cheaper too.
(2)
Jerrica J.
Was in Boston last weekend due to a family emergency. My boyfriend and I ate a lot. I liked how big this restaurant was. Everything was tasty. My favorite was the har gow and shui mai. I was sad that at 1:30 they ran out of my favorite egg custard tarts. One star off because the servers were a little lazy and didn't want to check for dishes for me. I had to flag people down numerous times. They forgot our water.
(4)
Joanna C.
Came here for dinner and a book club meeting last week! The facility was a tiny bit hard to find (my GPS kept telling me to make right turns down one way streets in the opposite direction and I almost ran over a tiny Asian woman because I was so distracted!), but regardless, showed up and was able to find street parking (Sweet!). The place was EMPTY. And oh yeah, it's also GIANT! Clear out those tables and we can have a touch football match! But anyway - great for our book club since we could talk and eat and not be worried we would be taking up a needed table. The servers seemed to have a tiny bit of a comprehension issue with understanding everyone's questions, but we were finally able to order our food and settled in for a nice discussion. When suddenly, a tour bus pulled up and out jumps out about a hundred or so people?? They poured into the restaurant and it's chaos! We were promptly forgotten as the servers ran around trying to accommodate the HUGE group. Our entrees arrived haphazardly. We weren't offered rice (and couldn't order it until about 20 minutes after our entrees because no one was within our vicinity). Our tea went empty for a while as we tried to flag someone down. But all in all, a pretty solid meal (once it arrived)! I definitely recommend the aromatic beef (deep fried beef strips!), and the empress chicken (we were all stealing bites of that!). Service left some to desired, but what can you expect from (right outside) Chinatown? I do need to hit it for dim sum soon!
(3)
Hung L.
Came here for a wedding, quite possibly the worst Chinese food in Boston. Typical 10 course wedding meal, one of the dishes that came out had the same reaction from everyone, "steak? never seen steak at a Chinese wedding before" Probably the most chewy piece of steak I have ever ate. Fried rice...tasted more like plain rice with veggies thrown in it. Red bean dessert, was like eating red bean in water, didn't taste sweet at all. I would have to say 2 out of the 10 dishes were acceptable. Definitely not gonna do my wedding here. Hei La Moon definitely needs to sound proof their rooms better, another wedding was going on next to us and they were obnoxiously loud. I saw the other bride, definitely a bridezilla, clubbing music and no one in your party was even dancing.
(2)
Cady T.
In my opinion the best dim sum in Boston. Clean, conveniently located right outside of Chinatown, and consistent, if not too daring dim sum. Particularly good char siu bao, or steamed bbq pork bun. Steamed shrimp dumpling, har gau, consistently good. They make a chiu-chao dumpling with pork, peanuts, and fall spices that is outstanding. The watermelon soup, a seasonal dish served from a hollowed watermelon is chilled coconut milk spiked with miniature tapioca pearls and balls of melon. YUM! The fried taro is not very good, too starchy. The noodle rolls are too soft and the tea could be better. The bathrooms aren't the prettiest. The only place in Boston I will go to get dim sum. Its certainly not New York or San Francisco quality, but it hits the spot.
(4)
Mary B.
I've rode the lunch rocket to La Moon for both dim sum and food off the menu and ... I haven't been impressed. It's a little pink and red garbed orphan of the rest of the Chinatown resto scene, actually residing in the Leather district across the street from the gate. The lunchtime scene here usually quite chaotic, which is kind of part of the fun but not the best option if you're looking to have a cozy and serene dining experience. Service is quick and without frills, just straight up ask them if you need anything because they're not going to offer anything other than a plate and chopsticks on their own. The food is at best, adequate. If you're really craving dim sum goodies, you may be able to get your fix here, but there are better DS experiences to be had in the area. The regular menu has the breadth and scope that you would expect and the portions are served large for good family style sharing. It kind of pains me to call joints out on this, but at the last nom fest, we found hairs in a couple of the dumpling filled bamboo steamers. Yea. When we told a waiter and asked him to just clear it away, he brought the hairy dumplings back to us in a take-out container. 0_o The one thing I've ever eaten here that I really liked: garlic Chinese broccoli. Really lovely, but one dish does not a fan make.
(2)
Mary Beth R.
I took my family here for dim sum and it was totally amazing. Thought everything was great from service to food. The decor coud use an update but i think its kind of a cool vibe. My 4 year old loved the spring rolls and shrimp shumai. I loved the crispy shrimp and the sticky buns and tea! Yum yum. Cant wait to go back.
(5)
Reese D.
Went there with sis n bro-in-law at 2pm on Sat. Found out that it ia better to get there late. Everything is fresh n there is no wait for it. Will be going to the restaurant for late weekend dim sum from now on.
(5)
Kim V.
Almost every time I went for Dim Sum, this was the place everyone recommended. It has a nice variety, and is reasonably priced. It had my favorite dumplings and they were pretty good. Regardless of the group size, my party often got seated pretty quickly.
(3)
MJ L.
Can't go wrong with this Chinatown gem. Perfect for a dinner date or for hosting large events. Can cater up to 130 people. Food is authentic cantonese style. One of the best dimsum is also available for lunch. Have gone a dozen times and will definitely continue!
(4)
Brian L.
Like in my earlier review, this place is good. As always, packed (if there is one thing to know - when going to Chinese places, the more crowded, the better - that means fresh!).
(4)
Virginia C.
Prob. the best in Chinatown, but I've def. had Better and I am a dim sum SNOB. 1) It is packed on the weekdays/weekends and the old ladies are not really friendly (even when I use my Cantonese!). Usually if I want something and I don't have it, there are other establishments that will make a special effort to get it for me. Ummm.. don't count on it here. 2) All dumplings are fresh (Har Gaw= DO IT) 3) Tofu Pudding. MM, and don't knock it until you try it. 4) Pork SpareRibs (Satisfying) 5) Cun Fun (Exceptional) 6) Everything else (Sui Mai, Chicken Feet, and Shrimp Rolls, or Whatever is pretty standard). They have a pretty great selection, and there are a variety of Cantonese and nonCantonese Peeps in this joint. During the weekend, please remember to get a number. In addition, Chinese people don't know how to wait for their turn= no such things as lines. Therefore, just push your way to the front, and don't let the short asians and pushy old ladies walk all over you. And, even if you don't speak Cantonese, this place is manageable :)
(3)
Josh S.
One of my favorite dim sum joints, located just outside of Chinatown proper, closer to the Leather District. HLM offers a great selection of dim sum dishes and traditional entrees, but on the last visit (out of 3 total) the service was extremely lacking - as in we sat there and weren't served for 20 minutes. Other experiences have been more positive.
(4)
Cindy K.
So I only give this three stars because I've been spoiled and have experienced much better dim sum in other cities (NYC & Toronto are at the top of my list for North America). HOWEVER, this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. (I've heard Windsor is very good too however its much smaller so everyone comes here) First off, if you hate crowded restaurants, do NOT come here on weekends for brunch - the place is packed and can get extremely loud. But if you're brave enough to trek over to Chinatown and looking for an authentic dim sum experience, this is where you want to be. Food is carted around by older Chinese ladies and you basically order what you want. They don't really speak English so if you aren't brave enough to just look and order either come with someone who is Chinese or someone who is really familiar with what to order. Most of the time everything is very good but it's hit or miss depending on the day. My favorites are shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, beef meatballs, shrimp rice cakes, and my absolute favorite is the tofu pudding for dessert.
(3)
Joe T.
Standard food and the service is really bad. I was serves beef spare ribs that were un-chewable and they refused to refund after i could not eat it. Gave them a chance again just to sit down 10min before some one came who ha trouble understanding what I wa ordering. Eventually he took the order and 20min later i asked where my order was. A lady said she did. not know!!!! I then took off. There way better places
(1)
Corey L.
This place is HUGE! Got there on a Sunday, didn't have to wait b/c they have 3000 tables. We were seated way in the back and I was nervous that we'd be left out. However, within a few minutes, we were surrounded by carts - like we were chum and they were shark-carts. My main complaint is that I think it's impossible to not order WAY too much food. The food was good and it was a cool experience to boot.
(4)
Debby L.
OK fine, the Chinese food in Boston is not the Chinese food in San Fran or Monterey Park. But really... We were seated really fast despite the insane amounts of people outside. Their system was really efficient with the number calling and two floors of seating for patrons. Tons of students from the conventions flocked here as this was the recommended place to eat. We got shu mai, ha gao, Chinese broccoli, dumplings, and fried shrimp. The Chinese broccoli was the best dish, and that isn't saying much. The fried shrimp was ok, but the batter was really thick and there was barely any shrimp inside. Everything else was dry. I washed everything down with hot tea, and we got out of there. The bill was quite expensive for dim sum, and I spent double what I normally pay for half of what I normally eat. Lesson learned: when in Boston, eat Bostonian food. And it does not consist of Chinese food. So unimpressed.
(2)
Erika T.
The place is big, with 2 floors of dining - main floor and basement. There were a nice mix of large and smaller tables so you don't have that awkwardness of sharing a table with strangers, which I really liked. The dim sum was better than most. Good proportions and kept warm. My only complaint here is that there were so many tourists on the Sunday I was there. There was a table constantly taking pictures, not just of the food on their own table, but also of what was in the carts. Another table kept asking that each dish be identified of its contents. This made all the carts slow to get to the rest of the other tables, which was really annoying. So if you're looking for decent dim sum and have patience, then this is a place to try.
(4)
M T.
Dim sum is cold and not fresh. Will never come back again.
(1)
Vivian H.
They have a different selection than I'm used to, and it was kinda limited. Still got the usual shu mai, har gaw, and turnip cake, but we got to order clams in black bean sauce, calamari, and even the rice noodle-wrapped you tiao. They didn't have eggplant, which is my all-time favorite, or the fried taro thing so wtf. Everything we ordered was very good though. The meal was pricier than I'm used to for Chinatown at $40 for 3 people (and one didn't eat much since we couldn't find many vegetarian options). Next time, I want to try the dessert that comes out of the big watermelon (it's like tapioca with watermelon balls)!
(3)
Sandra C.
I'm a shameful Chinese person who cannot order in Chinese at all! But service is SO MUCH better if the servers UNDERSTAND you! So I always go with someone who can speak... The dim sum here is the same as all the other dim sum places in Chinatown (Emperor's Garden, China Pearl)...pretty standard. I came on a good day, where lines weren't too long, and carts weren't too busy. I could name several times when my family would come Sundays and the place would be PACKED with people. The waits can go pretty long too, so be wary.
(3)
Minah L.
DIM SUM was so freaking delicious. i was in a group of 7 people total and i have to say we ordered quite a lot. but even still everyone paid about ten bucks. i say that's a pretty good deal. their shumai and har gow and those dumpling looking things were pretty big. very fulfilling with just a couple. it was super crowded on a saturday early afternoon but i think it was definitely worth waiting for tables. :)) i wish i was back in boston just for dim sum here. a lot of their plates contained shrimp in it so one of my friends couldn't really eat much. but she was still able to enjoy this place with other things. im not sure if dim sum in general is just really shrimp based or this restaurant specifically. but either way.. if you want good dim sum. come to this place!!
(4)
Marissa P.
Classic dim sum experience: carts overflowing with tasty treats pushed around a huge, open space filled with round tables and happy, Chinese faces. I've only been here twice, but everything I tried was good. I especially like their shumai and their flat, wide noodle (not sure what the dish is called). My second time dining here, I took my boyfriend and his family. His grandparents were born in China. They are hard critics and they loved it! So, it must be good! Best part: you always leave with a full, satisfied tummy at a very reasonable price!
(4)
Madeline N.
Ok, here's the gist. Dim sum makes me happy. Specifically dim sum with carts. And with space for all my friends. Hei La Moon fits the bill! It is enormous and you'll probably be shunted to the downstairs floor if you arrive. Hardly any wait even when I roll in with 10 people. The carts make their rounds quite quickly and while there aren't all of the specialties, you're going to hit any cravings you might have. Short walk from the T. They validate parking if you park in the adjacent parking structure. Near Chinatown and grocery shopping if you're trying to be efficient.
(4)
Susan A.
Came here for dim sum this time instead of dinner. Traditional food done ok, food is solid. The shrimp quality though, wasn't that great... definitely not my expectations for Boston shrimp. Chicago, perhaps, but Boston, definitely no-no. Bumps it to a 3-star. Good selection, decent prices. The cart ladies though, remind me of dudes at a bar. Either waaaay too aggressive in-your-face, please can't you see i'm busy eating aka stuffing my face... to ones whose eye you try to catch but too antsy/antisocial to want to come up to you and you gotta REALLY flag 'em down!
(3)
Winnie T.
Want your dimsum fix? Come here. The dimsum isn't great, but this is probably among the best you'll be able to find in Boston (pathetic, I know). Go early, because it tends to fill up quick during noontime. This is a favorite among Boston locals along with China Pearl. Personally, I like this place better because it's bigger and the dimsum is more fresh since the chefs keep making it. Warm dimsum is never good; I want it scalding hot just so I know it hasn't been sitting on the cart. Oh, and another thing: don't get shafted and get seated downstairs if you're willing to wait a little longer for the tables upstairs. I've noticed that there are way more carts in circulation upstairs than downstairs.
(3)
Ferdinand H.
Solid four stars. Maybe with a plus. I recall that the first time that i went to Boston Dimsum, I was sorely disappointed. I guess I'd been hoping for an NYC level experience... perhaps not Toronto/HK, but maybe NYC, given all the HKers and southern chinese in the area. That first time, I wasn't very impressed, nor the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th nth... My friend took me here recently, and it was much improved from my memories. I ate until bursting... and still managed to stuff in egg tarts and sweet tofu. It's pretty authentic, with constant motion; quick tongued managers barking orders with occasionally withering glances (and quick smiles when needed...!). I felt like I was back in a southern chinese cultural stronghold. Ah... home... :) In general, I think that this place's dimsum is about right in terms of sodium, oil, amount of steaming. I've had better, but mostly out of the country. Cheers for Boston!
(4)
Michelle J.
I've eaten here and at China Pearl. It was a 11AM and the place was packed. Thankfully the group I was with either made reservations and got there early. The host at the front informed me my group was downstairs but when I got downstairs there was no staff that was available let you know where your group was. Luckily my friend had an excellent view from the stairs to wave at me when she saw people. The food was good and plenty. However they don't have the lazy susan round spinning things so often to get something across a 10 person table you have to constantly ask people to pass things to you. Food was great and plenty. As with most dim sum you'd eat. Sticky rice, dumplings and buns all delicious. There was a wall of folks waiting when we left so if you don't get there early I think you'll expect to wait a while for a table. Good luck during dinner time if you're not an early eater.
(3)
Ziyan C.
Can't say much for dim sum in Boston in general, but this place is probably the best that this city has to offer. The food is this best quality I've had in Chinatown (i.e. not overly oily, decent selection) and the restaurant has the nicest atmosphere (not crowded, more open, doesn't feel cheap). It also comes at pretty much the same price as any other dim sum place in Chinatown.
(3)
Eric F.
My other go-to dim sum spot in Boston, Hei La Moon has yet to disappoint. With two large floors, the wait here is virtually nonexistent even during peak weekend hours. The interior is easily the most upscale of the dim sum restaurants in Chinatown and is more or less on par with some of the better spots I've been to back in California. All the dishes are well done with particularly good custard-filled Pineapple buns, Malay Steamed Sponge Cake, and steamed tripe. To put some perspective on this, I've tried numerous places in the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, Vancouver, and Toronto, and the food here definitely still manages to hold its own.
I want to give this 3.5 stars, but one can't. Alas I had two very different experiences here. The first time I went here I had dinner. I brought a friend, and the place was empty. Completely. Empty. This doesn't usually bother me, except for the fact that the restaurant is ginormous and has tables as far as the eye can see. We were promptly seated, given a pot of hot tea, some water, and we ordered. To start off with we had the scallion pancakes and fried crab claw. Both were fine, nothing special. I ordered the sweet and sour fish, while my friend ordered pan fried calamari. Mine was bathing in sweet and sour sauce and was a bit on the greasy side. It was good, but a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they had cooked my friends calamari. It was juicy and lightly seasoned with some steamed vegetables on the side. Overall, the dining experience was standard take out fare. Dim-sum for Sunday brunch, on the other hand, was a full 180. The restaurant was packed, with a group of people waiting at the door to be seated. We walked in, luckily, with a party of 10 and were promptly seated, as no one else had taken up one of the massive tables. Dim-sum madness ensued. My friends kept taking things off carts, to the point where I no longer knew what I was putting in my mouth. Oh well, as long as it tasted good. And it all did. Everything I ate, which was a lot, tasted amazing. Stand-outs were the turnip cake, pork bbq buns, and breaded garlic prawns -- amazing. Every dumpling was perfectly squishy and juicy! The only disappointment was the sticky rice rolled in banana leaves with beef. A bit bland. As far as the actualy restaurant goes, it's tacky asian fare. Giant golden dragons decorate the ceilings and waiters wear ridiculous red satin vests. It's pretty dirty, not gonna lie, but hey it's about as authentic as a dim-sum experience as you'll geat. The nitty gritty. All in all, hit up the dim-sum, but skip dinner.
(3)
Patrick L.
This is where I go for Dim Sum in Boston. Can get v busy during weekends and around holidays. Lots to choose from and reasonable price. I like the carts, makes the experience a bit more interesting. Park upstairs and get it validated to pay a reduced rate. Nice that you can choose the type of tea you want! If you dont tell them then they give you Jasmine Tea. Enjoy!
(5)
Chu H.
I will not support a restaurant that mistreats their workers.
(1)
EricaLynn J.
---------- | : O : ~~|~~ : *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* | : : used: : : : : : : U R G H : : : M B S N : ---------------- ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* H __ __ __ __ M __ __ N like the simple game of letters and guesses and stick figures that you played during rainy days at sum
(3)
Leslie N.
Traveling to east coast from California. Chinese restaurants are not comparable to LA or SF. The dim sum are not fresh at all. Ha gao without a shrimp, carrot cake taste yuck, bun is cold inside. Only the congee, Cheung fun and tea are on standard, definitely not good. Service is soso. I do not recommend this restaurant
(1)
Sally B.
This Polish-French girl loves her dim sum, so believe me when I say Hei La Moon is worth visiting. My family and I go out to dim sum a few times a year, and this has been our only destination for this meal in the past three years. My sister can get the pork buns she's crazy about, my mom gets as much tea as she wants, my dad never leaves hungry, and I am always satisfied with the wide variety of veggie options available. The last time I came here, it was with two vegetarian friends, and we ate well and left an hour later, completely full and out only $10 each. That being said, you have to know a bit about dim sum to feel successful here. Say what you want, ask everyone (nicely) until you get it, and stay on the lookout for new and exciting food going by on carts. My absolute favorite dish is the fried dough wrapped in noodles with herbs on top, with silken tofu coming in a close second. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in Boston. If you see it coming past you, grab it. You'll be glad you did. The only downside to dim sum: you don't know what your meal is going to cost until it's over. But if you enjoy it, as I think you will here, it's always worth it.
(5)
E J.
Simply put you will love your meal at Hei La Moon. Roving steam carts piled with miniature bamboo steam baskets contain a wide variety of dim sum. Take as much as you want. Experiment. It's all wonderfully fresh, delicious, accessible to the Western palate, and surprisingly inexpensive! Despite reviews here to the contrary, the servers are NOT rude. They simply do not speak English well. That said, each server genuinely tried their best to explain what was contained in each dumpling. Wife and I tried many selections, all were wonderful, and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't finish our selections. All for 25 bucks. Go here. Don't think anymore. Just go. Your stomach will thank you later.
(5)
Nancy W.
I went here for dimsum on a Sunday afternoon, and we were lucky to be seated right away! The food here is pretty standard -- nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. They're pretty good about trying to get you what you want, but at the same time, their choices are limited. I wish they were offering 'cha shao su" (the bbq pork pastry), but we were still satisfied with our 98237 other dishes. We ordered 18 plates among 6 of us, and it came out to around $12 each. Not bad!
(4)
Heather B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I was brought here with a couple Asian friends and some other dim sum enablers. Seating takes less than 10 minutes, even though the crowd outside would suggest you'd be standing around all day. Once you're seated though, it makes sense. This is rapid fire. Thank god I was accompanied by people who know what they're doing! I couldn't tell you what I ate, but it tasted good. We were all stuffed in no time, and the bill came out to less than 10 bucks per person. This was a cheap fun adventure!
(4)
Kim P.
I've been here for both their Dim Sum menu and their normal food menu. I've been a fan of their normal menu, and found the food to be really good, but a tad bit expensive for the average college student. Granted, I went there with my parents at the time, haha :-p Sometimes it helps to go with bigger groups so you can split the costs and dishes. Their Dim Sum is really quick, but the location is kind of small and gets pretty crowded. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, seeing that populated places mean this place must have something good going. The cart rotation is generally quick, and they have an okay range of dim sum from the exotic to the basics. I was a little bit disappointed with the amount of seafood Dim Sum they had to offer though, but then again I'm just a fan of the seafood in general. Overall, it's fairly clean and their Dim Sum gets the job done in the end, so you'll leave with a full stomach.
(4)
Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is among my first choices for dim sum in Boston. You can tell when a dim sum restaurant is good if there is a large crowd and a waiting line. Hei La Moon definitely got those qualities. The har gow and siu mei are very good. The fried shrimp with taro shell is also super good. I've noticed the same stuffing in the siu mei is also in other dishes. Eating the same stuff gets old so that's why I took away one star.
(4)
May N.
I am no dim sum connoisseur, but I like food and I like cheap. Which may be why I don't usually do dim sum. But when an old friend called and invited me out for dim sum for Lunar New Year, how could I resist? We made reservations for 2 large tables at 12:30 Sunday and then invited a bunch of friends. I got there 15 min late, partially because I didn't realize the restaurant was located at the complete opposite end of Chinatown from the Chinatown T stop. Our group was already seated at 2 large tables, even though we weren't all present. Ladies speaking mostly Cantonese wandered around with carts of delicious-smelling goodies. As soon as our entire party arrived, we quickly started stopping carts for food, trying the pork buns, bean buns, many different iterations of pork/beef/shrimp wantons, taro, chicken feet, pork ribs, vegetables in oyster sauce, and custards for dessert. I thought the food was good and the ladies speak enough English to tell you what the food is. I was a little disappointed about lack of vegetarian options, but that could also be because we came in the middle/late part of usual dim sum time. The bill for our group of 15 came out to $10/person including tax & tip. We hung out for almost an hour after we paid the bill just drinking tea and catching up while the staff was cleaning up and did not get kicked out. I would come back, maybe earlier to try more stuff as available. Oh and they validate parking in a garage above the restaurant.
(4)
Kevin S.
Hands down the best dim sum in Boston Chinatown. It gets extremely crowded (and loud) during the weekends, but you can always try getting a table downstairs which is usually a bit more quiet. If you sit upstairs, try to avoid the back of the restaurant, as the carts do not go there as frequently. Variety of dim sum can't be beat, and is much more affordable than comparable restaurants like China Pearl. My family has been coming here for dim sum for years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
(4)
Lauretta L.
4 people Dim Sum was $54 inc. tax which was pretty decent. The food was okay...I'm used to pretty damn good dim sum so I'm picky. The Hai Gao and Shrimp and Chive dumplings are alright, although I've had better. The fried calamari and shrimp were over fried but I still enjoyed it since...almost anything fried tastes good. Not that impressed, but again, I have yet to compare it to other dim sum joints in Boston. Service is typical Chinese restaurant service...impatient and sometimes rude....unless of course you're Caucasian...then they dote on ya. Yeah, I said it.
(3)
Snuffles B.
This place is like Dim Sum with Attention Deficit Disorder. - The ladies who push carts do not go in any distinguishable pattern (the place is big, but not THAT big) - Every time one of the carts came by, there was someone different pushing it. - At any given time half the carts are parked outside the kitchen (full) and the ladies are milling around it. - Some of the carts just pick a random location to park, they should Twitter where they are for you to locate them. - The same cart of food would come by 5 times in 15 minutes and some carts would never come around. The food was decent, but not the best or the freshest, this was during prime hours on two different Sat. Steamed and pan fried dumplings and shumai had good skins and were decently flavored and generously filled (get anything with green veggies stuffed in) Fried items were room temp, sogging a little and heavy. Turnip cakes were average. What they excel in is glutinous rice: pumpkin flavored pancakes, fried sesame balls, and the best thing we had: coconut/peanut and mango/coconut glutenous rice balls - some of the best ones I've had. Price for about 8 medium/large plates - pre tip: $30. If I wasn't so persistent about chasing the carts around, I would have starved. Actually I probably net negative calories from all the chasing, so maybe this was a good idea.
(3)
Celeste M.
This place is huge, there are lots of seats and lots of carts. It is pretty overwhelming for someone not accustomed to dim sum. You kinda have to know what you want by sight, which of course is difficult the first time as you have never seen it. The first time I came to dim sum here, I was turned off by the food we had because it all seemed slimy and greasy. But the second time, I just stuck to drier fare, like buns, instead of various slippery objects. The watercress we got was good, as were the sesame buns and pork buns. We had some strange scary thing they said was vegetarian but just tasted like solidified pork fat. Maybe I just don't like this much "adventure" in my eating, but I like to know what I'm going to eat. So yeah, go with an experienced person or maybe a place that is more clear about what the food is.
(2)
Allen Y.
I think this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. It's large (two stories, banquet-hall style) and the food is about as good dim sum as you'll find on the east coast. Prices are reasonable, service is fine, and the carts come around quickly. Plus, it's easy to get to on the T (just a few blocks away from South Station, before the arch).
(4)
Lyn L.
No speak Chinese (even tho' I'm Chinese).....The sign for the restaurant is in Chinese characters...so you gotta go close up to see the English version of the sign...good thing the guy at the Chinese gift shop gave us a good explanation of where this place is The dim sum was very good...especially the black bean spare ribs and chicken feet!...We also had the siu mai, harm siu gok and spring rolls. At first I thought we were gonna get passed over....the lady at the front asked if we wanted to "share table"...figured that's faster, we agreed.....they sat us with other folks who spoke only Chinese...but our waiter was kind enough to help us get the food we want. I can say the name of food items, but can't speak Chinese...we got everything we wanted. They were really nice and the food was good...
(5)
Elizabeth D.
I was already to give them 3 stars... and then the House Special Pan Fried Noodles arrived and they instantly got another star. Topped with chicken, beef, shrimp, and Chinese broccoli, this is surely a dish to please. My father, who I often picky, really raved about this one. I wouldn't ever come here for dim sum alone because I don't believe they have enough variety in their selection, but with the pan fried noodles, it was a good meal. The service is not very good or particularly friendly, but then again it usually isn't at dim sum restaurants. Our favorite dim sum dish was the silken tofu topped with syrup. It reminded my mother of her childhood in the Philippines when a Chinese man living in her town would go around selling it. In the Philippines it's called "taho." It was delicious and very touching for me to try something my mother remembered from her childhood. Looks like I'll be back the next time my parents pop in for the weekend.
(4)
J T.
This place has the BEST dim sum in Boston! As a vegetarian, it's hard for me to find anything to eat when I go out with friends for dim sum. This place actually has quite a few to choose from. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not overwhelmed with veggie options. However, I do leave feeling stuffed.) If you're a fan of durian, they have a durian fried dessert that's pretty good! Also, if you don't find what you like, you can always order off of the regular menu. I usually order a veggie fried rice or a veggie fried noodle dish (in addition to eating whatever veggie foods come by on the carts). This place is cheap. Every time we go out with friends, each person pays no more than $10 - including tips! (We don't leave until everyone is stuffed!)
(5)
Momo K.
this place used to be okay but has gotten worst now. Maybe that's why there are less patrons than before. You used to have to wait in line for half an hour b4 you get a table but now you walk in and get it right away. It's getting expensive too, 25 pp and we didn't eat that much. ppl i know and from my experience the waiters here ask you for more tips. their shrimp dumplings is full of baking powder taste, beef rice noodle was the same. their beef short ribs tasted bland. the only thing that was passable was the lotus bun. i will stop coming here if i don't go dim sum in a large group since the quality has really declined.
(3)
C. C.
Best dim sum in Boston. (I used to be a China Pearl regular but converted once I discovered Hei La Moon). Located just one block outside of Chinatown. Friendly waitresses who want to make sure you aren't hungry! Cheap validated parking (although that garage is pretty scary). Favorite dishes: -steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots -steamed shrimp dumplings with chives -fried shrimp dumplings with chives -fried beef spring rolls -steamed shu mai Minus one point for dirty bathrooms and the chaos in getting a table.
(4)
Bob P.
Went for Dim Sum with a party of 10. Walked out fat and happy for $120 bucks plus tip for everyone. Everyone including the kids loved it. If you want 5 star service stay in the suburbs. If you want to have great food at a great price then get sum dim sum at Hei La Moon. This is not just a meal it's a life experience.
(4)
stephen s.
COCKROACHES!!!!! i see other reviews here about the insect infestation at Hei La. we had a similar experience last week. a good sized roach was sitting right on top of a scallion dumpling that i was about to eat. i showed the offending dish to our waiter who was extremely apologetic,,,HOWEVER, the manager couldn't care less! our waiter insisted that we wait for the manager to see how the restaurant would handle the offense. the manager kept us waiting, never apologized, and then made a big show of offering to not charge us for the tea and to take 20% off the bill. his attitude really was more offensive than the roach! when i told him that i should report the restaurant to the health board he quickly comped the meal! my partner is chinese...but that had absolutely no impact on how the manager treated us! we will spend our $ somewhere else in the future.
(1)
Quang H.
Aight, here's the run down. I've only been to three dim sum places in Boston since the day I could hold chopsticks, and it has been China Pearl, Hei La Moon, and Chau Chow City. Hei La Moon's is really spacious, and the wait in line on a super busy day is not too bad compared to China Pearl, since they have both a larger first and second floor. In regards to their dishes, it's pretty good. Pretty typical of any normal dim sum places. The one thing that bugged me though was that the employees who dragged the carts sometimes went MIA for extended periods of times, not covering all the floor. It's just a minor set back, but there is a highlight to this place! I definitely would recommend getting the watermelon tapioca desert they have. It's watermelon pieces with little bits of tapioca, all submerged in coconut milk. Definitely a great way to end the meal. I definitely would recommend Hei La Moon to any tourist visiting Chinatown. Do note though, i think Hei La Moon is a tad pricier than China Pearl. We had a group of 4 today, and the bill came out to be about $60. Usually it'd be a lot less from my experience. But nevertheless, good eating.
(3)
Ashleigh P.
I just realized I never updated my review post-dim sum experience. I went here with some friends and my mom for dim sum after I got my "I-have-way-too-many-degrees-and-I'm-already-a-Âlawyer-and-need-another-degree" graduation from BU. First the good: They had an amazing selection and cart service, which is getting more and more difficult to find, not just in Boston, but in general. Everything we had was delicious, especially the clams in black bean sauce. The bad: Many of the wait staff who work the dim sum service don't speak English. Of course my Chinese friend who was at my graduation didn't join us for lunch due to other commitments! We had a hard time communicating "no pork" to the people who came by with the carts. Other than that, the dim sum was great. I'll come back...but only with my friends who speak Chinese.
(4)
Julie T.
Stay the Hei la away from here. This place is dirtier than your avg dim sum joint. if your an experienced dim sum eater; you won't like this place. the fare is average with the usual suspects (cheung fun, bao, shu mai,etc) not being very good at all. better off getting frozen at a grocery store. no white people...in this case they know better......
(1)
Roseanne C.
Was trying to make a noon bus at South Station, so we popped in here b/c it was the closest place in Chinatown to the bus terminal at 11:20am. It was pretty packed for mid-morning on a Thursday. Additionally, almost no pale face round eye - also a good sign to me for a dim-sum spot. No one spoke english except the woman at the counter in the front and one waiter who seated us. We just pointed and ate with the quickness; the servers were very nice and everything was very tasty - I'm not that picky when it comes to dim-sum, I just want everything hot and fresh, and everything here fit the bill. I don't really dig the chicken feet, but theirs looked really good - very big and meaty. My fave had to be the little pork bits with the rolled up rice noodles. And cheap! Ordered quite a few little plates and was stuffed, and the whole bill came out to just under $20. Def plan to come back the next time in Boston.
(4)
Kevin C.
So, so typical of Boston Chinatown restaurants, i.e. wildly mediocre. Kind of limited selection, the servers are pretty slow, and the food itself is greasy and pallid. Really not a great option, but it might just be one of the better dim sum places in town, so I'm reserving my two stars for Empire Garden, which was fucking terrible.
(3)
Bata D.
Good food with a wide range of dim sum dishes and carts that make frequent trips around the floor. Can also park upstairs for $6 for the day. Still not as good as dim sum in NY or CA, but probably amongst the best in Boston.
(4)
Leslie F.
A walk through Boston's not so awesome Chinatown with my cousin in-law led us to his favorite dim sum restaurant, Hei la Moon. Embarrassingly enough, I've never had dim sum before but was overwhelmed with tasty treats coming at me every which way. We ordered shrimp dumplings, pork and scallion dumplings, black bean sauced clams, steamed BBQ pork buns and cilantro rice noodles. Without question, the dumplings left the most significant food impression on my palate. The handmade noodles, which encased the scrumptious shrimp filling, were soft and chewy, making them terrific in texture. The shrimp was fresh and generously stuffed into the delicious noodle pockets. The pork and scallion dumplings were salty in only the most perfect way making them a perfect companion to the sweet heat of Sambal chili sauce. Patrick devoured the black bean drowned perfectly steamed clams but fortunately I was able to pop a couple of these suckers in my chops before they were gone. A huge restaurant with patrons flocking in and out every second, this place does one serious lunch hour business. Luckily, they have the space to pull it all off and the service to keep people coming back for a speedy and delicious lunch every time. Did I mention this Chinatown restaurant was incredibly clean and tastefully decorated?
(4)
Peter C.
This place is okay, came here with my parents to tour Boston after I moved here. The sticky rice in banana leaf was a bit bland, missing the flavor of Chinese sausage, and the Phoenix claws did not have spicy peppers. Steamed BBQ pork buns were not piping hot. The peppered spare ribs were pretty good though. I just moved to Boston, having lived in New York for 12 years, and previously grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco where I ate dim sum every Sunday with my parents. I tried dim sum in all the major cities with Chinatowns, and my rating is calibrated to dim sum dining experience in Hong Kong and also the best dim sum restaurant in the SF Bay Area (vs. L.A. and NYC), Koi Palace in Daly City.
(2)
Irene Y.
Pretty authentic Chinese experience, but it doesn't quite compare to dim-sum in LA and Canada. It's tasty, but I've had better.
(3)
Blair H.
Things you should know about Hei La Moon, dim sum, and yum cha: 1) It's chaaaeeeep - Imma hungry dude, and I can pack it down plus order some for the late night munchies for $15, out the door 2) Them ish is good - I'm not fancy like some of these folk that know the names of everything, but I know good food. Stick to the steamed basics - pig dumps, some dim, and dum buns. The fried shtuff is alway nasty...everywhere. Also, stick to the carts, nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering fried rice...and having a big ass. 3) Order tea. Dim sum is traditionally served with tea. It's kind of the whole point. Hei La will hook you up with all kinds of tea (maybe even the "cold" kind...jeezus, don't order iced tea), free of charge. I like freebees. Nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering a coke for brunch...except, see above. 4) Bathrooms are always gross...I'm going to assume that the kitchen is juuuust as nasty. See above (stick to the carts). 5) Service always sucks. They can't speak your language, and we can't speak theirs. Just wave your arms around and point at stuff. Just don't point at a coke or fried rice...see above (big ass white dude). 6) Don't pay attention to the dead fish in the tank. They're just playin'. It's a survival tactic, you get eaten last.
(4)
Tanya S.
I've only been to this place for dim sum in Boston, but it's pretty tasty. They even handled us well when none of us spoke Chinese. Very attentive service, especially if you come not too late in the day. The pork buns are soooo good :)
(4)
Helen W.
Yummy dim sum!
(4)
Laura T.
Best dim sum in Boston. Fresh flavorful dumplings, and quick cart service. Easily accessible location right off the highway exit. If you come during the summer make sure to get the watermelon soup.. and try to avoid any fried specialties.. they tend to be dry.
(4)
R B.
Great dim sum at a great price! I went there for lunch on a Wednesday as was seated and served right away. The BBQ pork buns and shrimp har gau were my favorites-- I thought the glutinous rice was a tad overcooked. It helped that I was with a friend who spoke Cantonese. Way better than that massive dim sum place in the old opera theatre. Definitely recommend.
(5)
Lilo P.
Dim sum. The greatest thing ever! And this place does a pretty good job. The one and only thing I wish for every time is pai gwut fan (sp? [obviously the spelling is off...]) but it is just so scarce? I never come at the ideal time. Which leads to my next point. Sometimes when you come too late from morning batch and not late enough for the next batch of Dim Sum, they food quality goes down... Or has this only happened to me? Anyways, beef rice noodles, I love you! And their fa cha is very nice.
(4)
Hillary D.
When you see the 98% Chinese clientele elbowing each other out of the way to get at the food carts being rolled around, you know you are in the right place for dim sum! Although the carts come around slowly, it is sooooo worth the wait! Absolutely delicious. I ordered shrimp dumplings that were juicy and had lovely big chunks of shrimp in them. Also shrimp shui mei and two large chicken in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. I loved this dish! Baked within the sticky rice was chicken and a fried egg. An entire meal in one package. I know. I ordered way too much for one person, but it all tasted so good I couldn't resist! So I then picked out a dish of large shrimp stuffed mushrooms that when you bit into it you could taste a subtle hint of sherry coating the mushroom. I also stopped a cart for wonderful little green shrimp crescents, which I dipped into soy sauce mixed with sweet hot chili paste. Yum! And yes, I did weaken and stop just one more cart! This time for amazing Barbequed Pork Buns that were light as air and filled with a rich and slightly sweet Barbequed Pork. The dim sum at Hei La Moon were not dainty or inventive or even different. However, they had superb flavor. And that's all that counts. I am definitely making this my favorite dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)
Lily X.
Great dim sum place in Boston!! We came here on a Saturday morning by the red line train. This place is huge! They have spacious dining rooms on two stairs. The dim sum section is the downstair one. Three of us got chicken feet, sticky rice with chicken, shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice roll, taro buns, BBQ pork buns, chinese cruller, sweet soy milk, tofu with ginger sauce and finally watermelon tapioca as dessert. Every dish is simply fantastic!! I wish we had more people so we could try more dishes. The total came out to be $42 including the tips. Compared to the other dim sum places I have been to, the waitress are more friendly here (they are willing to speak mandarin with me)! Overall, highly recommend it!
(5)
Sara Z.
I made the mistake of going there for dinner, not dim sum. Bad idea! The winter melon soup was about as mediocre as it gets. The duck with mushrooms was not worth the price. Tasted like canned mushrooms and leftover duck (not to mention ridiculously salty). The calamari was bland. The billcame to $40 and I would not come back for dinner again.
(2)
Kendall L.
I was with 5 other people and the bill came to $65. It's incredibly cheap for the amount of food you get. That should be reason enough to run here every Saturday and Sunday! I'm not too hard to please when it comes to dim sum, so this place gets an easy A. Come hungry. Come often.
(5)
Mike M.
We had dinner at this place and it was supposed to be a great celebration. But the service was so slow it took 3 hours to complete. We placed the order at 6pm and there was no food until 7pm. And between each course we had to wait 10 minutes. Also there were two wrong dishes. Terrible service. Don't go here.
(1)
K S.
My favorite dim sum spot in boston. The service is ehhh but hey, its a cultural experience, (pretend youre in china), They conveniently have a parking lot above instead of fighting for street parking in chinatown. beats china pearl and chau chow!
(4)
Sarah A.
So delicious! The shark fin dumplings were my favorite! They also have a great selection of different steamed dumplings, some with vegetables, some with shrimp. For the most part, I had no idea what I was eating, but it sure was yummy. The atmosphere is very hectic. You've got a mass of people waiting to be seated at the front, the tables are a bit crowded together and then, of course, you have all the servers making their way around with their carts. Things move fast so, as others have said, don't expect pleasantries and detailed explanations of what is in each dish. Just point, get your card stamped and see if you like it. If not, pass it along to someone else at your table. Also, the prices are extremely reasonable. We came here with a group of five and ended up stuffing ourselves for about $60. Good food, good value, highly recommended. The only unpleasant experience we had was dealing with the crazy parking attendants in the garage above the restaurant. Note that you can get a parking coupon at the restaurant for $6 and then you can be reimbursed for your $24 "deposit" at the parking garage, essentially making the parking $6 (although you still need the $24 in cash to hand them while your car's there).
(4)
Saika C.
Most horrible customer service. Server wave me away when i approach to get dimsum. God, where is the manner! I speak Chinese. Cant just said please wait. Cold food!! Never in my life so mad. I m a Chinese. It is like a living style which we go dim-sum since my family came from Canton region. I will never recommend this place. There are many other choices. Chinese who knows about dim sum wont go to this place.
(1)
Priscilla T.
Good enough for me. Had most of the dim sum dishes I wanted: cheung fun (rice noodle rolls filled with beef), egg tarts, bean curd rolls, fried turnip cake... and also had sauteed pea shoots (my fave). Service is pretty helpful - definitely helps to speak Cantonese though. And get a reservation! The wait can be long.
(3)
Elen C.
Huge place...we were the only non Asian, which is usually a good sign if you are looking for authentic. We were starving, and the Dim Sum came quickly, and I thought they were quite good.
(4)
Angela Y.
The group I was traveling with went here for a dim sum lunch. It was pretty busy at lunch time but were seated very quickly after we arrived. One of the downsides is that most of the cart pushers do not speak any English (yes I know we are in a Chinese restaurant but basic words do help) which can be kinda of hard to communicate what specific items you are looking for. Food was good and authenic. The pork buns were our favorite and the pork meatballs and the chinese tamales(thats what my Asian husband calls them) were also very good. All in all for a cheap meal (fed 4 people for $35) it was pretty good.
(3)
Leean O.
Came here once and probably WOULD be back for dinner which according to the reviews on here doesn't seem to fare as bad as the early lunch experience I had. To summarize my experience in a nutshell, AND to point out I went with a very asian friend who served as my guide/consultant through our selections, ultimately we both left disillusioned with our dim sum fun. Food tasted like yesterdays left overs, poor texture, incorrect temperatures for certain options, and all around mediocrity at its finest. Again I do not like to give up on a joint, especially when I see promising reviews at later times of the day........ so I SHALL RETURN.
(2)
Nik C.
Had the most surreal experience here. Came on a Sunday 6/5, arrived at about 9:30am. Upstairs had a fair number of people. We were seated downstairs. Nobody was there. And I mean nobody; we were the only ones eating there. The carts sort of hovered around our table. Nobody else showed up for the whole time we ate. Nobody. It was very strange. We're used to this place being absolutely packed. Dunno what the story was. It was the strangest thing.
(4)
douglas h.
Dim Sum My favorite dim sum place in the Boston area. Potential to stand in a line.
(4)
lisayelp c.
Have checked out almost all dim sum places in the greater Boston area, including the new ones like Windsor, Hei La Moon has been rated as one of my top in the past 4 years. I like inviting friends (~10 to 20 people) to go over there and enjoy the good dim sum brunch because the space is huge and food had been nice. However, I noticed that the quality has gone down in the past year, the chicken feet is not as tasty and the turnip cake is not as yummy. However, because of the $6 parking validation, we still like to go over there. Worst happened yesterday, and I decided I am not going to invite friends over there anymore. When we were there, service was slow, food cart didn't pass by fast enough to fill our table, and the dishes were not hot enough. When I asked for more tea leaves in the tea pot, the attitude was ok and he probably added 2 pieces of tea leaves in that pot. When we were leaving, we validated our parking ticket, and paid our $6. We took the ticket to the garage and they were to charge us $18, which means we ended up not getting any discount from dining at the restaurant. We went back to the restaurant and told the manager about it, she refused to help and refused to do anything about it. It was not a very friendly experience, and we decided we are not going there anymore. We certainly don't like to pay to eat and see other's attitude at the same time. Bad bad experience.. I am going back to China Pearl for big party and Windsor for small party.
(1)
Michelle T.
Having grown up in Hong Kong, this dim sum comes close to a few er...average restaurants in HK and above average compared to dim sum in Chicago's chinatown. This place is always busy (the 2 times i was there) and they seat you almost immediately! Love the trolley's that come by your table every 2 minutes, but hate that the same carts keep coming over and they always ask if you want the same stuff they asked if you wanted 10 minutes ago. :P Har gao - Shrimp dumplings are plump and stuffed with lump shrimp chunks. Hate the stuff filled with pork, but this stuff is gooood. Siu mai - are pretty large in size! Tasty, flavorful porky dumpling. Egg tarts - My bf can eat all 3 in the same meal. The crust is a little too doughy and thick for me though. Cold cucumbers - EW. I love Chinese cucumbers, but these suck. The cucumbers are bitter and the marinating sauce is tasteless. The only dish I didn't finish here. Chicken Feet - Could be steamed longer until the tendons fall off the bone, but still decent. The feet are skinnier, less meaty than what i'm used to in HK though. Shrimp rolls - They are fried, a little oily, but still flavorful. The minced shrimp they use it tasty, but I'm not a fan of the pieces of celery in there. Spring rolls - Average. Congee with shredded meat and century egg - love this stuff and can't get enough of it. :P Authentic. Yummy. I'd definitely come back again and even bring out of town guests from Asia, but skip that nasty cucumber. To stuff 2 people, ~$15/person is quite enough.
(4)
Cee C.
There is never a wait here. The seafood is fresh, and the prices are cheap. China Pearl's dimsum is soooo much better.
(3)
Lauren L.
This is my pick for dim-sum in Chinatown, over Chau Chow City (everything tasted a little cold and old here), China Pearl, and Emperor's Garden. There are lots of food carts rotating pretty quickly around so you rarely have to get up to flag one down. The food is always hot and fresh, and the prices are more than reasonable. Their standard dimsum dishes (shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, shumai, roast pork buns) are all good, but I think their more 'unique' dishes definitely take the cake here. If you see them, definitely try the fried eggplant stuffed with pork and get the dessert buns filled with custard (SO GOOD). If all these dimsum dishes are too heavy on the meats for you and you just want some simply prepared veggies, they can also cook up a plate of gai-lan (Chinese broccoli?) dressed with oyster sauce. Sodium overload AND dark leafy veggies that make you feel 'healthy' for less than $10 per person? Sign me up. I'm always down for a trip to Chinatown for Hei La Moon dimsum.
(4)
Jas L.
so i went here. i had a chicken foot. i was taken out of my comfort zone..... sounds successful for me. food is different (i cant say good beyond that it was good in my book.... no comparison though), and challenged me. They come around in carts and unleash this banquet of food on your table. i think i heard that this is a very older version of dim sum because it uses the carts. regardless everything is amazing and you just settle into this place of magical that is so different from the rest of the food you typically have. go on sundays. its slower around 12pm, but its still very busy. you wont wait its like three stories tall (i kid you not). this is on boston secrets list as dim sum goodness.
(5)
Adam C.
1st timer to Boston Chinatown (in many many years). Went with my son & my mom. Fri. 24 June 2011, about 12:30pm. It was a very large place, very noisy, and very crowded..lots of pushy people. All of us are mega dumpling fans, so it was a no-brainer.. We ate all types of dimsum, I couldn't tell you what type they weer, but most were great. Different locations in the restaurant had different foods on the carts..we were in the front of the place, and at the rear, there were balls of something being carted around. My take-sit somewhere else and your menu will change ? The cart pushers didn't offer any explanation as to what it the itemes were... I did notice that some of the young asian business men were waited and douted over by the younger female staff :-) not the cranky cart ladies. I liked it very much, for the food and the crazy atmosphere. I want to go back....
(4)
Meridith H.
This is only the 2nd place in Boston that I've tried for Dim Sum, and I already know that I've found my regular place. The atmosphere outside the restaurant is just as frenetic as the atmosphere inside - within seconds of being seated, my partner and I already had 2 choices of dessert on our table. Within minutes, we had a feast. Obviously, service was quick. It was also friendly, and the language barrier was no barrier (unless you really want to know what's inside those steaming buns or the steaming pot stickers...but if you want to know that, then where did your sense of adventure go? My partner took out his cell phone to look up the menu, but I call that cheating). I liked most of what I ate, and can't wait to come back with an empty stomach to try more of their offerings. The location is great, too; it's a quick walk from the Boylston stop on the Green or the South Station stop on the Red Line.
(4)
Tammy L.
My favourite DS place in Boston! I love almost everything that I've tried at HLM, especially the char siu bows. The cart ladies can be persistent but some of them are really friendly. Dinner at HLM is another story. I've had about five family dinners at this place. The dishes are bland so I usually have to add soy or hot sauce on everything. Normally I would just eat everything the way it is, but not at HLM. But hey, the dim sum is fabulous. My only complaint is the long, long wait.
(4)
Z T.
My first experience there, dimsum is pretty good, but service and speed is the slowest I've seen in Chinatown. Nearly impossible to get what we wanted. I went back the 2nd time, and service was excellent, but this time we have a bigger crowd.
(4)
Yan L.
It is these sort of places that makes me want to move back to Hong Kong. Sure, you may say it's not a fair comparison, but that doesn't excuse the horrible dim sum. Where shall I start? -- Shrimp dumplings (har gao) had skin which was too thick. But thick here doesn't mean strong, actually (you'd think it would) because the moment you pick it up with chopsticks, it breaks and all the filling spills out. -- Lotus leaf rice (lor mai gai) was dry on the inside. Rice was undercooked and had a grainy texture. (Btw, eating undercooked glutenous rice is not good for your stomach.) -- Siew mai had a dot of pink food coloring on top to substitute for roe (usually orange). At least I hope it was food coloring. Very suspicious. -- Fried taro dumplng was too oily and tasted stale. Had to spit it out. -- Char siew buns had too little filling. The bun was cooked for too long and probably with not enough steam, making it dense and hardened. -- Chicken feet in soy sauce. This one was actually alright. Though I'd be surprised if they could ruin this. -- Century egg pork porridge. Nothing redeeming. Bland and not cooked long enough to get the flavors of the ingredients out. I suspect the only reason why so many people come to this place is because the wait is short (if any), as they have a lot of space on multiple floors. So i guess it depends on whether you want to subject yourself to longer waits elsewhere to get better food, or get a quick shot of crap.
(1)
Helena Q.
Most of the food here is definitely above average and quite good. Suffers from the common problem of inconsistent push carts, so definitely make sure to try and sit in an area where lots of other people are. I do feel that it's a bit expensive for dim sum though. My biggest complaint is that the chrysanthemum tea / other tea mix we got had only one flower in it... (I don't actually know the English name of the tea)
(4)
Alex L.
By far the best dim sum in Boston. Period. End of sentence. After living here for 4 years at some point in my life, I regret wholeheartedly that I never knew about this place during my entire tenure. It was just outside the gates of chinatown, which I suppose made it out of our line of vision at the time. The food here tastes amazingly fresh and they do a great job on pretty much every dish I care about (Tripe, Shumai, Chung Fun). On an average trip, you can expect each person to spend ~$12-15 for the meal, but thats not particularly different than anywhere else worth checking out in Chinatown Boston.
(5)
Oiyan P.
I took my whole family out to dim sum today to celebrate my return from LA and completion of my Ph.D. Since I haven't been around much in a while I let my parents pick a place. The first thing they said was that they didn't think there was any place good in Boston, but then said that Hei La Moon was decent in their opinion. Oh goodness... it was just not good. My elders (aunts, uncles, parents) just wouldn't eat half of the dishes. The shrimp rice rolls (har cheung) was kinda cold, and the rice roll tasted gritty like the cooks hadn't mixed up the powder enough or something. The shrimp dumpling (har gau) wrapping was too thick (couldn't see through it) and the shrimp tasted funny. So I asked my dad what he thought of it, and he and the other elders thought that the shrimp had gone bad! So we didn't finish those 2 dishes. The cold/pickled chicken feet were pretty good - not too vinegary, and had a good texture to it. The only really good thing was the vegetarian rice rolls (jai cheung) and that's cuz it was brought out to us on a special order. It was hot, straight from the kitchen. Tasty with the smooth rice rolls with a good balance of cilantro. Everything else was pretty forgettable. The other good thing was that at $117 (not including tip) for 16 people, it was a pretty good bargain. But when I asked for a receipt (I paid cash), the hostess was hella rude to me, asking me why I needed it. Damn, biatch! I want it for my tax records. Also, the parking validation is really weird. There's a garage right above the place. You pay an $11 deposit, and after dining you ask for parking validation in the restaurant, which gives you a sticker and $5. Or something like that. Too many transactions!!! I don't know if I've just been spoiled by Chinese food in California, but wow... this was unimpressive. Come on Boston! We deserve good dim sum!
(2)
Dominique N.
Is the "yum cha" here as good as Hong Kong or Vancouver or the Bay Area? Obviously not. But it really hits the spot and is great compared to the generally poor state of Boston Chinese food. Plus they still have the old-school dim sum carts (not ordering at the table) which is awesome! Instant gratification + ability to check out new dishes before buying. Finally it's very cheap - I never end up paying more than $10-12 per person here for more dim sum than I can eat. Har Gow are a good measure of dim sum since it's basically shrimp + dumpling skin- if the shrimp aren't crisp or are overly seasoned, there's nowhere to hide it. The har gow here are good - nice flavor, large in size and the shrimp are fresh. In addition to the regular dim sum (like har gow or sew mai) Hei La Moon has some more authentic dishes like dow foo fah (sweet tofu dish) and ja leung (Chinese donut wrapped in a rice noodle). These are Cantonese favorites and usually pretty hard to find. This restaurant can get mobbed so the best bet is to go on Saturday mornings (versus the more popular Sunday mornings). If the upstairs seems mobbed try heading downstairs to the basement and ask to be seated by the hostess there. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes. I think they also take reservations. There is also validated parking in the attached parking garage - it's a little confusing. You pay the parking garage the full amount (something like $6-10?) and then take your parking pass to Hei La Moon, where you pay THEM another $3. You then take your stamped parking ticket back to the parking garage and they refund your original payment. There has to be a more efficient way, but that's how it works.
(4)
Iv L.
2.5 Star. Nice big place , did some renovation to expand the back. Dim sum cart rolling around and you get to take what you want. average dim sum food.
(2)
Jeffrey L.
Best dim sum in boston, everyone knows it too. Went to China pearl for years and saw the ship sinking for years so I had to find a new gem. Their Shu Mai are easily the best, much bigger and succulent with black mushroom. So if they did dim sum only I would be cheering all the way BUT they do dinner items as well and that's where they honestly deserve 2 stars. Their dinner items are very poorly constructed and the flavors are usually bland. I just love the dim sum too much to give it below 4 stars, plus the decor and service are always good especially for Chinatown and there's parking above.
(4)
Marc L.
This is the new hotspot for Dim Sum in Boston. The restaurant isn't new but their Dim Sum selection and service has improved considerably and has replaced China Pearl as the premiere Dim Sum place around Chinatown. The place was packed on a weekday at 10am. Can be very noisey, but so is any popular place. Thats a good sign. The servers are friendly, food was so fresh. You could tell the food was prepared that morning. Prices were very reasonable.
(4)
Crystal E.
Went there for dim sum and a friend's birthday. Both pretty good for dinner and dim sum. Crazy on Sunday since dim sum hours.
(4)
Qichen Z.
A huge restaurant in Chinatown. Easy to miss because it's tucked away on the end of Beach Street, close to the harbor. Food was okay. Didn't get to see the menu since I went there for a friend's party, but I imagine it to be comprehensive. Seafood was pretty good, but do NOT order the raw fish. The lobster and fried cod were delicious. Overall, the food was good, but the ambience was a little weird. It only has one huge dining space so you feel like you're eating in the middle of a tackily-decorated ballroom. They served Sapporo and Tsingtao (surprisingly hard to find in Boston), so they get points for that. Go here if you have a large party, not necessarily if you want to have an intimate conversation.
(3)
Chris P.
No joke...people told me this place was going to be busy, and they were right - there must have been 500 people eating in there when I was in there, but they are set up to handle it and (for the most part) we weren't left waiting on food. I went on a cold Saturday morning with a couple of friends and on the recommendation of a local. There were carts-a-plenty rolling around all over and bottomless green tea to keep us warm. We ate and ate - great dumplings, beef, clams - basically everything we tried was delicious. The only complaint I have is that there was a period of about 10 minutes where we didn't see any carts come by, but it's a stretch to be upset about this. Three people, we all stuffed ourselves and got out of there for $39. You're not going to beat that. The food is legit, the service pretty good, and the atmosphere lively. A good place to keep on your list!
(4)
Soooap L.
If I crave dim sum, at normal dim sum hours (breakfast - lunch time), I go to Hei La Moon. (I married Cantonese and been to HK a few times so I think it's the best here in Boston compared to the others : Emperor's Garden, China Pearl). Pretty standard selection, hot and fresh (at peak hours) and decently priced. If you go in a larger group, you get more value, of course. but if you're craving dim sum AFTER peak hours, go to Windsor instead where you can get fresh dim sum. I give the food 4 stars, but the service 3 stars. Even if you do speak Chinese, the staff are generally rude and rarely friendly.
(4)
M. Deloris D.
After fostering a love affair between ourselves, the dude and I planned a pre-honeymoon staycation in an attempt to begin a love affair with our fair city, Boston. A menage a trois of sorts, that is to say, he, me and Hei La Moon. A friend recommmended this place. She, a bonafied Asian and self proclaimed AZN (which she claims is an ultra-hip, in the know, Asian). It was seconded by the Yelp family and so it was, that we made our way over to Beach Street to experience the magic. The first issue here is being seated. The top level can get a bit busy as the hostess is the first station of attack past the double doors. We were first timers. We collected a number and waited less than ten minutes to be seated. It was the most confusing ten minutes of my adult life, with numbers being shouted out in three languages (I'm sure one was English, I assume the others were Cantonese and Mandarin). Some folks walked in and breezed through to tables, others collected numbers and waited, others stood and waited without numbers and some just went downstairs. Our strategy worked and I think it's the one we'll implement going forward. The pace at Hei La Moon is breakneck. Carts fly past and the servers only ask if you want to try something once before they pass to the next table, which can be a problem once you figure things out because you start saying yes to everything (except chicken's feet, we never say yes to chicken's feet) once you realize it might be a while before these carts come back around. This can lead to being stuffed prematurely. If you're super starvolated, get a dish to tide you over and wait to survey the carts as they pass the tables and approach you. Nearly everything at Hei La Moon was tasty though I'd say skip the steamed vegetables which were gorgeously green and utterly bland. Go for the beef wrapped in noodle and fried dough wrapped in noodle. The char siu bao were tasty and other dumplings were tastetastic whether boiled, fried or steamed. The pork and black bean spare ribs were tender and delicious. He loved the varied, fried, small fish, squid and shrimp. I was weirded out by the roe in the fish. Roe separate from fish? Yummy. Roe inside the fish? Ummm...ew. A final piece of advice, when heading to dim sum at Hei La Moon, be sure your party is at least three people, that way you'll be able to order more and taste a broader array of the delicious offerings. If you're taking the T, South Station is your best bet. Dig in!
(4)
Clara L.
Another tasty dim sum. Every table upstairs and downstairs was full, there was a few minute wait, longer for parties of 4 our more. Just try not to get seated at the back of the restaurant away from the kitchen if you have a choice, carts don't get back here often and quick enough, some of our dishes were not that warm and we didn't get the best pick of items.
(3)
Sara M.
Went to this restaurant for dim sum on New Year's Day. Didn't actually make it to the restaurant until around 1:15PM, but we were seated within five minutes of arriving. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. I like dim sum restaurants that have the old style carts being wheeled around throughout the meal. We had a great time picking new things to try, and we especially loved any of the dishes involving shrimp (the one with rice noodles was great!). We also liked the sesame balls. There were plenty of different dishes so we felt like we had many options. We ate fairly light, and the bill for four people came to $37. Will definitely return!
(4)
Shao H.
The char siu sou there is the best.
(3)
Jo-Anna L.
Be sure you're willing to go on an adventure before coming here. If you're coming here and you're not Asian, be prepared for the shock of being one of the only non-asians in the restaurant. But, I'd say that must mean it's authentic, right? There's a few normal things to sample here, but I'd say the experience here isn't complete without trying the chicken feet or the tripe. I was less impressed with the variety of dishes here, I found that nearly every dumpling contained shrimp, so if you don't eat shellfish, you're out of luck. There were also a few other dishes, like steamed buns that I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't find (except for some red bean filled ones). But, at least, go on a weekend at brunch time for the best selection as this is the typical time for eating dim sum!
(4)
Nate Y.
One of several restaurants that serve Chinese brunch otherwise known as dim sum, Hei La Moon is situated in the outskirts of Chinatown or the area known as the Leather District. I scored street parking with an "out of service" parking meter. So far so good. The decor was fairly clean and not too shabby. We were seated fairly quickly and had our choice of tea. As we ordered the many different dishes from the carts, we picked what we were familiar with. In a sense it was comfort food for us. The tastes were familiar, but nothing really stood out. The service was fine. Even for those who don't speak Chinese there wouldn't be much of a problem of getting service although it does help knowing what the dishes are. For those who haven't had dim sum before this is a fine choice to try it, but for the experienced don't expect more than the usual.
(3)
Winnie T.
I've only been here twice,maybe three times? but that just goes to show you this place is not memorable for me. During my last visit here with my mom, there weren't many options available at 11:45am. Some of the dishes were bland, some tasted odd and the others just weren't good. On the bright side, there was no wait. But I'd still rather wait for a table elsewhere than be seated right away and eat at Hei La Moon.
(2)
Kevin L.
Considering this appears to be the most highly rated dim sum joint in Boston, I'm pretty shockingly disappointed. It doesn't even compare to the dim sum options in and around the DMV... and the ones that we have are pretty abysmal in comparison with the offerings of San Francisco, New York, or even Chicago. Let's start off with the lack of variety in dishes. The carts that kept passing us by offered up the same set of roughly a dozen different items. One has to order chong fun (the long wide tubes of rice noodle) specially - they don't come around in carts like other dishes? Also, where were the greens, or the guo tie? Then, let's talk about the fact that they appeared to have a single lone cart offering luo buo gao. One. And that lady was -way- slow in serving them up. It took readily upwards of ten minutes for a single order. And even when that came, it was mediocre. Boo. Perhaps it's a function of where we ended up sitting (at a table with a dead-end, so carts could only pass us in one plane of motion), or perhaps it was due to the time of day (we sat down roughly around 1330). The bottom line is that I left completely unimpressed. On the up side, if you pay $11 to park in the cluster of a garage directly above this restaurant on a Saturday, then pay the restaurant $6 for a coupon, they'll refund you the parking fee at the cashier's stand when you exit the garage. Basically, dropping the price down to $5. Presuming you remember to purchase the coupon from the restaurant, and are willing to deal with the hassle of obtaining your money back when you exit.
(2)
H W.
Authentic and affordable dim sum that you can be confident in.
(4)
Ryan L.
Great service and good food consistency. Found the parking a pain, but there's definitely plenty of tables in this place. Always busy during the peak times of the day and the waiters are right on top of it. I'd say this place is the best Dim Sum in Boston.
(4)
Jen M.
We've eaten dim sum many times in many cities. Today we tried hei la moon. Our first Boston dim sum. It's definitely average-above average food-wise. The service was pretty good and the cart ladies were able to communicate fairly well. We got there before noon on a Sunday as a party of six and we were seated immediately I think it helped to have gramma with us because none of the cart ladies was surly with her or us. Had it just been us non-Chinese folks it might have been different. Two downsides on the food...(1) They did not seem to serve scallion pancakes which always keep the kids happy. Luckily I brought a snack for one my picky eater. Also they did not have juice so if you bring young kids you should pack their drinks. (2) They did not seem to have many of the steamed dumplings I love and have come to expect at dim sum.
(3)
Happy Eater B.
Went here for a party. Tons of food, all of it tasty. Definitely a quantity over quality place, as the huge amounts of food lost a bit of finesse. Service was also a little lacking - trouble getting water, extra chopsticks, etc. because the wait staff was so busy. But a solid four stars for a great experience overall. An excellent place for large groups.
(4)
Billy Su B.
ok so hei la moon is the latest thing for me to OBSESS over. here is the tale: upon arrival, things were looking grim. a teeny chinese girl, beneath the gaudiest chandelier you have ever laid eyes on, stood behind a booth at the entrance. she was handing out mangled little pieces of paper with numbers scribbled on them with one hand, and holding a microphone with the other, which she would periodically half say, half.. kind of, sort of shriek: NEKSA PAHTY!! NUMMA SEEKS!!!! is this dim sum or chinese bingo? either way i feel like i win. before she could call our number over her microphone though, a huffy little man motioning violently to and fro confiscated our ticket and sent us down a grand staircase where a lady looked at us solemnly and pointed to a dirty table. mike and i looked at one another skeptically and sat down. is this punishment? must we be flogged with dumplings now? he made a face as he flicked a stray piece of rice onto the floor and glanced reluctantly at the remaining debris. mulling all about us were waiters in the filthiest uniforms i have ever seen. seriously, do the employees all roll around in the dim sum before each shift? was there a food fight? are the crusties their version of "flair?" was someone's mother dissed? so there we were in the middle of this dining room when a waiter pulled up with a broke-ass cart with some duct tape on the side. my eyebrows were about to assume the sassy position when i spotted the food: steaming, fresh, gorgeous, aromatic plates heaped with dumplings, shumai, sweet pork belly buns.. ladies and gents, the food was FANTASTIC. the shumai was unusual, saturated in savory goodness and atypical spices. the pork belly buns were MY FAVORITE! like little desserts! i had a banana leaf stuffed with hot rice and pork-sausage with egg that was so so yummy.. bingo? yes, it would seem so after all. hei la moon, i will brave your crusty waiters, your bad chandeliers, your shrieking hostess, and your one injured toilette with no seat. really? no seat? let's just neutralize it, shall we? / / / / two stars off for being a dirty debbie. ( * * ) | ___ ___ |___ / | | | _______________/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | dumpling cart! | m---- ---m | | | | | | | | | ______________ | | | ( ) ( ) | |
(3)
Angel C.
If you have a big group and want to go for dim sum, you either go here or you go to China Pearl. This place is maybe a little better than China Pearl. One thing I like about China Pearl, though, is that they have a bigger dessert selection (hooray for my sweet tooth!), although HLM recently started serving tapioca in coconut milk, which is one of my favorites, so yay! If you want to avoid waiting, go before 11AM.
(4)
Sophie H.
Unequivocally better than China Pearl. I've come here many times for dim sum, and I've never been disappointed. We find something new and delicious every time. Everyone leaves happy and stuffed for only about $10 each - who can complain? My only caveat is that you really have to be aggressive if you want them to give you water in the first place, let alone refill your glass. But this problem is so minor, and so easily fixed, that it doesn't cost Hei La Moon even half a star in my book.
(5)
Hannah F.
Once again, I must admit that I've been spoiled by food in Los Angeles. That said, I went into Hei La Moon with hope. I did. I read some reviews on Yelp and there were good ones on there. I've been dying for good dim sum since moving to Boston but alas... I have not found my place yet. Hei La Moon has a good, energetic dim sum atmosphere. That's a good start. Plus, the servers milling around with the carts were able to tell us, in English, what the food was, so that's a plus since I'm (sadly) allergic to shrimp and crab and definitely didn't want to make an early afternoon trip to the ER. The biggest food plus has to be the BBQ pork buns. I may seem weird for saying this, but I'm slightly obsessed with them. I had actually been craving one for a week or so before deciding to go to dim sum so this was perfect timing. The buns didn't disappoint. Piping hot, super tasty... DEFINITELY have them if you go there. The rest of the food didn't wow me at all. Hence the 'meh, I've had better' rating. Maybe I just have higher standards. I don't know. I went with my parents, boyfriend and a family friend who lives in Boston. He loved it. The rest of us were underwhelmed. Honestly, it might just be because we've had the best of the best dim sum at home. We had dumplings with all kinds of fillings, vegetables, sesame sticky balls, shrimp balls (not for me but for everyone else), tofu and a few other things. We lost track. But the fabulous tastes you expect with dim sum just weren't there. Slightly too salty or bland or oily...what have you. Nothing really popped (aside from the BBQ pork buns). That being said, the waiters and waitresses were all very nice, prompt and courteous. But the food just did not deserve a stellar rating. I wish I could rate it higher...but I just can't. I can't help but wonder, is this just good dim sum for Boston? I hesitate to try another dim sum place for fear of the same result... General disappointment and a little queasiness after the fact.
(2)
tritri j.
Damn, Boston, 3 and a half stars? Really? Sheesh no one in this city knows what real, quality Chinese food tastes like! Apart from the tummy ache I incurred later that night and the questionable bowel movement that followed later, their kung pao chicken had veryyy little chicken and was pumped FULL of celery! google kung pao chicken - none will have celery in the pictures. Another plate (shrimp with cashews) was also chock full of celery. I mean, could the place be any cheaper? We're supposed to pay $12-15 a plate for stir-fry celery? C'mon.. Also, the service was terrible, which is not surprising, but what did surprise us was when one of our party handed over her credit card to pay, the waitress brought back 2 credit cards! After we told her it wasn't ours, she just looked at it like she didn't know what to do with the situation! Fair warning for everyone - you may be charged for someone else's crappy food! Avoid this place!!
(1)
Maithili R.
I've been here twice and wasn't excited about it either time. The first time we had dim sum and it was just very mediocre. Nothing to write home about. The second time around, we got entrees. This time two sets of our chopsticks were sticky and had left over food on them. Then later, one of my coworkers found a hair in her food. Between the chopsticks and the hair, we've decided to not go back here. I have to say the curry chicken was delicious. But between taste and hygiene, I choose hygiene.
(1)
Jon H.
Okay, so I came here with a friend around Saturday at noon. Already, I have decided that its WAYYY better to come here on Saturday instead of Sunday. We waited only about ten minutes, then were seated downstairs. Almost immediately we started our dimsum cart ordering, and had a ton of different plates on our table. Like I said previously, the food is all great here, with a ton of traditional type dishes that are all very flavorful and good portion sizes. The service was much better this time, although we had to wait until the end to get our chicken porridge. I love the fact that when you order taro cake, they fry it to order in front of you. Two people, a good amount of food for 22 bucks. I'd say the prices felt much better the second time around. If you don't wait long, and you get lucky with the carts, there's no better place to experience DimSum. Oh yeah, it might also help that we just paid $10 and parked in the parking structure on top/side of the restaurant. That saved me a GIANT headache.
(4)
Keith S.
Best and authentic dim sum restaurant. Always crowded which is a good sign. We've started eating here at least once a week. Huge variety of dishes that can make both meat lovers and vegetarians happy. Service is outstanding in a traditional Chinese style (ie fast, efficient) Looking at another yelpers review- finally did get up the nerve to try the chicken feet. Not bad but there must be some technique that I haven't quite mastered yet. We eat slowly, enjoy the table conversation and the banter with the ladies on the pushcarts. Lots of tea and for the time spent and dishes consumed, we have always paid a reasonable price. Favs are the shrimp fun and the beef fun; soft tasty broad rice noodles around the filling. Also baked Chau Su Bau - the best!
(5)
Tracy C.
I want to start this review by stating the fact that Boston has no good Chinese food. So, the ratings and review are not based on the standard of real Chinese food, it is merely relative, to other Chinese food establishment in Boston. For that, I give Hei La Moon a 4-star, not because I don't know better, but because there ain't much choices in Boston. I like how the restaurant is spacious, the dining rooms are clean and the decor is extremely traditional Chinese--kinda lame but also cute. I always order shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and the noodle thingy w/ shrimp inside ( I don't know how to call those in English). Sometime I also get congee, sweet tofu soup, some fried taro shrimp cake stuff, shu mai and sticky rice chicken in lotus leaf. Nothing comes close to what one'd expect in China, Taiwan or HK, but here in Boston/Mass, there's only two other places (windsor, and the huge weird place in Saugus) that I think match up to Hei La Moon.
(4)
Gwen S.
Carts of mouth watering dumplings. This restaurant will hit the spot and will top my list of preferred restaurants. The staff was a little rough and I couldn't understand them, and even though I had no idea which dumplings we chose, they were all pretty damn good. When you see alot of chinese people dining here, that means that their is something good that waits inside. I was not disappointed other than the rude service.
(4)
Ally W.
I think Win Sor is the dim sum spot in Boston nowadays but we do miss the fun of ordering from carts. We decided to eat at Hei La Moon for brunch on a Sunday. Food is usually mediocre, nothing special about the dishes. We do appreciate the brighter atmosphere and cleaner-looking dishes. However, this was probably the last time we will ever step foot into this joint. While we were looking for our usual dishes, we noticed the turnip cake lady had a minor accident with her cart. The top part of her cart fell over and spilled all the turnip cakes on the floor. Her peers did not help her clean up the mess, instead they kept pushing their carts and looked curiously at the mess. When the girl was about to sweep up the turnip cakes from the floor, one of the kitchen managers rushed out to the floor and handed the girl a big tray. The girl carefully stacked the turnip cakes and carried them back into the kitchen. Of course, the cart came out with ""fresh" turnip cakes in a few minutes. We noticed that some of the cakes were broken into pieces, maybe from the fell... very unethical way of doing business to save a few bucks.
(1)
Julien P.
One of the better dim sum places in Boston. My wife and I have been to this place 4-5 times. Usually we order very similar stuff. Once you know what dim sum is, you really don't go out of your comfort zone. The food in general is good. You get seated fairly quickly despite the fact that it's always super crowded. Smaller parties up to 4 obviously benefit from faster table turnaround. I think the most inconvenient part about this location is finding parking around there. What a pain. The parking garage above charges something like $10 but it's one of the triple transaction things (you pay a larger sum, get validated, get reimbursed partly), quite annoying in fact. My wife who is Chinese gives this place 3 stars but agrees it's one of the better places in Boston. Maybe she knows what she's talking about more than I do. From my experience though, I would say that comparing cities, Boston in general is better than Seattle or Chicago for dim sum. There are 3-4 places in Boston I would give 4 stars to, and this one is in the top 2. The best dim sum I've had, which gets my 5 stars, was in KL, Malaysia. What's good here, flavor-wise (not authentic-wise): the crepes, the chicken feet (except this one time - today!), pork ribs, shrimp and pork dumplings (ha gao, shiu mai...)... actually too many things to list. Most are fairly good. I was surprised they had soy milk w/ Chinese fried crullers in the carts. My first time trying it in a place other than a Taiwanese breakfast places. What did I think? Not good! I think the tau fu fah (tofu in ginger/sugar sauce dessert) is better at Chow Chau but the wifey totally disagrees and says it is silkier and smoothier here. Service: well, typical for big dim sum place. Not much service but no charge for tea. Ambience: typical, busy, crowded, but at least not dirty I come back to this place on a rotation with the other 3-4 places in town. When friends visit, this is one of the better places to take them because it is not directly in Chinatown but is close enough for a walk.
(4)
Jim K.
A decent dim sum place. They still use the traditional bamboo steamer trays in their carts, unlike many others who have switched to stainless containers. They had a number of good dumplings that I hadn't seen before, and all were tasty. Were this restaurant falls down is on cleanliness. Our teapot, cups, glasses and plates were all bespeckled with food chunks - not the most appetizing.
(3)
Robert D.
It doesn't seem possible that I've lived in Boston for over two decades, am on a quest for the best Chinese food and I've never really had Dim Sum. Well, I've had it at local suburban places where you order off the menu, but not the so-called traditional experience of the carts. Today, I did, and it was FANTASTIC. The line, while intimidating, moved quickly. All of the food was fresh, delicious and non-greasy (I know that sounds like faint praise but if you've eaten bad Chinese food you know that's important). A lot of folks were raving about the pork buns, which were great, but not the best thing there, especially if you're trying to favor the low-carb side of the world. They are better than the chicken buns in my opinion. The ribs, shumai, taro and shrimp dumplings were excellent. All the greens I had-- from the cucumber salad to the junior bok choy were also scrumptious. I had a wrapped cabbage thing that I didn't know what it was which I'm sorry for because it was also delicious. My least favorite things were the salt-n-pepper shrimp because, for me, eating lots of shells gets tiresome quickly, and the tofu soup. I was sad that I had run out of room before I had run out of options, but I think that means that I will return soon. I also got a nice couple of take out boxes to go, so now I'm full and happy.
(4)
Claudia H.
If you are looking for a good dim sum place in Boston, stop the search because you already found it. Hei La Moon has the best dim sum in town in my opinion. You can't go wrong there. Special attention to the bbq pork steamed buns. I don't give it a 5-star because service can still improve. Sometimes it takes several minutes to get the waiters attention and order a glass of water.
(4)
pauline l.
It's alright. Good enough for the US. Their ingredients are usually pretty fresh. There are 2 decently-sized floors, so the wait is rarely very long. I like that they've started to bring out the za leung (fried bread stick wrapped in rice noodle) on the carts instead of having to special order it from a waiter. The nice thing about this place is that you don't *have* to climb up any stairs -- except for one step at the entrance, I think -- or deal with an elevator, which means you can bring grandma and grandpa here without worrying too much about accessibility issues. Plus, they have validated parking upstairs for $6. (You can pay for your food with a credit card but you'll need to pay cash for the validated parking.) I think I'd rate this place 3.5 stars marked down to 3 without the two convenience factors, but considering that bringing grandma to dim sum is pretty much the only reason I go to Chinatown these days and almost all the other restaurants there have a lot of stairs, I'm bumping it up to four.
(4)
Lily C.
My father was a partner with the owner of Hei La Moon wayyy back in the day so I might be biased.... + = pros - = cons + cheap dim sum ..but not cheaper than empire garden + good selection of dim sum + good for dim sum/wedding receptions + the push carts go around fairly fast so you get food quickly + the food itself doesn't have as much MSG in it compared to other places - not that great of a place for dinner although the price may be worth it - dinner food kinda sucks - street parking in the area sucks - can definitely be extremely crowded - the tables are pretty close to each other so you might be bumping into other people with your chair A-OK place for dim sum. Not my personal favorite, but acceptable for what you pay.
(3)
Ying M.
Hei La Moon is my go-to dim sum restaurant in Boston- less greasy, in my experience, than China Pearl. It's loud and crowded and sometimes you have to chase down carts, but hey! that's what dim sum is all about. Standard dim sum fare is good here- you can't go wrong with har gao or siu mai (although sometimes they run out of what you're looking for). The dofu-hua (sweet tofu soup) is quite good. I'm personally not a huge fan of their pastries- it's probably a better idea to get your sweet fix at one of the myriad bakeries in Chinatown (I highly recommend Eldo for their dan tat). If you're smart about ordering and go with a big enough group, the prices are ridiculously low. I think one time we managed to pay something like $6 a person. Don't bother ordering anything off the menu- it most likely won't be worth it. Summary: Not the best dim sum I've ever had, but certainly not the worst. 4 stars for Boston (would be something like 3-3.5 in LA). If you've got a dim sum craving, Hei La Moon is the place to go!
(4)
Deann M.
Shrimp and chives dumpling - my new fave Everything else - pretty darn good Went here twice within 3 days. Probably the best dim sum that I've ever had - and at $10 a piece for a feast, you can beat it!
(5)
Doug P.
By far the best Dim Sum in Chinatown. I can't even keep track of how many times I have been here. The food is really good and it shows because they are always packed on the weekends and quickly expanded to add a basement level. I'm craving their chicken feet and tripe just thinking about it......
(5)
Dan R.
I'm not a fan of dim sum, and Hei La Moon didn't change my mind. Getting to the restaurant was pretty easy, seating took about ten minutes. Even though we sat right in front of the kitchen, it took a long time to get the food that we wanted. The staff was so preoccupied with other things that we were skipped over plenty of times. I used to think that the worse the service, the better the food in Chinese restaurants. This place is the exception. None of the food was memorable, just decent enough to eat.
(3)
Aimee S.
I don't know why people like this place so much. The food is average at best, and the staff is so rude. Not to mention how dirty the place is. Oh, and I almost forgot--one time I was in the bathroom, and I saw one of the employees walk out without washing her hands after using the facilities. I was horrified, and told my mother when we got back to the table, and she promptly complained to the manager. I got dirty looks from the employee for the rest of the night. Excuse me for worrying about my health.
(2)
Sarah S.
This is the only place I go for dim sum in the Boston area. It is authentic and awesome. Try all the dumplings and steam buns you can while drinking endless tea at this Chinatown gem! The spare ribs over noodles are surprisingly good, the steamed greens are excellent, I love the turnip cake fried to order on a rolling grill-cart and the yummy desserts (the sweet soft tofu is delicious as are the sesame balls and gummy sweet green tea and coconut balls).
(5)
Alex H.
Where should I begin? Was in Boston last week for a conference; decided to visit Chinatown for dinner. I wanted to have dim sum, but didn't know it's a weekend thing. It is a weekend only thing, right? Anyway, the place was empty, only a few customers at the time of our arrival. This is normally not a good sign. Quite often I won't even enter an empty restaurant, but decided to give Hei La Moon a try. Kind of glad I did. Had only two dishes - the Orange Chili Shrimp (I think that's what they call it) and the Crispy Duck. Both dishes were loaded with vegetable that were perfectly cooked - not too limp and not to crunchy. Cannot remember going to a Chinese restaurant and getting perfect veggies. The shrimp dish was absolutely the best I ever had. Perfectly cooked and sauced shrimp, orange-flavored with visible chili flakes. The best! The duck, too, was a great dish. Not to greasy, but perfect duck to fat ratio. Enjoyed that as well. My only issue is the restaurant could stand a shampooing, especially amongst the high traffic areas. Another reviewer noted the same. One note - there's a special menu written in Chinese. No, folks, it's not a myth....Hei La Moon has such a menu menu. There are such favorites as Stir fried Duck Tongue. Not sure if many of you would each such a thing, but I would have loved to give my evening a little adventure. If you go, ask 'Mike' for the Chinese menu. He'll be happy to translate for you.
(4)
Amy L.
We are from CA, Came here with a tour group. Paid $28 a person to have their 1 LB lobster.. Came with 2 veggie dishes 1 plain chicken dish, shrimps and steamed fish. We basically got ripped off. You would think a table with 10 ppl x$28 would give you a family meal with at least 8 dishes. The lobster was plain... Did not came with any sauces. My advice: if you are going here with a tour group, skip the lobster "dinner", roam around and find something else. I'm sure the lobster back in your hometown is better. i cannot review this place for their menu, because we were not served anything that was from the menu besides the lobster.
(1)
Ed M.
I cannot wait to go back already. I was a dim sum virgin and went with my wife and a friend/former co worker who knew what he was doing (parents from Hong Kong, lived there for a few years). I felt like we had everything but I know we didn't. We were seated instantly and watched in amazement as all the carts passed by with interesting things. Everything was fantastic. Thanks to the website for helping me out with most of this list, we tried and loved the following: -jasmine tea -tsingtao beer -shrimp hargow -steamed chicken feet -BBQ pork bun -BBQ pork cake -sweet egg cake -pork shiu mai -sticky rice and we also ordered a beef with noodles dish from the kitchen. We arrived at 10:30am and it was near empty downstairs, when we left around noon-ish, it was jam packed with no empty tables. I cannot wait to go back. Awesome meal.
(5)
Lisa D.
Every once in awhile, I need a good dim sum fixing and Hei La Moon is MY FAVE dim sum place to go. Some people may think all dim sum tastes the same, but NO, it does not. At least after eating at Hei La Moon, you can definitely taste a slight, delicate difference. I think their dim sum has much more flavor. And my favorite dim sum, har gau are plumper than other places. =D To have a good dim sum experience you must 1) Go at a prime time, usually before 1, I think 11 or 11:30am is best for those of us who still love sleeping in late, but hey, if you want to show up at 9 or 10am, go right ahead. There is A LOT more variety of these tasty little dishes when you go earlier. I think by 1 or 2, they only cook the standard dim sum fair. 2) Go with a large group. Large group = more plates = try more things = if you don't like something, make someone else finish it. 3) ORDER: shumai (pork and shrimp dumplings), har gau (shrimp and bamboo shoots in a translucent wrapper, my favoorite), the spare ribs (i think they have two kinds here), chicken feet (just do it, it's tender and flavorful), fried turnip cakes, asian meatballs that kids seem to love, and beef and shrimp wrapped in a fresh made thin sheet of rice noodle. Uh, I think I covered most of it, but I'm probably being lazy because I've put off finishing this review for a month, yelp me if you want more suggestions! 4) finish off with some dofu fa or tofu pudding with a side of sweet syrup to flavor the delicate, silky tofu to your level of saccharine. 5) split the bill with n amount of people and realize that you guys only spent like $10 each and leave full and happy!
(4)
Stephanie L.
This place has blown me away in the couple times I've returned. The servers still are friendly, and they manage to find a plethora of veg options I'm able to eat - and they taste AMAZING. (Try the green ball pastry with the yellow filling ... mmmm. Sorry, I don't know its name.). The servers are also really sweet about letting you sit there for however long you want, and if you want takeout boxes for every little morsel you have left, totally cool. Hei La Moon, I love you. Even more than I love many of the dim sum places in NYC ... your dishes are even more interesting and unique than theirs.
(5)
Benny D.
I came here with friends for Dim Sum. The service, food, and price is good. This place do get crowded after noon.
(5)
Jade Y.
I would give this 3 and half stars if I could. I had fun here. We came in a group of 5 on Sunday late morning and they were able to seat us immediately. They have an upstairs and downstairs room that are both giant. The dimsum was all there: ha gao, shu mai, cha shao bao, etc..all pretty good too. Will definitely come back next time we get a chance.
(3)
Heather G.
I don't understand the stellar reviews. The wait is LONG and when we did get a table, they tried to seat a small group of us (4) at one side of a larger table, with another party on the other side - makes for a really awkward meal. We were asked to move, and a few minutes later we found ourselves at a new table next to what was a main-traffic aisle. Despite the table-placement, carts came by so infrequently and it took just short of leaping out of my chair to get someone to stop. The food was generally the same as the other dim sum places, and nothing stood out one way or the other on that front. 2 stars for poor service, rating unaffected by food.
(2)
Omar F.
I really love dim sum in general, but particularly i think Hei La Moon is a good place to go. I got there at around 11:30am this morning, none of my friends had arrived yet and it was a group of 8 people total, so I was just standing around since usually at Dim Sum places you're not seated until the whole party (or most of it) is there. After a few minutes an official looking woman told me to just walk around and find a table. That was nice! I went and found a round table for 8 right away so I just sat there and my friends didn't arrive until ~5-10 minutes after. Nevertheless I was served tea and no one bothered me for seating by myself at a table for 8 people. It was nice. The dim sum was really nice, and it is one of the easiest places to actually get a waiter to get you water, sauces, etc. It's not like other big dim sum places in which 30 mins can go by and you still don't get that freaking soy sauce or mustard you asked for. Anyway, the place is great and has a great selection. My friends and I were able to get everything we really like to order at dim sum places, so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It was delicious.
(4)
Tani S.
My review is closer to 3.5 stars but giving them the benefit of the doubt and rounding up. We've been here three times and were suitably impressed each time. It isn't the best dim sum we've had...we enjoyed the dim sum more that we sampled in San Francisco/Mountain View but this does come above what we regularly have in Seattle. It is fairly inexpensive and has such a wide selection of dumplings. We preferred sitting upstairs to our downstairs experience but they always seem reluctant to seat us there. We enjoyed their bbq pork buns and all the interesting varieties of shrimp dumplings.
(4)
Sarah C.
Solid food. I like it better than China Pearl. It is the closest I'll get to the bliss encountered in SFO. I love the little fried tofu rolls and sauteed broccoli, those are always a favorite.
(3)
Walter G.
this place rules. my friends took me here for brunch like a month and a half ago and i've been back twice since. i just love the atmosphere. nice ladies and gents pushing around carts filled with the likes of pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and chicken fried rice. specifically i like the raised "stage" type thing along one wall with the huge golden dragons. it looks like the owner of the restaurant should be sitting there in a fancy robe overseeing everything. at least that's what I'D do if i was the owner. i can't decide how i feel about how the waiter immediately brought forks over to my table last time i was here... it's reasonable i guess since we were the only non-asians in the restaurant and a lot of white people probably don't know how to use chopsticks. more than anything i guess it's indicative of considerate service. which is a plus. it's good times though, i'd definitely hit this place up. i don't think the dim sum is necessarily "better" than the dinners but it's a lot more fun so for your first visit i'd recommend making it a weekend mid-morning.
(4)
Milee S.
Ever feel like you were lost in translation? That's how I felt when I tried Dim Sum for the first time ever and friends took me here. We had about a 2 minute wait, and the lady up front called numbers out in English. The place was packed with hardly any non-Chinese people in there. To me that is a good sign. We started with tea and the shrimp steamed dumplings. Those were pretty good. Next we got the sweet tofu, which was fantastic. A must have. After that, we got the fried shrimp pancakes with stuff that looked like coconut, but wasn't. That was my favorite. We tried the broccoli and then finished off with the sweet red bean cake. It was about $25 for the three of us. While the food was good, I kinda wish there were a couple more veggie options (like a spring roll or something) and/or signs telling us what things were. Even basic signs like, shrimp roll, or beef stew. Trying to point and say "shrimp?" didn't work very well. My group didn't want pork or beef and a lot of the options were just those. I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't go every weekend.
(4)
Michelle H.
My favorite dim sum place on the east coast! The food is always fresh, not too greasy and good portion sizes. Beware, this place is always packed on the weekends!! But the wait goes by fast and it's definitely worth the wait. I've had dinner here too, but I thought it was so so. Dim sum all the way!!
(4)
Wendy H.
We went there on a Saturday at 1pm. In 45 minutes, only 3 types of carts rolled around. Our side of the room, about 10 tables had the same experience. The bottom floor was hot and stuffy. China Pearl has better food, more selection, and better service.
(1)
Kelly C.
My favorite part is sitting down, and 30 seconds later there is food on your table. I'm still trying to figure out the best time to go, to maximize options of food. We were there on Saturday around 11, and there wasn't much available. Well, nothing new and exciting. The typical siu mai and har gow (sp?) abound. I love when they come out of the kitchen with plates of steaming treats. We got a yummy dish of rice wrapped in tarro , and some fried green ball(not sure what was inside and I didn't really like it) They are way better about getting ice water!
(4)
Serena L.
I moved here from SF a few years ago and was anxious to find a good dim sum spot. Being Chinese, I know my dimsum and am very picky! After trying another place in Chinatown, I came here with some friends and loved it! Yes, it does get crowded on the weekends with all the families but that's a given! There is nothing bad that I can say about this place because everything is so good! I took my in-laws here for their first dimsum experience and they enjoyed it. I have yet to try China Pearl so I don't know how it matches with Hei La Moon.
(4)
Robert J.
I recently visited a dear old friend in Boston. She has been living in Boston for the past two years. We went to Hei La Moon on a recent Saturday afternoon. I asked her at the beginning of the meal, "So, this is your dim sum spot?" I was very encouraged to see all the Chinese faces in the background. Superimpose my 1/8 Chinese, 7/8 Filipino face and her 100% Chinese face, and you've got me feeling like we're in the right place. This is especially so, because both floors of Hei La Moon were filled nearly to capacity. The unfortunately damning comment--though I don't think she meant it that way--that she made was, "It's not the best I've had before, but it's the best I've found in Boston." That was enough warning. She and I have shared countless dim sum meals in the past. Most of those meals have been in the Far East--in various places in and around the Manila area where there is a very large Chinese population. Some of those dim sum meals have been here in the U.S. This was the first one we had while she was living in Boston. I trusted her judgment that this would be the best dim sum I could find in Boston. I only bring up our shared history of eating dim sum together to illustrate that she knows me and that I know her. We know implicitly what we both expect and hope for in a meal. For her to say what she did was a signal to me that I was going to think that the meal was fine, but it wasn't going to be particularly memorable. I found that to be the case with the food at Hei La Moon. We started off with some radish cakes, which I had never had before. We both enjoyed those. The shrimp rice noodle rolls were decent. Unfortunately, the beef short ribs were leathery, but they had great flavor. The spicy salted shrimp was probably the highlight of the meal. We also had some fish, which kind of reminded me of smelt, but I'm not sure what they were. They came around with the spicy salted shrimp cart. The fish was quite delicious. The har kaw and shumai were fine, but not outstanding. The chicken feet were had nice flavor, but also were not outstanding. Overall, Hei La Moon, which two friends call the go-to spot for dim sum in Boston, isn't bad. Again, I wouldn't say that it's outstanding in any way. Even the best dish I had, the spicy salted shrimp, wasn't particularly fantastic. It was probably too breaded for me. It was also cold and dry compared to what I usually would want. Still, it was serviceable. It was decently enjoyable enough to give us that dim sum fix without making us feel completely disappointed.
(2)
Emily S.
I was here on a Sunday for brunch, and I now miss it every day I'm not there. I just got back from China but I think Hei La Moon is better. Is it more authentic? Probably not. Do I care? Hell, no, I want tasty snacks right after I wake up from a late Saturday night. As much as I love Chau Chow, this place trumps it and rocks my world. Hei La Moon will keep me wanting more. More turnip cake, more bbq pork buns. More, more, more. :)
(5)
Liz M.
Dim sum was disappointing. And I'm not comparing is to NY Chinatown or Flushing. Just plain disappointing. Actually, the one good thing was dan ta (egg tart) but they probably get it from a local bakery. I've attended weddings here. The weddings were fun, food was not so fun. Unfortunate. I like my jellyfish slippery and my Chinese cold cuts somewhat dry, not the other way around. Lastly, I was pretty peeved when a group of us paid cash and they charged us for tea and rice. Yes, yes, its recession, but we paid cash and its not like we were gonna ask them to take away tax (yea they charged us tax too!)
(2)
Michael M.
Hei la Moon at first seemed like it was going to be another mediocre Chinatown eatery... After a while they all seem the same - large room with round tables and a big stage with golden dragons on the stage. I couldn't have been more wrong - the food at Hei La Moon is phenomenal, arguably the BEST chinese in Boston. I took a friend from Vietnam after telling her that I read about it on Yelp, she was skeptical and said that she had low expectations and expected "Americanized" cuisine... Since our first time she has been back 10 times in 2 months. Some of the highlights: - Hot and Sour Soup - so yummy, the perfect blend of spicy and sour without tasting too much of vinegar - Dry shortribs - fantastic - crispy and spicy - Pan Seared dumplings - again, phenomenal
(4)
Tara B.
My favorite place to go for dim sum in Boston. You know how you know it's good? There are only white people when accompanied by Asians. I love seeing all those lovely bamboo steamer baskets loaded onto those windowed carts being sped around by the grumpy ladies. It's fantastic. Also fantastic, listening to your Asian gatekeeper yell at the ladies in Mandarin. It's like dinner & a show. You can get rolly-polly panda fat for under $15. Tis a beautiful thing. Some of my faves: - Sticky rice with it's nuggets of mystery meat wrapped up in a leaf - Pork belly buns with that tasty bbq-sweet meatyness in the most delectable white-bready bun - Dumplings of any shape, size or content. BRING ME DUMPLINGS! - Those sweet buns made with condensed milk
(4)
Sue P.
I went here on a Sunday morning for Dim sum with some friends and was highly annoyed to see a huge line of people waiting to get in. Luckily my friend had already gotten a table inside so we just went right in. This place is huge! I couldn't believe it was so popular. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was distributed on carts that circled the entire restaurant. I'm not Chinese, and I haven't had dim sum more than a handful of times. Frankly I didn't even recognize half of the things I ate. Luckily I went with a friend who was perfectly fluent in Cantonese, although I think I would have been fine on my own just pointing at everything that looks appealing. The dumplings were fabulous, especially the chive ones. My friends went absolutely gaga over the pork buns. I don't think I tried anything that I didn't like. Who knew that dim sum could be so delicious! I'll definitely be going back time and time again.
(5)
Jake L.
Serviceable dim sum, but doesn't compare to Toronto. Mad dash for a seat. We spoke directly to a hostess and were seated rather earlier than i was expecting. Bonus.
(3)
Calvin N.
A LOT BETTER than the other place I went the day before for Dim Sum out here in Boston. Food tasted fresher and the lighting is def a lot better. It feels cleaner here and a lot friendlier service. Once I get back to Boston I will come here only for Dim Sum.
(4)
Alex B.
So this place is still great and I go a lot but thought I should mention, you need to be SHAMELESS. LIke if you like what you see on that cart GO FOR IT. There is a little cart which three levels... FIND IT. It looks like a desert cart and actually has some deserts but on the upper deck is usually the best crispy items in the whole place. One is a dumpling shape, and has has herbs, shrimp, and other goodness stuffed in it (amazing). Another is a disc which looks like it needs a shave but its actually taro shreds (I think) fried on some shrimp thing. NO that didn't make sense or sound appealing but yes it is accurate and it is delicious. So if this passes you by, don't be ashamed about walking across the room, politely tap the lady's shoulder, then awkwardly hand signal that you need her now, right now, at your table.
(5)
KoreanSoup S.
Good dim sum. I've tried about 4 places so far in china-town and this is one I like the most in terms of food. There are still quite a few more, however, that I have not tried.
(3)
Alfred D.
My favorite dim sum in boston. I grew up eating China Pearl, but the older I got, the worse they seemed to get. And then I discovered Hei La Moon. They have a really bright ambiance, and all the food is good! BBQ pork buns are fluffy and delicious. They have these really good dumplings with fresh celery in them. So yummy! Another bonus is the hygiene. My mother and sister were both very impressed by the relative cleanliness of the bathrooms. So skip over China Pearl, Winsor, Emporer's Garden, and Chau Chau City, and pick Hei La Moon for your dim sum cravings!
(5)
Ray m.
being from hong kong, I constantly try to look for dim sum that matches home. its' hard to find but this place is pretty close. the haw gow and sui mei was outstanding! 4 diff dishes with tea, total price was $14.95. not too shabby....otherwise it'd be 5 stars located off the orange line subway chinatown exit almost into the center of china town. also part of the appeal is the food carts that roam around enticing you to order more food. I'd definitely come back next time I am visiting
(4)
Jason L.
My father is from hong kong, so my family always eats dim sum. Been here a couple times now, usually a small selection, not enough variety compared to china pearl. I think i've tried everything (minus the porridge), and I really can't think of anything that was standout. It's one of the better places for Boston chinatown though. To judge a dim sum restaurant, you have to start with the classic shrimp dumpling [har gao]. The filling was average, could use more bamboo flavor, wrapper was ok. Pretty much sums up the rest of the dim sum there. China pearl's chong fen is better. Shumai's not bad here. This place draws large crowds on the weekend, probably because its big, clean, new, and has easy parking. Good atmosphere. Reasonably priced (~$10 a person). Spotty service. Food (6/10) Service (3/5) Decor (4/5) Value (4/5)
(3)
Wen Y.
The best dim sum I have ever known!
(4)
Lisa C.
We went to this place for a dim sum brunch after hearing rave reviews from many people (and, in fact, ran into a coworker while there) and we were incredibly disappointed. The wait wasn't too long to be seated, and we were given a nice table to share with other people we didnt know. Having grown up eating dim sum in new york, this didn't bother me, but we were unfortunately seated with some really ignorant people who made fun of the food and didn't know what anything was. I'll give them credit for trying things even though they didn't understand what they were being served, but hearing them making fun of another culture's food was just annoying. Once we were seated, it took FOREVER to get food. I'm so used to having food on the table from several carts within 3 minutes of sitting down. It probably took us at least 30 minutes to finally get what we wanted. The food itself was solid and not expensive which is always nice, but having to wait that long for dim sum? no way.
(2)
Jodi Y.
Dim sum that hits the spot! Good standard "yum cha" issue. Nothing too funky or creative, but old-school traditional. They bent over backwards and accommodated 2 tables of 12 of us and kept helping us squeeeeze in more chairs as more of our friends arrived. Brush up on your Canto food terms or bring a Hongkie (not to be confused with Honkie) if you want lightning fast service! PROS: Never over $10/pp CONS: The usu loud Chinese crowd (but you know it's authentic) SPECIALS: They were giving away free tea sets for bills over $100. Happy Year of the Tiger!
(4)
Chris G.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Hei La Moon. We stopped here one Saturday afternoon and were seated right away, although unfortunately it was right by a waiters station. Our first dish was a plate of garlic fried prawns that you could eat heads and all. Crispy and delicious! We did have to wait a while for the dumplings and sticky rice carts to come by, which seems like an eternity when you are hungry. But once they did arrive we gorged ourselves - the portions were substantial and the quality was good. For example the sticky rice had huge pieces of pork inside. I would definitely come back to Hei La Moon.
First off, I got to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Hei La Moon as I absolutely destroyed the beautiful white tablecloth on top of our table. Even though the tablecloth looked like my friend took a caveman for lunch, I did clumsily try to use the chopsticks, but some of the pieces of dim sum were big and hard to maneuver. The right thing would have been to leave my business card to pay for the ensuing cleaners' bill to clean the white tablecloth. I mean no extra strength Tide will take care of the mess I made; that cloth is going to need to be dry cleaned. I thoroughly enjoyed my food at Hei La Moon contrary to what one might think by looking at half of the food I left scattered on the tablecloth. The place works out well for a large group and also has some smaller tables but it's definitely not the type of place to have a romantic dinner with wine, flowers, and such as the noise level is quite high. The service is great as you just tell the staff what you would like off the cart carrying multiple types of dim sum. My friend did the ordering, and all the dim sum was delicious and flavorful. I even had a chance to try chicken feet but that might have been the only choice that I was not a fan as it was simply too much work for so little nourishment. For dessert, I had the small bean paste roll with coconut on the outside and mango center. The coconut provided a nice texture and was not overpowering, so that you also could enjoy the taste of the mango inside. The entire meal was only $28 dollars between the two of us. I would highly recommend Hei La Moon for dim sum; just next time I might bring my own fork or newspaper to cover the table for extra food stain protection.
(4)
Burger B.
Oh, Hei La Moon! -squeezes restaurant and pinches cheek- You are so wonderful. Unlike other dim sum locations, you always seem to know the right moment to send the steam cart wheeling by our table, brimming with hot shumai and har cao. When it's time for our meat fix, the tripe comes gliding past our table. *YOINK!* So perfectly chewy with just a slight hint of spiciness. Ambiance is wonderful. Go on a Saturday or Sunday morning (preferably before 10am) and you'll see a ton of close-knit families noshing together and catching up on their week. Another plus -- They don't use copious amounts of MSG in their food. (I'm very sensitive to MSG and don't get the headaches and fatigue after eating here when compared to some of their competitors).
(5)
Prudence L.
My first time and last time to Hei La Moon...what a disaster! My husband and I were sat in the lower level, seated in the back corner where the carts were few and far between in stopping by to offer us food. The waiter was late to give us hot tea, never offered us water (we had to ask) and rarely stopped by to see if we needed anything. The food was barely tolerable. - Beef & shrimp wrapped in wide noodles (over cooked, the noodles were cracked) - Chicken feet (over cooked, really bland) - Stuffed eggplant (bland - could not even taste the seafood stuffing) - Pork shumai (one of the two dishes that tasted good) - Fried chive dumplings (again, very bland) - Pan fried turnip cakes (the second of two dishes that was better) - Steamed pork dumpings (never tasted them because there was a COCKROACH in it) The manager comped us on the pork dumplings and the hot tea, but outside of the cockroach, the experience was so poor that I will never go there again.
(1)
Jeannie H.
This place serves tolerable dim sum in a pinch but it hardly qualifies as good eats. The dim sum is tolerable but it's not nearly as refined as what you would find in Hong Kong, no matter what anyone else posts on here. The ingredients are not of good quality nor are they fresh. ATMOSPHERE - It's relatively clean for a dim sum standards, which is scary and not saying much. I'm Chinese but will never understand why my people insist on having filthy bathrooms in their restaurants. It gets horribly humid during peak hours with the carts rolling around. It's the quintessential dim sum experience and will definitely appeal to the non-initiated since you can point to the tasty treats of your choice. SERVICE - Don't expect anything. FOOD - Everything is decent but nothing is particularly good. The har gow skin isn't delicate enough, the rice crepe too thick and boggy, the shu mai too dense, and the chicken feet undercooked. No dish stands out but nothing is inedible either.
(3)
Chase S.
This place serves ok dim sum, but there's at least 3 other places within 200 yards that have fresher food, better decor, and charge less. I'd pretty much only come here if the other 3 places had a wait and this place didn't. It's not bad, it's just that...well... there are better choices. I'm not a hater! Don't you label me!!!!
(3)
Jean Luc P.
It's the place to go if you want a Hong Kong dim sum experience in Boston. The push cart system is very authentic and reminds me of my childhood. It's also great place to go with friends who enjoy a more interactive dinning experience. The dim sum tasted the way it is meant to taste, I've been there with chinese friends, I've been there with non chinese friends, they all had a good time, I've been there by myself. My recommendation is "Ha Gui" (shrimp ball), "Sui Mai" (pork dumplings), "Pai Kug" (short rips), "Gar Nui" (rice noodle wrapped fired dough - happens to be a favorite for many first time dim sum tasters) "chung fan" (rice noodle wrapped, can be with beef, shrimp or veggie, ask the cart lady for your preference). A tip for my non chinese friends, if you want more tea, just lift the cap off your tea pot and place it on the table, and someone will come by to add hot water. You are suppose pour tea to others before you pour yourself, even if their cup is full you still need to make the gesture. If you see a chinese person tapping the table next to his cup with two finger as you pour tea, they are not asking for more, the gesture means "thank you". Here is a food video of my last visit youtu.be/TNRrKxcbshQ
(4)
Peter W.
The Dim Sum is good. The diversity was not that great, but the quality is good (e.g., not too greasy). The experience of getting a table or service for water or tea is something to just sit back and laugh off. Have fun.
(4)
David B.
This place is always crowded-a good sign.We always try to get there early on a sunday.If you get there past 11:30 or 12 there can be a bit of a wait. It is worth it.Shrimp in rice noodles,slippery and tasty.Har gow is always good as are various other shrimp dumplings.Good sticky rice in lotus leaves and the sticky rice under glass.The turnip cake is good but Windsor's is better.Pork buns are tasty and stuffed w/sweet bbq pork.If you go and they have the soup in the hollowed out watermelon,get it.It is a treat.A fun,noisy,tasty place for dim sum.
(4)
Josephine P.
This place is our go-to place for dim sum. I have been here pretty much every time we get that Dim Sum Craving. I like it because it's big, you never have to wait as long as you would at a smaller restaurant and you get what you want. All you have to do is hassle someone to direct the desired cart over. This place has so much food. Beware. One time we ordered mochi balls and we just did not understand the lady when she gave us the description. We eat it anyways...and it turns out to be durian. puke. die.roll over. die again. Just know your shit when you get here so you don't fail like we did. I'm not that adventurous when I eat dim sum, but this place is good on those days where I do wanna try something new. I also like the carts; it's nostalgia.
(4)
Jennifer J.
Good Cantonese dim sum. Nothing to complain about.
(4)
Jamal G.
This place has gone downhill. The carpeting is filthy, sticky, and soggy. We went here for dim sum at lunch, which was... ok. All of us have had better. It just wasn't all that great and the cost was $22 per person plus tip and parking. I'll give them credit for validating parking for the adjacent garage for $6. I don't think any of us will come back here again.
(2)
ana l.
My friends and I come here when we can wake up for our "11am Dim Sum Sundays." 11am is the best time to go--usually there is no wait and the food is hot and "fresh." The restaurant is spacious, but I've decided sitting on the main level leaves you with the best experience and first choice for food. I like their siu mai (steamed shrimp & pork dumplings), cheong fun (rice noddles-stuffed with either shrimp, beef, or fried dough), steamed ribs, taro dumplings (stuffed with pork and veggies), and steamed tofu (with lots of ginger flavored sugar syrup). So, get your friends together for a dim sum sunday (even if you can't wake up at 11am, the wait is worth it) and try everything!
(4)
Marty C.
Atrocious service... scratch that, the service is nonexistent. Why support a restaurant that customarily disregard proper etiquette? Won't you question the amount of care put into the food that will eventually go into your body? Service is more important to me than good food. Let me explain further why HLM is getting one star (equivalent to zero stars in my book). I went in with a party of 5 in a half-empty restaurant. The waiter decided on seating us at a square table and pulled an additional chair to one corner. We explained that it is uncustomary for us to sit in such fashion and please allow us to sit at one of the many available round tables. One waiter said yes while another forbid us to do so. We walked out immediately without any further discussion.
(1)
Del S.
I know I have been spoiled with better dim sum in the CA bay area, but dim sum at Hei La Moon was acceptable and probably plenty good enough for Boston since there aren't that many Chinese here. The service was fast and efficient. The waiter was setting up plates on the table like throwing Frisbees. I was impressed that we didn't need to wait long for dim sum at Sunday lunch hour. The biggest surprise was the chicken feet (phoenix claws)!! The texture was soft, chewy but not soggy, and tasty without being too salty. It's a bit sweet, a bit salty, a bit of garlic taste with some black bean sauce taste... great combo for your taste buds! In contrary, I'd recommend you to stay away from their fried dishes. The fried Taro ball was soggy with very unfresh greasy taste. We suspected they probably reused the frying oil way too many times, or it could have been days old left over oil. The typical dim sum dishes such as shrimp dumplings and shiu mai all tasted decent here. If you are in the area and crave for dim sum, this is probably the place to go but try not to have a high expectation.
(3)
Thomas F.
I went with a number of friends for dim sum. We enjoyed it greatly. Everything was very fresh and flavorful, with our usual selection of favorite items. As reported by other reviewers, the pork buns are indeed superb. In general I would say that the quality is on par with what you could expect from China Pearl if you arrive at CP in the morning when things are plentiful and fresh, although HLM's pork buns are slightly better. Unfortunately they had few of some items on the carts, so we left wishing we'd been able to get more pork buns, and I felt the selection, while good, wasn't quite as large as the selection at China Pearl. The prices were excellent: we all ate until we were full with no concern about prices of items, and we also ordered several additional items just to taste, and it worked out to a mere $12 per person. Overall, I would be delighted to return to Hei La Moon with friends or family, and will view it now as one of several excellent dim sum restaurants I can choose from in Boston.
(4)
Jane Z.
To make the deal even sweeter, a friend recently showed me the City of Boston's health inspection record for this place upon reading the other poster's comment about the glass in his congee, and it is revolting to think I ever went there. Toxic chemicals, mice, chickens dripping onto equipment, unsanitary treatment of cooking utensils.....CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS. I encourage everyone to Google their health inspection record!!!
(1)
Linda M.
This place was great for authentic and fresh dim sum. They have all the traditional dim sum dishes and a couple of nice surprises too - so there's lots of variety. It's clean, fast and the staff are very nice. I will definitely return for more!
(4)
fred n.
Terrific dim sum. I am just in love with all their delights. This is pretty darn crowded on the weekends, but I believe worth the wait (40min). You'll definitely have a happy and healthy full tummy. Atmosphere is like a busy cafeteria with excitement. You might share a table with others if you're group is a small size (4) and it's peak. Don't be shy...everyone is friendly. Only draw back is that when it's busy it's tough to get beverage refills. And sometimes you wait 5-7 min for that tasty cart to make the rounds. Yum.
Went there recently for dim sum. It was pretty good! I'd say they're the best dim sum place in Boston. Must Try: Can't get enough of the Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling), Chang Fen with Yu Za Kuei (Noodle with Chinese Crueller), Fried Shrimp and Chinese Chives, Fried Taro and Shrimp. Service: Way better than China Pearl, the staff are friendly. Ambiance: Super clean compare to other establishments in Chinatown, especially compare to China Pearl. Best time to hit them is earlier in the morning or before 2 PM for dim sum. The 11 am slots tend to be busier. I'd give them a 3 out of 5 star as far as food goes. Overall, they are probably the best dim sum spot in Boston. Too bad that there is no place like Yank Tsing (San Francisco dim sum joint) in Boston. Yank Tsing would be 10 out of 10 stars.
(4)
Ligaya T.
Know how to say 'mediocre' in Cantonese? Warning: poor pin yin ahead. For dim sum rookies this place is a steaming, bamboo pot wonderland. A hectic maze of lazy Susaned round tabled obstacle course for bumbling, uniformed oompa loompas pushing carts who don't speak English but whom respond well to pointing. For dim sum lovers this place deserves a shrug. They've got all the standards: har gao, shu mai, baozi, chicken feet, tsong tzi, etc but nothing really outstanding or creative. The carts you really want to intercept are the ones with the lo bo gao (savory turnip cake) grill and the vat of dofufa (watery tofu). To get greens you'll have to be more aggressive. Try the dao miao or the kong ching tsai (Chinese watercress) for spinach-like veggies. Three stars for fresh, warm, clean and always having a seat!
(3)
Susan K.
We love to eat here for breakfast on the weekends. The service is usually quick, and food/dishes consistent. Some waitresses don't speak English, but they are happy to show the dishes to you before you choose. You can park in the lot for a discount, if you eat here, but if we get here before 10am-11am, we usually don't have that much trouble getting parking on the street.
(4)
Christine S.
Because my visit here was only the third time I've had dim sum in my life, this review may be more helpful for people who are also new to dim sum. We came here on a Saturday around noon and only waited about 15 minutes to be seated. It was busy and crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The cart ladies weren't too aggressive that day, although I do wish they were able to speak enough English to at least say if the contents of their dim sum dishes are vegetable, bean, animal or mineral. My vegetarian friend definitely got a mouthful of pork when trying an unidentified dumpling. Speaking of pork, their BBQ pork buns were really good - a little too much of the bread for me, but that may be the way those buns are. The filling was sweet and tasty. Another deliciosity was some kind of piece of lightly fried fish wrapped around sauteed veggies and tied with a spring onion. SO GOOD. The fish was cooked perfectly. Too bad we didn't know it's name and never saw the cart again, or we would have gotten several more. One of the best parts of the meal was some kind of green leafy vegetable that was cooked right by our table, then drizzled with a delicious sauce. The cart lady identified the vegetable as "broccoli," although it looked more like leaves on long thick stems and tasted like a combination of spinach, asparagus and broccoli. It was bright green and delicious and I really wish I knew what it was. We got one of those glutinous coconut balls wrapped around a filling for dessert. Now, at Chau Chow City we got those and they had granulated sugar and chopped nuts inside. Here, there was a delicious fresh mango filling!! Is that normal? I have no idea! Can I find it somewhere else? I wouldn't even know how to ask! But it was yum! My only concern was that when we paid our bill and asked for an explanation of the different ways they charged for the items, the lady at the cash register did not want to answer. It was clear that she spoke enough English to understand what we were asking, and yet she just kind of ignored our questions. I'm a little bit wary of being taken advantage of because we obviously can't read Chinese, but the bill didn't seem too out of proportion - it came out to about $9 per person. So, we will definitely be back!
(4)
Brady B.
I'm with Aimee S. on this one. Granted, I only had dim sum once here, but when I did my friend and I quickly decided we didn't need to come back here. It wasn't the worst dim sum I ever had, but quite bland and uninspiring. Overall our service was very lackluster....especially when it came time to having our bill tallied up. Maybe I'll give them another try based on these glorious reviews. When I do I'll be sure to update. Until then, my heart (and palette) belongs to China Pearl.
(2)
Tessa C.
My new favorite dim sum place. Everything is fresh and delicious. If you want to avoid lines - then show up as a small group - less than 4 people and come at off peak hours before 11AM and after 1PM. My sister and I came here around 1PM and the quality of food was still good. I recommended this place to my out-of-town friend for his post wedding brunch. His family is Taiwanese and they were impressed by the quality of food. Dim Sum is best experienced with someone who knows the food and a very large group. What a great way to spend brunch with friends for less than $12 per person!!! As others have warned - you will be surrounded by loud Chinese families and served by people who know very little English. But they do their best to help you out. Parking tip: Park on the roof of the South Station garage during the weekend for a flat rate around $6. This is also great for the evening.
(5)
Yvonne W.
I went all around the Chinatown area trying to find this place this morning with my boyfriend to find out that it's actually not IN Chinatown -- it's across the street from the gate (we didn't have the address originally)! I'm so happy that we found it, though -- we waited less than 5 minutes before being seated. And then all the food started rolling by on those carts that I love.. We had ham sui gok (sweet deep fried yumminess pastry with savory meat filling), feng zhua (chicken feet), pie gwat (spareribs steamed with black bean sauce), luo bo gao (radish cake), wu gok (deep fried taro with meat filling), seen jook goon (pork wrapped in yummy tofu wrapper), beef chang fen, and dau fu fa (silky tofu dessert in a gingery syrup). It was all so good, and the food comes out so fast! A pleasant surprise in the pie gwat were these small cubes of cut-up taro. It provided a nice flavor/texture contrast with the salty black bean and the spareribs. The service here is kind of strange. We really wanted to end our meal with dau fu fa, and when we asked one of the servers, she said she'd look out for the cart for us and tell that cart person to come by our table. That never happened. Five minutes later, we asked another worker for dau fu fa, and she sort of had a scowl on her face but did proceed to bring us our beloved dau fu fa. :-D And the prices are pretty decent here for dim sum, too. This is now our Boston dim sum place.
(4)
Edwin O.
Very solid Dim Sum. After going to China Pearl for so many years, I was surprised to hear about this place, having never eaten there before a few months ago. The traditional favorites are done well. My wife feels their garlic shrimp is the best in Chinatown. My daughter plows through their shrimp dumplings and sticky rice with relish. The parking garage above the restaurant is very handy, and is one of the cheaper garages to park at in the area, I believe.
(4)
Tom E.
Hei La Moon always makes me think of 'hey the moon', said in a fashion to distract the other person whilst you run away (first you point to the sky behind them). I guess in that way it's like the Goodyear Blimp - 'hey, look it's the goodyear blimp!' - but as this analogy lingers on too long I think it's worth comparing Hei La Moon to the Goodyear Blimp in two other ways... 1. Handily, it's always just over there when you suddenly think about it (across the old surface 93 from regular chinatown). 2. It's big as bigness permits. Shall I think of a third analogy? 3. Christopher Walken uses it to try and kill James Bond. Okay - 3rd analogy is not so accurate. Let's stick to reality All-in-all it's another average large dim sum parlour. It doesn't impress but it doesn't let down either. If you've had dim sum in SF, London, HK or Canada you'll know that this kind of summary means 3 stars all the way. Its size means it's good for groups but its 'Best of Boston' title of 'Best place to take your foodie friends' is laughably patronising, even for those of us who'd contemplate suicide at being called a foodie.
(3)
Ezra E.
I guess I should preface this review by saying that I had only eaten dim sum once before and didn't really know what I was in for. I'll start with the good stuff. The place is huge and was packed, but they still sat us within about 10 minutes which was nice. The carts come by very frequently, and fresh food seems to be brought out very regularly. It is very reasonably priced and you can eat a wide variety of foods for not a lot of money My biggest complaint was not really knowing what I was eating most of the time. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I like to at least know what sort of animal/vegetable I'm chowing down on. Even the dim sum that I could identify just didn't taste very good (some kind of shumai, i think, not sure what was in it, definitely a some shrimp, but other slimy stuff too, egg rolls, some has brown looking thing, and maybe a few others). We decided to try their regular menu and ordered won ton soup, chicken with broccoli and beef with broccoli. The won ton soup was inedible, the broth tasted like water someone had soaked their feet in, and the won tons were filled with the same squishy-slimy meat as the "shumai". The chicken w/ broccoli was in a clear sauce (i prefer the brown sauce) and tasted kind of fish-like. The beef with broccoli wasn't much better. It was definitely an interesting experience, and judging by the number of 4/5 star reviews here other people really seem to like it, but I will not be going back.
(1)
Anna W.
My family has dim sum ADD. We can never stay loyal to one place for too long. It started off with Golden Palace (truly the best dim sum place ever... RIP), then China Pearl, then Chau Chau, then Empire Garden, and now it's Hei La Moon. I've been there for dim sum as well as dinners/receptions, etc. Dim Sum is pretty good. It gets packed here on weekends, so you have to go either really early or really late. It's great for large groups of people. The place is always loud and abuzz with lots of Chinese yip yap. Be open-minded about the food. Never ask what anything is because the answer will most likely be "shimp" (shrimp), even if it's not. Yeah, it looks different, and tastes different, but it's GOOD! :-) Their family-style dining is better than some of the other places in Chinatown. They need a drastic makeover and a good interior designer though. Though the food is good, I would never want my wedding reception here or anything. The interior is just drab and blah. The last event that I attended, the restaurant let us bring our own coolers of beer and wine, which was cool. They could have suckered us into buying alcohol from them, but they decided to be decent instead. They don't take reservations for dim sum, but they will at night. My favorite dish is the mayonnaise-covered shrimp with walnuts. Sooooo delicious. I don't care if my coronary artery just closed up as I was typing that. Also, the garage upstairs offers validated parking. It's kind of a shitty place to park and the columns are oddly placed, but if you have good motor skills (haha, I made a funny), you should be able to maneuver yourself around well enough to get in and out without harming anyone. Hopefully, my family decides to stick with this place for a while.
(4)
Matthew M.
Let me break it down for you. I'm from San Francisco. I grew up eating Dim Sum. I moved to Boston in August and so far have generally been disappointed by the quality of the Dim Sum here. Until that is, I found Hei La Moon. This place competes with the very best Dim Sum places in SF both in terms of the quality of the dishes as well as the price (about $10 per person). For the uninitiated: prepare to wait in line for a long time before you get seated; prepare for the waitstaff not speaking english (they don't really need to since 90% of the clientele are chinese anyway); prepare to eat things without knowing ahead of time what's in it. Warning: If your idea of good chinese food is sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls and pot-stickers, you better stick to places that specialize in those things because you'll probably be disappointed by all the chicken feet and tripe. For Dim Sum afficionados: try to show up early if possible, because after about 12:30 the variety of dishes starts to decline (we showed up at 12 and there were no more char siu bau); also, if you like fried turnip cake: unfortunately it's a little mushy here, but it's worth forgoing this one dish because all the others are so phenomenal.
(5)
Marilyn T.
Coming from California and having visiting Asia on many occasions, I have pretty high standards for dimsum. The restaurant offers many typical dishes but lacks on more unique items. It definitely caters to the crowds, and it gets very busy on weekends. As most dimsum is, it gets pretty hectic. Dishes are greasy and pretty standard. I don't think it's worth the wait, though.
(2)
Katy P.
A group of three of us went for dim sum on a Sunday morning. The line was long, but we didn't wait terribly long since we agreed to be seated with a few other folks. The food was delicious and I really enjoyed the douhua dessert (warm tofu pudding with a sweet ginger syrup) and all of the dumplings. My only issue with this place is the pricing. Make sure you watch the servers like a hawk. We ate plenty of food but our bill came to over $70 for 3 ppl which is robbery for dim sum. Of course, no one spoke English well enough to explain the bill so I have a sneaking suspicion that we got taken advantage of. Whatever...next time I'm bringing someone who can read Mandarin, suckers!
(4)
Charles T.
When this place first opened the quality was pretty good but I feel like the standard has dropped over the last couple of years. Overall ok dim sum but nothing spectacular, especially compared to other cities.
(3)
Tony O.
My 'go-to' dim sum place. Excellent Dim Sum - fresh, clean flavors and responsive service even on the most hectic weekend mornings. All the lightbulbs seem to exhibit some slightly perceptible 'surging' (rapid cycle of slight dimming followed by bright surging). A whole new take on some dimming while having Dim Sum . . .
(4)
Khantha S.
Nice big restaurant with pretty good dim sum. This place is a few walks from chinatown
(4)
Nina N.
I was tempted. Very very tempted. To say. That this place was better than China Pearl. It was what I wanted to say after trying the shumai and rice pork meatballs. I am glad I did not let myself say this until I tried all of the other dishes because it was not true. I have to say, the crowd/mob mentality got me thinking I was being served really excellent food. What do I mean? Since when does a large crowd mean good food? It's assumed that good food draws a lot of people and therefore the store is always crowded. Well, here is my theory. When you eat around happy and loud people, you feel like you can eat more, let loose, and even have good and loud conversations yourself without disturbing a neighboring table. No need to be shy. And somehow, you think the food is better since there is so many people squished in the room with you and they must also be enjoying their food too right? And how they manage to always find seats for you is amazing considering the long lines waiting for the seat and how packed the place is the whole time you're eating. Well, this does not necessarily mean good food. When I slowed down, after the peak of the new place, new food, and the "I haven't had breakfast yet!", I realized that not all of the food was good. The shumai was definitely good. Piping hot and steamy. The rice covered pork meatball reminded me of sea urchins. Strange eh? It was my first time having this dish and it was pretty good. Very hot and juicy. The ha cao (not sure of the spelling) or the shrimp dumpling was not so good. It was juicy which was not right. Oil dripped from the dumpling when I bit into it. Then it fell apart. Uh oh. The beef tripes was ok. At first I thought it was really good but the more I eat it and try to disect the flavors, I realized that it was quite pungent. The ginger and green onion did not do it's job to mask the smell of the tripe. It could be that they did not boil the tripe long enough before steaming it. The egg rice congee was really good. It was really hot. Not spicy hot but steaming hot. It was watery compared to the slightly thicker congee I would get from other places. This is perfect for me though. We also had the chicken feets in black bean sauce. It was good. Not the best I have had but decent. The soft tofu in a sugar syrup was cold. That bothered me. I was not happy at all with this. I would definitely give it to Hei La Moon for having a packed restaurant and always seeming to have seats and piping hot and steaming dishes (except the tofu dish I had) of food when the carts go around. Quality wise, I was not satisfied.
(3)
Danny F.
food alone is 3 stars; it's very very O.K.-la and perfectly competitive with anything else in boston/manhattan. variety is somewhat limited to the standards, but enough to keep me happy. carts came around fairly quickly, and were constantly replenished, so food always arrived at my table hot and fresh. also seemed less oily to me than lesser establishments. but...there's no wait, and the room is airy, bright and clean! so due to the fact that i cannot give half stars, it luckily gets a 4 star rating from me.
(4)
Albert D.
I can safely say that this is the best you'll get in Boston. Normally I'd be all snide about it since Boston asian food is nothing to write home about. BUT, this place is actually decent! It can be a wait, but there are lots of tables, so probably wont be more than a 30 minute wait. If you can wait an hour to get into Cheesecake Factory, then this should be a breeze. I batted my eyes and winked at the hostess and she hooked it up with a seat even earlier (actually, i said that we were in a rush, and pleaded with her... but details, details..) As far as dim sum goes, everything we've gotten was good. Some things should not be missed, like the BBQ pork buns (the white ones), shumai, and OF COURSE THE CHICKEN FEET. They infuse it with heroin from what I've been told? For dessert, get the soft tofu with ginger sugar sauce on top. It's a sweet-dessert-soup-triple-screaming-orgasm in your mouth. It gets a four because the utensils were dirty. But I was on the fence about marking them down for that. Cause it just takes a quick wipe-down.
(4)
Ulf V.
Stopped by on Labor day for some Dimsum.. Been here many times before, this time no different. Food was good, seating a bit cramped, but got upstairs digs. Many carts to choose from and all told, 4 of us ate plenty and bill came to $40. Tried the taro wrapped rice for the 1st time.. very tasty!
(4)
Miriam L.
I can't believe it had been so long since I'd had dim sum! I came here for the first time in probably five years yesterday afternoon. The waiting area was crowded, but we were assured that the wait wouldn't be more than 10 minutes. About 8 minutes later, the hostess seated another party of two people whose number was after ours. Oops! I think she realized her mistake, and a few minutes later asked if we minded sharing a table. We said we didn't, and were seated with two other groups: an older Chinese couple, and a young couple with their daughter. I think at first the older woman thought we'd never had dim sum before, because she started explaining what the different dishes were and asking which ones we wanted to try. It was really sweet, but I think she realized quickly that we actually were familiar with dim sum. I think the ability to use chopsticks will do that. The food was mostly very good, though the first shrimp dumplings we got were a little on the cold side. Other than that, the food was great; broccoli rabe with fish sauce, steamed pork buns, fried shrimp and spinach dumplings...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I'll definitely be coming back more often with friends.
(4)
Justin Gwailo H.
I used to go to China Pearl. I would have to say, comparing the two, Hei La Moon (a.k.a. Xi Ling Men) is the BEST dim-sum place in Boston area. They don't have the food stations like China Pearl, but the food quality is far superior. Although, I am not impressed with their non-Dim Sum dishes.
(4)
Allison N.
It is a fairly traditional dim sum restaurant - huge room (I think there are two floors, actually), lots of Chinese people giving me, the only white person, funny looks, and women with carts. Solid food for a reasonable price.
(3)
monica m.
Went to eat here for lunch today because I was having a major dim sum craving and heard this place was the place to go. I have mixed feelings about Hei La Moon...mostly negative, but I DO have a positive. First of all, the place was packed, but we were real lucky. We went in around 1pm and it looked like the majority of the lunch crowd was gone and we were able to be seated within minutes. Dim sum at this place goes until 3:30 so we had plenty of time to eat. Went to go to the restroom and it was FILTHY. There was water all over the floor and it was just gross. They must have a lot of foot traffic during lunch because I felt like I was crossing a small moat just to use the facilities. As I got back to the table, I see that my family had already started getting food to the table. Took a bite of the shrimp, pork, and shrimp & pork shumai and they were delish! We had the pork buns, ha-gao, and dan-tat and they were just as delicious! My family and I were so happy as we were munching on the food. My mother wanted the Chinese broccoli so we ordered it from the waiter, but after 5, 10, 15 minutes, the broccoli didn't come out. We finally flagged down one of the carts and asked for it. It was really tasty. We decided to order another one so we did again from the waiter because the cart lady disappeared. Took them another 15 plus minutes to get that out as well. It was really frustrating. Our server looked miserable and the ladies that pushed the carts didn't speak a word of English. That was also frustrating. Whenever we wanted something, the lady would look at us and say "no" or "retire" and then we'd see it 10 minutes later in another cart. So, the food was really good, but the service really stinks! After lunch, we asked for the check and it was a whopping $57 for 4 adults! $65 if you include tip. Half the awesomeness of dim sum is that it's cheap. This was not cheap! We were able to feed 5 adults for half that amount at a really good dim sum place in Southern California. I expected better from Chinatown! Well, we left the restaurant feeling full, a little disappointed about the price and service, but happy with the taste of the meal. Until an hour after... I had a huge headache, felt dehydrated, and had a stomach ache. In fact, I still have a sensitive stomach and it's been about 8 hours since eating. Found out why too. My mom said that the food had a lot of MSG, which I now think I am incredibly allergic to. So, for those that are sensitive to MSG, please beware before eating here! I know that many people state that all Chinese food has MSG, but I've eaten dim sum and not gotten sick after wards so I know that no or little MSG in Chinese food is possible. Like I said in the beginning, the only thing that is a positive for this place is the brief deliciousness that it gave me while eating their food. The service, MSG overkill, bathrooms, and price is what keep me from coming back.
(2)
Erik S.
A decent Dim Sum restaurant. Tons of people and tons of food. They kept bringing food by but they didn't seem to have that much variety. It seemed like they kept bringing by the same things. Everything was good but nothing was great. One thing going for it was that it was super cheap.
(3)
Julian M.
This is certainly the best dim sum I've had in Boston. It's all kept rather fresh with decently-thin skins. It has some slightly newer dishes. But it still doesn't keep its dishes as up-to-date as some of the places in the San Francisco area. It's no Hong Kong, of course, but I've not had better in Boston.
(4)
Jeanette Y.
Authentic dim sum with a traditional banquet feel. Everything I had here was delicious. Great (and fun!) for large groups of people. One of the best things about Hei La Moon that you don't get in NYC Chinatown is that you can come early or mid-afternoon, and it is always bustling with plenty of food. In NY Chinatown, you would need to come at 9:00am - any later and the restaurant would be all out of food.
(4)
Byron M.
If you are familiar with Chinatown, this place, like China Pearl, is a larger restaurant that is designed as a dim sum place during the day and a full banquet facility in the evening. They also serve dinner for individuals and small parties as well. Because they are located on the street level this place is better suited for persons with disablities as not all places in Chinatown are able to accomodate folks in this area. The dim sum is on par with China Pearl and the dinner menu and quality is a bit better. This restaurant also offers discounted parking on the evenings and weekends in the garage upstairs. The banquet food is also very good and recommended for larger parties.
(3)
Kenny L.
For those that aren't familiar with Sailor Moon, she is a teenage middle school girl with magical powers to defend the evils of the universe. In this episode, she teams up with Sailor Venus (Roni E., official Cantonese translator of the day), Sailor Mars (Nate Y.) and myself, Sailor Mercury to find allies and opponents along the path to battle Dim Sum, the warriors of unknown powers. The war was fierce. We encountered the clear skin dumplings with shrimp (won), wonton soup with only shrimp wontons (lost), turnip cakes (won), small soup dumplings (won), sticky rice (won), egg custard (won), flour skinned meatballs with mushroom (lost), and sweet tofu flower soup for dessert (won). Key: won=good taste, lost=bad taste. In the end, the powerful Sailor Scout Team beat Dim Sum. But even though most battles were won, some were almost borderline tasty. It was definitely unlike the battles fought in NYC, LA, SF, and even less so in the motherland of Hong Kong. We will wait patiently for the next battle in Boston and we hope to win in a larger margin. Maybe next time Tuxedo Mask will come to save the day, or at least Trish the Dish.
(3)
Nancy L.
Hei La Moon is the rival to China Pearl for the best authentic dim sum experience in Boston Chinatown. In my book, HLM is very good but not better than China Pearl. It has bigger portions, each of the dumplings, buns, or shumai are all bigger than that of China Pearl and it is more accessible. If you park in the parking lot above HLM, you can have it validated after your meal at HLM and only pay around 6 dollars for a whole day of parking, a pretty good deal in Boston on a weekend. However the food at China Pearl is better and has more variety and more authenticness to it. It's something that I cannot put into words completely. The same rules of agressive queuing up for the wait list, stopping the ladies who push the cart, and fighting for the last dumpling still applies to HLM. Very loud and busy on weekend with prompt wait service.
(4)
Matt L.
I originally submitted a review back in Sept 2006 and since then it's been a twice a month (if not more) dim sum house of choice. Hei La Moon are from the same owners as China Pearl so back then it was like all the (food) of China Pearl but in a shiny new room. Oh how things change over time. For years, we've coming for dim sum, often early in the morning on weekends, yet inexplicably the hostess continues to direct us downstairs regardless of how few people there are in the primary (non subterranean) dining room. The first couple of times, we obliged and went downstairs to find that not only is the "new car smell" gone, but replaced by "old, greasy, needs a 'Stanley Steamer" guy to steam clean this whole nasty carpet" smell. The point of continued maintenance and cleaning was lost - replaced by the old Chinatown saying, "f*ck it!". More recently, we insisted on being seated upstairs - even accepting a longer wait. The funny thing, the wait was never any longer, so why were we "guided" to sit downstairs in the first place? Do I have some kind of "Brad Pitt carved asshole sign on my forehead" (e.g. "Inglorious Basterds")? That had to be the case, as I saw no other clear seating pattern - with a random blend of old and young; Chinese and non - that warranted the Yankee fan at Fenway treatment. Anyhow despite the second class seating preference we continued to come - now more out of habit than anything else - although the food was still consistent. Until.... On our last visit, I ordered a bowl of congee (a Chinese rice porridge) . To my surprise, I hit a crunch. Not a yummy, "was that peanut or cashew crunch." Not a "cookoo for cocoa puffs crunch" but rather a, "does someone have the number of my dentist crunch!" There was a peanut sized hunk of glass in my congee! Luckily it was not sharp but rather thick and well rounded - kind of like a piece broke off a thick glassed (blue) vase. Either way, not cool. I raised my hand and brought this to the attention of one of the wait staff. She too was shocked. So much so that she ripped the piece of glass out of my hand (still dripping from spit and congee) and inspected it carefully. Really? No napkin, nothing - nor did I see her was her hands before helping other customers. No additional comment needed. So she came back, apologize and took the ONE DISH off the check. Umm....really?!?! REALLY!?!?! One of the head waiters ultimately came back and wiped out the whole check. A nice gesture, but all things considered, we decided that would be our last trip for the foreseeable future. We've switched back to Empire Garden - a favorite of my aunt's and I must say, it's been a pleasant trip back. Finally, can't a first class dining experience and awesome Chinese food in Chinatown be synonymous? And we're not talking about a dramatic change in the food, but more so update the presentation and service. Pay the workers industry standard wages so they don't look like they just rolled out of bed (not their fault in my opinion). Restaurateurs, please take note.
(1)
Jennifer S.
don't go for anything but dim sum. like another poster mentioned their food is really bland and flavorless. no soy, no ginger, garlic NOTHING. lots of cornstarch though. so yucky. but their shrimp dumplings (Har Gow) are a delight.
(2)
Dee H.
The dim sum is pretty good. They've got all the family standards, plus the variations of the same that we usually ignore. The extra star is for the cleaner and newer facilities than the old standby China Pearl, and for bringing out full cans of soda when we asked for a glass of diet coke and a glass of sprite for the boys.
(4)
Kathleen M.
By far my favorite dim sum place in town. I shouldn't scream that too loud because I have always found the wait much shorter here than at places like China Pearl or Chau Chow City. Spacious set-up with upstairs and downstairs seating, just outside the Chinatown gate. Food is always fresh and carts rotate pretty frequently. They cook up all your dim sum faves, and my Chinese pals swear by the tripe and "phoenix claws" here, but none for me, thanks. Sadly, the least frequent cart contains turnip cakes, which are my favorite dim sum delight. I do advise you, though, to hunt this cart down--quite delicious and best when hot off the griddle. Just don't frighten the person with the cart as you charge across the enormous dining room in a focused effort to obtain just a small bit of this turnipy goodness, we don't want to do anything to further reduce the frequency of the cart!
(4)
Corey B.
Ok, this place is probably the best Dim Sum place in Boston. That said, I recently had a terrible experience there. I went recently with three others and we had a great meal, though they apparently make the calamari once in a year as we have been several times since January and only saw that once- it was excellent! Okay, the bad experience: After our meal we paid with a credit card, but decided to tip in cash. The person collecting the check saw no tip on the card receipt and ripped into the card holder about how he should have tipped. She had no shame, and she only brought us the check and provided no other service, therefore would not have had any idea as to our dining experience- she was telling him to tip 15%. She should have said nothing because it is not her choice to make- what if the service was dismal? (It wasn't) and was a honest misunderstanding, but demanding a tip is not a good business practice. My out of town friend will never go for Hei La Moon again.
(4)
Jennifer L.
Is it just me, or does all dim sum taste the same? To be fair, I've only been twice, once to Hei La Moon and once to China Pearl, but seriously, the dim sum at both places taste exactly the same to me. The dishes seemed to be exactly the same. My experience is, if you get something with filling (besides the pork buns, which were ok), you can choose from some combination of pork, shrimp, and scallions.
(2)
Danae B.
Best Dim Sum in Boston, hands down. Just watch out not not to get hit by one of the carts. It smarts!
(4)
Naomi U.
The absolute worst Chinese food I have ever eaten in my life anywhere. We had three take-out dishes Not many chinese ingredients were in evidence...and many huge chunks of vegetable like 3/4" celery and carrots...as well as canned white western muchroons and western cabbage in evidence.... It was as though the worst dorm food chef in 1950's NE directed unwilling 17 year old student serfs in making Chinesesque chop suey without any crunchy noodles.
(1)
Al N.
For the Dim Sum: 5 Stars. They got all my favorites, from turnip cakes to pork ribs in black bean sauce to chicken feet to taro cakes (shrimp cakes with crispy shredded taro stuck to the outside--amazing) to wide noodles with XO sauce. Good prices, fun to eat, fast service. So why the two stars? It it weren't for the great Dim Sum in the earlier hours, I'd give them zero. I went at night with four friends, all of whom are white. I look white enough, even though I'm half Asian. Not like it matters. First of all, there's no Dim Sum. Second, I order the Peking Duck and they only tell me ten minutes later that they're out. I know that takes a day to make it, but if it's on the menu, WTF? The biggest offense of all was NOT the waiters constantly looking over at our table, pointing, and laughing (yeah, we're ugly dorks, but have some manners), but the way that no matter what we ordered, THEY GAVE US THE WUSSIFIED GWEILO VERSION. We asked for chicken with ginger and scallions--repeated it twice, actually. They brought chicken with broccoli. I asked very clearly so as to be absolutely sure that the waiter understood that I wanted Spicy Salted Shrimp WITH SHELL and HEADS. They brought decapitated, shelled shrimp. When I said it's not what I wanted, the waiter said, "This is better." What a load of crap--shrimp without shell is like bowling ball without liquid center. They missed one dish entirely. It's like Hei La Moon is two different restaurants, one a fantastic Dim Sum place and the other run by a idiots so afraid of offending customers' palettes that they completely disregard what was ordered. Don't go at night. If for some reason you feel you must, bring a lawyer.
(2)
Moookao K.
Is it just me or have Chinese people gotten heavier over the years? If so, it's all because of this place. The dim sum is the best in Boston!!! and I know my dim sum. It's in my genes for goodness sakes. Before I found this place, I was worried about surviving the next 3 years in Boston without good dimsum -- given that I come from the motherland of dimsum -- CA. Unlike the dim sum offered by China Pearl or Chau Chow City, the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Especially noteworthy were there beef noodle rolls (chang fun), meat balls, shu mai, hargow, and leek/veggie dumplings. Also yummy are anything bun related -- BBQ pork buns and the sweet custard bun. The bread is the perfect balance of fluffy and chewy. Damn, I'm salivating all over my computer again. Oh yeah...and the service is great and the dining room is spacious and clean! Why not 5 stars? cuz I'm a spoiled dimsum whore and have had the best of dimsums from around the world, SF, LA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan. Sorry Boston. Though you're the best here, you don't compare to the rest of the world. But congrats on the 4 stars!
(4)
Jimmy C.
Dim sum heaven. The spareribs over rice noodles are delicious!
(5)
Liana K.
Dim sum is yum yum! While I can't recall the names of everything that ended up being swallowed, it was all good. Pricewise wasn't too bad since it came out to like $62 for 8 people.
(4)
J L.
Had to spit out the beef balls. It's so nasty my gag reflex kicked in. The Phoenix claws tasted like they dropped the whole winter's salt in them.
(1)
Justin M.
Only ate here for Dim Sum. Being a native San Franciscan, I really hate to be biased about eating dim sum from other metro cities. To me, their dim sum was just average. Since I've heard that Boston's Chinese food is not the greatest, I would have to say that Hei La Moon is just ok for what is available in B-Town. The service was good. The minute you sit down, you're surrounded by the dim sum carts. Choose your selection and go from there. We went during a weekday with a large group and didn't have to wait that long. I'm sure that a weekend visit would pan out a different story. It seem that they like to heavily season their food with "white pepper." Almost every dim sum dish we ordered seems to have that similar distinct white pepper flavor. It's ok to season with this, but it's overly too consistent. I also usually judge a dim sum place on how well they make their flavored chicken feet. It was ok. Didn't experience the pushy staff forcing plates on us. If this is the only somewhat decent dim sum place in Boston, then I would probably give another star.
(3)
Ayuka H.
The #1 dimsum place in Boston!
(4)
Huan z.
Was invited to have dim sum with few American friends. Even though I don't speak Cantonese, I enjoyed the food. I felt it tastes better than few other dim sum places here in Chinatown. Not every dishes has shrimp in it which is a plus. Will try some other time if I am happen to be in Chinatown.
(3)
Annie I.
oh my god....dim sum here is amazing. you can get a ton of food for a very reasonable price, and the pork buns are life changing!
(4)
Lindsay B.
The food was yummy at first BUT I found THREE hairs - all of different textures and lengths - in my food. I'm still nauseas thinking about it. I looked up their health code history and it was NOT pretty.
(1)
Lisa P.
Went here on Christmas or the day after, can't remember, for some good ol dim sum. The line was really long and parking is impossible. We ended up parking upstairs in the garage. But once we were seated, the food was yummy! They had a good selection of dishes. The bathroom, however, was a bit dirty and greasy.
(4)
Kittery R.
I was here for Dim Sum, we had a huge group, so had to get 3 tables. I find that this is a large restaurant but the foods is not so good/fresh. This was on a Saturday at peak time, so if foods are not fresh then, I cant imagine how fresh they are on other days. Waiter/Waitress are the worst of Chinatown, we ask for some cake waited 30 minutes and still nothing, when we asked again, they brough in like 20 minutes later when everyone was done. The waitress were so rude and wanted to forced us to take it the dishes they didnt bring us 50 minutes ago, but We were all full and didnt want to pay, so the waitress was all angry. Not santiarize and foods not so fresh and horrible service. Pearl and Burcha cha has better dim sum. there is another place, but I cant remember the name. All are better than this place.
(1)
Hubert H.
I'm writing about both the dimsum and the dinner options. Dimsum was fine. A step about China Pearl in that the restaurant is cleaner, and the items more steaming hot. Fair cuts of shrimp in the hao gao, and nicely done sticky chicken rice inside lotus leaf. One thing to note is that on weekdays not many varieties of dishes are presented, so it might be useful to complement the dimsum with a noodle dish or rice. Another thing: once in a while they throw in an experiemental item: this time it was bits of taro, celery, and cilantro inside a sticky rice flour wrapper. Dinner was fine as well. Be sure to order off the Chinese only menu as that menu is the only one that has the group dinners (2-person, 3-person, etc.). Ours came with a seafood and vegetable dish, a fried rice, a seafood soup with crab and fish stomach, and a ginger/scallion stir-fried lobster. We also added a hot pot with chicken, salted fish, and tofu, which was a nice complement to all the other seafood. The stir-fry technique was solid and there was plentiful to eat.
(4)
Thuy Tien L.
I used to get my dim sum fix at China Pearl, but one day I decided to investigate the place with the long lines out the door of Chinese families, and I found Hei La Moon. Oh man. I love this place! Best dim sum I've ever had, and definitely the best in Chinatown. Bring a Chinese friend (it might help you get a table faster, and it'll be easier to get food), and try one of everything. Everything. They serve pretty much every food item anyone could ever want to eat at dim sum, so bring an empty stomach. Come early to avoid the crowds (before 10 am, esp on a weekend) or else you'll be half-dead from hunger by the time you get a table. And you'll DEFINITELY need a Chinese speaker in your crowd in that situation, because numbers are called out in both Cantonese and Mandarin but rarely ever in English. Shady, but true. Another useful tip: either come in small groups (2-4) or giant extended family-sized groups (10-12). Sometimes large round tables are saved for large parties, sometimes several small groups get put together at one of these tables. Seating often depends on your group's size and table availability, so numbers aren't called in order. The food is absolutely amazing and really fresh because they get so much business. I often drop around ten bucks for a gut-busting, soul-fulfilling meal. Heaven.
(5)
Mark W.
Excellent Dim Sum!
(4)
James C.
Dim sum review. The food is good but the service is spotty. The carts come so infrequently that people go to the carts. Service in general is poor
(2)
Andra Z.
This is a great place for dim sum, and for someone who isn't Asian, an experience not to forget. It's always busy when I've gone, which makes the experience even better. The carts are packed with yummy dim sum goodies and the staff is helpful enough to give you some sort of indication as to what you're eating. I wouldn't go in if I weren't willing to experiment. The broccoli rabe is fantastic, I highly recommend it. And I've always stayed away from the cart with the chicken feet. I have eclectic tastes, but not that eclectic. The prices are incredibly reasonable for the amount of food you can and will consume.
(4)
Mia D.
UPDATE: Went again when my father in law was in town. We went EARLY, like before 11 and that was the key! We got in right away and the food carts swarmed down on us quickly, I was pointing and saying yes so fast! This time we were more impressed with the variety of food we got and it was tasty!!!! We ate in less than an hour and were all stuffed when we left! Again, we decided to skip dessert mainly because we never really saw a dessert cart go by and got dessert at the bakery down the street. Still a solid four stars!!! It will never get 5 from me because my fav dim sum place is in SF and London... OH and we found that the garage right next to Hei La Moon is a flat rate of $10!!! Finally, I've discovered a great dim sum place! I'm so excited!!! After hearing from people that this was the best in Boston, my family decided to check it out. We got there around 11am on a Sunday and there were already packs of people waiting! After shoving my way to the entrance and after people rudely shoving their way ahead of me, I looked the lady who was handling the "list" and put up 4 fingers (the lady behind me was already speaking in Chinese to her, trying to get a number before me!), she graciously gave me my number first (HA!) and then it was the waiting game. Having 2 little kids with us, that was fun, let me tell you! I had to keep standing by the lady calling out the numbers, because it was so hard to understand her! She had her mouth too close to the mic, so the sounds were all muffled! Frustrating... But finally, we got seated in a pleasant window seat with plenty of room for my kids to be comfy. The food came fast and it was worth it! Soooo delicious and warm and BIG! I couldn't believe how big the dumplings were! So, why only 4 stars? Well, the variety wasn't great, I am used to a lot of different things, and the only vegetable we saw was the broccoli, which we got. And my husband almost got sick when he saw how dirty the bowls were that the woman serving up the tofu was using. I mean DIRTY like they had never been cleaned before! Luckily we didn't get that and also after that we were on the lookout for substandardly clean utensils, plates, bowls, etc... And the desserts were seriously lacking, mainly because she kept avoiding us even after we flagged her down! The service isn't great, they try to explain what it is, but unless you speak their language, sometimes it's tough to understand what is inside some of the items. However, the price is wonderful! It was only $40 for us to eat and that EASILY would have been doubled at my fav place in SF Yank Sing. We ended up getting perfectly pleasant pastries at the store down the street. My only complaint about Chinatown is the lack of parking. Anyone have tips for cheap parking, I'd sincerley appreciate it!!!
(4)
Anthony Y.
Why are all the good Dim Sum not in NYC? Hei La Moon is a perfect example of what Dim Sum should be across all cities as it follows this supposedly simple (but apparently not so) template: - Spacious (so you don't have to sit with randoms) - Fresh food (too often in other cities the dim sum looks microwaved) - Clean! (a previous review I wrote recounts where this was lacking) Now I guess the only minus I saw was the variety was a little too standard which meant very few options for those who don't eat pork or shellfish (which I need to keep in mind for my gf). But since she wasn' there, I definitely ate my fill and appeased my craving. Actually, there's another minus... the soup dumplings weren't soup dumplings. It made me look like a dumbass ordering them trying to explain how to eat one only for it to be a lame knock off (that is the moment the 5 stars went to 4). My quest for quality NYC dim sum continues...
(4)
E C.
Recently had dinner here with a group of friends. The food was good and plentiful. We had 5 tables with 48 people and each table ordered off the menu. Each table ordered 8 meals and then everyone ate family style. There were no complaints on the food it was all good. For a last minute reservation the restaurant was cordial and handled our group with ease, although they did try to get us to purchase the group dinner specials we insisted on ordering off the menu and they did a fine job of getting us feed and keeping us happy.
(4)
Derrick C.
Better than China Pearl
(3)
Meg M.
I've been to three dim sum restaurants so far in chinatown and this is the best of the three. The food is fresh, cheap and very filling. You eat like it's thanksgiving and pay only $10. The only downside is going on the weekends when the line is out the door. It's best to go during the weekdays. Have the shu mai and pork buns.
(4)
Jack P.
very good dim sum, but not the absolute best
(4)
Tony Z.
Excellent dim sum restaurant. I personally prefer this over China Pearl, another very popular Chinatown dim sum restaurant since the overall taste is much more flavorful and tasty. Be sure to come at the right time as the wait can be a bit long. Also, parking is nearly impossible to find on a weekend.
(4)
Leili T.
I've been to much better places for Dim Sum. The food wasn't that special and it smelled a little. I will never go back. It killed my interest in Chinese food altogether and I used to be a huge fan of Chinese food and specially Dim Sum.
(1)
Sandra Y.
The dim sum staples like siu mai and har gow were really fresh tasting, while the less ordered things like sticky rice tasted stale. Overall the food was pretty good, not the best I've ever had but it definitely fills the spot. It was easy to make eye contact with the cart ladies and ask for the appropriate items, although they do run out of certain items pretty quickly (they didn't have char siu cheung when I was there) I recommend reserving a spot ahead of time so that you don't have to wait for a seat.
(4)
Theodore Y.
One of my favorite Dim Sum places in Boston. I either come here or China Pearl whenever I go dim sum with my parents or a large group of friends. 7/10 times i'll come here though. The food is great and some of my favorites here are the Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Noodles (called "jia leurng" in chinese), the pan friend Rice Noodles ("jeen cherng fun") and all the regular dumplings that are great. Compared to many other Chinese restaraunts, this establishment is noticeably cleaner. The only complaint I have of this place is that there are often not enough carts coming around (which is a bitch when you're hungry), though a waiter is willing to search for what you want. It just takes away from the experience and thrill of getting it off the cart.
(4)
Perry F.
One of my new fav places to have dim sum. The food comes out hot and steaming. The har gows are big and stuffed with shrimp. The chicken feet are plump, meaty (?) and flavorful. Try different types of steamed dumplings as they all have different fillings. The egg tarts have a flaky crust and custard-like egg filling. One of the best I've ever had! They even have a lower level that they open on the weekends to catch the overflow once the main level is full.
(4)
J. M.
Don't expect service or manners if you go here! First, the cashier always has a scowl on her face and really needs to know how having customers is actually a benefit to your business. After having dim sum, I noticed that there was a $1 charge on the bill. No biggie, but since it wasn't marked as to what it was for, I went up to the cashier and asked. She said it's for the tea, but when I informed her we didn't have tea, she changed her answer to water. What?!! Are you kidding me? I had a small dirty plastic cup of iced tap water, and that cost $1?? Me thinks not! Save your money and go elsewhere.
(1)
Elisa T.
Stumbled upon this place one day when I was walking by during lunch. I had a hunch it must be good because it was packed with Chinese people for lunch on a weekday, and all the dumplings and dim sum goodness looked so yummy from the window. I've been going there at least once every other week for dim sum lunch and went there on the weekend for the first time today. It is awesome! Fresh food, big variety, relatively good service (only got attitude from 1 cart lady, but it adds authentic character to the experience), and it's relatively clean. Definitely a go-to spot for dim sum!
(5)
E K.
I'm giving it four stars because everything is great, except the chicken feet. Nevertheless, I would come back again. A very authentic Hong Kong timsum feel with the pushcarts and people speaking Cantonese. A little pricier than the other dimsum joints, but the food was very good (except the chicken feet).
(4)
Mark D.
So the concierge at the hotel gave me a list of dim sum restaurants which included the likes of China Pearl. But knowing that cops always know the best eats in their beat, I asked him where the best dim sum in Chinatown was...and he told us to go to Hei La Moon. And it was perfect. It's your classic chaos inside with carts racing around, food always being thrown on the table and for Chinese New Years, lions dancing inside. The food was awesome...and the bathrooms were surprisingly clean!
(4)
Julia R.
delicious dim sum. seated immediately. pork buns were great. otherwise nice but average dim sum dishes.
(4)
Tyler C.
Probably the top amongst the 3 big places for dim sum in Boston. Prob a touch less tasty than, say, Millbrae, CA or Alhambra, CA, or Flushing, Queens, but that would be an unfair comparison based on per capita Cantonese population around these parts. Still, well prepared dishes. China Pearl and Chau Chau City have really taken a dive lately so unfortunately this is the only game in town. As with all humoungous dim sum palaces, be prepared to fight for a table. Fortunately, the lady with the bull horn at the front means business and gets people in and out. (note to all you overcrowded brunch places - get a good bull horn...)
(4)
Ben M.
The carts of steamed dim sum are really great. They have buns, dumplings, desserts. I just went here for dinner and the pan fried shrimp with shell on it was very tasty, with a nice sweet sauce. My friend's squid dish had good broccoli and a flavorful gravy. The tea is nice but has the leaves on the bottom, which you should be careful about.
(4)
Dennis L.
This Dim Sum restaurant across the street from the Chinatown Gate, I have been to a number of times since it opened for different occasions, ranging from business meetings, to wedding receptions, to elaborate family association dinners, to simple dim sum with the family. This review, I am focusing on the dinner faire, which I had at a business meeting aftermath yesterday night. I have always found the food to be middling, and my dinner yesterday night was not much different from other faire I have had here. I have yet to be blown away, but in comparison, the quality seems to be lightyears above the place I despise the most *cough*Emperor's Garden*cough* and a small step above China Pearl, but unfortunately, when I think high quality Chinese cuisine, the cha laos in Boston still has a ways to go. We ordered one of the set meals, which cost about $200 after tip to feed 9. The first course was a mixed seafood soup with crab meat and egg being the most defined flavors. It seemed more flavored by salt than by the seafood stock and extremely heavy on thickeners. It was passable, but not particularly good. Next was a bird's nest filled with mixed seafood. The bird's nest was cold and thus did not break apart easily, making interaction a bit difficult. The seafood within it is of reasonable size, using moderate-sized scallops and plenty of cuts of fish, not being overly laced with vegetables as filler. You can not go wrong with ginger and scallion tossed lobster, since it is such a simple and basic dish... but after seeing it so many times, it does not seem any different. I wish a Chinese restaurant out there would learn to blanch lobster, extract the meat, and slow simmer it to make it more tender, but that is but a dream... The beef short-ribs with black beans are served on a hot plate with onions and green peppers. The cuts of the short-ribs were varying in quality, some being very high in fat and seemingly untrimmed ends, others fine. There was a celery-like green Chinese vegetable that I forget the name of, served in broth, but I avoided because after experience with it in the past, the strands within are like celery in terms of getting caught in my teeth. The salt and pepper shrimp used whole live shrimp, so a bit more work is needed relatively, but the preparation method preserves the internal juices. This was fairly well-executed with the salt not overwhelming, which is a tendency I've seen with such. The steamed fish of the day was butchered very well and seemingly the highlight dish in terms of preparation, the bones parted without being broken, steamed with soy sauce and topped with scallions. The Haianese chicken was served somewhat tepid, though for me, that is better than cold, but I wish it were hot. However, it was butchered very well, the amount of work needed with my mouth to extract bones minimal for every piece, though about half the chicken was very light on meat compared to others. The admixed fried rice had ham, bean sprouts, beef, peas, and shrimp. Nothing unusual, except to note that the fried rice is seemingly not sauced and just lightly salted, which I personally prefer. It was not too dry, nor too sticky. For dessert, we had a chilled dessert soup of tapioca pearls and sweet potato. In terms of flavor and thickness, it was wonderful and light, the sweetness not overwhelming, but in terms of texture, a lot of the tapioca pearls were stuck together in large globs, meaning it was not stirred enough to keep it from sticking or the tapioca was left out too long to dry. Overall, Hei La Moon is a safe bet. It can cater to a large array of tastes, but it seems like a place to take the family rather than a date. If you are versed in Asian dishes, you will find nothing innovative here, but the standards executed fairly well. In comparison to the other dim sum/function hall restaurants in Chinatown, I'd say it is the best, but not by much. There is room for someone to craft a wonderful Chinese dining experience rather than a large room for dinner. The group meals offered here is good for when you want to focus on gathering with your family rather than spending time arguing over what to order. Just learn the even Chinese numbers, walk in, peer at the Chinese menu, point at the number of people you want, and get back to conversation. Let the restaurant take care of the rest.
(3)
Liezl P.
This place is huge and has a great selection of dimsum! I happily nibbled on braised chicken feet, lotus wrapped sticky rice, hargao, etc. on a recent visit. I just wish we had a place like this in DC.
(4)
Kit Y.
I am having difficulties rating this place, while I truly appreciated the food and restaurant, I did not like the service too much. For a staving vegan, dim sum usually sucks balls, but Hei La moon has lots of stuff, like the green veggie cart, and fat scallion rice noodles in sweet soy sauce, and some kind of mushroom roll in tofu skin- all good shit. The place was definitely not as crowded as most dim sum joints are at 11am on the weekends so that's a plus too, BUT- beware they will take advantage of you if you are not chinese!!! We went with friends non chinese and chinese and I was the only one who spoke chinese, so before I got there to save them, the dim sum cart ladies had already harrassed them into taking a bunch of dishes that they didn't want. So as a tip, just say no! if you d not want the dim sum that they are trying to force on you. If you can do this, then the dim sum here is pretty good.
(3)
Marlarissa M.
Fun and delicious lunch experience. Go with someone that speaks Chinese or you better be patient and adventurous.
(4)
Garett N.
This has risen up the ranks as one of the best dim sum places in Chinatown... on par with maybe China Pearl. With two floors, it's relatively easy to get a table if you arrive at a good time for dim sum. There is never a problem getting a table for dinner. Overall, it's very fresh, typical service, and recommended!
(4)
Mayo B.
Dim Sum is really good here. BBQ pork buns are excellent as well as the chive and shrimp dumplings! Shumai was generously stuffed and very tasty. The Fried Taro Cake is great too! Definitely check this place out!
(4)
Kristine M.
Yum! So far it's probably the best place I've eaten dim sum at in Chinatown. It's a little more expensive. Everything is piping hot and yummy! AND when I asked for water, they brought it within minutes! Best siu mai I've had in a long time. Go with an empty stomach and eat eat eat.
(5)
Jackie C.
Pretty good dim sum. This is the go-to place for dim sum these days, I just wish the wait for a table isn't so crazy during the weekend. I've also come here for dinner and the food is done all right, not bad for the price. They have downgraded some of their ingredients for their dishes this past year, probably in response to inflation and what not. If you're looking for decent dim sum and don't mind hectic wait (if you're going on the weekend), I say give this place a try.
(3)
Ashley M.
Ok this is important .... Hei La Moon vs Emperor's Garden.... price and quality being the same.... this is what i think is the big difference. Hei La Moon 1. better atmosphere - no horrible pink tablecloths across too huge tables Emperor's Garden 1. bigger, so no HUGE wait
(4)
Aditi R.
My first time trying Dim Sum and the experience was really nice! We walked in during lunch right before the crowd started really coming in, so around 12pm. We were immediately seated at the big table (we had a group of 5) on the platform. So it made us feel all smug and stuff :) Anyway, I'm really glad I came with people who knew what they were doing because all the ladies with their carts running around was quite overwhelming, but I have to say pretty exciting to see as well. There was just so much life in the place! I really liked the atmosphere. So I can't exactly name all the dishes we had and we had about 10 or so. But I can name a few. Please note I do not eat pork or beef so I was very limited in my selection at this particular place's dim sum. 1. There was a pork dish with rice around it and it was wrapped in a leaf. The rice was great! 2. Another pork dish with large flat noodles. Once again the noodles were phenomenal! 3. Finally a dish I can eat! Chicken buns. The buns were slightly sweet and there really wasn't enough chicken meat in the bun. But the bun was very light and I did like that about it. 4. We decided to go a little crazy and order chicken feet! Sounds disgusting I know, but it was pretty good. That's also because I like the chewy tender parts and I don't mind bones in my meat - most people were quite put off by it. But I liked it! 5. Silken Tofu with Sweet syrup - really good! We ate this as a kind of dessert and I was very pleasantly surprised. The texture was somewhat wierd and took a little time to get used to, but it was really good! 6. My favorite though, were these sesame covered balls with red bean sweet filling in it. OMG, uh-mazing! Had it not been for etiquette, I would have certainly eaten a good portion of that dish :) There were 4-5 more dishes, but since I didn't really eat them (or couldn't) I do not remember and cannot review them. The service was good. The ladies with carts came frequently and with plenty of dishes on their plate. That could also be because were on one of the main tables and right next to the kitchen as well. I never interacted with the ladies, but they didn't really speak english well. But I believe that's fairly characteristic of good dim sum places. The best of all!! The bill was less than 50 bux! for 10 dishes. I was absolutely amazed and could not believe it. Loved the experience and wish I could have tried all the dishes. For that reason and that reason alone is the reason why I'm giving the place 3 stars.
(3)
Jongpol J.
for the first 10 times i've been coming here i thought the place was called "sailor moon" .. -_-'' i always come here for dim sum. they can get very busy during morning-lunch time so the cart are sometime slow to come by... to solve this problem.. just grab ur bill and go look for any cart with the dish u wants to eat =] i've never been dissapointed with this place yet .. when we ask for something.. even when they're xtremely busy .. they still get it for us .. which is pretty awesome for a busy chinese restaurant (other restaurant often forget to get something for u when u ask)..
(5)
Captain H.
I prefer this place over China Pearl for dim sum. But I won't claim to be a dim sum expert or anything, I just like it because it tastes good and it's cheap. It also has a sushi boat appeal to me, that is, I don't know what I want until I see it. There are bad things about this place - mainly that most of the waitresses don't speak English (but you can point to your food!), the food tends to be greasy, and I always feel like they stick us white kids at terrible tables and often together in the same section. (And they always try to pass off certain foods to our tables that they don't in the rest of the place, although I didn't want chicken feet anyway so I don't really mind. I just make them show me everything and take what I want.) Overall though there are a lot of choices and the carts have pretty high turn around so the food usually tastes pretty fresh. We usually stuff ourselves and get away with $12/person bill. That's tough to beat, especially since my boyfriend had a huge pit for a stomach. My favorite is the fried shrimp w/ taro, although I kind of prefer the ones that are more gooey inside. (They have those too, but just taro no shrimp.) I went here once with a guy who didn't eat shrimp or pork and another guy who didn't eat beef. That was a bad idea. I don't think I would take a vegetarian or another picky eater here either. But, if like, you'll eat anything than go for it.
(4)
Chin C.
I went there a couple of months ago. There is only one reason keep me from going back there, BAD SERVICES!! OK, I don't remember about the food, to be honest, but I don't go to restaurant to only eat, good services are expected too. The place is clean and bright with nice ambient, better than many Chinese restaurants here. Here is the thing, the server gave us a dim sum that we didn't order so we called the waiter and told him about that. He was furious and asked us to confirm that we didn't order it and we told him so. Guess what he asked us again did we want it, and we said no. HE THREW THAT PLATE TO THE BASKET IN FRONT OF US. OK that's enough. Good bye not even want to go back!! Do I have to give one star for this place?
(1)
el e.
Had dinner here. Place was totally clean (the seating area, at least), the waitstaff was attentive, quick and friendly, and the food was super delicious. We got the egg rolls, the beef and vegetables, and the eggplant with black bean sauce. oooh, i missed eggplant and black bean sauce, and how. it was so delicious. they give you heaping plates of food, just like any chinese restaurant should. while the prices aren't dirt cheap, the food is actually very good in my opinion, so it all works out. hope to go again soon.
(5)
Jen Jen W.
Thought the dim sum was just ok...we ordered mainly lobsters/crabs and some other duck/chicken dishes and they were pretty good! If you have a big group you need to make reservation in advance!
(4)
Lindley E.
Ate here pretty recently and was impressed. I've been eating dim sum since I was a kid -- when they still counted plates rather than stamped your check -- and I think I know what tastes good. I've had dim sum in Hong Kong, in Guangdzou, in San Francisco, New York, and LA. I live for the stuff. This place ranks up there. While Hei La Moon isn't groundbreaking, the quality is very good to excellent. I'd recommend going early in the morning to take advantage of fresh-from-the-steamer quality. Very good har gau here -- I polished off a steamer full during my visit. Prices are reasonable. You will leave very satisfied. Chicken sticky rice also delicious. Brought a little extra home and ate it cold -- was still amazing.
(5)
Karman L.
My friend had her wedding here this past weekend. It was great that setup for her wedding. She was able to get the whole restaurant. Food was good (wish I actually had time to eat them all). I've been here for dim sum too, it's decent, and reasonable price.
(3)
Shawn F.
My family always comes to Hei La Moon for our dim sum adventures in Boston. Good selection, as long as you don't arrive too late. White tablecloths and a general attention to cleanliness makes the place seem a cut above some other establishments. Recommended.
(5)
Karsten R.
I've been a China Pearl die hard. Ever since '00. And today, I must say, I am moving up in the world to Hei La Moon. A large clean cavernous place that is crowded on a weekday lunch will undoubtably spill out on the street on the weekend. Quickly seated, I shared a table (fastest way to get served). The table had a table cloth...nice touch. The Shu Mai, Hai Gao and other standards were fabulous. Lighter and fresher looking. They really looked homemade. Grease content seemed lower than other places. I tried a fried nest of some sort. I think it was white carrot with some shrimp base....delicious. I recommend this place for a good lunch for weekdays. Fairly loud so dont bring older hard of hearing folks. 4-5 dishes and walked out for $13. It's $2 over the mythical $11 at China Pearl, but very very worth it. Our office is right next to Chinatown, and I am embarking on a winter long odysee to try every eatery in Chinatown.
(5)
Bo F.
The main boss lady who does the bills is extremely rude and so are some of the waiters. She does not even acknowledge you when you bring the money to her. To her benefit, it's really busy and she's used to Chinese people being rude to her so she doesn't make any effort. In addition, I feel like the place has a sense of arrogance, because it's close to the only elevated parking lot in chinatown and they get a lot of customers, they feel like they don't need to be that polite. One time, one of the waiters came up to us and yelled at us for not tipping enough in front of everybody. After about 5 minutes of yelling, we gave him 2 more dollars and he said thank you and left us alone. Another time, I asked if we can be seated on the first floor so my elderly grandparents don't have to take the stairs. The hostess said in Chinese "please...I'm sure they can manage." After these experiences, I boycotted them for about a year but went back simply out of convenience (it's closest to south station-red line) and the food is rather good. I've been to this place at least 10 times now. Compared to Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, the food selection is slightly larger and tastes slightly better.
(2)
jazzy l.
We didn't come here for dim sum but came here for dinner. We got two chinese orders of (party for 4) dinner specials. Baked Lobster, Steam fish, chicken fried rice with salted fish, and some other dishes. It came to under $100 for 7 people.
(3)
Kevin T.
One of the best dim sum places I have ever been to...period. First, let me start with the food. I love the variety of dishes that they have and the food is always warm or hot when served, as they should be. Flavor is great and the price is more than decent. Second, although you'll probably run into a fatty line outside, don't worry, the turn around time is fairly quick. I have never waited for more than 15 minutes with a big group. Third, they have a nice decor which makes the food even more appetizing. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking into a restaurant in chinatown where they have ugly decorations and dirty tables/utensils. When you pay, one thing that you might notice is that they don't really "ring you up" at their cash register. They add up the total themselves...and you might wonder how the heck they calculated the tax. From what I've seen, they have a tax table on the back of their carbon paper pad, which gives them rough estimates. The reason for the minus star....well, they have a few tables on the main level where the floor is elevated; therefore, the dim sum carts aren't able to be pushed next to the unlucky customers sitting there. The customers must get up every time to walk to the carts...ANNOYING! Thankfully, this has never happened to me but I've seen people get up and down and I feel pretty bad for them.
(4)
Raymond W.
After sampling the dim sum at King Fung Garden and China Pearl, I opted to select Hei La Moon for a Sunday Brunch. Upon calling in for a table of 12 reservation, we were able to get a large round table downstairs that actually had at least 4 large tables. The crowd was lively and the restaurant was humming along with various carts flying by. Sometimes it was hard to flag down carts if you didn't have you game face on or if you are busy in conversation. Over the course of the meal, we got shrimp and pork dumplings, spring rolls, Chinese broccoli, pickled vegetables, sticky rice, pork buns, shrimp wrapped in white rolls, egg tarts, chive dumplings, and a few others that elude me at the moment. For the 11 of us, the total came out to $12 per person including tax and tip. It has been a long time since I've had Chian Pearl and King Fung Garden, but I think I would label Hei La Moon above King Fung and on Par with China Pearl (possibly slightly ahead). The biggest frustration was flagging down non cart pushing staff to get water, tea, and the check.
(4)
David K.
After many years of happy dim-summery at China Pearl, I was happy to find an even better alternative in Hei La Moon. The food was fresh and delicious, and they had some nice dishes that I hadn't seen at Pearl. The one thing they didn't have was enough of the turnip cakes going around, and also the other dumplings that are warmed up on a skillet before serving. Yes, I obviously don't know the names of all the dishes but I know what they're supposed to taste like and Hei La Moon does a fine job. This is an excellent choice for a weekday lunch or weekend gathering. Prices are very reasonable.
(4)
David K.
Dim Sum here is probably the best and tastiest you will find on the eastern side of Toronto. That said, there a few good spots in NY City and short of taking that short cut on your way to San Francisco for the Best Dim Sum I have had in the USA -- Hei La Moon does a wonderful job of crankiing out all of the favorites. Lots of great little meat wrapped wonders, steamed things (admitting that I pretty much stick to the steamed things and shy away from the fried foods). The service is pretty decent and they send out a lot of carts since the whole restaurant is pretty much filled with Dim Sum customers v/s those who order off a menu. You can of course do a little of each --but I have always just gone with the really fresh and hot dim sum items.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Street Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Loud Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Monty W.
The best place for dim sum in Boston - according to every grandma walking around Chinatown that I asked. If you want good dim sum in Chinatown Boston - just come here. I've been to this restaurant each time I've been in Boston - and its consistently good. Pricing is cheap compared to what I'm used to in Chicago as the small's are less than $3. They still do the carts for the dim sum - so you get that "experience" factor into it. Though I myself prefer ordering directly from the menu and being served the dishes a little at a time - though the opportunity to over order will be the same for both experiences - as the eyes are greater than the stomach could handle. A rule of thumb - for dim sum novices- if you see a dozen people crowd around a particular cart - bring your ticket over there and fight your way in for your dish. Its an active competition here - so send your most athletic team to box out and distract others to get your freshly baked char siu bao (bbq pork buns) - it was absolutely awesome. The entire pan of freshly baked baos went away in literally two minutes on a semi -busy monday morning! each dish was well-seasoned and consistent. Beware on the weekends - as it was completely packed (both the normal dining room and the basement dining room) on the Sunday that I checked it out a couple weeks ago. It is loud, it is chaotic -it is dim sum. Enjoy!
(4)Debbie C.
I love dim sum big time, I think this place was ok for me but atmosphere was so good, über busy, we came at lunch time. For me was average food and price. Tho they were able to provide other dishes on request. Trolley ladies were helpful. Restroom was clean, FYI 12th September 2015
(3)Dennis J.
Solid dim sum. Nothing particularly noteworthy in either the good or bad direction. We stopped by at noon on a Saturday as a party of four, and we were seated within 20 minutes; it's a surprisingly large space once you're inside. The carts come by relatively frequently and have a decent selection, and the quality of food is not bad although maybe just a touch oily (although no worse than most dim sum). Pricing is pretty average and overall the experience isn't bad; it doesn't feel too cramped in spite of there being so many people. Good, standard, run-of-the-mill dim sum.
(3)Jose S.
I've been to this place twice, the first one alone to have dinner and the last one with some friends to lunch. When you enter staff will receive you and they will take you to your table. You will soon realize that this place is really huge, and if that's not enough there's another area of the size size downstairs, wow! The first time I want there were almost no people, maybe because it was too late. The first thing they do is serve you some tea and some water. In my first time I got the menu, no carries overt there, so as they had a comprehensive Dim Sum menu. I ordered some DimSum and they took some minutes to got them, but they were really good, they didn't look frozen or precooked, they were fresh and very tasty. Last time I went to have lunch it was really packed, the first floor was almost at full capacity, but we made a reservation, so we didn't have to worry. This time there were some ladies with the carries and offering some dishes to the customers ( I like it, I prefer to see instead knowing of the ingredients ). We had some DimSum ( yummy!), vegetables like pepper, tofu and eggplant ( I love this Chinese dish ). The service is not 5-star, but it's enough to have a good meal. A must if you like DimSum and Chinese food.
(4)Ami P.
The food was really really good:.: however the service was pretty awful and there were flies... Everywhere. They also didn't have HALF of the things we wanted.. :(
(3)Janet H.
Lots of available seating and pretty good dim sum... I've definitely had better, but I've been spoiled by San Francisco/Bay Area dim sum. Definitely bring friends so you can try more dishes! Also, someone who can speak Cantonese would be helpful =P
(3)Juliana P.
We missed the dim sum hour but were able to order the steamed dishes on the dim sum menu. We got the pork buns, shrimp dumplings, leaf/rice thing, ribs, egg dumpling-like thing and other items I don't know the name of. Not too crowded either. (We went around 6pm on a Sunday and no wait for a party of 4.) Bad service, but perhaps that's part of the cultural experience.
(4)Marlecka M.
I've been going to Hei La Moon for 5 years. And I loved it, I enjoyed the custard buns the most. But I really have to be honest and report my experience today, August 7th 2015-- I found a COCKROACH in my pork spare ribs. I had taken my twin cousins out on a day in Boston and they had only gone to Chau Chow but I wanted to show them something "better." We had eaten two steamers of shu Mai and ordered the pork spare ribs and the chicken feet. I grabbed a spare rib and flicked what I thought was a black bean that they steam it with. But my cousin said, "Wait!" He moved the bamboo steamer and there was the dead cockroach that I had flicked from the rib. The waitress took the bug and ribs away before I could take a picture but he only comped the ribs and chicken feet since we had finished everything else we ordered.
(1)Chris P.
My standards aren't too high for Chinatown restaurants in general, but this place is nasty. All dishes here (regardless of what it is) will come in a thick coating of grease. Generic American Chinese food at its ugh-ist. The restaurant as a whole exudes a sense of being dirty. Lots of fruit flies were constantly buzzing around our table. Luckily I didn't find any worms or cockroaches in my food like other Yelpers have, otherwise I'd be making a call to Division of Health Inspections for the City of Boston. If I can avoid having to come back here for any social occasion (I only came because of a large family gathering for my grandfather's 80th birthday) I definitely will. Looking at the other reviews on this Yelp page I'm surprised this restaurant is even in business. However I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't for much longer. Do yourself a favor and have a microwave dinner at home.
(1)Jenny K. L.
There was no wait at 10am on the Saturday of 4th July weekend. Doesn't have as many carts at other places but the food is solid and has all my meatless favorites! - shrimp dumpling - shrimp shumai - shrimp in a dumpling roll with sauce - fish on tofu - shrimp in eggplant The pork congee was also flavorful. Clean.
(4)Jenna C.
Apparently Boston can have good dim sum. The Boston-resident cousin recommended this place for brunch. I believe he's had a lot of dim sum in his lifetime, so I trusted his suggestion. They sat us very quickly. They had all of the classics. I appreciated the vegetable options too! Fairly reasonable, but I guess nothing compared to LA!
(4)Louis B.
Kick-butt dim sum. We got to Boston for a concert and our host took us to Hei La Moon for a leisurely lunch before the festivities at the concert hall. It was a memorable experience. By the way, there have been positive changes in the last two or three years according to the folks who were eating there at the next table so I'll take their word for it... First of all, finding the place is not as easy as it may seem. We walked from North Station and had a couple of friends who were supposed to join us and they wandered the streets for 15 minutes until they were able to get directions. But once inside, the cacophony of aromas was just delightful. As well as the vertiginous pace of the servers carrying numerous plates of everything from fish, octopus, calamari, duck, beef, chicken, noodles, you name it. We tried to decipher the menu but that wasn't to be, the menu is in Chinese. So we settled for just pointing and eating, pointing, and eating. Well, the waiter would tell us the selection anyway, but it was all delicious. Their steamed dishes, dumplings and other items were absolutely delicious. Together with plenty of tea, it made for a superb lunch. We left ready for a nap, not ready for a two-hour concert.... :-)
(4)Cindy G.
On a Sunday morning, you will likely find my family having brunch here. This place is a dim sum staple for the Chinese community in Boston. The service here is definitely no Michelin star experience (if you know Cantonese, the waiters and hostesses will treat you better), but for the price, you get great portions and authentic Cantonese food. Carts also come by very quickly so you can get a quick meal if you are in a rush. The restaurant is large with two floors, so even when it's bustling on a Sunday, you will likely get seated very quickly. I've never had to share a table with other families (something that happens VERY commonly in NYC). I love the steamed pork buns, steamed shrimp dumplings, steam shrimp noodles, and tofu pudding. I recommend coming before 2pm if you want the best quality food.
(5)Jenny B.
I went here for dim sum during off hours so they were not wheeling carts of endless food. They also were not offering their entire dim sum menu - only the steamed options were available, so we were not able to order anything fried or any of the dessert options like pineapple buns. They didn't even have egg tarts!! But from the food that we ordered (shu mai, shrimp dumplings, egg yolk bun, sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf, ribs), all of it was decent. Not a fan of the egg yolk bun but everything else was good especially the sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf! Maybe I would have had a better experience if I came during the normal dim sum hours but I have definitely had better dim sum before. If you are craving dim sum and happen to be near South Station, this place is literally a 3-4 minute walk though!
(3)Will C.
I attended a banquet here back in June. The food was ok, although there were a few dishes that tasted not fresh such as the flounder. The day after the banquet, I woke up chills and fever. It's probably the sickest I've felt in a while. Fortunately I recovered later that afternoon. I suspect it was likely due to sanitation issues or food poisoning from the banquet. I am unlikely to come back to eat ever again unless I absolutely have to.
(2)Chloe P.
My friend went to a wedding reception here. It would have been a normal wedding party until she took the leftover dish from the party home and put it in her microwave. Not one or two but 4 little white worms came out of the stir fried vegetables. She took it back to the restaurant but the manager and the staff were so rude. They blamed it on the seafood and even dared her to call Health Department. She recorded the video of the worms crawling out of the veggies and posted it on Facebook. So just take a look. I also take a screenshot of the worms in the food and post it on here. yelp.com/biz_photos/hei-… YUCKY! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This is the link of the video of the worms on Facebook: facebook.com/michelle.ng…
(1)Lin G.
Many (hei la) moons have passed since Meow Bird had tasted dim sum. Her friend indulged her by meeting here on a Sunday afternoon. Seated right away. Huge bonus. Good service! Amazing for a Chinese restaurant. No one rushing you. Way to go Hei La! The food was sort of average though. Not the highest quality dim sum and they mix yucca/taro bits in with the ribs to bulk it up. Lame.
(3)Noah L.
The epitome of culinary abuse. A cacophony of of sensory assaults. They seated us behind a huge wedding that was being hosted in the Restaurant. I figured they wouldn't offer to seat us if they were too overwhelmed... Guess not... All of the entrees were so poorly prepared, the calamari was not all the way cooked through and tasted rubbery. Had to ask them to cook it more thoroughly, only it took 2 waiters and a manager to make that happen. The waiters were so unresponsive, didn't give a shittt about our experience. Never refilled the tea, didn't give us water and napkins until we asked. Forgot to cook and bring out one of our entrees, and then took 20 minutes to get us a check. The first time I went here for lunch dim sum it was awesome- What a DISAPPOINTMENT.
(1)Jason H.
Great place with lots of seating areas (which you don't find in Chinatown). We came here on a Sunday at 10:30 and was seated right away downstairs. Friendly staff, attentive. The folks pushing the dim sum carts are friendly as well. Quality of food is good, I can even say that it's better than china pearl down on Tyler St. Will definitely come back!
(5)Connie K.
don't come here!!!!! listen to all the other reviews!! waitresses were horribly rude, would almost act like they didn't hear your requests. the dinner was not appetizing, food served lukewarm. beef was plastic like, we kept finding weird floating mystery items in our water. we were here as a large group and we ordered seven different dishes. nothing was good. fried shrimp, seafood soup, lobster, all of it was either bland, not cooked right, or just tasted bad. there's so many other great places in Chinatown. don't come here! (although I can't vouch for their dim sum which I have heard good things about)
(1)Young P.
I'm not a huge fan of dim sum, but I do crave it from time to time. And when I do, I always go to Hei La Moon located in Chinatown. I'm not an expert when it comes to dim sum, but from my own personal experience, this place offers some of the most delicious dishes you can find around here. Some of my favorite dishes are their chicken feet (sounds gross but trust me they are delicious), pork with flat rice noodles, leaf rice, and their shrimp dumplings. I don't speak Chinese so it is hard to order at times but they go around often enough where you can kind of just point at whatever dish you want and they will give it to you. I noticed that people can also order main dishes but I have no idea how they do that since they don't have a menu or anything.... I think you have to ask them in Chinese so it would be of a great advantage to you if you go here with someone who can actually speak Chinese. Overall, this place offers everything I look for in a dim sum place and I highly recommend this place to anyone who is a fan of dim sum. My only caution would be it is really hard to find street parking so try to take the T instead of driving...They do validate parking tickets if you absolutely need to drive in!
(4)Dan C.
Horrific experience here 2 nights ago. They simply triple booked for dinner with 2 weddings and a birthday party. Luckily we were one of those groups because what we witnessed around us was unfortunate. Regular patrons were escorted out to free up tables for the wedding upstairs. People with reservations were dismissed mid meal for the aforementioned reason. Our 6 course dinner started out smoothly, until more customers wandered in. The service we received was rushed to the point where dessert was served while our party was still eating entrees! No waters were refilled too. This is a case where the terrible service overshadowed the subpar food. Never again will we patron here.
(1)Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is usually my go-to spot for Chinatown dim sum. This restaurant has 2 floors so you get seated quickly. Since its also located outside of Chinatown, parking is a little easier and there is also validated parking above it. Some of my favorites: -Baked Char Siu Bao (Roast Pork Bun) -Ja Lerng (Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Paper) -Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumplings) -Shumai You can't go wrong with Hei La Moon so check it out!
(4)Quanzhi G.
Push-cart dim sum and bilingual servants. Better experience than my NYC one. A wide range of option but because of the huge space, might need to wait very long to get things wanted. We got char siew buns, shrimp dumplings, pork rib, chicken feet, egg tart, mustard bun, siew mai, durian pastries, taro-coconut tapioca and so on for TWO people! My favorites are the char siew buns and the shrimp dumplings. Very tender and flavorful pork inside and fresh big shrimps
(3)Maddy M.
Had a hilarious, busy lunch on a wonderful Friday afternoon with coworkers. The banquet-sized restaurant was bustling with many people and servers pushing carts. The dumplings were my favorite as were the meatballs. The chicken feet were interesting, not a fan of the beef tendons. They're very chewy. You can make the meal as quick or as long as you want. It was the real deal.
(4)Lawrence H.
Dim sum is hit or miss in Boston, and Hei La Moon is no exception to the rule. Some dishes here are decent and some are just plain bad. The good: * Service is actually pretty attentive for a dim sum restaurant, with about half a dozen waiters standing around, ready to be summoned for anything I might need (water, special tea, ordering off the menu, soda, sauces). * The carts came pretty regularly, and they have a pretty wide selection of dim sum goodies. Some dishes I really enjoyed included, "Nine vegetable dumplings," "Dumplings with shark fin," and "Spare ribs in black bean sauce with pumpkin." * It was very cheap. We ordered one special dish, special tea, and about eight or nine dim sum dishes for two people, and it came out to around $42 total. The bad: * I ordered sautéed clams in black bean sauce from the main menu. They came under-seasoned and pretty small. Fortunately, clams are delicious and hard to mess up. * The rice rolls were too thick. Normally these are my favorite -- but the thickness of the rice rolls made tasting the filling (normally shrimp) undetectable. The ugly: * Two of the dumpling dishes I ordered were disgusting, flavorless clumps of meat. My dining companion noted that one was like "eating a huge meatball." Needless to say, we didn't finish either.
(3)Norina N.
I used to think this place has the best dimsum, but as I expanded more options, I've changed my vote, but their food is still good though, and has good selections. It seems like they have more desserts here than other places, and it looks appealing that I wanted to try them all, my fav. is durian balls, the texture is creamy and not too sweet, if you cant stand the smell of durian, dont try it. Eventhough they have 2 levels, upstair and downstair in the basement, but there's always a wait on the weekend, a very busy place. Lately I've seen some pictures capturing bugs in their food, for that reason definitely keep me away and hesitant to come back.
(3)Samantha L.
After arriving into Boston late, my parents and I were craving authentic Chinese food so we came to Hei La Moon. The restaurant has two dining rooms - main floor and basement - that can accommodate parties of all sizes. The restaurant was decorated with numerous red lanterns. In summary, Hei La Moon is better for dim sum than for dinner. We started with Minced Beef with Parsley soup a.k.a. West Lake Style Soup. It consisted of minced beef, parsley, and egg white. It was quite flavorful and there was no need for additional condiments (e.g., salt, pepper, white pepper, vinegar, etc). We ordered the Filet of Sole in Tangy Sweet and Sour Sauce. It was Americanized version of what I thought it would be. It was heavily deep fried filet of sole with pineapple chunks, onion, and green peppers in a tangy, sweet and sour sauce. It was tasty and went well with white rice. We also ordered the Seafood Bird's Nest which consisted of stir fry of seafood (squid, conch, shrimp, fish filet) and vegetables (broccoli, snowpea) in a nest made of deep fried lo mein. There were broccoli surrounding the nest. This dish was rather bland and it looked better in photos.
(3)Julie N.
Dim Sum #4dayz.... I'm a big fan of this place. Everything I ate was really good and on my morning walk to work at 10:30am, it's already packed. Everyone loves this place.
(4)Pam C.
This is a review for the a la cart dinner service, not their dim sum! We came here on a Friday evening because they seemed to be the only restaurant who would take a large group. Were a bit surprised to see that it was mostly empty. Overall the experience was pretty good - the food was your typical Chinese restaurant food. Didn't have any objections and there wasn't anything that was stand-out bad or good. Service was a bit better than I would have expected - our tea was regularly filled and our dishes, even though we ordered quite a few, were promptly brought out. Prices were in line with what we would expect as well: ~$10 per dish on average, with portions a little on the smaller side. Overall, a pretty solid choice if you're looking to bring a large group for some Chinese food!
(3)Katherine D.
This is slightly above average dim sum. The standards are all just standard, except Har Gow which is quite good. Other notable dishes include the Chicken Feet and the Beef Shu Mai and Cheese Mussels. Perks: Large so seating is not really an issue. Plentiful carts at high frequency. Coke Zero is available. Parking garage in the same building. Cons: I wish there were rotating BBQ carts. The Shu Mai isn't all that great. Inconsistently loaded carts and no discernible pattern so you may have to aggressively flag someone down. Tip: If you park in the garage on a weekend you can get an $8 validation at the front desk for ALL DAY PARKING! Killer.
(3)Kim S.
We had an early flight back from vacation and wanted to find an affordable place for breakfast on a weekday. There was street metered parking in Chinatown and we walked across the street Hei La Moon for dim sum. The restaurant was very clean and the servers were not pushy at all (no pun intended). Food was average. Since it was still so early (9:30 AM) they didn't have some of my favorite dim sum specialties like calamari, crab claw balls or clams in black bean sauce. We got 7 plates and it only set us back $25.00. Great bargain!
(4)LeAnn Y.
Worst dimsum! The waiters so rude we didn't get the shomai and wonton soup for my niece! We waited so long fir the food and they are not friendly....
(1)Alexandra N.
It's just bad. Food cooked in cheap grease. Everything undersalted. Dirty chairs and floors.
(1)Christopher W.
I expected authentic Chinese food from this restaurant based off previous experiences some time ago. Now it seems the food has been Americanized, tasting all sweet and sour. It's a shame....
(3)Suely C.
Terrible service. The food was served lukewarm - they were not steamed long enough. Did not get our order of steamed BBQ pork buns. Complaining to the rude manager did not matter. Got handed the check to pay and that was it. Parking in garage above was $20/hour. So it was a ridiculously expensive bad meal.
(1)Audrey H.
First time having Dim sum in Boston. didn't have as many selections as places I've been to in NY but it was still good. very spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't speak Chinese but still managed to order food, but it was hard to communicate with employees. other than that, it had good food and a good atmosphere.
(4)Sophia N.
As a recent Boston transplant, I was very excited at the prospect of not having to go too far for decent dim sum. Based on other Yelp reviews and word of mouth, Hei La Moon seemed like a sure bet. Unfortunately it was not a match made in heaven. When I first walked in, I was filled with hope as I was greeted by the scent of various dim sum dishes. The shrimp dumplings (har gow) were sold out but more was coming which seemed promising. If it wasn't good, it wouldn't sell out right? Boy, was I ever wrong. The wrapper was thick and soggy, the filling tasted heavily of MSG, and fell apart way too easily. I ordered other dim sum staples such as shrimp in rice noodles, Phoenix Claws, steamed pork ribs, and egg tarts. None were much to write home about but most notably, many of the dishes didn't seem very fresh. The egg tarts were probably the most atrocious ones I've ever laid eyes on or tasted. The crust was too thick, too heavy, and the filling was nearly non-existent. I realized too late that someone had taken me to Hei La Moon many years back when I was visiting from out of town and I wasn't very fond of it then. Not much has changed in the intervening years except the har gow wrapper isn't nearly as soggy as it was five years ago and the filling was tastier than it is now. I am determined to find a great dim sum place in Boston because I refuse to believe Hei La Moon is the best Boston has to offer. One of the things that might have completely turned me off to this place was the bathroom odors. I could smell the bathroom from the dining room as I walked past to pay my food bill. This was also the same area where food carts were parked. Food smells + bathroom funk = no.
(1)Vincent H.
I think this is one of the better dim sum places in Boston...if you even consider it good here. Crowded on a weekend and huge. Honestly thought this place was a mess with people walking up just to get food. Make sure you have a friend who can speak cantonese or else you might have to wait a little longer trying to figure out what you want. Service is so-so like any other busy Chinese restaurant but the portions are normal sized except for the price, which is higher than others.....
(3)Vina A.
Not bad dim sum for Chinatown Boston, i.e. edible with minimal to no cringing. Do not go on Boston's holidays or around graduation. They skimp on quality and batter down the ingredients to stretch out their production. I think we had Ha Gao that was going bad on Memorial Day. Also, make sure you don't get seated next to a dish cart. One time I did, thinking it would get moved to another table that needed clearing, but no, nope, just got dishes thrown and continually clanked right over and behind my head the whole time, not to mention the huge towers of empty steamers threatening to come down on my head. They must have very strong dishes to withstand all this throwing but should have provided me with ear plugs, a poncho and a helmet. Pork ribs were their best dish.
(3)Mala S.
This dim sum restaurant has push-carts, which makes it fun and easy to order. The carts came around often but you have to be quick on the up-take, since the ladies will breeze past your table if you don't make quick eye contact with them. All food was good, but the ribs were my favorite.
(4)Linda M.
Please improve the service. Customers have been waiting so long to get some dishes to start with.
(1)madalyne c.
Been twice for dim sum on Sunday morning. It is a big place with cart service. Go for the experience, the food is pretty good and you will leave stuffed. If you get there before noon you will probably get seated right away.
(4)Jasmine X.
Mmm pretty good dim sum at such a cheap price! This place is gigantic. Apparently there's also a lower level seating which blows my mind. What blows my mind even more is the fact that despite all the seats that they have, they still have a ton of people waiting in line for more seats. My friend and I came around noon on a Saturday--prime dim sum hour. Despite this, we were able to get seated immediately which was awesome. We weren't seated in the best location since the carts didn't quite push into our area, so we had a bit of difficulty getting food. It ended up being us having to walk around to fetch our own food which wasn't a huge deal. My friend dines here a lot more often then I do and he said that this was pretty atypical and we just got unlucky. We got all the classic dim sum dishes, although I thought it was interesting how they seemed to do all the traditional dishes just a little differently. For example, their shrimp dumplings had little pieces of bamboo in it which I wasn't a huge fan of. Their pai gu, or short ribs were really good though, although interestingly, they were put on a bed of rolled rice noodles which was a combo that I haven't seen before. Their shu mai were on point though, as were their xia chang feng which I loved. I think we got the above dishes plus some pork buns--total came out to be $20 which was pretty respectable for two people. All the food was super delicious, and despite how many people were in the restaurants, I was impressed at how efficient and on-top-of-their-game the waiters were in terms of clearing plates, helping us get food, and getting our final check sorted out. tldr; Hei La Moon very much has the dim sum game down. With yummy food and cheap prices, how could one not like this place? My only qualm was that I wish the carts were a bit more efficient so you could actually get your food--I think our experience would have been really difficult for anyone who didn't already know what they wanted to order--it was good that we've both had dim sum before since we didn't need to see our options.
(4)Matt L.
Bottom line: quick service at peak hours, very well done dim sum They had all the dim sum staples in healthy supply. We arrived with 3 people at 11:15 am on a Sunday morning , and we had the option to wait upstairs for our own table or go to the lower level to share a table. We were seated in ~7 minutes and shared a table downstairs with 2 other people, and it was not a problem at all. Food came quickly, was equivalent or better to NYC Dim Sum, and they gave us a new pot of tea instead of adding hot water. Service was standard for Dim Sum and no one pushed the specials on us. Total was $16 each and we were very full. I've never seen so many different buns offered at Dim Sum, but I didn't see soup dumplings either, if that's what you're after. I'm sure you could order whatever you want off the menu. When we left just past noon, the line was running well onto the sidewalk. Regarding transportation, we took the T and walked from the Tufts stop, a 5 minute walk.
(5)Sara L.
American walking into this place is very overwhelming!!! No one spoke English and we were not sure what was going on with the carts. We ended up walking out. I wish we had been with someone who knew what was going on because I'm sure it was good..it was full of Chinese people!
(1)Jeff T.
Dim sum yo..3.5 stars seems pretty accurate! SEATING AREA 8/10 - In this area I believe this is the biggest dim sum restaurant so it definitely is the most convenient for parties of 5 or more people. PARKING 6/10 - We parked on the street nearby, not sure if they have a parking garage.. But street parking was relatively ez to find. FOOD 6/10 - Not bad, definitely would consider coming back if im in the Boston area again. Don't set your expectations high.. flavor,quality, portion, overall they are all average. SERVICE 6/10 - It was fine, if you have been to standard chinese restaurants you know what to expect. We received everything we asked for so we have no complaints here. Early morning many steamed items will have to be ordered through your server. (Har gow, siu mai, etc)
(3)Dominic W.
This is my favorite place for dimsum in Boston! Admittedly, I speak the language and know how to order, so that makes things less stressful for myself. The tea: this is a vital part of your dimsum experience. When you walk in and get a table, make sure you give your tea order if you have a preference (my fave = bo lei or teet goon yum). If not, they will give you the default mixed-leaf tea. Ordering food: much easier with a friend who speaks the language. But, here are a few good items: - har gao (shrimp dumpling) - cheung fun (ingredients rolled in rice sheets steamed) my favorite is the beef cheung fun - Shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) - Wu tau gok (fried taro snacks with minced mushroom and pork) - char siu bao (steamed bbq pork bun) Those items pretty much makeup your General dimsum meal. Now you can add whatever smells good to round out your experience! Try the chicken feet :) not my fave but some of my friends love how funny it is.
(4)Julianne S.
Don't speak a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese? It's okay, neither do I! I was a little apprehensive about coming here without a native speaker but turns out I was worried about nothing. The waitstaff comes around with carts of food and you point at what you'd like. My friend and I took many chances at what each of the dishes were, but man, high risk, high rewards. We tried so many different dishes and we practically had to be rolled out of the restaurant. All for less than $15 a head. I'd glad return! Also great for groups, as there are large round tables to accommodate larger parties.
(5)James N.
This place is supposed to be the best in Boston? I mean I know I am from San Francisco and we might have higher standards, but i really think the dim sum is substandard. The food quality is just not good. Most of my Chinese friends say this is the go to place in Boston Chinatown but I have been here twice now in 5 years and it's awful both times. Get your game together Boston, you can do better.
(2)E. F.
Came when lunch was winding down. Very inattentive service. No eye contact. No water refills. Sweet and sour soup was inedible. But the other items we ordered were ok. We had to stand up and walk around for the check.
(3)B C.
Loud, bustling and fun. Great food. Lots of dumplings, chicken feet, rice pancakes, prawn occasionally. All on rolling carts. Lots of Asian customers speaking Chinese. This is a great spot. There is a menu you can order from but the rolling carts are too. Bring a crowd.
(4)Cristina R.
It's all Chinese to me. Hei La Moon can be a bit intimidating for those of us who are less familiar with this type of cuisine. So grab your best Chinese chum, and get ready for an exotic explosion! 11:30 AM for Saturday brunch, and the place is already packed. But it's also huge, so we get a table for 4 in the lower level immediately. Upon sitting, we receive a pot of green tea, and immediately carts are strolling past with intriguing options. It seems like we tried all the things - from chewy tripe to every version of a dumpling imaginable. Many thanks to our token Chinese friend who fielded all of our questions and made the majority of our decisions. There's definitely a lot of trust involved here. My personal faves were the steamed pork buns, sweet egg custard buns, red bean mochi, and fish cakes. The main downside is that some of the food is not completely hot and doesn't taste as fresh as if it were cooked to order (such as over at Windsor Cafe, which you should try btw). Also, the staff with the carts could come across as pushy at times (do they get paid commission per plate sold?), and we found it impossible to decode pricing for each. After you agree to take one, they just mark the paper on your table and set off. So we were pleasantly surprised when all the food that led to our bursting bellies only came out to around $11 per person! It's such a satisfying, social experience to be able to sample so many different foods and share with friends at such a minimal cost. The food quality may not be the highest, but the variety, authenticity, and experience certainly is! Pro tip: Avoid the bathrooms if you would like to still have an appetite upon your return to the table. And they'll only split checks on up to 2 cards.
(4)Jason O.
A group of us came to eat here on a weekday in the evening for some dim sum. If you want dim sum anytime after breakfast, you have to ask them specifically for the menu or they won't bring it to you. If I am remembering correctly, each dish was $4. Not a bad deal but not that crazy cheap either. Food was mediocre. I really like the BBQ Pork buns.....mmmm... I thought the food was fine but one of my friends got sick...I think it was a stomach virus. I saw a picture on the Yelp page of a dead cockroach on the bottom of a dim sum container so I think we can all speculate the cleanliness of the place. For a weekday evening, it was quite packed. The waiters aren't that friendly either. Maybe if we had someone who could speak Cantonese or Mandarin, we would have gotten better service. Every time I asked the waiter for something, like water, he always seemed so pissed off and I was borderline scared he was going to pimp slap me before walking away. I also noticed every time they gave me water, there were white things floating in there so either they don't wash their dishes properly or there is something wrong with their piping system. Either way, it's still pretty gross.
(2)Vic G.
Huge! First impressions first. This place is huge. As much as it seemed over the top and cacophonic while viewing it from outside, it was exactly the same from inside. Reminded me of a huge banquet hall booked for a wedding reception of sorts. Went there for dinner the other night (Friday) around 7:30pm and only one part (level 1) of the restaurant was open. It seems like a norm of sorts. Weekends are supposedly the busiest. We went in with the goal of feasting on the dim sums. Was just not meant to be. We were told only part of the menu was being served and many items were for day time only - especially anything fried. So on one hand, my calorie intake was going to take a big hit (happy face), on the other hand we decided to go for a non dim-sumy meal (sad face). Life as we know it... So let's break this down and compartmentalize as swiftly as I can. Starting with bad news first Service - 1.5 stars Not happy. This simply - as I should blame it on - was fate. From the time he walked up to place the tea pot on our table and flipped open his pad and uttered "ready" (and it almost sounded like a plain word being taught to a kid - just - "ready", and not a question being asked - "are you ready?"), I knew we had the very special waiter! The chosen one actually. We were not asked for drinks of any kind - almost as if it was written on our faces "we don't drink anything when we eat" - I was wondering why did he even bring the hot tea? That's liquid too. But I guess that was part of his ritualistic mechanics. During the 30 minute wait between placing the order, and watching the fun party happening a few feet away from us (a group of some 42 or so Asian kids celebrating something with lots of food and booze), i noticed the other 2 waiters who were in our area were not as dazed and in their own world like ours was. But again, I can easily rate the service as 5 - I might as well - maybe because it didn't seem like patrons who were dining really cared about service at all. So. I pretty much wanted to focus on only the food and my non dim-sumy adventure here. Service can take a hike and sure it did. I just told myself - "hey, you are dining somewhere out of this continent. Just enjoy!" Food - 3.5 stars We ordered 2 main dishes - given the mind set; No Dim-Sum, No Apps. 1. Tender beef chunks with black pepper in sizzling plate: Although this dish had a dazzling red chili next to it on the menu, I told our fun dude, "Very very spicy". He wrote it down. It came out looking very promising. Overall I rate it a 4/5. It was NOT 'very' spicy (blame my extra hot taste buds). It had a spicy touch to it. But the beef was tender and the sauce was very flavorful. i liked it! 2. House pan fried noodle special with shrimp, chicken, roast pork and vegetables: We asked this to be medium spicy. And it was as bland as it could possibly be. I had to flag down our favorite waiter of all times and uttered, "Hot chili paste?". A nod and he swiftly returned with my most favorite dish of the nite in a small white crucible (pic attached). Maybe I should rate the service a 4.5? Never mind. Lesson Learnt. Next time ask for - very very very very very spicy. Ambiance - 4.5 stars LOVED IT. I wish this was a self service place. The crowd spread across the entire grandness of the hall was having a blast - of some sort or the other. And so were we. With no body to answer any of our queries about the special card on our table written in mandarin (pic attached), we were left to our own devices to enjoy what we had on our table, transform it to our tastes, and enjoy the ambiance as it was - Huge, lively, everyone having a pretty good time. So did we! SPECIAL Mention: Men's room - Again, much Huger than what we expected, very clean and basically hygienic. Impressed! Overall - 3.75 stars While leaving, we concurred, we came in at a wrong time. We didn't get a chance to try what this place is really known for - the Dim-Sums (the fried, the steamed and the in between). We didn't get a chance to see the carts rolling down the hallways by other fun waiters handing out orders. We decided - we liked what we experienced, even the service, and in the words of the Arnold, "'I'LL BE BACK!"
(4)Alex G.
This restaurant was very disappointing. The staff were very rude and clearly don't care about their customers. I went to dinner with two friends for dim sum. We ordered four items to share with the intention of ordering more. These dishes should have only taken a few minutes to come out. We waited forty minutes for our first dish and an additional half hour for our next three dishes even though staff and the manager insisted our food would be out in two minutes. The scallion pancake came out first, which was good. The pancake was very crispy, though there could have been more scallion flavor. Next came our seamed pork buns, which were very good. Finally, they brought us our shu mai and steamed spare ribs, which were the worst things we had during the meal. We ordered pork shu mai, but they brought us shrimp shu mai, which had a very slimy texture and little flavor. The spare ribs were the most disappointing at all. Spare ribs should fall off the bone, but what we got looked like the leftovers from the ribs. We ended up with little piece of bone no meat on them, our pieces were completely bone and fat. It was a huge letdown especially after the long wait. I told the manager that our meal should be comped because of the incredibly long wait. At the very least, the restaurant should have done something to compensate us. The manager proceeded to immediately yell at me telling me that I knew the wait would be a few minutes and I agreed to wait (even though he had severely undersold the wait time). He threatened to call the cops on us if we didn't pay the bill in full and said that we were paying for food, not service. He did not care that we had a long wait, that he told us the wrong wait time, made us wait for over an hour, and gave us the wrong dish. He was not willing to listen to our complaints or work with us in any way. His tone was hostile and aggressive. It was poor customer service to lie, make us wait over an hou r for our food, threaten to call the police on us, and refuse to even work with us or take the time to listen to our complains. Even if the service was better, the food itself was not worth the trip. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are several similar restaurants in the area so it is not necessary to come here and deal with mediocer food and terribel staff, management, and customer service.
(1)Emily W.
I'm just thankful that a legit, cart-system dim sum restaurant exists near me. It's a bit on the pricier side- 2 people for $50. But it's worth it. Anyways, this is your typical crowded, no table seat sharing restaurant and their dim sum is pretty good! Although the chicken feet (usually my fav) looked old and broken apart, it tasted fine. I did really like the shuma, the cha siu bao and surprisingly the egg rolls. I usually never get egg rolls but these were fat and full of yummy stuffing. Egg tarts= NONO. They're flaky, cold, semi-flavorless, and everything that could go wrong with an egg tart went wrong! I wish I took some photos but I pretty much devoured the food before I took my phone out haha.
(3)Ami N.
URGENT!! My grandma's friend discovered multiple wiggling worms (tapeworms? I don't know) in their to go meal. Ultimately shocked and disgusted. I have no words but beware and take caution for the seafood in Hei La Moon!
(1)Mary T.
I rate this the BEST DIM SUM in BOSTON! The food here is always pretty fresh and the quality is better compared to other dim sum places. The price is really good too. I usually get their siu mai (pork dumplings) har gow (shrimp dumplings), cheung fun (rice roll with beef/shrimp/cha siu), fung jow (chicken feet), lo bat gow (turnip cake), wu tao gow (taro cake), cha siu bao (bbq pork bun). If you want the real dim sum experience, you should get the most popular dishes, which are siu mai, har gow, cha siu bao and cheung fun. The ladies that push the dim sum cart and the servers speak limited english so it's better to order in Cantonese. But they are pretty friendly. I wanted to order some dishes, but none of the carts were around so I asked the server and he got the dishes for me. They were also pretty quick when it comes to getting the tea for you, refilling the tea, and helping us with other requests that we had. Overall, the food and service has been pretty consistent the several times that I went. This is my go-to dim sum spot. It is always busy when I go on the weekends, but I never had to wait for a table yet, which is another reason why I come here.
(5)Shaina P.
I went around noon today. My mind is still reeling from the experience. It's a HUGE conference-center-like space packed with tables for 10, 6, 4, 2... Very little wait time. Every corner is filled and not every corner is accessible or accessed or ever seen by those rolling steam and flame filled carts.. I missed several apps that I would have loved to have had.. When you enter, it's nuts. Give the lady at the front the number of your group and they'll just start calling you by number, not by name.. I did like the fact that they had tables for two. This place isn't for shy people. You gotta know a thing or two about what you're ordering because it's not easy to understand what's being offered without a menu and without servers who can deliver the ingredients to you in language that you can understand. Best approach: ask waiters stuff like, "is that shrimp?" rather than "what is that?" But I was successful in receiving a total of 5 dishes. I was 5 for 5 in terms of food I would have ordered anyway, including (not the Cantonese version): + soybean braised oxtail with rice noodle, + braised pork/shrimp wrapped in bean curd, + steamed shrimp dumpling in like a rice wrapper, + u-choy (greens), + shrimp and chives fried dumpling. What I would have liked that I didn't get but saw from afar: + congee w/ thousand year egg + pan fried turnip cake + soup dumpling + other pork dumpling Lessons learned in one visit: get up and follow the carts and grab what you want? (asking nicely of course). I saw the same four carts about 5 times, but didn't see the dishes that I really wanted.. ever. So, ask for what you want. Pay at the front. Come with as little as two peeps and as many as 10! Your head will spin.
(3)Katie Y.
Their dim sum is okay but if you order from their menu, the Taishan Stir-Fried Rice (it's actually noodles but we translated that literally) and the Soy Sauce Lo Mein is really good (we order in Chinese so we have no idea what those two dishes are called in English. Apologies). The restaurant is very big (two floors: basement and first floor) and spreads all the way to Lincoln Street. Usually there are a ton of people there and the carts take quite a while to circle back (remember it's two floors) so we just track down the cart that has the stuff we want.
(3)Lily C.
This place is a no no. I would NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone I know and to anyone read this. I searched and saw they have a good review,good rate, so my husband and I went here for dinner . IT WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I had chicken fried rice and the chicken was RAW. I called 2 dishes of dim sum, both were old and dry and nasty :( couldn't finish any of the dishes that we called.... About the plates, cups and server. Our plates were dirty, I can feel the old food left to dry off on the plate. Same with the cups (we got hot tea). The servers were not nice neither, even though we tried to be super nice with them (no complaining, no asking favors,...). This will be the first and the last.... NOT SUGGEST OR RECOMMEND.
(1)Saacha M.
Oh Hei La Moon. I have been coming here for years and had my first dim sum experience here. The service isn't stellar and you have to yell to get what you want, but it definitely adds to the experience. I usually just point at what I want and it works. I have not had anything bad here, but my two favorite things are the egg custard buns and the almond cake. Both are awesome closings to the meal. They serve all dim sum wit team and you can ask for water and chili sauce on the side. For first timers, go with someone who's been before so that they can help you choose what to order. Anything with shrimp and steamed is a good choice, but it's also fun to get a little adventurous. There's everything from turnip cakes to chicken feet, so have fun!
(4)Sophie P.
AMAZING DIM SUM! It was my first time having dim sum (I'm a bad Asian). You should definitely go with a Chinese person who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin, the waiters can understand Mandarin. They should lead you in what to order. If I went without my friend, I'd probably be doing a lot of pointing and raising my hand to get the carts' attention. Pork buns, steamed dumplings, fried taro, fried dumplings. Get all of it. It's very carb-y but you leave so full and happy. For 6 different plates from the carts, it came out to about $22. Are you serious? You can't eat that cheap in Boston. GO!
(4)Rich L.
Not a bad place for dim sum in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. The typical steamed pork buns (char siu bau), egg custard tarts (daan taat), and tofu dessert (dou fu fa) were all very tasty. But it fell short in a few places. First, the shrimp dumpling (har gow) was all white. The outer dumpling skin is translucent for a reason - so you can see the pinkness of the shrimp. They basically washed out the color in the shrimp. Second was the Chinese sticky rice (law mei fan), one of my personal favorite dishes. But not here. It was served to us room temperature, dry, and a lot whiter than it should have been, which means they didn't use enough flavoring/seasoning. Upon tasting it, I was right. The upside is that the service was right on point. They were very quick about clearing our table of the empty dishes and refilling our teapot. And they were also very attentive to items we wanted to eat and were willing to get it for us instead of us having to wait for the carts to come around. It was my first time there so it was a learning experience for me. I would go back if I'm ever in town again but now I know what to get and what NOT to get!
(3)Cady T.
In my opinion the best dim sum in Boston. Clean, conveniently located right outside of Chinatown, and consistent, if not too daring dim sum. Particularly good char siu bao, or steamed bbq pork bun. Steamed shrimp dumpling, har gau, consistently good. They make a chiu-chao dumpling with pork, peanuts, and fall spices that is outstanding. The watermelon soup, a seasonal dish served from a hollowed watermelon is chilled coconut milk spiked with miniature tapioca pearls and balls of melon. YUM! The fried taro is not very good, too starchy. The noodle rolls are too soft and the tea could be better. The bathrooms aren't the prettiest. The only place in Boston I will go to get dim sum. Its certainly not New York or San Francisco quality, but it hits the spot.
(4)Mary B.
I've rode the lunch rocket to La Moon for both dim sum and food off the menu and ... I haven't been impressed. It's a little pink and red garbed orphan of the rest of the Chinatown resto scene, actually residing in the Leather district across the street from the gate. The lunchtime scene here usually quite chaotic, which is kind of part of the fun but not the best option if you're looking to have a cozy and serene dining experience. Service is quick and without frills, just straight up ask them if you need anything because they're not going to offer anything other than a plate and chopsticks on their own. The food is at best, adequate. If you're really craving dim sum goodies, you may be able to get your fix here, but there are better DS experiences to be had in the area. The regular menu has the breadth and scope that you would expect and the portions are served large for good family style sharing. It kind of pains me to call joints out on this, but at the last nom fest, we found hairs in a couple of the dumpling filled bamboo steamers. Yea. When we told a waiter and asked him to just clear it away, he brought the hairy dumplings back to us in a take-out container. 0_o The one thing I've ever eaten here that I really liked: garlic Chinese broccoli. Really lovely, but one dish does not a fan make.
(2)Mary Beth R.
I took my family here for dim sum and it was totally amazing. Thought everything was great from service to food. The decor coud use an update but i think its kind of a cool vibe. My 4 year old loved the spring rolls and shrimp shumai. I loved the crispy shrimp and the sticky buns and tea! Yum yum. Cant wait to go back.
(5)Reese D.
Went there with sis n bro-in-law at 2pm on Sat. Found out that it ia better to get there late. Everything is fresh n there is no wait for it. Will be going to the restaurant for late weekend dim sum from now on.
(5)Kim V.
Almost every time I went for Dim Sum, this was the place everyone recommended. It has a nice variety, and is reasonably priced. It had my favorite dumplings and they were pretty good. Regardless of the group size, my party often got seated pretty quickly.
(3)MJ L.
Can't go wrong with this Chinatown gem. Perfect for a dinner date or for hosting large events. Can cater up to 130 people. Food is authentic cantonese style. One of the best dimsum is also available for lunch. Have gone a dozen times and will definitely continue!
(4)Virginia C.
Prob. the best in Chinatown, but I've def. had Better and I am a dim sum SNOB. 1) It is packed on the weekdays/weekends and the old ladies are not really friendly (even when I use my Cantonese!). Usually if I want something and I don't have it, there are other establishments that will make a special effort to get it for me. Ummm.. don't count on it here. 2) All dumplings are fresh (Har Gaw= DO IT) 3) Tofu Pudding. MM, and don't knock it until you try it. 4) Pork SpareRibs (Satisfying) 5) Cun Fun (Exceptional) 6) Everything else (Sui Mai, Chicken Feet, and Shrimp Rolls, or Whatever is pretty standard). They have a pretty great selection, and there are a variety of Cantonese and nonCantonese Peeps in this joint. During the weekend, please remember to get a number. In addition, Chinese people don't know how to wait for their turn= no such things as lines. Therefore, just push your way to the front, and don't let the short asians and pushy old ladies walk all over you. And, even if you don't speak Cantonese, this place is manageable :)
(3)Josh S.
One of my favorite dim sum joints, located just outside of Chinatown proper, closer to the Leather District. HLM offers a great selection of dim sum dishes and traditional entrees, but on the last visit (out of 3 total) the service was extremely lacking - as in we sat there and weren't served for 20 minutes. Other experiences have been more positive.
(4)Cindy K.
So I only give this three stars because I've been spoiled and have experienced much better dim sum in other cities (NYC & Toronto are at the top of my list for North America). HOWEVER, this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. (I've heard Windsor is very good too however its much smaller so everyone comes here) First off, if you hate crowded restaurants, do NOT come here on weekends for brunch - the place is packed and can get extremely loud. But if you're brave enough to trek over to Chinatown and looking for an authentic dim sum experience, this is where you want to be. Food is carted around by older Chinese ladies and you basically order what you want. They don't really speak English so if you aren't brave enough to just look and order either come with someone who is Chinese or someone who is really familiar with what to order. Most of the time everything is very good but it's hit or miss depending on the day. My favorites are shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, beef meatballs, shrimp rice cakes, and my absolute favorite is the tofu pudding for dessert.
(3)Joe T.
Standard food and the service is really bad. I was serves beef spare ribs that were un-chewable and they refused to refund after i could not eat it. Gave them a chance again just to sit down 10min before some one came who ha trouble understanding what I wa ordering. Eventually he took the order and 20min later i asked where my order was. A lady said she did. not know!!!! I then took off. There way better places
(1)Corey L.
This place is HUGE! Got there on a Sunday, didn't have to wait b/c they have 3000 tables. We were seated way in the back and I was nervous that we'd be left out. However, within a few minutes, we were surrounded by carts - like we were chum and they were shark-carts. My main complaint is that I think it's impossible to not order WAY too much food. The food was good and it was a cool experience to boot.
(4)Brian L.
Like in my earlier review, this place is good. As always, packed (if there is one thing to know - when going to Chinese places, the more crowded, the better - that means fresh!).
(4)Debby L.
OK fine, the Chinese food in Boston is not the Chinese food in San Fran or Monterey Park. But really... We were seated really fast despite the insane amounts of people outside. Their system was really efficient with the number calling and two floors of seating for patrons. Tons of students from the conventions flocked here as this was the recommended place to eat. We got shu mai, ha gao, Chinese broccoli, dumplings, and fried shrimp. The Chinese broccoli was the best dish, and that isn't saying much. The fried shrimp was ok, but the batter was really thick and there was barely any shrimp inside. Everything else was dry. I washed everything down with hot tea, and we got out of there. The bill was quite expensive for dim sum, and I spent double what I normally pay for half of what I normally eat. Lesson learned: when in Boston, eat Bostonian food. And it does not consist of Chinese food. So unimpressed.
(2)Erika T.
The place is big, with 2 floors of dining - main floor and basement. There were a nice mix of large and smaller tables so you don't have that awkwardness of sharing a table with strangers, which I really liked. The dim sum was better than most. Good proportions and kept warm. My only complaint here is that there were so many tourists on the Sunday I was there. There was a table constantly taking pictures, not just of the food on their own table, but also of what was in the carts. Another table kept asking that each dish be identified of its contents. This made all the carts slow to get to the rest of the other tables, which was really annoying. So if you're looking for decent dim sum and have patience, then this is a place to try.
(4)M T.
Dim sum is cold and not fresh. Will never come back again.
(1)Vivian H.
They have a different selection than I'm used to, and it was kinda limited. Still got the usual shu mai, har gaw, and turnip cake, but we got to order clams in black bean sauce, calamari, and even the rice noodle-wrapped you tiao. They didn't have eggplant, which is my all-time favorite, or the fried taro thing so wtf. Everything we ordered was very good though. The meal was pricier than I'm used to for Chinatown at $40 for 3 people (and one didn't eat much since we couldn't find many vegetarian options). Next time, I want to try the dessert that comes out of the big watermelon (it's like tapioca with watermelon balls)!
(3)Sandra C.
I'm a shameful Chinese person who cannot order in Chinese at all! But service is SO MUCH better if the servers UNDERSTAND you! So I always go with someone who can speak... The dim sum here is the same as all the other dim sum places in Chinatown (Emperor's Garden, China Pearl)...pretty standard. I came on a good day, where lines weren't too long, and carts weren't too busy. I could name several times when my family would come Sundays and the place would be PACKED with people. The waits can go pretty long too, so be wary.
(3)Minah L.
DIM SUM was so freaking delicious. i was in a group of 7 people total and i have to say we ordered quite a lot. but even still everyone paid about ten bucks. i say that's a pretty good deal. their shumai and har gow and those dumpling looking things were pretty big. very fulfilling with just a couple. it was super crowded on a saturday early afternoon but i think it was definitely worth waiting for tables. :)) i wish i was back in boston just for dim sum here. a lot of their plates contained shrimp in it so one of my friends couldn't really eat much. but she was still able to enjoy this place with other things. im not sure if dim sum in general is just really shrimp based or this restaurant specifically. but either way.. if you want good dim sum. come to this place!!
(4)Marissa P.
Classic dim sum experience: carts overflowing with tasty treats pushed around a huge, open space filled with round tables and happy, Chinese faces. I've only been here twice, but everything I tried was good. I especially like their shumai and their flat, wide noodle (not sure what the dish is called). My second time dining here, I took my boyfriend and his family. His grandparents were born in China. They are hard critics and they loved it! So, it must be good! Best part: you always leave with a full, satisfied tummy at a very reasonable price!
(4)Madeline N.
Ok, here's the gist. Dim sum makes me happy. Specifically dim sum with carts. And with space for all my friends. Hei La Moon fits the bill! It is enormous and you'll probably be shunted to the downstairs floor if you arrive. Hardly any wait even when I roll in with 10 people. The carts make their rounds quite quickly and while there aren't all of the specialties, you're going to hit any cravings you might have. Short walk from the T. They validate parking if you park in the adjacent parking structure. Near Chinatown and grocery shopping if you're trying to be efficient.
(4)Susan A.
Came here for dim sum this time instead of dinner. Traditional food done ok, food is solid. The shrimp quality though, wasn't that great... definitely not my expectations for Boston shrimp. Chicago, perhaps, but Boston, definitely no-no. Bumps it to a 3-star. Good selection, decent prices. The cart ladies though, remind me of dudes at a bar. Either waaaay too aggressive in-your-face, please can't you see i'm busy eating aka stuffing my face... to ones whose eye you try to catch but too antsy/antisocial to want to come up to you and you gotta REALLY flag 'em down!
(3)Winnie T.
Want your dimsum fix? Come here. The dimsum isn't great, but this is probably among the best you'll be able to find in Boston (pathetic, I know). Go early, because it tends to fill up quick during noontime. This is a favorite among Boston locals along with China Pearl. Personally, I like this place better because it's bigger and the dimsum is more fresh since the chefs keep making it. Warm dimsum is never good; I want it scalding hot just so I know it hasn't been sitting on the cart. Oh, and another thing: don't get shafted and get seated downstairs if you're willing to wait a little longer for the tables upstairs. I've noticed that there are way more carts in circulation upstairs than downstairs.
(3)Ferdinand H.
Solid four stars. Maybe with a plus. I recall that the first time that i went to Boston Dimsum, I was sorely disappointed. I guess I'd been hoping for an NYC level experience... perhaps not Toronto/HK, but maybe NYC, given all the HKers and southern chinese in the area. That first time, I wasn't very impressed, nor the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th nth... My friend took me here recently, and it was much improved from my memories. I ate until bursting... and still managed to stuff in egg tarts and sweet tofu. It's pretty authentic, with constant motion; quick tongued managers barking orders with occasionally withering glances (and quick smiles when needed...!). I felt like I was back in a southern chinese cultural stronghold. Ah... home... :) In general, I think that this place's dimsum is about right in terms of sodium, oil, amount of steaming. I've had better, but mostly out of the country. Cheers for Boston!
(4)Michelle J.
I've eaten here and at China Pearl. It was a 11AM and the place was packed. Thankfully the group I was with either made reservations and got there early. The host at the front informed me my group was downstairs but when I got downstairs there was no staff that was available let you know where your group was. Luckily my friend had an excellent view from the stairs to wave at me when she saw people. The food was good and plenty. However they don't have the lazy susan round spinning things so often to get something across a 10 person table you have to constantly ask people to pass things to you. Food was great and plenty. As with most dim sum you'd eat. Sticky rice, dumplings and buns all delicious. There was a wall of folks waiting when we left so if you don't get there early I think you'll expect to wait a while for a table. Good luck during dinner time if you're not an early eater.
(3)Ziyan C.
Can't say much for dim sum in Boston in general, but this place is probably the best that this city has to offer. The food is this best quality I've had in Chinatown (i.e. not overly oily, decent selection) and the restaurant has the nicest atmosphere (not crowded, more open, doesn't feel cheap). It also comes at pretty much the same price as any other dim sum place in Chinatown.
(3)Eric F.
My other go-to dim sum spot in Boston, Hei La Moon has yet to disappoint. With two large floors, the wait here is virtually nonexistent even during peak weekend hours. The interior is easily the most upscale of the dim sum restaurants in Chinatown and is more or less on par with some of the better spots I've been to back in California. All the dishes are well done with particularly good custard-filled Pineapple buns, Malay Steamed Sponge Cake, and steamed tripe. To put some perspective on this, I've tried numerous places in the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, Vancouver, and Toronto, and the food here definitely still manages to hold its own.
(4)Mike G.
3.5 stars had tourists in town hungry for dim sum. turns out last time we all had some was on a fab floating restaurant in aberdeen, hk served in carts by curt ah ma's (old chinese women). here it was just passable dim sum served by curt waiters. what i would come back for: garlic sautéed green beans ($10) and steamed lobsters w/ ginger-scallion dipping sauce ($15 ea).
(3)James O.
I want to give this 3.5 stars, but one can't. Alas I had two very different experiences here. The first time I went here I had dinner. I brought a friend, and the place was empty. Completely. Empty. This doesn't usually bother me, except for the fact that the restaurant is ginormous and has tables as far as the eye can see. We were promptly seated, given a pot of hot tea, some water, and we ordered. To start off with we had the scallion pancakes and fried crab claw. Both were fine, nothing special. I ordered the sweet and sour fish, while my friend ordered pan fried calamari. Mine was bathing in sweet and sour sauce and was a bit on the greasy side. It was good, but a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they had cooked my friends calamari. It was juicy and lightly seasoned with some steamed vegetables on the side. Overall, the dining experience was standard take out fare. Dim-sum for Sunday brunch, on the other hand, was a full 180. The restaurant was packed, with a group of people waiting at the door to be seated. We walked in, luckily, with a party of 10 and were promptly seated, as no one else had taken up one of the massive tables. Dim-sum madness ensued. My friends kept taking things off carts, to the point where I no longer knew what I was putting in my mouth. Oh well, as long as it tasted good. And it all did. Everything I ate, which was a lot, tasted amazing. Stand-outs were the turnip cake, pork bbq buns, and breaded garlic prawns -- amazing. Every dumpling was perfectly squishy and juicy! The only disappointment was the sticky rice rolled in banana leaves with beef. A bit bland. As far as the actualy restaurant goes, it's tacky asian fare. Giant golden dragons decorate the ceilings and waiters wear ridiculous red satin vests. It's pretty dirty, not gonna lie, but hey it's about as authentic as a dim-sum experience as you'll geat. The nitty gritty. All in all, hit up the dim-sum, but skip dinner.
(3)Patrick L.
This is where I go for Dim Sum in Boston. Can get v busy during weekends and around holidays. Lots to choose from and reasonable price. I like the carts, makes the experience a bit more interesting. Park upstairs and get it validated to pay a reduced rate. Nice that you can choose the type of tea you want! If you dont tell them then they give you Jasmine Tea. Enjoy!
(5)Chu H.
I will not support a restaurant that mistreats their workers.
(1)EricaLynn J.
---------- | : O : ~~|~~ : *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* | : : used: : : : : : : U R G H : : : M B S N : ---------------- ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* H __ __ __ __ M __ __ N like the simple game of letters and guesses and stick figures that you played during rainy days at sum
(3)Leslie N.
Traveling to east coast from California. Chinese restaurants are not comparable to LA or SF. The dim sum are not fresh at all. Ha gao without a shrimp, carrot cake taste yuck, bun is cold inside. Only the congee, Cheung fun and tea are on standard, definitely not good. Service is soso. I do not recommend this restaurant
(1)Sally B.
This Polish-French girl loves her dim sum, so believe me when I say Hei La Moon is worth visiting. My family and I go out to dim sum a few times a year, and this has been our only destination for this meal in the past three years. My sister can get the pork buns she's crazy about, my mom gets as much tea as she wants, my dad never leaves hungry, and I am always satisfied with the wide variety of veggie options available. The last time I came here, it was with two vegetarian friends, and we ate well and left an hour later, completely full and out only $10 each. That being said, you have to know a bit about dim sum to feel successful here. Say what you want, ask everyone (nicely) until you get it, and stay on the lookout for new and exciting food going by on carts. My absolute favorite dish is the fried dough wrapped in noodles with herbs on top, with silken tofu coming in a close second. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in Boston. If you see it coming past you, grab it. You'll be glad you did. The only downside to dim sum: you don't know what your meal is going to cost until it's over. But if you enjoy it, as I think you will here, it's always worth it.
(5)E J.
Simply put you will love your meal at Hei La Moon. Roving steam carts piled with miniature bamboo steam baskets contain a wide variety of dim sum. Take as much as you want. Experiment. It's all wonderfully fresh, delicious, accessible to the Western palate, and surprisingly inexpensive! Despite reviews here to the contrary, the servers are NOT rude. They simply do not speak English well. That said, each server genuinely tried their best to explain what was contained in each dumpling. Wife and I tried many selections, all were wonderful, and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't finish our selections. All for 25 bucks. Go here. Don't think anymore. Just go. Your stomach will thank you later.
(5)Nancy W.
I went here for dimsum on a Sunday afternoon, and we were lucky to be seated right away! The food here is pretty standard -- nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. They're pretty good about trying to get you what you want, but at the same time, their choices are limited. I wish they were offering 'cha shao su" (the bbq pork pastry), but we were still satisfied with our 98237 other dishes. We ordered 18 plates among 6 of us, and it came out to around $12 each. Not bad!
(4)Heather B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I was brought here with a couple Asian friends and some other dim sum enablers. Seating takes less than 10 minutes, even though the crowd outside would suggest you'd be standing around all day. Once you're seated though, it makes sense. This is rapid fire. Thank god I was accompanied by people who know what they're doing! I couldn't tell you what I ate, but it tasted good. We were all stuffed in no time, and the bill came out to less than 10 bucks per person. This was a cheap fun adventure!
(4)Kim P.
I've been here for both their Dim Sum menu and their normal food menu. I've been a fan of their normal menu, and found the food to be really good, but a tad bit expensive for the average college student. Granted, I went there with my parents at the time, haha :-p Sometimes it helps to go with bigger groups so you can split the costs and dishes. Their Dim Sum is really quick, but the location is kind of small and gets pretty crowded. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, seeing that populated places mean this place must have something good going. The cart rotation is generally quick, and they have an okay range of dim sum from the exotic to the basics. I was a little bit disappointed with the amount of seafood Dim Sum they had to offer though, but then again I'm just a fan of the seafood in general. Overall, it's fairly clean and their Dim Sum gets the job done in the end, so you'll leave with a full stomach.
(4)Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is among my first choices for dim sum in Boston. You can tell when a dim sum restaurant is good if there is a large crowd and a waiting line. Hei La Moon definitely got those qualities. The har gow and siu mei are very good. The fried shrimp with taro shell is also super good. I've noticed the same stuffing in the siu mei is also in other dishes. Eating the same stuff gets old so that's why I took away one star.
(4)May N.
I am no dim sum connoisseur, but I like food and I like cheap. Which may be why I don't usually do dim sum. But when an old friend called and invited me out for dim sum for Lunar New Year, how could I resist? We made reservations for 2 large tables at 12:30 Sunday and then invited a bunch of friends. I got there 15 min late, partially because I didn't realize the restaurant was located at the complete opposite end of Chinatown from the Chinatown T stop. Our group was already seated at 2 large tables, even though we weren't all present. Ladies speaking mostly Cantonese wandered around with carts of delicious-smelling goodies. As soon as our entire party arrived, we quickly started stopping carts for food, trying the pork buns, bean buns, many different iterations of pork/beef/shrimp wantons, taro, chicken feet, pork ribs, vegetables in oyster sauce, and custards for dessert. I thought the food was good and the ladies speak enough English to tell you what the food is. I was a little disappointed about lack of vegetarian options, but that could also be because we came in the middle/late part of usual dim sum time. The bill for our group of 15 came out to $10/person including tax & tip. We hung out for almost an hour after we paid the bill just drinking tea and catching up while the staff was cleaning up and did not get kicked out. I would come back, maybe earlier to try more stuff as available. Oh and they validate parking in a garage above the restaurant.
(4)Kevin S.
Hands down the best dim sum in Boston Chinatown. It gets extremely crowded (and loud) during the weekends, but you can always try getting a table downstairs which is usually a bit more quiet. If you sit upstairs, try to avoid the back of the restaurant, as the carts do not go there as frequently. Variety of dim sum can't be beat, and is much more affordable than comparable restaurants like China Pearl. My family has been coming here for dim sum for years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
(4)Lauretta L.
4 people Dim Sum was $54 inc. tax which was pretty decent. The food was okay...I'm used to pretty damn good dim sum so I'm picky. The Hai Gao and Shrimp and Chive dumplings are alright, although I've had better. The fried calamari and shrimp were over fried but I still enjoyed it since...almost anything fried tastes good. Not that impressed, but again, I have yet to compare it to other dim sum joints in Boston. Service is typical Chinese restaurant service...impatient and sometimes rude....unless of course you're Caucasian...then they dote on ya. Yeah, I said it.
(3)Snuffles B.
This place is like Dim Sum with Attention Deficit Disorder. - The ladies who push carts do not go in any distinguishable pattern (the place is big, but not THAT big) - Every time one of the carts came by, there was someone different pushing it. - At any given time half the carts are parked outside the kitchen (full) and the ladies are milling around it. - Some of the carts just pick a random location to park, they should Twitter where they are for you to locate them. - The same cart of food would come by 5 times in 15 minutes and some carts would never come around. The food was decent, but not the best or the freshest, this was during prime hours on two different Sat. Steamed and pan fried dumplings and shumai had good skins and were decently flavored and generously filled (get anything with green veggies stuffed in) Fried items were room temp, sogging a little and heavy. Turnip cakes were average. What they excel in is glutinous rice: pumpkin flavored pancakes, fried sesame balls, and the best thing we had: coconut/peanut and mango/coconut glutenous rice balls - some of the best ones I've had. Price for about 8 medium/large plates - pre tip: $30. If I wasn't so persistent about chasing the carts around, I would have starved. Actually I probably net negative calories from all the chasing, so maybe this was a good idea.
(3)Celeste M.
This place is huge, there are lots of seats and lots of carts. It is pretty overwhelming for someone not accustomed to dim sum. You kinda have to know what you want by sight, which of course is difficult the first time as you have never seen it. The first time I came to dim sum here, I was turned off by the food we had because it all seemed slimy and greasy. But the second time, I just stuck to drier fare, like buns, instead of various slippery objects. The watercress we got was good, as were the sesame buns and pork buns. We had some strange scary thing they said was vegetarian but just tasted like solidified pork fat. Maybe I just don't like this much "adventure" in my eating, but I like to know what I'm going to eat. So yeah, go with an experienced person or maybe a place that is more clear about what the food is.
(2)Allen Y.
I think this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. It's large (two stories, banquet-hall style) and the food is about as good dim sum as you'll find on the east coast. Prices are reasonable, service is fine, and the carts come around quickly. Plus, it's easy to get to on the T (just a few blocks away from South Station, before the arch).
(4)Lyn L.
No speak Chinese (even tho' I'm Chinese).....The sign for the restaurant is in Chinese characters...so you gotta go close up to see the English version of the sign...good thing the guy at the Chinese gift shop gave us a good explanation of where this place is The dim sum was very good...especially the black bean spare ribs and chicken feet!...We also had the siu mai, harm siu gok and spring rolls. At first I thought we were gonna get passed over....the lady at the front asked if we wanted to "share table"...figured that's faster, we agreed.....they sat us with other folks who spoke only Chinese...but our waiter was kind enough to help us get the food we want. I can say the name of food items, but can't speak Chinese...we got everything we wanted. They were really nice and the food was good...
(5)Elizabeth D.
I was already to give them 3 stars... and then the House Special Pan Fried Noodles arrived and they instantly got another star. Topped with chicken, beef, shrimp, and Chinese broccoli, this is surely a dish to please. My father, who I often picky, really raved about this one. I wouldn't ever come here for dim sum alone because I don't believe they have enough variety in their selection, but with the pan fried noodles, it was a good meal. The service is not very good or particularly friendly, but then again it usually isn't at dim sum restaurants. Our favorite dim sum dish was the silken tofu topped with syrup. It reminded my mother of her childhood in the Philippines when a Chinese man living in her town would go around selling it. In the Philippines it's called "taho." It was delicious and very touching for me to try something my mother remembered from her childhood. Looks like I'll be back the next time my parents pop in for the weekend.
(4)J T.
This place has the BEST dim sum in Boston! As a vegetarian, it's hard for me to find anything to eat when I go out with friends for dim sum. This place actually has quite a few to choose from. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not overwhelmed with veggie options. However, I do leave feeling stuffed.) If you're a fan of durian, they have a durian fried dessert that's pretty good! Also, if you don't find what you like, you can always order off of the regular menu. I usually order a veggie fried rice or a veggie fried noodle dish (in addition to eating whatever veggie foods come by on the carts). This place is cheap. Every time we go out with friends, each person pays no more than $10 - including tips! (We don't leave until everyone is stuffed!)
(5)Momo K.
this place used to be okay but has gotten worst now. Maybe that's why there are less patrons than before. You used to have to wait in line for half an hour b4 you get a table but now you walk in and get it right away. It's getting expensive too, 25 pp and we didn't eat that much. ppl i know and from my experience the waiters here ask you for more tips. their shrimp dumplings is full of baking powder taste, beef rice noodle was the same. their beef short ribs tasted bland. the only thing that was passable was the lotus bun. i will stop coming here if i don't go dim sum in a large group since the quality has really declined.
(3)C. C.
Best dim sum in Boston. (I used to be a China Pearl regular but converted once I discovered Hei La Moon). Located just one block outside of Chinatown. Friendly waitresses who want to make sure you aren't hungry! Cheap validated parking (although that garage is pretty scary). Favorite dishes: -steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots -steamed shrimp dumplings with chives -fried shrimp dumplings with chives -fried beef spring rolls -steamed shu mai Minus one point for dirty bathrooms and the chaos in getting a table.
(4)Bob P.
Went for Dim Sum with a party of 10. Walked out fat and happy for $120 bucks plus tip for everyone. Everyone including the kids loved it. If you want 5 star service stay in the suburbs. If you want to have great food at a great price then get sum dim sum at Hei La Moon. This is not just a meal it's a life experience.
(4)stephen s.
COCKROACHES!!!!! i see other reviews here about the insect infestation at Hei La. we had a similar experience last week. a good sized roach was sitting right on top of a scallion dumpling that i was about to eat. i showed the offending dish to our waiter who was extremely apologetic,,,HOWEVER, the manager couldn't care less! our waiter insisted that we wait for the manager to see how the restaurant would handle the offense. the manager kept us waiting, never apologized, and then made a big show of offering to not charge us for the tea and to take 20% off the bill. his attitude really was more offensive than the roach! when i told him that i should report the restaurant to the health board he quickly comped the meal! my partner is chinese...but that had absolutely no impact on how the manager treated us! we will spend our $ somewhere else in the future.
(1)Quang H.
Aight, here's the run down. I've only been to three dim sum places in Boston since the day I could hold chopsticks, and it has been China Pearl, Hei La Moon, and Chau Chow City. Hei La Moon's is really spacious, and the wait in line on a super busy day is not too bad compared to China Pearl, since they have both a larger first and second floor. In regards to their dishes, it's pretty good. Pretty typical of any normal dim sum places. The one thing that bugged me though was that the employees who dragged the carts sometimes went MIA for extended periods of times, not covering all the floor. It's just a minor set back, but there is a highlight to this place! I definitely would recommend getting the watermelon tapioca desert they have. It's watermelon pieces with little bits of tapioca, all submerged in coconut milk. Definitely a great way to end the meal. I definitely would recommend Hei La Moon to any tourist visiting Chinatown. Do note though, i think Hei La Moon is a tad pricier than China Pearl. We had a group of 4 today, and the bill came out to be about $60. Usually it'd be a lot less from my experience. But nevertheless, good eating.
(3)Ashleigh P.
I just realized I never updated my review post-dim sum experience. I went here with some friends and my mom for dim sum after I got my "I-have-way-too-many-degrees-and-I'm-already-a-Âlawyer-and-need-another-degree" graduation from BU. First the good: They had an amazing selection and cart service, which is getting more and more difficult to find, not just in Boston, but in general. Everything we had was delicious, especially the clams in black bean sauce. The bad: Many of the wait staff who work the dim sum service don't speak English. Of course my Chinese friend who was at my graduation didn't join us for lunch due to other commitments! We had a hard time communicating "no pork" to the people who came by with the carts. Other than that, the dim sum was great. I'll come back...but only with my friends who speak Chinese.
(4)Julie T.
Stay the Hei la away from here. This place is dirtier than your avg dim sum joint. if your an experienced dim sum eater; you won't like this place. the fare is average with the usual suspects (cheung fun, bao, shu mai,etc) not being very good at all. better off getting frozen at a grocery store. no white people...in this case they know better......
(1)Roseanne C.
Was trying to make a noon bus at South Station, so we popped in here b/c it was the closest place in Chinatown to the bus terminal at 11:20am. It was pretty packed for mid-morning on a Thursday. Additionally, almost no pale face round eye - also a good sign to me for a dim-sum spot. No one spoke english except the woman at the counter in the front and one waiter who seated us. We just pointed and ate with the quickness; the servers were very nice and everything was very tasty - I'm not that picky when it comes to dim-sum, I just want everything hot and fresh, and everything here fit the bill. I don't really dig the chicken feet, but theirs looked really good - very big and meaty. My fave had to be the little pork bits with the rolled up rice noodles. And cheap! Ordered quite a few little plates and was stuffed, and the whole bill came out to just under $20. Def plan to come back the next time in Boston.
(4)Kevin C.
So, so typical of Boston Chinatown restaurants, i.e. wildly mediocre. Kind of limited selection, the servers are pretty slow, and the food itself is greasy and pallid. Really not a great option, but it might just be one of the better dim sum places in town, so I'm reserving my two stars for Empire Garden, which was fucking terrible.
(3)Bata D.
Good food with a wide range of dim sum dishes and carts that make frequent trips around the floor. Can also park upstairs for $6 for the day. Still not as good as dim sum in NY or CA, but probably amongst the best in Boston.
(4)Leslie F.
A walk through Boston's not so awesome Chinatown with my cousin in-law led us to his favorite dim sum restaurant, Hei la Moon. Embarrassingly enough, I've never had dim sum before but was overwhelmed with tasty treats coming at me every which way. We ordered shrimp dumplings, pork and scallion dumplings, black bean sauced clams, steamed BBQ pork buns and cilantro rice noodles. Without question, the dumplings left the most significant food impression on my palate. The handmade noodles, which encased the scrumptious shrimp filling, were soft and chewy, making them terrific in texture. The shrimp was fresh and generously stuffed into the delicious noodle pockets. The pork and scallion dumplings were salty in only the most perfect way making them a perfect companion to the sweet heat of Sambal chili sauce. Patrick devoured the black bean drowned perfectly steamed clams but fortunately I was able to pop a couple of these suckers in my chops before they were gone. A huge restaurant with patrons flocking in and out every second, this place does one serious lunch hour business. Luckily, they have the space to pull it all off and the service to keep people coming back for a speedy and delicious lunch every time. Did I mention this Chinatown restaurant was incredibly clean and tastefully decorated?
(4)Peter C.
This place is okay, came here with my parents to tour Boston after I moved here. The sticky rice in banana leaf was a bit bland, missing the flavor of Chinese sausage, and the Phoenix claws did not have spicy peppers. Steamed BBQ pork buns were not piping hot. The peppered spare ribs were pretty good though. I just moved to Boston, having lived in New York for 12 years, and previously grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco where I ate dim sum every Sunday with my parents. I tried dim sum in all the major cities with Chinatowns, and my rating is calibrated to dim sum dining experience in Hong Kong and also the best dim sum restaurant in the SF Bay Area (vs. L.A. and NYC), Koi Palace in Daly City.
(2)Irene Y.
Pretty authentic Chinese experience, but it doesn't quite compare to dim-sum in LA and Canada. It's tasty, but I've had better.
(3)Blair H.
Things you should know about Hei La Moon, dim sum, and yum cha: 1) It's chaaaeeeep - Imma hungry dude, and I can pack it down plus order some for the late night munchies for $15, out the door 2) Them ish is good - I'm not fancy like some of these folk that know the names of everything, but I know good food. Stick to the steamed basics - pig dumps, some dim, and dum buns. The fried shtuff is alway nasty...everywhere. Also, stick to the carts, nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering fried rice...and having a big ass. 3) Order tea. Dim sum is traditionally served with tea. It's kind of the whole point. Hei La will hook you up with all kinds of tea (maybe even the "cold" kind...jeezus, don't order iced tea), free of charge. I like freebees. Nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering a coke for brunch...except, see above. 4) Bathrooms are always gross...I'm going to assume that the kitchen is juuuust as nasty. See above (stick to the carts). 5) Service always sucks. They can't speak your language, and we can't speak theirs. Just wave your arms around and point at stuff. Just don't point at a coke or fried rice...see above (big ass white dude). 6) Don't pay attention to the dead fish in the tank. They're just playin'. It's a survival tactic, you get eaten last.
(4)Tanya S.
I've only been to this place for dim sum in Boston, but it's pretty tasty. They even handled us well when none of us spoke Chinese. Very attentive service, especially if you come not too late in the day. The pork buns are soooo good :)
(4)Helen W.
Yummy dim sum!
(4)Laura T.
Best dim sum in Boston. Fresh flavorful dumplings, and quick cart service. Easily accessible location right off the highway exit. If you come during the summer make sure to get the watermelon soup.. and try to avoid any fried specialties.. they tend to be dry.
(4)R B.
Great dim sum at a great price! I went there for lunch on a Wednesday as was seated and served right away. The BBQ pork buns and shrimp har gau were my favorites-- I thought the glutinous rice was a tad overcooked. It helped that I was with a friend who spoke Cantonese. Way better than that massive dim sum place in the old opera theatre. Definitely recommend.
(5)Lilo P.
Dim sum. The greatest thing ever! And this place does a pretty good job. The one and only thing I wish for every time is pai gwut fan (sp? [obviously the spelling is off...]) but it is just so scarce? I never come at the ideal time. Which leads to my next point. Sometimes when you come too late from morning batch and not late enough for the next batch of Dim Sum, they food quality goes down... Or has this only happened to me? Anyways, beef rice noodles, I love you! And their fa cha is very nice.
(4)Hillary D.
When you see the 98% Chinese clientele elbowing each other out of the way to get at the food carts being rolled around, you know you are in the right place for dim sum! Although the carts come around slowly, it is sooooo worth the wait! Absolutely delicious. I ordered shrimp dumplings that were juicy and had lovely big chunks of shrimp in them. Also shrimp shui mei and two large chicken in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. I loved this dish! Baked within the sticky rice was chicken and a fried egg. An entire meal in one package. I know. I ordered way too much for one person, but it all tasted so good I couldn't resist! So I then picked out a dish of large shrimp stuffed mushrooms that when you bit into it you could taste a subtle hint of sherry coating the mushroom. I also stopped a cart for wonderful little green shrimp crescents, which I dipped into soy sauce mixed with sweet hot chili paste. Yum! And yes, I did weaken and stop just one more cart! This time for amazing Barbequed Pork Buns that were light as air and filled with a rich and slightly sweet Barbequed Pork. The dim sum at Hei La Moon were not dainty or inventive or even different. However, they had superb flavor. And that's all that counts. I am definitely making this my favorite dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)Lily X.
Great dim sum place in Boston!! We came here on a Saturday morning by the red line train. This place is huge! They have spacious dining rooms on two stairs. The dim sum section is the downstair one. Three of us got chicken feet, sticky rice with chicken, shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice roll, taro buns, BBQ pork buns, chinese cruller, sweet soy milk, tofu with ginger sauce and finally watermelon tapioca as dessert. Every dish is simply fantastic!! I wish we had more people so we could try more dishes. The total came out to be $42 including the tips. Compared to the other dim sum places I have been to, the waitress are more friendly here (they are willing to speak mandarin with me)! Overall, highly recommend it!
(5)Sara Z.
I made the mistake of going there for dinner, not dim sum. Bad idea! The winter melon soup was about as mediocre as it gets. The duck with mushrooms was not worth the price. Tasted like canned mushrooms and leftover duck (not to mention ridiculously salty). The calamari was bland. The billcame to $40 and I would not come back for dinner again.
(2)Kendall L.
I was with 5 other people and the bill came to $65. It's incredibly cheap for the amount of food you get. That should be reason enough to run here every Saturday and Sunday! I'm not too hard to please when it comes to dim sum, so this place gets an easy A. Come hungry. Come often.
(5)Mike M.
We had dinner at this place and it was supposed to be a great celebration. But the service was so slow it took 3 hours to complete. We placed the order at 6pm and there was no food until 7pm. And between each course we had to wait 10 minutes. Also there were two wrong dishes. Terrible service. Don't go here.
(1)K S.
My favorite dim sum spot in boston. The service is ehhh but hey, its a cultural experience, (pretend youre in china), They conveniently have a parking lot above instead of fighting for street parking in chinatown. beats china pearl and chau chow!
(4)Sarah A.
So delicious! The shark fin dumplings were my favorite! They also have a great selection of different steamed dumplings, some with vegetables, some with shrimp. For the most part, I had no idea what I was eating, but it sure was yummy. The atmosphere is very hectic. You've got a mass of people waiting to be seated at the front, the tables are a bit crowded together and then, of course, you have all the servers making their way around with their carts. Things move fast so, as others have said, don't expect pleasantries and detailed explanations of what is in each dish. Just point, get your card stamped and see if you like it. If not, pass it along to someone else at your table. Also, the prices are extremely reasonable. We came here with a group of five and ended up stuffing ourselves for about $60. Good food, good value, highly recommended. The only unpleasant experience we had was dealing with the crazy parking attendants in the garage above the restaurant. Note that you can get a parking coupon at the restaurant for $6 and then you can be reimbursed for your $24 "deposit" at the parking garage, essentially making the parking $6 (although you still need the $24 in cash to hand them while your car's there).
(4)Saika C.
Most horrible customer service. Server wave me away when i approach to get dimsum. God, where is the manner! I speak Chinese. Cant just said please wait. Cold food!! Never in my life so mad. I m a Chinese. It is like a living style which we go dim-sum since my family came from Canton region. I will never recommend this place. There are many other choices. Chinese who knows about dim sum wont go to this place.
(1)Priscilla T.
Good enough for me. Had most of the dim sum dishes I wanted: cheung fun (rice noodle rolls filled with beef), egg tarts, bean curd rolls, fried turnip cake... and also had sauteed pea shoots (my fave). Service is pretty helpful - definitely helps to speak Cantonese though. And get a reservation! The wait can be long.
(3)Elen C.
Huge place...we were the only non Asian, which is usually a good sign if you are looking for authentic. We were starving, and the Dim Sum came quickly, and I thought they were quite good.
(4)Angela Y.
The group I was traveling with went here for a dim sum lunch. It was pretty busy at lunch time but were seated very quickly after we arrived. One of the downsides is that most of the cart pushers do not speak any English (yes I know we are in a Chinese restaurant but basic words do help) which can be kinda of hard to communicate what specific items you are looking for. Food was good and authenic. The pork buns were our favorite and the pork meatballs and the chinese tamales(thats what my Asian husband calls them) were also very good. All in all for a cheap meal (fed 4 people for $35) it was pretty good.
(3)Leean O.
Came here once and probably WOULD be back for dinner which according to the reviews on here doesn't seem to fare as bad as the early lunch experience I had. To summarize my experience in a nutshell, AND to point out I went with a very asian friend who served as my guide/consultant through our selections, ultimately we both left disillusioned with our dim sum fun. Food tasted like yesterdays left overs, poor texture, incorrect temperatures for certain options, and all around mediocrity at its finest. Again I do not like to give up on a joint, especially when I see promising reviews at later times of the day........ so I SHALL RETURN.
(2)J. M.
Don't expect service or manners if you go here! First, the cashier always has a scowl on her face and really needs to know how having customers is actually a benefit to your business. After having dim sum, I noticed that there was a $1 charge on the bill. No biggie, but since it wasn't marked as to what it was for, I went up to the cashier and asked. She said it's for the tea, but when I informed her we didn't have tea, she changed her answer to water. What?!! Are you kidding me? I had a small dirty plastic cup of iced tap water, and that cost $1?? Me thinks not! Save your money and go elsewhere.
(1)lisayelp c.
Have checked out almost all dim sum places in the greater Boston area, including the new ones like Windsor, Hei La Moon has been rated as one of my top in the past 4 years. I like inviting friends (~10 to 20 people) to go over there and enjoy the good dim sum brunch because the space is huge and food had been nice. However, I noticed that the quality has gone down in the past year, the chicken feet is not as tasty and the turnip cake is not as yummy. However, because of the $6 parking validation, we still like to go over there. Worst happened yesterday, and I decided I am not going to invite friends over there anymore. When we were there, service was slow, food cart didn't pass by fast enough to fill our table, and the dishes were not hot enough. When I asked for more tea leaves in the tea pot, the attitude was ok and he probably added 2 pieces of tea leaves in that pot. When we were leaving, we validated our parking ticket, and paid our $6. We took the ticket to the garage and they were to charge us $18, which means we ended up not getting any discount from dining at the restaurant. We went back to the restaurant and told the manager about it, she refused to help and refused to do anything about it. It was not a very friendly experience, and we decided we are not going there anymore. We certainly don't like to pay to eat and see other's attitude at the same time. Bad bad experience.. I am going back to China Pearl for big party and Windsor for small party.
(1)Michelle T.
Having grown up in Hong Kong, this dim sum comes close to a few er...average restaurants in HK and above average compared to dim sum in Chicago's chinatown. This place is always busy (the 2 times i was there) and they seat you almost immediately! Love the trolley's that come by your table every 2 minutes, but hate that the same carts keep coming over and they always ask if you want the same stuff they asked if you wanted 10 minutes ago. :P Har gao - Shrimp dumplings are plump and stuffed with lump shrimp chunks. Hate the stuff filled with pork, but this stuff is gooood. Siu mai - are pretty large in size! Tasty, flavorful porky dumpling. Egg tarts - My bf can eat all 3 in the same meal. The crust is a little too doughy and thick for me though. Cold cucumbers - EW. I love Chinese cucumbers, but these suck. The cucumbers are bitter and the marinating sauce is tasteless. The only dish I didn't finish here. Chicken Feet - Could be steamed longer until the tendons fall off the bone, but still decent. The feet are skinnier, less meaty than what i'm used to in HK though. Shrimp rolls - They are fried, a little oily, but still flavorful. The minced shrimp they use it tasty, but I'm not a fan of the pieces of celery in there. Spring rolls - Average. Congee with shredded meat and century egg - love this stuff and can't get enough of it. :P Authentic. Yummy. I'd definitely come back again and even bring out of town guests from Asia, but skip that nasty cucumber. To stuff 2 people, ~$15/person is quite enough.
(4)Cee C.
There is never a wait here. The seafood is fresh, and the prices are cheap. China Pearl's dimsum is soooo much better.
(3)Lauren L.
This is my pick for dim-sum in Chinatown, over Chau Chow City (everything tasted a little cold and old here), China Pearl, and Emperor's Garden. There are lots of food carts rotating pretty quickly around so you rarely have to get up to flag one down. The food is always hot and fresh, and the prices are more than reasonable. Their standard dimsum dishes (shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, shumai, roast pork buns) are all good, but I think their more 'unique' dishes definitely take the cake here. If you see them, definitely try the fried eggplant stuffed with pork and get the dessert buns filled with custard (SO GOOD). If all these dimsum dishes are too heavy on the meats for you and you just want some simply prepared veggies, they can also cook up a plate of gai-lan (Chinese broccoli?) dressed with oyster sauce. Sodium overload AND dark leafy veggies that make you feel 'healthy' for less than $10 per person? Sign me up. I'm always down for a trip to Chinatown for Hei La Moon dimsum.
(4)Jas L.
so i went here. i had a chicken foot. i was taken out of my comfort zone..... sounds successful for me. food is different (i cant say good beyond that it was good in my book.... no comparison though), and challenged me. They come around in carts and unleash this banquet of food on your table. i think i heard that this is a very older version of dim sum because it uses the carts. regardless everything is amazing and you just settle into this place of magical that is so different from the rest of the food you typically have. go on sundays. its slower around 12pm, but its still very busy. you wont wait its like three stories tall (i kid you not). this is on boston secrets list as dim sum goodness.
(5)Sandra Y.
The dim sum staples like siu mai and har gow were really fresh tasting, while the less ordered things like sticky rice tasted stale. Overall the food was pretty good, not the best I've ever had but it definitely fills the spot. It was easy to make eye contact with the cart ladies and ask for the appropriate items, although they do run out of certain items pretty quickly (they didn't have char siu cheung when I was there) I recommend reserving a spot ahead of time so that you don't have to wait for a seat.
(4)Theodore Y.
One of my favorite Dim Sum places in Boston. I either come here or China Pearl whenever I go dim sum with my parents or a large group of friends. 7/10 times i'll come here though. The food is great and some of my favorites here are the Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Noodles (called "jia leurng" in chinese), the pan friend Rice Noodles ("jeen cherng fun") and all the regular dumplings that are great. Compared to many other Chinese restaraunts, this establishment is noticeably cleaner. The only complaint I have of this place is that there are often not enough carts coming around (which is a bitch when you're hungry), though a waiter is willing to search for what you want. It just takes away from the experience and thrill of getting it off the cart.
(4)Perry F.
One of my new fav places to have dim sum. The food comes out hot and steaming. The har gows are big and stuffed with shrimp. The chicken feet are plump, meaty (?) and flavorful. Try different types of steamed dumplings as they all have different fillings. The egg tarts have a flaky crust and custard-like egg filling. One of the best I've ever had! They even have a lower level that they open on the weekends to catch the overflow once the main level is full.
(4)Elisa T.
Stumbled upon this place one day when I was walking by during lunch. I had a hunch it must be good because it was packed with Chinese people for lunch on a weekday, and all the dumplings and dim sum goodness looked so yummy from the window. I've been going there at least once every other week for dim sum lunch and went there on the weekend for the first time today. It is awesome! Fresh food, big variety, relatively good service (only got attitude from 1 cart lady, but it adds authentic character to the experience), and it's relatively clean. Definitely a go-to spot for dim sum!
(5)E K.
I'm giving it four stars because everything is great, except the chicken feet. Nevertheless, I would come back again. A very authentic Hong Kong timsum feel with the pushcarts and people speaking Cantonese. A little pricier than the other dimsum joints, but the food was very good (except the chicken feet).
(4)Mark D.
So the concierge at the hotel gave me a list of dim sum restaurants which included the likes of China Pearl. But knowing that cops always know the best eats in their beat, I asked him where the best dim sum in Chinatown was...and he told us to go to Hei La Moon. And it was perfect. It's your classic chaos inside with carts racing around, food always being thrown on the table and for Chinese New Years, lions dancing inside. The food was awesome...and the bathrooms were surprisingly clean!
(4)Julia R.
delicious dim sum. seated immediately. pork buns were great. otherwise nice but average dim sum dishes.
(4)Tyler C.
Probably the top amongst the 3 big places for dim sum in Boston. Prob a touch less tasty than, say, Millbrae, CA or Alhambra, CA, or Flushing, Queens, but that would be an unfair comparison based on per capita Cantonese population around these parts. Still, well prepared dishes. China Pearl and Chau Chau City have really taken a dive lately so unfortunately this is the only game in town. As with all humoungous dim sum palaces, be prepared to fight for a table. Fortunately, the lady with the bull horn at the front means business and gets people in and out. (note to all you overcrowded brunch places - get a good bull horn...)
(4)Ben M.
The carts of steamed dim sum are really great. They have buns, dumplings, desserts. I just went here for dinner and the pan fried shrimp with shell on it was very tasty, with a nice sweet sauce. My friend's squid dish had good broccoli and a flavorful gravy. The tea is nice but has the leaves on the bottom, which you should be careful about.
(4)Dennis L.
This Dim Sum restaurant across the street from the Chinatown Gate, I have been to a number of times since it opened for different occasions, ranging from business meetings, to wedding receptions, to elaborate family association dinners, to simple dim sum with the family. This review, I am focusing on the dinner faire, which I had at a business meeting aftermath yesterday night. I have always found the food to be middling, and my dinner yesterday night was not much different from other faire I have had here. I have yet to be blown away, but in comparison, the quality seems to be lightyears above the place I despise the most *cough*Emperor's Garden*cough* and a small step above China Pearl, but unfortunately, when I think high quality Chinese cuisine, the cha laos in Boston still has a ways to go. We ordered one of the set meals, which cost about $200 after tip to feed 9. The first course was a mixed seafood soup with crab meat and egg being the most defined flavors. It seemed more flavored by salt than by the seafood stock and extremely heavy on thickeners. It was passable, but not particularly good. Next was a bird's nest filled with mixed seafood. The bird's nest was cold and thus did not break apart easily, making interaction a bit difficult. The seafood within it is of reasonable size, using moderate-sized scallops and plenty of cuts of fish, not being overly laced with vegetables as filler. You can not go wrong with ginger and scallion tossed lobster, since it is such a simple and basic dish... but after seeing it so many times, it does not seem any different. I wish a Chinese restaurant out there would learn to blanch lobster, extract the meat, and slow simmer it to make it more tender, but that is but a dream... The beef short-ribs with black beans are served on a hot plate with onions and green peppers. The cuts of the short-ribs were varying in quality, some being very high in fat and seemingly untrimmed ends, others fine. There was a celery-like green Chinese vegetable that I forget the name of, served in broth, but I avoided because after experience with it in the past, the strands within are like celery in terms of getting caught in my teeth. The salt and pepper shrimp used whole live shrimp, so a bit more work is needed relatively, but the preparation method preserves the internal juices. This was fairly well-executed with the salt not overwhelming, which is a tendency I've seen with such. The steamed fish of the day was butchered very well and seemingly the highlight dish in terms of preparation, the bones parted without being broken, steamed with soy sauce and topped with scallions. The Haianese chicken was served somewhat tepid, though for me, that is better than cold, but I wish it were hot. However, it was butchered very well, the amount of work needed with my mouth to extract bones minimal for every piece, though about half the chicken was very light on meat compared to others. The admixed fried rice had ham, bean sprouts, beef, peas, and shrimp. Nothing unusual, except to note that the fried rice is seemingly not sauced and just lightly salted, which I personally prefer. It was not too dry, nor too sticky. For dessert, we had a chilled dessert soup of tapioca pearls and sweet potato. In terms of flavor and thickness, it was wonderful and light, the sweetness not overwhelming, but in terms of texture, a lot of the tapioca pearls were stuck together in large globs, meaning it was not stirred enough to keep it from sticking or the tapioca was left out too long to dry. Overall, Hei La Moon is a safe bet. It can cater to a large array of tastes, but it seems like a place to take the family rather than a date. If you are versed in Asian dishes, you will find nothing innovative here, but the standards executed fairly well. In comparison to the other dim sum/function hall restaurants in Chinatown, I'd say it is the best, but not by much. There is room for someone to craft a wonderful Chinese dining experience rather than a large room for dinner. The group meals offered here is good for when you want to focus on gathering with your family rather than spending time arguing over what to order. Just learn the even Chinese numbers, walk in, peer at the Chinese menu, point at the number of people you want, and get back to conversation. Let the restaurant take care of the rest.
(3)Liezl P.
This place is huge and has a great selection of dimsum! I happily nibbled on braised chicken feet, lotus wrapped sticky rice, hargao, etc. on a recent visit. I just wish we had a place like this in DC.
(4)Kit Y.
I am having difficulties rating this place, while I truly appreciated the food and restaurant, I did not like the service too much. For a staving vegan, dim sum usually sucks balls, but Hei La moon has lots of stuff, like the green veggie cart, and fat scallion rice noodles in sweet soy sauce, and some kind of mushroom roll in tofu skin- all good shit. The place was definitely not as crowded as most dim sum joints are at 11am on the weekends so that's a plus too, BUT- beware they will take advantage of you if you are not chinese!!! We went with friends non chinese and chinese and I was the only one who spoke chinese, so before I got there to save them, the dim sum cart ladies had already harrassed them into taking a bunch of dishes that they didn't want. So as a tip, just say no! if you d not want the dim sum that they are trying to force on you. If you can do this, then the dim sum here is pretty good.
(3)Marlarissa M.
Fun and delicious lunch experience. Go with someone that speaks Chinese or you better be patient and adventurous.
(4)Garett N.
This has risen up the ranks as one of the best dim sum places in Chinatown... on par with maybe China Pearl. With two floors, it's relatively easy to get a table if you arrive at a good time for dim sum. There is never a problem getting a table for dinner. Overall, it's very fresh, typical service, and recommended!
(4)Mayo B.
Dim Sum is really good here. BBQ pork buns are excellent as well as the chive and shrimp dumplings! Shumai was generously stuffed and very tasty. The Fried Taro Cake is great too! Definitely check this place out!
(4)Kristine M.
Yum! So far it's probably the best place I've eaten dim sum at in Chinatown. It's a little more expensive. Everything is piping hot and yummy! AND when I asked for water, they brought it within minutes! Best siu mai I've had in a long time. Go with an empty stomach and eat eat eat.
(5)Jackie C.
Pretty good dim sum. This is the go-to place for dim sum these days, I just wish the wait for a table isn't so crazy during the weekend. I've also come here for dinner and the food is done all right, not bad for the price. They have downgraded some of their ingredients for their dishes this past year, probably in response to inflation and what not. If you're looking for decent dim sum and don't mind hectic wait (if you're going on the weekend), I say give this place a try.
(3)Ashley M.
Ok this is important .... Hei La Moon vs Emperor's Garden.... price and quality being the same.... this is what i think is the big difference. Hei La Moon 1. better atmosphere - no horrible pink tablecloths across too huge tables Emperor's Garden 1. bigger, so no HUGE wait
(4)Aditi R.
My first time trying Dim Sum and the experience was really nice! We walked in during lunch right before the crowd started really coming in, so around 12pm. We were immediately seated at the big table (we had a group of 5) on the platform. So it made us feel all smug and stuff :) Anyway, I'm really glad I came with people who knew what they were doing because all the ladies with their carts running around was quite overwhelming, but I have to say pretty exciting to see as well. There was just so much life in the place! I really liked the atmosphere. So I can't exactly name all the dishes we had and we had about 10 or so. But I can name a few. Please note I do not eat pork or beef so I was very limited in my selection at this particular place's dim sum. 1. There was a pork dish with rice around it and it was wrapped in a leaf. The rice was great! 2. Another pork dish with large flat noodles. Once again the noodles were phenomenal! 3. Finally a dish I can eat! Chicken buns. The buns were slightly sweet and there really wasn't enough chicken meat in the bun. But the bun was very light and I did like that about it. 4. We decided to go a little crazy and order chicken feet! Sounds disgusting I know, but it was pretty good. That's also because I like the chewy tender parts and I don't mind bones in my meat - most people were quite put off by it. But I liked it! 5. Silken Tofu with Sweet syrup - really good! We ate this as a kind of dessert and I was very pleasantly surprised. The texture was somewhat wierd and took a little time to get used to, but it was really good! 6. My favorite though, were these sesame covered balls with red bean sweet filling in it. OMG, uh-mazing! Had it not been for etiquette, I would have certainly eaten a good portion of that dish :) There were 4-5 more dishes, but since I didn't really eat them (or couldn't) I do not remember and cannot review them. The service was good. The ladies with carts came frequently and with plenty of dishes on their plate. That could also be because were on one of the main tables and right next to the kitchen as well. I never interacted with the ladies, but they didn't really speak english well. But I believe that's fairly characteristic of good dim sum places. The best of all!! The bill was less than 50 bux! for 10 dishes. I was absolutely amazed and could not believe it. Loved the experience and wish I could have tried all the dishes. For that reason and that reason alone is the reason why I'm giving the place 3 stars.
(3)Jongpol J.
for the first 10 times i've been coming here i thought the place was called "sailor moon" .. -_-'' i always come here for dim sum. they can get very busy during morning-lunch time so the cart are sometime slow to come by... to solve this problem.. just grab ur bill and go look for any cart with the dish u wants to eat =] i've never been dissapointed with this place yet .. when we ask for something.. even when they're xtremely busy .. they still get it for us .. which is pretty awesome for a busy chinese restaurant (other restaurant often forget to get something for u when u ask)..
(5)Captain H.
I prefer this place over China Pearl for dim sum. But I won't claim to be a dim sum expert or anything, I just like it because it tastes good and it's cheap. It also has a sushi boat appeal to me, that is, I don't know what I want until I see it. There are bad things about this place - mainly that most of the waitresses don't speak English (but you can point to your food!), the food tends to be greasy, and I always feel like they stick us white kids at terrible tables and often together in the same section. (And they always try to pass off certain foods to our tables that they don't in the rest of the place, although I didn't want chicken feet anyway so I don't really mind. I just make them show me everything and take what I want.) Overall though there are a lot of choices and the carts have pretty high turn around so the food usually tastes pretty fresh. We usually stuff ourselves and get away with $12/person bill. That's tough to beat, especially since my boyfriend had a huge pit for a stomach. My favorite is the fried shrimp w/ taro, although I kind of prefer the ones that are more gooey inside. (They have those too, but just taro no shrimp.) I went here once with a guy who didn't eat shrimp or pork and another guy who didn't eat beef. That was a bad idea. I don't think I would take a vegetarian or another picky eater here either. But, if like, you'll eat anything than go for it.
(4)Chin C.
I went there a couple of months ago. There is only one reason keep me from going back there, BAD SERVICES!! OK, I don't remember about the food, to be honest, but I don't go to restaurant to only eat, good services are expected too. The place is clean and bright with nice ambient, better than many Chinese restaurants here. Here is the thing, the server gave us a dim sum that we didn't order so we called the waiter and told him about that. He was furious and asked us to confirm that we didn't order it and we told him so. Guess what he asked us again did we want it, and we said no. HE THREW THAT PLATE TO THE BASKET IN FRONT OF US. OK that's enough. Good bye not even want to go back!! Do I have to give one star for this place?
(1)el e.
Had dinner here. Place was totally clean (the seating area, at least), the waitstaff was attentive, quick and friendly, and the food was super delicious. We got the egg rolls, the beef and vegetables, and the eggplant with black bean sauce. oooh, i missed eggplant and black bean sauce, and how. it was so delicious. they give you heaping plates of food, just like any chinese restaurant should. while the prices aren't dirt cheap, the food is actually very good in my opinion, so it all works out. hope to go again soon.
(5)Jen Jen W.
Thought the dim sum was just ok...we ordered mainly lobsters/crabs and some other duck/chicken dishes and they were pretty good! If you have a big group you need to make reservation in advance!
(4)Lindley E.
Ate here pretty recently and was impressed. I've been eating dim sum since I was a kid -- when they still counted plates rather than stamped your check -- and I think I know what tastes good. I've had dim sum in Hong Kong, in Guangdzou, in San Francisco, New York, and LA. I live for the stuff. This place ranks up there. While Hei La Moon isn't groundbreaking, the quality is very good to excellent. I'd recommend going early in the morning to take advantage of fresh-from-the-steamer quality. Very good har gau here -- I polished off a steamer full during my visit. Prices are reasonable. You will leave very satisfied. Chicken sticky rice also delicious. Brought a little extra home and ate it cold -- was still amazing.
(5)Karman L.
My friend had her wedding here this past weekend. It was great that setup for her wedding. She was able to get the whole restaurant. Food was good (wish I actually had time to eat them all). I've been here for dim sum too, it's decent, and reasonable price.
(3)Shawn F.
My family always comes to Hei La Moon for our dim sum adventures in Boston. Good selection, as long as you don't arrive too late. White tablecloths and a general attention to cleanliness makes the place seem a cut above some other establishments. Recommended.
(5)Karsten R.
I've been a China Pearl die hard. Ever since '00. And today, I must say, I am moving up in the world to Hei La Moon. A large clean cavernous place that is crowded on a weekday lunch will undoubtably spill out on the street on the weekend. Quickly seated, I shared a table (fastest way to get served). The table had a table cloth...nice touch. The Shu Mai, Hai Gao and other standards were fabulous. Lighter and fresher looking. They really looked homemade. Grease content seemed lower than other places. I tried a fried nest of some sort. I think it was white carrot with some shrimp base....delicious. I recommend this place for a good lunch for weekdays. Fairly loud so dont bring older hard of hearing folks. 4-5 dishes and walked out for $13. It's $2 over the mythical $11 at China Pearl, but very very worth it. Our office is right next to Chinatown, and I am embarking on a winter long odysee to try every eatery in Chinatown.
(5)Bo F.
The main boss lady who does the bills is extremely rude and so are some of the waiters. She does not even acknowledge you when you bring the money to her. To her benefit, it's really busy and she's used to Chinese people being rude to her so she doesn't make any effort. In addition, I feel like the place has a sense of arrogance, because it's close to the only elevated parking lot in chinatown and they get a lot of customers, they feel like they don't need to be that polite. One time, one of the waiters came up to us and yelled at us for not tipping enough in front of everybody. After about 5 minutes of yelling, we gave him 2 more dollars and he said thank you and left us alone. Another time, I asked if we can be seated on the first floor so my elderly grandparents don't have to take the stairs. The hostess said in Chinese "please...I'm sure they can manage." After these experiences, I boycotted them for about a year but went back simply out of convenience (it's closest to south station-red line) and the food is rather good. I've been to this place at least 10 times now. Compared to Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, the food selection is slightly larger and tastes slightly better.
(2)jazzy l.
We didn't come here for dim sum but came here for dinner. We got two chinese orders of (party for 4) dinner specials. Baked Lobster, Steam fish, chicken fried rice with salted fish, and some other dishes. It came to under $100 for 7 people.
(3)Kevin T.
One of the best dim sum places I have ever been to...period. First, let me start with the food. I love the variety of dishes that they have and the food is always warm or hot when served, as they should be. Flavor is great and the price is more than decent. Second, although you'll probably run into a fatty line outside, don't worry, the turn around time is fairly quick. I have never waited for more than 15 minutes with a big group. Third, they have a nice decor which makes the food even more appetizing. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking into a restaurant in chinatown where they have ugly decorations and dirty tables/utensils. When you pay, one thing that you might notice is that they don't really "ring you up" at their cash register. They add up the total themselves...and you might wonder how the heck they calculated the tax. From what I've seen, they have a tax table on the back of their carbon paper pad, which gives them rough estimates. The reason for the minus star....well, they have a few tables on the main level where the floor is elevated; therefore, the dim sum carts aren't able to be pushed next to the unlucky customers sitting there. The customers must get up every time to walk to the carts...ANNOYING! Thankfully, this has never happened to me but I've seen people get up and down and I feel pretty bad for them.
(4)Raymond W.
After sampling the dim sum at King Fung Garden and China Pearl, I opted to select Hei La Moon for a Sunday Brunch. Upon calling in for a table of 12 reservation, we were able to get a large round table downstairs that actually had at least 4 large tables. The crowd was lively and the restaurant was humming along with various carts flying by. Sometimes it was hard to flag down carts if you didn't have you game face on or if you are busy in conversation. Over the course of the meal, we got shrimp and pork dumplings, spring rolls, Chinese broccoli, pickled vegetables, sticky rice, pork buns, shrimp wrapped in white rolls, egg tarts, chive dumplings, and a few others that elude me at the moment. For the 11 of us, the total came out to $12 per person including tax and tip. It has been a long time since I've had Chian Pearl and King Fung Garden, but I think I would label Hei La Moon above King Fung and on Par with China Pearl (possibly slightly ahead). The biggest frustration was flagging down non cart pushing staff to get water, tea, and the check.
(4)David K.
After many years of happy dim-summery at China Pearl, I was happy to find an even better alternative in Hei La Moon. The food was fresh and delicious, and they had some nice dishes that I hadn't seen at Pearl. The one thing they didn't have was enough of the turnip cakes going around, and also the other dumplings that are warmed up on a skillet before serving. Yes, I obviously don't know the names of all the dishes but I know what they're supposed to taste like and Hei La Moon does a fine job. This is an excellent choice for a weekday lunch or weekend gathering. Prices are very reasonable.
(4)David K.
Dim Sum here is probably the best and tastiest you will find on the eastern side of Toronto. That said, there a few good spots in NY City and short of taking that short cut on your way to San Francisco for the Best Dim Sum I have had in the USA -- Hei La Moon does a wonderful job of crankiing out all of the favorites. Lots of great little meat wrapped wonders, steamed things (admitting that I pretty much stick to the steamed things and shy away from the fried foods). The service is pretty decent and they send out a lot of carts since the whole restaurant is pretty much filled with Dim Sum customers v/s those who order off a menu. You can of course do a little of each --but I have always just gone with the really fresh and hot dim sum items.
(4)Alex L.
So I went here for dim sum after reading all the rave reviews aaaaand... it was ok. The food was mediocre, the workers and staff were stupid and rude, but I guess that's to be expected. What really makes this a 2 star review is them charging us $1 for tea even though we didn't want any. They tried to tell us it was a mandatory charge, but what kind of place does that? They bring over tea, we tell them we don't want it, yet we get charged for it anyways, it wasn't on our table for more than about 5 seconds. I was absolutely disgusted by that.
(2)A D.
Sunday morning line was very long, then the waitress "forgot" us, but it really took one of our friends to go inside until they "remembered" they "skipped" us. So huge -- that cart service was sparse and limited. The same one came to us several times...and others stayed in an entirely different part of the restaurant. The food matched most dim sum places I have been too, but nothing great or worth such a long wait, limited choice, and poor service.
(2)Lis L.
This is one of the few authentic Chinese restaurants that I've been to that has a lot of non-Chinese people waiting outside to eat. It's very crowded and there are usually people standing outside waiting for their numbers to be called. You can expect to wait up to half an hour, and no, you won't get to pick where you want to sit. Once you're in, the food carts come by fairly quickly and you'll be on your way to Dim Sum heaven. The quality of the food is good but not "OMG I just came in my mouth!" quality. There's parking atop the building for $6.00 dollars after validation at the restaurant. If you eat a lot, you can expect to spend about $20.00 dollars. For Boston, this is as good as it gets.
(5)Jenny N.
I've had great dim sum as well as not-so-good dim sum here. Generally, the later you go, the worse it is (and I think this applies to all teahouses). So go early (despite the huge crowd) to get the best selection because un-fresh dim sum really isn't anything special. I do think that this place is better than China Pearl and Chau Chow City for dim sum, but their stir-fried noodles were definitely sub-par. Bonus: you can get your parking validated here if you parked in the garage above the restaurant.
(3)Andrew K.
My girlfriend and I come here every week, so that should mean something. Just get here early like we do, especially on the weekends. Fridays are a great day to go too. Siu mai here is my favorite, and remains as a go-to-dumpling. We also get the char siu bao (her favorite, but she is haole and calls them "cashew ball"). We also order the har gao every time, and on occasion, the sticky rice. You can have your choice of tea (but you have to ask!) and they are excellent about bringing you a second pot as quickly as possible. Overall, the food is pretty good here, and the table-service is beyond excellent. My only knock on this place is that sometimes, following the busy hours, they've fallen behind on food items and it takes 10-15 minutes before freshness comes the kitchen doors. Get here early!
(4)Kip J.
One of the better dim sum places I've been to in Boston. I always like when they have the old ladies pushing around the carts instead of having to order off the menu, and this place does not disappoint. A huge place, so good for large groups, but also fine for a couple or small group. Busy, but doesn't feel rushed, and always good for people watching. Food is superb and pretty large portions for dim sum. They do everything well from the standard shui mai to chicken's feet and tripe. My favorites this time were shrimp & pork shui mai and a slow roasted sliced pork over picked veggies. Waitresses were generally good and appreciative of any Cantonese I attempted. Overall, a very good value for the price - for 3 people walking out stuffed, we paid under $13 each (includes tip)!
(4)Yue G.
This should be zero stars. Beware of the parking scam! They tell you that if you pay them $6 for parking validation, you can get your parking fee ($11) refunded from the garage, but don't be fooled! They will ask for the parking stub and then keep it to get the refund themselves. We argued with the unresponsive and offensive woman working the phone at Hei La Moon to no avail, only to find out from the guy at the parking garage that this sort of thing happens frequently. Clearly, they can't be trusted. I won't be giving them any more business and neither should you.
(1)AB H.
Dim Sum is best with loads of people, and since this is some of my friends favorite dim sum place, I keep going back. It is good, but not fabulous. Like all dim sum, there are SO many choices, I;m sure I've only tasted a small portion of their food. I use a wheelchair, and there is one step to get in. I;ve never been into the bathroom to know where it is accessible or not.
(3)Valerie S.
Hei La Moon was great. We went around 1:30 on a Sunday and it wasn't a problem to get a table for 3. The place is clean, the carts were quick to come up. I thought the food was really good. I normally go to Chau Chau city, but someone else recommended this place. Turnip Cake was good...and so were the pork buns.. and the shrimp/pork dumplings were cooked well.. not soggy. I think our bill came out to $20 for the 3 of us and we were pretty comfortable afterwards.
(4)Julie T.
I came here with my friend who promised that this was an awesome place for dim sum. We came pretty late, about 1 or 2pm on a Sunday afternoon is considered pretty late for dim sum. Unfortunately for us, not very many options were left and we ate a couple dishes and I didn't want to say it, but I was not satisfied at all. Good food and will try again, but will make the smart choice to go at a better time.
(3)George P.
Great place for SUPER FOOD!!! Inexpensive. Great selection of Dim Sum. Will definitely go back! Service is a bit sketchy and make sure you go no later then 90 minutes before the end of Dim Sum for that day as you will not get the best food or service. Been there twice now and look forward to going back.
(4)Julia C.
best dim sum in boston that i've had thus far, both in quality and authenticity. i really like that i've never had to wait to be seated. it's really cheap, too! i can eat my fill and some more with my boyfriend and the bill would be well under $10-15 per person, and believe me, we love our dim sum! my favouritest dish is their fried chives and shrimp dumplings, they taste just like the ones i used to get in taipei when i was little.
(4)Michael D.
Today I took my sister to Dim Sum, because she's never been before, and what else were we to do when all of our friends are out of town for Thanksgiving? So, we arrived at 9:30 and almost walked past it, because the sign wasn't well displayed, but we quickly realized our error and went back. Once inside, we were quickly seated in the bustling dining room. Soon, the first cart stopped at our table. Since I've been studying Mandarin a bit, I decided this was my chance to give it at try and quickly asked, "What is this? What's in that dumpling?" The cart lady gave no indication of having heard me and just asked in English if I wanted any. I said yes to the pork and shrimp dumplings and sent her on. I had the same experience with the next two carts, where we ordered some pork buns, and some items that looked like latkes with shrimp, but could possibly have been made with taro instead of potato. After that, I decided to give up trying to speak Mandarin. All the food was really good, so they get four stars (my personal favorite being the sweet pork buns; I think my sister liked the shrimp dumplings the best). However, if you're interested in a place to go to practice your Mandarin, I wouldn't recommend it. It's too loud to really concentrate on the conversation, and it's possible that they only speak Cantonese.
(4)E.N. Z.
Currently this place is my favorite Dim Sum spot in Boston. They offer very decent traditional Cantonese Dim Sum. By far, much better quality than China Pearl and Chau Chau City. However, a few years ago, there was this basement place on Beach St. where it also houses the Chinatown Eatery at the second floor, this basement restaurant had the best unique Dim Sum. I don't know why they closed shop, business was booming for them. Just one day, I saw the sign for renovation and then never another shred of news... I am still looking for the chef from this mysterious restaurant...
(5)Kai L.
Yes, I admit, I am a dim sum snob. I have to be after 20+ years of religiously eating dim sum. I recognize this is Boston, not Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, or Vancouver. Hei La Moon was a delightful discovery after I moved from California to Boston 3 years ago, and it has been my only choice for dim sum after I investigated all of the dim sum places in Chinatown. Judged from its appearance, it must be a "newcomer" compared to its more established neighbors. It may not be as well known as the older establishments like Chow Chow City, China Pearl, or Emperor's Garden, it certainly has the best dim sum in the area. Good dishes: pork rips, pork rip noodles, sesame balls, tofu dessert, Har Gaau (shrimp dumplings), most of the "dumplings" wrapped in rice skins (e.g. chive/pork, taro/pork) Good dishes, but not always: coeng fun (steam rice rolls with beef/shrimp stuffing) is good most of the times, but not always consistent. A couple of times that it noodles was a little bit too wet. Siu Mai (dried pork dumpling) tends to be too big compared to traditional siu mai, making it a little bit too much to eat. Overall, I think it is definitely a good place to eat at a reasonable price, in a convenient location, and a decent ambience. In order to fulfill the increasing huge demand, it has recently (probably has been about 9 months) opened up its basement level, which pretty much doubled its capacity. Nonetheless, the line was still there (which attests its food quality). Try to go before noon, otherwise, be patient or agrees to share a bigger table with other strangers if you want to skip the line.
(4)Steve M.
I'm from San Francisco, too, but can't pretend to know good dim sum from Mr. Chau's, having only been to The City's greatest on elementary school trips. What I can say is that I went here a few weeks ago with a best friend, and we over-ordered from the appetizer cart, and couldn't identify most of the things we ate, but loved it all, didn't feel especially pressured by the waitresses despite being part of a very small minority of non-Chinese speakers on a Saturday around noon (and they had everything left that we would have wanted). And the bill, after all that: $21 for two! Sweet.
(4)Lisa C.
Hei La Moon can be a pretty good venue for a wedding. It fit about forty tables comfortably and the platform was perfect for pictures. The dance floor seemed to be a perfect size- not too small but not too big. The food was good. They could have staffed a couple of extra servers. I was drooling watching the lobster go to every table except mine.
(4)Mike M.
It seems odd, but pretty often I end up picking up people at South Station, and this is really convenient for a quick lunch. Come to think of it, I started volunteering to pick people up after we found this place! It's a lot of fun, especially for an out-of-towner, and the food is good and varied. Never too many repeats, always a new favorite.
(4)Ron U.
Fast service. Cheap prices. Even when it's packed, they move people out pretty quickly. Had a party of four, and we stuffed ourselves for just a little over $30. Decent dim sum selection. Come with somebody who recognizes the spread and can make recommendations.
(3)Hiroko S.
Over all, the dim sums were good and very cheap! However their are big reason why I give three stars. First they served us water with huge spider. I hope it is not on purpose. I was fine because I don't usually drink water at dim sum place! We need to have tea. I believe this is the way how Chinese people keep their good shape even though they have greasy dim sum Second they didn't have Xiaolongbao. Probably I have to find Shanghai style dim sum place. I am not sure about Chinese food local differeces. Oh by the way, I went here Sunday afternoon. I probably wait 10min, so it is not so bad. This place was huge.
(3)King C.
Hei La Moon's is an excellent dim sum place. Two things make it stand out from the rest -- it's got an extensive dim sum selection. They also have amazing beef ribs during dim sum. They are flavorful and tender; I've never had anything like this anywhere else. We couldn't resist -- we had to get a second order.
(4)Deb D.
Our experience was mixed. It was our first trip to Hei La Moon. parking was easy there is a garage on top of it. The dumplings we tried were good and the portions were large. Lacked variety but maybe because it was after 1 when we got there. Staff pretty unfriendly. Bathrooms not clean. Going to keep looking for a better overall experience.
(2)H Y.
Probably the best Dim Sum place in Chinatown right now. I grew up eating this stuff in Boston since I was four so I have a lot of experience. Frankly it really isn't my favorite type of food but I miss it every so often. Good turnover from the carts and interesting variety of dishes. All the staples of Dim Sum are good. The noodle dishes (you have to order them) are large and tasty. It's where my mom and relatives go and they are picky so that's how you know it's good. We used to frequent China Pearl (we know the manager there so no waiting) but Hei La Moon has the edge in freshness and tastiness. Service during Dim Sum is always hit or miss, especially if you don't speak Chinese (you are in Chinatown after all). That's why I always bring my Mom along. If you are a small enough party then you can ask to share a larger table to avoid waiting for your own.
(4)Alexis L.
My husband and I went for dim sum and while the food was not revelatory it was very hot, fresh, decently executed, affordable and on Tuesday, at midday, there was no wait. We didn't have any complaints about our dishes, which were chive-pork steamed dumplings leaf-wrapped steamed rice mochi (with coconut and roasted peanuts within)] sesame balls with bean paste pepper-ginger steamed tripe shumai Hei La Moon compares favorably to much of the dim sum we've had in New York City. Worth a visit.
(4)Mai T.
I usually go to Grand Chau Chau's for dim sum. Like one of the other reviewers said, there's not much good dim sum in Boston area. Based on the reviews my family thought we would give this place a try since GCC is not really that good anymore. The first visit (May 2010) was not bad. Since it was just a party of two, we were not able to order much but the food was definitely better than GCC. The second visit which was a month later with a large group fared to be better. The shu mai and har gow were generous sizes and tasty to boot. There was enough variety and most of it was fairly decent. However on our last visit which was a week ago (May 2011) , the dim sum was disappointing. Even though the dim sum tasted OK, there was a lack of variety. And not just a lack of variety but a lack of food! For the first time, I left the restaurant hungry because there wasn't enough of what we normally ordered to satisfy our party. Now we have to find another dim sum place but there really isn't any more out there.
(3)joe t.
i really enjoyed it!
(4)Roni E.
Alright, so the first time I went to this place, I would say that they probably earned 4 stars, but this time, they lost a star for service and bathroom cleanliness. We went at 10:30 am this time around and were seated immediately. However, the food selection this past weekend was not quite there. They didn't have as many types of food as they did a few months ago. On top of that there were a few carts that had lingered on the OTHER side of the restaurant for the whole 2 hours we were there. At one point we ended up going to the cart to get the food, but she said she'd be over. At even then it took her another half an hour to get to us. She went to everyone else first before she came to us. But then after getting us that one dish, we had asked her for another that is on her cart. She then said okay, and WALKED AWAY WITH HER CART! WTF!!! 20 minutes later, some random lady brought us the dish. We said we had ordered that a long time ago, and she still put it on our table and put it on our dim sum card! Lady - we don't even want it anymore, we're done with our dim sum! The food is still good, don't get me wrong, but for service around here, it sux! You don't get the attention you should be getting. The bathroom is gross. There were 2 toilets that were clogged and not one restaurant personnel came to fix them. On a busy Sunday morning, and only 2 toilets in the rest room! Blehhhh! Does anyone know if the garage knows that this place is charging $6 to get your parking validated?! I'm not sure if they have a contract our not, but it is the most silly thing I have heard. I have to pay $6 here to get my $10 back. Why don't they just friggin' validate my parking and give me $4 back in the garage instead?! Does that NOT make sense? Oh and if you're like me and not a real big fan of FOBs, this might not be the place for you. But then again, I remember why I never really venture out to Chinatown for a reason.
(2)Diane H.
i dont know what the rave is all about..Long lines..and the food isnt that good... i'd go somewhere else. too crowdedd...downstairs is too hot in the summer
(2)Mishka A.
Best dim sum place I've had in Boston. It's clean, large, fast service and good food - what else can you ask for? I try to go on Sat as it's busier on Sun. Go downstairs where there's no wait and rolling carts are plenty. I've brought large groups of 20 here before and if you call ahead, they'll gladly reserve tables for you. The restaurant is bright, spacious, lots of red and gold on the walls which makes it feel very festive. Small warning - don't expect the waitstaff to be overly nice, they're good enough, but nothing more. You'll have to waive a waiter down to get tea refills, they don't always stop by, but the service is pretty speedy. The carts are always stocked with fresh dim sum and I haven't had a bad meal yet. Usually costs about $10 to stuff your face. Takeaway: good cheap dim sum, friendly to small and large groups.
(4)Phelim F.
eh ... (shrug)
(3)Bob R.
My first Dim Sum experience. I really enjoyed the show but... the food (after all, I did have to eat) was overall disappointing. My son and I shared about half a dozen choices. We're both dumpling fans but the two varieties we tried were basically dough balls with a taste of meat inside. Stuffed eggplant was great. Everything else just OK. Will try other dim sum places because I have to say I did like the vibe... and the price.
(2)Fortuna F.
Consistently rocking dim sum. Recent discovery was that if you sit on the first floor and close to the kitchen you can get the fresh cha siu bao as they come out and get a better sense of what is rolling out fresh. Hard to pick your table on the weekends but maybe get there on the weekend.
(5)Hank L.
Food is typical dim sum but the attitude is awful. I don't mean slow service but after we sat down a waiter asked us whether we like some drinks. While we were trying to decide what to get he was making this bored and impatient reaction on his face. All he cared about is making money. Sorry for slowing down the money machine. If you must have dim sum at this place, you'll need to put up with the attitude.
(1)Juggy W.
Not sure about dimsum, but this place is over priced for americanized Chinese food. $14 for hunan chicken and it doesnt even come with white rice... gimme a break.
(2)Josh O.
Growing up in San Francisco we got Dim Sum all the time. Then, of course, there was the time I spent in China. We went to Hei La Moon for lunch today with a friend who's from Hong Kong and her husband. They both love it and eat there all the time, and I'm going to have to say I agree. Besides, for the four of us it was only about $30. I've spend over $60 for a similar lunch for _two people_ at Yank Sing in San Francisco.
(4)Waterlily W.
busy busy busy best dim sum this side of the US (though I had better in Canada and Europe)
(4)Andy H.
According to the other reviews, this should be the best Dim Sum that Boston has to offer. You HAVE to order the tofu with candy ginger syrup, the chicken feet (not boiled), and sesame balls ("that's what she said"). The typical Dim Sum shrimp and pork stuff is nothing special. I've had better Dim Sum from the Trader Joe frozen aisle. Why the four stars? THE SERVICE! Prompt, professional, and friendly...exactly what restaurants are suppose to be. Their employees are BAD ASS! One dude nonchalantly handled our HOT tea pot by its body. After he walked away, my friends and me were whispering to each other, "Did you see that? BAD ASS, he must know karate." haha.
(4)Tae K.
one of the best dim sums in Boston
(4)Mike C.
As many have already said, this place is quite simply the best place for dim sum for several reasons: there are parking meters all over the place near the restaurant, the food is excellent, there are two floors now, so the queue is cut down, and the staff is quick at refilling your tea and taking the empty bowls away. I wouldn't really recommend the dinner here: the dishes aren't quite as tasty. I would go to China Pearl as an alternative.
(4)reese w.
I know the reviews are mixed for this place, but I have always had a good experience here. The service really isn't the greatest, but it has never been so bad that I've wanted to walk out. The food itself is pretty good, but sometimes it takes a while for the carts to come around with the ones you want, so if you aren't patient, this isn't the best place to go. I think it's definitely better than China Pearl.
(4)Sisi Z.
Trust all the old Chinese ladies lining up out the door -- this place is the best and cheapest. It gets packed pretty early, so if you find yourself waiting for the elusive cart, grab a waiter and tell them your order directly. Service isn't the best, but if you're tired of Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, give this place a try.
(4)Meg M.
Okay first off, I need to explain my history with Dim Sum. My mother is Chinese and my father is Irish... so needless to say my palate was developed like an ADD kid in an MCAST test. I was all over the place. My mom introduced me in dim sum when I was very very young and I have always loved it. Heres the thing, Chinese people do not operate the same way as Americans. They are not overly friendly and they will not spend long at your table. If you look around at the Chinese/Asian patrons you will see they simply point to what they want and the servers drop it on the table and stamp their card... there are few pleasantries exchanged. Dim Sum is a cultural experience... so stop thinking its like going to a Capital Grille. Thats not how dimsum is. I give this place 4 stars because the bows are the most amazing thing ever.. baked and steamed I cant get enough. MMMMMMMM. So bad for you... SO DELICIOUS. One star gets taken away for how HOT it is in there no matter what time of year. My suggestion.. wear layers ... I end up in my tshirt everytime.
(4)Jungmin L.
The best dim sum you can find in Boston, which is not saying much. But I take what I can get.
(4)Christina K.
WHO CARES about how friendly the servers are when they are delivering endless amounts of delicious food. When you are getting a stamp on a card for the food you are getting I am sure that means that this place isn't meant to have top notch service( they do offer you plenty options of food, many times, repeatedly which is fine service for me)... Also- when you eat your face off on a sunday afternoon and your portion of the bill is only 10 dollars I am not one to complain. No, sometimes I didn't know what I was eating, but everything I had was really good. Whatever the buns are called with the sweet bbq'ed pork(?) inside were absolutely amazing. When the fried cart comes around do not be shy because it will not come around for sometime and it was really good. The flower tea is also really good, I had about probably 15 of those small cups. There are some buns on the desert cart that look like they are covered in nuts, grab those, they are delicious.
(4)Tiffany D.
I started coming here instead of China Pearl (if I wanted Chinatown dimsum, which my bf always prefers over suburb-dimsum) since I was introduced here by my friends and bf over the summer. It's pretty good and def. not as dirty and busy (altho it is busy but it's not overcrowded) and squished as China Pearl. I like it!!! I've been here many many many times!!!
(4)Joanne L.
Yelp is a place where people can express their own opinions about their experiences at the restaurants they've eaten at so there's no reason why anyone should start bashing on reviewers. If you want to post a review, then write an actual review on the restaurant. It's up to the readers' discretion if they agree or disagree with the review. With that said....here's my review! :) I've been to Hei La Moon a few times and it's one of the newest dim sum restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. It's probably one of the most popular ones too because there's a long wait on weekends.. The food is good and I didn't think the service wasas bad as some others have said, but I do have one criticism. One of my favorite things to eat at dim sum restaurants is the shrimp dumplings. That dish is a staple dim sum dish. We waited for the shrimp dumpling cart to come by, but it never came. We asked several waitstaff and they kept saying that a new batch is coming out soon. We ate other dishes, but waited 40 minutes until we decided to leave. This was around noon. You would think that a dim sum restaurant would have an abundance of a staple dim sum dish available, but Hei La Moon didn't. However, even though this happened to me once, I would still go back again because they do have good dim sum.
(3)Rally P.
Decent Dim Sum choices in Boston have generally been China Pearl and Chau Chau City. They're ok, and the quality seems to be cyclic - for awhile China Pearl is the best and then CC City is better. Unfortunately, neither are really great, they're ok, but not top of the line. Hei La Moon is a step better than China Pearl and Chau Chau City and for now, it's my favourite place. Both the variety and the quality of the food are a little better than the others. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up. Another plus, this seems to be a new place so the dining area still feels clean and fresh.
(4)wsl l.
I came here last weekend and I think they changed their dim sum chef!! Ive been to Hei La Moon before and honestly it was nothing to write about. But now, I can honestly say that it s the best Ive had in Boston so far. Note* Dim Sum chefs are so fickle they tend to travel around and work at different places. .so who knows how long this will last. Get good dim sum while you can!! Anyhow, I came here with a party of 5 around 2pm. I thought it was late for dim sum as it usually ends at 3, but was pleasantly surprised that ppl were still there = food. Now many have said that the later you show up the less food. That is very very true, however, at Hei La Moon we got everything hot and fresh that we usually get at dim sum. We also ordered a specialty dim sum dish, and were extremely happy that even though it was late they were able to make it for us. Cool beans in my book and deserves 5 stars. Note* See if you can get seated in their new downstairs. So much better than their upstairs. ie: Newer and cleaner bathrooms! And that means ALOT in Chinatown.. hehe
(5)Michele B.
All three of our restaurant went there to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We reserved the whole restaurant and ordered over a grand worth of food. The food came out fast and delicious. Tables felt a bit over clustered somettimes but the wait staff tried their hardest to clear plates. I got insulted when the manager came over to ask me if I wanted a fork. I was the only American there but have been adopted as Chinese since I have been with the restaurant for over 3 1/2 years. We did karaoke but I kept looking at this same manage who kept trying to rush us and looking at his watch etc.
(3)JB C.
The best dim sum I've found in the area thus far. It's a huge restaurant so if you get there at the right time, you won't have to wait too long. It's really fresh and flavorful. And generally a pretty good selection although we've gone a couple of times when new stuff just wasn't coming out.
(4)Victoria N.
Best dim sum place in Boston, I would say. Especially since this is where I meet my aunt for dim sum, and I trust her judgment. Came here again recently with Boyfriend. We were sat at a random, awkward table since it was probably just pulled out from a larger table for us. But whatevs. The people working there really vary. The guy who got our tea was a semi-douche who pretty much made fun of Boyfriend's attempt at Chinese. I also overheard him making fun of these Chinese ladies cos they asked him something in Mandarin. Most of the cart ladies were nice enough, one giggling (but clearly not making fun) at Boyfriend's dim sum ordering skillz. One, however, seemed a little unhappy with life. Anyhow, on to the food....I couldn't get over how steaming hot and fresh everything was this time! I swear I even saw flames inside one of those metal carts. Just three faults I saw with the food...the meatballs that are usually served with that delicious beancurd skin was served sans beancurd and with peas instead. Weird... (Later on, I discovered that this was actually the original way of serving them.) Also, the turnip cake cart didn't seem to make it's way to us from across the room. And no coconut buns! Boo.... Oh, and the total bill did seem more than your average two-person dim sum bill. Sigh. Still my go-to dim sum place, though.
(4)Marisa N.
I can be pretty picky and well this restaurant brings that out. In a some what good way. The last time I went there I came there for a after-a- funeral thing and they brought out a fish which was okay i mean the fish had bones in it defiantly something i don't want to spend my time doing when to me didn't seem like a lot of fish but more bones. The crust of the fish was hard but it was worth it. Moving on there Buddha's delight was good i liked there noodles and there tofu inside. When i bit into it the flavors exploded in my mouth! Lastly there corn/ egg / tofu soup had a interesting taste to me it tasted like corn. Bland soupy corn. Well that is my review and that was only one time. Sometimes I love it Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I find it A okay.
(3)Jae L.
This definately filled my Sunday afternoon dim sum and sodium craving. The various meat/vegi/seafood filled dumplings all hit the spot once it was dipped in a heart stopping amount of soy sauce. I fully recommend getting the chicken 's feet as well. There is nothing like sucking around the little bones for that yummy tendon ,skin and cartilage.
(5)jenilee p.
i love bringing people to eat dim sum. they either love it or they hate it. if they hate it, i beat them fisticuffs style until they come to their senses. for realz. this is the best place in boston to experience dim sum, and one of those places that truly will become an excuse to come into the city if you don't frequently find yourself here. there is really little to nothing better than having your food come to you, and being able to pick and choose items regardless of whether you know what you will be chowing down on actually is. after a few times here, however, you'll begin to recognize what you like, so maybe i can give you guys a few recommendations. try to find the cart that has looks like it has a few bumps of shrimp that are rolled in a long, fat "burrito" blanket of a white noodle. not sure what the actual name is, but my friends and i call it the slippery noodle. they serve it t you with a salty/sweet sauce, squirted out of a bottle. there are also a plethora of dumplings: shyumai style with mushrooms is very good, ones with shrimp in the middle are very good (i think wrapped with a rice flour wrapper, but not sure), and then there are also the deep fried variety with onion, shrimp and beef filling (these may be the safest bet for the slightly timid eater). i also enjoy their variety of buns, especially those stuffed with barbecue pork. the place is a little hard to find, as it is outside of chinatown, but worth a special visit. also note that there is a parking garage upstairs, and the restaurant will validate your ticket. furthermore, though the place is almost always crowded for dim sum (not served at dinner time), i've never waited longer than about ten minutes for a table.
(5)Ann C.
situated across from the main chinatown area lies hei la moon. this place is a lot cleaner and bigger, which makes eating here a lot more enjoyable and satisfying. i didn't check out the bathrooms though...which could take us to a whole new level...
(2)Ryan T.
I still think China Pearl has better dimsum, but Hei La Moon has some great dinner specials for 4,6,8,10 people. They have great standard cantonese seafood dishes and the interior is pretty clean for a Chinatown joint. Order the salt and pepper pork and squid combo dish - it's like the best of both worlds in one plate!
(4)Aaron W.
Just outside of the main chinatown area, Hai La Moon has been drawing a steady following over the last few years. The last time I went it was packed and the wait was long. The food was worth the wait, but i'd say it's an equal tradeoff to get into Chau Chow city faster with comparable quality dim sum.
(4)Henry H.
Best dim sum in Boston. The only places comparable on the East Coast are those dingy "cafeterias" in NY Chinatown (where the tables are full of old men who look up from their newspapers only to stare en masse at whomever is walking in) or banquet halls all the way out in Flushing. There is no difference between the two floors in terms of food quality, and the dim sum on weekdays is just as good. On weekends, show up before 11 or after 1:30 to avoid long waits. There is no waiting for weekday lunch.
(4)Kevin C.
Alright, the food is good, price reasonable....4 stars. But then, you really need to know the managers or the servers to get some decent services.... That makes me feel weird... I know, I'm also a Chinese, I know perfectly the importance of "connections"... but I dont like it. And plus the fact that it is not located right in the middle of Chinatown... 1 star less.... Overall 3 stars!
(3)Catie L.
Really really delicious. Great selection, and you can ask for to go containers when you are full but still have a ton of food on your table. I would certainly recommend it.
(4)Jeffrey M.
Went to Hei-la Moon for Father's Day, June 19, with family and in-laws. We are all dim sum lovers but it was our first time to this restaurant. We got there about 9:30 a.m. The place was very busy but there was no line, so we were seated immediately. The ambient aroma on entering was wonderful. The carts came around very quickly and the variety was excellent. I am no expert and I don't speak Chinese so I do not know the names of the various dumplings, but everything was delicious. Everything was flavorful and seemed fresh and delicately spiced. The women pushing the carts were friendly and explained what the ingredients were when we asked. The table was kept bussed and clean very efficiently. What amazed me was that even as we were finishing and were all happily full, more carts were coming around with even more types of dim sum than the many we had already seen and tried. We all agreed to come back and have a completely different array of dim sum on our next visit. The check was very reasonable, and we had a great time. We will definitely be recommending Hei-La Moon and we're looking forward to next time.
(5)Alyssa N.
Decent dim sum. Less greasy than some of the other places I've been. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, but the staff was efficient about seating us right away.
(4)Nosniv X.
Looking for fresh dim sum in Boston? This place is clean and the food was flavorful and fresh. No odd flavors either, which is a definite plus. The dim sum is served from carts pushed around the restaurant and the servers do not speak much if any English, so you should know a little about dim sum, and don't be afraid to step up to the cart and take a peek at what they are pushing around.
(4)Atrebor B.
I've been having dim sum since I was 3 when my grandparents took me to my first dim sum parlour in Hong Kong. I realize that weekend dim sum has an almost ritualistic appeal to most Chinese and I am no exception. It would be unfair for me to compare it to places in HK since I'm in Boston. The dishes were alright, but it could definitely be better as in tastier with a greater attention and emphasis to quality as opposed to quantity. Nonetheless, they were piping hot and fresh. I am disappointed with the shrimp dumplings, since they are my must-haves at any dim sum meal. The ones' here suffer from a soggy skin with a powdery after taste; the shrimp filling was not as firm and packed with shrimp as I would have liked; falling apart into pieces after I dropped it from my chopsticks. Nonetheless, I must assume it is one of the better places in Boston judging from the line-up outside.
(2)Richard L.
While dim sum was okay, we found their regular menu items to be mediocre at best. Indeed, when we passed by on the street in evenings, we found the restaurant to be almost empty. However, last Saturday, the place seemed to be full, and we thought that the place might have changed for the better so we entered and ordered a meal. What a mistake! We had the worst meal we've had in years. We ordered seafood soup and asked if it could be prepared without eggs. After a long wait the soup arrived and the waiter assured us that it had no egg, but it was loaded with egg. That, though, was just the beginning. We ordered Peking Duck. We got a dish with the skin of a sparrow sized duck. The skin was heavy with fat, and the dish had about 4 times as much shrimp cracker as fatty skin. The buns were bread like in thickness and consistency, and we initially got duck sauce instead of hoisin. We also ordered Chinese Eggplant in black bean sauce. The dish was simply black bean sauce with emulsified eggplant. It was essentially inedible. To top it all off, one of us got severely ill, and the rest of us mildly ill. Oh, did I mention it: the service was awful.
(1)Denise K.
Nice place for dim sum. Went early (10:30 Sun morning), had no problems getting seated, and there was tons of food already going around in the carts. We sat downstairs. The place seems clean and pretty new, and not crowded like you can get at China Pearl. The variety of the dim sum was great - got some items I don't see all the time, including xiaolongbao, steamed buns filled with sticky rice, and cherg fun with fried dough. We didn't have to share a table which was nice, and it was quiet enough that we could hear each other talk. All in all, my new favorite place for dim sum.
(4)Mags L.
meh. i went. i experienced. i was satisfied, but not super impressed.
(3)Tony L.
I've had dim sum in the Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose, etc. where I grew up) as well as in Manhattan a few times, and didn't discover Hei La Moon until very recently (before this place I had only frequented Emperor's Garden for dim sum). The quality of the food was comparable to Mayflower's, a popular dim sum restaurant chain in California. The service was lacking a little, most likely due to the fact we were seated in the far corner, giving us a slight disadvantage in terms of exposure, so it took a while before the plates started to accumulate on our table. Timing your visit will essentially influence two factors: the later you arrive, the less time you will have to wait to be seated, but the selection of food declines as well. The decor fits your typical dim sum restaurant - a wide open space with large tables dispersed throughout. The pricing is quite affordable ($20 for two). Despite what I believe to be just unfortunate luck in terms of seating, I would still recommend this restaurant over Emperor's Garden and will most likely return for dim sum in the near future.
(4)Kartik P.
Chaos, bloody chaos! Little chinese men women running around in circles pushing trolly of dim sums. Some just sitting on the table, packing food, some unpacking somethings else. Since its closer to the south station people walking in with bags, suitcases, college going kids adding the noise with their selfies and squeaky noises. But it dint bother me much , as I was hungry,cold and had loads of time in hand to observe people. I was seated in a quiet corner from where I had a good view of the entire flood and it is huge!! It took me a few mins to realize how the system works, but I was in no mood for dim sums, just wanted some curry and rice. So ordered my food and waited for it to come and in those 3.5 mins noticed another 7 trollys passing by with loads of bamboo steamers piled high. In all that chaos everyone knew what they were doing, somehow! It seemed to me as if it was a food symphony perfectly orchestrated by the food god! Next time may be when i have a little more time in hand will indulge in the dim sums with a company. Keep it up!
(3)Jen D.
I would vote this 3.5 stars, -1 star for the tea situation. We were BAAAAAAAD patrons. I arrived first, got a table with no waiting (which tells you how late in the day we were) and then found out we were two more to our party. They were very nice about it. Given how late we were in the day, I can't complain about the variety of carts. Everything I tasted was legit and solid IMO--lotus rice was great, char siu bao and other dumplings fine. No standouts, but no disappointments, either. Nice to find a good dim sum place in walking distance. Their tea quality is lacking and the pots are HORRENDOUS (and it was so sloooow to come)--they're heavy and clog easily. To pour without drenching the tablecloth like I did: rest the pot on the table. Hook the spout on the cup. Gently tilt to fill the tea cup. I grew up in South San Francisco and grew up with dim sum. I'd like to think I'm not completely incompetent around a teapot. This place made me feel like an idiot pouring tea. Also: not enough red chili paste for the table. Had to ask a couple of times.
(3)Amber E.
Very enjoyable dim sum experience. You wouldn't know it from the outside, but this place is HUGE, and very crowded. But we had made reservations in advance, and our party of 7 was quickly seated downstairs. Like any dim sum, some dishes are better than others. My favorite were the dumplings, especially the little pouches w/ pork, shrimp and cilantro inside - they were delicious. I also liked the stuffed eggplant, some pureed turnip dish, and the shrimp chive dumpling. Wasn't a big fan of the rice wrapped in leaves w/ some various meat items inside, or rice in taro. But overall a fun visit to Chinatown.
(4)Sharon T.
My mantra when traveling is that you haven't really experienced a city's Chinatown scene unless you have had dim sum there. I came here on a Saturday afternoon with 3 other people. Funny story: I walked ahead of my friends to get a seat first, and when I first got a table, it was on the first floor, but because they only seat you once your party's here, I had to give up my seat until my friends arrived less than a minute later. They finally placed us in a table--downstairs. Talk about punishing for delay. It was almost like any other dim sum experience I've had, but I feel like the food options downstairs were lackluster. The carts came very slow, and I don't even think a dessert cart passed by us. The food was average; nothing special or extraordinary. My friends ordered a lot of shrimp foods and they particularly liked the Shumai. I ordered one of my dim sum staples--Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll--and they put SO much soy sauce in there. The rice noodles were kind of weak because they fell apart when I picked it up. I also had the Turnip Cake--can't complain about turnip cake when it's grilled in front of you! Overall, nice experience and wasn't crazy-crowded as I would have expected for a pretty notorious dim sum place. Nice staff, and food kept coming. Random, but I really enjoyed the Chrysanthemum tea they served. I think it's probably one of the best I've had, and anyone who's ordering a teapot should definitely choose that!
(3)Corey H.
Excellent dim sum. Normally, my go to place is Windsor dim sum because I prefer the civility of a traditional suit down dining experience. However, the dim sum here is equally as good: just get ready for a traditional communal food free for all because you have to request your food from a cart passer by. The food cart process is easy but for the unintimidated it will be a new experience. Seating here is easy to get amd it is especially good for large groups. They also take reservations.
(5)Lucy C.
Really good dim sum place with okay service. I like this place better than Manhattan Chinatown's Nom Wah Tea Parlor and Jing Fong. This place has amazing fried dragon balls--super super crispy sesame outside and soft gooey inside. It is stuffed with lotus paste, I believe. I would also recommend the chicken feet, which is really well marinated, the pork wrapped in tofu skin, and the meat wrapped in whatever that really soft white noodle sheet is called. So many great dishes here, come with a big party and try them all!
(4)matt h.
Great for dim sum! Very accommodating to my kids. A definite stop if you are in Chinatown.
(4)Debra L.
This has been my go-to for dim sum for the past 5 years and I'll come 3-4 times a year. Though admittedly, I haven't looked into other options for dim sum in the area. The restaurant is huge and even though it gets packed, you'll never wait too long for seats, even during Saturday brunch-time. The food is pretty good- they do my favorite dim sum staples pretty well. In particular, my favorites are their: + éŸèœè™¾é¥º - chives and shrimp dumpling in the clear skin + å‰çƒ§é…¥ - char siu pork in a pastry puff + 西瓜西米露 - coconut milk with sago and watermelon + 糯米鸡 - sticky rice and chicken wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf The worst part is the service- some of the waiters are almost notably unfriendly and curt and others just seem to be there to hang out with the other waiters and the customers are merely distractions. When you ask for anything, they are begrudging at best. Even though I speak Chinese, there is still a language barrier because most of the servers speak Cantonese, which is not unusual for dim sum. However, what IS unusual in terms of service is that my inquiries or requests have been met with unhappy "hmphs," displeased looks, and general huffiness. As a customer, this is a big problem and undermines what would otherwise be a very positive experience. Luckily, there is only minimal interaction needed during dim sum brunches as you can just look and point as the carts get pushed around, but as soon as I need to ask for something, the experience goes south pretty quickly.
(3)Thom M.
A venerable dim sum spot in Boston. The place was packed on a recent Wednesday for lunch. The taro cake, har gao, shrimp rice roll and peppered ribs were all tasty. Service was prompt and the tea was freshly made. Overall its my favorite place for Dim Sum displacing an old favorite. Also parking in the upstairs garage can be validated which can save some money - especially if you are coming into Boston for the day.
(4)Adam L.
All i can say about this place is that the quality of the food is much better than the rest of the Dim Sum places around China town. I've been to pretty much all of the Dim sum places around China Town. All i have to say is that the quality/flavor/portion sizes of Hei La Moon beats out the rest of the competition. I may be a little biased because i've only been here once, but from the 7-9 dishes i got it was a much better quality then the rest. I do know for a fact that the Chang Fun (The White Thick Noodles with shrimp inside) is at its game. We came here when it was about closing time, despite that, the quality was still has good as it would have been around noon!
(4)Cathy S.
Hei La Moon is our go to spot for dim sum in Boston. The place is massive, with an upstairs and downstairs, and it's always packed on the weekend, although getting a table relatively quickly is usually not a problem. The service isn't always polite or attentive (not unusual for an authentic Chinese place), but the key is to be aggressive - flag down waiters if you need something or chase after a cart if you see something you want but they've gone past you. Because it's so big there's always a lot of carts out, and I feel that the turnover of food is quick, which is good. There's also a lot of variety in their dim sum items, and the meals can be very filling while remaining just over $10 per person. Overall I like the dim sum experience there, but it can be overwhelming for someone who has never had dim sum before.
(5)May C.
Worst dim sum experience ever. I visited this place on last Saturday morning and was glad to find it open so early. I was seated immediately. But good experience stopped here. It took a long time before someone noticed me and asked me which of tea I want. I asked for menu, but was told no menu till 11 o'clock. So I began the journey of waiting for the carts to come and go, trying to figure what's on it. They speak cantonese to me which i cannot understand at all. To make it even worse, even though I knew exactly what I wanted when I walked in, I waited about 30 minutes for the cart carrying them to come to my table. I run out of patience after this waiting and asked for some other food. But I was told that either not served in the morning or I have to WAIT more. I knew many dim sum places using carts for serving dishes. But usually a menu was provided at the same time and the moving carts are a complimentary and interesting experience. Not here.
(2)Stephanie C.
3.5 star, the stars are knocked down due to the lackluster service for dim sum on a Saturday at noon. Thankfully we didn't have to wait, at prime time. I went to college in Boston and have come to Hei La Moon a bunch of times- surprised I forgot to write a review till now. BF and I took a weekend trip to Boston, thinking, the dim sum can't top what we get in NYC. Well- it is surprisingly good, and surprisingly fresh. It is a cart-based environment, and my biggest complaint is that the carts do not come to each table without you haggling them big time. Yes this happens a bit everywhere but it was especially bad here. We were sitting on the inside row but I really felt like we were ignored. Anyway, onto the food: - Tofu fa- very good, and standard - Shrimp Dumplings- much better than what we get in NY, fresh, plump and more flavorful with garlic/ginger -Chicken and pork dumplings- twisted in a soup dumpling shape, we didn't like these as much as the shrimp but it was very different and big - Turnip cake- one of my favorites, DELICIOUS. Super fresh, crispy and spot on with hoisin -Beef rice roll- much better here than I've had elsewhere, fresh and not super soggy and steamed. We wanted the shrimp roll but it wasn't around until the end of our service (same as most dishes- we also sadly missed the steamed banana leaf fried rice) -Congee-flavorful, with lots of meat (including tripe), scallion and fried dough atop -Roast pork buns- very solid bao bread, and a lot of char siu meat as opposed to BBQ sauce -From the fried cart (which somehow came around 5 times), we had the egg-roll type of shrimp rolls- good, not too greasy, and unfortunately a fried veggie/fishcake dumpling which was a bit stale I might be forgetting a thing or two but this came to $36 for two of us. I've heard mixed reviews about this place but it always seems to be a hit for me, minus the service issues (though they were good about tea refills). They have big ass lobsters in their front tanks but I guess you can bet dinner is also equally as popular!
(3)Alice S.
When it comes to dim sum in Boston, personally, I think most of the restaurants are pretty similar with their quality. I haven't had a terrible experience yet with a Chinatown restaurant. The great thing about Hei La Moon is that it is a really large restaurant with two floors. It can get pretty busy so there usually is a wait on the weekends. When it comes to their food - it's pretty solid. Nothing blow your mind spectacular, but it's definitely worth it to come.
(4)Stephanie V.
The best time to go is around 9 am when it's not even time for brunch yet and all the reasonable people are enjoying a lie in. The clientele was mostly comprised of grandmas and grandpas leisurely drinking tea and reading Chinese newspapers. Those phantom carts with the sweet tofu and watermelon desserts came around 4 times! The downside though is that at 9 in the morning it's still a bit too early for dessert. It's definitely preferable to go in a big group. My friend and I were stuffed after 5 dishes. It's a little pricey at $21.65 but the shrimp dumplings (har gow?) is worth it for the delicate white dumpling wrappers. The only inconvenience we had was that we both didn't speak Chinese but we still managed to get what we wanted.
(3)Jeff Y.
This restaurant is HUGE. Two stories, and a large room on each level. We were seated downstairs, which my friend surmised was for the "non-Chinese dominant" parties. My friends and I felt like dim sum so we came and chose this one out of the many Chinatown options. It was definitely significantly better dim sum than the options back in Richmond, but not quite as stellar as the ones back in California. It was a little difficult to flag down a waiter at times, and the arrangement of tables with some narrow areas made it a little difficult for some carts to get close to the tables, but we managed. A few carts also never made their way to us, and we had to ask for them. Overall, pretty standard dim sum fare, tasty and fresh. The only new thing I tried was the watermelon-tapioca-coconut dessert, which was served out of a large watermelon; pretty unique! Definitely noisy, especially after a group of more than 30 teenagers entered seemingly after some sporting event, but I expect liveliness at dim sum places.
(4)Juan F.
Probably one of the better Dim Sum places I've had in Boston but it pales in comparison to what I can here in SoCal. This place gets pretty busy just like any other decent Dim Sum place. The restaurant is pretty big so the wait should be okay. They do have the carts which is good for us starving people. Everything was just regular and average and nothing outstanding. Parking in Chinatown is always a challenge. You can park at the structure next to it and I believe they validate.
(3)R Y.
Go to place for dim sum for my family and so mine too. Used to the food here so nothing extraordinary to me. Food is great when it is fresh out the kitchen. Once found a piece of fish bone in my Sui Mai. But overall a decent place for dim sum.
(3)Jennifer W.
Servers: great but at times, need to flag them down to get their attention Food: does the trick for dim sum. Crowded at times, but not a long wait. Validated parking is nice for $6.
(4)Jessica L.
Let me start by saying...you're in Chinatown. You're in a dimsum restaurant that is literally the size of a wedding hall. You can't expect the quality of the food to be up to par with 4-star restaurants now, right? I was satisfied with my meal today. First of all, this place is HUGEEEE - as in you could probably come with a group of 20 people on a busy day, and they could probably find a spot for you within 5 minutes. I thought the food tasted delicious overall. There wasn't a single dish I did NOT think was yummy, BUT! I did find a piece of hair on one of my pork buns...I didn't eat that piece obviously, but gosh their pork buns were fabulous. Less filling than most of the pork buns I've had, but still delicious! Okay. this is going to be such a bad review because I don't know the names of anything else I ate...that brings me to my next point. You'll definitely be in good hands if you're with someone who speaks either Cantonese or Mandarin. Either that, or you can look clueless, point, and communicate with hand gestures, which worked out for me lol I ate until I was pretty full, and our bill came out to only $10 per person including tip! Niceee.
(3)Tara S.
While I will always compare any dim sum to my favorite in Queens NY, this place was quite good! I was visiting Boston from CT and we had decided to do dim sum for breakfast. We went despite some of the negative reviews on yelp and were pleased. There are some reviews regarding the cleanliness of the place. We didn't see any issues, but I can believe that there may be some. Bottom line, worth a visit. We enjoyed the spare ribs, shumai, har gao (shrimp dumplings), char sui bao (sweet pork buns), deep fried pork dumplings and rice noodle rolls with shrimp.
(4)Jie S.
Bad experience. Bad service and attitude. My friend got her card overcharged and the way the manager dealt with it was not polite and respectful at all.
(1)Abhishek C.
The best large restaurant dim sum in Boston Chinatown. Reasonably priced. Fresh food. Seating almost always readily available. Have eaten there multiple times without disappointment.
(5)Ana V.
I just left this place...it was amazing! At first I felt like a fish out of water...I wasn't sure what to get, (my boyfriend was no help) but the servers were helpful and pointed out to some great stuff (like the shumai) The place is huge, the tea was good and everything looked pretty clean. I will def be going back! p.s. if you park @ the garage right next to them. Save yourself some $$ ask the cashier for a reduced price ticket. ($8 cash)
(5)Liliya M.
Admittedly, I only come to this place with a Chinese friend, but each time there seems to be more dim sum, more people, and a cheaper price-tag when the bill comes. It definitely feels like you up and got transported to another country. My recommendation is to go with a group of about a dozen, split a bunch of stuff, and then walk away absolutely stuffed and only about $13 dollars poorer!
(4)Yiyu L.
Very bad experience. This is my first time to ever post a review but I am just too angry not to. At noon of August 9, 2015, they wrongly charged 350 dollars instead of 35 dollars from my card, and then immediately changed back to 35 dollars. However, because of delay of credit card company, I received a notification that 350 dollars were deducted in the evening. We immediately got a uber there and argued with them. Their night time manager accepted me and explained and asked me to wait for two days, which I accepted. However, when we asked about the compensation for money and time we spent on pursuing this matter, the manager started ignoring us and was extremely rude to us when asked for an explanation. He even shouted in public, and I quote (translated from more harsh Chinese), "I didn't ask you to come, you come yourself. I cannot help you with this. Whatever you like to do with this, I don't care.""What else do you want me to do? I didn't even scold or hit you!" Like scolding or hitting an unsatisfied customer is what he should be doing. Unbelievable! We don't care about the money and it's the absolutely awful attitude that bugs us. I have been to Hei La Moon for at least 10 times and they all recognize my face, and if that's how they treat me, imagine how they would treat other customers. We asked for an apology after being ignored for 10 minutes, and what we got from him was angry shouts and no apology concerning his attitude at all. His subordinates come to us and said that "it's not his fault, he was already scolded today and please just let him be", this is so weird and we didn't even know how to respond. Customers should keep their complaints because the manager has already been complained to? Doesn't that say something already? As a frequent customer who brought many business there, I have completely changed my opinion towards Hei La Moon and I will never ever go there again or bring any friends there. If you want to get into an unhappy conflict where you need to wait for your money to come back, get no compensation at all for your money and time spent on the dispute, and treated like sh*t, I strongly suggest you go to Hei La Moon.
(1)Rhianna C.
We came toward the end of the afternoon, when it seemed like most workers would rather go straight back to the kitchen than push the carts around. Usually, I love it here, but this trip left something to be desired. This was the first time the carts didn't all stop at our table. We found ourselves walking around the restaurant recruiting carts because we were hungry and the few carts that went by us were the dessert cart and one with chicken claws. Eventually it got a little better, but one of the ladies with a cart kept insisting the pork buns I adore did not exist... Even though I eat them here every time I come. Forget trying to track down our server to place an order. He avoided us like the plague. Compared to all the amazing visits I've had here, it's hard not to be incredibly disappointed with our last visit. Usually we get top-notch service and have no qualms getting carts to stop by our table. This visit just didn't meet my expectations.
(3)Idy T.
Of all the dim sum places that I have tried in Chinatown, Boston, Hei La Moon is the best! This restaurant is huge! There are 2 floors so even if it gets too busy, the turnover time for a table should be relatively short. It is also one of the nicer and cleaner restaurants in Chinatown. For dim sum, I ordered har gow (shrimp dumplings), shrimp rice roll, chicken feet, turnip cake, pork ribs, and fish dumplings. Everything was fresh and delicious. The har gow wrapper however, was a little thicker than how I like it. The turnip cake was pan seared perfectly, making it crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I forced my friend to eat chicken feet with me :P and it was also really delicious. Service here is also superb! The servers refilled our tea right away when our teapot was empty. They also cleared the table when we were done with our dishes. Hei La Moon will be my new dim sum spot! I recommend this place to those who are looking for a delicious dim sum restaurant.
(4)Robert C.
My new Dim Sum spot! Can't get over how much better their food is compared to the other joints. Quality, presentation, taste, they all pass in my records. I have to have Chinese broccoli in garlic and oyster sauce with my meal. My advice would be to know a little bit of what's offered at your typical dim sum place beforehand for first timers and come during rush hours or else you would get less attention. Don't know about their menu to tell you.
(4)Thomas Y.
Very solid dim sum. Most of my experiences are in NYC. I'm only in Boston maybe once a year (for PAX East), and I got invited for breakfast by a new buddy I met at PAX, so we joined. First off, the dining area is much larger than you'd think, with a seriously huge lower level dining area. The food was very good. I'll say that the turnip cakes (law bok gow) we got were the best I've had, especially since they fry them right on the cart before serving. The shao mai and har gow were also very good, and the other staples (ribs, cheong fun, lotus leaf rice) were great. The service was excellent, and I never had to ask for a water refill, and new teapots came out quickly. A huge plus was that the staff seemed to understand English fairly well, too. I'd definitely recommend this place, and while next time I'm in town I'd try some other places (to explore), it's definitely a solid restaurant for authentic dim sum.
(5)Victoria T.
My go-to place for dimsum. Pros: 1. CARTS! So much more fun than ordering from a menu. The only place (other than maybe Emperor Garden) that has carts. 2. Best shau mai that I've had in Boston. I'm not super picky about dimsum but I've definitely had bad shau mai at a few places. 3. Most variety in choices. Since its so much bigger, it has more options. In addition to the food in the carts, there is also a menu that you can order from. I always get the standard dimsum items like, shrimp dumplings, shau mai, bbq pork buns, turnip cake, cheong fun. I've always been satisfied with the items I've ordered. Cons: 1. Not necessarily a con...but be prepared to point a lot if you don't know at least a Chinese. Since there isn't really a menu for the dimsum items, you just have to wait for what you want to come by in the carts. 2. I would avoid trying to go to bathroom. One bathroom for a massive restaurant.
(4)Heidi C.
First of all, be VERY CAREFUL when you dine here. We went there for Sunday lunch with a friend and she told me to be careful of my bag because her friend's bag got stolen in the restaurant couple weeks ago. Her bag was on an empty chair next to her and someone grabbed it and ran out. Then while we were eating there the table next to us had the exact same thing happen to them. We didn't see what happened but suddenly we see many people running out of the restaurant and yelling something. We overheard that a lady's bag was stolen AGAIN. About 30min later a police officer came. The restaurant is very loud and almost always packed so it's really not a surprise that most people dining there wouldn't even know what had just happened. Imagine my friend only just warned me and immediately it happens again. So be very cautious of your belongings if you sit along the walkway leading from the entrance. It must be something that happens regularly and the staff should really make an effort to prevent or make warnings. As for the actual visit...I go for Dim Sum very regularly, this was our 2nd visit to this place and this time around the food didn't taste as good (nor fresh) as the 1st. The Shrimp dumplings were too thick and too 'creamy' (meaning too much paste compare to the shrimp, and wasn't very fresh). Some of my favorites like braised pork pieces, chicken feet tasted a-okay. Egg plant stuffed with fish paste and Tofu stuffed with fish paste were both not very exciting. For dessert I always have the sweet beancurd and this always taste great. There's a station that cooks the rice roll next to your table, that tasted quite good.
(1)Nick H.
Hei La Moon has been my family's go to dim sum location in Boston for years now. It's a big hall and it's usually packed. A packed dim sum location is actually a good sign because it means the items are constantly coming out and the carts are changing out for fresh inventory. This place is a cart based dim sum hall which compromises freshness for arguably better visibility and a more fun experience. The quality of the dim sum here does not disappoint but it also doesn't blow me away. Hei La Moon is a very solid choice for dim sum in chinatown; a very authentic experience. I would recommend Hei La Moon, especially for people new to dim sum.
(4)Allen I.
I thought this was the best dim sum I may have had because it was the first I ever had. I went back last week and confirmed it. PLUS parking upstairs in the garage for 7.00 all day. What a deal. Wow, when the cart came my way with the tofu skin wrapped shrimp the game was over. Love the chicken feet. I love it all. And I would be there this morning but I happen to live five hours away.
(4)Annamarie T.
So I didn't really know what to expect when my friend took me for dum sum, but whoa! This place was awesome. There is literally food everywhere! There are servers walking around with food and you choose the ones you want to try off the cart. This isn't a place for picky eaters, you need to be willing to eat everything to get the most out of the experience. It really was a matter of hmm whats that, not understanding, and saying okay that looks good and trying it. The dumplings we tried where delicious, and we even tried the chicken feet! Overall I would definitely recommend trying here for an awesome experience!
(4)Yen D.
I like the dim sum here so much the first weekend I was in Boston, I came back the next weekend. I'm an old pro at dim sum (my family had it all the time when I was a kid) so when I say I'm pleased with the food here, that means a lot! There are two HUMONGOUS rooms, one at ground level and one downstairs. If you can, come with an Asian person, Chinese preferable, so you get better seats (this is just from observation; I'm Vietnamese so I sort of count). I suspect that the servers downstairs speak more English than the ones upstairs. We ended up getting tons of food both times, and meal was consistently $10-$14 a person. I love that about dim sum. I understand that many people prefer the check the box system and you get the food fresh to order, but I prefer the carts- I can see what I'm getting much better than on a printed page, and there's no need to bother with translations/trying to figure out what something is vs. just pointing. Again, something I grew up with. Food: quite enjoyed the standard har gao (shrimp dumpling, lots of shrimp), shumai (pork dumpling), roasted pork buns, egg tart, vegetables (chinese broccoli with oyster sauce), and the sticky rice +pork in lotus leaf super loved the fried turnip cakes, the shrimp chung food (wide noodles filled with shrimp and topped with sweet soy sauce), and roasted pork buns in sweet bread- I'd only ever had them in those fluffy white bao before, not in golden delicious bread. I enjoyed (but no one else did as much) the pork surrounded by taro and fried into a little spiky delicious golden thing that you might mistake for dessert. Also the fish+tofu! I heard the congee was great too, with lots of stuff in it. I thought the warm soft tofu with ginger syrup was just OK- I much preferred the THING IN THE WATERMELON GET THE THING IN THE WATERMELON. There are big cut up watermelon bowls on one of the carts and I was super curious about them, so we got a bowl from it. Some kind of sweet coconut milk + tapioca balls + watermelon balls = SO DELICIOUS. Also I thought the egg tarts were just OK- a little bit heavy. Often when I go to dim sum I feel a little gross/heavy after but I found that the lightness of the wrappers/relative little greasiness at this place totally mitigated that effect. I don't think you can go wrong! YUM! (esp. because I tried a diff dim sum place in Boston a few weeks later...)
(5)Bonnie C.
Hei La Moon has gotten worse over the past several years. Their service is awful and the food is terrible. I came here to order pick up one day and the host was really rude. I asked them if I can park my car outside with my hazard lights on (I said it in perfect Chinese) to which she responded "look, I understand you have a car outside, but that is no excuse for me to hurry up your order". First of all, she didn't even answer my question, and second of all, that is really rude for her to snap at me like that. I was just asking her an innocent question. Then I went to pay for my food and I gave her an extra $20 by accident and she was like "you paid too much, lang mui" in a snappy tone. I find it rude when strangers call anybody a "lang mui". I thought she was having a bad day so I said "Thank you very much" with a smile on my face and she didn't even acknowledge me. I'm sorry, but if you can't even be nice to a customer who is doing a simple pick up order, I can't imagine how the service is like dining in.
(1)Ann C.
If you like traditional dim sum, it is the right to come here. However, you should come after 10 oclock or come in the weekends since there are more options offered.
(4)Lauren H.
I don't love writing bad reviews, but I had to for this place and this review is solely based on service. We tried to eat here last week. It was the tail end of lunch, the place was packed. We were seated right away. Normally, within a few minutes of being seated in dim sum restaurants, somebody brings you a pot of tea. There was nobody in sight, the table next to us was clearly also looking for a waiter. We finally spotted one, but he was running around servicing a ton of tables. The table next us finally flagged him down and ask for tea for both of our tables. While we were waiting for our tea, one of the carts stopped and we selected some pork shumai and shrimp balls. We couldn't eat our food because there was no chili paste or soy sauce on the table. Our food was getting cold. The waiter finally showed up with the tea and seemed very put out when I asked him for chili paste. He finally brought the chili paste. We ate....waiting for more carts to stop. They either walked right by us servicing the people around us or didn't come down our row of tables at all. We finished our shumai and shrimp balls, waited for 15 minutes, watching everybody else get served, not finding the waiter to ask if we could get the carts to stop for us, and finally were so frustrated, grabbed our stuff to go. The manager was working the register and when I tried to explain that we were leaving because nobody would stop and serve us food, it was clear she didn't care. We left and walked over to China Pearl where we were greeted warmly and promptly served all the food we wanted - with tea, chili paste and soy sauce! The sad part is that the food was good at Hei La Moon but based on the fact that they couldn't/wouldn't serve us, coupled with a non-caring manager, I would never return there. Too much competition for dim sum in Boston.
(1)Rebecca Y.
Love this place for dim sum because I love the trolley carts that go around. It feels more authentic than ordering dim sum off a menu. My favorite item is the zimaqiu (the fried sesame balls with red bean paste stuffed inside). The ideal way to eat here is to come with a big group (at least 6 people) and order a lot. Everyone pays less than $10 for getting their faces stuffed and eating a wide variety of dim sum, it's fantastic. The quality of the dim sum here isn't amazing (especially if you're from Hong Kong), but it's decent.
(3)Thanh H.
Not a bad place for Dim Sum. What I don't like aboutthis place is they cram too many seats in, so the dim sum carts have a hard time getting around when the restaurant is full. It's hard for me to recommend anything food wise since my wife orders and I just eat whatevr is in front of me. Except chicken feet, since they remind me of babies hands. You don't have to order dim sum, you can order from their regualr menu any time. I had to mark it down due to cleanliness of the place. At times I see dishes at the table still with greese on them. The bathrooms are messy and gross. If you only care about the food, give this place a try.
(3)Simon L.
Dim sum sum dim. Served every day seven days a week. Lunch on weekends is packed. The space you see on entry - it's only half the actual dining area - the rest is downstairs. Hei La Moon is considered the best service in C-town. Order as the carts roll by - if you're unsure what is in the bamboo box, ask for a viewing. If you don't want it, pass and wait for the next cart. But, don't be afraid, order often so you can try various items. The frog legs and chicken feet are more delicious than one might expect - crispy skin with a reasonable amount of meat - adventurous? Lo Mai Gai - Chinese sausage, egg and chicken steamed in a lotus leaf with rice - a wonderful meal in and of itself. Shrimp dumplings - fresh shrimps in a light rice casing. Beef meatballs steamed. An amazing assortment of tastes and flavors. Quick service - beer if you ask.
(4)Peter L.
Decent Dim sum place. I am from Hong Kong and I believe the food here is on par with some dim sum places in Hong Kong. (considering it is hard to find a decent dim sum place around, that's a +1 star for me right there) The price here is affordable and the more dinners at the table the better (for the sake of more variety) The draw backs I see so far is the lack for waitresses and the poor environment within the restaurant. Sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes to get my tea refilled. And I believe they should re-renovate this place soon as it kinda look dirty inside. This place is huge but the tables are not placed far apart from on another, not spacious at all. It'd better if you go with a friend who speaks Cantonese, some waiters/waitresses have broken English (though they are friendly :)).
(4)Elena S.
A great place to have brunch with family or treat friends, 4 stars because of the Double Price with the same quality as the Cantonese restaurants in Philly China town...
(4)Erica R.
Frequently enough when I'm in Boston, the friend I come to visit and I crave dim sum. He's taken me to a couple different dim sum restaurants thus far, but Hei La Moon is probably where we've visited the most. That's not to say it's especially spectacular or anything, but it's a solid option when you're trying to appease a craving. There's a large variety of options, all served off carts in what I can only assume is a fairly traditional manner. A lot about the experience of eating here also depends on where you're seated, it seems. We've been seated everywhere from in the middle of the room (sharing the table with a small family) to a smaller table in the very back of the restaurant (by the windows in the back, and against the corner). When you're in the middle of the room, you get to be a bit more laid back about checking out the carts and getting your food. Everything is basically passing you anyway. When you're tucked in the back corners though? You have to be more aggressive in even seeing what's on the carts. When you find something you like, you have to grab it too...because you're not exactly sure when a cart with those goodies is going to be back in your direction. All in all, the food is decent. I haven't found anything that I consider a "must have" from the carts, but the shumai is one of my go to options. I'm also pretty fond of anything with taro, so I tend to jump at those cart options. I'm sure I'll be back...it's decent and convenient. Somehow, I always leave this place having eaten WAY too much. The trick I always have to remember is to jump for 1) the carts newly filled with hot foods, and 2) be aggressive in looking to see what's available and getting what I want.
(3)moe s.
THis place still sucks. I have gone there about half a dozen times hoping they would improve with their service, and nothing has changed. They tell me at lunchtime it is busy so they have no food? How about some PRE planning so you HAVE food when it is busy. Other restaraunts do it, and it seems to be working for them pretty good...
(1)L H.
I meet friends here for dim sum every few weeks. Their dumplings and shumai are tasty and they have the usual dim sum offerings. It's fresher than other places I have been to. They also serve rice pudding and cake as dessert dim sum options.
(4)Tiffany A.
tl;dr good food, efficient service, helpful staff The venue is always packed during weekend mornings. Food is fresh and the carts speed around. Quick service and great food! Our family always likes the buns and ha chung. Today, I left my phone at our table after we left the restaurant. Once I realized (a few minutes after we'd left), I came back and inquired with the front counter. They promptly asked what color and type of phone I had, as well as requested I call my number. Once I did so, they immediately returned it. The staff gave me no trouble and were extremely helpful.
(5)Lianne T.
Ok so I Asian and I go dim sum to get some ha gao. But I here right now and the whole wall next to my table is covered in flies. The waiter saw me taking a trillion pictures of them and he didn't even do anything. Omg I was shaking out of fear that they fall in my dan taat. Made me so nauseous.
(2)Lachland F.
Parking was easy and we didn't have to wait to sit in this cavernous and bustling venue, but that is where the good ends. By noon the fried fish was cold, the buns mealy, and the sticky rice over-salted. Bring on the antacids. The indifferent service has been much discussed elsewhere, but we didn't find it half as bad as the food. We will be looking for better.
(1)moondizz y.
First off I'll say the manager is really nice. I had called to ask if they had the flat rice noodle and they had said yes. After all our other dim sum items were served (took their sweet time) they brought out a shrimp noodle dish which is what we hadn't ordered. Turned out thy had ran out of rice noodle dim sum- but had failed to mention that. The service was not that great - very slow and we asked if the turnips had pork and the waitress said no- after bringing out the dish we saw meat in it but she insisted it was not pork, till I called the manager and he apologised. I didn't understand why she lied though. Thy didn't charge is full Price for the wron dish- but I won't be back despite how nice the manager is .
(2)Sheng M.
Best Shu Mai EVAR! Everything else is pretty tasty too, but Shu Mai FTW there. That is all. :)
(4)Ben K.
Staff indifferent, food carts favor large tables, left hungry, food o.k., something floating in cup of water, something about check out help reminded me of the money lenders that Jesus "altercated" with, tea kettle had crusty somethings on it and was clogged. Didn't notice any active leaks in the ceiling so 2 stars.
(2)Michelle K.
Because the fact this restaurant is huge, therefore we did not have to wait for a table was a plus, the food was so so and the service was awful. There wasn't much special about the dim sum, nothing terrible and not thing fantastic. The carts did not make it us for most of our lunch, and I ended up jumping up with my tab to chase down the dim sum ladies. That would have been fine, but man, these dishes were HOT! Carrying them back to my table was a bit tricky. Because of this, I did not write out a 15% tip on my bill. As I stood there to pay, (also a weird thing, why couldn't the serving staff bring it to me to sign?!) the lady had the audacity to say, "Tip is usually 15%." I told her, "I did not receive service that is worth 15% of my tab."
(2)Francisca W.
it's sad. i used to come here a lot bc their dim sum is not only delicious but they have interesting/novel items that the old-school Boston ctown won't offer. came here for dinner, came here for banquet, came here for take out. just few weeks ago came here for a dim sum takeout as friend liked their 炸兩 ("ja leung"; fried dough in rice rolls) there. grabbed a whole bunch of food which was decent; just a little disappointed that there wasn't much outside the mainstream to choose from - at least for the takeout menu. but the order came out quickly and quality was ok, so there's no compliant there. came here for a late lunch (sat down after 2pm) with the in-laws as they prefer this place. already lost the "free validated parking" as the whole street was blocked by police and fire truck when we came by; had to find parking elsewhere only to see the street re-opened then. just our luck. sat down first thing, had to run to the restroom. boy was it a mess. to be fair, at least it didn't stink. but between TP everywhere and cloggy toilets...it's just quite gloomy out there. ordered a bunch of stuff, mostly mainstream items. food was ok; nothing to write home about - a few of them even got that frozen/slightly "off" taste to it... well it happens. but service was lackluster at best, mostly the waiters. from ones standing around not seeing our need to get something to their general attitude...sometimes it just makes one wonder why they even bother coming to work. not to mention the last time i came here for a wedding banquet, these guys (could be temps, but still) were throwing empty soda bottles across the tables as their cleanup shortcuts - while guests were still standing around waiting to leave - one almost hit my friend and her hub wanted to punch them. Chinatown service standard, yes. does it make it acceptable? no.
(2)Dave H.
Hei La Moon dishes out perfectly fine dim sum. Chicken feet, siu mai, and those awesome rice blankets... yes. Service might not be stellar, but if you're a little aggressive, you can get the carts to come over to your table. If you can't speak Chinese, you'll probably be okay, too. There's two floors (weirdly I had not noticed the basement the first time I was there), so there's room for a crowd. We didn't have a problem seating a large group (16!) on a Sunday.
(4)Jason L.
Walked in to meet a group of folks from work who said they'd be seated downstairs. The place was about an inch from chaos. Dim sum carts everywhere, nearly as humid as hell, and yelled instructions from all directions. I sat down and snagged every cart as it came by. Yeah, we'll take one of those. Double pork buns, please. More chicken feet. More gelatinous rolled up meat. Fun place to get dim sum, but I think cart dim sum places always suffer a bit in terms of quality. The experience, however, cannot be beat. Just be sure to be aggressive in snagging what you want, and say "yes" more often than "no" when the carts come around.
(4)ted h.
Food was awesome! My only complaint was my stomach wasn't large enough to eat more. It was reasonably priced as well.
(5)Winky C.
Their shaomai is good, the sweet soup with watermelon is also one of the signatures, their chicken finger is so so
(3)Cathy N.
I do not understand what all the fuss is about. I came in to order take out on 5/21. Someone was paying and I started a line to put in my order. Someone came up behind up me, offered the check and money and the transaction completed without even looking my way. I went to leave and another hostess stopped me. I had to repeat three times that if the other person's money was more important than mine, then they were not going to get my order and therefore my money. She finally stepped out of my way. Despite the fact I told myself I would never return, I had more than an hour to kill after an appointment next door and I went on Wednesday. Meh. Thank heavens I didn't see the postings about bugs in the food until after I ate. The spare ribs were wonderful tastings, perhaps the best I ever had at dim sum. But why add what I thought were cubes of potatoes? The shrimp in rice noodles were tasteless and the noodles gummy. So much better at Sun Kong in Malden. I never saw stuffed mushrooms at a Chinese restaurant before but they were the best dish I had. Never got my teapot refilled and staff didn't seem happy when I asked for water and for the glass to be refilled. I would not have gone out of my way to go back for the food but now that I see the reports of bugs and worms, I wish the health department would shut them down. Go to Chau Chow City instead.
(1)Phillip T.
I came here with my family for lunch after walking around the Boston Commons. I must say, the dim sum portions here are huge and filling! The restaurant itself was also spacious and had that authentic chinese cuisine vibe. When you sense that coming into a restaurant, you know you're in for the real deal. We had a party of six and we went through one and a half rounds of dim sum. I don't know what it was, but not only that they were huge portions, but they were also delicious. I must say the shu mai were one of the best shu mais I have ever had from a dim sum restaurant. There is this one dish with the chinese cruller (youtiao, for those pinyin peeps) wrapped in wonton noodles... you cannot miss out on that. That was the first time I have ever had that and I hope there are some dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area, CA that have this dish. That was amazing and if I were in Boston again, I would definitely come back here again!
(5)Jane L.
Man their lobster was DELICIOUS!!! Best i ever had. My sister and I were craving seafood when we visited boston. We decided to go for a more cheaper alternative rather than going to an actual super expensive seafood restaurant. Our hostess (we stayed at her house for a couple of nights) recommended this place to us so we decided to go. The restaurant was really big and was pretty empty considering it was 9 PM on a friday, but there was a couple of parties there eating dimsum. But my sister and i were kind of glad because we were a bit worried about not being seated since theres a chance that this restaurant would be packed. Anyway, my sister and i ordered scallops in sizzling platter with black pepper, and lobster with garlic and scallions. It was my first time trying scallops so i was really hyped and it was so good with the sauce and the peppers. The lobster was the dish that my sister and i have definitely been waiting to try. Now, my sister and i are not a big fan of lobsters. We had tried them back in NY but there werent that fresh and it was not good. But the lobster dish has been chopped and sauteed with ginger and scallion flavors. Although the flavors only reached the surface of the lobster and not the lobster meat inside it, my sister and i could definitely taste the freshness of the lobster. We literally devoured the whole thing because it was so delicious. Lastly, just as a small craving of dimsum, i asked to order for shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. but they ran out :( so i decided for the shu mai instead and BOY THEY WERE BIG. Yet they were good :)
(5)Geoff K.
It's been a while since we had dim sum but we missed a train and Hei La Moon has just a hop skip and a jump from South Station. Our expectations weren't extremely high for our impromptu meal, we were looking for something quick and relatively good. As many yelp reviewers have commented, the service is pretty poor. Depending on where you are seated some of the carts may completely miss you and there seems like there's little effort for them to make sure they hit all the tables. Mediocre service would have been tolerable if the food was any good. We got a number of different rounds of food with many of the pork options being of very low quality meat. The only real exception were the pork buns, which were solid. One of the pork dishes was nothing short of awful as well as the pork and shrimp wrapped in bean curd which was truly bad. When our waiter tallied our bill he charged us for tea, something I read is done to first timers. I noted it and he skoffed at me. The worst part of the whole experience at Hei La Moon is that several members of our party got food poisoning and were quite sick the next day. I'm all for authentic dim sum, have no issue being adventurous in my eating, but Hei La Moon fails on too many levels and when you add puking it all up to the equation it's just not worth it.
(1)Matt F.
Dim sum here is decent. Good for large groups. Lots of seating. The pushcart ladies don't aggressively sell you everything in their cart. Quite the opposite. They seem a bit timid. So don't be shy. Wave them down and shout to see what they have. The price is reasonable and transparent. Service is pretty good for Chinatown. Harkow is skimpy on the shrimp though. But everything was good without much msg. You can tell if you sense an aftertaste or drymouth if they put msg in it. Looks like we will be back.
(4)George N.
When you notice other diners experiencing the same reactions/mood that you are, that's when you know something is wrong in the kitchen. I came here for my brother's birthday with my family at around 7pm on a Friday. The staff were really busy as we sat down and progressively got busier as more people came in. I think there was also a private event going on at the same time. With the food....the teriyaki sticks tasted bland, the beef and broccoli tasted as if there was too much sauce in it...either that or something felt missing - not the typical/ordinary taste you'd expect, and the fired rice was too greasy. I think other diners experienced this too judging from their facial reactions. I think my mom noted that they didn't use taro for the birds nest in one of their dishes that we ordered when they should have, cost cutting? I think this experience would have been different if we came here for dimsum. I didn't want to take off any more stars to affect the over scale. So I felt two is a better grade than one.
(2)Ana S.
There are a bajillion other reviews of Hei La Moon already posted, so I'll let those guys explain the essentials. Instead I'd like to wax philosophical about something. Dim sum comes in two variants: the kind where you order small dishes off of a menu and the kind where you point to those dishes being wheeled around on little metal carts. The former generally yields fresher food, since for the most part everything is made to order. So why does Hei La Moon use the ol' push cart system? Well for one thing, the restaurant is huge. I remember one Saturday when I was waiting for a friend to arrive before going in. I started getting worried about seating because huge (10+ people) groups kept showing up and yet somehow the restaurant absorbed them immediately. I too was eventually absorbed by the vortex of pork buns and dumplings. An army of push carts keeps the food rolling fast 'n' furious(ly). I think some of the nit-picky complaints about the place are forgetting just how massive of an operation this is. Logistics aside, the push cart system is far less intimidating for dim sum newbies. It's easy enough to see something rolling by and to just point to it like some kind of gluttonous child. Speaking of gluttony, the carts also provide instant gratification. There's nothing worse than ordering chicken feet and then having to wait 10 minutes for chicken feet (or, you know, something you actually want to eat).
(5)Stanley G.
The food is ok but the service is really baaaad! If you order the shrimp dumpling, vinegar won't be with it, though it's necessary. All the waiters seems to be in really bad mood, except the manager in suit. Will never come again.
(2)Jackie L.
Love this place! Everything is so good and because it's in a cart, you can see everything you get to order and you don't have to wait for the food.
(5)Derek H.
When we were in Boston for work, one of locals suggested that we should go to Hei La Moon, which is a dim sum restaurant located on the edge of Chinatown. I was a dim sum virgin, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those who haven't had dim sum before, it's an interesting experience. Essentially, fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant by waiters/waitresses, for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. They come around fast and furious, and most of the time you have no idea what they are saying. Luckily, we had someone with us that had been here many times and knew the drill. I tried several dumplings that were filled with short ribs, shrimp, beef, etc. Some things (turnip pie) looked odd, so I passed on that. They are pretty pushy with some of the items, so be sure to give them a hard no when they ask if you want something. Many of the items are meant to be dipped in soy sauce. Overall, I thought the food was pretty good. I certainly felt more cultured afterwards. :) I did like the fact that I didn't feel overly full after I left here. I'd be willing to give this place another shot at some point, as it was pretty good. That said, I certainly wouldn't be running back here.
(3)Ian Maren C.
We hadn't had dim sum in a couple of months so when we landed in Boston we decided to go straight to China town and check out the Dim Sum. Went to another place but it was so small and little seating. This place here is HUGE!!!! Tons of seating and lots of cart. A great selection, good staff. They accept credit cards. One of the best Dim Sums we have had.
(5)Wu N.
came here with a tour group. ..the group arranged a lobster feast for us at 30$ a person. each of us will get a fresh boiled 1lb lobster and 6 courses to share for entire table. the lobster is ok, but the rest of the courses are just medicore, cheap, low quality, plus the terrible services they provided, this lobster feast just turned out to be another rip off arranged between the tour company and the restaurant. tourists be aware !! Im sure they make some good dishes, but stay away from their seafoods !! lobster - ok shrimp - no no fish - ok chicken - no string beans - no mapo tofu - no purple seaweed soup - hell no bok choy - ok service - hell no red bean soup, the free dessert after meal desert - the best out of all above items. if you ever came to socal, stop by new port seafood restaurant in rowland heights, for real quality Chinese style seafoods.
(2)Judy L.
My family and I usually come here for dim sum and nowhere else because their BAKED honey glazed pork buns are delicious! Their other dishes are also great, particularly their sui mai, chicken feet, black pepper spareribs, and deep fried chive bells! Service on the other hand is not so great. The lady at the front is extremely rude and no matter how hard you try to get a table upstairs she will always point you downstairs (unless she knows you very well/you're a family friend). But for the food, it is worth it!
(4)April K.
I think this is one of the better dim sum restaurants in Boston since it is spacious and (somewhat) cleaner. However, today seemed like a bad experience. The dim sum carts didn't come around much so it took us forever to wait for them and get our dishes one by one. One of the cart-pushers was also incredibly grouchy and rude to my mom. The bowl that they served congee to us in looked dirty as well. Usually we like this place because they are efficient and the plates are served hot. The har-gow is also better quality than the other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown.
(3)Erin C.
Hei La Moon is a human version of underground ant tunnels. That is, it is teeming with chatter and staff scuttling carts around and diners moving about. This was the site of my first dim sum experience, so I have nothing to which to compare it. A quick sum up, though, would be: lotsa meat and noodles. The shrimp rice noodle roll is only eh, because it's watery and has too much noodle. There are two kinds of cha-siu buns, or BBQ pork buns. The steamed ones here were dry and eh. The baked ones were lighter, sweet, and delicious. It took me a while (read: til after I got online) to realize they were the same thing. It may have been because of our (rickety) table near a kitchen doorway, in proximity of which many carts seemed to pile up, but I didn't see much variety offered during our lunch. The same few dishes kept coming around, and most of them were shrimp items. We did get our hands on the Chinese broccoli and sauce, which were tasty (not that I could figure out how to eat it stalk and all very gracefully), but this was the absolute only non-starch, non-meat selection we ever saw. I don't know if this is completely par for the course, but I was pretty disappointed. Also frustrating was the extreme difficulty it was (and friends report it often is) to get a waiter to bring water to the table. Womp. But I really did like the baked pork buns.
(3)Sarah L.
Very good Diem Sum. Went for breakfast to celebrate my daughter's birthday (that is what she asked for). We were not disappointed. Service and Price was good too. We would go again and would not hesitate recommending it to others.
(4)Shuai W.
If I can give less stars I would, horrible service, food was cold, found a giant roach in our food.... I may throw up
(1)P V.
DO NOT BOOK THIS PLACE FOR A WEDDING!!!!!!!!! If I was able to rate this restaurant BELOW 1 star, I definitely would!! THE SERVICE IS THE WORST OUT OF THE WORST. FOOD IS NOT GREAT. But, one great thing about this place is that it is spacious--which is why we were fooled into booking this for my sister's wedding (WORST DECISION EVER). If you ever think of booking this restaurant for a wedding, you WILL regret it. Your happy day will turn out to be a day of chaos and anger just from being there. First of all, the service was absolutely HORRIBLE. I have never ever ever been to a restaurant where the waiter refused to give me a hard boiled egg or a refill on my sauce. They demand us to finish that small plate of sauce before they can give out more. Man, how cheap is this. On top of this, from all the Asian wedding I have been to, the server would usually bring out food one after another, but weird thing is that we had to wait 10+ minutes for each dish. By our 4/9 dish, people were already on the dance floor or preparing to leave. Literally, the last dish was brought out at 10:30pm, and that was almost to the closing time. Secondly, the manager refused to give the DJ the WiFi password. I know that it's the DJ's fault to not have a backup CD of music we have requested, but based on his experienced, he claimed that every single wedding he had DJ-ed for has WiFi, BUT this one. Out of curiosity for this coincidence, I looked for the manager to asked if I can have the password, or if he can help us out. His response: "WiFi doesn't work. Too many people use it so it got shut down." How can this man LIE straight to my face. It was such a coincidence that the internet stopped working a couple days before the wedding and did not bother to let us know or fix it. I confronted him but he was so ignorant. Thirdly, they have tried to scam a few of the guest for their parking money. One of our guest said that their parking ticket does not work. When they asked the guy in the garage parking lot for help, he said to go to the manager and get a new one-- guess what? the manager claimed that they have to pay an extra $8 for a new ticket since the other one was not working. WTF? How is it their fault that the machine did not accept that ticket? Does the machine just magically spit out a duplicate ticket for us to pass on to another customer? Maybe that cheapa$$ should save some money and buy himself a new parking machine instead. Another thing is that some of our guests have to spend hours looking for parking in Chinatown because their $8 parking were full-- it was established that the parking was reserved for our guests. Lastly, they tried to cheat us from their beer. The first time when we were looking for a restaurant to book for my sister's wedding, they clearly said that it would cost $45 for a case of beer or buy our own beer and the license would cost $8 per case. Second time around, they raised it up to $50 per case of beer. Then, on the day of the wedding, they said it was $60 per case of 24 bottles of Heineken. $60?!-- Fine, we were willing to pay for it. But, due to their EXTREMELY BAD SERVICE, 10 minutes into the wedding, when a few of our guest requested for Heineken, they claimed that there were NO more left, so instead, they gave us some cheap beer instead. Up to the point that many people had complained, they were finally willing to open up cases of Heineken, charging each case $60. Also, the manager did not ever show up to greet us once during the wedding (not even a congratulation, nothing), but came out when we were about to leave---- why? to collect the money from us. That man only care about the money and himself. How selfish can he be? He even dare to ask for an extra $15 tip per table for the service--HAH. Man, we WOULD be happy to give more than $15 per table if the service was even a bit better. But that kind of service deserves nothing, just not even a penny worth-/sorry. I have NEVERRRR been so stress out being at a wedding before. It's suppose to be a fun night for the guests, the newly wed, and family members, not a day to complain or plead. To save you all a trip and money, DO NOT GO HERE AT ALL. AVOID IT THE BEST AS YOU CAN. You can thank me later :)
(1)Cindy W.
Service deserves less than 1 star. I had my wedding reception/banquet here recently. Where do I begin to describe the awful service & treatment that was given to me by the manager, Mr. Chan. The only time he was nice & accommodating was when I met with him to discuss the details of our wedding banquet & to give him a deposit for the night. Once he got the money from my wedding deposit, it was all downhill from there. First off, he had originally OFFERRED the nicer and more private area in the back of the restaurant for our function & we agreed to this. We thought it would be great as the dance floor location was better, more private, & it was a better area for my DJ to set up his equipment. When we arrived to the restaurant on our wedding day, the WRONG area of the restaurant was set up for us!! The area Mr.Chan originally OFFERRED & PROMISED to us (in the back of the restaurant) was changed to the area at the entrance/front of the restaurant.... strike 1. As I got out of my limo in front of the restaurant, I noticed the wrong area was set up even before I walked in. It was the most AWFUL feeling on such a joyous day!!!! I walked in, went up to Mr. Chan & asked him about the wrong tables being set up, he rudely DENIED the fact that that he had set up the wrong area of the restaurant!! He brushed my shoulder as he stormed off & walked away from me... strike 2. We arrived with our wedding party before 5pm and my dinner was planned for 6:30p. I only had 15 tables total of guests/family and I asked if he could do the right thing and set up the 15 tables in the back of the restaurant before my guests arrived... He said NO! My wedding party offered to help the waitstaff move the table settings for the 15 tables and Mr. Chan said NO! I spoke to multiple members of his staff and they were all willing to make it right but Mr. Chan would not allow it! We witnessed members of his staff telling him that he is doing the wrong thing & he argued with his staff in front of me and my family!! Rude. Unprofessional. Awful. A few of my family members confronted him and he ADMITTED that he does not remember offering me the back of the restaurant and he did not "make note of it in his book"!! He also said that he had given away my reserved space to a group of Chinese tourists who all then arrived in tour buses!!!!! Over 100 tourists had to enter the restaurant and parade past me and all my guests to get to the area in the back of the restaurant (which was originally reserved for our wedding).... strike 3. My family had to ASK him and TELL him that he needed to set up partitions so that we could have some privacy as multiple tourists were taking pictures of me and my guests!!.... strike 4. I also noticed 16 tables instead of 15 tables were set up and I mentioned this to Mr. Chan as I did not want to be charged an extra table's worth of food. His response in Chinese: "What's it matter? You still have what you need!". I told him I didn't want the kitchen staff to make more food than necessary & I didn't want to get charged extra. He shook his head as if I was bothering him and waved me to go away.... strike 5. We dropped off our own beer/liquor at the restaurant the night before so it could get chilled for our dinner. When we arrived to the restaurant, we noticed that the cases of beer we brought in the day before were NOT CHILLED and were all sitting in boxes on the dance floor?!?!... strike 6. They weren't even on tables!! I bet the health department would not be ok with drinks being placed on the floor. I confronted Mr.Chan about that as they were about to serve warm beer to my guests & he yelled at the waitstaff to ice all the beer. Yes, he yelled at his staff in front of my guests & family!! The waiters brought out folding tables with tupperware bins filled with ice for the beer. They set up these tables on the dance floor!! I asked him where my guests were going to dance now? I told him if they had chilled the beer as promised the night before or even that morning then this would not be an issue! Mr. Chan said "there was no room in the refrigerator"?!? I told him if he was unable to chill the beer then he should have never told us that he could do it. I told him he had an obligation to tell me the truth instead of misleading me that it would be taken care of. The food was ok. Although, they did skimp on my bird's nest dish which was supposed to be made of taro (I specifically asked for it), they made it with egg noodles instead!... strike 7. We had to ask 3-4 times for take out containers to be given to my guests before they actually got them... strike 8. They also tried to keep the rest of my wedding cake.. until my maid of honor told them to please box it up!!.. strike 9. When it was time to tally the bill at the end of the night, Mr.Chan sat annoyingly with his legs wide open, pounded his hand on the table and said "let's just get this done!"... STRIKE 10!! I would not recommend going here.
(1)Sharon C.
I'm an Taiwanese, who misses dim sum restaurant and haven't gotten a chance to have any in the states to have it. Today I went with my husband and his family (one of them is a regular). Got seated very quickly. And got pretty good speed of carts going around. Everything went great. Servers are not as described as other users. They are all friendly and smiled. I would go back again definitely!
(5)Spike T.
They serve Dim Sum off of carts... the traditional way. The place is huge, the selection is extremely varied. May be the best Dim Sum in Boston. Be aggressive and ask the Cart Ladies to show you everything they've got under every lid of every steamer. They'll do it. They'll respect you for it. Fried, Pan Fried, Steamed, Baked... they've got a dumpling stuffed with something you'll like. Sit back and wait for service and the carts will just pass you by. Don't be a wimp, stop 'em and get what you want... you'll be glad you did. Perfect way to start your Saturday or Sunday.
(4)Sofia Z.
I have been to almost all dim sum places in Boston, and being somebody from southern China, I am always raise an eyebrow when I try these "Americanized" dim sum places. But Hei La Moon, is home. I am surprised that it only has 3 and a half stars, and it certainly does not do it justice. Everything I've tried is delicious, and their services are always fast and friendly. To top it off, it is soooooo cheap! I love it! I even got my fiance to love chicken feet, which is unthinkable for him. Woo hoo!
(5)Lau F.
Excellent fresh Cantonese food. The dim sum is excellent. Very busy especially lunchtime and weekends. Parking garage available at reduced rate.
(5)Scott S.
Food was just ordinary. And, I couldn't get over the fact that when I walked in the door, a whole bunch of us were standing at the entrance unattended and wanting seats, while this chubby maitre d sat at the front table stuffing her face and ignoring us. Really bad way to run a business.
(2)Jennifer L.
My favorite dim sum place in boston . The service is not consistent, but the food is pretty good.
(5)Fay L.
Great variety and always busy on the weekends. There is a great variety in types of dishes offered and the classic ones that I order are always good. There are two floors, so you know the food turnover is high and always fresh when the carts come around.
(4)Philip P.
This place is the best Dim Sum place I have found since The Nice Restaurant in NYC got closed for stealing tips (tsk tsk). Be sure to get there early as the place (like most Dim Sum places) fills up around noon.
(5)Joyce H.
Yum! Came here for a wedding banquet on Saturday night. This venue is amazing. They know how to feed 500 people a 10-dish banquet very efficiently. My favorite dishes included the very fresh seafood, including the abalone and lobster. Everything else was also fairly solid with good flavor. We came here the next day for dim sum, and it was also pretty solid - we ordered mostly seafood small plates. I'm not an expert in dim sum but I know that it was fresh and the flavor was good! I left pretty satisfied and feeling pretty good. I would definitely come back for dim sum to try it again!
(4)Wei W.
So apparently Sunday night banquets are a norm at Hei La Moon, especially when the date is fortuitous for all. At least that was the case for the baby banquet I had attended - we were seated next to a wedding reception (which thankfully had temporary walls separating us from that group) and regular dinner guests. The downstairs was being fully utilized that September evening as well for a second wedding reception - there was so much confusion as to which event was located where that I was surprised that guests of every which party found their way to their respective locations. But of course this is the chaos that ensues at any Asian restaurant that boasts two floors of seating space. The food wasn't too bad for how many people were being served - we had 11 courses, starting with the red-dyed hard-boiled eggs and ending with a bowl of warm red bean soup. The chicken, fish, rice, noodle, and bird's nest dishes were pretty flavorful, despite the large order that had been placed for our banquet alone. Our waitress was quite entertained by our table, and often had a good laugh whenever she brought out the next dish, as we would often cheer her on for the incoming plate of food. It helped greatly that we had an unending supply of Heineken distributed to our table - perhaps it was this and singing along to "Gangnam Style" playing in the adjacent wedding reception that made dinner bearable.
(3)Brian R.
Don't eat the dim sum at night. They hauled it out if the fridge and it was either cold or the pork in the sui Mai was raw.
(1)Manya C.
Hmm, if a group is going to eat dim sum in Boston, maybe u could come here. Enjoy the happiness but not hold high expectations on the food.
(3)Handsome R.
Robert Irvine {from 'Restaurant Impossible'} where are you? This place needs your help! Yes, it's HUGE but everything is outdated. I wonder which is older, the carpet on the floor or the waiters uniform. Also, the bathrooms are dark and dingy so what does that tell you about the food. It's tells you that if you want to cleanse yourself all day in the toilet, this is the place.
(2)Kristina N.
Good dim sum, big enough for any party size ever. I think this one is currently my family's favorite.
(4)Laris L.
The lady at the cashier was very rude. Dinner sucked. The food was nowhere near neighboring restaurants' like Jumbo Seafood and Taiwan Cafe. They were pretty poor Chinese food. And not only was the food not good, the lady would make personal attacks on you if you ever complained. She had no manners at all! I just left with anger. It was a pretty poor experience. They don't accept feedback.
(1)John W.
A group of friends and I went here for dim sum recently. If you are into dim sum it's excellent. It was Chinese New Year but they did an excellent job in serving us. I also went here for my birthday last year. Great fried rice, great noodles....hey....everything is good. They have to be one of the best restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)Brian C.
This is one of the best if not the best dim sum place in Boston. Hei la moon is conveniently located between Chinatown and South Station and is easily accessible from the T whether you take the orange line to Chinatown or the green line to Bolyston. The restaurant is spacious so I never had to wait for a table even during the peak hours of dim sum. The waiters are very attentive and always nearby if you ever need anything and the carts are always constantly moving so you'll get to see all the delicious dishes that the restaurant has to offer. Some of the best appetizers offered in the carts include the shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and lo bat gow which is turnip cake dipped in oyster sauce. The beef tripe is also very enticing here and the best compared to other nearby dim sum restaurants. Even if you don't know how to speak Chinese fluently, you can easily point to the foods that you want because everything in the cart is very visible. If you want a dish that isn't offered in the carts, i would recommend the seafood lo mein because you get a combination of shrimp, scallops, and calamari which all taste savory. The food here normally tastes fresh compared to restaurants that are nearby. Overall the atmosphere is tremendous and its good for both big and small groups. The prices were better than i expected; eating at Hei la moon is worth every penny and definitely a restaurant you will want to eat at again.
(5)William D.
I was in Boston for the weekend, visiting some friends, and they never had dim sum and wanted to try it. I told them they are missing out, and they should look up dim sum places. Hei La Moon popped up on their search. This place has good dim sum, but the service is not great. When we arrived, there was a long wait. People were waiting outside. It seemed we would be waiting a while for table, but when I went to inquire, the hostess said it would be about 15 minutes, and to take a number. So we stood outside, hearing the hostess calling out numbers. After about 20 mins, we stopped hearing numbers being called. We thought all the tables were filled. That was not the case. A person went inside and found out they decided to stop calling numbers. Thanks for not notifying anyone Hei La Moon! When we entered, we were seated pretty quickly. The dishes we had were great. The buns, dumplins, etc., were all amazing. However, the service was very slow. It took us a very long time to be served by a cart when we first arrived. Also, some of the ladies pushing the carts would skip our table if they believed it would be something a non-Chinese person would not like. I didn't like that at all. Overall, it was a good experience. I would go back, but when it was not so busy. If you are in Boston and want to have dim sum, Hei La Moon is not a bad option.
(3)Brenda T.
I downed 8 dumplings in 30 minutes - It was no easy feat but I had limited time before a business appointment a few T stops away. It was worth it! The shrimp dumpling wrapper was thicker than I prefer, but I loved every bite of the siu mai (pork dumpling) -- large, juicy and plump. So flavorful you don't need soy sauce, just a dip in the chili sauce if you like spice. I also tried a new dim sum dish -- chicken, pork, black mushroom and taro root stuffed inside of tofu skin and braised. It was interesting and my favorite part was the starchy taro root and mushroom. I'm bringing a friend next time so we can dive into the xa xiu bao (buns with bbq pork). Fresh dim sum on a weekday? Yes, please. I don't get this option in Atlanta.
(4)Damien S.
Shocking Confessions of a Yelp CM: I've never had dim sum. I mean, I've had it, but not from the bumper cart system: stainless feasts on wheels passing every potential consumer with scandalous taunts and bakery case appeal, only to have their featured plates dished off to voracious mouths in an endless cascade of dumplings, sweet breads and bamboo baskets. My dim sumginity was taken on sweaty flash on a blustery Saturday morning at Hei La Moon, and it was quite the experience. Steamed and baked carts grabbed me by the giblets, as my unnatural fear of traveling fried foods keep me from some of the more exotic options. Pork, shrimp, mushrooms and scallions, in varying degrees and volumes, occupied most of the large, dense shumai and dumplings. A little smear of pepper relish and a dip in vinegar (Blair H sez "Soy is like white dude ketchup"), those puppies are good to go. Check the eye/stomach ration - even at a buck a pouch, three will fill you up something serious. The winner of the day came late, but oh so appreciated: baked char sui bao, or minced BBQ pork buns. Sweet pork in a tender, yeasty breading brushed and browned with salty butter - had I started with these mounds of ecstacy, I'd only have eyes for the piping hot baked goods. After our feast with unlimited tea, the damage was a whopping $10pp. Stupid cheap eats in a massive complex of chaos, chicken feet and carpeting. Bring the kids! No seriously, bring the kids - they'll get a balloon.
(4)Diana L.
Nooo! I love dim sum. I get it with my boyfriend. A lot of the dishes here were cold, or bad, or both (whatta combo). Shrimp shumai were *fine*, actually the spiced pork buns were quite good, egg rolls were incredibly greasy and cold, rice wrapped in green bamboo (?) was inedible, shrimp in rice noodle was fine, and apparently tripe and chicken feet were good (I don't eat them though). Another dish that I usually order was wildly bad here. Had dim sum in NYC and Montreal and this was the worst experience of the 3 in terms of food quality by faar.
(2)Betty C.
Excellent dim sum and banquet food for the masses. A popular spot for weekend goers, locals and tourists. Great lobsters!
(4)Lotus M.
The sad thing about this place is that some of the food is actually good...however the service is downright dishonest. For starters, I'm not a fan of the "what do I have to order to get...."; I wanted what I ordered. When I opened my takeout it was filled with onions and a deviation of what I had ordered, a huge deviation. My shrimp-stuffed tofu was nothing of the sort but rather a soupy mess of burnt hard tofu pieces with no shrimp in sight. Now, I have ordered the aforementioned in the past and it was quite good, however it seems on this occasion the chef decided to give me the end of the night's scraps rather than just say the kitchen was closing and he/she couldn't fill my orderl. To make matters worse, they overcharged me and when confronted about it said they would give me a "discount", which took my bill to the price it should have been originally--plus 20 cents. Overall, this place does have great dim sum, but I would avoid it at all costs for anything else, as they clearly try to take advantage of people who they think know nothing about Chinese food. Especially, with Chinese food being something I am well-versed in. Bottomline is, raw unions in water does not equal curry chicken with vegetables.
(1)Nikhil M.
I think that I need to write a bad review after my experience. I came to yelp before going here and felt excited about this place. Let me start out with the food: Mediocre and definitely not worth the price. I am not a snobby food eater, and I am telling you, its mediocre. **Disclaimer is that I did not come for the dimsum, as I came on a Tuesday evening, so my family ordered from the menu. My experience could be totally different if I came at dimsum time. Second point. The service.... was awful. Apathetic rude and awful waiter. Our appetizers come without any sauces, and we ask for sauces and it looks like we asked him to travel to china for them. He also gets our entree order wrong. There was no silverware at the table. There were no chairs, and we are standing around the table waiting for one of them to pull up chairs, even though the place had plenty of tables with 4 chairs. They dont bring out our silverware even after the appetizers come. He forgets that I ordered a beer and charged me for one but I never got it. I order lobster. The lobster arrives at my table with no lobstershell cracker thing. I pull off the tail and eat that part but its straight up impossible to eat the claws without a cracker. So I ask for one and the guy is sulking and unapologetically sarcastic. Positive note: The schezuan duck was quite fantastic. Also, you definitely have to order their bok choy. We got it in garlic sauce and its solid. Overall: Do not come here for any expectation of service whatsoever.They have some good dishes but overall, its mediocre.
(1)Cassie C.
They don't serve fried items in the evening but overall the food was very nice.
(5)David C.
Hei La Moon (not to be confused with Howl at the Moon, which is what at least half the people I've told about it since first dining have confused it with) has quickly become one of my favorite spots in Chinatown. That it technically exists outside the Chinatown gates is beside the point. The last time I went, my friends and I hadn't even gotten to sit down in our chairs when three separate people descended upon us with carts carrying what seemed like countless dim sum delicacies. Waiters were also quick with water and requests for various sauces. Sometimes, things happen TOO quickly at Hei La Moon. You really need to know how to pace yourself, otherwise you will be stuffed to the gills in no time flat. Be warned: the food is so good (I want more steamed pork buns ASAP), you may forget to breathe between bites.
(5)Heoun Joo K.
Good taste, not much in the way of service, do not expect to communicate freely in English.
(3)Devika S.
We ate here twice in July 2012 and the dim sum was delicious! The pork buns, turnip cake, and various dumplings were among the best I've ever had in the US. Highly recommended!
(5)Catherine W.
Returned on a busy Sunday for dim sum. Food was better than I remembered from my last meal there. All the standards tasted great. The cooked to order fried foods (fried radish cake and fried rice noodles) took forever to cook though.
(3)Charles G.
This is the best Dim Sum restaurant in Boston. There are a large number of varied and interesting selections. The place is usually packed and there is a line out the door on Sunday mornings. It is also chaotic and you should not be shy about flagging down the ladies with the carts. I would also add that the selection is not consistent. I love their sticky rice but its not always there. It is a bit of catch as catch can.
(4)Bryan B.
Great dim sum. Teapot was a little dirty though. Had sesame balls, sticky buns, rice and chicken cake, tofu wraps and pork shumai, all delicious.
(4)Criselle O.
This place is super huge... two large floors. Geez. Hmm... we were seated pretty quickly and got our food super fast... & it was a sunday too!! Everything was on point. Cheap and good food. Just how I like it. The only thing I didn't like was that it took days for us to find a waiter to get us some water. Plus they seated us next to the door and it was freezing cold. Not cool man.
(4)Leo C.
Hei La Moon is one of the best dim sum places in the Boston area, with good value. It's roomie, offers up very tasty eats, and as my friends have called it, it's "Legit Dimsum!" I highly recommend coming to eat here. Since my first visit to Boston, I've been here three times now. Everytime, the quality of food has been consistently good. I would not hesitate to come back here again if I'm in Boston and looking for dimsum. One caveat that I'd like to throw out here though - yes the staff can seem aloof and sometimes mean. That's not grounds for taking stars off... that's just how these restaurants are! Sorry to go on a rant here, but folks, let's be fair and compare the right comps. :) Eat on!
(4)Alyssa J.
I've eaten a lot of dim sum in my time and I don't think I've had a more erratic dim sum experience than at Hei La Moon. The food was pretty standard, although it did make one of my co-workers barf. The pork buns are delicious, the chicken feet....were not. The people working there were completely out to lunch (get it?) and wandered over to our table pretty sporadically. It's definitely not the best dim sum joint in Chinatown, but it'll do.
(3)Sami B.
I would rate it less if that was possible. Horrible service, disgusting food. I will never return.
(1)Rona H.
Went on a Sunday around 11 with my friend and was immediately seated in the basement. The room was mostly busy, and the push carts were being pushed up and down the aisles. I am not Asian enough to know the names of the dishes that I ate; I can only point to what I want. I do know that we ordered 6 dishes and paid $27. Some dishes were good, and some were just okay, but for the value and the experience (this restaurant is the biggest one I've seen in Boston), I can't complain too much. The waiters and waitresses' English were okay depending on the individual, but it's all a part of the Chinatown experience I think :). Despite this, most of them had smiles on their faces, which was greatly appreciated. Our water glasses were re-filled constantly. I will return when in the mood for more dim sum :).
(5)Chryssandra B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I still can't tell how I feel about it. I think we arrived at a weird time -3:00 on a Sunday- and it seemed like the carts were slowing down. We had no idea what we were doing or what we were eating (one cart lady told me something was beef--it was absolutely not. pretty sure it was tripe) and no one could really tell us exactly what the status was with the pork buns- were more coming out or did we need to order them? very confusing. All the other reviewers seemed pretty ticked about the service, but that didn't really bother us. At the end of the day the food was okay and it was insanely cheap- I think we got about 10 things and only paid 40$. I think I need to read up before I go back, but would try it again!
(3)Amy L.
When my friends and I feel like eating dim sum, this is one of our usual places. Food is good and we usually don't have to wait long to get a table. Dim sum restaurants on weekends get incredibly crowded, but this place is so big that even when they're busy, you can still get seated quickly. I've also been to a couple of weddings here, so if you're looking to have a Chinese wedding banquet, this is a good place for that.
(4)Alyssa W.
Blech. The only thing this place has going for it, is that it is one of the few chinese restaurant that can cater to wedding banquets. The food tonight was nothing great. Everything was super salty or just boring. The waiters...useless. I don't even know where to begin. The table cloth was grungy, the plates were dirty. We wanted water and got a pitcher...and then the pitcher had something in it. EW. I think I'll go elsewhere.
(1)Xiao Z.
Best Dim Sum in the Boston Chinatown, hands down. The variety is superb and the price very reasonable and I love the taro root fried cakes and they're always freshly made in front of you. If you're new to Chinatown and have never tried Dim Sum, then definitely come here. The food is fresh, constantly brought to you by the minute and will not understand a word you say, no matter what you point to. Dim sum: 5 stars Service: 2 stars Ambiance: 2 stars
(4)Matt L.
About average. Prices are alright. No substitution for dim sum in China, but good enough. The èåœç³• (turnip cake) has kind of a weird consistency those who are regular eaters may be taken aback a little.
(3)Casey F.
Hadn't had Dim Sum in quite a while.. who knew it would be in Boston's Chinatown when I did.. This place was great.. cart after cart after cart.. so much good food.. needless to say I left a fat and happy man!
(4)Vee K.
Not much of a wait except weekend lunches. Decent Dim Sum even for Hong Kong palette. Friendly folks. Definitely recommend T-ing to South Station and walking over. Oh - and get some take out cuz you will want another char siu bau when you get home.
(4)Mary M.
Food was decent but the service was really pretty terrible. We had to flag them down (and we hate doing that) but after waiting a very long time for them to come to us we felt we had no choice. When the server finally came he was abrupt and not helpful. Bathrooms were also disgusting. I'd find somewhere else for dinner.
(2)Pxan N.
Today we attended Hei La Moon for a friend's wedding. We paid $8 for a discounted parking ticket that did not work. The extremely rude man at the garage told us to exchange the ticket for a new one. After running inside the restaurant, I encountered a Chinese man with a nasty attitude that refused to exchange the ticket for a new one, stating that this is the first he has ever heard of this. I could not persuade him any other way, and he told me I have to pay again. So, one of the bride's family member had to pay for another ticket as I left my wallet and phone in the car, unable to contact my boyfriend to come into the restaurant. It absolutely annoys me to come onto yelp and to see - lo and behold - there is a post from another yelper written just last week for the same situation that occurred to us. Such dishonesty from the owner! It didn't help that the man at the garage was extremely rude to my boyfriend because he kept rushing my boyfriend to back up the car in such a cramped up garage so that other cars could have access to the gate. You know something funny...? When you feed the discounted ticket into the machine, it stays in the machine. It does not come out again where you can pass the ticket to someone else to reuse. There's no possible way that can happen. I had proof of the defected ticket in my hand... oddly that Chinese owner just didn't believe me. Sighh.
(1)Karina L.
If you're craving for dim sim, you're not going to have many options in Boston. Hei La Moon is very solid. The service is questionable (e.g.: it'll take you eons to get a glass of water, and when it does the glass is teeny tiny), but I dare you to find a dim sum place that doesn't have rushed and impersonal service. It's the nature of dim sum, I swear! The ground floor is big, but not big enough to necessitate patrolling the floor for your favorite goodies. My favorite part about dimsum is getting the food IMMEDIATELY after you sit down, and Hei La Moon did not disappoint. The cart ladies are efficient and maybe a little bit aggressive. The traditional dim sum delicacies - shu mai, har gow (shrimp dumplings) cha siu bao (pork buns), chicken feet, spare ribs, and sticky rice in lotus leaf (not sure what to call this in Chinese) -- are all solid. My only complaint is that I didn't see a dessert cart (egg tarts, where art thou?), and some carts took a long time to come out of the kitchen. We came here on a Saturday around noon time, and we were seated pretty quickly so I wouldn't worry about time/being seated.
(4)Linda W.
I was originally going to round up to 3 stars for the nostalgia aspect but honestly when factoring the annoying service even for a restaurant in chinatown (frustration with the cart rotation, inattentive staff, and servers peering down your shoulder until you've finished signing the credit card receipt) it 's hard to justify a better rating. This place used to be a family favorite years ago along with Empire Garden which have contributed to a handful of early morning happy memories. Unfortunately the quality of the food here has gone down... quite noticeably. The chicken feet (my personal favorite!) aren't steamed long enough leaving them with a strange and bland overly chewy texture. Beef noodles seemed overcooked and were almost cold when reached the table. Sauce is meh. Maybe I'm biased but the sauce for the beef noodles at Winsor (a few streets down) is just straight up delicious.... Definitely leaves more to be desired. On the upside, I do like the ha gao (shrimp dumplings) but definitely not enough to excuse the mediocrity of all the other dishes. :( What happened Hei La Moon?
(2)Susan Z.
Came here on a weekday for the first time -- and there's still cart service! They're less busy (obviously) and the customer service was great. They were friendly and got us whatever we asked for, even if it wasn't on the carts that were coming around. It's relatively cheap - with tip and special-order tea, it came to about $15 a person for more than enough food to fill you up. The quality of the dim sum is still, I believe, the best in Boston. We also recently came with a large group of 26 on a Sunday. Luckily we made a reservation, and everyone had a good time. Would only suggest that they put a lazy Susan on the table next time, but otherwise they were very accommodating to our large group and the wait staff were very nice.
(5)Eunice E.
I really enjoy dim sum, and especially dim sum from Hei La Moon. I've tried other places in Chinatown (NYC) and Flushing, and there's just something about this place that does it for me. Maybe it's the garish red and gold all over the place; maybe it's the old ladies who push the carts around who yell at me in Cantonese when I speak not a lick of it; maybe it's the AMAZING TURNIP CAKE CART... okay, it's probably all the above. I love it all. I like to go with Chinese speakers (specifically, Canto Chinese speakers) because I don't really know how to order there besides pointing and praying nothing is made with crab. I also like to order a nice hot pot of tea ("cha"--the one word I can say since it's the same in Korean) to go with my dim sum. And I'm always impressed with the swiftness with which these people calculate our tab. Be sure to flag down the people in the red vests--they're the ones who do it, not the ones in the black vests. Anyway, definitely a winner in my book, and any time I'm in the mood for dim sum, I'll be sure to hop on the Red, get off at South Station, and walk on over to this little Chinatown gem.
(4)Gray L.
Do not come here Saturday nights. We have been waiting for our food for over an hour. We didn't even get our drinks (two cokes). The table next to ours got fed up and finally left. When we asked how much longer we have to wait, the waiter told us to wait 20 more minutes without an apology. I will never ever return.
(1)Erica D.
Very good dim sum! I grew up eating dim sum in Boston's Chinatown. Our oldest haunt closed many many yrs ago and China Pearl makes you order off of cards and it all comes at once! No fun!!!! Hei la moon is still the traditional roaming carts with nice but curt ladies. The offerings are plentiful but you may have to work a bit to get them. Trying to chase carts can be frustrating so I say flag down a server in the vest and ask for what you want. It's not a guarantee but better than the first option. The place is huge!!! Two floors and they do cram us in there. The carts do pass by but can't always get to all the tables. I am not Chinese but have never felt punished for this. Yes they do tend to send lots of people downstairs but it's always mixed clientele on both levels. I have started asking to be upstairs if it's only 2-4 of us but if we are here with a big group, who cares!!! Food is all the same up or down. One can eat a ton and have great fun for very little $$ Eat at noon or after and you don't have to eat again all day!! The crowds do thicken around 12:30 on so if you want less hassle and quicker seating make it an earlier start. 9-12 is easier! All in all good fun dim sum.
(4)Jenna K.
So I'm American and I still love this place. I don't speak any other language than English, but I don't find that to be a problem here. There are certain restaurants where there is definitely a language barrier. Note that if you do not want to share your table with 4 random strangers, this is not the place for you. I was taken off guard the first time this happened to me so fair warning. The seating is mostly communal so be prepared to make some new friends. Food: Great. I love everything they have. The only problem is they are out of things quite frequently. I would not go into this place thinking you must have that one dish because chances are they are going to be out. If you want some awesome dim sum this is your place. Price: It does not get cheaper than this place. Dim sum 24/7 and two people can eat and feel stuffed for 15 bucks. Service: Slow and very impersonal but that is kind of how it is.
(4)Catrina W.
One of the worse dim sum place I have ever had... Very bad customer service and very mediocre food. Dun have beverages except the foundation drink. It took them 15 min to cook some dim sum, and after rushing the order, the food delivered was not fully cooked...!!!?
(2)Jared H.
Old school dim sum is one of my favorites and Hei La Moon does it well. I always would go to dim sum in NYC and had not tried to find a place in Boston. A friend took me here and I have been going ever since. They do dim sum everyday from 8-3pm. It is the traditional dim sum that is wheeled around on carts and you pick what you want and the person stamps your check. I was used to going just on weekends in NYC but now I can even get dim sum for weekday lunch. The place gets crowded on weekends from around 10am-2pm so if you don't want a loud, busy environment, check it out on a weekday. The shu mai, shrimp dumplings, and slippery shrimp are my favorites. The staff speaks a decent amount of english and was helpful.
(5)Ha-Young K.
Personally, I am huge fan of Chinese food. My friends and I decided to come to Chinatown for some sightseeing and dimsum. So we came here. In the beginning when we entered the restaurant, it was very nice and the aura had a golden sort of warmish feel to it, with which I was very comfortable. My friends and I were all Asian, a few Chinese, so the waiter immediately began to speak in rapid Chinese, which sort of threw me off. However, after we sat down, the service was quite terrible. The food was okay, but I discovered that I was not a fan of Chinese cuisine. Since that was more my personal preference, I decided to just sit and smile and be polite. I was then eating part of a dish, but then found a hair in it. Okay so that happens, but I decided to not leave a tip because frankly it was disgusting. But when we were paying the bill, when I did not to write a tip amount on the receipt before giving it back to the cashier, who to my surprise just returned my receipt and said "Tip: $7.13". I was a bit thrown off and so were the rest of my friends. After a short silence I said "Why?" just to be responded with "You forgot." Since there was a long line and everything was overall hectic, I wrote the amount down and returned to my seat. Then I got bad digestion for the next 2 days. Definitely not going again.
(1)Margaret J.
Good, but not great. Not a lot of vegetarian options and the waiters were very hard to understand. Wish they had custard buns. But the food was good and our primary waiter was very nice. I just like the places where you can check off what you want.
(3)Jeff F.
Literally (literally) the busiest and most organized food chaos I've ever seen. Dim sum on a weekend morning is like the Chinatown DMV and Gourmet Dumpling House rolled into a two story, 3,000 square foot arena. Complete with microphone and thrown-elbows. Food is great if you're willing to point and eat (it comes around on carts without explanation). Best bet is to go with a Chinese friend and/or practice your elbow-throwing, Chinese-accented-American-name-calling identification skills. Try the taro root bun cake ( img.photobucket.com/albu… ). And thank me later.
(4)Shiri Y.
Wonderful dim sum lunch. Great variety. Everything was really great. On Sunday get there before 11 and there's no line
(5)Craig N.
Incredibly friendly service. We have 3 kids and most of the staff went out of their way to make them comfortable. Food was great. Only minor complaint was not enough carts. We were downstairs so may have more carts upstairs
(4)Jiyea C.
I was torn on how many stars to give Hei La Moon. I've been here on multiple occasions, and when I want dim sum, I usually end up here as it has two floors of seating (meaning no wait every time I've been here). The dim sum isn't amazing but it takes care of the craving, and I'm a fan of the small plates/family style of eating. This past weekend, we decided to get an order of the chinese broccoli. We had gone through half of it when I discovered a ladybug sitting in the broccoli. EW! One of the waiters gave us a choice of a replacement OR taking it off of our bill. I honestly thought BOTH of those things should have happened WITH an apology, but alas, this is Chinatown and expectations regarding service should be realistic(ally low). On top of that, my dining companion did not wish for me to make a fuss about it (he said "at least it's not a cockroach..." really?!) ugh. Needless to say, this definitely curbed my appetite for the rest of the meal, and I will hesitate before coming here again. I think a search for a new dim sum spot is in order.
(2)Julie M.
Super DimSum place :-) A friend took me there while visiting Boston and we had an awesome time for a fair price. The place is packed and noisy but the food and service are great.
(4)Maria R.
Don't come here if you are a vegetarian. Everything has pork, even if you ask and they tell you of doesn't. My tofu rolls were filled with pork. Also, just not very good in general, in terms of desserts, which was the only thing I could eat.
(1)Peter Y.
My favorite dim sum place in Boston. I make it a goal to go at least once a week. It's not too friendly for morning hangovers though, because their food tends to lean a bit on the greasy side. Anyways, they have a huge selection of different dim sum, and you're almost guaranteed something you like. The pricing is fair, and the dim sum as good as it gets (at least for Boston).
(4)Big B.
A better place than nyc dim sum place. Their food is more tasty and authentic. Worth a try but not to go regularly.
(3)Victoria P.
Managed to get a table on the main floor, but at a table hidden by a column so there wasn't much cart traffic flowing through. For the food we actually managed to get, it was just okay. The deep fried whole shrimp was the best thing I had - fried perfectly and very flavorful. Other than that, I prefer dim sum at China Pearl - I always get what I want and it's been consistently delicious.
(2)Ailynda W.
The food was good. Cheap. Service was not attentive at all. Dirty plates, cups, bathroom. They are very busy during lunch time eventhough on weekday. I gave 4 stars only to food and price.
(4)Brian L.
Solid dim sum spot, probably in contention for top in Chinatown along with Chau Chow City. Got here fair early just before 10 on a Saturday, and it was not very crowded. Brags (+): Tasty, well-put together dishes that aren't really greasy or fall-aparty (a word, fyi). We got the shumai, fengzhao (chicken feet), taro sticky rice, congee, and shrimp changfen. They also had come sort of milky dessert dish served from a watermelon, which I've actually never seen before. Beats (-): Service ain't that great... but then again, I've never gotten good service at a dim sum place in my 20+ years of eating it, so vying for the wait staff's attention is just part of the experience as far as I'm concerned. As for the food, my only complaint was that the changfen had too much noodle in relation to the shrimp. Variance (~): As is typical in getting dim sum, the cart-ladies are constantly pushing food in your face. Good if you're hungry, maybe slightly annoying once you're full.
(4)Anne W.
Their dimsum has improved.. yes, they have tons of seating so it's ideal for the large parties. But.. this last time I went there.. we uncovered a bug that was sitting on the table... dead. Euw. We told the waiter.. basically he scooped it up before I can snap a picture on my phone. He refused to do anything about it until we complained for 15 minutes. They took some money off our bill.. but that's typical Chinese. Sigh.
(2)Kai L.
Very bad service, especially the cashier. We brought my 82 year old mom to eat and they gave us a table in second floor. We asked them to switch the table to the first floor. They refused with an attitude. Who wants to go back there.
(1)Silver L.
Hei la Moon is great for Dim Sum. I really really love the pork buns. We usually go on Sunday morning. It gets crowded!!! Service is fast. The main entrance is not wheelchair accessible, however they will direct persons in wheelchairs to a seldom used side entrance or they will offer to carry you and your chair in the main entrance. Chinatown, the North End and much of Boston lacks wheelchair accessibility,so they are no better or worse than others. Food is superb!!!!
(4)Kristina N.
I've eaten here three times. Because the place is huge, there is usually not a wait. The food is good and decently priced. I order at least 8 dishes if it's just myself and another friend because we want to try different things. If I'm with a party of 4 (including myself) we order at least 10-15 dishes. Good staples are the sticky rice in tea leaf, spare ribs, any of the many dumplings, the shrimp in noodle, and the bean curd-wrapped pork and shrimp dish. For Boston, this dim sum place does quite well (but I am biased - lots of great dim sum places in New York which are cheaper and taste better!)
(3)Cody C.
I really want to like this place. All of my friend adore it. Two of my friends even had the Chinese side of their wedding here! But I've really got no love for this place. Every. Single. Time.... I get banished to the basement floor no matter how many times I ask to be at the ground level... and the options downstairs are really like 50% of what is offered upstairs. In the basement it's the same 5 carts pushing the same 8 items and that's it. Service blows pretty hard and on more than one occasion I've just gone over to the server station and picked up my own soy sauce. Once I was told that we couldn't have any chili sauce because they don't do that for dim sum... and I've never been offered vinegar. *sigh* The sunny side: The steamed char siu bao was nice and juicy. I'm sure I'll be back - but nothing in Chinatown (that I've tasted so far) will take my allegiance from Windsor Dim Sum Cafe. :)
(2)Joanna R.
When I was growing up, my father invited a couple of his Chinese business partners over for lunch on Sunday. The men would teach my mother how to cook some of the traditional Beijing dishes in addition to creating "beginner" chopsticks for my sister and me. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about Chinese food, but I felt like a novice when I tried dim sum a couple of years ago. My visit to Hei La Moon was my third time experiencing dim sum and it was by far my favorite so far. My friends and I went on Memorial Day, the place was buzzing but not overly crowded. We were seated immediately on the lower level and within 30 seconds we had our first round of dumplings. Most of the dumplings or shumai are filled with meat, pork or beef, or shrimp. So if you're a vegetarian definitely make sure you ask before diving in. One of my favorites (so hard to choose from!) was the sticky rice and meat wrapped in a lotus leaf. From the presentation to the taste, the dish hit the spot for me. I asked one of my friends at the table spent some time living in Shanghai and she didn't know the name for it. I'll just call it delicious. Another major perk- reasonably priced. For the amount of tasty food we consumed I felt like the bill should have been much higher. I'm not complaining and I will definitely return to try more new dishes!
(4)Deborah H.
Probably the best dim sum in the area, though my friend warns that if you go without Chinese people in the party, they will probably stick you in some drafty corner where the dim sum carts never go. Sadness. Had banquet-style dinner here and it was fine but nothing to write home about (I miss you, Congee Village). I will continue searching for a delicious Cantonese restaurant in Boston. The best-kept secret is probably the $6 validated parking that's good for 24 hours, even on the weekend!!
(3)Rose C.
Given the over-abundance of Asians, I had pretty high expectations for this place. Sadly it was pretty disappointing. The items were limited, it was the same items brought around and around. The push-cart ladies know it too, they' don't even stop at every table. I'm not sure if this has to do with the fact that we were shoved to the basement :( I read in another review that upstairs had more options, maybe I'll go back, hopefully I don't get pushed to the basement again. In general, the food were more greasy than your average dim sum. I thought the sticky rice, chicken feet, tripe, and the bean curd rolls were pretty good. The shrimp dumplings were disappointing though. The price was average for dim sum, we paid about $25 for the two of us. Is anything a "small" item anymore? The service was also average, the ladies could care less about you and had a hard time understanding both English and Mandarin.
(3)Art L.
Since I'm a New Yorker, I love comparing Boston Chinatown dim sum restaurants to those here in New York. What I can say is that Hei La Moon is very similar in quality to old-line Chinatown restaurants in New York, like Hop Shing and Delight 28 in the old core of New York's Chinatown. Everything is done in the old way which are thicker skins, thicker cheong fun, lot's of black beans in the chicken feet, heavy sauces, and just generally larger everything. This is not a negative but I see as an affirmation that old-style dim sum restaurants can survive into the 2000's. Hei La Moon is conveniently located just steps away from the T and from Boston's South Station. The dining room is large and cavernous with plenty of round tables but a few smaller tables for small parties. Service is pretty good and some dim sum cart ladies even speak English! The biggest plus in dining at Hei La Moon is despite the multitudes of people and tables, you will never feel crowded here as the tables are set apart far enough for comfort.
(3)Richard C.
"Hong Kong Quality Push Cart Dim Sum. One of the Best Dim Sum restaurants in Boston." Hei La Moon has above average quality dim sum for a US city. The huge basement dinning floor with push cart dim sum took me back to my time in Hong Kong. I've lived in Hong Kong, had dim sum countless times and would say that this is on par with Hong Kong dim sum, not the better than Hong Kong, but still very good for the US and Boston.
(4)Less H.
Now that I'm no longer a dim sum virgin I'm all over sticking all kinds of dim sum in my mouth. Seriously, dim sum get in mah belly! This time I went with a friend who speaks Mandarin. We let her order for us. This assured us of knowing what we were putting in our mouths. This seemed to take away from the adventure of Dim Sum but it was good to learn about the various fillings. The food was great. We were in the basement and through reading other reviews I hear that you really want to be upstairs. The carts come by pretty slowly and depending on where you sit you can end up with a lot of repeats. I tried a lot of new things and liked most of them. We ate so much food for not a lot of money. Really good.
(4)Krit P.
The best dim sum place in Boston!! More variety of foods. Better service. Reasonable price. Overall they are a lot better than their competitor across the street!
(5)Ashley A.
I've been eating dim sum since I sampled it at the Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York City in 1969. Back then, dim sum was hardly known -- a rare Asian delight. Today, dim sum is widely available. It's almost faddish for Chinese restaurants to offer it. I even had some in Madrid, Spain, under the headline "Tapas Chinos". It was horrid -- just microwaved frozen dim sum that was soggy and gelatinous. Fortunately, the half a dozen or so places in Boston's Chinatown that have dim sum are all pretty darn good. For me, that means: a wide variety of fresh offerings, without overlong delays, served steaming hot, with appropriate sauces as accompaniment, a tasty tea, and a reasonably clean bathroom. It's helpful if the place has the ability to accommodate a group of 12 or more -- since I sometimes entertain large parties. I've been to all of the dim sum places in Boston's Chinatown; Hei La Moon is at the top of my list. I have never been disappointed with soggy sui mai, tepid har ghow, cold chopped spare ribs in black bean sauce, or undercooked chicken feet. And there are always new items I've never tried to keep my taste buds hopping. I tend to go on Saturday or Sunday late morning or early afternoon -- at which time the place is crowded, but still with enough space to entertain a large group meal (usually downstairs). Service can slow some during the most crowded times -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- as it leaves time to actually enjoy and digest the food I've ordered before snarfing down new offerings from a passing cart. Prices are reasonable. I've also found the waitstaff to be more engaging and accommodating than in other dim sum places. But that could easily just have been the luck of the draw -- as there are easily 30 people working out on the floors at any one time.
(4)Geri V.
This dim sum place is the best I've been to in the Boston/china town area.. They don't have a huge variety but it's pretty decent and flavorful. The staff are pretty friendly and they try their best to get you what you want.
(4)Drew S.
The best dimsum in Chinatown on Saturday and Sundays! Try the crispy shrimp if they go by and order off the menu for some yummy vegetables. Can be hit or miss during the week in non peak times but weekends always blow me away.
(5)Amelia A.
His: Went late when it was after the peak of dim sum hours and it seemed as they were closing. Service was horrible. It was dirty. Food was okay not even that great. Hers: I've been here twice. The first time, I went with a bunch of girlfriends, and it was the typical dim sum experience - fun, continuous food, etc. We went on a weekend afternoon, and it was certainly busy, so lots of food came our way. My favorite is the shrimp wrapped in soft rice noodle (?). Also, the sweet, gingery tofu soup was really good too! The second time I came was incredibly disappointing. It made me embarrassed to give the idea of coming there for dim sum =/. We came after the typical hours of dim sum apparently - I wasn't aware dim sum had a particular time span because in NY, they seem to be operating all the time. The service was absolutely horrible. They hardly had any food, and what they did still have was just okay - most likely left overs. They were trying to clean the restaurant while there were still a few parties there. Needless to say the sound of a vacuum cleaner running around your table was super annoying. In conclusion, if you're going to go, make sure you go when everyone else does. Otherwise, you're going to have a bad experience.
(3)Stephanie S.
Came here on a weekday lunch (Friday at 1pm). We were seated on the main floor. Service: They didn't give us any tea, then sat a Chinese couple in front of us, and gave them a pot of tea. We had to ask 2 different people before we received a pot of tea minutes later. Some ladies pushing the cart were very difficult to understand, and others were easy. Food: Dim sum was pretty bad. The fried rice was almost cold. The vegetable spring roll had mushrooms inside and that's about it. They had many shrimp dishes, and no chicken. No chicken dumplings and no pork dumplings! What?! Every time they came around with the cart, it was the same stuff: more shrimp. The only thing that was good was the sesame ball which was filled with a lot of red bean paste. I would not come back here ever again for dim sum.
(2)Jessica B.
I've been to Hei La Moon a few times, today with a group of 15. As always, the food was delicious. Here's a few tips for first timers. If you are going on a weekend, avoid the noon rush and make a reservation for a large party. We went at 1:30 and did not have to wait for a table. When the carts come around indicate what you want and the server will add a stamp to your bill. After the meal they total the bill and did not include tip for us, so you need to add that on. They aggressively close at 3. The food carts really slow down around 2 so grab your food before then. If you don't see what you want, they will also let you order off the menu. I find Hei La Moon a little intimidating and usually go with my Chinese friend who knows what everything is. This is what I have tried so far. Sorry if I get any descriptions a little off, I'm a novice: Shrimp Hargow - Delicious shrimp in dumplings. Shrimp Chung Foon - Shrimp in pancakes with tasty sauce. Even better than Shrimp Hargow. Soybean Jello - This is scary, scary stuff. It's liquid tofu with ginger sauce. My husband likes tofu and ordered it and was a little surprised that it was so gooey. No one else at the table was too interested. Pan Fried Turnip Cake - These rule. They are liked fried mashed potatoes. Really delicious. I also had Chinese broccoli and a dish of something that looked like tofu but tasted like coconut. Both of these were delicious. I did not try a bowl of chopped up bones and meat that looked like vertebrae. I wonder what it was? The service is not particularly awesome, but the food is great and it's fun for something different.
(4)CJ N.
mmmm dumplings and buns.... Gahhhh.... Dim sum here in Boston's Chinatown is worth it. It's fresh, hot, fun, and flavorful. My first experience was under the tutelage and guidance of a Mandarin-speaking friend. She gave me insider info, which basically boiled down to - if it looks good, try it. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And - don't be afraid to turn something down politely. Bring friends and visitors to dim sum - it's a fun and good experience. The carts come by with great regularity, and feature all kinds of goodies, and some things that are meant only for Andrew Zimmern. Share various dishes with your group, tapas-style. Your cart server will mark your order slip. At the end, (when you've reached your point of actually turning into a stuffed bun), you pay at the front. Then you are free to walk around Chinatown and maybe walk up to Copley Square and catch a movie or walk in the park if the weather is good. Enjoy!
(5)Jen K.
So I came here on a weekday night after reading all the yelp reviews on how this is the best dim sum ever with the carts and everything...am I missing something?? Is dim sum with carts a weekend thing? Why did have I not received the dim sum memo?? The restaurant is absolutely massive, and we were the only ones there in a sea of tables with white table clothes. Kinda weird, haha, but the food was good and I ordered a few items from the dim sum menu. So I guess I'll have to go back on a Sunday to get the true dim sum experience
(4)Ambrose C.
Are you looking for some of the most fundamental dishes of Cantonese Chinese cuisine served in small dishes right here in Boston? This place may have your answer, and it has constantly been one of my primary choices in getting dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Cantonese morning meal. Please be aware that this place may not have the best dim sum (if you are comparing to New York, Toronto, and San Francisco) but I believe they can do a fine job. Here's my review on most of the dim sum dishes I have ordered and eaten during my most recent visits with family and friends. Siu Mai - Probably the plumpest pork dumplings I have found in a dim sum restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. Probably my favorite version of this dish, and I think they do a great job. Ha Gau - The shrimp dumplings are also fairly plump. Very soft exterior on the outside with a nice tenderness from the shrimp on the inside. Lo Mai Gai - The sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves are decently good, and I usually enjoyed the tender chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage inside. Lo Bak Go - The turnip cakes are cooked right in front of you, and have a slight crispiness on the outside, and a nice softness on the inside. It's not too oily, which is good. The dark sauce provided just makes the turnip cake even better. Cha Siu Bau - I usually get the steamed variety of the Roasted Pork Bun (white buns with a dark red opening on the top). It has a nice warm fluffiness on the outside and a good meaty flavor on the inside. A great choice if you want to start getting your stomach full. The baked variety (brownish gold buns) is not a bad choice, but does not have the nice and warm fluffiness. Ha Cheung Fun - The shrimp rice noodle roll is not a bad choice, did not have much shrimp, but the texture of the rice noodle and the flavor of the sauce was good. Sin Juk Guen - I do not have an English name for this, but this is usually called the Tofu Skin Roll. It's a great and tasty choice if you want a mouthful of a little tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and some bits of meat. Gam Chin Tou - This is steamed tripe made with a little garlic sauce and some oil. A good choice for a light appetizer. I really liked the texture. Wu Kok - The fried taro dumplings are pretty good. Liked the slight sweetness of the taro, and the outside was pretty crispy. So far, the dim sum has been tasty so far. I was with a group of probably 12 people on that day, we ordered 10+ dishes, and we only paid about $12 including tax and tip. Overall, this place will remain my primary choice for good dim sum especially when I am with my family or an entourage of friends. It is not my primary choice if I want a great Chinese dinner in Boston's Chinatown unless I need a lot space for a traditional Chinese banquet.
(4)Yue Z.
This is a review for the actual dinner food, not dim sum. I had to head for the restroom 5 minutes upon getting home. We came here for Chinese New Year dinner, as a part of a large group. We ordered all the same food banquet style, and had reservations beforehand. They waited almost an hour before serving anything, and even then brought the dishes out very slowly. The lobster was not fresh, neither was the fish. The fried chicken was super salty, the crab soup had way too much msg. The sweet and sour pork was very sweet...and sour with a ton of unhealthy sauce. The fried rice was super dry and the chow mein was more like soy sauce with limp noodles. The veggies were the typical cheap medley of carrots, broccoli, celery. And there's too much oil on everything. O, and they charged us $6 for a Tsingdao beer. Perhaps it's best to stick to their dim sum menu.
(1)Alex C.
Located just outside Chinatown in the Leather District, Hei La Moon used to have lengthy waits for weekend dim sum until they opened a basement level of the restaurant a few years ago. The reason for those lines will become immediately clear when you sit down to eat. The circulating carts serve up well made and delicious dumplings and buns in great variety, upwards of at least two dozen, with all the favorites (hargow, shiu mai, steamed pork buns, chive dumplings, etc) frequently showing up at your table. The restaurant is large, clean, always busy, very inexpensive and gets my vote for best dim sum in town.
(4)Ben P.
My dim sum prowess is not legendary, but I've been around the block a few times. I've ordered off the regular menu and dim sum menu and I liked the hot and sour soup, shrimp shu mai and any steamed bun the most. I really like the food (as do our out of town friends) but the service is a little stiff at times, although it is a gigantic restaurant. Just raise your hand like you are in class though and they will take care of you.
(4)Jeremy W.
Been coming to Chinatown since 1997 and over the years there have been many Dim sum places that have been my favorite. Since 2008, I've come to Hei La Moon consistently for Dim Sum and it's great every time. What people have to understand when they come here is that you have to get used to the culture here. If you are a first timer, you are going to be overwhelmed, ESPECIALLY if you are coming here with people who have not had the experience of a dim sum place. Be mindful!! Once you've graduated from rookie status, this place is a quick and delicious place to get dim sum. I usually get the same dishes every time and it has consistently been good. It's hard to order in english for me because I actually don't know the name of the dishes in english so I always order in Chinese. As a staple I get the pork steamed shu mai and the shrimp dumplings. This my bread and butter, and usually other people's as well. From there I get a variety of things- all super good. Remember, if you are coming here as a newbie be prepared to be VERY adventurous with the food you are going to try (you might not even know what it is inside at times). I recommend to BRING A FRIEND WITH EXPERIENCE (I recommend 5+ times for the best experience). It will really help. Nonetheless- go try this asian tradition here at Hei La moon. Fantastic place for dim sum and best in Chinatown at the moment.
(4)Monique S.
This was my first experience at any Dim Sum place. I had a blast. The carts kept coming. The tofu was quite good along with the dumpling in many dumplings. I do not even know what they were. But whatever they were, they were delicious. The space is huge. No one speaks English. Point and smile. They do not serve beverages. Bring one. They didn't really understand when we asked for water.
(4)Kelly O.
Finally I got a chance to experience a traditional dim sum meal, with someone in the know, and Hei La Moon was an excellent place to do it. We barely sat down before carts came by and we started feasting. Hei La Moon has pretty decent quality food IMO... I found their pork buns and hargau to be particularly good (better than most I've had, actually), but pretty much everything I ate was decently tasty with the exception of the sesame ball which was on the cold side and a major bummer (everything else seemed fresh and hot though). For 3 of us to be completely stuffed, we each paid $12 (which included tip). Insanely cheap for a filling, tasty meal. As with any traditional dim sum experience, you pretty much need to know what you're doing... if you don't know Cantonese and are picky/have lots of food aversions, or are operating on a budget, or want a balanced meal, or want your entire meal to arrive at once, or want a non-chaotic eating experience, you're out of luck. Fortunately the friend I was with was able to identify from experience most of the fillings of the various dumplings and buns and balls, which was helpful because the cart ladies can basically only tell you the main type of meat or filling that's involved and nothing else (major language barrier here, plus they're not really known for their service). I think personally, as a bit of a control freak I prefer the Windsor-type of experience, where you get a menu with descriptions, prices, and pictures of each of their offerings, and use a checklist for ordering... I like having control over my meal (making it balanced with different types of eats, rather than a million of the same), being able to price things out beforehand, knowing exactly what's in each item, and not having to worry about timing or language barriers. But that's just me, and that's for dim sum in general (not Hei La Moon in particular). Come for the pork buns and hargau, and enjoy the chaos.
(3)Helen H.
Decent- shrimp balls good seasoning Good food good priced No sharing tables
(3)Kayan H.
Pretty good place for dim sum. The standard fare was yummy, my friend even got us to try the watermelon tapioca and tofu desserts which were good. There was a waiter who was SUPER attentive and came by to check on us several times, asking whether we needed more food and personally brought them to our table. A+ for service! (which is not normal for a dim sum place!)
(4)Nancy C.
I can't speak for their dim sum, as I've never tried it, but we went here as part of a Chinese Language Partner Speaking Program for NEU a couple of weeks ago. Now, the program coordinator did order all the food, so maybe that's why it was so bad, but it was BAD. Like, straight up Americanized Chinese food, but the thing is even the jiao zi (pan fried dumplings) were bad. They weren't even recognizable as dumplings. Maybe a good indicator of how bad it was is how empty the restaurant was at dinner time, which is when the crowds come in for most restaurants. I think I literally ate bowls of rice and picked broccoli off some veggie dishes. Not a good experience. Maybe their dim sum is good, who knows, but I'm not too keen on trying it after this experience.
(1)Nikhil P.
Oh, sweet dim sum. After totally disappointing experiences at China Pearl, and a slightly weird, creepy experience at Empire Garden, this is THE place for Dim Sum in the city. Dim sum carts are rolling, grandparents, kids, strollers, possibly illegal workers, random guys, and people wearing suits are shouting into walkie-talkies, and chaos reigns. And amidst that, the food is freaking awesome. We had great Cantonese-speaking friends who helped navigate the language barrier, but even without that we generally scored with the point-and-shoot method. Dim Sum at a place like this is an exercise in assertiveness training. You want water, pork buns, hot sauce, or a napkin? Ask, and you will receive. And ask again when you get the wrong item. Tonnes of food for 4 people = $70 with tip. Damn cheap and amazing.
(5)Stefanie Y.
Honestly, I want to give this place a 4/5. Their dim sum is delicious and the carts are fun. I came here the other day and had a great meal. But alas, my friend and I brought a bunch of people here for Chinese New Year and we had a heinous experience. We had made a reservation, but had to wait for about 15 minutes until we were seated. Understandable, seeing that we were a 10-person party. Less understandable was why it took 30 minutes for a waiter to take our order, and least understandable of all was why it took another 45 for even ONE dish to make it to our table. Being Chinese-American, I was...confused. Literally every Chinese place I've ever been to has really fast service. To make it all worse, they messed up our order, which we had ordered in Chinese, so it's not really like they misunderstood us. One of the girls in our group had an allergy and if the Chinese members of the group hadn't recognized the dish as being the wrong one, she could have had an attack. The allergy thing is really what made me knock off a star. I still get nervous thinking about it. Then the food wasn't even that great. Half of the dishes came out cold. We ordered traditional Chinese New Year dishes, yet many of them were very greasy, saucy, and tasteless, kind of like bad American-Chinese food. My party left two and a half hours later, dissatisfied. I want to reiterate that the dim sum is great. I love how traditional this place is (they even have this weird watermelon jelly thing that I haven't ever seen outside of the mainland), and they really execute their dim sum dishes well. I'm confused as to why their dinner is so sub par considering that dim sum dishes are much harder to make than, say, steamed fish.
(3)Chelsea L.
Two words: Dim Sum. Although it does get crowded on the weekend afternoons, my roommates and I are always down to squeeze our way through the crowded doorway, past the large parties of people waiting in order to get our group on the waiting list. Why, do you ask? Because of the shmorgasboard (did I spell that right?) of food that is awaiting your consumption both on the ground level and downstairs in the basement. Dim sum isn't too easy to mess up, so while I LOVE the typical foods (shu mai, har gow, cha siu bao), it was all pretty standard. The service there is typical of an authentic chinese restaurant: no chitchat, you wave them over if you want something, and they get it for you ASAP. Bing Bang Bong. I still don't really understand how some of the waiters do the math on the check so fast though. I'm always in awe as I watch them add up all of the dishes and even factor in the tax (carry the 3, multiply that by 2....except imagine 10 more of those calculations in 5 seconds flat). I always come here with people who sometimes have no idea what the heck any of the dishes are. And because me and my family are dim sum freaks, we can usually navigate through all of the names and contents of the food with little frustration. Everything that we have tried at Hei La Moon has been yummy, no complaints there. There was just this one incident that we joke about even to this day. Last year one of my friends really wanted those fried sesame balls with the sweet paste in the middle. However, I guess they were in high demand that day so one minute we saw them from across the room but before the cart came to our table, all of them were gone. Needless to say, my friend was about to have an aneurysm and it soon became a little cat-and-mouse game at our table to eye those sesame balls when they came out of the kitchen and find a way to snatch em up before they disappeared onto another table. I'm sure that was an isolated incident though because all of the other times, there have been plenty of sesame balls for us. Bottom line: Don't have high expectations for the service and don't predict that you will be blown away by the food. But for yummy, authentic, affordable, Chinese cuisine (4 of us were full for $40 total), put on your fat pants and come to Hei La Moon!
(4)Rani P.
Any excuse to go somewhere new with two of my chef-friends is never an opportunity I want to pass up... So I wasn't surprised to find myself eager to dim sum de-virginize myself with two of my favorite Asian chefs walking me through it. I have to say- I don't know why I put it off so long. Was it the overwhelming feeling of strange, unusual things surrounding me in carts? Or was it the surprises you find hiding inside the giant green pastry balls? Well, whatever it was- it was worth the wait. Who knew you had to leave the Chinatown gate to find something so delicious. What made this experience so good was not only the amount of food we ate for little to nothing- but it was the pork rolls. THE PORK ROLLS! Who would have guessed... and they don't even have shrimp in them. It was pretty packed in there- but we got a table quickly.. and the service was just as insane as I expected it to be- but the experience was worth it all!
(4)Kat H.
good for hitting up your dim sum cravings but the food was a little more bland than most dim sum places. i know that heila moon gets a lot of hype but the tastiness of my usual faves was not up to par. i think that if this was the only dim sum place in the area, i would go since the food was still decent. shrimp dumplings are good here! a bit crowded on the weekends, i'd recommend going early.
(3)Mary H.
We eat here very often! The food is really good. You can see the food pushed out in carts to see if you like them. Parking is horrible of course. But not they don't make the steamed lotus paste buns!!!!!! Soooo sad!!! I loved them! Other than that, it's a great place for dim sum.
(3)Matt C.
Great late night spot... Salt and pepper Shrimp, what-what son! Just don't come in smelling like that loud-loud or the host will talk shit. I think he just wanted some for himself lol. They refused to serve us cold tea? really? I guess our chinese to non-chinese ratio wasn't good enough, oh well, we really didn't need it anyway. Even so, this place was the heat and no matter what the food is worth it.
(5)John R.
My Dim Sum location of choice. Service is good, keeping in mind that in a cart based Dim Sum food will sometimes come in waves and can take a while to come around. I don't like that parking garage upstairs where validated parking is. Ate lunch once and was good but can't speak to dinner menu really.
(4)Ivy G.
First time, I was amazed by its food quality and it tasted very traditional Dim Sum. But after several visits, I kind of thinking their food quality is decreasing. I am so disappointed that every time I order some new items, I usually regret. So I would stick to my old fashioned favorites. Hope it can back to the first taste that I had one year ago
(4)Cindy W.
great yum cha place!!! an authentic yum cha taste!!! love it!!!!
(5)Chi C.
Friends won't let friend host their wedding at this sh#t hole Promise 40 tables and we get the entire first floor, booked 45 and might add 5 more. The manager Mr. Chan over book another 7 tables at the back for a small wedding and completely ruined both wedding. Never go to this place for wedding. Search online and you will see this happens often for this place.
(1)Nicholas S.
My favorite place for dim sum. Keep an eye out for the giant watermelon dessert.
(4)Maureen D.
Went for mid-day dim sum on a weekend. We were seated downstairs, which was difficult for the two friends carrying babies/strollers. We were served immediately when we sat, even without all of our party there. We ate until we nearly popped. When they ran out of a dish, they quickly made more. Someone in our party asked for something he wanted, but didn't see, and they made it just for him (I think), though it took a bit longer. And it was cheap! $10 per person. I will return, with a big hungry group.
(4)Ziliang Y.
Good Dim sum place
(4)Annie G.
The dim sum here is decently priced, and you're sure to find all your favorites. There's tons of space on the main floor and in the basement to accomodate the giant influx of customers on weekends. We went for the tail end of brunch time, and it wasn't super busy, but service was still really slow. My friends and I weren't sure if it's because we were a bunch of Americans (things usually go pretty quick when we have our proper Chinese parents around to do all the ordering) or if there just wasn't that much left. Whatever the case, we did not partake of the customary stuffing of faces ritual that usually takes place when we go dim sum it up, but instead left unhungry but not stuffed. The shao mai (shumai) were merely meh but I thought the chicken feet were pretty good if you're into that kind of stuff. The little riblets were also quite tasty. Your best bet if you're a dim sum noob (or your Chinese sucks) is to just wave down a cart, take a peek, and make your decision that way. If the dish looks questionable, perhaps make further inquiries. ;) Have fun!
(4)Kimberly Y.
My family and I had came here for a late lunch on the weekend (around 2 pm) and they had pretty much sold out of all their dim sum. We left hungry. Hubby and I came here for breakfast (around 9 am) on a weekday and there was not much available yet. We had to order through the waiters since the carts didn't have much of a selection. I may have to come here at noon just to see what selection of dim sum they offer. Of what we did manage to order the food was pretty standard dim sum fare. Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant. Probably will come back to check out the dim sum selection but not sure if the wait will be worth it.
(3)Shang S.
Best Dimsum in Chinatown. Authentic, loud, cart experience, and quite affordable.
(4)Michelle L.
Seriously, I absolutely love this place. Everyone in Boston always tells me to go to China Pearl or that other one that used to be an old theatre. I've tried both of those and they don't compare. I know it's REALLY hard to find good dimsum in Boston, but this is as good as it gets. I can't come here without getting shumai, hargao, the various other dumplings in that cart (those who come here will know what I'm talking about because the ones I mentioned above are all in the same cart), and of course the tofu as desert. I've come to this place throughout the week and on weekends. Great place to come with friends, especially if your friends are daring enough to try the chicken feet. Don't come here with friends that think crab rangoons are their favorite Chinese food.
(3)Virginia C.
Dimsum snob here. Service was just OK (wait staff was not very proactive--you have to ask for everything). Food was good but I've had better. No almond tofu (at least when I was there) but other than that, the selection was OK.
(3)Jenn T.
Came here for some saturday mid-day dim sum! I've never had dim sum in Boston before, nor have I experienced chinatown in the city as well. This was a pretty large restaurant, with 2 floors. We were quickly ushered downstairs, where we were immediately seated! SCORE! The carts came around and luckily our chinese speaking friend was able to order on our behalf. The dishes were yummy, pretty decently cooked compared to what I've had at home. The portions were pretty good, as my har gau had 2 shrimps inside each dumpling! The service otherwise was sort of lacking, as our water never got refilled and needed to be requested, as well as asking for the check as well. The restaurant itself isn't the cleanest or nicest, but gets the job done. The bathrooms are pretty dirty too. Overall, decent dim sum for a decent price with lots of happy tummies at the end!
(3)Paul J.
Worst Chinese Food I ever ate and I've been all over the world. Spring Rolls were slightly warm on outside; ice cold on inside. Hot and Sour Soup was inedible. A fly was flying around and it was in the middle of winter. Waitresses think they are doing you a favor. Maybe it's because I'm Caucasian. Would never eat there again.
(1)Melissa D.
Hei La Moon is geared towards massive parties and quick dim sum. The place is massive. two floors and even though it can be packed, the most I have waited was 15 minutes on peak times. The servers are kind of rude but it is what it is. Area is kind o dirty as well. Definitely get there early since they will only serve what they have left so the good stuff is usually gone near the end of brunch. The fried shrimp is ok and some of the dishes seemed to have been sitting around for awhile. The dumplings and rice noodles with shrimp are nice but nothing surprisingly good. If you don't know much about dim sum, it will be hard to decipher the cart ladies. Of course, prices are amazingly cheap. We had about 10-12 dishes and it came to around $40
(2)Philip H.
This is my favorite Dim Sum place in Boston. We actually came here with friends the day after we got married and did our rehearsal dinner here as well in 2011. Most people come for the dim sum, but their Chinese banquet style food was really top notch. I was very caught off guard how good it was. Very similar to what you'd get in Southern California. Parking is always the issue, so I recommend taking the T or biking here. The parking lot next door is the narrowest, creepiest parking lot ever. You are going to waste your time getting trapped here. They don't even watch over the keys for you very carefully. Back to the Dim Sum, order the shark fin dumpling, actually any of the dumplings are awesome here, the Chinese broccoli or Beijing Kale, turnip cake, Beef Tripe (Ngau Pak Yip), Bean Curd Roll in Oyster Sauce (Ho Yao Seen Juk Guen). Here is a dim sum menu decoder for some of the more popular dishes that you'll see rolling around Hei La Moon: yumchajunkies.wordpress.… The food is pretty comparable to China Pearl, but I like how there windows and the place is better lit than China Pearl. Also, the room feels much more open and spacious. It doesn't feel as crazy compacted as CP and overwhelming.
(4)Ross G.
Hei La Moon is one of the most authentic restaurants in all of China Town. Do not be fooled by the size in the exterior. The place is massive on the ground floor, and even bigger in the basement. My gf and I have been here for Dim Sum, lunch, dinner, and a Wedding! Food is very good. The language barrier is tough to overcome though. Yes it makes it more authentic, but it does also make it difficult. It is more of a point and hope game sometimes. Dim Sum is very packed. If you can park on side streets before 10:00am do so. Church lets out right after so you can get a spot if you get there. When you use the restrooms downstairs you get a peek into the kitchen if you dare, and can see all the dim sum being prepared lightning quick. The lobster Cantonese style is delicious, and is served on a huge platter. Even the Americanized food is very good. I give it 4 stars because the language barrier is tough sometimes to an American like me, and I think there is 1 other place that is better all around in China Town for Dim Sum and late night food, reserved for my 5 stars.
(4)Kan C.
The food there is great, definitely authentic Chinese dim sum. However, service could use a little improvement, thus the minus one star.
(4)Katrina B.
My favorite place for dim sum in Boston. Lots of variety, not too greasy, and packed for that awesome dim sum ambiance.
(4)Linh H.
Came here because of all the good reviews... Absolute worst experience ever. Waiter didn't seem like he wanted to work. Meal was okay until... Nasty critter ruined it... Yep found 2 dead roaches in our dim sum. Best dim sum? Yeah okay...
(1)Karen D.
I was about to get on a bus for a long trip, and I wanted to have a good mid morning meal. Having dim sum as a single diner is kind of a drag but I suffered through. The hosts are not exactly the friendliest, but the lady maître d did show me to one of their small tables on the first floor. The tea came out quickly and the waiter was very nice to this Caucasian woman. Har gow and shumai showed up by my table...both good. Not the best I've ever had, but certainly, not the worst either. Then I asked the lady with the spare ribs cart if she had chicken feet. She gave me that "really???" look and ran to another cart close by and brought me an order. She showed them to me before putting them on the table just to make sure I really wanted them. The ladies were quite impressed and I was their friend after that. Again, a solid choice. I ended with turnip cake which is fried right on the cart. So good, albeit, a tad greasy. My breakfast set me back 14 bucks. Easy on the stomach and the wallet.
(4)JD M.
Just came home from dinner there. The stars are for nice service, every staff including our waiter was very nice and patient, though not so helpful in assisting us to pick from the menu. Our order looked nice, but then so called zhu Sheng and veggie was full of tasteless can veggie: can baby corn, can mushrooms and lots fried tofu The other Ba Zeng Bao is filled with the same fried tofu! only noticed taste was MSG, which made my tummy feel very bad, still now... Quantity was big, but all cooked with lots starched sauce, lots of msg, too, yuck...
(3)Mike N.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the only place to go for Dim Sum in Boston, because not only is the food exquisite (and damn cheap!) but the dining experience is not to be missed. Walking to your table is like a live-action video game where scores of servers pushing food-laden carts at break-neck speeds maneuver around a packed subterranean cavern of a room while somehow managing to not steamroll grandparents, toddlers and each other. If you can somehow manage to wade through this unchoreographed Brownian ballet and make it to your table, you still face the challenge of flagging down servers as they barrel by your table. The trick is to approach this the same way you would hail a New York cab after a movie lets out in the pouring rain. Be bold, be audacious and above all show no fear. Don't bother asking the server what you're getting (unless you speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin, that is). Just take a glance at what they're serving, and provided it smells/looks OK, keep it, because it's really, really hard to go wrong. That said, some of the things to look out for are the steamed pork buns and steamed spinach. And be all means, make an effort to try the sesame-coated red-bean balls. They are like little drops of heaven.
(5)Le N.
3.5 stars really. When my family (we're vietnamese) is craving for some dim sum, we often find ourselves here if we're not too lazy to travel. They make the best dim sum (other than windsor's). VERY big - so great for groups. Though if you're coming on a Sunday morning, get ready to wait along with all the other asian families! There are ladies pushing around carts and opening them up for you to look - so don't be wary if you can't speak chinese. There is so much variety - a little something for everybody! =)
(4)Jeff J.
Good fundamentals, not enough variety. Very fast turnover. There's not much else to say, right? The jian dui were subpar. Everything else was as expected.
(3)The Throwin S.
This place is now superior to China Pearl and Chou Chou City. While the others have declined, HLM has remained consistent. The pork shu mai were much fresher and tastier than my recent experience in China Pearl-where they smelled like a wet dog. The shrimp dumplings and fried turnip cakes were superb. Nothing was bad. Unlike another recent reviewer, I thought that the chicken feet were fine (if you like that sort of thing). The beef tripe is prepared in a curry sauce, which is not my preference. The wait staff was actually attentive! We asked them to make some Chinese broccoli a la carte--and they responded promptly with fresh (and real) Chinese broccoli. A typical maneuver from the wait staff at China Pearl would be to snicker at you... then later bring a not-so-fresh alternative vegetable buried in a greasy oyster sauce 35 minutes later. This is now the go-to dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)Jeffrey C.
We were catching the BoltBus outta town, so we were looking for a place close to South Station to get our grub on. With Chinatown in proximity and a jonesing for dim sum, we green-lighted Hei La Moon based on Yelp reviews. We've got extended dim sum experience, so I feel comfortable enough in saying that Hei La Moon was solid but unspectacular. We arrived at a little past 11 on a Friday, and the place was already fairly packed. However, we got a nice little two-seater in the corner. I was a bit worried that the carts would pass us by, but they all did a solid job of rotating around to our end. However, the cart ladies spoke little Mandarin and even less English, making it slightly difficult since neither the girlfriend nor myself have any concept of Cantonese. Nonetheless, we got by. Dish-wise, we picked up quite a few plates (that's what dim sum is for, right?). The shrimp dumplings and chicken bau stood out as particularly delicious. The chrysanthemum team we ordered hit the spot as well, although no verdict on whether it cost extra. The only real disappointment was the seafood congee, which was watered down and tasteless. It also saddened me that they weren't serving radish cake, which is my go to dim sum dish. Especially compared to Houston, the overall bill was a tad expensive, which is driven by the fact that the clipboard they mark off doesn't show any prices, so you have no idea how much your meal costs until the very end. That's some shady business practices, but hey, it's Chinatown.
(3)Siu A.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic dim sum. Amazing food!
(4)Jon L.
Hei La Moon, you've been warned. I remember when I first visited you more than 3 years ago; after being disappointed by many of the other Chinatown restaurants, you restored my faith in Boston's taste in dim sum. I loved the noise and bustle, a nostalgic reminder of NYC places. I came for your law bok gaw and jiu cai bao, stayed for your chicken feet, and didn't even mind when my friends would injudiciously order the over-salted beef tripe. But, you've been slowly changing. Cutting corners on the char siu bao (too little filling) and the stuffed vegetables (too much flour, not enough shrimp). Substituting pollock (or some other cheap fish) for shrimp in the stuffing of other dishes. Turning over tables far too quickly during peak times without cleaning them properly. Not paying attention to when those egg rolls and other fried dishes have been circulating on the carts too long. The past three trips we've made to Hei La Moon have been out of deference to your reputation. You used to be really good - the go-to weekend dim sum spot. You still can be.
(2)Wendy L.
The shumai here is on steroids! This place is my number 1 place for dim sum in Boston. It's not always consistent and you are not guaranteed the same dishes every time. This is the downside of the carts-style vs. being able to place orders a la carte. Some days you will have all the dishes you want in 5 minutes if the carts all come by your table and other times you will be waiting forever to get one dish. This place is huge so they tend to run out of the good stuff early so be sure to go between 11-1pm especially on weekends. Try not to get seated in the basement because they do not have as many carts down there so your choices will be limited. My favorite by far is the pepper spare-ribs (hak jiu pai guat - in cantonese). I think they have the best here compared to all the other dim sum places I've been around here.
(3)Vivi L.
I love this dim sum place. The place is quite busy when you come on the weekend. If you come earlier, you can probably get seated immediately but if you come after 11 AM, the place is usually mobbed and you might have to wait a little. The turn around time is pretty fast though. The food selection is great and they make their rotation pretty frequently. The food quality is also great. The place is great for large group. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)Judy L.
Best dim sum option in Boston, though I still miss the dim sum restaurants in California. Dumplings are delicious, and the cart service is friendly and rather quick.
(4)John C.
Enjoyed visit to Hei La Moon. Atmosphere pleasant/quiet (based on where we sat), and food was delicious. I had the Hot & Sour Soup and Vegi Lo Mein - would go back for these dishes for sure!
(4)Matthew H.
Probably my favorite place to get dim sum in Boston, but don't expect to be treated like royalty in here, whether you speak Cantonese or not. Depending on where you sit, you will either be inundated with carts and choices or exiled to Planet Hoth, where you have to make sad puppydog faces at the nice people pushing the carts. I've never had a bad experience with the food here, although I've heard from friends who aren't as keen on it as when we first started going. The char siu bao is good (not great), the rice is consistently great, the siu mai is unctuous and tasty, the har gow is fluffy pillowy awesomeness, the greens are steamed perfectly w/ a really nice sauce, and the cheung fun are a pile of starchy-shrimpy wonderfulness. The parking situation is always kind of strange, made even more so by the fact that they don't own the lot and the folks who run it are rude assholes. Get the ticket validated and hope for the best. Also... when you're done, just pay up and leave. There are plenty of people who are waiting for your table, and I'm probably one of them,
(4)Jon S.
This place is massive. Situated in the leather district across from the chinatown gate, it has 2 floors that big enough for a small casino. The dim sum is good, better than China Pearl. The portions are bigger and the servers come more often with a bigger selection. All in all a good place for weekend dim sum!
(4)Rob E.
Came here for dim sum today. Everyone I know, raves about this place. I didn't think the dim sum was that good. The food was not as fresh as expected. The duck feet was too salty. The short ribs order from the cart only had 4 ribs in it! I think there are other places within chinatown that serve up better dim sum
(2)Celia Z.
We pigged out this time, getting 5 helpings of the shrimp Mei Fun, four helpings of the steamed dumplings, three helpings of the Baozi, chicken feet, beef tripe, pork ribs, and a million other dishes. All for just fifteen dollars each. Which just shows how far money goes at Hei La Moon. The boys at our table had a huge competition to see who could eat more. They're still arguing who won...
(4)Nicole W.
Yum yum! Yay for dim sum! Great selections. 3 of us got seated right away at 1PM on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Being total non-connoisseurs, we just peeked inside the bamboo steamers, asked if it was shrimp or pork, and adventured our taste buds away- loved it all. We did get passed by a few times- maybe they were profiling, and I wasn't offended- not interested in chicken feet, although I've heard they are pretty good. The dumplings and shu mei were fresh and delicious, loved the sesame paste buns, not so much the red bean paste. We DID have a laughable Soup Nazi moment when my friend may have asked one too many questions about a dish and the cart lady just sped off, insinuating "No dim sum for you!" But later, when a cart lady only had pork dumplings, she remembered that we wanted shrimp and soon returned with some! Got outta there STUFFED for $17 each, including tip.
(4)caley t.
Came here for dim sum for the first time a few days ago, and I have to say, I was a little under impressed. The set up is pretty traditional- a big room where you eat with a bunch of friends by ordering from carts that are pushed by. My friends rave about this place, so perhaps I hit it on a bad day, or wasn't in the right mood or something. I'm also pretty sure that the fact that I am pescatarian didn't help (they don't speak much english and everything seems to have pork in it.) The cart system didn't seem to be set up very well- they hardly ever came by and we kept getting the same ones. A glass of water would have been nice too- my drink was gone quickly and we never saw the drink cart again, leaving me extra thirsty with all the sodium rich food. We also had a really hard time getting soy sauce- had to ask about 6 people before it finally came. When all was said and done, all we ended up eating were a ton of dumplings and some bao. I would have liked to try other things, but like i said, the carts never seemed to come by, so we just kept ending up with the same dumplings and not much else. That being said, the dumplings were actually very good. But frankly, I can't see paying 20 dollars again to sit around and wait for dumplings when I can just order a bunch of them somewhere else in chinatown for about 5 dollars.
(3)Ranley K.
Being an out of towner and living in the NY area with awesome dim sum, I wanted to see what Boston had to offer. We sat down only to see that there were multiple carts going around the place. Being on a table full of dim sum noobs..we ordered everything that was out of the ordinary (for them). Honestly, I couldn't pin point anything that was amazing, all the food was good! The place itself was more suited for a wedding banquet with everything from the chairs to the walls all in red. Bottom Line: Very asian..thus very good. Everything was stellar and well prepared. I mean the place was packed with Chinese people along with some non-Chinese (who clearly were in the right place because they were the minority) Two thumbs up!
(4)Arcadian B.
Great dim sum although the Wait was really long It's a probably one of the biggest restaurants in Chinatown Be aware of the restrooms!!!
(4)Pete G.
My absolute favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. And I've done the research. The buns, the dumplings, the fried things, the other fried things. Everything is amazing. I have a rule that whenever I go to dim sum, I always try something completely new. This has burned me in the past, but not here. Oh no. Example: I went with some friends back in January. All of them are Chinese-American, I'm not. Half-Filipino so you'd assume I'd get a little Asian cred, but no. They start dropping off plates, and one of the waitresses asks me "do you need a fork?" Offended, I reached out with my chopsticks and say "No thanks. I;m good." and I picked up a piece of tripe. The thing is: I think tripe is repellent. But this dish was actually delicious. Maybe because it was flavored with spite, maybe because Hei La Moon knows what the hell they're doing with everything they serve. I'd highly recommend every type of pork bun they serve, the spare ribs, the chicken feet (if you can get over the texture, they're melt in your mouth delicious), the deep fried whole shrimp and squid. It's a huge, clean place, so I can't imagine you would ever have to wait too long. The staff is very friendly, and the language barrier is easily overcome. definitely worth the trip. Last warning: when the dessert truck rolls around you might see a plate with a couple green balls rolled in sesame seeds. You might think that you were looking at some lotus or red bean buns. You are not. They are durian fruit, and they are disgusting. Avoid. avoid!
(5)Wolfe S.
Great dimsum, although less options for vegetarian/vegans. Especially great for large groups with no reservation.
(5)Samantha L.
I think Hei La Moon has actually been going down hill the past few years. A few years back I said their dim sum was comparable if not better than Flushing's dim sum. Now, it's only becoming acceptable to me. But of course, to each their own. They have typical standard fare, nothing out there or extradordinary. If you need a dim sum fix, cannot parallel park and need to stop at the C-Mart you mind as well stop here since you can do all that in one fell swoop at HLM. Park in the garage next to the place, get a stamp at the restaurant or if you're going to buy more than $75 worth of groceries, get a stamp at the C-Mart around the corner instead and you'll get FREE parking. Anyways, I've only had dim sum here... and we leave full, but not super wowed at all. But the food is always hot, service is pretty decent for a place that is always so busy and packed. I just hate that you leave smelling like the place. I would recommend avoiding most of the fried dishes that are not in a hot box/cart thing because they're probably not very warm or hot like the rice noodles, shrimp etc. I usually avoid the steamed black bean spare ribs because there isn't much meat, mostly fat or bones and nothing else.
(3)Phan H.
Just your usual wednesday afternoon dim sum. This place wasn't as large as your usual sunday dim sum, but it was definitely cozy, and we got the window corner seat. The food was decent, the selection was okay, and the service was fast. Nothing too characteristic about this place from most places, other than that they weren't as aggressive, but probably because it wasn't Sunday. They validate parking for the lot that is adjacent to it, but I'm totally confused how they do it. They make you pay $6 up front, and give you a voucher for $6. I'm still confused.
(3)Anita C.
Good dim sum. Similar to all the other places in Boston but the only difference is that they are quick and you get seated immediately. So if you want good dim sum and good service, I highly recommend this place. Every time I come to Boston I've always been hesitant to go to dim sum because of the long wait and the inability to ever get glasses of water. Here, there's no wait, good dim sum and you get water!! We ordered the standard dim sum stuff but I was impressed with the steamed pork buns and the sticky rice!!! Don't order the noodles, as they were a bit dry.
(3)Skye G.
I figured since the Dim Sum was so good I'd try it for dinner. When I walked the huge dining room was empty which should have been a red flag but figured what the heck. The fried dumplings were terrible. They were burnt and yet soggy so the flavor was such a mix. The hot sauce made it go down, well kind of. The house pan fried noodles looked right. Pan fried thin noodles with shrimp, beef, chicken and veggies in a brown sauce poured over the top. This was better but not great. The stir fried squid with green scallions and onions had a kick to it and had actual flavor and was not chewy. Thumbs up for the Dim Sum and thumbs down for dinner.
(2)Henry P.
Just got back with having brunch with the family today, this was my first time trying out Hei La Moon's dim sum after reading so many rave reviews on yelp. I can honestly say I am very pleased! Thanks yelp! Hei La Moon is located near Boston's South End on the other side of Chinatown which is usually ignored. It sits underneath a huge parking garage so its not that hard to miss. Inside the restaurant has BEAUTIFUL red and gold decor with golden dragons decorated around the restaurant as if they were dancing around you as you are eating. The service was the usual, if you're a non-native speaker of Chinese dialect, its basically a bunch of pointing and choosing and hoping nothing gets lost in translation, it usually it goes pretty smoothly. I've been to other dim sum restaurants nearby and so far I'd say hands down that this is so far the BEST place to get dim sum out of the others. The dim sum here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap, not as cheap as others but with the quality that you are getting its outrageous. Succulent, moist shrimp Shu-mai thats just PACKED with flavor and expertly wrapped so tight that the contents just bursts in you're mouth as you take a bite. Their chicken congee was hot and sticky, with fair amount of chicken that just gives it a unique flavor, freshly chopped green onions on top with chinese fried dough gives it that extra kick! The marinated chicken feet were steamed to perfection within its own savory black bean sauce, melts in your mouth! Everything else that we ordered was also on par in quality. Also one thing that I would like to add, those who frequent Chinese restaurants alot should know that their bathrooms are usually very....meh... But SURPRISINGLY the bathroom here was REALLY clean and very actually pretty fancy and up to date, I was shocked! Just thought I'd throw that out there. Will definitely be coming back here for my dim cum cravings from now on!
(4)Lily N.
I went to take out last Sunday night. The girl took my order at the cashier was terrible. I changed my order due to the price for the Cantonese style fried rice was almost doubled than those fried rice listed on the menu. I went back to pick up the Singaporean fried noodle and beef fried rice after I placed the order for 15 minutes. The girl who took my order didn't even get out from the chair. In stead, she pointed at my take-out and said "your food is here!" She looked at me with very despiteful eyes and didn't even say "thank you" when I was walking out of the restaurant. After I ate the fried noodles and the fried rice, I started to have diarrhea for two days.
(1)Angeline P.
This review is actually 3.5 stars. I came with one other person, so we couldn't really try everything, but what we did try was pretty good. Har gow was as you would expect. Chive dumpling with shrimp was good. The skins on their dumplings were actually pretty good. They don't compare to Hong Kong Lounge, but for not being made fresh on the spot, they were pretty good. Preserved egg porridge and sweet tofu hit the spot, but I guess I've never had a bad porridge or bad sweet tofu. The fried taro was the only thing I take issue with, because it was mostly bland with not much meat. But everything else we had was good. The 0.5 star is for getting seated right away on a Sunday at 11:45am. No wait at all! But I guess there were only two of us...
(3)Helen L.
Okay, so I've been to Hei La Moon AND China Pearl, and I don't really see a huge difference in terms of food tastes. They serve the same things and it tastes the same to me. HOWEVER, I've noticed that 1) China Pearl has longer lines and less seating space so maybe that's also why its more crowded sometimes and 2) Hei La Moon never has the variety of food that China Pearl does, or if it they do, the carts come out MUCH slower so you don't get to eat as much of a variety. The second time I went to Hei La Moon for dim sum, I only got like 3 dishes because I didn't have many options to choose from. I kept looking to see when other carts with more food options would come out, but it never happened. I was disappointed. I ended up paying like $15 for three lousy dishes and it was a rip off without the variety. I'm not sure I'd go again.
(2)Alice C.
From my experience, Boston's Chinatown has more Vietnamese and half-baked Chinese eateries, and it's a bit harder here to find good Cantonese food. Maybe I have just been looking in the wrong places? However, one place that I have found to serve consistently good dim sum is Hei La Moon. Another friend of mine from Hong Kong also comes here regularly to get her fix of home food. Sure, it's nothing like Hong Kong, but after having tried a few places in Boston, I think this is the best you can get in the area. Definitely try their pea sprout dumplings (dau miu gau) .
(4)Harri S.
Saying the name of this place you instantaneously sound 100% more Chinese. It also sounds suspiciously like Sailor Moon. Alright, enough with being racist. I came here with my friend and foodblogger Charlene W, her friend from high school and the Biff, who did a stint in Hong Kong and incorrectly believes he's of the Asian Persuasion. Whatever, we all really like Dim Sum, so we did the proper thing and came for breakfast. This place is EXACTLY like the massive dim sum halls of San Francisco: crowded, bustling and a place that you'll get away with all sorts of body language. We had the traditional shu mai, Biff had to get the pork buns, cause Charlene W. said no way AND we got chicken feet amongst numerous other things. Not to mention we had massive volumes of tea to accompany all this. Alright, so all I really want to talk about is the chicken feet, which seriously sound DISGUSTING, but man am I glad I tried 'em. They were marinated in this delectable chili sauce and deep fried. You don't eat the whole thing, just the skin, so basically if don't like the skin off your Popeye's deep fried chicken, don't bother. Otherwise this is a taste explosion you won't regret. The ridiculously large amount of food came out to $10 each INCLUDING tip. Damn! Full stomach and full wallet, I left VERY happy.
(5)Lauren P.
Starving on a weekend morning ? Nothing hits the spot better than some steaming dumplings at Hei La Moon. This place is huge so no waiting time. Try the shrimp cheung foon besides the usual shu Mai and pork bun staples. Best part - you'll be stuffed to the brim without putting a dent in your wallet.
(4)Thanh L.
Nothing special about this place. Overpriced Chinese food. Went here for a wedding. Staff was not friendly or helpful. At time, we have to tell the same person what we needed and there was flies everywhere. The food is horrible.
(2)Kittery R.
I was here for Dim Sum, we had a huge group, so had to get 3 tables. I find that this is a large restaurant but the foods is not so good/fresh. This was on a Saturday at peak time, so if foods are not fresh then, I cant imagine how fresh they are on other days. Waiter/Waitress are the worst of Chinatown, we ask for some cake waited 30 minutes and still nothing, when we asked again, they brough in like 20 minutes later when everyone was done. The waitress were so rude and wanted to forced us to take it the dishes they didnt bring us 50 minutes ago, but We were all full and didnt want to pay, so the waitress was all angry. Not santiarize and foods not so fresh and horrible service. Pearl and Burcha cha has better dim sum. there is another place, but I cant remember the name. All are better than this place.
(1)Hubert H.
I'm writing about both the dimsum and the dinner options. Dimsum was fine. A step about China Pearl in that the restaurant is cleaner, and the items more steaming hot. Fair cuts of shrimp in the hao gao, and nicely done sticky chicken rice inside lotus leaf. One thing to note is that on weekdays not many varieties of dishes are presented, so it might be useful to complement the dimsum with a noodle dish or rice. Another thing: once in a while they throw in an experiemental item: this time it was bits of taro, celery, and cilantro inside a sticky rice flour wrapper. Dinner was fine as well. Be sure to order off the Chinese only menu as that menu is the only one that has the group dinners (2-person, 3-person, etc.). Ours came with a seafood and vegetable dish, a fried rice, a seafood soup with crab and fish stomach, and a ginger/scallion stir-fried lobster. We also added a hot pot with chicken, salted fish, and tofu, which was a nice complement to all the other seafood. The stir-fry technique was solid and there was plentiful to eat.
(4)Jennifer J.
Good Cantonese dim sum. Nothing to complain about.
(4)Jamal G.
This place has gone downhill. The carpeting is filthy, sticky, and soggy. We went here for dim sum at lunch, which was... ok. All of us have had better. It just wasn't all that great and the cost was $22 per person plus tip and parking. I'll give them credit for validating parking for the adjacent garage for $6. I don't think any of us will come back here again.
(2)ana l.
My friends and I come here when we can wake up for our "11am Dim Sum Sundays." 11am is the best time to go--usually there is no wait and the food is hot and "fresh." The restaurant is spacious, but I've decided sitting on the main level leaves you with the best experience and first choice for food. I like their siu mai (steamed shrimp & pork dumplings), cheong fun (rice noddles-stuffed with either shrimp, beef, or fried dough), steamed ribs, taro dumplings (stuffed with pork and veggies), and steamed tofu (with lots of ginger flavored sugar syrup). So, get your friends together for a dim sum sunday (even if you can't wake up at 11am, the wait is worth it) and try everything!
(4)Marty C.
Atrocious service... scratch that, the service is nonexistent. Why support a restaurant that customarily disregard proper etiquette? Won't you question the amount of care put into the food that will eventually go into your body? Service is more important to me than good food. Let me explain further why HLM is getting one star (equivalent to zero stars in my book). I went in with a party of 5 in a half-empty restaurant. The waiter decided on seating us at a square table and pulled an additional chair to one corner. We explained that it is uncustomary for us to sit in such fashion and please allow us to sit at one of the many available round tables. One waiter said yes while another forbid us to do so. We walked out immediately without any further discussion.
(1)Del S.
I know I have been spoiled with better dim sum in the CA bay area, but dim sum at Hei La Moon was acceptable and probably plenty good enough for Boston since there aren't that many Chinese here. The service was fast and efficient. The waiter was setting up plates on the table like throwing Frisbees. I was impressed that we didn't need to wait long for dim sum at Sunday lunch hour. The biggest surprise was the chicken feet (phoenix claws)!! The texture was soft, chewy but not soggy, and tasty without being too salty. It's a bit sweet, a bit salty, a bit of garlic taste with some black bean sauce taste... great combo for your taste buds! In contrary, I'd recommend you to stay away from their fried dishes. The fried Taro ball was soggy with very unfresh greasy taste. We suspected they probably reused the frying oil way too many times, or it could have been days old left over oil. The typical dim sum dishes such as shrimp dumplings and shiu mai all tasted decent here. If you are in the area and crave for dim sum, this is probably the place to go but try not to have a high expectation.
(3)Thomas F.
I went with a number of friends for dim sum. We enjoyed it greatly. Everything was very fresh and flavorful, with our usual selection of favorite items. As reported by other reviewers, the pork buns are indeed superb. In general I would say that the quality is on par with what you could expect from China Pearl if you arrive at CP in the morning when things are plentiful and fresh, although HLM's pork buns are slightly better. Unfortunately they had few of some items on the carts, so we left wishing we'd been able to get more pork buns, and I felt the selection, while good, wasn't quite as large as the selection at China Pearl. The prices were excellent: we all ate until we were full with no concern about prices of items, and we also ordered several additional items just to taste, and it worked out to a mere $12 per person. Overall, I would be delighted to return to Hei La Moon with friends or family, and will view it now as one of several excellent dim sum restaurants I can choose from in Boston.
(4)Jane Z.
To make the deal even sweeter, a friend recently showed me the City of Boston's health inspection record for this place upon reading the other poster's comment about the glass in his congee, and it is revolting to think I ever went there. Toxic chemicals, mice, chickens dripping onto equipment, unsanitary treatment of cooking utensils.....CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS. I encourage everyone to Google their health inspection record!!!
(1)fred n.
Terrific dim sum. I am just in love with all their delights. This is pretty darn crowded on the weekends, but I believe worth the wait (40min). You'll definitely have a happy and healthy full tummy. Atmosphere is like a busy cafeteria with excitement. You might share a table with others if you're group is a small size (4) and it's peak. Don't be shy...everyone is friendly. Only draw back is that when it's busy it's tough to get beverage refills. And sometimes you wait 5-7 min for that tasty cart to make the rounds. Yum.
(4)Aimee G.
Although friends seem resigned to China Pearl, Hei La Moon remains my favorite place for a Sunday afternoon dim sum. I counsel that one arrives early, late, or ready to wait in a queue. It's a worthwhile wait, though. One must leave the pearly gates of Chinatown and wander to the Leather District near South Station in order to find this mediocre venue. My recommendation does not reflect the décor. it's not directly from Metropolitan Home or any other reputable design magazine. Though, I will never be the diner paying for interior design. The weekend dim sum menu offers items not found on the other Chinatown menus. The variety is much appreciated. I am particularly drawn to the dumplings and shumai. My friends inform me that the chicken feet are divine. Perhaps it's low standards or laziness but I haven't had any concerns about the service, cost, or final bill. Then again, I never go to a dim sum restaurant expecting warm service. Do others? Anyway, I digress. Let's bottom line the situation. Dining in a hall filled well beyond fire code, surrounded by a cacophony of voices, and experiencing the semi chaotic delivery of great food strikes me as part of the overall charm of Hei La Moon.
(4)CeeCee R.
Went there recently for dim sum. It was pretty good! I'd say they're the best dim sum place in Boston. Must Try: Can't get enough of the Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling), Chang Fen with Yu Za Kuei (Noodle with Chinese Crueller), Fried Shrimp and Chinese Chives, Fried Taro and Shrimp. Service: Way better than China Pearl, the staff are friendly. Ambiance: Super clean compare to other establishments in Chinatown, especially compare to China Pearl. Best time to hit them is earlier in the morning or before 2 PM for dim sum. The 11 am slots tend to be busier. I'd give them a 3 out of 5 star as far as food goes. Overall, they are probably the best dim sum spot in Boston. Too bad that there is no place like Yank Tsing (San Francisco dim sum joint) in Boston. Yank Tsing would be 10 out of 10 stars.
(4)Ligaya T.
Know how to say 'mediocre' in Cantonese? Warning: poor pin yin ahead. For dim sum rookies this place is a steaming, bamboo pot wonderland. A hectic maze of lazy Susaned round tabled obstacle course for bumbling, uniformed oompa loompas pushing carts who don't speak English but whom respond well to pointing. For dim sum lovers this place deserves a shrug. They've got all the standards: har gao, shu mai, baozi, chicken feet, tsong tzi, etc but nothing really outstanding or creative. The carts you really want to intercept are the ones with the lo bo gao (savory turnip cake) grill and the vat of dofufa (watery tofu). To get greens you'll have to be more aggressive. Try the dao miao or the kong ching tsai (Chinese watercress) for spinach-like veggies. Three stars for fresh, warm, clean and always having a seat!
(3)Christine S.
Because my visit here was only the third time I've had dim sum in my life, this review may be more helpful for people who are also new to dim sum. We came here on a Saturday around noon and only waited about 15 minutes to be seated. It was busy and crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The cart ladies weren't too aggressive that day, although I do wish they were able to speak enough English to at least say if the contents of their dim sum dishes are vegetable, bean, animal or mineral. My vegetarian friend definitely got a mouthful of pork when trying an unidentified dumpling. Speaking of pork, their BBQ pork buns were really good - a little too much of the bread for me, but that may be the way those buns are. The filling was sweet and tasty. Another deliciosity was some kind of piece of lightly fried fish wrapped around sauteed veggies and tied with a spring onion. SO GOOD. The fish was cooked perfectly. Too bad we didn't know it's name and never saw the cart again, or we would have gotten several more. One of the best parts of the meal was some kind of green leafy vegetable that was cooked right by our table, then drizzled with a delicious sauce. The cart lady identified the vegetable as "broccoli," although it looked more like leaves on long thick stems and tasted like a combination of spinach, asparagus and broccoli. It was bright green and delicious and I really wish I knew what it was. We got one of those glutinous coconut balls wrapped around a filling for dessert. Now, at Chau Chow City we got those and they had granulated sugar and chopped nuts inside. Here, there was a delicious fresh mango filling!! Is that normal? I have no idea! Can I find it somewhere else? I wouldn't even know how to ask! But it was yum! My only concern was that when we paid our bill and asked for an explanation of the different ways they charged for the items, the lady at the cash register did not want to answer. It was clear that she spoke enough English to understand what we were asking, and yet she just kind of ignored our questions. I'm a little bit wary of being taken advantage of because we obviously can't read Chinese, but the bill didn't seem too out of proportion - it came out to about $9 per person. So, we will definitely be back!
(4)Brady B.
I'm with Aimee S. on this one. Granted, I only had dim sum once here, but when I did my friend and I quickly decided we didn't need to come back here. It wasn't the worst dim sum I ever had, but quite bland and uninspiring. Overall our service was very lackluster....especially when it came time to having our bill tallied up. Maybe I'll give them another try based on these glorious reviews. When I do I'll be sure to update. Until then, my heart (and palette) belongs to China Pearl.
(2)Tessa C.
My new favorite dim sum place. Everything is fresh and delicious. If you want to avoid lines - then show up as a small group - less than 4 people and come at off peak hours before 11AM and after 1PM. My sister and I came here around 1PM and the quality of food was still good. I recommended this place to my out-of-town friend for his post wedding brunch. His family is Taiwanese and they were impressed by the quality of food. Dim Sum is best experienced with someone who knows the food and a very large group. What a great way to spend brunch with friends for less than $12 per person!!! As others have warned - you will be surrounded by loud Chinese families and served by people who know very little English. But they do their best to help you out. Parking tip: Park on the roof of the South Station garage during the weekend for a flat rate around $6. This is also great for the evening.
(5)Susan K.
We love to eat here for breakfast on the weekends. The service is usually quick, and food/dishes consistent. Some waitresses don't speak English, but they are happy to show the dishes to you before you choose. You can park in the lot for a discount, if you eat here, but if we get here before 10am-11am, we usually don't have that much trouble getting parking on the street.
(4)Yvonne W.
I went all around the Chinatown area trying to find this place this morning with my boyfriend to find out that it's actually not IN Chinatown -- it's across the street from the gate (we didn't have the address originally)! I'm so happy that we found it, though -- we waited less than 5 minutes before being seated. And then all the food started rolling by on those carts that I love.. We had ham sui gok (sweet deep fried yumminess pastry with savory meat filling), feng zhua (chicken feet), pie gwat (spareribs steamed with black bean sauce), luo bo gao (radish cake), wu gok (deep fried taro with meat filling), seen jook goon (pork wrapped in yummy tofu wrapper), beef chang fen, and dau fu fa (silky tofu dessert in a gingery syrup). It was all so good, and the food comes out so fast! A pleasant surprise in the pie gwat were these small cubes of cut-up taro. It provided a nice flavor/texture contrast with the salty black bean and the spareribs. The service here is kind of strange. We really wanted to end our meal with dau fu fa, and when we asked one of the servers, she said she'd look out for the cart for us and tell that cart person to come by our table. That never happened. Five minutes later, we asked another worker for dau fu fa, and she sort of had a scowl on her face but did proceed to bring us our beloved dau fu fa. :-D And the prices are pretty decent here for dim sum, too. This is now our Boston dim sum place.
(4)Edwin O.
Very solid Dim Sum. After going to China Pearl for so many years, I was surprised to hear about this place, having never eaten there before a few months ago. The traditional favorites are done well. My wife feels their garlic shrimp is the best in Chinatown. My daughter plows through their shrimp dumplings and sticky rice with relish. The parking garage above the restaurant is very handy, and is one of the cheaper garages to park at in the area, I believe.
(4)Tom E.
Hei La Moon always makes me think of 'hey the moon', said in a fashion to distract the other person whilst you run away (first you point to the sky behind them). I guess in that way it's like the Goodyear Blimp - 'hey, look it's the goodyear blimp!' - but as this analogy lingers on too long I think it's worth comparing Hei La Moon to the Goodyear Blimp in two other ways... 1. Handily, it's always just over there when you suddenly think about it (across the old surface 93 from regular chinatown). 2. It's big as bigness permits. Shall I think of a third analogy? 3. Christopher Walken uses it to try and kill James Bond. Okay - 3rd analogy is not so accurate. Let's stick to reality All-in-all it's another average large dim sum parlour. It doesn't impress but it doesn't let down either. If you've had dim sum in SF, London, HK or Canada you'll know that this kind of summary means 3 stars all the way. Its size means it's good for groups but its 'Best of Boston' title of 'Best place to take your foodie friends' is laughably patronising, even for those of us who'd contemplate suicide at being called a foodie.
(3)Ezra E.
I guess I should preface this review by saying that I had only eaten dim sum once before and didn't really know what I was in for. I'll start with the good stuff. The place is huge and was packed, but they still sat us within about 10 minutes which was nice. The carts come by very frequently, and fresh food seems to be brought out very regularly. It is very reasonably priced and you can eat a wide variety of foods for not a lot of money My biggest complaint was not really knowing what I was eating most of the time. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I like to at least know what sort of animal/vegetable I'm chowing down on. Even the dim sum that I could identify just didn't taste very good (some kind of shumai, i think, not sure what was in it, definitely a some shrimp, but other slimy stuff too, egg rolls, some has brown looking thing, and maybe a few others). We decided to try their regular menu and ordered won ton soup, chicken with broccoli and beef with broccoli. The won ton soup was inedible, the broth tasted like water someone had soaked their feet in, and the won tons were filled with the same squishy-slimy meat as the "shumai". The chicken w/ broccoli was in a clear sauce (i prefer the brown sauce) and tasted kind of fish-like. The beef with broccoli wasn't much better. It was definitely an interesting experience, and judging by the number of 4/5 star reviews here other people really seem to like it, but I will not be going back.
(1)Anna W.
My family has dim sum ADD. We can never stay loyal to one place for too long. It started off with Golden Palace (truly the best dim sum place ever... RIP), then China Pearl, then Chau Chau, then Empire Garden, and now it's Hei La Moon. I've been there for dim sum as well as dinners/receptions, etc. Dim Sum is pretty good. It gets packed here on weekends, so you have to go either really early or really late. It's great for large groups of people. The place is always loud and abuzz with lots of Chinese yip yap. Be open-minded about the food. Never ask what anything is because the answer will most likely be "shimp" (shrimp), even if it's not. Yeah, it looks different, and tastes different, but it's GOOD! :-) Their family-style dining is better than some of the other places in Chinatown. They need a drastic makeover and a good interior designer though. Though the food is good, I would never want my wedding reception here or anything. The interior is just drab and blah. The last event that I attended, the restaurant let us bring our own coolers of beer and wine, which was cool. They could have suckered us into buying alcohol from them, but they decided to be decent instead. They don't take reservations for dim sum, but they will at night. My favorite dish is the mayonnaise-covered shrimp with walnuts. Sooooo delicious. I don't care if my coronary artery just closed up as I was typing that. Also, the garage upstairs offers validated parking. It's kind of a shitty place to park and the columns are oddly placed, but if you have good motor skills (haha, I made a funny), you should be able to maneuver yourself around well enough to get in and out without harming anyone. Hopefully, my family decides to stick with this place for a while.
(4)Matthew M.
Let me break it down for you. I'm from San Francisco. I grew up eating Dim Sum. I moved to Boston in August and so far have generally been disappointed by the quality of the Dim Sum here. Until that is, I found Hei La Moon. This place competes with the very best Dim Sum places in SF both in terms of the quality of the dishes as well as the price (about $10 per person). For the uninitiated: prepare to wait in line for a long time before you get seated; prepare for the waitstaff not speaking english (they don't really need to since 90% of the clientele are chinese anyway); prepare to eat things without knowing ahead of time what's in it. Warning: If your idea of good chinese food is sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls and pot-stickers, you better stick to places that specialize in those things because you'll probably be disappointed by all the chicken feet and tripe. For Dim Sum afficionados: try to show up early if possible, because after about 12:30 the variety of dishes starts to decline (we showed up at 12 and there were no more char siu bau); also, if you like fried turnip cake: unfortunately it's a little mushy here, but it's worth forgoing this one dish because all the others are so phenomenal.
(5)Marilyn T.
Coming from California and having visiting Asia on many occasions, I have pretty high standards for dimsum. The restaurant offers many typical dishes but lacks on more unique items. It definitely caters to the crowds, and it gets very busy on weekends. As most dimsum is, it gets pretty hectic. Dishes are greasy and pretty standard. I don't think it's worth the wait, though.
(2)Katy P.
A group of three of us went for dim sum on a Sunday morning. The line was long, but we didn't wait terribly long since we agreed to be seated with a few other folks. The food was delicious and I really enjoyed the douhua dessert (warm tofu pudding with a sweet ginger syrup) and all of the dumplings. My only issue with this place is the pricing. Make sure you watch the servers like a hawk. We ate plenty of food but our bill came to over $70 for 3 ppl which is robbery for dim sum. Of course, no one spoke English well enough to explain the bill so I have a sneaking suspicion that we got taken advantage of. Whatever...next time I'm bringing someone who can read Mandarin, suckers!
(4)Charles T.
When this place first opened the quality was pretty good but I feel like the standard has dropped over the last couple of years. Overall ok dim sum but nothing spectacular, especially compared to other cities.
(3)Tony O.
My 'go-to' dim sum place. Excellent Dim Sum - fresh, clean flavors and responsive service even on the most hectic weekend mornings. All the lightbulbs seem to exhibit some slightly perceptible 'surging' (rapid cycle of slight dimming followed by bright surging). A whole new take on some dimming while having Dim Sum . . .
(4)Khantha S.
Nice big restaurant with pretty good dim sum. This place is a few walks from chinatown
(4)Derrick C.
Better than China Pearl
(3)Nina N.
I was tempted. Very very tempted. To say. That this place was better than China Pearl. It was what I wanted to say after trying the shumai and rice pork meatballs. I am glad I did not let myself say this until I tried all of the other dishes because it was not true. I have to say, the crowd/mob mentality got me thinking I was being served really excellent food. What do I mean? Since when does a large crowd mean good food? It's assumed that good food draws a lot of people and therefore the store is always crowded. Well, here is my theory. When you eat around happy and loud people, you feel like you can eat more, let loose, and even have good and loud conversations yourself without disturbing a neighboring table. No need to be shy. And somehow, you think the food is better since there is so many people squished in the room with you and they must also be enjoying their food too right? And how they manage to always find seats for you is amazing considering the long lines waiting for the seat and how packed the place is the whole time you're eating. Well, this does not necessarily mean good food. When I slowed down, after the peak of the new place, new food, and the "I haven't had breakfast yet!", I realized that not all of the food was good. The shumai was definitely good. Piping hot and steamy. The rice covered pork meatball reminded me of sea urchins. Strange eh? It was my first time having this dish and it was pretty good. Very hot and juicy. The ha cao (not sure of the spelling) or the shrimp dumpling was not so good. It was juicy which was not right. Oil dripped from the dumpling when I bit into it. Then it fell apart. Uh oh. The beef tripes was ok. At first I thought it was really good but the more I eat it and try to disect the flavors, I realized that it was quite pungent. The ginger and green onion did not do it's job to mask the smell of the tripe. It could be that they did not boil the tripe long enough before steaming it. The egg rice congee was really good. It was really hot. Not spicy hot but steaming hot. It was watery compared to the slightly thicker congee I would get from other places. This is perfect for me though. We also had the chicken feets in black bean sauce. It was good. Not the best I have had but decent. The soft tofu in a sugar syrup was cold. That bothered me. I was not happy at all with this. I would definitely give it to Hei La Moon for having a packed restaurant and always seeming to have seats and piping hot and steaming dishes (except the tofu dish I had) of food when the carts go around. Quality wise, I was not satisfied.
(3)Danny F.
food alone is 3 stars; it's very very O.K.-la and perfectly competitive with anything else in boston/manhattan. variety is somewhat limited to the standards, but enough to keep me happy. carts came around fairly quickly, and were constantly replenished, so food always arrived at my table hot and fresh. also seemed less oily to me than lesser establishments. but...there's no wait, and the room is airy, bright and clean! so due to the fact that i cannot give half stars, it luckily gets a 4 star rating from me.
(4)Albert D.
I can safely say that this is the best you'll get in Boston. Normally I'd be all snide about it since Boston asian food is nothing to write home about. BUT, this place is actually decent! It can be a wait, but there are lots of tables, so probably wont be more than a 30 minute wait. If you can wait an hour to get into Cheesecake Factory, then this should be a breeze. I batted my eyes and winked at the hostess and she hooked it up with a seat even earlier (actually, i said that we were in a rush, and pleaded with her... but details, details..) As far as dim sum goes, everything we've gotten was good. Some things should not be missed, like the BBQ pork buns (the white ones), shumai, and OF COURSE THE CHICKEN FEET. They infuse it with heroin from what I've been told? For dessert, get the soft tofu with ginger sugar sauce on top. It's a sweet-dessert-soup-triple-screaming-orgasm in your mouth. It gets a four because the utensils were dirty. But I was on the fence about marking them down for that. Cause it just takes a quick wipe-down.
(4)Ulf V.
Stopped by on Labor day for some Dimsum.. Been here many times before, this time no different. Food was good, seating a bit cramped, but got upstairs digs. Many carts to choose from and all told, 4 of us ate plenty and bill came to $40. Tried the taro wrapped rice for the 1st time.. very tasty!
(4)Miriam L.
I can't believe it had been so long since I'd had dim sum! I came here for the first time in probably five years yesterday afternoon. The waiting area was crowded, but we were assured that the wait wouldn't be more than 10 minutes. About 8 minutes later, the hostess seated another party of two people whose number was after ours. Oops! I think she realized her mistake, and a few minutes later asked if we minded sharing a table. We said we didn't, and were seated with two other groups: an older Chinese couple, and a young couple with their daughter. I think at first the older woman thought we'd never had dim sum before, because she started explaining what the different dishes were and asking which ones we wanted to try. It was really sweet, but I think she realized quickly that we actually were familiar with dim sum. I think the ability to use chopsticks will do that. The food was mostly very good, though the first shrimp dumplings we got were a little on the cold side. Other than that, the food was great; broccoli rabe with fish sauce, steamed pork buns, fried shrimp and spinach dumplings...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I'll definitely be coming back more often with friends.
(4)Justin Gwailo H.
I used to go to China Pearl. I would have to say, comparing the two, Hei La Moon (a.k.a. Xi Ling Men) is the BEST dim-sum place in Boston area. They don't have the food stations like China Pearl, but the food quality is far superior. Although, I am not impressed with their non-Dim Sum dishes.
(4)Allison N.
It is a fairly traditional dim sum restaurant - huge room (I think there are two floors, actually), lots of Chinese people giving me, the only white person, funny looks, and women with carts. Solid food for a reasonable price.
(3)monica m.
Went to eat here for lunch today because I was having a major dim sum craving and heard this place was the place to go. I have mixed feelings about Hei La Moon...mostly negative, but I DO have a positive. First of all, the place was packed, but we were real lucky. We went in around 1pm and it looked like the majority of the lunch crowd was gone and we were able to be seated within minutes. Dim sum at this place goes until 3:30 so we had plenty of time to eat. Went to go to the restroom and it was FILTHY. There was water all over the floor and it was just gross. They must have a lot of foot traffic during lunch because I felt like I was crossing a small moat just to use the facilities. As I got back to the table, I see that my family had already started getting food to the table. Took a bite of the shrimp, pork, and shrimp & pork shumai and they were delish! We had the pork buns, ha-gao, and dan-tat and they were just as delicious! My family and I were so happy as we were munching on the food. My mother wanted the Chinese broccoli so we ordered it from the waiter, but after 5, 10, 15 minutes, the broccoli didn't come out. We finally flagged down one of the carts and asked for it. It was really tasty. We decided to order another one so we did again from the waiter because the cart lady disappeared. Took them another 15 plus minutes to get that out as well. It was really frustrating. Our server looked miserable and the ladies that pushed the carts didn't speak a word of English. That was also frustrating. Whenever we wanted something, the lady would look at us and say "no" or "retire" and then we'd see it 10 minutes later in another cart. So, the food was really good, but the service really stinks! After lunch, we asked for the check and it was a whopping $57 for 4 adults! $65 if you include tip. Half the awesomeness of dim sum is that it's cheap. This was not cheap! We were able to feed 5 adults for half that amount at a really good dim sum place in Southern California. I expected better from Chinatown! Well, we left the restaurant feeling full, a little disappointed about the price and service, but happy with the taste of the meal. Until an hour after... I had a huge headache, felt dehydrated, and had a stomach ache. In fact, I still have a sensitive stomach and it's been about 8 hours since eating. Found out why too. My mom said that the food had a lot of MSG, which I now think I am incredibly allergic to. So, for those that are sensitive to MSG, please beware before eating here! I know that many people state that all Chinese food has MSG, but I've eaten dim sum and not gotten sick after wards so I know that no or little MSG in Chinese food is possible. Like I said in the beginning, the only thing that is a positive for this place is the brief deliciousness that it gave me while eating their food. The service, MSG overkill, bathrooms, and price is what keep me from coming back.
(2)Erik S.
A decent Dim Sum restaurant. Tons of people and tons of food. They kept bringing food by but they didn't seem to have that much variety. It seemed like they kept bringing by the same things. Everything was good but nothing was great. One thing going for it was that it was super cheap.
(3)Julian M.
This is certainly the best dim sum I've had in Boston. It's all kept rather fresh with decently-thin skins. It has some slightly newer dishes. But it still doesn't keep its dishes as up-to-date as some of the places in the San Francisco area. It's no Hong Kong, of course, but I've not had better in Boston.
(4)Jeanette Y.
Authentic dim sum with a traditional banquet feel. Everything I had here was delicious. Great (and fun!) for large groups of people. One of the best things about Hei La Moon that you don't get in NYC Chinatown is that you can come early or mid-afternoon, and it is always bustling with plenty of food. In NY Chinatown, you would need to come at 9:00am - any later and the restaurant would be all out of food.
(4)Byron M.
If you are familiar with Chinatown, this place, like China Pearl, is a larger restaurant that is designed as a dim sum place during the day and a full banquet facility in the evening. They also serve dinner for individuals and small parties as well. Because they are located on the street level this place is better suited for persons with disablities as not all places in Chinatown are able to accomodate folks in this area. The dim sum is on par with China Pearl and the dinner menu and quality is a bit better. This restaurant also offers discounted parking on the evenings and weekends in the garage upstairs. The banquet food is also very good and recommended for larger parties.
(3)Kenny L.
For those that aren't familiar with Sailor Moon, she is a teenage middle school girl with magical powers to defend the evils of the universe. In this episode, she teams up with Sailor Venus (Roni E., official Cantonese translator of the day), Sailor Mars (Nate Y.) and myself, Sailor Mercury to find allies and opponents along the path to battle Dim Sum, the warriors of unknown powers. The war was fierce. We encountered the clear skin dumplings with shrimp (won), wonton soup with only shrimp wontons (lost), turnip cakes (won), small soup dumplings (won), sticky rice (won), egg custard (won), flour skinned meatballs with mushroom (lost), and sweet tofu flower soup for dessert (won). Key: won=good taste, lost=bad taste. In the end, the powerful Sailor Scout Team beat Dim Sum. But even though most battles were won, some were almost borderline tasty. It was definitely unlike the battles fought in NYC, LA, SF, and even less so in the motherland of Hong Kong. We will wait patiently for the next battle in Boston and we hope to win in a larger margin. Maybe next time Tuxedo Mask will come to save the day, or at least Trish the Dish.
(3)Nancy L.
Hei La Moon is the rival to China Pearl for the best authentic dim sum experience in Boston Chinatown. In my book, HLM is very good but not better than China Pearl. It has bigger portions, each of the dumplings, buns, or shumai are all bigger than that of China Pearl and it is more accessible. If you park in the parking lot above HLM, you can have it validated after your meal at HLM and only pay around 6 dollars for a whole day of parking, a pretty good deal in Boston on a weekend. However the food at China Pearl is better and has more variety and more authenticness to it. It's something that I cannot put into words completely. The same rules of agressive queuing up for the wait list, stopping the ladies who push the cart, and fighting for the last dumpling still applies to HLM. Very loud and busy on weekend with prompt wait service.
(4)Matt L.
I originally submitted a review back in Sept 2006 and since then it's been a twice a month (if not more) dim sum house of choice. Hei La Moon are from the same owners as China Pearl so back then it was like all the (food) of China Pearl but in a shiny new room. Oh how things change over time. For years, we've coming for dim sum, often early in the morning on weekends, yet inexplicably the hostess continues to direct us downstairs regardless of how few people there are in the primary (non subterranean) dining room. The first couple of times, we obliged and went downstairs to find that not only is the "new car smell" gone, but replaced by "old, greasy, needs a 'Stanley Steamer" guy to steam clean this whole nasty carpet" smell. The point of continued maintenance and cleaning was lost - replaced by the old Chinatown saying, "f*ck it!". More recently, we insisted on being seated upstairs - even accepting a longer wait. The funny thing, the wait was never any longer, so why were we "guided" to sit downstairs in the first place? Do I have some kind of "Brad Pitt carved asshole sign on my forehead" (e.g. "Inglorious Basterds")? That had to be the case, as I saw no other clear seating pattern - with a random blend of old and young; Chinese and non - that warranted the Yankee fan at Fenway treatment. Anyhow despite the second class seating preference we continued to come - now more out of habit than anything else - although the food was still consistent. Until.... On our last visit, I ordered a bowl of congee (a Chinese rice porridge) . To my surprise, I hit a crunch. Not a yummy, "was that peanut or cashew crunch." Not a "cookoo for cocoa puffs crunch" but rather a, "does someone have the number of my dentist crunch!" There was a peanut sized hunk of glass in my congee! Luckily it was not sharp but rather thick and well rounded - kind of like a piece broke off a thick glassed (blue) vase. Either way, not cool. I raised my hand and brought this to the attention of one of the wait staff. She too was shocked. So much so that she ripped the piece of glass out of my hand (still dripping from spit and congee) and inspected it carefully. Really? No napkin, nothing - nor did I see her was her hands before helping other customers. No additional comment needed. So she came back, apologize and took the ONE DISH off the check. Umm....really?!?! REALLY!?!?! One of the head waiters ultimately came back and wiped out the whole check. A nice gesture, but all things considered, we decided that would be our last trip for the foreseeable future. We've switched back to Empire Garden - a favorite of my aunt's and I must say, it's been a pleasant trip back. Finally, can't a first class dining experience and awesome Chinese food in Chinatown be synonymous? And we're not talking about a dramatic change in the food, but more so update the presentation and service. Pay the workers industry standard wages so they don't look like they just rolled out of bed (not their fault in my opinion). Restaurateurs, please take note.
(1)Meg M.
I've been to three dim sum restaurants so far in chinatown and this is the best of the three. The food is fresh, cheap and very filling. You eat like it's thanksgiving and pay only $10. The only downside is going on the weekends when the line is out the door. It's best to go during the weekdays. Have the shu mai and pork buns.
(4)Jack P.
very good dim sum, but not the absolute best
(4)Kathleen M.
By far my favorite dim sum place in town. I shouldn't scream that too loud because I have always found the wait much shorter here than at places like China Pearl or Chau Chow City. Spacious set-up with upstairs and downstairs seating, just outside the Chinatown gate. Food is always fresh and carts rotate pretty frequently. They cook up all your dim sum faves, and my Chinese pals swear by the tripe and "phoenix claws" here, but none for me, thanks. Sadly, the least frequent cart contains turnip cakes, which are my favorite dim sum delight. I do advise you, though, to hunt this cart down--quite delicious and best when hot off the griddle. Just don't frighten the person with the cart as you charge across the enormous dining room in a focused effort to obtain just a small bit of this turnipy goodness, we don't want to do anything to further reduce the frequency of the cart!
(4)Corey B.
Ok, this place is probably the best Dim Sum place in Boston. That said, I recently had a terrible experience there. I went recently with three others and we had a great meal, though they apparently make the calamari once in a year as we have been several times since January and only saw that once- it was excellent! Okay, the bad experience: After our meal we paid with a credit card, but decided to tip in cash. The person collecting the check saw no tip on the card receipt and ripped into the card holder about how he should have tipped. She had no shame, and she only brought us the check and provided no other service, therefore would not have had any idea as to our dining experience- she was telling him to tip 15%. She should have said nothing because it is not her choice to make- what if the service was dismal? (It wasn't) and was a honest misunderstanding, but demanding a tip is not a good business practice. My out of town friend will never go for Hei La Moon again.
(4)Jennifer L.
Is it just me, or does all dim sum taste the same? To be fair, I've only been twice, once to Hei La Moon and once to China Pearl, but seriously, the dim sum at both places taste exactly the same to me. The dishes seemed to be exactly the same. My experience is, if you get something with filling (besides the pork buns, which were ok), you can choose from some combination of pork, shrimp, and scallions.
(2)Danae B.
Best Dim Sum in Boston, hands down. Just watch out not not to get hit by one of the carts. It smarts!
(4)Tony Z.
Excellent dim sum restaurant. I personally prefer this over China Pearl, another very popular Chinatown dim sum restaurant since the overall taste is much more flavorful and tasty. Be sure to come at the right time as the wait can be a bit long. Also, parking is nearly impossible to find on a weekend.
(4)Leili T.
I've been to much better places for Dim Sum. The food wasn't that special and it smelled a little. I will never go back. It killed my interest in Chinese food altogether and I used to be a huge fan of Chinese food and specially Dim Sum.
(1)Al N.
For the Dim Sum: 5 Stars. They got all my favorites, from turnip cakes to pork ribs in black bean sauce to chicken feet to taro cakes (shrimp cakes with crispy shredded taro stuck to the outside--amazing) to wide noodles with XO sauce. Good prices, fun to eat, fast service. So why the two stars? It it weren't for the great Dim Sum in the earlier hours, I'd give them zero. I went at night with four friends, all of whom are white. I look white enough, even though I'm half Asian. Not like it matters. First of all, there's no Dim Sum. Second, I order the Peking Duck and they only tell me ten minutes later that they're out. I know that takes a day to make it, but if it's on the menu, WTF? The biggest offense of all was NOT the waiters constantly looking over at our table, pointing, and laughing (yeah, we're ugly dorks, but have some manners), but the way that no matter what we ordered, THEY GAVE US THE WUSSIFIED GWEILO VERSION. We asked for chicken with ginger and scallions--repeated it twice, actually. They brought chicken with broccoli. I asked very clearly so as to be absolutely sure that the waiter understood that I wanted Spicy Salted Shrimp WITH SHELL and HEADS. They brought decapitated, shelled shrimp. When I said it's not what I wanted, the waiter said, "This is better." What a load of crap--shrimp without shell is like bowling ball without liquid center. They missed one dish entirely. It's like Hei La Moon is two different restaurants, one a fantastic Dim Sum place and the other run by a idiots so afraid of offending customers' palettes that they completely disregard what was ordered. Don't go at night. If for some reason you feel you must, bring a lawyer.
(2)Moookao K.
Is it just me or have Chinese people gotten heavier over the years? If so, it's all because of this place. The dim sum is the best in Boston!!! and I know my dim sum. It's in my genes for goodness sakes. Before I found this place, I was worried about surviving the next 3 years in Boston without good dimsum -- given that I come from the motherland of dimsum -- CA. Unlike the dim sum offered by China Pearl or Chau Chow City, the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Especially noteworthy were there beef noodle rolls (chang fun), meat balls, shu mai, hargow, and leek/veggie dumplings. Also yummy are anything bun related -- BBQ pork buns and the sweet custard bun. The bread is the perfect balance of fluffy and chewy. Damn, I'm salivating all over my computer again. Oh yeah...and the service is great and the dining room is spacious and clean! Why not 5 stars? cuz I'm a spoiled dimsum whore and have had the best of dimsums from around the world, SF, LA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan. Sorry Boston. Though you're the best here, you don't compare to the rest of the world. But congrats on the 4 stars!
(4)Jimmy C.
Dim sum heaven. The spareribs over rice noodles are delicious!
(5)Liana K.
Dim sum is yum yum! While I can't recall the names of everything that ended up being swallowed, it was all good. Pricewise wasn't too bad since it came out to like $62 for 8 people.
(4)Thuy Tien L.
I used to get my dim sum fix at China Pearl, but one day I decided to investigate the place with the long lines out the door of Chinese families, and I found Hei La Moon. Oh man. I love this place! Best dim sum I've ever had, and definitely the best in Chinatown. Bring a Chinese friend (it might help you get a table faster, and it'll be easier to get food), and try one of everything. Everything. They serve pretty much every food item anyone could ever want to eat at dim sum, so bring an empty stomach. Come early to avoid the crowds (before 10 am, esp on a weekend) or else you'll be half-dead from hunger by the time you get a table. And you'll DEFINITELY need a Chinese speaker in your crowd in that situation, because numbers are called out in both Cantonese and Mandarin but rarely ever in English. Shady, but true. Another useful tip: either come in small groups (2-4) or giant extended family-sized groups (10-12). Sometimes large round tables are saved for large parties, sometimes several small groups get put together at one of these tables. Seating often depends on your group's size and table availability, so numbers aren't called in order. The food is absolutely amazing and really fresh because they get so much business. I often drop around ten bucks for a gut-busting, soul-fulfilling meal. Heaven.
(5)Mark W.
Excellent Dim Sum!
(4)James C.
Dim sum review. The food is good but the service is spotty. The carts come so infrequently that people go to the carts. Service in general is poor
(2)Andra Z.
This is a great place for dim sum, and for someone who isn't Asian, an experience not to forget. It's always busy when I've gone, which makes the experience even better. The carts are packed with yummy dim sum goodies and the staff is helpful enough to give you some sort of indication as to what you're eating. I wouldn't go in if I weren't willing to experiment. The broccoli rabe is fantastic, I highly recommend it. And I've always stayed away from the cart with the chicken feet. I have eclectic tastes, but not that eclectic. The prices are incredibly reasonable for the amount of food you can and will consume.
(4)Jennifer S.
don't go for anything but dim sum. like another poster mentioned their food is really bland and flavorless. no soy, no ginger, garlic NOTHING. lots of cornstarch though. so yucky. but their shrimp dumplings (Har Gow) are a delight.
(2)Lynn C.
Keep in mind the four star is strictly for the food only (don't expect super service from most authentic Chinese places. Just be happy the Chinese lady pushing the cart didn't force-feed you their dishes), and based on Boston Chinese food rating standard (if I were in NYC or Toronto, the food here would just be a 3.) This is the place where I go to satiate my cravings for Dim Sum. At first I thought it'd be difficult to find actual good dim sum here in Boston, but a friend of mine introduced me to Hei La Moon and the food here is actually legit. The variety is good enough, you have all the basics like har gow, siu mai, cha siu bao, lai wong bao, and chicken feet (yum!), and the taste is right. The push cart ladies are standard pushy, standard because I've seen a lot worse at dim sum places. The dude who owns the restaurant and his wife are pretty rude. I've seen the owner yell at the push cart ladies with a real chinese foul mouth, and his wife, who's downstairs taking in the money, has a sour face and would chase you down if you don't pay at least 15% tip. In essence, the real Chinese dim sum experience, minus the tip part... Oh, and tip for this restaurant: go downstairs and they will seat you right away.
(4)David G.
Came here on a sunday afternoon right before heading on a bus back to NY. Its one of the bigger places for dim sum in boston. I came with a group of 5 and they sat us on a table of 4 which i didnt mind, but the tables were so close to each other. I just wish they would space out the tables better. I'm probably biased since im from NY and i eat dim sum in flushing & chinatown all the time. The dim sum here is just average. There wasn't a huge selection of items. The shrimp in rice rolls was pretty good, its hard to mess this one up (unless the rice rolls were hard or the soy sauce was shitty) but neither was the case. I love chicken feet...but the chicken feet here was not so good. It was not tasty nor appetizing. The feet that was placed on my table looked extra wrinkly for some reason. The next time i visit boston, i think i'd rather skip on the dim sum.
(3)Anastasia R.
Everything I love about China town can be found in this restaurant on a Sunday morning. Pork buns, shrimp wrapped in those weird big rice noodles with something-sauce all over them, black bean pork, Chinese broccoli, but most of all, mystery. I try to order at least one thing I am completely unfamiliar with every time I go to a dim sum restaurant. Granted, I can't in good conscience recommend this to everyone, but I can now say that I have eaten fried chicken feet. I smugly consider this a gastronomic triumph.
(4)Chris G.
I've gotten a lot of dim sum in a lot of different places during my life and I would definitely rank this place at the bottom. The food had no taste and anything that was fried was way too greasy. They really sacrifice quantity for quality. For example, the wu gok and ham siu gok here are the biggest I've ever had but also the least flavorful. I sat in the basement seating and definitely noticed the lack of diversity with the food selection. I will definitely never return here. Just go to Winsor Dim Sum Cafe. There aren't any carts so you miss the real dim sum experience, but trust me. It is just not worth it.
(1)Mike H.
I've been in China Pearl's corner for a long, long time, but Hei La Moon has opened up my eyes to a better food quality overall. My friends and I usually come here around noon on the weekends, and we're usually seated right away which is so surprising. Unlike so many Dim Sum fares, Hei La Moon doesn't peddle the same crap on the carts for hours until it's too hard to eat. There aren't ant shared tables either, so you can feel free to have as many un-PC conversations with your friends as you want without the fear of having people call the cops on the crazies at their table talking about inappropriate things. It's technically outside of the Chinatown gates, so I don't know if I can truly consider this true Chinatown Dim Sum, but that might just be the picky little prick in me. There are plenty of tables, and plenty of options, but I do have two gripes: 1) They seem to have an odd layout downstairs so the food cart path was never really established and it was kind of a free for all. 2) They don't have the crispy crab balls with the crab claw sticking out of it like China Pearl does. 3) The hostess doesn't know my name yet unlike China Pearl where all she has to say is "Michael! how many in your party today?" (But since that's just plain sad, I'll let that one go. Give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.
(4)Phil C.
Although I've been here for wedding banquets (and they're generally very good, perhaps best in Chinatown), I'll write a dim sum review. Hei La Moon, for the most part, gets the job done, but there are some things that a dim sum stickler could make a Federal case over. However, the restaurant is spacious and can handle a weekend crowd. The ladies pushing the carts were particularly annoying. They'd hover over your table and generally remain until someone at the table physically tells them that they're not interested in their wares. I should threaten them with a taser the next time. The food itself was okay, with some basics being pretty decent and others lacking. The siu mai was very good, as it was flavorful and warm. The beef tripe was excellent, having a good peppery flavor. The dan tat (egg custard tart) was decent. The ha cheung (shrimp rice rolls) was just average; nothing special. The sticky rice wrapped in leaf wasn't too salty and had pretty good pork stuffing. However, the fried taro pastry stuffed with pork was below average. It came cold and was bland. I ordered a bunch of ha gow, but since I was doing the ordering, I didn't get a chance to try it as it disappeared quickly. I never saw any ha gow again, which isn't a good sign either. For Boston, this place gets the job done and I'd choose it over some of the places around. I don't really care for the upstairs parking arrangement - more complicated than it has to be.
(3)Julie L.
I have come here for a preset Chinese New Year dinner and weekend dim sum. Both deserve a 3 star rating. The prices are very affordable but the quality is just average. I found everything (dinner entrees and dim sum) to be way too oily. Even the vegetables were drenched in oil. Good selection of dim sum so if you're here with a larger party there's probably something that caters to everyone. Also, the restaurant is huge (2 floors) and significantly larger than other dim sum places like Windsor so it's a good option if you want to get seated relatively quickly.
(3)Ngoc T.
I came on a Sunday morning, the restaurant was crowded but it took me 5 minutes to get a table so not too bad. Waitress seemed a little annoyed when I asked her about the food, and then walked away without answering. Some just walked away and smiled at me after I asked her a question - odd but ok. Overall, bad service. On the bright side, their food was good.
(3)Miguel R.
One moment while I rub my temples as I decide where to begin. OK, I was brought here by a good, native-Chinese-speaking friend. In retrospect, I am glad she was chaperoning me, because I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of Chinatown. Not Boston Chinatown -- New York Chinatown. I half-expected one of the aggressive cart-ladies to wave a live chicken in my face or drop a flapping fish on my plate. The à la carte menu is simple enough to figure out, but the dim sum carts are anyone's guess. My hostess told me she was being 'conservative' with her selections, which I was fully aware of; once you've had menudo, you've had all the basic training you'll ever need to spot an animal stomach from a mile away. In short, I enjoyed myself because I have a high noise-and-chaos tolerance and because I was accompanied by a very kind interpreter. I recommend you come here with someone who knows anything about authentic Chinese food or who can actually speak Chinese. Some offerings are not for the American faint of heart.
(3)Kenneth F.
Great place for dim sum in Boston, much better than two other places I have tried in Chinatown. Here are some of the dish highlights: Good: Giant Har Gow...seriously, check out my picture, I placed a tea cup next to it for comparison. Although the dish came with two only, it was much better than the one that came with four. Tofu dessert...I forgot the exact english translation, but you'll see this cart strolling around and serving up a storm. Some dogweed/shrimp dish...never seen it at another restaurant before, but it's good here! Mediocre/Not so good: Chicken feet rice noodle (cherng fun)
(4)Josephine L.
Been here for dim sum a few times and it's always a guaranteed good experience. They do dim sum the old school Cantonese way, with frowning old ladies pushing carts full of food while curious and somewhat bewildered diners gaze warily at the contents before finally settling on an item and ordering it through a mixture of sign language and overly loud English. Unless you already speak Cantonese (or Mandarin), in which case you breeze through the process. Everything is delicious, solid and decently authentic. The beef tripe is wonderfully chewy and ginger-y, the chicken feet are tasty, the steamed pork buns (a favorite with the boyfriend) are fluffy, mango pudding is delish, congee is hot and comforting and the custard pastries are fabulous. You pretty much can't go wrong with anything you pick, and if it looks unusual, eat it anyway (unless you have allergies) because life is short and you only eat once. Per meal. Er....you know what I mean.
(4)Alma C.
The dim sum here tastes good and has above average selection compared to the other dim sum in the area. I ranked this place a two at first b/c the first time I went here, one of the dishes had a hair in it. I saw it before anyone in my party touched it, but when I called over the waitress to tell her, she could not speak a lick of English and I had to point at my head and then the plate and then my head again for her to understand. She then quickly brought a replacement dish and the rest of the meal was fine. Since this is probably one of the better places for dim sum around Boston, I'm giving it a few more chances to redeem itself from that first time visit. I've actually been here a couple times since and it's been fine.
(3)John L.
Been here countless times since the mid 90's. It's just a block outside of Chinatown, actually right outside the sign for Chinatown. Super busy on Sunday, but Saturday can hold it's own too. Very good dim sum, service is always great in Chinese restaurants. But please keep in mind that the waiters and waitresses will NOT ask you how the food is. They will take away your empty dim sum plate in less than two seconds flat but you'll be waiting until the next blue moon if you want some TLC from the staff. Oh and when you are done with your meal, simply flag down a wait staff by waving your dim sum card and never expect the waiter to add your total in a calculator. If he/she whips out a calculator, you are not in a real dim sum restaurant. Just sayin. I also suggest coming here for dinner for some authentic Chinese dishes. Bring a large party b/c the dishes are large and Chinese dishes are best shared!
(4)Bailey Z.
Hei La Moon is your standard dim sum joint. It's large enough to accommodate groups and serves the typical dim sum fare. The food is decent, the prices are reasonable, and the place is relatively clean. It's a big step up from China Pearl, but I still liked Winsor better. Get here before 10 am because both levels of this restaurant fill up fast.
(3)Deanna D.
Dim Sum Review: The service is push cart style so you can see everything but the servers don't tell you what in the dish, so when you ask they just put it on your table. No explanation or menu + no prices =down side to this type of dim sum. You end up with random stuff that looks cool but not knowing what your eating is not cool. Not a huge selection since its essentially the same stuff passing over and over again. Fried rice was horrible--too sticky like it was over cooked/steamed. BBQ pork buns were delicious--the best dish we had Shrimp in bean curd was ok--the strange consistency was not appealing and lacked flavor Shrimp & Leek fried wantons were tasty BBQ pork ribs were not very good--lots of fat pieces in a tiny order Shrimp steamed dumpling was flavorless. No condiments on the table to sauce up your dish--not a good thing since I'm a sauce whore. Overall not a great meal. The restaurant was clean, the staff was friendly and the food was OK. We won't be back anytime soon. I prefer Winsor for Dim Sum--more selection, tastier food, real menu and cheaper too.
(2)Jerrica J.
Was in Boston last weekend due to a family emergency. My boyfriend and I ate a lot. I liked how big this restaurant was. Everything was tasty. My favorite was the har gow and shui mai. I was sad that at 1:30 they ran out of my favorite egg custard tarts. One star off because the servers were a little lazy and didn't want to check for dishes for me. I had to flag people down numerous times. They forgot our water.
(4)Joanna C.
Came here for dinner and a book club meeting last week! The facility was a tiny bit hard to find (my GPS kept telling me to make right turns down one way streets in the opposite direction and I almost ran over a tiny Asian woman because I was so distracted!), but regardless, showed up and was able to find street parking (Sweet!). The place was EMPTY. And oh yeah, it's also GIANT! Clear out those tables and we can have a touch football match! But anyway - great for our book club since we could talk and eat and not be worried we would be taking up a needed table. The servers seemed to have a tiny bit of a comprehension issue with understanding everyone's questions, but we were finally able to order our food and settled in for a nice discussion. When suddenly, a tour bus pulled up and out jumps out about a hundred or so people?? They poured into the restaurant and it's chaos! We were promptly forgotten as the servers ran around trying to accommodate the HUGE group. Our entrees arrived haphazardly. We weren't offered rice (and couldn't order it until about 20 minutes after our entrees because no one was within our vicinity). Our tea went empty for a while as we tried to flag someone down. But all in all, a pretty solid meal (once it arrived)! I definitely recommend the aromatic beef (deep fried beef strips!), and the empress chicken (we were all stealing bites of that!). Service left some to desired, but what can you expect from (right outside) Chinatown? I do need to hit it for dim sum soon!
(3)Hung L.
Came here for a wedding, quite possibly the worst Chinese food in Boston. Typical 10 course wedding meal, one of the dishes that came out had the same reaction from everyone, "steak? never seen steak at a Chinese wedding before" Probably the most chewy piece of steak I have ever ate. Fried rice...tasted more like plain rice with veggies thrown in it. Red bean dessert, was like eating red bean in water, didn't taste sweet at all. I would have to say 2 out of the 10 dishes were acceptable. Definitely not gonna do my wedding here. Hei La Moon definitely needs to sound proof their rooms better, another wedding was going on next to us and they were obnoxiously loud. I saw the other bride, definitely a bridezilla, clubbing music and no one in your party was even dancing.
(2)Adam C.
1st timer to Boston Chinatown (in many many years). Went with my son & my mom. Fri. 24 June 2011, about 12:30pm. It was a very large place, very noisy, and very crowded..lots of pushy people. All of us are mega dumpling fans, so it was a no-brainer.. We ate all types of dimsum, I couldn't tell you what type they weer, but most were great. Different locations in the restaurant had different foods on the carts..we were in the front of the place, and at the rear, there were balls of something being carted around. My take-sit somewhere else and your menu will change ? The cart pushers didn't offer any explanation as to what it the itemes were... I did notice that some of the young asian business men were waited and douted over by the younger female staff :-) not the cranky cart ladies. I liked it very much, for the food and the crazy atmosphere. I want to go back....
(4)Meridith H.
This is only the 2nd place in Boston that I've tried for Dim Sum, and I already know that I've found my regular place. The atmosphere outside the restaurant is just as frenetic as the atmosphere inside - within seconds of being seated, my partner and I already had 2 choices of dessert on our table. Within minutes, we had a feast. Obviously, service was quick. It was also friendly, and the language barrier was no barrier (unless you really want to know what's inside those steaming buns or the steaming pot stickers...but if you want to know that, then where did your sense of adventure go? My partner took out his cell phone to look up the menu, but I call that cheating). I liked most of what I ate, and can't wait to come back with an empty stomach to try more of their offerings. The location is great, too; it's a quick walk from the Boylston stop on the Green or the South Station stop on the Red Line.
(4)Nik C.
Had the most surreal experience here. Came on a Sunday 6/5, arrived at about 9:30am. Upstairs had a fair number of people. We were seated downstairs. Nobody was there. And I mean nobody; we were the only ones eating there. The carts sort of hovered around our table. Nobody else showed up for the whole time we ate. Nobody. It was very strange. We're used to this place being absolutely packed. Dunno what the story was. It was the strangest thing.
(4)douglas h.
Dim Sum My favorite dim sum place in the Boston area. Potential to stand in a line.
(4)Tammy L.
My favourite DS place in Boston! I love almost everything that I've tried at HLM, especially the char siu bows. The cart ladies can be persistent but some of them are really friendly. Dinner at HLM is another story. I've had about five family dinners at this place. The dishes are bland so I usually have to add soy or hot sauce on everything. Normally I would just eat everything the way it is, but not at HLM. But hey, the dim sum is fabulous. My only complaint is the long, long wait.
(4)Z T.
My first experience there, dimsum is pretty good, but service and speed is the slowest I've seen in Chinatown. Nearly impossible to get what we wanted. I went back the 2nd time, and service was excellent, but this time we have a bigger crowd.
(4)Yan L.
It is these sort of places that makes me want to move back to Hong Kong. Sure, you may say it's not a fair comparison, but that doesn't excuse the horrible dim sum. Where shall I start? -- Shrimp dumplings (har gao) had skin which was too thick. But thick here doesn't mean strong, actually (you'd think it would) because the moment you pick it up with chopsticks, it breaks and all the filling spills out. -- Lotus leaf rice (lor mai gai) was dry on the inside. Rice was undercooked and had a grainy texture. (Btw, eating undercooked glutenous rice is not good for your stomach.) -- Siew mai had a dot of pink food coloring on top to substitute for roe (usually orange). At least I hope it was food coloring. Very suspicious. -- Fried taro dumplng was too oily and tasted stale. Had to spit it out. -- Char siew buns had too little filling. The bun was cooked for too long and probably with not enough steam, making it dense and hardened. -- Chicken feet in soy sauce. This one was actually alright. Though I'd be surprised if they could ruin this. -- Century egg pork porridge. Nothing redeeming. Bland and not cooked long enough to get the flavors of the ingredients out. I suspect the only reason why so many people come to this place is because the wait is short (if any), as they have a lot of space on multiple floors. So i guess it depends on whether you want to subject yourself to longer waits elsewhere to get better food, or get a quick shot of crap.
(1)Helena Q.
Most of the food here is definitely above average and quite good. Suffers from the common problem of inconsistent push carts, so definitely make sure to try and sit in an area where lots of other people are. I do feel that it's a bit expensive for dim sum though. My biggest complaint is that the chrysanthemum tea / other tea mix we got had only one flower in it... (I don't actually know the English name of the tea)
(4)Alex L.
By far the best dim sum in Boston. Period. End of sentence. After living here for 4 years at some point in my life, I regret wholeheartedly that I never knew about this place during my entire tenure. It was just outside the gates of chinatown, which I suppose made it out of our line of vision at the time. The food here tastes amazingly fresh and they do a great job on pretty much every dish I care about (Tripe, Shumai, Chung Fun). On an average trip, you can expect each person to spend ~$12-15 for the meal, but thats not particularly different than anywhere else worth checking out in Chinatown Boston.
(5)Oiyan P.
I took my whole family out to dim sum today to celebrate my return from LA and completion of my Ph.D. Since I haven't been around much in a while I let my parents pick a place. The first thing they said was that they didn't think there was any place good in Boston, but then said that Hei La Moon was decent in their opinion. Oh goodness... it was just not good. My elders (aunts, uncles, parents) just wouldn't eat half of the dishes. The shrimp rice rolls (har cheung) was kinda cold, and the rice roll tasted gritty like the cooks hadn't mixed up the powder enough or something. The shrimp dumpling (har gau) wrapping was too thick (couldn't see through it) and the shrimp tasted funny. So I asked my dad what he thought of it, and he and the other elders thought that the shrimp had gone bad! So we didn't finish those 2 dishes. The cold/pickled chicken feet were pretty good - not too vinegary, and had a good texture to it. The only really good thing was the vegetarian rice rolls (jai cheung) and that's cuz it was brought out to us on a special order. It was hot, straight from the kitchen. Tasty with the smooth rice rolls with a good balance of cilantro. Everything else was pretty forgettable. The other good thing was that at $117 (not including tip) for 16 people, it was a pretty good bargain. But when I asked for a receipt (I paid cash), the hostess was hella rude to me, asking me why I needed it. Damn, biatch! I want it for my tax records. Also, the parking validation is really weird. There's a garage right above the place. You pay an $11 deposit, and after dining you ask for parking validation in the restaurant, which gives you a sticker and $5. Or something like that. Too many transactions!!! I don't know if I've just been spoiled by Chinese food in California, but wow... this was unimpressive. Come on Boston! We deserve good dim sum!
(2)Dominique N.
Is the "yum cha" here as good as Hong Kong or Vancouver or the Bay Area? Obviously not. But it really hits the spot and is great compared to the generally poor state of Boston Chinese food. Plus they still have the old-school dim sum carts (not ordering at the table) which is awesome! Instant gratification + ability to check out new dishes before buying. Finally it's very cheap - I never end up paying more than $10-12 per person here for more dim sum than I can eat. Har Gow are a good measure of dim sum since it's basically shrimp + dumpling skin- if the shrimp aren't crisp or are overly seasoned, there's nowhere to hide it. The har gow here are good - nice flavor, large in size and the shrimp are fresh. In addition to the regular dim sum (like har gow or sew mai) Hei La Moon has some more authentic dishes like dow foo fah (sweet tofu dish) and ja leung (Chinese donut wrapped in a rice noodle). These are Cantonese favorites and usually pretty hard to find. This restaurant can get mobbed so the best bet is to go on Saturday mornings (versus the more popular Sunday mornings). If the upstairs seems mobbed try heading downstairs to the basement and ask to be seated by the hostess there. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes. I think they also take reservations. There is also validated parking in the attached parking garage - it's a little confusing. You pay the parking garage the full amount (something like $6-10?) and then take your parking pass to Hei La Moon, where you pay THEM another $3. You then take your stamped parking ticket back to the parking garage and they refund your original payment. There has to be a more efficient way, but that's how it works.
(4)Iv L.
2.5 Star. Nice big place , did some renovation to expand the back. Dim sum cart rolling around and you get to take what you want. average dim sum food.
(2)Jeffrey L.
Best dim sum in boston, everyone knows it too. Went to China pearl for years and saw the ship sinking for years so I had to find a new gem. Their Shu Mai are easily the best, much bigger and succulent with black mushroom. So if they did dim sum only I would be cheering all the way BUT they do dinner items as well and that's where they honestly deserve 2 stars. Their dinner items are very poorly constructed and the flavors are usually bland. I just love the dim sum too much to give it below 4 stars, plus the decor and service are always good especially for Chinatown and there's parking above.
(4)Marc L.
This is the new hotspot for Dim Sum in Boston. The restaurant isn't new but their Dim Sum selection and service has improved considerably and has replaced China Pearl as the premiere Dim Sum place around Chinatown. The place was packed on a weekday at 10am. Can be very noisey, but so is any popular place. Thats a good sign. The servers are friendly, food was so fresh. You could tell the food was prepared that morning. Prices were very reasonable.
(4)Crystal E.
Went there for dim sum and a friend's birthday. Both pretty good for dinner and dim sum. Crazy on Sunday since dim sum hours.
(4)Qichen Z.
A huge restaurant in Chinatown. Easy to miss because it's tucked away on the end of Beach Street, close to the harbor. Food was okay. Didn't get to see the menu since I went there for a friend's party, but I imagine it to be comprehensive. Seafood was pretty good, but do NOT order the raw fish. The lobster and fried cod were delicious. Overall, the food was good, but the ambience was a little weird. It only has one huge dining space so you feel like you're eating in the middle of a tackily-decorated ballroom. They served Sapporo and Tsingtao (surprisingly hard to find in Boston), so they get points for that. Go here if you have a large party, not necessarily if you want to have an intimate conversation.
(3)Chris P.
No joke...people told me this place was going to be busy, and they were right - there must have been 500 people eating in there when I was in there, but they are set up to handle it and (for the most part) we weren't left waiting on food. I went on a cold Saturday morning with a couple of friends and on the recommendation of a local. There were carts-a-plenty rolling around all over and bottomless green tea to keep us warm. We ate and ate - great dumplings, beef, clams - basically everything we tried was delicious. The only complaint I have is that there was a period of about 10 minutes where we didn't see any carts come by, but it's a stretch to be upset about this. Three people, we all stuffed ourselves and got out of there for $39. You're not going to beat that. The food is legit, the service pretty good, and the atmosphere lively. A good place to keep on your list!
(4)Soooap L.
If I crave dim sum, at normal dim sum hours (breakfast - lunch time), I go to Hei La Moon. (I married Cantonese and been to HK a few times so I think it's the best here in Boston compared to the others : Emperor's Garden, China Pearl). Pretty standard selection, hot and fresh (at peak hours) and decently priced. If you go in a larger group, you get more value, of course. but if you're craving dim sum AFTER peak hours, go to Windsor instead where you can get fresh dim sum. I give the food 4 stars, but the service 3 stars. Even if you do speak Chinese, the staff are generally rude and rarely friendly.
(4)M. Deloris D.
After fostering a love affair between ourselves, the dude and I planned a pre-honeymoon staycation in an attempt to begin a love affair with our fair city, Boston. A menage a trois of sorts, that is to say, he, me and Hei La Moon. A friend recommmended this place. She, a bonafied Asian and self proclaimed AZN (which she claims is an ultra-hip, in the know, Asian). It was seconded by the Yelp family and so it was, that we made our way over to Beach Street to experience the magic. The first issue here is being seated. The top level can get a bit busy as the hostess is the first station of attack past the double doors. We were first timers. We collected a number and waited less than ten minutes to be seated. It was the most confusing ten minutes of my adult life, with numbers being shouted out in three languages (I'm sure one was English, I assume the others were Cantonese and Mandarin). Some folks walked in and breezed through to tables, others collected numbers and waited, others stood and waited without numbers and some just went downstairs. Our strategy worked and I think it's the one we'll implement going forward. The pace at Hei La Moon is breakneck. Carts fly past and the servers only ask if you want to try something once before they pass to the next table, which can be a problem once you figure things out because you start saying yes to everything (except chicken's feet, we never say yes to chicken's feet) once you realize it might be a while before these carts come back around. This can lead to being stuffed prematurely. If you're super starvolated, get a dish to tide you over and wait to survey the carts as they pass the tables and approach you. Nearly everything at Hei La Moon was tasty though I'd say skip the steamed vegetables which were gorgeously green and utterly bland. Go for the beef wrapped in noodle and fried dough wrapped in noodle. The char siu bao were tasty and other dumplings were tastetastic whether boiled, fried or steamed. The pork and black bean spare ribs were tender and delicious. He loved the varied, fried, small fish, squid and shrimp. I was weirded out by the roe in the fish. Roe separate from fish? Yummy. Roe inside the fish? Ummm...ew. A final piece of advice, when heading to dim sum at Hei La Moon, be sure your party is at least three people, that way you'll be able to order more and taste a broader array of the delicious offerings. If you're taking the T, South Station is your best bet. Dig in!
(4)Clara L.
Another tasty dim sum. Every table upstairs and downstairs was full, there was a few minute wait, longer for parties of 4 our more. Just try not to get seated at the back of the restaurant away from the kitchen if you have a choice, carts don't get back here often and quick enough, some of our dishes were not that warm and we didn't get the best pick of items.
(3)Sara M.
Went to this restaurant for dim sum on New Year's Day. Didn't actually make it to the restaurant until around 1:15PM, but we were seated within five minutes of arriving. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. I like dim sum restaurants that have the old style carts being wheeled around throughout the meal. We had a great time picking new things to try, and we especially loved any of the dishes involving shrimp (the one with rice noodles was great!). We also liked the sesame balls. There were plenty of different dishes so we felt like we had many options. We ate fairly light, and the bill for four people came to $37. Will definitely return!
(4)Shao H.
The char siu sou there is the best.
(3)Jo-Anna L.
Be sure you're willing to go on an adventure before coming here. If you're coming here and you're not Asian, be prepared for the shock of being one of the only non-asians in the restaurant. But, I'd say that must mean it's authentic, right? There's a few normal things to sample here, but I'd say the experience here isn't complete without trying the chicken feet or the tripe. I was less impressed with the variety of dishes here, I found that nearly every dumpling contained shrimp, so if you don't eat shellfish, you're out of luck. There were also a few other dishes, like steamed buns that I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't find (except for some red bean filled ones). But, at least, go on a weekend at brunch time for the best selection as this is the typical time for eating dim sum!
(4)Nate Y.
One of several restaurants that serve Chinese brunch otherwise known as dim sum, Hei La Moon is situated in the outskirts of Chinatown or the area known as the Leather District. I scored street parking with an "out of service" parking meter. So far so good. The decor was fairly clean and not too shabby. We were seated fairly quickly and had our choice of tea. As we ordered the many different dishes from the carts, we picked what we were familiar with. In a sense it was comfort food for us. The tastes were familiar, but nothing really stood out. The service was fine. Even for those who don't speak Chinese there wouldn't be much of a problem of getting service although it does help knowing what the dishes are. For those who haven't had dim sum before this is a fine choice to try it, but for the experienced don't expect more than the usual.
(3)Happy Eater B.
Went here for a party. Tons of food, all of it tasty. Definitely a quantity over quality place, as the huge amounts of food lost a bit of finesse. Service was also a little lacking - trouble getting water, extra chopsticks, etc. because the wait staff was so busy. But a solid four stars for a great experience overall. An excellent place for large groups.
(4)Kevin L.
Considering this appears to be the most highly rated dim sum joint in Boston, I'm pretty shockingly disappointed. It doesn't even compare to the dim sum options in and around the DMV... and the ones that we have are pretty abysmal in comparison with the offerings of San Francisco, New York, or even Chicago. Let's start off with the lack of variety in dishes. The carts that kept passing us by offered up the same set of roughly a dozen different items. One has to order chong fun (the long wide tubes of rice noodle) specially - they don't come around in carts like other dishes? Also, where were the greens, or the guo tie? Then, let's talk about the fact that they appeared to have a single lone cart offering luo buo gao. One. And that lady was -way- slow in serving them up. It took readily upwards of ten minutes for a single order. And even when that came, it was mediocre. Boo. Perhaps it's a function of where we ended up sitting (at a table with a dead-end, so carts could only pass us in one plane of motion), or perhaps it was due to the time of day (we sat down roughly around 1330). The bottom line is that I left completely unimpressed. On the up side, if you pay $11 to park in the cluster of a garage directly above this restaurant on a Saturday, then pay the restaurant $6 for a coupon, they'll refund you the parking fee at the cashier's stand when you exit the garage. Basically, dropping the price down to $5. Presuming you remember to purchase the coupon from the restaurant, and are willing to deal with the hassle of obtaining your money back when you exit.
(2)H W.
Authentic and affordable dim sum that you can be confident in.
(4)Ryan L.
Great service and good food consistency. Found the parking a pain, but there's definitely plenty of tables in this place. Always busy during the peak times of the day and the waiters are right on top of it. I'd say this place is the best Dim Sum in Boston.
(4)Jen M.
We've eaten dim sum many times in many cities. Today we tried hei la moon. Our first Boston dim sum. It's definitely average-above average food-wise. The service was pretty good and the cart ladies were able to communicate fairly well. We got there before noon on a Sunday as a party of six and we were seated immediately I think it helped to have gramma with us because none of the cart ladies was surly with her or us. Had it just been us non-Chinese folks it might have been different. Two downsides on the food...(1) They did not seem to serve scallion pancakes which always keep the kids happy. Luckily I brought a snack for one my picky eater. Also they did not have juice so if you bring young kids you should pack their drinks. (2) They did not seem to have many of the steamed dumplings I love and have come to expect at dim sum.
(3)Peter W.
The Dim Sum is good. The diversity was not that great, but the quality is good (e.g., not too greasy). The experience of getting a table or service for water or tea is something to just sit back and laugh off. Have fun.
(4)Billy Su B.
ok so hei la moon is the latest thing for me to OBSESS over. here is the tale: upon arrival, things were looking grim. a teeny chinese girl, beneath the gaudiest chandelier you have ever laid eyes on, stood behind a booth at the entrance. she was handing out mangled little pieces of paper with numbers scribbled on them with one hand, and holding a microphone with the other, which she would periodically half say, half.. kind of, sort of shriek: NEKSA PAHTY!! NUMMA SEEKS!!!! is this dim sum or chinese bingo? either way i feel like i win. before she could call our number over her microphone though, a huffy little man motioning violently to and fro confiscated our ticket and sent us down a grand staircase where a lady looked at us solemnly and pointed to a dirty table. mike and i looked at one another skeptically and sat down. is this punishment? must we be flogged with dumplings now? he made a face as he flicked a stray piece of rice onto the floor and glanced reluctantly at the remaining debris. mulling all about us were waiters in the filthiest uniforms i have ever seen. seriously, do the employees all roll around in the dim sum before each shift? was there a food fight? are the crusties their version of "flair?" was someone's mother dissed? so there we were in the middle of this dining room when a waiter pulled up with a broke-ass cart with some duct tape on the side. my eyebrows were about to assume the sassy position when i spotted the food: steaming, fresh, gorgeous, aromatic plates heaped with dumplings, shumai, sweet pork belly buns.. ladies and gents, the food was FANTASTIC. the shumai was unusual, saturated in savory goodness and atypical spices. the pork belly buns were MY FAVORITE! like little desserts! i had a banana leaf stuffed with hot rice and pork-sausage with egg that was so so yummy.. bingo? yes, it would seem so after all. hei la moon, i will brave your crusty waiters, your bad chandeliers, your shrieking hostess, and your one injured toilette with no seat. really? no seat? let's just neutralize it, shall we? / / / / two stars off for being a dirty debbie. ( * * ) | ___ ___ |___ / | | | _______________/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | dumpling cart! | m---- ---m | | | | | | | | | ______________ | | | ( ) ( ) | |
(3)Angel C.
If you have a big group and want to go for dim sum, you either go here or you go to China Pearl. This place is maybe a little better than China Pearl. One thing I like about China Pearl, though, is that they have a bigger dessert selection (hooray for my sweet tooth!), although HLM recently started serving tapioca in coconut milk, which is one of my favorites, so yay! If you want to avoid waiting, go before 11AM.
(4)David B.
This place is always crowded-a good sign.We always try to get there early on a sunday.If you get there past 11:30 or 12 there can be a bit of a wait. It is worth it.Shrimp in rice noodles,slippery and tasty.Har gow is always good as are various other shrimp dumplings.Good sticky rice in lotus leaves and the sticky rice under glass.The turnip cake is good but Windsor's is better.Pork buns are tasty and stuffed w/sweet bbq pork.If you go and they have the soup in the hollowed out watermelon,get it.It is a treat.A fun,noisy,tasty place for dim sum.
(4)Calvin N.
A LOT BETTER than the other place I went the day before for Dim Sum out here in Boston. Food tasted fresher and the lighting is def a lot better. It feels cleaner here and a lot friendlier service. Once I get back to Boston I will come here only for Dim Sum.
(4)Hannah F.
Once again, I must admit that I've been spoiled by food in Los Angeles. That said, I went into Hei La Moon with hope. I did. I read some reviews on Yelp and there were good ones on there. I've been dying for good dim sum since moving to Boston but alas... I have not found my place yet. Hei La Moon has a good, energetic dim sum atmosphere. That's a good start. Plus, the servers milling around with the carts were able to tell us, in English, what the food was, so that's a plus since I'm (sadly) allergic to shrimp and crab and definitely didn't want to make an early afternoon trip to the ER. The biggest food plus has to be the BBQ pork buns. I may seem weird for saying this, but I'm slightly obsessed with them. I had actually been craving one for a week or so before deciding to go to dim sum so this was perfect timing. The buns didn't disappoint. Piping hot, super tasty... DEFINITELY have them if you go there. The rest of the food didn't wow me at all. Hence the 'meh, I've had better' rating. Maybe I just have higher standards. I don't know. I went with my parents, boyfriend and a family friend who lives in Boston. He loved it. The rest of us were underwhelmed. Honestly, it might just be because we've had the best of the best dim sum at home. We had dumplings with all kinds of fillings, vegetables, sesame sticky balls, shrimp balls (not for me but for everyone else), tofu and a few other things. We lost track. But the fabulous tastes you expect with dim sum just weren't there. Slightly too salty or bland or oily...what have you. Nothing really popped (aside from the BBQ pork buns). That being said, the waiters and waitresses were all very nice, prompt and courteous. But the food just did not deserve a stellar rating. I wish I could rate it higher...but I just can't. I can't help but wonder, is this just good dim sum for Boston? I hesitate to try another dim sum place for fear of the same result... General disappointment and a little queasiness after the fact.
(2)tritri j.
Damn, Boston, 3 and a half stars? Really? Sheesh no one in this city knows what real, quality Chinese food tastes like! Apart from the tummy ache I incurred later that night and the questionable bowel movement that followed later, their kung pao chicken had veryyy little chicken and was pumped FULL of celery! google kung pao chicken - none will have celery in the pictures. Another plate (shrimp with cashews) was also chock full of celery. I mean, could the place be any cheaper? We're supposed to pay $12-15 a plate for stir-fry celery? C'mon.. Also, the service was terrible, which is not surprising, but what did surprise us was when one of our party handed over her credit card to pay, the waitress brought back 2 credit cards! After we told her it wasn't ours, she just looked at it like she didn't know what to do with the situation! Fair warning for everyone - you may be charged for someone else's crappy food! Avoid this place!!
(1)Maithili R.
I've been here twice and wasn't excited about it either time. The first time we had dim sum and it was just very mediocre. Nothing to write home about. The second time around, we got entrees. This time two sets of our chopsticks were sticky and had left over food on them. Then later, one of my coworkers found a hair in her food. Between the chopsticks and the hair, we've decided to not go back here. I have to say the curry chicken was delicious. But between taste and hygiene, I choose hygiene.
(1)Jon H.
Okay, so I came here with a friend around Saturday at noon. Already, I have decided that its WAYYY better to come here on Saturday instead of Sunday. We waited only about ten minutes, then were seated downstairs. Almost immediately we started our dimsum cart ordering, and had a ton of different plates on our table. Like I said previously, the food is all great here, with a ton of traditional type dishes that are all very flavorful and good portion sizes. The service was much better this time, although we had to wait until the end to get our chicken porridge. I love the fact that when you order taro cake, they fry it to order in front of you. Two people, a good amount of food for 22 bucks. I'd say the prices felt much better the second time around. If you don't wait long, and you get lucky with the carts, there's no better place to experience DimSum. Oh yeah, it might also help that we just paid $10 and parked in the parking structure on top/side of the restaurant. That saved me a GIANT headache.
(4)Keith S.
Best and authentic dim sum restaurant. Always crowded which is a good sign. We've started eating here at least once a week. Huge variety of dishes that can make both meat lovers and vegetarians happy. Service is outstanding in a traditional Chinese style (ie fast, efficient) Looking at another yelpers review- finally did get up the nerve to try the chicken feet. Not bad but there must be some technique that I haven't quite mastered yet. We eat slowly, enjoy the table conversation and the banter with the ladies on the pushcarts. Lots of tea and for the time spent and dishes consumed, we have always paid a reasonable price. Favs are the shrimp fun and the beef fun; soft tasty broad rice noodles around the filling. Also baked Chau Su Bau - the best!
(5)Tracy C.
I want to start this review by stating the fact that Boston has no good Chinese food. So, the ratings and review are not based on the standard of real Chinese food, it is merely relative, to other Chinese food establishment in Boston. For that, I give Hei La Moon a 4-star, not because I don't know better, but because there ain't much choices in Boston. I like how the restaurant is spacious, the dining rooms are clean and the decor is extremely traditional Chinese--kinda lame but also cute. I always order shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and the noodle thingy w/ shrimp inside ( I don't know how to call those in English). Sometime I also get congee, sweet tofu soup, some fried taro shrimp cake stuff, shu mai and sticky rice chicken in lotus leaf. Nothing comes close to what one'd expect in China, Taiwan or HK, but here in Boston/Mass, there's only two other places (windsor, and the huge weird place in Saugus) that I think match up to Hei La Moon.
(4)Burger B.
Oh, Hei La Moon! -squeezes restaurant and pinches cheek- You are so wonderful. Unlike other dim sum locations, you always seem to know the right moment to send the steam cart wheeling by our table, brimming with hot shumai and har cao. When it's time for our meat fix, the tripe comes gliding past our table. *YOINK!* So perfectly chewy with just a slight hint of spiciness. Ambiance is wonderful. Go on a Saturday or Sunday morning (preferably before 10am) and you'll see a ton of close-knit families noshing together and catching up on their week. Another plus -- They don't use copious amounts of MSG in their food. (I'm very sensitive to MSG and don't get the headaches and fatigue after eating here when compared to some of their competitors).
(5)Prudence L.
My first time and last time to Hei La Moon...what a disaster! My husband and I were sat in the lower level, seated in the back corner where the carts were few and far between in stopping by to offer us food. The waiter was late to give us hot tea, never offered us water (we had to ask) and rarely stopped by to see if we needed anything. The food was barely tolerable. - Beef & shrimp wrapped in wide noodles (over cooked, the noodles were cracked) - Chicken feet (over cooked, really bland) - Stuffed eggplant (bland - could not even taste the seafood stuffing) - Pork shumai (one of the two dishes that tasted good) - Fried chive dumplings (again, very bland) - Pan fried turnip cakes (the second of two dishes that was better) - Steamed pork dumpings (never tasted them because there was a COCKROACH in it) The manager comped us on the pork dumplings and the hot tea, but outside of the cockroach, the experience was so poor that I will never go there again.
(1)Jeannie H.
This place serves tolerable dim sum in a pinch but it hardly qualifies as good eats. The dim sum is tolerable but it's not nearly as refined as what you would find in Hong Kong, no matter what anyone else posts on here. The ingredients are not of good quality nor are they fresh. ATMOSPHERE - It's relatively clean for a dim sum standards, which is scary and not saying much. I'm Chinese but will never understand why my people insist on having filthy bathrooms in their restaurants. It gets horribly humid during peak hours with the carts rolling around. It's the quintessential dim sum experience and will definitely appeal to the non-initiated since you can point to the tasty treats of your choice. SERVICE - Don't expect anything. FOOD - Everything is decent but nothing is particularly good. The har gow skin isn't delicate enough, the rice crepe too thick and boggy, the shu mai too dense, and the chicken feet undercooked. No dish stands out but nothing is inedible either.
(3)Chase S.
This place serves ok dim sum, but there's at least 3 other places within 200 yards that have fresher food, better decor, and charge less. I'd pretty much only come here if the other 3 places had a wait and this place didn't. It's not bad, it's just that...well... there are better choices. I'm not a hater! Don't you label me!!!!
(3)Jean Luc P.
It's the place to go if you want a Hong Kong dim sum experience in Boston. The push cart system is very authentic and reminds me of my childhood. It's also great place to go with friends who enjoy a more interactive dinning experience. The dim sum tasted the way it is meant to taste, I've been there with chinese friends, I've been there with non chinese friends, they all had a good time, I've been there by myself. My recommendation is "Ha Gui" (shrimp ball), "Sui Mai" (pork dumplings), "Pai Kug" (short rips), "Gar Nui" (rice noodle wrapped fired dough - happens to be a favorite for many first time dim sum tasters) "chung fan" (rice noodle wrapped, can be with beef, shrimp or veggie, ask the cart lady for your preference). A tip for my non chinese friends, if you want more tea, just lift the cap off your tea pot and place it on the table, and someone will come by to add hot water. You are suppose pour tea to others before you pour yourself, even if their cup is full you still need to make the gesture. If you see a chinese person tapping the table next to his cup with two finger as you pour tea, they are not asking for more, the gesture means "thank you". Here is a food video of my last visit youtu.be/TNRrKxcbshQ
(4)L G.
Went there for a 10-course meal for a post wedding day celebration. They assigned us the bottom floor. They were very accommodating allowing us to set up flowers on the tables and setting up table cards etc. The place was packed for Sunday dim sum with a line going outside. On top of that our party was running late but they didn't give us a stink! Food was definitely great. Most people were done at course 7 due to the amount of food. They used the traditional pushcarts for dim sum. Great selection and large portions. I would recommend trying this place before going to Winsor Dim Sum Café down the block. Plus Hei La Moon has more seating (top and bottom floors).
(4)Josephine P.
This place is our go-to place for dim sum. I have been here pretty much every time we get that Dim Sum Craving. I like it because it's big, you never have to wait as long as you would at a smaller restaurant and you get what you want. All you have to do is hassle someone to direct the desired cart over. This place has so much food. Beware. One time we ordered mochi balls and we just did not understand the lady when she gave us the description. We eat it anyways...and it turns out to be durian. puke. die.roll over. die again. Just know your shit when you get here so you don't fail like we did. I'm not that adventurous when I eat dim sum, but this place is good on those days where I do wanna try something new. I also like the carts; it's nostalgia.
(4)Gwen S.
Carts of mouth watering dumplings. This restaurant will hit the spot and will top my list of preferred restaurants. The staff was a little rough and I couldn't understand them, and even though I had no idea which dumplings we chose, they were all pretty damn good. When you see alot of chinese people dining here, that means that their is something good that waits inside. I was not disappointed other than the rude service.
(4)Ally W.
I think Win Sor is the dim sum spot in Boston nowadays but we do miss the fun of ordering from carts. We decided to eat at Hei La Moon for brunch on a Sunday. Food is usually mediocre, nothing special about the dishes. We do appreciate the brighter atmosphere and cleaner-looking dishes. However, this was probably the last time we will ever step foot into this joint. While we were looking for our usual dishes, we noticed the turnip cake lady had a minor accident with her cart. The top part of her cart fell over and spilled all the turnip cakes on the floor. Her peers did not help her clean up the mess, instead they kept pushing their carts and looked curiously at the mess. When the girl was about to sweep up the turnip cakes from the floor, one of the kitchen managers rushed out to the floor and handed the girl a big tray. The girl carefully stacked the turnip cakes and carried them back into the kitchen. Of course, the cart came out with ""fresh" turnip cakes in a few minutes. We noticed that some of the cakes were broken into pieces, maybe from the fell... very unethical way of doing business to save a few bucks.
(1)Julien P.
One of the better dim sum places in Boston. My wife and I have been to this place 4-5 times. Usually we order very similar stuff. Once you know what dim sum is, you really don't go out of your comfort zone. The food in general is good. You get seated fairly quickly despite the fact that it's always super crowded. Smaller parties up to 4 obviously benefit from faster table turnaround. I think the most inconvenient part about this location is finding parking around there. What a pain. The parking garage above charges something like $10 but it's one of the triple transaction things (you pay a larger sum, get validated, get reimbursed partly), quite annoying in fact. My wife who is Chinese gives this place 3 stars but agrees it's one of the better places in Boston. Maybe she knows what she's talking about more than I do. From my experience though, I would say that comparing cities, Boston in general is better than Seattle or Chicago for dim sum. There are 3-4 places in Boston I would give 4 stars to, and this one is in the top 2. The best dim sum I've had, which gets my 5 stars, was in KL, Malaysia. What's good here, flavor-wise (not authentic-wise): the crepes, the chicken feet (except this one time - today!), pork ribs, shrimp and pork dumplings (ha gao, shiu mai...)... actually too many things to list. Most are fairly good. I was surprised they had soy milk w/ Chinese fried crullers in the carts. My first time trying it in a place other than a Taiwanese breakfast places. What did I think? Not good! I think the tau fu fah (tofu in ginger/sugar sauce dessert) is better at Chow Chau but the wifey totally disagrees and says it is silkier and smoothier here. Service: well, typical for big dim sum place. Not much service but no charge for tea. Ambience: typical, busy, crowded, but at least not dirty I come back to this place on a rotation with the other 3-4 places in town. When friends visit, this is one of the better places to take them because it is not directly in Chinatown but is close enough for a walk.
(4)Jim K.
A decent dim sum place. They still use the traditional bamboo steamer trays in their carts, unlike many others who have switched to stainless containers. They had a number of good dumplings that I hadn't seen before, and all were tasty. Were this restaurant falls down is on cleanliness. Our teapot, cups, glasses and plates were all bespeckled with food chunks - not the most appetizing.
(3)Winnie T.
I've only been here twice,maybe three times? but that just goes to show you this place is not memorable for me. During my last visit here with my mom, there weren't many options available at 11:45am. Some of the dishes were bland, some tasted odd and the others just weren't good. On the bright side, there was no wait. But I'd still rather wait for a table elsewhere than be seated right away and eat at Hei La Moon.
(2)Sarah S.
This is the only place I go for dim sum in the Boston area. It is authentic and awesome. Try all the dumplings and steam buns you can while drinking endless tea at this Chinatown gem! The spare ribs over noodles are surprisingly good, the steamed greens are excellent, I love the turnip cake fried to order on a rolling grill-cart and the yummy desserts (the sweet soft tofu is delicious as are the sesame balls and gummy sweet green tea and coconut balls).
(5)Robert D.
It doesn't seem possible that I've lived in Boston for over two decades, am on a quest for the best Chinese food and I've never really had Dim Sum. Well, I've had it at local suburban places where you order off the menu, but not the so-called traditional experience of the carts. Today, I did, and it was FANTASTIC. The line, while intimidating, moved quickly. All of the food was fresh, delicious and non-greasy (I know that sounds like faint praise but if you've eaten bad Chinese food you know that's important). A lot of folks were raving about the pork buns, which were great, but not the best thing there, especially if you're trying to favor the low-carb side of the world. They are better than the chicken buns in my opinion. The ribs, shumai, taro and shrimp dumplings were excellent. All the greens I had-- from the cucumber salad to the junior bok choy were also scrumptious. I had a wrapped cabbage thing that I didn't know what it was which I'm sorry for because it was also delicious. My least favorite things were the salt-n-pepper shrimp because, for me, eating lots of shells gets tiresome quickly, and the tofu soup. I was sad that I had run out of room before I had run out of options, but I think that means that I will return soon. I also got a nice couple of take out boxes to go, so now I'm full and happy.
(4)Claudia H.
If you are looking for a good dim sum place in Boston, stop the search because you already found it. Hei La Moon has the best dim sum in town in my opinion. You can't go wrong there. Special attention to the bbq pork steamed buns. I don't give it a 5-star because service can still improve. Sometimes it takes several minutes to get the waiters attention and order a glass of water.
(4)pauline l.
It's alright. Good enough for the US. Their ingredients are usually pretty fresh. There are 2 decently-sized floors, so the wait is rarely very long. I like that they've started to bring out the za leung (fried bread stick wrapped in rice noodle) on the carts instead of having to special order it from a waiter. The nice thing about this place is that you don't *have* to climb up any stairs -- except for one step at the entrance, I think -- or deal with an elevator, which means you can bring grandma and grandpa here without worrying too much about accessibility issues. Plus, they have validated parking upstairs for $6. (You can pay for your food with a credit card but you'll need to pay cash for the validated parking.) I think I'd rate this place 3.5 stars marked down to 3 without the two convenience factors, but considering that bringing grandma to dim sum is pretty much the only reason I go to Chinatown these days and almost all the other restaurants there have a lot of stairs, I'm bumping it up to four.
(4)Lily C.
My father was a partner with the owner of Hei La Moon wayyy back in the day so I might be biased.... + = pros - = cons + cheap dim sum ..but not cheaper than empire garden + good selection of dim sum + good for dim sum/wedding receptions + the push carts go around fairly fast so you get food quickly + the food itself doesn't have as much MSG in it compared to other places - not that great of a place for dinner although the price may be worth it - dinner food kinda sucks - street parking in the area sucks - can definitely be extremely crowded - the tables are pretty close to each other so you might be bumping into other people with your chair A-OK place for dim sum. Not my personal favorite, but acceptable for what you pay.
(3)Ying M.
Hei La Moon is my go-to dim sum restaurant in Boston- less greasy, in my experience, than China Pearl. It's loud and crowded and sometimes you have to chase down carts, but hey! that's what dim sum is all about. Standard dim sum fare is good here- you can't go wrong with har gao or siu mai (although sometimes they run out of what you're looking for). The dofu-hua (sweet tofu soup) is quite good. I'm personally not a huge fan of their pastries- it's probably a better idea to get your sweet fix at one of the myriad bakeries in Chinatown (I highly recommend Eldo for their dan tat). If you're smart about ordering and go with a big enough group, the prices are ridiculously low. I think one time we managed to pay something like $6 a person. Don't bother ordering anything off the menu- it most likely won't be worth it. Summary: Not the best dim sum I've ever had, but certainly not the worst. 4 stars for Boston (would be something like 3-3.5 in LA). If you've got a dim sum craving, Hei La Moon is the place to go!
(4)Deann M.
Shrimp and chives dumpling - my new fave Everything else - pretty darn good Went here twice within 3 days. Probably the best dim sum that I've ever had - and at $10 a piece for a feast, you can beat it!
(5)Doug P.
By far the best Dim Sum in Chinatown. I can't even keep track of how many times I have been here. The food is really good and it shows because they are always packed on the weekends and quickly expanded to add a basement level. I'm craving their chicken feet and tripe just thinking about it......
(5)Dan R.
I'm not a fan of dim sum, and Hei La Moon didn't change my mind. Getting to the restaurant was pretty easy, seating took about ten minutes. Even though we sat right in front of the kitchen, it took a long time to get the food that we wanted. The staff was so preoccupied with other things that we were skipped over plenty of times. I used to think that the worse the service, the better the food in Chinese restaurants. This place is the exception. None of the food was memorable, just decent enough to eat.
(3)Aimee S.
I don't know why people like this place so much. The food is average at best, and the staff is so rude. Not to mention how dirty the place is. Oh, and I almost forgot--one time I was in the bathroom, and I saw one of the employees walk out without washing her hands after using the facilities. I was horrified, and told my mother when we got back to the table, and she promptly complained to the manager. I got dirty looks from the employee for the rest of the night. Excuse me for worrying about my health.
(2)Sophie H.
Unequivocally better than China Pearl. I've come here many times for dim sum, and I've never been disappointed. We find something new and delicious every time. Everyone leaves happy and stuffed for only about $10 each - who can complain? My only caveat is that you really have to be aggressive if you want them to give you water in the first place, let alone refill your glass. But this problem is so minor, and so easily fixed, that it doesn't cost Hei La Moon even half a star in my book.
(5)Alex H.
Where should I begin? Was in Boston last week for a conference; decided to visit Chinatown for dinner. I wanted to have dim sum, but didn't know it's a weekend thing. It is a weekend only thing, right? Anyway, the place was empty, only a few customers at the time of our arrival. This is normally not a good sign. Quite often I won't even enter an empty restaurant, but decided to give Hei La Moon a try. Kind of glad I did. Had only two dishes - the Orange Chili Shrimp (I think that's what they call it) and the Crispy Duck. Both dishes were loaded with vegetable that were perfectly cooked - not too limp and not to crunchy. Cannot remember going to a Chinese restaurant and getting perfect veggies. The shrimp dish was absolutely the best I ever had. Perfectly cooked and sauced shrimp, orange-flavored with visible chili flakes. The best! The duck, too, was a great dish. Not to greasy, but perfect duck to fat ratio. Enjoyed that as well. My only issue is the restaurant could stand a shampooing, especially amongst the high traffic areas. Another reviewer noted the same. One note - there's a special menu written in Chinese. No, folks, it's not a myth....Hei La Moon has such a menu menu. There are such favorites as Stir fried Duck Tongue. Not sure if many of you would each such a thing, but I would have loved to give my evening a little adventure. If you go, ask 'Mike' for the Chinese menu. He'll be happy to translate for you.
(4)Amy L.
We are from CA, Came here with a tour group. Paid $28 a person to have their 1 LB lobster.. Came with 2 veggie dishes 1 plain chicken dish, shrimps and steamed fish. We basically got ripped off. You would think a table with 10 ppl x$28 would give you a family meal with at least 8 dishes. The lobster was plain... Did not came with any sauces. My advice: if you are going here with a tour group, skip the lobster "dinner", roam around and find something else. I'm sure the lobster back in your hometown is better. i cannot review this place for their menu, because we were not served anything that was from the menu besides the lobster.
(1)Ed M.
I cannot wait to go back already. I was a dim sum virgin and went with my wife and a friend/former co worker who knew what he was doing (parents from Hong Kong, lived there for a few years). I felt like we had everything but I know we didn't. We were seated instantly and watched in amazement as all the carts passed by with interesting things. Everything was fantastic. Thanks to the website for helping me out with most of this list, we tried and loved the following: -jasmine tea -tsingtao beer -shrimp hargow -steamed chicken feet -BBQ pork bun -BBQ pork cake -sweet egg cake -pork shiu mai -sticky rice and we also ordered a beef with noodles dish from the kitchen. We arrived at 10:30am and it was near empty downstairs, when we left around noon-ish, it was jam packed with no empty tables. I cannot wait to go back. Awesome meal.
(5)Lisa D.
Every once in awhile, I need a good dim sum fixing and Hei La Moon is MY FAVE dim sum place to go. Some people may think all dim sum tastes the same, but NO, it does not. At least after eating at Hei La Moon, you can definitely taste a slight, delicate difference. I think their dim sum has much more flavor. And my favorite dim sum, har gau are plumper than other places. =D To have a good dim sum experience you must 1) Go at a prime time, usually before 1, I think 11 or 11:30am is best for those of us who still love sleeping in late, but hey, if you want to show up at 9 or 10am, go right ahead. There is A LOT more variety of these tasty little dishes when you go earlier. I think by 1 or 2, they only cook the standard dim sum fair. 2) Go with a large group. Large group = more plates = try more things = if you don't like something, make someone else finish it. 3) ORDER: shumai (pork and shrimp dumplings), har gau (shrimp and bamboo shoots in a translucent wrapper, my favoorite), the spare ribs (i think they have two kinds here), chicken feet (just do it, it's tender and flavorful), fried turnip cakes, asian meatballs that kids seem to love, and beef and shrimp wrapped in a fresh made thin sheet of rice noodle. Uh, I think I covered most of it, but I'm probably being lazy because I've put off finishing this review for a month, yelp me if you want more suggestions! 4) finish off with some dofu fa or tofu pudding with a side of sweet syrup to flavor the delicate, silky tofu to your level of saccharine. 5) split the bill with n amount of people and realize that you guys only spent like $10 each and leave full and happy!
(4)Stephanie L.
This place has blown me away in the couple times I've returned. The servers still are friendly, and they manage to find a plethora of veg options I'm able to eat - and they taste AMAZING. (Try the green ball pastry with the yellow filling ... mmmm. Sorry, I don't know its name.). The servers are also really sweet about letting you sit there for however long you want, and if you want takeout boxes for every little morsel you have left, totally cool. Hei La Moon, I love you. Even more than I love many of the dim sum places in NYC ... your dishes are even more interesting and unique than theirs.
(5)Benny D.
I came here with friends for Dim Sum. The service, food, and price is good. This place do get crowded after noon.
(5)Jade Y.
I would give this 3 and half stars if I could. I had fun here. We came in a group of 5 on Sunday late morning and they were able to seat us immediately. They have an upstairs and downstairs room that are both giant. The dimsum was all there: ha gao, shu mai, cha shao bao, etc..all pretty good too. Will definitely come back next time we get a chance.
(3)Heather G.
I don't understand the stellar reviews. The wait is LONG and when we did get a table, they tried to seat a small group of us (4) at one side of a larger table, with another party on the other side - makes for a really awkward meal. We were asked to move, and a few minutes later we found ourselves at a new table next to what was a main-traffic aisle. Despite the table-placement, carts came by so infrequently and it took just short of leaping out of my chair to get someone to stop. The food was generally the same as the other dim sum places, and nothing stood out one way or the other on that front. 2 stars for poor service, rating unaffected by food.
(2)Omar F.
I really love dim sum in general, but particularly i think Hei La Moon is a good place to go. I got there at around 11:30am this morning, none of my friends had arrived yet and it was a group of 8 people total, so I was just standing around since usually at Dim Sum places you're not seated until the whole party (or most of it) is there. After a few minutes an official looking woman told me to just walk around and find a table. That was nice! I went and found a round table for 8 right away so I just sat there and my friends didn't arrive until ~5-10 minutes after. Nevertheless I was served tea and no one bothered me for seating by myself at a table for 8 people. It was nice. The dim sum was really nice, and it is one of the easiest places to actually get a waiter to get you water, sauces, etc. It's not like other big dim sum places in which 30 mins can go by and you still don't get that freaking soy sauce or mustard you asked for. Anyway, the place is great and has a great selection. My friends and I were able to get everything we really like to order at dim sum places, so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It was delicious.
(4)Tani S.
My review is closer to 3.5 stars but giving them the benefit of the doubt and rounding up. We've been here three times and were suitably impressed each time. It isn't the best dim sum we've had...we enjoyed the dim sum more that we sampled in San Francisco/Mountain View but this does come above what we regularly have in Seattle. It is fairly inexpensive and has such a wide selection of dumplings. We preferred sitting upstairs to our downstairs experience but they always seem reluctant to seat us there. We enjoyed their bbq pork buns and all the interesting varieties of shrimp dumplings.
(4)Sarah C.
Solid food. I like it better than China Pearl. It is the closest I'll get to the bliss encountered in SFO. I love the little fried tofu rolls and sauteed broccoli, those are always a favorite.
(3)Walter G.
this place rules. my friends took me here for brunch like a month and a half ago and i've been back twice since. i just love the atmosphere. nice ladies and gents pushing around carts filled with the likes of pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and chicken fried rice. specifically i like the raised "stage" type thing along one wall with the huge golden dragons. it looks like the owner of the restaurant should be sitting there in a fancy robe overseeing everything. at least that's what I'D do if i was the owner. i can't decide how i feel about how the waiter immediately brought forks over to my table last time i was here... it's reasonable i guess since we were the only non-asians in the restaurant and a lot of white people probably don't know how to use chopsticks. more than anything i guess it's indicative of considerate service. which is a plus. it's good times though, i'd definitely hit this place up. i don't think the dim sum is necessarily "better" than the dinners but it's a lot more fun so for your first visit i'd recommend making it a weekend mid-morning.
(4)Milee S.
Ever feel like you were lost in translation? That's how I felt when I tried Dim Sum for the first time ever and friends took me here. We had about a 2 minute wait, and the lady up front called numbers out in English. The place was packed with hardly any non-Chinese people in there. To me that is a good sign. We started with tea and the shrimp steamed dumplings. Those were pretty good. Next we got the sweet tofu, which was fantastic. A must have. After that, we got the fried shrimp pancakes with stuff that looked like coconut, but wasn't. That was my favorite. We tried the broccoli and then finished off with the sweet red bean cake. It was about $25 for the three of us. While the food was good, I kinda wish there were a couple more veggie options (like a spring roll or something) and/or signs telling us what things were. Even basic signs like, shrimp roll, or beef stew. Trying to point and say "shrimp?" didn't work very well. My group didn't want pork or beef and a lot of the options were just those. I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't go every weekend.
(4)Michelle H.
My favorite dim sum place on the east coast! The food is always fresh, not too greasy and good portion sizes. Beware, this place is always packed on the weekends!! But the wait goes by fast and it's definitely worth the wait. I've had dinner here too, but I thought it was so so. Dim sum all the way!!
(4)Wendy H.
We went there on a Saturday at 1pm. In 45 minutes, only 3 types of carts rolled around. Our side of the room, about 10 tables had the same experience. The bottom floor was hot and stuffy. China Pearl has better food, more selection, and better service.
(1)Kelly C.
My favorite part is sitting down, and 30 seconds later there is food on your table. I'm still trying to figure out the best time to go, to maximize options of food. We were there on Saturday around 11, and there wasn't much available. Well, nothing new and exciting. The typical siu mai and har gow (sp?) abound. I love when they come out of the kitchen with plates of steaming treats. We got a yummy dish of rice wrapped in tarro , and some fried green ball(not sure what was inside and I didn't really like it) They are way better about getting ice water!
(4)Serena L.
I moved here from SF a few years ago and was anxious to find a good dim sum spot. Being Chinese, I know my dimsum and am very picky! After trying another place in Chinatown, I came here with some friends and loved it! Yes, it does get crowded on the weekends with all the families but that's a given! There is nothing bad that I can say about this place because everything is so good! I took my in-laws here for their first dimsum experience and they enjoyed it. I have yet to try China Pearl so I don't know how it matches with Hei La Moon.
(4)Robert J.
I recently visited a dear old friend in Boston. She has been living in Boston for the past two years. We went to Hei La Moon on a recent Saturday afternoon. I asked her at the beginning of the meal, "So, this is your dim sum spot?" I was very encouraged to see all the Chinese faces in the background. Superimpose my 1/8 Chinese, 7/8 Filipino face and her 100% Chinese face, and you've got me feeling like we're in the right place. This is especially so, because both floors of Hei La Moon were filled nearly to capacity. The unfortunately damning comment--though I don't think she meant it that way--that she made was, "It's not the best I've had before, but it's the best I've found in Boston." That was enough warning. She and I have shared countless dim sum meals in the past. Most of those meals have been in the Far East--in various places in and around the Manila area where there is a very large Chinese population. Some of those dim sum meals have been here in the U.S. This was the first one we had while she was living in Boston. I trusted her judgment that this would be the best dim sum I could find in Boston. I only bring up our shared history of eating dim sum together to illustrate that she knows me and that I know her. We know implicitly what we both expect and hope for in a meal. For her to say what she did was a signal to me that I was going to think that the meal was fine, but it wasn't going to be particularly memorable. I found that to be the case with the food at Hei La Moon. We started off with some radish cakes, which I had never had before. We both enjoyed those. The shrimp rice noodle rolls were decent. Unfortunately, the beef short ribs were leathery, but they had great flavor. The spicy salted shrimp was probably the highlight of the meal. We also had some fish, which kind of reminded me of smelt, but I'm not sure what they were. They came around with the spicy salted shrimp cart. The fish was quite delicious. The har kaw and shumai were fine, but not outstanding. The chicken feet were had nice flavor, but also were not outstanding. Overall, Hei La Moon, which two friends call the go-to spot for dim sum in Boston, isn't bad. Again, I wouldn't say that it's outstanding in any way. Even the best dish I had, the spicy salted shrimp, wasn't particularly fantastic. It was probably too breaded for me. It was also cold and dry compared to what I usually would want. Still, it was serviceable. It was decently enjoyable enough to give us that dim sum fix without making us feel completely disappointed.
(2)Emily S.
I was here on a Sunday for brunch, and I now miss it every day I'm not there. I just got back from China but I think Hei La Moon is better. Is it more authentic? Probably not. Do I care? Hell, no, I want tasty snacks right after I wake up from a late Saturday night. As much as I love Chau Chow, this place trumps it and rocks my world. Hei La Moon will keep me wanting more. More turnip cake, more bbq pork buns. More, more, more. :)
(5)Liz M.
Dim sum was disappointing. And I'm not comparing is to NY Chinatown or Flushing. Just plain disappointing. Actually, the one good thing was dan ta (egg tart) but they probably get it from a local bakery. I've attended weddings here. The weddings were fun, food was not so fun. Unfortunate. I like my jellyfish slippery and my Chinese cold cuts somewhat dry, not the other way around. Lastly, I was pretty peeved when a group of us paid cash and they charged us for tea and rice. Yes, yes, its recession, but we paid cash and its not like we were gonna ask them to take away tax (yea they charged us tax too!)
(2)Michael M.
Hei la Moon at first seemed like it was going to be another mediocre Chinatown eatery... After a while they all seem the same - large room with round tables and a big stage with golden dragons on the stage. I couldn't have been more wrong - the food at Hei La Moon is phenomenal, arguably the BEST chinese in Boston. I took a friend from Vietnam after telling her that I read about it on Yelp, she was skeptical and said that she had low expectations and expected "Americanized" cuisine... Since our first time she has been back 10 times in 2 months. Some of the highlights: - Hot and Sour Soup - so yummy, the perfect blend of spicy and sour without tasting too much of vinegar - Dry shortribs - fantastic - crispy and spicy - Pan Seared dumplings - again, phenomenal
(4)Tara B.
My favorite place to go for dim sum in Boston. You know how you know it's good? There are only white people when accompanied by Asians. I love seeing all those lovely bamboo steamer baskets loaded onto those windowed carts being sped around by the grumpy ladies. It's fantastic. Also fantastic, listening to your Asian gatekeeper yell at the ladies in Mandarin. It's like dinner & a show. You can get rolly-polly panda fat for under $15. Tis a beautiful thing. Some of my faves: - Sticky rice with it's nuggets of mystery meat wrapped up in a leaf - Pork belly buns with that tasty bbq-sweet meatyness in the most delectable white-bready bun - Dumplings of any shape, size or content. BRING ME DUMPLINGS! - Those sweet buns made with condensed milk
(4)Sue P.
I went here on a Sunday morning for Dim sum with some friends and was highly annoyed to see a huge line of people waiting to get in. Luckily my friend had already gotten a table inside so we just went right in. This place is huge! I couldn't believe it was so popular. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was distributed on carts that circled the entire restaurant. I'm not Chinese, and I haven't had dim sum more than a handful of times. Frankly I didn't even recognize half of the things I ate. Luckily I went with a friend who was perfectly fluent in Cantonese, although I think I would have been fine on my own just pointing at everything that looks appealing. The dumplings were fabulous, especially the chive ones. My friends went absolutely gaga over the pork buns. I don't think I tried anything that I didn't like. Who knew that dim sum could be so delicious! I'll definitely be going back time and time again.
(5)Jake L.
Serviceable dim sum, but doesn't compare to Toronto. Mad dash for a seat. We spoke directly to a hostess and were seated rather earlier than i was expecting. Bonus.
(3)Linda M.
This place was great for authentic and fresh dim sum. They have all the traditional dim sum dishes and a couple of nice surprises too - so there's lots of variety. It's clean, fast and the staff are very nice. I will definitely return for more!
(4)Alex B.
So this place is still great and I go a lot but thought I should mention, you need to be SHAMELESS. LIke if you like what you see on that cart GO FOR IT. There is a little cart which three levels... FIND IT. It looks like a desert cart and actually has some deserts but on the upper deck is usually the best crispy items in the whole place. One is a dumpling shape, and has has herbs, shrimp, and other goodness stuffed in it (amazing). Another is a disc which looks like it needs a shave but its actually taro shreds (I think) fried on some shrimp thing. NO that didn't make sense or sound appealing but yes it is accurate and it is delicious. So if this passes you by, don't be ashamed about walking across the room, politely tap the lady's shoulder, then awkwardly hand signal that you need her now, right now, at your table.
(5)KoreanSoup S.
Good dim sum. I've tried about 4 places so far in china-town and this is one I like the most in terms of food. There are still quite a few more, however, that I have not tried.
(3)Alfred D.
My favorite dim sum in boston. I grew up eating China Pearl, but the older I got, the worse they seemed to get. And then I discovered Hei La Moon. They have a really bright ambiance, and all the food is good! BBQ pork buns are fluffy and delicious. They have these really good dumplings with fresh celery in them. So yummy! Another bonus is the hygiene. My mother and sister were both very impressed by the relative cleanliness of the bathrooms. So skip over China Pearl, Winsor, Emporer's Garden, and Chau Chau City, and pick Hei La Moon for your dim sum cravings!
(5)Ray m.
being from hong kong, I constantly try to look for dim sum that matches home. its' hard to find but this place is pretty close. the haw gow and sui mei was outstanding! 4 diff dishes with tea, total price was $14.95. not too shabby....otherwise it'd be 5 stars located off the orange line subway chinatown exit almost into the center of china town. also part of the appeal is the food carts that roam around enticing you to order more food. I'd definitely come back next time I am visiting
(4)Jason L.
My father is from hong kong, so my family always eats dim sum. Been here a couple times now, usually a small selection, not enough variety compared to china pearl. I think i've tried everything (minus the porridge), and I really can't think of anything that was standout. It's one of the better places for Boston chinatown though. To judge a dim sum restaurant, you have to start with the classic shrimp dumpling [har gao]. The filling was average, could use more bamboo flavor, wrapper was ok. Pretty much sums up the rest of the dim sum there. China pearl's chong fen is better. Shumai's not bad here. This place draws large crowds on the weekend, probably because its big, clean, new, and has easy parking. Good atmosphere. Reasonably priced (~$10 a person). Spotty service. Food (6/10) Service (3/5) Decor (4/5) Value (4/5)
(3)Wen Y.
The best dim sum I have ever known!
(4)Lisa C.
We went to this place for a dim sum brunch after hearing rave reviews from many people (and, in fact, ran into a coworker while there) and we were incredibly disappointed. The wait wasn't too long to be seated, and we were given a nice table to share with other people we didnt know. Having grown up eating dim sum in new york, this didn't bother me, but we were unfortunately seated with some really ignorant people who made fun of the food and didn't know what anything was. I'll give them credit for trying things even though they didn't understand what they were being served, but hearing them making fun of another culture's food was just annoying. Once we were seated, it took FOREVER to get food. I'm so used to having food on the table from several carts within 3 minutes of sitting down. It probably took us at least 30 minutes to finally get what we wanted. The food itself was solid and not expensive which is always nice, but having to wait that long for dim sum? no way.
(2)Jodi Y.
Dim sum that hits the spot! Good standard "yum cha" issue. Nothing too funky or creative, but old-school traditional. They bent over backwards and accommodated 2 tables of 12 of us and kept helping us squeeeeze in more chairs as more of our friends arrived. Brush up on your Canto food terms or bring a Hongkie (not to be confused with Honkie) if you want lightning fast service! PROS: Never over $10/pp CONS: The usu loud Chinese crowd (but you know it's authentic) SPECIALS: They were giving away free tea sets for bills over $100. Happy Year of the Tiger!
(4)Chris G.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Hei La Moon. We stopped here one Saturday afternoon and were seated right away, although unfortunately it was right by a waiters station. Our first dish was a plate of garlic fried prawns that you could eat heads and all. Crispy and delicious! We did have to wait a while for the dumplings and sticky rice carts to come by, which seems like an eternity when you are hungry. But once they did arrive we gorged ourselves - the portions were substantial and the quality was good. For example the sticky rice had huge pieces of pork inside. I would definitely come back to Hei La Moon.
(4)Huan z.
Was invited to have dim sum with few American friends. Even though I don't speak Cantonese, I enjoyed the food. I felt it tastes better than few other dim sum places here in Chinatown. Not every dishes has shrimp in it which is a plus. Will try some other time if I am happen to be in Chinatown.
(3)Annie I.
oh my god....dim sum here is amazing. you can get a ton of food for a very reasonable price, and the pork buns are life changing!
(4)Lindsay B.
The food was yummy at first BUT I found THREE hairs - all of different textures and lengths - in my food. I'm still nauseas thinking about it. I looked up their health code history and it was NOT pretty.
(1)Lisa P.
Went here on Christmas or the day after, can't remember, for some good ol dim sum. The line was really long and parking is impossible. We ended up parking upstairs in the garage. But once we were seated, the food was yummy! They had a good selection of dishes. The bathroom, however, was a bit dirty and greasy.
(4)Josh K.
First off, I got to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Hei La Moon as I absolutely destroyed the beautiful white tablecloth on top of our table. Even though the tablecloth looked like my friend took a caveman for lunch, I did clumsily try to use the chopsticks, but some of the pieces of dim sum were big and hard to maneuver. The right thing would have been to leave my business card to pay for the ensuing cleaners' bill to clean the white tablecloth. I mean no extra strength Tide will take care of the mess I made; that cloth is going to need to be dry cleaned. I thoroughly enjoyed my food at Hei La Moon contrary to what one might think by looking at half of the food I left scattered on the tablecloth. The place works out well for a large group and also has some smaller tables but it's definitely not the type of place to have a romantic dinner with wine, flowers, and such as the noise level is quite high. The service is great as you just tell the staff what you would like off the cart carrying multiple types of dim sum. My friend did the ordering, and all the dim sum was delicious and flavorful. I even had a chance to try chicken feet but that might have been the only choice that I was not a fan as it was simply too much work for so little nourishment. For dessert, I had the small bean paste roll with coconut on the outside and mango center. The coconut provided a nice texture and was not overpowering, so that you also could enjoy the taste of the mango inside. The entire meal was only $28 dollars between the two of us. I would highly recommend Hei La Moon for dim sum; just next time I might bring my own fork or newspaper to cover the table for extra food stain protection.
(4)J L.
Had to spit out the beef balls. It's so nasty my gag reflex kicked in. The Phoenix claws tasted like they dropped the whole winter's salt in them.
(1)Naomi U.
The absolute worst Chinese food I have ever eaten in my life anywhere. We had three take-out dishes Not many chinese ingredients were in evidence...and many huge chunks of vegetable like 3/4" celery and carrots...as well as canned white western muchroons and western cabbage in evidence.... It was as though the worst dorm food chef in 1950's NE directed unwilling 17 year old student serfs in making Chinesesque chop suey without any crunchy noodles.
(1)Justin M.
Only ate here for Dim Sum. Being a native San Franciscan, I really hate to be biased about eating dim sum from other metro cities. To me, their dim sum was just average. Since I've heard that Boston's Chinese food is not the greatest, I would have to say that Hei La Moon is just ok for what is available in B-Town. The service was good. The minute you sit down, you're surrounded by the dim sum carts. Choose your selection and go from there. We went during a weekday with a large group and didn't have to wait that long. I'm sure that a weekend visit would pan out a different story. It seem that they like to heavily season their food with "white pepper." Almost every dim sum dish we ordered seems to have that similar distinct white pepper flavor. It's ok to season with this, but it's overly too consistent. I also usually judge a dim sum place on how well they make their flavored chicken feet. It was ok. Didn't experience the pushy staff forcing plates on us. If this is the only somewhat decent dim sum place in Boston, then I would probably give another star.
(3)Ayuka H.
The #1 dimsum place in Boston!
(4)Dee H.
The dim sum is pretty good. They've got all the family standards, plus the variations of the same that we usually ignore. The extra star is for the cleaner and newer facilities than the old standby China Pearl, and for bringing out full cans of soda when we asked for a glass of diet coke and a glass of sprite for the boys.
(4)E C.
Recently had dinner here with a group of friends. The food was good and plentiful. We had 5 tables with 48 people and each table ordered off the menu. Each table ordered 8 meals and then everyone ate family style. There were no complaints on the food it was all good. For a last minute reservation the restaurant was cordial and handled our group with ease, although they did try to get us to purchase the group dinner specials we insisted on ordering off the menu and they did a fine job of getting us feed and keeping us happy.
(4)Mia D.
UPDATE: Went again when my father in law was in town. We went EARLY, like before 11 and that was the key! We got in right away and the food carts swarmed down on us quickly, I was pointing and saying yes so fast! This time we were more impressed with the variety of food we got and it was tasty!!!! We ate in less than an hour and were all stuffed when we left! Again, we decided to skip dessert mainly because we never really saw a dessert cart go by and got dessert at the bakery down the street. Still a solid four stars!!! It will never get 5 from me because my fav dim sum place is in SF and London... OH and we found that the garage right next to Hei La Moon is a flat rate of $10!!! Finally, I've discovered a great dim sum place! I'm so excited!!! After hearing from people that this was the best in Boston, my family decided to check it out. We got there around 11am on a Sunday and there were already packs of people waiting! After shoving my way to the entrance and after people rudely shoving their way ahead of me, I looked the lady who was handling the "list" and put up 4 fingers (the lady behind me was already speaking in Chinese to her, trying to get a number before me!), she graciously gave me my number first (HA!) and then it was the waiting game. Having 2 little kids with us, that was fun, let me tell you! I had to keep standing by the lady calling out the numbers, because it was so hard to understand her! She had her mouth too close to the mic, so the sounds were all muffled! Frustrating... But finally, we got seated in a pleasant window seat with plenty of room for my kids to be comfy. The food came fast and it was worth it! Soooo delicious and warm and BIG! I couldn't believe how big the dumplings were! So, why only 4 stars? Well, the variety wasn't great, I am used to a lot of different things, and the only vegetable we saw was the broccoli, which we got. And my husband almost got sick when he saw how dirty the bowls were that the woman serving up the tofu was using. I mean DIRTY like they had never been cleaned before! Luckily we didn't get that and also after that we were on the lookout for substandardly clean utensils, plates, bowls, etc... And the desserts were seriously lacking, mainly because she kept avoiding us even after we flagged her down! The service isn't great, they try to explain what it is, but unless you speak their language, sometimes it's tough to understand what is inside some of the items. However, the price is wonderful! It was only $40 for us to eat and that EASILY would have been doubled at my fav place in SF Yank Sing. We ended up getting perfectly pleasant pastries at the store down the street. My only complaint about Chinatown is the lack of parking. Anyone have tips for cheap parking, I'd sincerley appreciate it!!!
(4)Anthony Y.
Why are all the good Dim Sum not in NYC? Hei La Moon is a perfect example of what Dim Sum should be across all cities as it follows this supposedly simple (but apparently not so) template: - Spacious (so you don't have to sit with randoms) - Fresh food (too often in other cities the dim sum looks microwaved) - Clean! (a previous review I wrote recounts where this was lacking) Now I guess the only minus I saw was the variety was a little too standard which meant very few options for those who don't eat pork or shellfish (which I need to keep in mind for my gf). But since she wasn' there, I definitely ate my fill and appeased my craving. Actually, there's another minus... the soup dumplings weren't soup dumplings. It made me look like a dumbass ordering them trying to explain how to eat one only for it to be a lame knock off (that is the moment the 5 stars went to 4). My quest for quality NYC dim sum continues...
(4)Monty W.
The best place for dim sum in Boston - according to every grandma walking around Chinatown that I asked. If you want good dim sum in Chinatown Boston - just come here. I've been to this restaurant each time I've been in Boston - and its consistently good. Pricing is cheap compared to what I'm used to in Chicago as the small's are less than $3. They still do the carts for the dim sum - so you get that "experience" factor into it. Though I myself prefer ordering directly from the menu and being served the dishes a little at a time - though the opportunity to over order will be the same for both experiences - as the eyes are greater than the stomach could handle. A rule of thumb - for dim sum novices- if you see a dozen people crowd around a particular cart - bring your ticket over there and fight your way in for your dish. Its an active competition here - so send your most athletic team to box out and distract others to get your freshly baked char siu bao (bbq pork buns) - it was absolutely awesome. The entire pan of freshly baked baos went away in literally two minutes on a semi -busy monday morning! each dish was well-seasoned and consistent. Beware on the weekends - as it was completely packed (both the normal dining room and the basement dining room) on the Sunday that I checked it out a couple weeks ago. It is loud, it is chaotic -it is dim sum. Enjoy!
(4)Debbie C.
I love dim sum big time, I think this place was ok for me but atmosphere was so good, über busy, we came at lunch time. For me was average food and price. Tho they were able to provide other dishes on request. Trolley ladies were helpful. Restroom was clean, FYI 12th September 2015
(3)Dennis J.
Solid dim sum. Nothing particularly noteworthy in either the good or bad direction. We stopped by at noon on a Saturday as a party of four, and we were seated within 20 minutes; it's a surprisingly large space once you're inside. The carts come by relatively frequently and have a decent selection, and the quality of food is not bad although maybe just a touch oily (although no worse than most dim sum). Pricing is pretty average and overall the experience isn't bad; it doesn't feel too cramped in spite of there being so many people. Good, standard, run-of-the-mill dim sum.
(3)Jose S.
I've been to this place twice, the first one alone to have dinner and the last one with some friends to lunch. When you enter staff will receive you and they will take you to your table. You will soon realize that this place is really huge, and if that's not enough there's another area of the size size downstairs, wow! The first time I want there were almost no people, maybe because it was too late. The first thing they do is serve you some tea and some water. In my first time I got the menu, no carries overt there, so as they had a comprehensive Dim Sum menu. I ordered some DimSum and they took some minutes to got them, but they were really good, they didn't look frozen or precooked, they were fresh and very tasty. Last time I went to have lunch it was really packed, the first floor was almost at full capacity, but we made a reservation, so we didn't have to worry. This time there were some ladies with the carries and offering some dishes to the customers ( I like it, I prefer to see instead knowing of the ingredients ). We had some DimSum ( yummy!), vegetables like pepper, tofu and eggplant ( I love this Chinese dish ). The service is not 5-star, but it's enough to have a good meal. A must if you like DimSum and Chinese food.
(4)Ami P.
The food was really really good:.: however the service was pretty awful and there were flies... Everywhere. They also didn't have HALF of the things we wanted.. :(
(3)Janet H.
Lots of available seating and pretty good dim sum... I've definitely had better, but I've been spoiled by San Francisco/Bay Area dim sum. Definitely bring friends so you can try more dishes! Also, someone who can speak Cantonese would be helpful =P
(3)Juliana P.
We missed the dim sum hour but were able to order the steamed dishes on the dim sum menu. We got the pork buns, shrimp dumplings, leaf/rice thing, ribs, egg dumpling-like thing and other items I don't know the name of. Not too crowded either. (We went around 6pm on a Sunday and no wait for a party of 4.) Bad service, but perhaps that's part of the cultural experience.
(4)Marlecka M.
I've been going to Hei La Moon for 5 years. And I loved it, I enjoyed the custard buns the most. But I really have to be honest and report my experience today, August 7th 2015-- I found a COCKROACH in my pork spare ribs. I had taken my twin cousins out on a day in Boston and they had only gone to Chau Chow but I wanted to show them something "better." We had eaten two steamers of shu Mai and ordered the pork spare ribs and the chicken feet. I grabbed a spare rib and flicked what I thought was a black bean that they steam it with. But my cousin said, "Wait!" He moved the bamboo steamer and there was the dead cockroach that I had flicked from the rib. The waitress took the bug and ribs away before I could take a picture but he only comped the ribs and chicken feet since we had finished everything else we ordered.
(1)Chris P.
My standards aren't too high for Chinatown restaurants in general, but this place is nasty. All dishes here (regardless of what it is) will come in a thick coating of grease. Generic American Chinese food at its ugh-ist. The restaurant as a whole exudes a sense of being dirty. Lots of fruit flies were constantly buzzing around our table. Luckily I didn't find any worms or cockroaches in my food like other Yelpers have, otherwise I'd be making a call to Division of Health Inspections for the City of Boston. If I can avoid having to come back here for any social occasion (I only came because of a large family gathering for my grandfather's 80th birthday) I definitely will. Looking at the other reviews on this Yelp page I'm surprised this restaurant is even in business. However I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't for much longer. Do yourself a favor and have a microwave dinner at home.
(1)Louis B.
Kick-butt dim sum. We got to Boston for a concert and our host took us to Hei La Moon for a leisurely lunch before the festivities at the concert hall. It was a memorable experience. By the way, there have been positive changes in the last two or three years according to the folks who were eating there at the next table so I'll take their word for it... First of all, finding the place is not as easy as it may seem. We walked from North Station and had a couple of friends who were supposed to join us and they wandered the streets for 15 minutes until they were able to get directions. But once inside, the cacophony of aromas was just delightful. As well as the vertiginous pace of the servers carrying numerous plates of everything from fish, octopus, calamari, duck, beef, chicken, noodles, you name it. We tried to decipher the menu but that wasn't to be, the menu is in Chinese. So we settled for just pointing and eating, pointing, and eating. Well, the waiter would tell us the selection anyway, but it was all delicious. Their steamed dishes, dumplings and other items were absolutely delicious. Together with plenty of tea, it made for a superb lunch. We left ready for a nap, not ready for a two-hour concert.... :-)
(4)Cindy G.
On a Sunday morning, you will likely find my family having brunch here. This place is a dim sum staple for the Chinese community in Boston. The service here is definitely no Michelin star experience (if you know Cantonese, the waiters and hostesses will treat you better), but for the price, you get great portions and authentic Cantonese food. Carts also come by very quickly so you can get a quick meal if you are in a rush. The restaurant is large with two floors, so even when it's bustling on a Sunday, you will likely get seated very quickly. I've never had to share a table with other families (something that happens VERY commonly in NYC). I love the steamed pork buns, steamed shrimp dumplings, steam shrimp noodles, and tofu pudding. I recommend coming before 2pm if you want the best quality food.
(5)Jenny B.
I went here for dim sum during off hours so they were not wheeling carts of endless food. They also were not offering their entire dim sum menu - only the steamed options were available, so we were not able to order anything fried or any of the dessert options like pineapple buns. They didn't even have egg tarts!! But from the food that we ordered (shu mai, shrimp dumplings, egg yolk bun, sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf, ribs), all of it was decent. Not a fan of the egg yolk bun but everything else was good especially the sticky rice wrapped in taro leaf! Maybe I would have had a better experience if I came during the normal dim sum hours but I have definitely had better dim sum before. If you are craving dim sum and happen to be near South Station, this place is literally a 3-4 minute walk though!
(3)Will C.
I attended a banquet here back in June. The food was ok, although there were a few dishes that tasted not fresh such as the flounder. The day after the banquet, I woke up chills and fever. It's probably the sickest I've felt in a while. Fortunately I recovered later that afternoon. I suspect it was likely due to sanitation issues or food poisoning from the banquet. I am unlikely to come back to eat ever again unless I absolutely have to.
(2)Chloe P.
My friend went to a wedding reception here. It would have been a normal wedding party until she took the leftover dish from the party home and put it in her microwave. Not one or two but 4 little white worms came out of the stir fried vegetables. She took it back to the restaurant but the manager and the staff were so rude. They blamed it on the seafood and even dared her to call Health Department. She recorded the video of the worms crawling out of the veggies and posted it on Facebook. So just take a look. I also take a screenshot of the worms in the food and post it on here. yelp.com/biz_photos/hei-… YUCKY! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This is the link of the video of the worms on Facebook: facebook.com/michelle.ng…
(1)Lin G.
Many (hei la) moons have passed since Meow Bird had tasted dim sum. Her friend indulged her by meeting here on a Sunday afternoon. Seated right away. Huge bonus. Good service! Amazing for a Chinese restaurant. No one rushing you. Way to go Hei La! The food was sort of average though. Not the highest quality dim sum and they mix yucca/taro bits in with the ribs to bulk it up. Lame.
(3)Noah L.
The epitome of culinary abuse. A cacophony of of sensory assaults. They seated us behind a huge wedding that was being hosted in the Restaurant. I figured they wouldn't offer to seat us if they were too overwhelmed... Guess not... All of the entrees were so poorly prepared, the calamari was not all the way cooked through and tasted rubbery. Had to ask them to cook it more thoroughly, only it took 2 waiters and a manager to make that happen. The waiters were so unresponsive, didn't give a shittt about our experience. Never refilled the tea, didn't give us water and napkins until we asked. Forgot to cook and bring out one of our entrees, and then took 20 minutes to get us a check. The first time I went here for lunch dim sum it was awesome- What a DISAPPOINTMENT.
(1)Jason H.
Great place with lots of seating areas (which you don't find in Chinatown). We came here on a Sunday at 10:30 and was seated right away downstairs. Friendly staff, attentive. The folks pushing the dim sum carts are friendly as well. Quality of food is good, I can even say that it's better than china pearl down on Tyler St. Will definitely come back!
(5)Young P.
I'm not a huge fan of dim sum, but I do crave it from time to time. And when I do, I always go to Hei La Moon located in Chinatown. I'm not an expert when it comes to dim sum, but from my own personal experience, this place offers some of the most delicious dishes you can find around here. Some of my favorite dishes are their chicken feet (sounds gross but trust me they are delicious), pork with flat rice noodles, leaf rice, and their shrimp dumplings. I don't speak Chinese so it is hard to order at times but they go around often enough where you can kind of just point at whatever dish you want and they will give it to you. I noticed that people can also order main dishes but I have no idea how they do that since they don't have a menu or anything.... I think you have to ask them in Chinese so it would be of a great advantage to you if you go here with someone who can actually speak Chinese. Overall, this place offers everything I look for in a dim sum place and I highly recommend this place to anyone who is a fan of dim sum. My only caution would be it is really hard to find street parking so try to take the T instead of driving...They do validate parking tickets if you absolutely need to drive in!
(4)Dan C.
Horrific experience here 2 nights ago. They simply triple booked for dinner with 2 weddings and a birthday party. Luckily we were one of those groups because what we witnessed around us was unfortunate. Regular patrons were escorted out to free up tables for the wedding upstairs. People with reservations were dismissed mid meal for the aforementioned reason. Our 6 course dinner started out smoothly, until more customers wandered in. The service we received was rushed to the point where dessert was served while our party was still eating entrees! No waters were refilled too. This is a case where the terrible service overshadowed the subpar food. Never again will we patron here.
(1)Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is usually my go-to spot for Chinatown dim sum. This restaurant has 2 floors so you get seated quickly. Since its also located outside of Chinatown, parking is a little easier and there is also validated parking above it. Some of my favorites: -Baked Char Siu Bao (Roast Pork Bun) -Ja Lerng (Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Paper) -Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumplings) -Shumai You can't go wrong with Hei La Moon so check it out!
(4)Quanzhi G.
Push-cart dim sum and bilingual servants. Better experience than my NYC one. A wide range of option but because of the huge space, might need to wait very long to get things wanted. We got char siew buns, shrimp dumplings, pork rib, chicken feet, egg tart, mustard bun, siew mai, durian pastries, taro-coconut tapioca and so on for TWO people! My favorites are the char siew buns and the shrimp dumplings. Very tender and flavorful pork inside and fresh big shrimps
(3)Lawrence H.
Dim sum is hit or miss in Boston, and Hei La Moon is no exception to the rule. Some dishes here are decent and some are just plain bad. The good: * Service is actually pretty attentive for a dim sum restaurant, with about half a dozen waiters standing around, ready to be summoned for anything I might need (water, special tea, ordering off the menu, soda, sauces). * The carts came pretty regularly, and they have a pretty wide selection of dim sum goodies. Some dishes I really enjoyed included, "Nine vegetable dumplings," "Dumplings with shark fin," and "Spare ribs in black bean sauce with pumpkin." * It was very cheap. We ordered one special dish, special tea, and about eight or nine dim sum dishes for two people, and it came out to around $42 total. The bad: * I ordered sautéed clams in black bean sauce from the main menu. They came under-seasoned and pretty small. Fortunately, clams are delicious and hard to mess up. * The rice rolls were too thick. Normally these are my favorite -- but the thickness of the rice rolls made tasting the filling (normally shrimp) undetectable. The ugly: * Two of the dumpling dishes I ordered were disgusting, flavorless clumps of meat. My dining companion noted that one was like "eating a huge meatball." Needless to say, we didn't finish either.
(3)Norina N.
I used to think this place has the best dimsum, but as I expanded more options, I've changed my vote, but their food is still good though, and has good selections. It seems like they have more desserts here than other places, and it looks appealing that I wanted to try them all, my fav. is durian balls, the texture is creamy and not too sweet, if you cant stand the smell of durian, dont try it. Eventhough they have 2 levels, upstair and downstair in the basement, but there's always a wait on the weekend, a very busy place. Lately I've seen some pictures capturing bugs in their food, for that reason definitely keep me away and hesitant to come back.
(3)Samantha L.
After arriving into Boston late, my parents and I were craving authentic Chinese food so we came to Hei La Moon. The restaurant has two dining rooms - main floor and basement - that can accommodate parties of all sizes. The restaurant was decorated with numerous red lanterns. In summary, Hei La Moon is better for dim sum than for dinner. We started with Minced Beef with Parsley soup a.k.a. West Lake Style Soup. It consisted of minced beef, parsley, and egg white. It was quite flavorful and there was no need for additional condiments (e.g., salt, pepper, white pepper, vinegar, etc). We ordered the Filet of Sole in Tangy Sweet and Sour Sauce. It was Americanized version of what I thought it would be. It was heavily deep fried filet of sole with pineapple chunks, onion, and green peppers in a tangy, sweet and sour sauce. It was tasty and went well with white rice. We also ordered the Seafood Bird's Nest which consisted of stir fry of seafood (squid, conch, shrimp, fish filet) and vegetables (broccoli, snowpea) in a nest made of deep fried lo mein. There were broccoli surrounding the nest. This dish was rather bland and it looked better in photos.
(3)Julie N.
Dim Sum #4dayz.... I'm a big fan of this place. Everything I ate was really good and on my morning walk to work at 10:30am, it's already packed. Everyone loves this place.
(4)Pam C.
This is a review for the a la cart dinner service, not their dim sum! We came here on a Friday evening because they seemed to be the only restaurant who would take a large group. Were a bit surprised to see that it was mostly empty. Overall the experience was pretty good - the food was your typical Chinese restaurant food. Didn't have any objections and there wasn't anything that was stand-out bad or good. Service was a bit better than I would have expected - our tea was regularly filled and our dishes, even though we ordered quite a few, were promptly brought out. Prices were in line with what we would expect as well: ~$10 per dish on average, with portions a little on the smaller side. Overall, a pretty solid choice if you're looking to bring a large group for some Chinese food!
(3)Katherine D.
This is slightly above average dim sum. The standards are all just standard, except Har Gow which is quite good. Other notable dishes include the Chicken Feet and the Beef Shu Mai and Cheese Mussels. Perks: Large so seating is not really an issue. Plentiful carts at high frequency. Coke Zero is available. Parking garage in the same building. Cons: I wish there were rotating BBQ carts. The Shu Mai isn't all that great. Inconsistently loaded carts and no discernible pattern so you may have to aggressively flag someone down. Tip: If you park in the garage on a weekend you can get an $8 validation at the front desk for ALL DAY PARKING! Killer.
(3)Kim S.
We had an early flight back from vacation and wanted to find an affordable place for breakfast on a weekday. There was street metered parking in Chinatown and we walked across the street Hei La Moon for dim sum. The restaurant was very clean and the servers were not pushy at all (no pun intended). Food was average. Since it was still so early (9:30 AM) they didn't have some of my favorite dim sum specialties like calamari, crab claw balls or clams in black bean sauce. We got 7 plates and it only set us back $25.00. Great bargain!
(4)LeAnn Y.
Worst dimsum! The waiters so rude we didn't get the shomai and wonton soup for my niece! We waited so long fir the food and they are not friendly....
(1)Alexandra N.
It's just bad. Food cooked in cheap grease. Everything undersalted. Dirty chairs and floors.
(1)Christopher W.
I expected authentic Chinese food from this restaurant based off previous experiences some time ago. Now it seems the food has been Americanized, tasting all sweet and sour. It's a shame....
(3)Suely C.
Terrible service. The food was served lukewarm - they were not steamed long enough. Did not get our order of steamed BBQ pork buns. Complaining to the rude manager did not matter. Got handed the check to pay and that was it. Parking in garage above was $20/hour. So it was a ridiculously expensive bad meal.
(1)Audrey H.
First time having Dim sum in Boston. didn't have as many selections as places I've been to in NY but it was still good. very spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't speak Chinese but still managed to order food, but it was hard to communicate with employees. other than that, it had good food and a good atmosphere.
(4)Maddy M.
Had a hilarious, busy lunch on a wonderful Friday afternoon with coworkers. The banquet-sized restaurant was bustling with many people and servers pushing carts. The dumplings were my favorite as were the meatballs. The chicken feet were interesting, not a fan of the beef tendons. They're very chewy. You can make the meal as quick or as long as you want. It was the real deal.
(4)Connie K.
don't come here!!!!! listen to all the other reviews!! waitresses were horribly rude, would almost act like they didn't hear your requests. the dinner was not appetizing, food served lukewarm. beef was plastic like, we kept finding weird floating mystery items in our water. we were here as a large group and we ordered seven different dishes. nothing was good. fried shrimp, seafood soup, lobster, all of it was either bland, not cooked right, or just tasted bad. there's so many other great places in Chinatown. don't come here! (although I can't vouch for their dim sum which I have heard good things about)
(1)Alex L.
So I went here for dim sum after reading all the rave reviews aaaaand... it was ok. The food was mediocre, the workers and staff were stupid and rude, but I guess that's to be expected. What really makes this a 2 star review is them charging us $1 for tea even though we didn't want any. They tried to tell us it was a mandatory charge, but what kind of place does that? They bring over tea, we tell them we don't want it, yet we get charged for it anyways, it wasn't on our table for more than about 5 seconds. I was absolutely disgusted by that.
(2)A D.
Sunday morning line was very long, then the waitress "forgot" us, but it really took one of our friends to go inside until they "remembered" they "skipped" us. So huge -- that cart service was sparse and limited. The same one came to us several times...and others stayed in an entirely different part of the restaurant. The food matched most dim sum places I have been too, but nothing great or worth such a long wait, limited choice, and poor service.
(2)Lis L.
This is one of the few authentic Chinese restaurants that I've been to that has a lot of non-Chinese people waiting outside to eat. It's very crowded and there are usually people standing outside waiting for their numbers to be called. You can expect to wait up to half an hour, and no, you won't get to pick where you want to sit. Once you're in, the food carts come by fairly quickly and you'll be on your way to Dim Sum heaven. The quality of the food is good but not "OMG I just came in my mouth!" quality. There's parking atop the building for $6.00 dollars after validation at the restaurant. If you eat a lot, you can expect to spend about $20.00 dollars. For Boston, this is as good as it gets.
(5)Jenny N.
I've had great dim sum as well as not-so-good dim sum here. Generally, the later you go, the worse it is (and I think this applies to all teahouses). So go early (despite the huge crowd) to get the best selection because un-fresh dim sum really isn't anything special. I do think that this place is better than China Pearl and Chau Chow City for dim sum, but their stir-fried noodles were definitely sub-par. Bonus: you can get your parking validated here if you parked in the garage above the restaurant.
(3)Andrew K.
My girlfriend and I come here every week, so that should mean something. Just get here early like we do, especially on the weekends. Fridays are a great day to go too. Siu mai here is my favorite, and remains as a go-to-dumpling. We also get the char siu bao (her favorite, but she is haole and calls them "cashew ball"). We also order the har gao every time, and on occasion, the sticky rice. You can have your choice of tea (but you have to ask!) and they are excellent about bringing you a second pot as quickly as possible. Overall, the food is pretty good here, and the table-service is beyond excellent. My only knock on this place is that sometimes, following the busy hours, they've fallen behind on food items and it takes 10-15 minutes before freshness comes the kitchen doors. Get here early!
(4)Kip J.
One of the better dim sum places I've been to in Boston. I always like when they have the old ladies pushing around the carts instead of having to order off the menu, and this place does not disappoint. A huge place, so good for large groups, but also fine for a couple or small group. Busy, but doesn't feel rushed, and always good for people watching. Food is superb and pretty large portions for dim sum. They do everything well from the standard shui mai to chicken's feet and tripe. My favorites this time were shrimp & pork shui mai and a slow roasted sliced pork over picked veggies. Waitresses were generally good and appreciative of any Cantonese I attempted. Overall, a very good value for the price - for 3 people walking out stuffed, we paid under $13 each (includes tip)!
(4)Yue G.
This should be zero stars. Beware of the parking scam! They tell you that if you pay them $6 for parking validation, you can get your parking fee ($11) refunded from the garage, but don't be fooled! They will ask for the parking stub and then keep it to get the refund themselves. We argued with the unresponsive and offensive woman working the phone at Hei La Moon to no avail, only to find out from the guy at the parking garage that this sort of thing happens frequently. Clearly, they can't be trusted. I won't be giving them any more business and neither should you.
(1)AB H.
Dim Sum is best with loads of people, and since this is some of my friends favorite dim sum place, I keep going back. It is good, but not fabulous. Like all dim sum, there are SO many choices, I;m sure I've only tasted a small portion of their food. I use a wheelchair, and there is one step to get in. I;ve never been into the bathroom to know where it is accessible or not.
(3)Valerie S.
Hei La Moon was great. We went around 1:30 on a Sunday and it wasn't a problem to get a table for 3. The place is clean, the carts were quick to come up. I thought the food was really good. I normally go to Chau Chau city, but someone else recommended this place. Turnip Cake was good...and so were the pork buns.. and the shrimp/pork dumplings were cooked well.. not soggy. I think our bill came out to $20 for the 3 of us and we were pretty comfortable afterwards.
(4)Julie T.
I came here with my friend who promised that this was an awesome place for dim sum. We came pretty late, about 1 or 2pm on a Sunday afternoon is considered pretty late for dim sum. Unfortunately for us, not very many options were left and we ate a couple dishes and I didn't want to say it, but I was not satisfied at all. Good food and will try again, but will make the smart choice to go at a better time.
(3)George P.
Great place for SUPER FOOD!!! Inexpensive. Great selection of Dim Sum. Will definitely go back! Service is a bit sketchy and make sure you go no later then 90 minutes before the end of Dim Sum for that day as you will not get the best food or service. Been there twice now and look forward to going back.
(4)Julia C.
best dim sum in boston that i've had thus far, both in quality and authenticity. i really like that i've never had to wait to be seated. it's really cheap, too! i can eat my fill and some more with my boyfriend and the bill would be well under $10-15 per person, and believe me, we love our dim sum! my favouritest dish is their fried chives and shrimp dumplings, they taste just like the ones i used to get in taipei when i was little.
(4)Michael D.
Today I took my sister to Dim Sum, because she's never been before, and what else were we to do when all of our friends are out of town for Thanksgiving? So, we arrived at 9:30 and almost walked past it, because the sign wasn't well displayed, but we quickly realized our error and went back. Once inside, we were quickly seated in the bustling dining room. Soon, the first cart stopped at our table. Since I've been studying Mandarin a bit, I decided this was my chance to give it at try and quickly asked, "What is this? What's in that dumpling?" The cart lady gave no indication of having heard me and just asked in English if I wanted any. I said yes to the pork and shrimp dumplings and sent her on. I had the same experience with the next two carts, where we ordered some pork buns, and some items that looked like latkes with shrimp, but could possibly have been made with taro instead of potato. After that, I decided to give up trying to speak Mandarin. All the food was really good, so they get four stars (my personal favorite being the sweet pork buns; I think my sister liked the shrimp dumplings the best). However, if you're interested in a place to go to practice your Mandarin, I wouldn't recommend it. It's too loud to really concentrate on the conversation, and it's possible that they only speak Cantonese.
(4)E.N. Z.
Currently this place is my favorite Dim Sum spot in Boston. They offer very decent traditional Cantonese Dim Sum. By far, much better quality than China Pearl and Chau Chau City. However, a few years ago, there was this basement place on Beach St. where it also houses the Chinatown Eatery at the second floor, this basement restaurant had the best unique Dim Sum. I don't know why they closed shop, business was booming for them. Just one day, I saw the sign for renovation and then never another shred of news... I am still looking for the chef from this mysterious restaurant...
(5)Kai L.
Yes, I admit, I am a dim sum snob. I have to be after 20+ years of religiously eating dim sum. I recognize this is Boston, not Guangzhou (Canton), Hong Kong, or Vancouver. Hei La Moon was a delightful discovery after I moved from California to Boston 3 years ago, and it has been my only choice for dim sum after I investigated all of the dim sum places in Chinatown. Judged from its appearance, it must be a "newcomer" compared to its more established neighbors. It may not be as well known as the older establishments like Chow Chow City, China Pearl, or Emperor's Garden, it certainly has the best dim sum in the area. Good dishes: pork rips, pork rip noodles, sesame balls, tofu dessert, Har Gaau (shrimp dumplings), most of the "dumplings" wrapped in rice skins (e.g. chive/pork, taro/pork) Good dishes, but not always: coeng fun (steam rice rolls with beef/shrimp stuffing) is good most of the times, but not always consistent. A couple of times that it noodles was a little bit too wet. Siu Mai (dried pork dumpling) tends to be too big compared to traditional siu mai, making it a little bit too much to eat. Overall, I think it is definitely a good place to eat at a reasonable price, in a convenient location, and a decent ambience. In order to fulfill the increasing huge demand, it has recently (probably has been about 9 months) opened up its basement level, which pretty much doubled its capacity. Nonetheless, the line was still there (which attests its food quality). Try to go before noon, otherwise, be patient or agrees to share a bigger table with other strangers if you want to skip the line.
(4)Steve M.
I'm from San Francisco, too, but can't pretend to know good dim sum from Mr. Chau's, having only been to The City's greatest on elementary school trips. What I can say is that I went here a few weeks ago with a best friend, and we over-ordered from the appetizer cart, and couldn't identify most of the things we ate, but loved it all, didn't feel especially pressured by the waitresses despite being part of a very small minority of non-Chinese speakers on a Saturday around noon (and they had everything left that we would have wanted). And the bill, after all that: $21 for two! Sweet.
(4)Lisa C.
Hei La Moon can be a pretty good venue for a wedding. It fit about forty tables comfortably and the platform was perfect for pictures. The dance floor seemed to be a perfect size- not too small but not too big. The food was good. They could have staffed a couple of extra servers. I was drooling watching the lobster go to every table except mine.
(4)Mike M.
It seems odd, but pretty often I end up picking up people at South Station, and this is really convenient for a quick lunch. Come to think of it, I started volunteering to pick people up after we found this place! It's a lot of fun, especially for an out-of-towner, and the food is good and varied. Never too many repeats, always a new favorite.
(4)Ron U.
Fast service. Cheap prices. Even when it's packed, they move people out pretty quickly. Had a party of four, and we stuffed ourselves for just a little over $30. Decent dim sum selection. Come with somebody who recognizes the spread and can make recommendations.
(3)Hiroko S.
Over all, the dim sums were good and very cheap! However their are big reason why I give three stars. First they served us water with huge spider. I hope it is not on purpose. I was fine because I don't usually drink water at dim sum place! We need to have tea. I believe this is the way how Chinese people keep their good shape even though they have greasy dim sum Second they didn't have Xiaolongbao. Probably I have to find Shanghai style dim sum place. I am not sure about Chinese food local differeces. Oh by the way, I went here Sunday afternoon. I probably wait 10min, so it is not so bad. This place was huge.
(3)King C.
Hei La Moon's is an excellent dim sum place. Two things make it stand out from the rest -- it's got an extensive dim sum selection. They also have amazing beef ribs during dim sum. They are flavorful and tender; I've never had anything like this anywhere else. We couldn't resist -- we had to get a second order.
(4)Deb D.
Our experience was mixed. It was our first trip to Hei La Moon. parking was easy there is a garage on top of it. The dumplings we tried were good and the portions were large. Lacked variety but maybe because it was after 1 when we got there. Staff pretty unfriendly. Bathrooms not clean. Going to keep looking for a better overall experience.
(2)H Y.
Probably the best Dim Sum place in Chinatown right now. I grew up eating this stuff in Boston since I was four so I have a lot of experience. Frankly it really isn't my favorite type of food but I miss it every so often. Good turnover from the carts and interesting variety of dishes. All the staples of Dim Sum are good. The noodle dishes (you have to order them) are large and tasty. It's where my mom and relatives go and they are picky so that's how you know it's good. We used to frequent China Pearl (we know the manager there so no waiting) but Hei La Moon has the edge in freshness and tastiness. Service during Dim Sum is always hit or miss, especially if you don't speak Chinese (you are in Chinatown after all). That's why I always bring my Mom along. If you are a small enough party then you can ask to share a larger table to avoid waiting for your own.
(4)Alexis L.
My husband and I went for dim sum and while the food was not revelatory it was very hot, fresh, decently executed, affordable and on Tuesday, at midday, there was no wait. We didn't have any complaints about our dishes, which were chive-pork steamed dumplings leaf-wrapped steamed rice mochi (with coconut and roasted peanuts within)] sesame balls with bean paste pepper-ginger steamed tripe shumai Hei La Moon compares favorably to much of the dim sum we've had in New York City. Worth a visit.
(4)Tae K.
one of the best dim sums in Boston
(4)Mike C.
As many have already said, this place is quite simply the best place for dim sum for several reasons: there are parking meters all over the place near the restaurant, the food is excellent, there are two floors now, so the queue is cut down, and the staff is quick at refilling your tea and taking the empty bowls away. I wouldn't really recommend the dinner here: the dishes aren't quite as tasty. I would go to China Pearl as an alternative.
(4)Mai T.
I usually go to Grand Chau Chau's for dim sum. Like one of the other reviewers said, there's not much good dim sum in Boston area. Based on the reviews my family thought we would give this place a try since GCC is not really that good anymore. The first visit (May 2010) was not bad. Since it was just a party of two, we were not able to order much but the food was definitely better than GCC. The second visit which was a month later with a large group fared to be better. The shu mai and har gow were generous sizes and tasty to boot. There was enough variety and most of it was fairly decent. However on our last visit which was a week ago (May 2011) , the dim sum was disappointing. Even though the dim sum tasted OK, there was a lack of variety. And not just a lack of variety but a lack of food! For the first time, I left the restaurant hungry because there wasn't enough of what we normally ordered to satisfy our party. Now we have to find another dim sum place but there really isn't any more out there.
(3)joe t.
i really enjoyed it!
(4)Roni E.
Alright, so the first time I went to this place, I would say that they probably earned 4 stars, but this time, they lost a star for service and bathroom cleanliness. We went at 10:30 am this time around and were seated immediately. However, the food selection this past weekend was not quite there. They didn't have as many types of food as they did a few months ago. On top of that there were a few carts that had lingered on the OTHER side of the restaurant for the whole 2 hours we were there. At one point we ended up going to the cart to get the food, but she said she'd be over. At even then it took her another half an hour to get to us. She went to everyone else first before she came to us. But then after getting us that one dish, we had asked her for another that is on her cart. She then said okay, and WALKED AWAY WITH HER CART! WTF!!! 20 minutes later, some random lady brought us the dish. We said we had ordered that a long time ago, and she still put it on our table and put it on our dim sum card! Lady - we don't even want it anymore, we're done with our dim sum! The food is still good, don't get me wrong, but for service around here, it sux! You don't get the attention you should be getting. The bathroom is gross. There were 2 toilets that were clogged and not one restaurant personnel came to fix them. On a busy Sunday morning, and only 2 toilets in the rest room! Blehhhh! Does anyone know if the garage knows that this place is charging $6 to get your parking validated?! I'm not sure if they have a contract our not, but it is the most silly thing I have heard. I have to pay $6 here to get my $10 back. Why don't they just friggin' validate my parking and give me $4 back in the garage instead?! Does that NOT make sense? Oh and if you're like me and not a real big fan of FOBs, this might not be the place for you. But then again, I remember why I never really venture out to Chinatown for a reason.
(2)Diane H.
i dont know what the rave is all about..Long lines..and the food isnt that good... i'd go somewhere else. too crowdedd...downstairs is too hot in the summer
(2)Mishka A.
Best dim sum place I've had in Boston. It's clean, large, fast service and good food - what else can you ask for? I try to go on Sat as it's busier on Sun. Go downstairs where there's no wait and rolling carts are plenty. I've brought large groups of 20 here before and if you call ahead, they'll gladly reserve tables for you. The restaurant is bright, spacious, lots of red and gold on the walls which makes it feel very festive. Small warning - don't expect the waitstaff to be overly nice, they're good enough, but nothing more. You'll have to waive a waiter down to get tea refills, they don't always stop by, but the service is pretty speedy. The carts are always stocked with fresh dim sum and I haven't had a bad meal yet. Usually costs about $10 to stuff your face. Takeaway: good cheap dim sum, friendly to small and large groups.
(4)Phelim F.
eh ... (shrug)
(3)Bob R.
My first Dim Sum experience. I really enjoyed the show but... the food (after all, I did have to eat) was overall disappointing. My son and I shared about half a dozen choices. We're both dumpling fans but the two varieties we tried were basically dough balls with a taste of meat inside. Stuffed eggplant was great. Everything else just OK. Will try other dim sum places because I have to say I did like the vibe... and the price.
(2)Meg M.
Okay first off, I need to explain my history with Dim Sum. My mother is Chinese and my father is Irish... so needless to say my palate was developed like an ADD kid in an MCAST test. I was all over the place. My mom introduced me in dim sum when I was very very young and I have always loved it. Heres the thing, Chinese people do not operate the same way as Americans. They are not overly friendly and they will not spend long at your table. If you look around at the Chinese/Asian patrons you will see they simply point to what they want and the servers drop it on the table and stamp their card... there are few pleasantries exchanged. Dim Sum is a cultural experience... so stop thinking its like going to a Capital Grille. Thats not how dimsum is. I give this place 4 stars because the bows are the most amazing thing ever.. baked and steamed I cant get enough. MMMMMMMM. So bad for you... SO DELICIOUS. One star gets taken away for how HOT it is in there no matter what time of year. My suggestion.. wear layers ... I end up in my tshirt everytime.
(4)Jungmin L.
The best dim sum you can find in Boston, which is not saying much. But I take what I can get.
(4)Ryan T.
I still think China Pearl has better dimsum, but Hei La Moon has some great dinner specials for 4,6,8,10 people. They have great standard cantonese seafood dishes and the interior is pretty clean for a Chinatown joint. Order the salt and pepper pork and squid combo dish - it's like the best of both worlds in one plate!
(4)Aaron W.
Just outside of the main chinatown area, Hai La Moon has been drawing a steady following over the last few years. The last time I went it was packed and the wait was long. The food was worth the wait, but i'd say it's an equal tradeoff to get into Chau Chow city faster with comparable quality dim sum.
(4)Christina K.
WHO CARES about how friendly the servers are when they are delivering endless amounts of delicious food. When you are getting a stamp on a card for the food you are getting I am sure that means that this place isn't meant to have top notch service( they do offer you plenty options of food, many times, repeatedly which is fine service for me)... Also- when you eat your face off on a sunday afternoon and your portion of the bill is only 10 dollars I am not one to complain. No, sometimes I didn't know what I was eating, but everything I had was really good. Whatever the buns are called with the sweet bbq'ed pork(?) inside were absolutely amazing. When the fried cart comes around do not be shy because it will not come around for sometime and it was really good. The flower tea is also really good, I had about probably 15 of those small cups. There are some buns on the desert cart that look like they are covered in nuts, grab those, they are delicious.
(4)Tiffany D.
I started coming here instead of China Pearl (if I wanted Chinatown dimsum, which my bf always prefers over suburb-dimsum) since I was introduced here by my friends and bf over the summer. It's pretty good and def. not as dirty and busy (altho it is busy but it's not overcrowded) and squished as China Pearl. I like it!!! I've been here many many many times!!!
(4)Joanne L.
Yelp is a place where people can express their own opinions about their experiences at the restaurants they've eaten at so there's no reason why anyone should start bashing on reviewers. If you want to post a review, then write an actual review on the restaurant. It's up to the readers' discretion if they agree or disagree with the review. With that said....here's my review! :) I've been to Hei La Moon a few times and it's one of the newest dim sum restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. It's probably one of the most popular ones too because there's a long wait on weekends.. The food is good and I didn't think the service wasas bad as some others have said, but I do have one criticism. One of my favorite things to eat at dim sum restaurants is the shrimp dumplings. That dish is a staple dim sum dish. We waited for the shrimp dumpling cart to come by, but it never came. We asked several waitstaff and they kept saying that a new batch is coming out soon. We ate other dishes, but waited 40 minutes until we decided to leave. This was around noon. You would think that a dim sum restaurant would have an abundance of a staple dim sum dish available, but Hei La Moon didn't. However, even though this happened to me once, I would still go back again because they do have good dim sum.
(3)Rally P.
Decent Dim Sum choices in Boston have generally been China Pearl and Chau Chau City. They're ok, and the quality seems to be cyclic - for awhile China Pearl is the best and then CC City is better. Unfortunately, neither are really great, they're ok, but not top of the line. Hei La Moon is a step better than China Pearl and Chau Chau City and for now, it's my favourite place. Both the variety and the quality of the food are a little better than the others. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep it up. Another plus, this seems to be a new place so the dining area still feels clean and fresh.
(4)wsl l.
I came here last weekend and I think they changed their dim sum chef!! Ive been to Hei La Moon before and honestly it was nothing to write about. But now, I can honestly say that it s the best Ive had in Boston so far. Note* Dim Sum chefs are so fickle they tend to travel around and work at different places. .so who knows how long this will last. Get good dim sum while you can!! Anyhow, I came here with a party of 5 around 2pm. I thought it was late for dim sum as it usually ends at 3, but was pleasantly surprised that ppl were still there = food. Now many have said that the later you show up the less food. That is very very true, however, at Hei La Moon we got everything hot and fresh that we usually get at dim sum. We also ordered a specialty dim sum dish, and were extremely happy that even though it was late they were able to make it for us. Cool beans in my book and deserves 5 stars. Note* See if you can get seated in their new downstairs. So much better than their upstairs. ie: Newer and cleaner bathrooms! And that means ALOT in Chinatown.. hehe
(5)Michele B.
All three of our restaurant went there to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We reserved the whole restaurant and ordered over a grand worth of food. The food came out fast and delicious. Tables felt a bit over clustered somettimes but the wait staff tried their hardest to clear plates. I got insulted when the manager came over to ask me if I wanted a fork. I was the only American there but have been adopted as Chinese since I have been with the restaurant for over 3 1/2 years. We did karaoke but I kept looking at this same manage who kept trying to rush us and looking at his watch etc.
(3)JB C.
The best dim sum I've found in the area thus far. It's a huge restaurant so if you get there at the right time, you won't have to wait too long. It's really fresh and flavorful. And generally a pretty good selection although we've gone a couple of times when new stuff just wasn't coming out.
(4)Victoria N.
Best dim sum place in Boston, I would say. Especially since this is where I meet my aunt for dim sum, and I trust her judgment. Came here again recently with Boyfriend. We were sat at a random, awkward table since it was probably just pulled out from a larger table for us. But whatevs. The people working there really vary. The guy who got our tea was a semi-douche who pretty much made fun of Boyfriend's attempt at Chinese. I also overheard him making fun of these Chinese ladies cos they asked him something in Mandarin. Most of the cart ladies were nice enough, one giggling (but clearly not making fun) at Boyfriend's dim sum ordering skillz. One, however, seemed a little unhappy with life. Anyhow, on to the food....I couldn't get over how steaming hot and fresh everything was this time! I swear I even saw flames inside one of those metal carts. Just three faults I saw with the food...the meatballs that are usually served with that delicious beancurd skin was served sans beancurd and with peas instead. Weird... (Later on, I discovered that this was actually the original way of serving them.) Also, the turnip cake cart didn't seem to make it's way to us from across the room. And no coconut buns! Boo.... Oh, and the total bill did seem more than your average two-person dim sum bill. Sigh. Still my go-to dim sum place, though.
(4)Marisa N.
I can be pretty picky and well this restaurant brings that out. In a some what good way. The last time I went there I came there for a after-a- funeral thing and they brought out a fish which was okay i mean the fish had bones in it defiantly something i don't want to spend my time doing when to me didn't seem like a lot of fish but more bones. The crust of the fish was hard but it was worth it. Moving on there Buddha's delight was good i liked there noodles and there tofu inside. When i bit into it the flavors exploded in my mouth! Lastly there corn/ egg / tofu soup had a interesting taste to me it tasted like corn. Bland soupy corn. Well that is my review and that was only one time. Sometimes I love it Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I find it A okay.
(3)Jae L.
This definately filled my Sunday afternoon dim sum and sodium craving. The various meat/vegi/seafood filled dumplings all hit the spot once it was dipped in a heart stopping amount of soy sauce. I fully recommend getting the chicken 's feet as well. There is nothing like sucking around the little bones for that yummy tendon ,skin and cartilage.
(5)jenilee p.
i love bringing people to eat dim sum. they either love it or they hate it. if they hate it, i beat them fisticuffs style until they come to their senses. for realz. this is the best place in boston to experience dim sum, and one of those places that truly will become an excuse to come into the city if you don't frequently find yourself here. there is really little to nothing better than having your food come to you, and being able to pick and choose items regardless of whether you know what you will be chowing down on actually is. after a few times here, however, you'll begin to recognize what you like, so maybe i can give you guys a few recommendations. try to find the cart that has looks like it has a few bumps of shrimp that are rolled in a long, fat "burrito" blanket of a white noodle. not sure what the actual name is, but my friends and i call it the slippery noodle. they serve it t you with a salty/sweet sauce, squirted out of a bottle. there are also a plethora of dumplings: shyumai style with mushrooms is very good, ones with shrimp in the middle are very good (i think wrapped with a rice flour wrapper, but not sure), and then there are also the deep fried variety with onion, shrimp and beef filling (these may be the safest bet for the slightly timid eater). i also enjoy their variety of buns, especially those stuffed with barbecue pork. the place is a little hard to find, as it is outside of chinatown, but worth a special visit. also note that there is a parking garage upstairs, and the restaurant will validate your ticket. furthermore, though the place is almost always crowded for dim sum (not served at dinner time), i've never waited longer than about ten minutes for a table.
(5)Ann C.
situated across from the main chinatown area lies hei la moon. this place is a lot cleaner and bigger, which makes eating here a lot more enjoyable and satisfying. i didn't check out the bathrooms though...which could take us to a whole new level...
(2)Henry H.
Best dim sum in Boston. The only places comparable on the East Coast are those dingy "cafeterias" in NY Chinatown (where the tables are full of old men who look up from their newspapers only to stare en masse at whomever is walking in) or banquet halls all the way out in Flushing. There is no difference between the two floors in terms of food quality, and the dim sum on weekdays is just as good. On weekends, show up before 11 or after 1:30 to avoid long waits. There is no waiting for weekday lunch.
(4)Kevin C.
Alright, the food is good, price reasonable....4 stars. But then, you really need to know the managers or the servers to get some decent services.... That makes me feel weird... I know, I'm also a Chinese, I know perfectly the importance of "connections"... but I dont like it. And plus the fact that it is not located right in the middle of Chinatown... 1 star less.... Overall 3 stars!
(3)Catie L.
Really really delicious. Great selection, and you can ask for to go containers when you are full but still have a ton of food on your table. I would certainly recommend it.
(4)Jeffrey M.
Went to Hei-la Moon for Father's Day, June 19, with family and in-laws. We are all dim sum lovers but it was our first time to this restaurant. We got there about 9:30 a.m. The place was very busy but there was no line, so we were seated immediately. The ambient aroma on entering was wonderful. The carts came around very quickly and the variety was excellent. I am no expert and I don't speak Chinese so I do not know the names of the various dumplings, but everything was delicious. Everything was flavorful and seemed fresh and delicately spiced. The women pushing the carts were friendly and explained what the ingredients were when we asked. The table was kept bussed and clean very efficiently. What amazed me was that even as we were finishing and were all happily full, more carts were coming around with even more types of dim sum than the many we had already seen and tried. We all agreed to come back and have a completely different array of dim sum on our next visit. The check was very reasonable, and we had a great time. We will definitely be recommending Hei-La Moon and we're looking forward to next time.
(5)Alyssa N.
Decent dim sum. Less greasy than some of the other places I've been. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, but the staff was efficient about seating us right away.
(4)Nosniv X.
Looking for fresh dim sum in Boston? This place is clean and the food was flavorful and fresh. No odd flavors either, which is a definite plus. The dim sum is served from carts pushed around the restaurant and the servers do not speak much if any English, so you should know a little about dim sum, and don't be afraid to step up to the cart and take a peek at what they are pushing around.
(4)Atrebor B.
I've been having dim sum since I was 3 when my grandparents took me to my first dim sum parlour in Hong Kong. I realize that weekend dim sum has an almost ritualistic appeal to most Chinese and I am no exception. It would be unfair for me to compare it to places in HK since I'm in Boston. The dishes were alright, but it could definitely be better as in tastier with a greater attention and emphasis to quality as opposed to quantity. Nonetheless, they were piping hot and fresh. I am disappointed with the shrimp dumplings, since they are my must-haves at any dim sum meal. The ones' here suffer from a soggy skin with a powdery after taste; the shrimp filling was not as firm and packed with shrimp as I would have liked; falling apart into pieces after I dropped it from my chopsticks. Nonetheless, I must assume it is one of the better places in Boston judging from the line-up outside.
(2)Richard L.
While dim sum was okay, we found their regular menu items to be mediocre at best. Indeed, when we passed by on the street in evenings, we found the restaurant to be almost empty. However, last Saturday, the place seemed to be full, and we thought that the place might have changed for the better so we entered and ordered a meal. What a mistake! We had the worst meal we've had in years. We ordered seafood soup and asked if it could be prepared without eggs. After a long wait the soup arrived and the waiter assured us that it had no egg, but it was loaded with egg. That, though, was just the beginning. We ordered Peking Duck. We got a dish with the skin of a sparrow sized duck. The skin was heavy with fat, and the dish had about 4 times as much shrimp cracker as fatty skin. The buns were bread like in thickness and consistency, and we initially got duck sauce instead of hoisin. We also ordered Chinese Eggplant in black bean sauce. The dish was simply black bean sauce with emulsified eggplant. It was essentially inedible. To top it all off, one of us got severely ill, and the rest of us mildly ill. Oh, did I mention it: the service was awful.
(1)Denise K.
Nice place for dim sum. Went early (10:30 Sun morning), had no problems getting seated, and there was tons of food already going around in the carts. We sat downstairs. The place seems clean and pretty new, and not crowded like you can get at China Pearl. The variety of the dim sum was great - got some items I don't see all the time, including xiaolongbao, steamed buns filled with sticky rice, and cherg fun with fried dough. We didn't have to share a table which was nice, and it was quiet enough that we could hear each other talk. All in all, my new favorite place for dim sum.
(4)Mags L.
meh. i went. i experienced. i was satisfied, but not super impressed.
(3)reese w.
I know the reviews are mixed for this place, but I have always had a good experience here. The service really isn't the greatest, but it has never been so bad that I've wanted to walk out. The food itself is pretty good, but sometimes it takes a while for the carts to come around with the ones you want, so if you aren't patient, this isn't the best place to go. I think it's definitely better than China Pearl.
(4)Tony L.
I've had dim sum in the Bay Area (San Francisco, San Jose, etc. where I grew up) as well as in Manhattan a few times, and didn't discover Hei La Moon until very recently (before this place I had only frequented Emperor's Garden for dim sum). The quality of the food was comparable to Mayflower's, a popular dim sum restaurant chain in California. The service was lacking a little, most likely due to the fact we were seated in the far corner, giving us a slight disadvantage in terms of exposure, so it took a while before the plates started to accumulate on our table. Timing your visit will essentially influence two factors: the later you arrive, the less time you will have to wait to be seated, but the selection of food declines as well. The decor fits your typical dim sum restaurant - a wide open space with large tables dispersed throughout. The pricing is quite affordable ($20 for two). Despite what I believe to be just unfortunate luck in terms of seating, I would still recommend this restaurant over Emperor's Garden and will most likely return for dim sum in the near future.
(4)Fortuna F.
Consistently rocking dim sum. Recent discovery was that if you sit on the first floor and close to the kitchen you can get the fresh cha siu bao as they come out and get a better sense of what is rolling out fresh. Hard to pick your table on the weekends but maybe get there on the weekend.
(5)Hank L.
Food is typical dim sum but the attitude is awful. I don't mean slow service but after we sat down a waiter asked us whether we like some drinks. While we were trying to decide what to get he was making this bored and impatient reaction on his face. All he cared about is making money. Sorry for slowing down the money machine. If you must have dim sum at this place, you'll need to put up with the attitude.
(1)Juggy W.
Not sure about dimsum, but this place is over priced for americanized Chinese food. $14 for hunan chicken and it doesnt even come with white rice... gimme a break.
(2)Josh O.
Growing up in San Francisco we got Dim Sum all the time. Then, of course, there was the time I spent in China. We went to Hei La Moon for lunch today with a friend who's from Hong Kong and her husband. They both love it and eat there all the time, and I'm going to have to say I agree. Besides, for the four of us it was only about $30. I've spend over $60 for a similar lunch for _two people_ at Yank Sing in San Francisco.
(4)Waterlily W.
busy busy busy best dim sum this side of the US (though I had better in Canada and Europe)
(4)Andy H.
According to the other reviews, this should be the best Dim Sum that Boston has to offer. You HAVE to order the tofu with candy ginger syrup, the chicken feet (not boiled), and sesame balls ("that's what she said"). The typical Dim Sum shrimp and pork stuff is nothing special. I've had better Dim Sum from the Trader Joe frozen aisle. Why the four stars? THE SERVICE! Prompt, professional, and friendly...exactly what restaurants are suppose to be. Their employees are BAD ASS! One dude nonchalantly handled our HOT tea pot by its body. After he walked away, my friends and me were whispering to each other, "Did you see that? BAD ASS, he must know karate." haha.
(4)Sisi Z.
Trust all the old Chinese ladies lining up out the door -- this place is the best and cheapest. It gets packed pretty early, so if you find yourself waiting for the elusive cart, grab a waiter and tell them your order directly. Service isn't the best, but if you're tired of Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, give this place a try.
(4)Thanh L.
Nothing special about this place. Overpriced Chinese food. Went here for a wedding. Staff was not friendly or helpful. At time, we have to tell the same person what we needed and there was flies everywhere. The food is horrible.
(2)Lynn C.
Keep in mind the four star is strictly for the food only (don't expect super service from most authentic Chinese places. Just be happy the Chinese lady pushing the cart didn't force-feed you their dishes), and based on Boston Chinese food rating standard (if I were in NYC or Toronto, the food here would just be a 3.) This is the place where I go to satiate my cravings for Dim Sum. At first I thought it'd be difficult to find actual good dim sum here in Boston, but a friend of mine introduced me to Hei La Moon and the food here is actually legit. The variety is good enough, you have all the basics like har gow, siu mai, cha siu bao, lai wong bao, and chicken feet (yum!), and the taste is right. The push cart ladies are standard pushy, standard because I've seen a lot worse at dim sum places. The dude who owns the restaurant and his wife are pretty rude. I've seen the owner yell at the push cart ladies with a real chinese foul mouth, and his wife, who's downstairs taking in the money, has a sour face and would chase you down if you don't pay at least 15% tip. In essence, the real Chinese dim sum experience, minus the tip part... Oh, and tip for this restaurant: go downstairs and they will seat you right away.
(4)David G.
Came here on a sunday afternoon right before heading on a bus back to NY. Its one of the bigger places for dim sum in boston. I came with a group of 5 and they sat us on a table of 4 which i didnt mind, but the tables were so close to each other. I just wish they would space out the tables better. I'm probably biased since im from NY and i eat dim sum in flushing & chinatown all the time. The dim sum here is just average. There wasn't a huge selection of items. The shrimp in rice rolls was pretty good, its hard to mess this one up (unless the rice rolls were hard or the soy sauce was shitty) but neither was the case. I love chicken feet...but the chicken feet here was not so good. It was not tasty nor appetizing. The feet that was placed on my table looked extra wrinkly for some reason. The next time i visit boston, i think i'd rather skip on the dim sum.
(3)Anastasia R.
Everything I love about China town can be found in this restaurant on a Sunday morning. Pork buns, shrimp wrapped in those weird big rice noodles with something-sauce all over them, black bean pork, Chinese broccoli, but most of all, mystery. I try to order at least one thing I am completely unfamiliar with every time I go to a dim sum restaurant. Granted, I can't in good conscience recommend this to everyone, but I can now say that I have eaten fried chicken feet. I smugly consider this a gastronomic triumph.
(4)Chris G.
I've gotten a lot of dim sum in a lot of different places during my life and I would definitely rank this place at the bottom. The food had no taste and anything that was fried was way too greasy. They really sacrifice quantity for quality. For example, the wu gok and ham siu gok here are the biggest I've ever had but also the least flavorful. I sat in the basement seating and definitely noticed the lack of diversity with the food selection. I will definitely never return here. Just go to Winsor Dim Sum Cafe. There aren't any carts so you miss the real dim sum experience, but trust me. It is just not worth it.
(1)Mike H.
I've been in China Pearl's corner for a long, long time, but Hei La Moon has opened up my eyes to a better food quality overall. My friends and I usually come here around noon on the weekends, and we're usually seated right away which is so surprising. Unlike so many Dim Sum fares, Hei La Moon doesn't peddle the same crap on the carts for hours until it's too hard to eat. There aren't ant shared tables either, so you can feel free to have as many un-PC conversations with your friends as you want without the fear of having people call the cops on the crazies at their table talking about inappropriate things. It's technically outside of the Chinatown gates, so I don't know if I can truly consider this true Chinatown Dim Sum, but that might just be the picky little prick in me. There are plenty of tables, and plenty of options, but I do have two gripes: 1) They seem to have an odd layout downstairs so the food cart path was never really established and it was kind of a free for all. 2) They don't have the crispy crab balls with the crab claw sticking out of it like China Pearl does. 3) The hostess doesn't know my name yet unlike China Pearl where all she has to say is "Michael! how many in your party today?" (But since that's just plain sad, I'll let that one go. Give it a shot! You won't be disappointed.
(4)Alice C.
From my experience, Boston's Chinatown has more Vietnamese and half-baked Chinese eateries, and it's a bit harder here to find good Cantonese food. Maybe I have just been looking in the wrong places? However, one place that I have found to serve consistently good dim sum is Hei La Moon. Another friend of mine from Hong Kong also comes here regularly to get her fix of home food. Sure, it's nothing like Hong Kong, but after having tried a few places in Boston, I think this is the best you can get in the area. Definitely try their pea sprout dumplings (dau miu gau) .
(4)Phil C.
Although I've been here for wedding banquets (and they're generally very good, perhaps best in Chinatown), I'll write a dim sum review. Hei La Moon, for the most part, gets the job done, but there are some things that a dim sum stickler could make a Federal case over. However, the restaurant is spacious and can handle a weekend crowd. The ladies pushing the carts were particularly annoying. They'd hover over your table and generally remain until someone at the table physically tells them that they're not interested in their wares. I should threaten them with a taser the next time. The food itself was okay, with some basics being pretty decent and others lacking. The siu mai was very good, as it was flavorful and warm. The beef tripe was excellent, having a good peppery flavor. The dan tat (egg custard tart) was decent. The ha cheung (shrimp rice rolls) was just average; nothing special. The sticky rice wrapped in leaf wasn't too salty and had pretty good pork stuffing. However, the fried taro pastry stuffed with pork was below average. It came cold and was bland. I ordered a bunch of ha gow, but since I was doing the ordering, I didn't get a chance to try it as it disappeared quickly. I never saw any ha gow again, which isn't a good sign either. For Boston, this place gets the job done and I'd choose it over some of the places around. I don't really care for the upstairs parking arrangement - more complicated than it has to be.
(3)Julie L.
I have come here for a preset Chinese New Year dinner and weekend dim sum. Both deserve a 3 star rating. The prices are very affordable but the quality is just average. I found everything (dinner entrees and dim sum) to be way too oily. Even the vegetables were drenched in oil. Good selection of dim sum so if you're here with a larger party there's probably something that caters to everyone. Also, the restaurant is huge (2 floors) and significantly larger than other dim sum places like Windsor so it's a good option if you want to get seated relatively quickly.
(3)Ngoc T.
I came on a Sunday morning, the restaurant was crowded but it took me 5 minutes to get a table so not too bad. Waitress seemed a little annoyed when I asked her about the food, and then walked away without answering. Some just walked away and smiled at me after I asked her a question - odd but ok. Overall, bad service. On the bright side, their food was good.
(3)Sophia N.
As a recent Boston transplant, I was very excited at the prospect of not having to go too far for decent dim sum. Based on other Yelp reviews and word of mouth, Hei La Moon seemed like a sure bet. Unfortunately it was not a match made in heaven. When I first walked in, I was filled with hope as I was greeted by the scent of various dim sum dishes. The shrimp dumplings (har gow) were sold out but more was coming which seemed promising. If it wasn't good, it wouldn't sell out right? Boy, was I ever wrong. The wrapper was thick and soggy, the filling tasted heavily of MSG, and fell apart way too easily. I ordered other dim sum staples such as shrimp in rice noodles, Phoenix Claws, steamed pork ribs, and egg tarts. None were much to write home about but most notably, many of the dishes didn't seem very fresh. The egg tarts were probably the most atrocious ones I've ever laid eyes on or tasted. The crust was too thick, too heavy, and the filling was nearly non-existent. I realized too late that someone had taken me to Hei La Moon many years back when I was visiting from out of town and I wasn't very fond of it then. Not much has changed in the intervening years except the har gow wrapper isn't nearly as soggy as it was five years ago and the filling was tastier than it is now. I am determined to find a great dim sum place in Boston because I refuse to believe Hei La Moon is the best Boston has to offer. One of the things that might have completely turned me off to this place was the bathroom odors. I could smell the bathroom from the dining room as I walked past to pay my food bill. This was also the same area where food carts were parked. Food smells + bathroom funk = no.
(1)Vincent H.
I think this is one of the better dim sum places in Boston...if you even consider it good here. Crowded on a weekend and huge. Honestly thought this place was a mess with people walking up just to get food. Make sure you have a friend who can speak cantonese or else you might have to wait a little longer trying to figure out what you want. Service is so-so like any other busy Chinese restaurant but the portions are normal sized except for the price, which is higher than others.....
(3)Vina A.
Not bad dim sum for Chinatown Boston, i.e. edible with minimal to no cringing. Do not go on Boston's holidays or around graduation. They skimp on quality and batter down the ingredients to stretch out their production. I think we had Ha Gao that was going bad on Memorial Day. Also, make sure you don't get seated next to a dish cart. One time I did, thinking it would get moved to another table that needed clearing, but no, nope, just got dishes thrown and continually clanked right over and behind my head the whole time, not to mention the huge towers of empty steamers threatening to come down on my head. They must have very strong dishes to withstand all this throwing but should have provided me with ear plugs, a poncho and a helmet. Pork ribs were their best dish.
(3)Mala S.
This dim sum restaurant has push-carts, which makes it fun and easy to order. The carts came around often but you have to be quick on the up-take, since the ladies will breeze past your table if you don't make quick eye contact with them. All food was good, but the ribs were my favorite.
(4)Jenny K. L.
There was no wait at 10am on the Saturday of 4th July weekend. Doesn't have as many carts at other places but the food is solid and has all my meatless favorites! - shrimp dumpling - shrimp shumai - shrimp in a dumpling roll with sauce - fish on tofu - shrimp in eggplant The pork congee was also flavorful. Clean.
(4)Jenna C.
Apparently Boston can have good dim sum. The Boston-resident cousin recommended this place for brunch. I believe he's had a lot of dim sum in his lifetime, so I trusted his suggestion. They sat us very quickly. They had all of the classics. I appreciated the vegetable options too! Fairly reasonable, but I guess nothing compared to LA!
(4)Linda M.
Please improve the service. Customers have been waiting so long to get some dishes to start with.
(1)madalyne c.
Been twice for dim sum on Sunday morning. It is a big place with cart service. Go for the experience, the food is pretty good and you will leave stuffed. If you get there before noon you will probably get seated right away.
(4)Adam L.
All i can say about this place is that the quality of the food is much better than the rest of the Dim Sum places around China town. I've been to pretty much all of the Dim sum places around China Town. All i have to say is that the quality/flavor/portion sizes of Hei La Moon beats out the rest of the competition. I may be a little biased because i've only been here once, but from the 7-9 dishes i got it was a much better quality then the rest. I do know for a fact that the Chang Fun (The White Thick Noodles with shrimp inside) is at its game. We came here when it was about closing time, despite that, the quality was still has good as it would have been around noon!
(4)Jasmine X.
Mmm pretty good dim sum at such a cheap price! This place is gigantic. Apparently there's also a lower level seating which blows my mind. What blows my mind even more is the fact that despite all the seats that they have, they still have a ton of people waiting in line for more seats. My friend and I came around noon on a Saturday--prime dim sum hour. Despite this, we were able to get seated immediately which was awesome. We weren't seated in the best location since the carts didn't quite push into our area, so we had a bit of difficulty getting food. It ended up being us having to walk around to fetch our own food which wasn't a huge deal. My friend dines here a lot more often then I do and he said that this was pretty atypical and we just got unlucky. We got all the classic dim sum dishes, although I thought it was interesting how they seemed to do all the traditional dishes just a little differently. For example, their shrimp dumplings had little pieces of bamboo in it which I wasn't a huge fan of. Their pai gu, or short ribs were really good though, although interestingly, they were put on a bed of rolled rice noodles which was a combo that I haven't seen before. Their shu mai were on point though, as were their xia chang feng which I loved. I think we got the above dishes plus some pork buns--total came out to be $20 which was pretty respectable for two people. All the food was super delicious, and despite how many people were in the restaurants, I was impressed at how efficient and on-top-of-their-game the waiters were in terms of clearing plates, helping us get food, and getting our final check sorted out. tldr; Hei La Moon very much has the dim sum game down. With yummy food and cheap prices, how could one not like this place? My only qualm was that I wish the carts were a bit more efficient so you could actually get your food--I think our experience would have been really difficult for anyone who didn't already know what they wanted to order--it was good that we've both had dim sum before since we didn't need to see our options.
(4)Matt L.
Bottom line: quick service at peak hours, very well done dim sum They had all the dim sum staples in healthy supply. We arrived with 3 people at 11:15 am on a Sunday morning , and we had the option to wait upstairs for our own table or go to the lower level to share a table. We were seated in ~7 minutes and shared a table downstairs with 2 other people, and it was not a problem at all. Food came quickly, was equivalent or better to NYC Dim Sum, and they gave us a new pot of tea instead of adding hot water. Service was standard for Dim Sum and no one pushed the specials on us. Total was $16 each and we were very full. I've never seen so many different buns offered at Dim Sum, but I didn't see soup dumplings either, if that's what you're after. I'm sure you could order whatever you want off the menu. When we left just past noon, the line was running well onto the sidewalk. Regarding transportation, we took the T and walked from the Tufts stop, a 5 minute walk.
(5)Sara L.
American walking into this place is very overwhelming!!! No one spoke English and we were not sure what was going on with the carts. We ended up walking out. I wish we had been with someone who knew what was going on because I'm sure it was good..it was full of Chinese people!
(1)Jeff T.
Dim sum yo..3.5 stars seems pretty accurate! SEATING AREA 8/10 - In this area I believe this is the biggest dim sum restaurant so it definitely is the most convenient for parties of 5 or more people. PARKING 6/10 - We parked on the street nearby, not sure if they have a parking garage.. But street parking was relatively ez to find. FOOD 6/10 - Not bad, definitely would consider coming back if im in the Boston area again. Don't set your expectations high.. flavor,quality, portion, overall they are all average. SERVICE 6/10 - It was fine, if you have been to standard chinese restaurants you know what to expect. We received everything we asked for so we have no complaints here. Early morning many steamed items will have to be ordered through your server. (Har gow, siu mai, etc)
(3)Dominic W.
This is my favorite place for dimsum in Boston! Admittedly, I speak the language and know how to order, so that makes things less stressful for myself. The tea: this is a vital part of your dimsum experience. When you walk in and get a table, make sure you give your tea order if you have a preference (my fave = bo lei or teet goon yum). If not, they will give you the default mixed-leaf tea. Ordering food: much easier with a friend who speaks the language. But, here are a few good items: - har gao (shrimp dumpling) - cheung fun (ingredients rolled in rice sheets steamed) my favorite is the beef cheung fun - Shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) - Wu tau gok (fried taro snacks with minced mushroom and pork) - char siu bao (steamed bbq pork bun) Those items pretty much makeup your General dimsum meal. Now you can add whatever smells good to round out your experience! Try the chicken feet :) not my fave but some of my friends love how funny it is.
(4)Julianne S.
Don't speak a lick of Mandarin or Cantonese? It's okay, neither do I! I was a little apprehensive about coming here without a native speaker but turns out I was worried about nothing. The waitstaff comes around with carts of food and you point at what you'd like. My friend and I took many chances at what each of the dishes were, but man, high risk, high rewards. We tried so many different dishes and we practically had to be rolled out of the restaurant. All for less than $15 a head. I'd glad return! Also great for groups, as there are large round tables to accommodate larger parties.
(5)James N.
This place is supposed to be the best in Boston? I mean I know I am from San Francisco and we might have higher standards, but i really think the dim sum is substandard. The food quality is just not good. Most of my Chinese friends say this is the go to place in Boston Chinatown but I have been here twice now in 5 years and it's awful both times. Get your game together Boston, you can do better.
(2)E. F.
Came when lunch was winding down. Very inattentive service. No eye contact. No water refills. Sweet and sour soup was inedible. But the other items we ordered were ok. We had to stand up and walk around for the check.
(3)B C.
Loud, bustling and fun. Great food. Lots of dumplings, chicken feet, rice pancakes, prawn occasionally. All on rolling carts. Lots of Asian customers speaking Chinese. This is a great spot. There is a menu you can order from but the rolling carts are too. Bring a crowd.
(4)Cristina R.
It's all Chinese to me. Hei La Moon can be a bit intimidating for those of us who are less familiar with this type of cuisine. So grab your best Chinese chum, and get ready for an exotic explosion! 11:30 AM for Saturday brunch, and the place is already packed. But it's also huge, so we get a table for 4 in the lower level immediately. Upon sitting, we receive a pot of green tea, and immediately carts are strolling past with intriguing options. It seems like we tried all the things - from chewy tripe to every version of a dumpling imaginable. Many thanks to our token Chinese friend who fielded all of our questions and made the majority of our decisions. There's definitely a lot of trust involved here. My personal faves were the steamed pork buns, sweet egg custard buns, red bean mochi, and fish cakes. The main downside is that some of the food is not completely hot and doesn't taste as fresh as if it were cooked to order (such as over at Windsor Cafe, which you should try btw). Also, the staff with the carts could come across as pushy at times (do they get paid commission per plate sold?), and we found it impossible to decode pricing for each. After you agree to take one, they just mark the paper on your table and set off. So we were pleasantly surprised when all the food that led to our bursting bellies only came out to around $11 per person! It's such a satisfying, social experience to be able to sample so many different foods and share with friends at such a minimal cost. The food quality may not be the highest, but the variety, authenticity, and experience certainly is! Pro tip: Avoid the bathrooms if you would like to still have an appetite upon your return to the table. And they'll only split checks on up to 2 cards.
(4)Jason O.
A group of us came to eat here on a weekday in the evening for some dim sum. If you want dim sum anytime after breakfast, you have to ask them specifically for the menu or they won't bring it to you. If I am remembering correctly, each dish was $4. Not a bad deal but not that crazy cheap either. Food was mediocre. I really like the BBQ Pork buns.....mmmm... I thought the food was fine but one of my friends got sick...I think it was a stomach virus. I saw a picture on the Yelp page of a dead cockroach on the bottom of a dim sum container so I think we can all speculate the cleanliness of the place. For a weekday evening, it was quite packed. The waiters aren't that friendly either. Maybe if we had someone who could speak Cantonese or Mandarin, we would have gotten better service. Every time I asked the waiter for something, like water, he always seemed so pissed off and I was borderline scared he was going to pimp slap me before walking away. I also noticed every time they gave me water, there were white things floating in there so either they don't wash their dishes properly or there is something wrong with their piping system. Either way, it's still pretty gross.
(2)Vic G.
Huge! First impressions first. This place is huge. As much as it seemed over the top and cacophonic while viewing it from outside, it was exactly the same from inside. Reminded me of a huge banquet hall booked for a wedding reception of sorts. Went there for dinner the other night (Friday) around 7:30pm and only one part (level 1) of the restaurant was open. It seems like a norm of sorts. Weekends are supposedly the busiest. We went in with the goal of feasting on the dim sums. Was just not meant to be. We were told only part of the menu was being served and many items were for day time only - especially anything fried. So on one hand, my calorie intake was going to take a big hit (happy face), on the other hand we decided to go for a non dim-sumy meal (sad face). Life as we know it... So let's break this down and compartmentalize as swiftly as I can. Starting with bad news first Service - 1.5 stars Not happy. This simply - as I should blame it on - was fate. From the time he walked up to place the tea pot on our table and flipped open his pad and uttered "ready" (and it almost sounded like a plain word being taught to a kid - just - "ready", and not a question being asked - "are you ready?"), I knew we had the very special waiter! The chosen one actually. We were not asked for drinks of any kind - almost as if it was written on our faces "we don't drink anything when we eat" - I was wondering why did he even bring the hot tea? That's liquid too. But I guess that was part of his ritualistic mechanics. During the 30 minute wait between placing the order, and watching the fun party happening a few feet away from us (a group of some 42 or so Asian kids celebrating something with lots of food and booze), i noticed the other 2 waiters who were in our area were not as dazed and in their own world like ours was. But again, I can easily rate the service as 5 - I might as well - maybe because it didn't seem like patrons who were dining really cared about service at all. So. I pretty much wanted to focus on only the food and my non dim-sumy adventure here. Service can take a hike and sure it did. I just told myself - "hey, you are dining somewhere out of this continent. Just enjoy!" Food - 3.5 stars We ordered 2 main dishes - given the mind set; No Dim-Sum, No Apps. 1. Tender beef chunks with black pepper in sizzling plate: Although this dish had a dazzling red chili next to it on the menu, I told our fun dude, "Very very spicy". He wrote it down. It came out looking very promising. Overall I rate it a 4/5. It was NOT 'very' spicy (blame my extra hot taste buds). It had a spicy touch to it. But the beef was tender and the sauce was very flavorful. i liked it! 2. House pan fried noodle special with shrimp, chicken, roast pork and vegetables: We asked this to be medium spicy. And it was as bland as it could possibly be. I had to flag down our favorite waiter of all times and uttered, "Hot chili paste?". A nod and he swiftly returned with my most favorite dish of the nite in a small white crucible (pic attached). Maybe I should rate the service a 4.5? Never mind. Lesson Learnt. Next time ask for - very very very very very spicy. Ambiance - 4.5 stars LOVED IT. I wish this was a self service place. The crowd spread across the entire grandness of the hall was having a blast - of some sort or the other. And so were we. With no body to answer any of our queries about the special card on our table written in mandarin (pic attached), we were left to our own devices to enjoy what we had on our table, transform it to our tastes, and enjoy the ambiance as it was - Huge, lively, everyone having a pretty good time. So did we! SPECIAL Mention: Men's room - Again, much Huger than what we expected, very clean and basically hygienic. Impressed! Overall - 3.75 stars While leaving, we concurred, we came in at a wrong time. We didn't get a chance to try what this place is really known for - the Dim-Sums (the fried, the steamed and the in between). We didn't get a chance to see the carts rolling down the hallways by other fun waiters handing out orders. We decided - we liked what we experienced, even the service, and in the words of the Arnold, "'I'LL BE BACK!"
(4)Alex G.
This restaurant was very disappointing. The staff were very rude and clearly don't care about their customers. I went to dinner with two friends for dim sum. We ordered four items to share with the intention of ordering more. These dishes should have only taken a few minutes to come out. We waited forty minutes for our first dish and an additional half hour for our next three dishes even though staff and the manager insisted our food would be out in two minutes. The scallion pancake came out first, which was good. The pancake was very crispy, though there could have been more scallion flavor. Next came our seamed pork buns, which were very good. Finally, they brought us our shu mai and steamed spare ribs, which were the worst things we had during the meal. We ordered pork shu mai, but they brought us shrimp shu mai, which had a very slimy texture and little flavor. The spare ribs were the most disappointing at all. Spare ribs should fall off the bone, but what we got looked like the leftovers from the ribs. We ended up with little piece of bone no meat on them, our pieces were completely bone and fat. It was a huge letdown especially after the long wait. I told the manager that our meal should be comped because of the incredibly long wait. At the very least, the restaurant should have done something to compensate us. The manager proceeded to immediately yell at me telling me that I knew the wait would be a few minutes and I agreed to wait (even though he had severely undersold the wait time). He threatened to call the cops on us if we didn't pay the bill in full and said that we were paying for food, not service. He did not care that we had a long wait, that he told us the wrong wait time, made us wait for over an hour, and gave us the wrong dish. He was not willing to listen to our complaints or work with us in any way. His tone was hostile and aggressive. It was poor customer service to lie, make us wait over an hou r for our food, threaten to call the police on us, and refuse to even work with us or take the time to listen to our complains. Even if the service was better, the food itself was not worth the trip. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are several similar restaurants in the area so it is not necessary to come here and deal with mediocer food and terribel staff, management, and customer service.
(1)Emily W.
I'm just thankful that a legit, cart-system dim sum restaurant exists near me. It's a bit on the pricier side- 2 people for $50. But it's worth it. Anyways, this is your typical crowded, no table seat sharing restaurant and their dim sum is pretty good! Although the chicken feet (usually my fav) looked old and broken apart, it tasted fine. I did really like the shuma, the cha siu bao and surprisingly the egg rolls. I usually never get egg rolls but these were fat and full of yummy stuffing. Egg tarts= NONO. They're flaky, cold, semi-flavorless, and everything that could go wrong with an egg tart went wrong! I wish I took some photos but I pretty much devoured the food before I took my phone out haha.
(3)Ami N.
URGENT!! My grandma's friend discovered multiple wiggling worms (tapeworms? I don't know) in their to go meal. Ultimately shocked and disgusted. I have no words but beware and take caution for the seafood in Hei La Moon!
(1)Mary T.
I rate this the BEST DIM SUM in BOSTON! The food here is always pretty fresh and the quality is better compared to other dim sum places. The price is really good too. I usually get their siu mai (pork dumplings) har gow (shrimp dumplings), cheung fun (rice roll with beef/shrimp/cha siu), fung jow (chicken feet), lo bat gow (turnip cake), wu tao gow (taro cake), cha siu bao (bbq pork bun). If you want the real dim sum experience, you should get the most popular dishes, which are siu mai, har gow, cha siu bao and cheung fun. The ladies that push the dim sum cart and the servers speak limited english so it's better to order in Cantonese. But they are pretty friendly. I wanted to order some dishes, but none of the carts were around so I asked the server and he got the dishes for me. They were also pretty quick when it comes to getting the tea for you, refilling the tea, and helping us with other requests that we had. Overall, the food and service has been pretty consistent the several times that I went. This is my go-to dim sum spot. It is always busy when I go on the weekends, but I never had to wait for a table yet, which is another reason why I come here.
(5)Shaina P.
I went around noon today. My mind is still reeling from the experience. It's a HUGE conference-center-like space packed with tables for 10, 6, 4, 2... Very little wait time. Every corner is filled and not every corner is accessible or accessed or ever seen by those rolling steam and flame filled carts.. I missed several apps that I would have loved to have had.. When you enter, it's nuts. Give the lady at the front the number of your group and they'll just start calling you by number, not by name.. I did like the fact that they had tables for two. This place isn't for shy people. You gotta know a thing or two about what you're ordering because it's not easy to understand what's being offered without a menu and without servers who can deliver the ingredients to you in language that you can understand. Best approach: ask waiters stuff like, "is that shrimp?" rather than "what is that?" But I was successful in receiving a total of 5 dishes. I was 5 for 5 in terms of food I would have ordered anyway, including (not the Cantonese version): + soybean braised oxtail with rice noodle, + braised pork/shrimp wrapped in bean curd, + steamed shrimp dumpling in like a rice wrapper, + u-choy (greens), + shrimp and chives fried dumpling. What I would have liked that I didn't get but saw from afar: + congee w/ thousand year egg + pan fried turnip cake + soup dumpling + other pork dumpling Lessons learned in one visit: get up and follow the carts and grab what you want? (asking nicely of course). I saw the same four carts about 5 times, but didn't see the dishes that I really wanted.. ever. So, ask for what you want. Pay at the front. Come with as little as two peeps and as many as 10! Your head will spin.
(3)Katie Y.
Their dim sum is okay but if you order from their menu, the Taishan Stir-Fried Rice (it's actually noodles but we translated that literally) and the Soy Sauce Lo Mein is really good (we order in Chinese so we have no idea what those two dishes are called in English. Apologies). The restaurant is very big (two floors: basement and first floor) and spreads all the way to Lincoln Street. Usually there are a ton of people there and the carts take quite a while to circle back (remember it's two floors) so we just track down the cart that has the stuff we want.
(3)Lily C.
This place is a no no. I would NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone I know and to anyone read this. I searched and saw they have a good review,good rate, so my husband and I went here for dinner . IT WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I had chicken fried rice and the chicken was RAW. I called 2 dishes of dim sum, both were old and dry and nasty :( couldn't finish any of the dishes that we called.... About the plates, cups and server. Our plates were dirty, I can feel the old food left to dry off on the plate. Same with the cups (we got hot tea). The servers were not nice neither, even though we tried to be super nice with them (no complaining, no asking favors,...). This will be the first and the last.... NOT SUGGEST OR RECOMMEND.
(1)Saacha M.
Oh Hei La Moon. I have been coming here for years and had my first dim sum experience here. The service isn't stellar and you have to yell to get what you want, but it definitely adds to the experience. I usually just point at what I want and it works. I have not had anything bad here, but my two favorite things are the egg custard buns and the almond cake. Both are awesome closings to the meal. They serve all dim sum wit team and you can ask for water and chili sauce on the side. For first timers, go with someone who's been before so that they can help you choose what to order. Anything with shrimp and steamed is a good choice, but it's also fun to get a little adventurous. There's everything from turnip cakes to chicken feet, so have fun!
(4)Sophie P.
AMAZING DIM SUM! It was my first time having dim sum (I'm a bad Asian). You should definitely go with a Chinese person who speaks Cantonese or Mandarin, the waiters can understand Mandarin. They should lead you in what to order. If I went without my friend, I'd probably be doing a lot of pointing and raising my hand to get the carts' attention. Pork buns, steamed dumplings, fried taro, fried dumplings. Get all of it. It's very carb-y but you leave so full and happy. For 6 different plates from the carts, it came out to about $22. Are you serious? You can't eat that cheap in Boston. GO!
(4)Rich L.
Not a bad place for dim sum in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. The typical steamed pork buns (char siu bau), egg custard tarts (daan taat), and tofu dessert (dou fu fa) were all very tasty. But it fell short in a few places. First, the shrimp dumpling (har gow) was all white. The outer dumpling skin is translucent for a reason - so you can see the pinkness of the shrimp. They basically washed out the color in the shrimp. Second was the Chinese sticky rice (law mei fan), one of my personal favorite dishes. But not here. It was served to us room temperature, dry, and a lot whiter than it should have been, which means they didn't use enough flavoring/seasoning. Upon tasting it, I was right. The upside is that the service was right on point. They were very quick about clearing our table of the empty dishes and refilling our teapot. And they were also very attentive to items we wanted to eat and were willing to get it for us instead of us having to wait for the carts to come around. It was my first time there so it was a learning experience for me. I would go back if I'm ever in town again but now I know what to get and what NOT to get!
(3)Kartik P.
Chaos, bloody chaos! Little chinese men women running around in circles pushing trolly of dim sums. Some just sitting on the table, packing food, some unpacking somethings else. Since its closer to the south station people walking in with bags, suitcases, college going kids adding the noise with their selfies and squeaky noises. But it dint bother me much , as I was hungry,cold and had loads of time in hand to observe people. I was seated in a quiet corner from where I had a good view of the entire flood and it is huge!! It took me a few mins to realize how the system works, but I was in no mood for dim sums, just wanted some curry and rice. So ordered my food and waited for it to come and in those 3.5 mins noticed another 7 trollys passing by with loads of bamboo steamers piled high. In all that chaos everyone knew what they were doing, somehow! It seemed to me as if it was a food symphony perfectly orchestrated by the food god! Next time may be when i have a little more time in hand will indulge in the dim sums with a company. Keep it up!
(3)Jen D.
I would vote this 3.5 stars, -1 star for the tea situation. We were BAAAAAAAD patrons. I arrived first, got a table with no waiting (which tells you how late in the day we were) and then found out we were two more to our party. They were very nice about it. Given how late we were in the day, I can't complain about the variety of carts. Everything I tasted was legit and solid IMO--lotus rice was great, char siu bao and other dumplings fine. No standouts, but no disappointments, either. Nice to find a good dim sum place in walking distance. Their tea quality is lacking and the pots are HORRENDOUS (and it was so sloooow to come)--they're heavy and clog easily. To pour without drenching the tablecloth like I did: rest the pot on the table. Hook the spout on the cup. Gently tilt to fill the tea cup. I grew up in South San Francisco and grew up with dim sum. I'd like to think I'm not completely incompetent around a teapot. This place made me feel like an idiot pouring tea. Also: not enough red chili paste for the table. Had to ask a couple of times.
(3)Amber E.
Very enjoyable dim sum experience. You wouldn't know it from the outside, but this place is HUGE, and very crowded. But we had made reservations in advance, and our party of 7 was quickly seated downstairs. Like any dim sum, some dishes are better than others. My favorite were the dumplings, especially the little pouches w/ pork, shrimp and cilantro inside - they were delicious. I also liked the stuffed eggplant, some pureed turnip dish, and the shrimp chive dumpling. Wasn't a big fan of the rice wrapped in leaves w/ some various meat items inside, or rice in taro. But overall a fun visit to Chinatown.
(4)Thom M.
A venerable dim sum spot in Boston. The place was packed on a recent Wednesday for lunch. The taro cake, har gao, shrimp rice roll and peppered ribs were all tasty. Service was prompt and the tea was freshly made. Overall its my favorite place for Dim Sum displacing an old favorite. Also parking in the upstairs garage can be validated which can save some money - especially if you are coming into Boston for the day.
(4)Sharon T.
My mantra when traveling is that you haven't really experienced a city's Chinatown scene unless you have had dim sum there. I came here on a Saturday afternoon with 3 other people. Funny story: I walked ahead of my friends to get a seat first, and when I first got a table, it was on the first floor, but because they only seat you once your party's here, I had to give up my seat until my friends arrived less than a minute later. They finally placed us in a table--downstairs. Talk about punishing for delay. It was almost like any other dim sum experience I've had, but I feel like the food options downstairs were lackluster. The carts came very slow, and I don't even think a dessert cart passed by us. The food was average; nothing special or extraordinary. My friends ordered a lot of shrimp foods and they particularly liked the Shumai. I ordered one of my dim sum staples--Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll--and they put SO much soy sauce in there. The rice noodles were kind of weak because they fell apart when I picked it up. I also had the Turnip Cake--can't complain about turnip cake when it's grilled in front of you! Overall, nice experience and wasn't crazy-crowded as I would have expected for a pretty notorious dim sum place. Nice staff, and food kept coming. Random, but I really enjoyed the Chrysanthemum tea they served. I think it's probably one of the best I've had, and anyone who's ordering a teapot should definitely choose that!
(3)Corey H.
Excellent dim sum. Normally, my go to place is Windsor dim sum because I prefer the civility of a traditional suit down dining experience. However, the dim sum here is equally as good: just get ready for a traditional communal food free for all because you have to request your food from a cart passer by. The food cart process is easy but for the unintimidated it will be a new experience. Seating here is easy to get amd it is especially good for large groups. They also take reservations.
(5)Debra L.
This has been my go-to for dim sum for the past 5 years and I'll come 3-4 times a year. Though admittedly, I haven't looked into other options for dim sum in the area. The restaurant is huge and even though it gets packed, you'll never wait too long for seats, even during Saturday brunch-time. The food is pretty good- they do my favorite dim sum staples pretty well. In particular, my favorites are their: + éŸèœè™¾é¥º - chives and shrimp dumpling in the clear skin + å‰çƒ§é…¥ - char siu pork in a pastry puff + 西瓜西米露 - coconut milk with sago and watermelon + 糯米鸡 - sticky rice and chicken wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf The worst part is the service- some of the waiters are almost notably unfriendly and curt and others just seem to be there to hang out with the other waiters and the customers are merely distractions. When you ask for anything, they are begrudging at best. Even though I speak Chinese, there is still a language barrier because most of the servers speak Cantonese, which is not unusual for dim sum. However, what IS unusual in terms of service is that my inquiries or requests have been met with unhappy "hmphs," displeased looks, and general huffiness. As a customer, this is a big problem and undermines what would otherwise be a very positive experience. Luckily, there is only minimal interaction needed during dim sum brunches as you can just look and point as the carts get pushed around, but as soon as I need to ask for something, the experience goes south pretty quickly.
(3)Cathy S.
Hei La Moon is our go to spot for dim sum in Boston. The place is massive, with an upstairs and downstairs, and it's always packed on the weekend, although getting a table relatively quickly is usually not a problem. The service isn't always polite or attentive (not unusual for an authentic Chinese place), but the key is to be aggressive - flag down waiters if you need something or chase after a cart if you see something you want but they've gone past you. Because it's so big there's always a lot of carts out, and I feel that the turnover of food is quick, which is good. There's also a lot of variety in their dim sum items, and the meals can be very filling while remaining just over $10 per person. Overall I like the dim sum experience there, but it can be overwhelming for someone who has never had dim sum before.
(5)Lucy C.
Really good dim sum place with okay service. I like this place better than Manhattan Chinatown's Nom Wah Tea Parlor and Jing Fong. This place has amazing fried dragon balls--super super crispy sesame outside and soft gooey inside. It is stuffed with lotus paste, I believe. I would also recommend the chicken feet, which is really well marinated, the pork wrapped in tofu skin, and the meat wrapped in whatever that really soft white noodle sheet is called. So many great dishes here, come with a big party and try them all!
(4)matt h.
Great for dim sum! Very accommodating to my kids. A definite stop if you are in Chinatown.
(4)May C.
Worst dim sum experience ever. I visited this place on last Saturday morning and was glad to find it open so early. I was seated immediately. But good experience stopped here. It took a long time before someone noticed me and asked me which of tea I want. I asked for menu, but was told no menu till 11 o'clock. So I began the journey of waiting for the carts to come and go, trying to figure what's on it. They speak cantonese to me which i cannot understand at all. To make it even worse, even though I knew exactly what I wanted when I walked in, I waited about 30 minutes for the cart carrying them to come to my table. I run out of patience after this waiting and asked for some other food. But I was told that either not served in the morning or I have to WAIT more. I knew many dim sum places using carts for serving dishes. But usually a menu was provided at the same time and the moving carts are a complimentary and interesting experience. Not here.
(2)Tara S.
While I will always compare any dim sum to my favorite in Queens NY, this place was quite good! I was visiting Boston from CT and we had decided to do dim sum for breakfast. We went despite some of the negative reviews on yelp and were pleased. There are some reviews regarding the cleanliness of the place. We didn't see any issues, but I can believe that there may be some. Bottom line, worth a visit. We enjoyed the spare ribs, shumai, har gao (shrimp dumplings), char sui bao (sweet pork buns), deep fried pork dumplings and rice noodle rolls with shrimp.
(4)Jie S.
Bad experience. Bad service and attitude. My friend got her card overcharged and the way the manager dealt with it was not polite and respectful at all.
(1)Stephanie C.
3.5 star, the stars are knocked down due to the lackluster service for dim sum on a Saturday at noon. Thankfully we didn't have to wait, at prime time. I went to college in Boston and have come to Hei La Moon a bunch of times- surprised I forgot to write a review till now. BF and I took a weekend trip to Boston, thinking, the dim sum can't top what we get in NYC. Well- it is surprisingly good, and surprisingly fresh. It is a cart-based environment, and my biggest complaint is that the carts do not come to each table without you haggling them big time. Yes this happens a bit everywhere but it was especially bad here. We were sitting on the inside row but I really felt like we were ignored. Anyway, onto the food: - Tofu fa- very good, and standard - Shrimp Dumplings- much better than what we get in NY, fresh, plump and more flavorful with garlic/ginger -Chicken and pork dumplings- twisted in a soup dumpling shape, we didn't like these as much as the shrimp but it was very different and big - Turnip cake- one of my favorites, DELICIOUS. Super fresh, crispy and spot on with hoisin -Beef rice roll- much better here than I've had elsewhere, fresh and not super soggy and steamed. We wanted the shrimp roll but it wasn't around until the end of our service (same as most dishes- we also sadly missed the steamed banana leaf fried rice) -Congee-flavorful, with lots of meat (including tripe), scallion and fried dough atop -Roast pork buns- very solid bao bread, and a lot of char siu meat as opposed to BBQ sauce -From the fried cart (which somehow came around 5 times), we had the egg-roll type of shrimp rolls- good, not too greasy, and unfortunately a fried veggie/fishcake dumpling which was a bit stale I might be forgetting a thing or two but this came to $36 for two of us. I've heard mixed reviews about this place but it always seems to be a hit for me, minus the service issues (though they were good about tea refills). They have big ass lobsters in their front tanks but I guess you can bet dinner is also equally as popular!
(3)Alice S.
When it comes to dim sum in Boston, personally, I think most of the restaurants are pretty similar with their quality. I haven't had a terrible experience yet with a Chinatown restaurant. The great thing about Hei La Moon is that it is a really large restaurant with two floors. It can get pretty busy so there usually is a wait on the weekends. When it comes to their food - it's pretty solid. Nothing blow your mind spectacular, but it's definitely worth it to come.
(4)Stephanie V.
The best time to go is around 9 am when it's not even time for brunch yet and all the reasonable people are enjoying a lie in. The clientele was mostly comprised of grandmas and grandpas leisurely drinking tea and reading Chinese newspapers. Those phantom carts with the sweet tofu and watermelon desserts came around 4 times! The downside though is that at 9 in the morning it's still a bit too early for dessert. It's definitely preferable to go in a big group. My friend and I were stuffed after 5 dishes. It's a little pricey at $21.65 but the shrimp dumplings (har gow?) is worth it for the delicate white dumpling wrappers. The only inconvenience we had was that we both didn't speak Chinese but we still managed to get what we wanted.
(3)Jeff Y.
This restaurant is HUGE. Two stories, and a large room on each level. We were seated downstairs, which my friend surmised was for the "non-Chinese dominant" parties. My friends and I felt like dim sum so we came and chose this one out of the many Chinatown options. It was definitely significantly better dim sum than the options back in Richmond, but not quite as stellar as the ones back in California. It was a little difficult to flag down a waiter at times, and the arrangement of tables with some narrow areas made it a little difficult for some carts to get close to the tables, but we managed. A few carts also never made their way to us, and we had to ask for them. Overall, pretty standard dim sum fare, tasty and fresh. The only new thing I tried was the watermelon-tapioca-coconut dessert, which was served out of a large watermelon; pretty unique! Definitely noisy, especially after a group of more than 30 teenagers entered seemingly after some sporting event, but I expect liveliness at dim sum places.
(4)Juan F.
Probably one of the better Dim Sum places I've had in Boston but it pales in comparison to what I can here in SoCal. This place gets pretty busy just like any other decent Dim Sum place. The restaurant is pretty big so the wait should be okay. They do have the carts which is good for us starving people. Everything was just regular and average and nothing outstanding. Parking in Chinatown is always a challenge. You can park at the structure next to it and I believe they validate.
(3)R Y.
Go to place for dim sum for my family and so mine too. Used to the food here so nothing extraordinary to me. Food is great when it is fresh out the kitchen. Once found a piece of fish bone in my Sui Mai. But overall a decent place for dim sum.
(3)Jennifer W.
Servers: great but at times, need to flag them down to get their attention Food: does the trick for dim sum. Crowded at times, but not a long wait. Validated parking is nice for $6.
(4)Jessica L.
Let me start by saying...you're in Chinatown. You're in a dimsum restaurant that is literally the size of a wedding hall. You can't expect the quality of the food to be up to par with 4-star restaurants now, right? I was satisfied with my meal today. First of all, this place is HUGEEEE - as in you could probably come with a group of 20 people on a busy day, and they could probably find a spot for you within 5 minutes. I thought the food tasted delicious overall. There wasn't a single dish I did NOT think was yummy, BUT! I did find a piece of hair on one of my pork buns...I didn't eat that piece obviously, but gosh their pork buns were fabulous. Less filling than most of the pork buns I've had, but still delicious! Okay. this is going to be such a bad review because I don't know the names of anything else I ate...that brings me to my next point. You'll definitely be in good hands if you're with someone who speaks either Cantonese or Mandarin. Either that, or you can look clueless, point, and communicate with hand gestures, which worked out for me lol I ate until I was pretty full, and our bill came out to only $10 per person including tip! Niceee.
(3)Abhishek C.
The best large restaurant dim sum in Boston Chinatown. Reasonably priced. Fresh food. Seating almost always readily available. Have eaten there multiple times without disappointment.
(5)Yen D.
I like the dim sum here so much the first weekend I was in Boston, I came back the next weekend. I'm an old pro at dim sum (my family had it all the time when I was a kid) so when I say I'm pleased with the food here, that means a lot! There are two HUMONGOUS rooms, one at ground level and one downstairs. If you can, come with an Asian person, Chinese preferable, so you get better seats (this is just from observation; I'm Vietnamese so I sort of count). I suspect that the servers downstairs speak more English than the ones upstairs. We ended up getting tons of food both times, and meal was consistently $10-$14 a person. I love that about dim sum. I understand that many people prefer the check the box system and you get the food fresh to order, but I prefer the carts- I can see what I'm getting much better than on a printed page, and there's no need to bother with translations/trying to figure out what something is vs. just pointing. Again, something I grew up with. Food: quite enjoyed the standard har gao (shrimp dumpling, lots of shrimp), shumai (pork dumpling), roasted pork buns, egg tart, vegetables (chinese broccoli with oyster sauce), and the sticky rice +pork in lotus leaf super loved the fried turnip cakes, the shrimp chung food (wide noodles filled with shrimp and topped with sweet soy sauce), and roasted pork buns in sweet bread- I'd only ever had them in those fluffy white bao before, not in golden delicious bread. I enjoyed (but no one else did as much) the pork surrounded by taro and fried into a little spiky delicious golden thing that you might mistake for dessert. Also the fish+tofu! I heard the congee was great too, with lots of stuff in it. I thought the warm soft tofu with ginger syrup was just OK- I much preferred the THING IN THE WATERMELON GET THE THING IN THE WATERMELON. There are big cut up watermelon bowls on one of the carts and I was super curious about them, so we got a bowl from it. Some kind of sweet coconut milk + tapioca balls + watermelon balls = SO DELICIOUS. Also I thought the egg tarts were just OK- a little bit heavy. Often when I go to dim sum I feel a little gross/heavy after but I found that the lightness of the wrappers/relative little greasiness at this place totally mitigated that effect. I don't think you can go wrong! YUM! (esp. because I tried a diff dim sum place in Boston a few weeks later...)
(5)Bonnie C.
Hei La Moon has gotten worse over the past several years. Their service is awful and the food is terrible. I came here to order pick up one day and the host was really rude. I asked them if I can park my car outside with my hazard lights on (I said it in perfect Chinese) to which she responded "look, I understand you have a car outside, but that is no excuse for me to hurry up your order". First of all, she didn't even answer my question, and second of all, that is really rude for her to snap at me like that. I was just asking her an innocent question. Then I went to pay for my food and I gave her an extra $20 by accident and she was like "you paid too much, lang mui" in a snappy tone. I find it rude when strangers call anybody a "lang mui". I thought she was having a bad day so I said "Thank you very much" with a smile on my face and she didn't even acknowledge me. I'm sorry, but if you can't even be nice to a customer who is doing a simple pick up order, I can't imagine how the service is like dining in.
(1)Ann C.
If you like traditional dim sum, it is the right to come here. However, you should come after 10 oclock or come in the weekends since there are more options offered.
(4)Allen I.
I thought this was the best dim sum I may have had because it was the first I ever had. I went back last week and confirmed it. PLUS parking upstairs in the garage for 7.00 all day. What a deal. Wow, when the cart came my way with the tofu skin wrapped shrimp the game was over. Love the chicken feet. I love it all. And I would be there this morning but I happen to live five hours away.
(4)Lauren H.
I don't love writing bad reviews, but I had to for this place and this review is solely based on service. We tried to eat here last week. It was the tail end of lunch, the place was packed. We were seated right away. Normally, within a few minutes of being seated in dim sum restaurants, somebody brings you a pot of tea. There was nobody in sight, the table next to us was clearly also looking for a waiter. We finally spotted one, but he was running around servicing a ton of tables. The table next us finally flagged him down and ask for tea for both of our tables. While we were waiting for our tea, one of the carts stopped and we selected some pork shumai and shrimp balls. We couldn't eat our food because there was no chili paste or soy sauce on the table. Our food was getting cold. The waiter finally showed up with the tea and seemed very put out when I asked him for chili paste. He finally brought the chili paste. We ate....waiting for more carts to stop. They either walked right by us servicing the people around us or didn't come down our row of tables at all. We finished our shumai and shrimp balls, waited for 15 minutes, watching everybody else get served, not finding the waiter to ask if we could get the carts to stop for us, and finally were so frustrated, grabbed our stuff to go. The manager was working the register and when I tried to explain that we were leaving because nobody would stop and serve us food, it was clear she didn't care. We left and walked over to China Pearl where we were greeted warmly and promptly served all the food we wanted - with tea, chili paste and soy sauce! The sad part is that the food was good at Hei La Moon but based on the fact that they couldn't/wouldn't serve us, coupled with a non-caring manager, I would never return there. Too much competition for dim sum in Boston.
(1)Rebecca Y.
Love this place for dim sum because I love the trolley carts that go around. It feels more authentic than ordering dim sum off a menu. My favorite item is the zimaqiu (the fried sesame balls with red bean paste stuffed inside). The ideal way to eat here is to come with a big group (at least 6 people) and order a lot. Everyone pays less than $10 for getting their faces stuffed and eating a wide variety of dim sum, it's fantastic. The quality of the dim sum here isn't amazing (especially if you're from Hong Kong), but it's decent.
(3)Thanh H.
Not a bad place for Dim Sum. What I don't like aboutthis place is they cram too many seats in, so the dim sum carts have a hard time getting around when the restaurant is full. It's hard for me to recommend anything food wise since my wife orders and I just eat whatevr is in front of me. Except chicken feet, since they remind me of babies hands. You don't have to order dim sum, you can order from their regualr menu any time. I had to mark it down due to cleanliness of the place. At times I see dishes at the table still with greese on them. The bathrooms are messy and gross. If you only care about the food, give this place a try.
(3)Annamarie T.
So I didn't really know what to expect when my friend took me for dum sum, but whoa! This place was awesome. There is literally food everywhere! There are servers walking around with food and you choose the ones you want to try off the cart. This isn't a place for picky eaters, you need to be willing to eat everything to get the most out of the experience. It really was a matter of hmm whats that, not understanding, and saying okay that looks good and trying it. The dumplings we tried where delicious, and we even tried the chicken feet! Overall I would definitely recommend trying here for an awesome experience!
(4)Simon L.
Dim sum sum dim. Served every day seven days a week. Lunch on weekends is packed. The space you see on entry - it's only half the actual dining area - the rest is downstairs. Hei La Moon is considered the best service in C-town. Order as the carts roll by - if you're unsure what is in the bamboo box, ask for a viewing. If you don't want it, pass and wait for the next cart. But, don't be afraid, order often so you can try various items. The frog legs and chicken feet are more delicious than one might expect - crispy skin with a reasonable amount of meat - adventurous? Lo Mai Gai - Chinese sausage, egg and chicken steamed in a lotus leaf with rice - a wonderful meal in and of itself. Shrimp dumplings - fresh shrimps in a light rice casing. Beef meatballs steamed. An amazing assortment of tastes and flavors. Quick service - beer if you ask.
(4)Peter L.
Decent Dim sum place. I am from Hong Kong and I believe the food here is on par with some dim sum places in Hong Kong. (considering it is hard to find a decent dim sum place around, that's a +1 star for me right there) The price here is affordable and the more dinners at the table the better (for the sake of more variety) The draw backs I see so far is the lack for waitresses and the poor environment within the restaurant. Sometimes I have to wait up to 10 minutes to get my tea refilled. And I believe they should re-renovate this place soon as it kinda look dirty inside. This place is huge but the tables are not placed far apart from on another, not spacious at all. It'd better if you go with a friend who speaks Cantonese, some waiters/waitresses have broken English (though they are friendly :)).
(4)Elena S.
A great place to have brunch with family or treat friends, 4 stars because of the Double Price with the same quality as the Cantonese restaurants in Philly China town...
(4)Erica R.
Frequently enough when I'm in Boston, the friend I come to visit and I crave dim sum. He's taken me to a couple different dim sum restaurants thus far, but Hei La Moon is probably where we've visited the most. That's not to say it's especially spectacular or anything, but it's a solid option when you're trying to appease a craving. There's a large variety of options, all served off carts in what I can only assume is a fairly traditional manner. A lot about the experience of eating here also depends on where you're seated, it seems. We've been seated everywhere from in the middle of the room (sharing the table with a small family) to a smaller table in the very back of the restaurant (by the windows in the back, and against the corner). When you're in the middle of the room, you get to be a bit more laid back about checking out the carts and getting your food. Everything is basically passing you anyway. When you're tucked in the back corners though? You have to be more aggressive in even seeing what's on the carts. When you find something you like, you have to grab it too...because you're not exactly sure when a cart with those goodies is going to be back in your direction. All in all, the food is decent. I haven't found anything that I consider a "must have" from the carts, but the shumai is one of my go to options. I'm also pretty fond of anything with taro, so I tend to jump at those cart options. I'm sure I'll be back...it's decent and convenient. Somehow, I always leave this place having eaten WAY too much. The trick I always have to remember is to jump for 1) the carts newly filled with hot foods, and 2) be aggressive in looking to see what's available and getting what I want.
(3)moe s.
THis place still sucks. I have gone there about half a dozen times hoping they would improve with their service, and nothing has changed. They tell me at lunchtime it is busy so they have no food? How about some PRE planning so you HAVE food when it is busy. Other restaraunts do it, and it seems to be working for them pretty good...
(1)L H.
I meet friends here for dim sum every few weeks. Their dumplings and shumai are tasty and they have the usual dim sum offerings. It's fresher than other places I have been to. They also serve rice pudding and cake as dessert dim sum options.
(4)Tiffany A.
tl;dr good food, efficient service, helpful staff The venue is always packed during weekend mornings. Food is fresh and the carts speed around. Quick service and great food! Our family always likes the buns and ha chung. Today, I left my phone at our table after we left the restaurant. Once I realized (a few minutes after we'd left), I came back and inquired with the front counter. They promptly asked what color and type of phone I had, as well as requested I call my number. Once I did so, they immediately returned it. The staff gave me no trouble and were extremely helpful.
(5)Lianne T.
Ok so I Asian and I go dim sum to get some ha gao. But I here right now and the whole wall next to my table is covered in flies. The waiter saw me taking a trillion pictures of them and he didn't even do anything. Omg I was shaking out of fear that they fall in my dan taat. Made me so nauseous.
(2)Lachland F.
Parking was easy and we didn't have to wait to sit in this cavernous and bustling venue, but that is where the good ends. By noon the fried fish was cold, the buns mealy, and the sticky rice over-salted. Bring on the antacids. The indifferent service has been much discussed elsewhere, but we didn't find it half as bad as the food. We will be looking for better.
(1)moondizz y.
First off I'll say the manager is really nice. I had called to ask if they had the flat rice noodle and they had said yes. After all our other dim sum items were served (took their sweet time) they brought out a shrimp noodle dish which is what we hadn't ordered. Turned out thy had ran out of rice noodle dim sum- but had failed to mention that. The service was not that great - very slow and we asked if the turnips had pork and the waitress said no- after bringing out the dish we saw meat in it but she insisted it was not pork, till I called the manager and he apologised. I didn't understand why she lied though. Thy didn't charge is full Price for the wron dish- but I won't be back despite how nice the manager is .
(2)Sheng M.
Best Shu Mai EVAR! Everything else is pretty tasty too, but Shu Mai FTW there. That is all. :)
(4)Ben K.
Staff indifferent, food carts favor large tables, left hungry, food o.k., something floating in cup of water, something about check out help reminded me of the money lenders that Jesus "altercated" with, tea kettle had crusty somethings on it and was clogged. Didn't notice any active leaks in the ceiling so 2 stars.
(2)Michelle K.
Because the fact this restaurant is huge, therefore we did not have to wait for a table was a plus, the food was so so and the service was awful. There wasn't much special about the dim sum, nothing terrible and not thing fantastic. The carts did not make it us for most of our lunch, and I ended up jumping up with my tab to chase down the dim sum ladies. That would have been fine, but man, these dishes were HOT! Carrying them back to my table was a bit tricky. Because of this, I did not write out a 15% tip on my bill. As I stood there to pay, (also a weird thing, why couldn't the serving staff bring it to me to sign?!) the lady had the audacity to say, "Tip is usually 15%." I told her, "I did not receive service that is worth 15% of my tab."
(2)Matt F.
Dim sum here is decent. Good for large groups. Lots of seating. The pushcart ladies don't aggressively sell you everything in their cart. Quite the opposite. They seem a bit timid. So don't be shy. Wave them down and shout to see what they have. The price is reasonable and transparent. Service is pretty good for Chinatown. Harkow is skimpy on the shrimp though. But everything was good without much msg. You can tell if you sense an aftertaste or drymouth if they put msg in it. Looks like we will be back.
(4)Francisca W.
it's sad. i used to come here a lot bc their dim sum is not only delicious but they have interesting/novel items that the old-school Boston ctown won't offer. came here for dinner, came here for banquet, came here for take out. just few weeks ago came here for a dim sum takeout as friend liked their 炸兩 ("ja leung"; fried dough in rice rolls) there. grabbed a whole bunch of food which was decent; just a little disappointed that there wasn't much outside the mainstream to choose from - at least for the takeout menu. but the order came out quickly and quality was ok, so there's no compliant there. came here for a late lunch (sat down after 2pm) with the in-laws as they prefer this place. already lost the "free validated parking" as the whole street was blocked by police and fire truck when we came by; had to find parking elsewhere only to see the street re-opened then. just our luck. sat down first thing, had to run to the restroom. boy was it a mess. to be fair, at least it didn't stink. but between TP everywhere and cloggy toilets...it's just quite gloomy out there. ordered a bunch of stuff, mostly mainstream items. food was ok; nothing to write home about - a few of them even got that frozen/slightly "off" taste to it... well it happens. but service was lackluster at best, mostly the waiters. from ones standing around not seeing our need to get something to their general attitude...sometimes it just makes one wonder why they even bother coming to work. not to mention the last time i came here for a wedding banquet, these guys (could be temps, but still) were throwing empty soda bottles across the tables as their cleanup shortcuts - while guests were still standing around waiting to leave - one almost hit my friend and her hub wanted to punch them. Chinatown service standard, yes. does it make it acceptable? no.
(2)Dave H.
Hei La Moon dishes out perfectly fine dim sum. Chicken feet, siu mai, and those awesome rice blankets... yes. Service might not be stellar, but if you're a little aggressive, you can get the carts to come over to your table. If you can't speak Chinese, you'll probably be okay, too. There's two floors (weirdly I had not noticed the basement the first time I was there), so there's room for a crowd. We didn't have a problem seating a large group (16!) on a Sunday.
(4)Jason L.
Walked in to meet a group of folks from work who said they'd be seated downstairs. The place was about an inch from chaos. Dim sum carts everywhere, nearly as humid as hell, and yelled instructions from all directions. I sat down and snagged every cart as it came by. Yeah, we'll take one of those. Double pork buns, please. More chicken feet. More gelatinous rolled up meat. Fun place to get dim sum, but I think cart dim sum places always suffer a bit in terms of quality. The experience, however, cannot be beat. Just be sure to be aggressive in snagging what you want, and say "yes" more often than "no" when the carts come around.
(4)ted h.
Food was awesome! My only complaint was my stomach wasn't large enough to eat more. It was reasonably priced as well.
(5)Winky C.
Their shaomai is good, the sweet soup with watermelon is also one of the signatures, their chicken finger is so so
(3)Cathy N.
I do not understand what all the fuss is about. I came in to order take out on 5/21. Someone was paying and I started a line to put in my order. Someone came up behind up me, offered the check and money and the transaction completed without even looking my way. I went to leave and another hostess stopped me. I had to repeat three times that if the other person's money was more important than mine, then they were not going to get my order and therefore my money. She finally stepped out of my way. Despite the fact I told myself I would never return, I had more than an hour to kill after an appointment next door and I went on Wednesday. Meh. Thank heavens I didn't see the postings about bugs in the food until after I ate. The spare ribs were wonderful tastings, perhaps the best I ever had at dim sum. But why add what I thought were cubes of potatoes? The shrimp in rice noodles were tasteless and the noodles gummy. So much better at Sun Kong in Malden. I never saw stuffed mushrooms at a Chinese restaurant before but they were the best dish I had. Never got my teapot refilled and staff didn't seem happy when I asked for water and for the glass to be refilled. I would not have gone out of my way to go back for the food but now that I see the reports of bugs and worms, I wish the health department would shut them down. Go to Chau Chow City instead.
(1)Phillip T.
I came here with my family for lunch after walking around the Boston Commons. I must say, the dim sum portions here are huge and filling! The restaurant itself was also spacious and had that authentic chinese cuisine vibe. When you sense that coming into a restaurant, you know you're in for the real deal. We had a party of six and we went through one and a half rounds of dim sum. I don't know what it was, but not only that they were huge portions, but they were also delicious. I must say the shu mai were one of the best shu mais I have ever had from a dim sum restaurant. There is this one dish with the chinese cruller (youtiao, for those pinyin peeps) wrapped in wonton noodles... you cannot miss out on that. That was the first time I have ever had that and I hope there are some dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area, CA that have this dish. That was amazing and if I were in Boston again, I would definitely come back here again!
(5)April K.
I think this is one of the better dim sum restaurants in Boston since it is spacious and (somewhat) cleaner. However, today seemed like a bad experience. The dim sum carts didn't come around much so it took us forever to wait for them and get our dishes one by one. One of the cart-pushers was also incredibly grouchy and rude to my mom. The bowl that they served congee to us in looked dirty as well. Usually we like this place because they are efficient and the plates are served hot. The har-gow is also better quality than the other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown.
(3)Jane L.
Man their lobster was DELICIOUS!!! Best i ever had. My sister and I were craving seafood when we visited boston. We decided to go for a more cheaper alternative rather than going to an actual super expensive seafood restaurant. Our hostess (we stayed at her house for a couple of nights) recommended this place to us so we decided to go. The restaurant was really big and was pretty empty considering it was 9 PM on a friday, but there was a couple of parties there eating dimsum. But my sister and i were kind of glad because we were a bit worried about not being seated since theres a chance that this restaurant would be packed. Anyway, my sister and i ordered scallops in sizzling platter with black pepper, and lobster with garlic and scallions. It was my first time trying scallops so i was really hyped and it was so good with the sauce and the peppers. The lobster was the dish that my sister and i have definitely been waiting to try. Now, my sister and i are not a big fan of lobsters. We had tried them back in NY but there werent that fresh and it was not good. But the lobster dish has been chopped and sauteed with ginger and scallion flavors. Although the flavors only reached the surface of the lobster and not the lobster meat inside it, my sister and i could definitely taste the freshness of the lobster. We literally devoured the whole thing because it was so delicious. Lastly, just as a small craving of dimsum, i asked to order for shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. but they ran out :( so i decided for the shu mai instead and BOY THEY WERE BIG. Yet they were good :)
(5)Geoff K.
It's been a while since we had dim sum but we missed a train and Hei La Moon has just a hop skip and a jump from South Station. Our expectations weren't extremely high for our impromptu meal, we were looking for something quick and relatively good. As many yelp reviewers have commented, the service is pretty poor. Depending on where you are seated some of the carts may completely miss you and there seems like there's little effort for them to make sure they hit all the tables. Mediocre service would have been tolerable if the food was any good. We got a number of different rounds of food with many of the pork options being of very low quality meat. The only real exception were the pork buns, which were solid. One of the pork dishes was nothing short of awful as well as the pork and shrimp wrapped in bean curd which was truly bad. When our waiter tallied our bill he charged us for tea, something I read is done to first timers. I noted it and he skoffed at me. The worst part of the whole experience at Hei La Moon is that several members of our party got food poisoning and were quite sick the next day. I'm all for authentic dim sum, have no issue being adventurous in my eating, but Hei La Moon fails on too many levels and when you add puking it all up to the equation it's just not worth it.
(1)Sofia Z.
I have been to almost all dim sum places in Boston, and being somebody from southern China, I am always raise an eyebrow when I try these "Americanized" dim sum places. But Hei La Moon, is home. I am surprised that it only has 3 and a half stars, and it certainly does not do it justice. Everything I've tried is delicious, and their services are always fast and friendly. To top it off, it is soooooo cheap! I love it! I even got my fiance to love chicken feet, which is unthinkable for him. Woo hoo!
(5)Lau F.
Excellent fresh Cantonese food. The dim sum is excellent. Very busy especially lunchtime and weekends. Parking garage available at reduced rate.
(5)George N.
When you notice other diners experiencing the same reactions/mood that you are, that's when you know something is wrong in the kitchen. I came here for my brother's birthday with my family at around 7pm on a Friday. The staff were really busy as we sat down and progressively got busier as more people came in. I think there was also a private event going on at the same time. With the food....the teriyaki sticks tasted bland, the beef and broccoli tasted as if there was too much sauce in it...either that or something felt missing - not the typical/ordinary taste you'd expect, and the fired rice was too greasy. I think other diners experienced this too judging from their facial reactions. I think my mom noted that they didn't use taro for the birds nest in one of their dishes that we ordered when they should have, cost cutting? I think this experience would have been different if we came here for dimsum. I didn't want to take off any more stars to affect the over scale. So I felt two is a better grade than one.
(2)Ana S.
There are a bajillion other reviews of Hei La Moon already posted, so I'll let those guys explain the essentials. Instead I'd like to wax philosophical about something. Dim sum comes in two variants: the kind where you order small dishes off of a menu and the kind where you point to those dishes being wheeled around on little metal carts. The former generally yields fresher food, since for the most part everything is made to order. So why does Hei La Moon use the ol' push cart system? Well for one thing, the restaurant is huge. I remember one Saturday when I was waiting for a friend to arrive before going in. I started getting worried about seating because huge (10+ people) groups kept showing up and yet somehow the restaurant absorbed them immediately. I too was eventually absorbed by the vortex of pork buns and dumplings. An army of push carts keeps the food rolling fast 'n' furious(ly). I think some of the nit-picky complaints about the place are forgetting just how massive of an operation this is. Logistics aside, the push cart system is far less intimidating for dim sum newbies. It's easy enough to see something rolling by and to just point to it like some kind of gluttonous child. Speaking of gluttony, the carts also provide instant gratification. There's nothing worse than ordering chicken feet and then having to wait 10 minutes for chicken feet (or, you know, something you actually want to eat).
(5)Stanley G.
The food is ok but the service is really baaaad! If you order the shrimp dumpling, vinegar won't be with it, though it's necessary. All the waiters seems to be in really bad mood, except the manager in suit. Will never come again.
(2)Jackie L.
Love this place! Everything is so good and because it's in a cart, you can see everything you get to order and you don't have to wait for the food.
(5)Derek H.
When we were in Boston for work, one of locals suggested that we should go to Hei La Moon, which is a dim sum restaurant located on the edge of Chinatown. I was a dim sum virgin, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those who haven't had dim sum before, it's an interesting experience. Essentially, fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant by waiters/waitresses, for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. They come around fast and furious, and most of the time you have no idea what they are saying. Luckily, we had someone with us that had been here many times and knew the drill. I tried several dumplings that were filled with short ribs, shrimp, beef, etc. Some things (turnip pie) looked odd, so I passed on that. They are pretty pushy with some of the items, so be sure to give them a hard no when they ask if you want something. Many of the items are meant to be dipped in soy sauce. Overall, I thought the food was pretty good. I certainly felt more cultured afterwards. :) I did like the fact that I didn't feel overly full after I left here. I'd be willing to give this place another shot at some point, as it was pretty good. That said, I certainly wouldn't be running back here.
(3)Ian Maren C.
We hadn't had dim sum in a couple of months so when we landed in Boston we decided to go straight to China town and check out the Dim Sum. Went to another place but it was so small and little seating. This place here is HUGE!!!! Tons of seating and lots of cart. A great selection, good staff. They accept credit cards. One of the best Dim Sums we have had.
(5)Wu N.
came here with a tour group. ..the group arranged a lobster feast for us at 30$ a person. each of us will get a fresh boiled 1lb lobster and 6 courses to share for entire table. the lobster is ok, but the rest of the courses are just medicore, cheap, low quality, plus the terrible services they provided, this lobster feast just turned out to be another rip off arranged between the tour company and the restaurant. tourists be aware !! Im sure they make some good dishes, but stay away from their seafoods !! lobster - ok shrimp - no no fish - ok chicken - no string beans - no mapo tofu - no purple seaweed soup - hell no bok choy - ok service - hell no red bean soup, the free dessert after meal desert - the best out of all above items. if you ever came to socal, stop by new port seafood restaurant in rowland heights, for real quality Chinese style seafoods.
(2)Judy L.
My family and I usually come here for dim sum and nowhere else because their BAKED honey glazed pork buns are delicious! Their other dishes are also great, particularly their sui mai, chicken feet, black pepper spareribs, and deep fried chive bells! Service on the other hand is not so great. The lady at the front is extremely rude and no matter how hard you try to get a table upstairs she will always point you downstairs (unless she knows you very well/you're a family friend). But for the food, it is worth it!
(4)Erin C.
Hei La Moon is a human version of underground ant tunnels. That is, it is teeming with chatter and staff scuttling carts around and diners moving about. This was the site of my first dim sum experience, so I have nothing to which to compare it. A quick sum up, though, would be: lotsa meat and noodles. The shrimp rice noodle roll is only eh, because it's watery and has too much noodle. There are two kinds of cha-siu buns, or BBQ pork buns. The steamed ones here were dry and eh. The baked ones were lighter, sweet, and delicious. It took me a while (read: til after I got online) to realize they were the same thing. It may have been because of our (rickety) table near a kitchen doorway, in proximity of which many carts seemed to pile up, but I didn't see much variety offered during our lunch. The same few dishes kept coming around, and most of them were shrimp items. We did get our hands on the Chinese broccoli and sauce, which were tasty (not that I could figure out how to eat it stalk and all very gracefully), but this was the absolute only non-starch, non-meat selection we ever saw. I don't know if this is completely par for the course, but I was pretty disappointed. Also frustrating was the extreme difficulty it was (and friends report it often is) to get a waiter to bring water to the table. Womp. But I really did like the baked pork buns.
(3)Sarah L.
Very good Diem Sum. Went for breakfast to celebrate my daughter's birthday (that is what she asked for). We were not disappointed. Service and Price was good too. We would go again and would not hesitate recommending it to others.
(4)Shuai W.
If I can give less stars I would, horrible service, food was cold, found a giant roach in our food.... I may throw up
(1)P V.
DO NOT BOOK THIS PLACE FOR A WEDDING!!!!!!!!! If I was able to rate this restaurant BELOW 1 star, I definitely would!! THE SERVICE IS THE WORST OUT OF THE WORST. FOOD IS NOT GREAT. But, one great thing about this place is that it is spacious--which is why we were fooled into booking this for my sister's wedding (WORST DECISION EVER). If you ever think of booking this restaurant for a wedding, you WILL regret it. Your happy day will turn out to be a day of chaos and anger just from being there. First of all, the service was absolutely HORRIBLE. I have never ever ever been to a restaurant where the waiter refused to give me a hard boiled egg or a refill on my sauce. They demand us to finish that small plate of sauce before they can give out more. Man, how cheap is this. On top of this, from all the Asian wedding I have been to, the server would usually bring out food one after another, but weird thing is that we had to wait 10+ minutes for each dish. By our 4/9 dish, people were already on the dance floor or preparing to leave. Literally, the last dish was brought out at 10:30pm, and that was almost to the closing time. Secondly, the manager refused to give the DJ the WiFi password. I know that it's the DJ's fault to not have a backup CD of music we have requested, but based on his experienced, he claimed that every single wedding he had DJ-ed for has WiFi, BUT this one. Out of curiosity for this coincidence, I looked for the manager to asked if I can have the password, or if he can help us out. His response: "WiFi doesn't work. Too many people use it so it got shut down." How can this man LIE straight to my face. It was such a coincidence that the internet stopped working a couple days before the wedding and did not bother to let us know or fix it. I confronted him but he was so ignorant. Thirdly, they have tried to scam a few of the guest for their parking money. One of our guest said that their parking ticket does not work. When they asked the guy in the garage parking lot for help, he said to go to the manager and get a new one-- guess what? the manager claimed that they have to pay an extra $8 for a new ticket since the other one was not working. WTF? How is it their fault that the machine did not accept that ticket? Does the machine just magically spit out a duplicate ticket for us to pass on to another customer? Maybe that cheapa$$ should save some money and buy himself a new parking machine instead. Another thing is that some of our guests have to spend hours looking for parking in Chinatown because their $8 parking were full-- it was established that the parking was reserved for our guests. Lastly, they tried to cheat us from their beer. The first time when we were looking for a restaurant to book for my sister's wedding, they clearly said that it would cost $45 for a case of beer or buy our own beer and the license would cost $8 per case. Second time around, they raised it up to $50 per case of beer. Then, on the day of the wedding, they said it was $60 per case of 24 bottles of Heineken. $60?!-- Fine, we were willing to pay for it. But, due to their EXTREMELY BAD SERVICE, 10 minutes into the wedding, when a few of our guest requested for Heineken, they claimed that there were NO more left, so instead, they gave us some cheap beer instead. Up to the point that many people had complained, they were finally willing to open up cases of Heineken, charging each case $60. Also, the manager did not ever show up to greet us once during the wedding (not even a congratulation, nothing), but came out when we were about to leave---- why? to collect the money from us. That man only care about the money and himself. How selfish can he be? He even dare to ask for an extra $15 tip per table for the service--HAH. Man, we WOULD be happy to give more than $15 per table if the service was even a bit better. But that kind of service deserves nothing, just not even a penny worth-/sorry. I have NEVERRRR been so stress out being at a wedding before. It's suppose to be a fun night for the guests, the newly wed, and family members, not a day to complain or plead. To save you all a trip and money, DO NOT GO HERE AT ALL. AVOID IT THE BEST AS YOU CAN. You can thank me later :)
(1)Cindy W.
Service deserves less than 1 star. I had my wedding reception/banquet here recently. Where do I begin to describe the awful service & treatment that was given to me by the manager, Mr. Chan. The only time he was nice & accommodating was when I met with him to discuss the details of our wedding banquet & to give him a deposit for the night. Once he got the money from my wedding deposit, it was all downhill from there. First off, he had originally OFFERRED the nicer and more private area in the back of the restaurant for our function & we agreed to this. We thought it would be great as the dance floor location was better, more private, & it was a better area for my DJ to set up his equipment. When we arrived to the restaurant on our wedding day, the WRONG area of the restaurant was set up for us!! The area Mr.Chan originally OFFERRED & PROMISED to us (in the back of the restaurant) was changed to the area at the entrance/front of the restaurant.... strike 1. As I got out of my limo in front of the restaurant, I noticed the wrong area was set up even before I walked in. It was the most AWFUL feeling on such a joyous day!!!! I walked in, went up to Mr. Chan & asked him about the wrong tables being set up, he rudely DENIED the fact that that he had set up the wrong area of the restaurant!! He brushed my shoulder as he stormed off & walked away from me... strike 2. We arrived with our wedding party before 5pm and my dinner was planned for 6:30p. I only had 15 tables total of guests/family and I asked if he could do the right thing and set up the 15 tables in the back of the restaurant before my guests arrived... He said NO! My wedding party offered to help the waitstaff move the table settings for the 15 tables and Mr. Chan said NO! I spoke to multiple members of his staff and they were all willing to make it right but Mr. Chan would not allow it! We witnessed members of his staff telling him that he is doing the wrong thing & he argued with his staff in front of me and my family!! Rude. Unprofessional. Awful. A few of my family members confronted him and he ADMITTED that he does not remember offering me the back of the restaurant and he did not "make note of it in his book"!! He also said that he had given away my reserved space to a group of Chinese tourists who all then arrived in tour buses!!!!! Over 100 tourists had to enter the restaurant and parade past me and all my guests to get to the area in the back of the restaurant (which was originally reserved for our wedding).... strike 3. My family had to ASK him and TELL him that he needed to set up partitions so that we could have some privacy as multiple tourists were taking pictures of me and my guests!!.... strike 4. I also noticed 16 tables instead of 15 tables were set up and I mentioned this to Mr. Chan as I did not want to be charged an extra table's worth of food. His response in Chinese: "What's it matter? You still have what you need!". I told him I didn't want the kitchen staff to make more food than necessary & I didn't want to get charged extra. He shook his head as if I was bothering him and waved me to go away.... strike 5. We dropped off our own beer/liquor at the restaurant the night before so it could get chilled for our dinner. When we arrived to the restaurant, we noticed that the cases of beer we brought in the day before were NOT CHILLED and were all sitting in boxes on the dance floor?!?!... strike 6. They weren't even on tables!! I bet the health department would not be ok with drinks being placed on the floor. I confronted Mr.Chan about that as they were about to serve warm beer to my guests & he yelled at the waitstaff to ice all the beer. Yes, he yelled at his staff in front of my guests & family!! The waiters brought out folding tables with tupperware bins filled with ice for the beer. They set up these tables on the dance floor!! I asked him where my guests were going to dance now? I told him if they had chilled the beer as promised the night before or even that morning then this would not be an issue! Mr. Chan said "there was no room in the refrigerator"?!? I told him if he was unable to chill the beer then he should have never told us that he could do it. I told him he had an obligation to tell me the truth instead of misleading me that it would be taken care of. The food was ok. Although, they did skimp on my bird's nest dish which was supposed to be made of taro (I specifically asked for it), they made it with egg noodles instead!... strike 7. We had to ask 3-4 times for take out containers to be given to my guests before they actually got them... strike 8. They also tried to keep the rest of my wedding cake.. until my maid of honor told them to please box it up!!.. strike 9. When it was time to tally the bill at the end of the night, Mr.Chan sat annoyingly with his legs wide open, pounded his hand on the table and said "let's just get this done!"... STRIKE 10!! I would not recommend going here.
(1)Sharon C.
I'm an Taiwanese, who misses dim sum restaurant and haven't gotten a chance to have any in the states to have it. Today I went with my husband and his family (one of them is a regular). Got seated very quickly. And got pretty good speed of carts going around. Everything went great. Servers are not as described as other users. They are all friendly and smiled. I would go back again definitely!
(5)Spike T.
They serve Dim Sum off of carts... the traditional way. The place is huge, the selection is extremely varied. May be the best Dim Sum in Boston. Be aggressive and ask the Cart Ladies to show you everything they've got under every lid of every steamer. They'll do it. They'll respect you for it. Fried, Pan Fried, Steamed, Baked... they've got a dumpling stuffed with something you'll like. Sit back and wait for service and the carts will just pass you by. Don't be a wimp, stop 'em and get what you want... you'll be glad you did. Perfect way to start your Saturday or Sunday.
(4)Scott S.
Food was just ordinary. And, I couldn't get over the fact that when I walked in the door, a whole bunch of us were standing at the entrance unattended and wanting seats, while this chubby maitre d sat at the front table stuffing her face and ignoring us. Really bad way to run a business.
(2)Jennifer L.
My favorite dim sum place in boston . The service is not consistent, but the food is pretty good.
(5)Fay L.
Great variety and always busy on the weekends. There is a great variety in types of dishes offered and the classic ones that I order are always good. There are two floors, so you know the food turnover is high and always fresh when the carts come around.
(4)Wei W.
So apparently Sunday night banquets are a norm at Hei La Moon, especially when the date is fortuitous for all. At least that was the case for the baby banquet I had attended - we were seated next to a wedding reception (which thankfully had temporary walls separating us from that group) and regular dinner guests. The downstairs was being fully utilized that September evening as well for a second wedding reception - there was so much confusion as to which event was located where that I was surprised that guests of every which party found their way to their respective locations. But of course this is the chaos that ensues at any Asian restaurant that boasts two floors of seating space. The food wasn't too bad for how many people were being served - we had 11 courses, starting with the red-dyed hard-boiled eggs and ending with a bowl of warm red bean soup. The chicken, fish, rice, noodle, and bird's nest dishes were pretty flavorful, despite the large order that had been placed for our banquet alone. Our waitress was quite entertained by our table, and often had a good laugh whenever she brought out the next dish, as we would often cheer her on for the incoming plate of food. It helped greatly that we had an unending supply of Heineken distributed to our table - perhaps it was this and singing along to "Gangnam Style" playing in the adjacent wedding reception that made dinner bearable.
(3)Brian R.
Don't eat the dim sum at night. They hauled it out if the fridge and it was either cold or the pork in the sui Mai was raw.
(1)Manya C.
Hmm, if a group is going to eat dim sum in Boston, maybe u could come here. Enjoy the happiness but not hold high expectations on the food.
(3)Handsome R.
Robert Irvine {from 'Restaurant Impossible'} where are you? This place needs your help! Yes, it's HUGE but everything is outdated. I wonder which is older, the carpet on the floor or the waiters uniform. Also, the bathrooms are dark and dingy so what does that tell you about the food. It's tells you that if you want to cleanse yourself all day in the toilet, this is the place.
(2)Kristina N.
Good dim sum, big enough for any party size ever. I think this one is currently my family's favorite.
(4)Laris L.
The lady at the cashier was very rude. Dinner sucked. The food was nowhere near neighboring restaurants' like Jumbo Seafood and Taiwan Cafe. They were pretty poor Chinese food. And not only was the food not good, the lady would make personal attacks on you if you ever complained. She had no manners at all! I just left with anger. It was a pretty poor experience. They don't accept feedback.
(1)John W.
A group of friends and I went here for dim sum recently. If you are into dim sum it's excellent. It was Chinese New Year but they did an excellent job in serving us. I also went here for my birthday last year. Great fried rice, great noodles....hey....everything is good. They have to be one of the best restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)Brian C.
This is one of the best if not the best dim sum place in Boston. Hei la moon is conveniently located between Chinatown and South Station and is easily accessible from the T whether you take the orange line to Chinatown or the green line to Bolyston. The restaurant is spacious so I never had to wait for a table even during the peak hours of dim sum. The waiters are very attentive and always nearby if you ever need anything and the carts are always constantly moving so you'll get to see all the delicious dishes that the restaurant has to offer. Some of the best appetizers offered in the carts include the shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and lo bat gow which is turnip cake dipped in oyster sauce. The beef tripe is also very enticing here and the best compared to other nearby dim sum restaurants. Even if you don't know how to speak Chinese fluently, you can easily point to the foods that you want because everything in the cart is very visible. If you want a dish that isn't offered in the carts, i would recommend the seafood lo mein because you get a combination of shrimp, scallops, and calamari which all taste savory. The food here normally tastes fresh compared to restaurants that are nearby. Overall the atmosphere is tremendous and its good for both big and small groups. The prices were better than i expected; eating at Hei la moon is worth every penny and definitely a restaurant you will want to eat at again.
(5)William D.
I was in Boston for the weekend, visiting some friends, and they never had dim sum and wanted to try it. I told them they are missing out, and they should look up dim sum places. Hei La Moon popped up on their search. This place has good dim sum, but the service is not great. When we arrived, there was a long wait. People were waiting outside. It seemed we would be waiting a while for table, but when I went to inquire, the hostess said it would be about 15 minutes, and to take a number. So we stood outside, hearing the hostess calling out numbers. After about 20 mins, we stopped hearing numbers being called. We thought all the tables were filled. That was not the case. A person went inside and found out they decided to stop calling numbers. Thanks for not notifying anyone Hei La Moon! When we entered, we were seated pretty quickly. The dishes we had were great. The buns, dumplins, etc., were all amazing. However, the service was very slow. It took us a very long time to be served by a cart when we first arrived. Also, some of the ladies pushing the carts would skip our table if they believed it would be something a non-Chinese person would not like. I didn't like that at all. Overall, it was a good experience. I would go back, but when it was not so busy. If you are in Boston and want to have dim sum, Hei La Moon is not a bad option.
(3)Brenda T.
I downed 8 dumplings in 30 minutes - It was no easy feat but I had limited time before a business appointment a few T stops away. It was worth it! The shrimp dumpling wrapper was thicker than I prefer, but I loved every bite of the siu mai (pork dumpling) -- large, juicy and plump. So flavorful you don't need soy sauce, just a dip in the chili sauce if you like spice. I also tried a new dim sum dish -- chicken, pork, black mushroom and taro root stuffed inside of tofu skin and braised. It was interesting and my favorite part was the starchy taro root and mushroom. I'm bringing a friend next time so we can dive into the xa xiu bao (buns with bbq pork). Fresh dim sum on a weekday? Yes, please. I don't get this option in Atlanta.
(4)Ana V.
I just left this place...it was amazing! At first I felt like a fish out of water...I wasn't sure what to get, (my boyfriend was no help) but the servers were helpful and pointed out to some great stuff (like the shumai) The place is huge, the tea was good and everything looked pretty clean. I will def be going back! p.s. if you park @ the garage right next to them. Save yourself some $$ ask the cashier for a reduced price ticket. ($8 cash)
(5)Yiyu L.
Very bad experience. This is my first time to ever post a review but I am just too angry not to. At noon of August 9, 2015, they wrongly charged 350 dollars instead of 35 dollars from my card, and then immediately changed back to 35 dollars. However, because of delay of credit card company, I received a notification that 350 dollars were deducted in the evening. We immediately got a uber there and argued with them. Their night time manager accepted me and explained and asked me to wait for two days, which I accepted. However, when we asked about the compensation for money and time we spent on pursuing this matter, the manager started ignoring us and was extremely rude to us when asked for an explanation. He even shouted in public, and I quote (translated from more harsh Chinese), "I didn't ask you to come, you come yourself. I cannot help you with this. Whatever you like to do with this, I don't care.""What else do you want me to do? I didn't even scold or hit you!" Like scolding or hitting an unsatisfied customer is what he should be doing. Unbelievable! We don't care about the money and it's the absolutely awful attitude that bugs us. I have been to Hei La Moon for at least 10 times and they all recognize my face, and if that's how they treat me, imagine how they would treat other customers. We asked for an apology after being ignored for 10 minutes, and what we got from him was angry shouts and no apology concerning his attitude at all. His subordinates come to us and said that "it's not his fault, he was already scolded today and please just let him be", this is so weird and we didn't even know how to respond. Customers should keep their complaints because the manager has already been complained to? Doesn't that say something already? As a frequent customer who brought many business there, I have completely changed my opinion towards Hei La Moon and I will never ever go there again or bring any friends there. If you want to get into an unhappy conflict where you need to wait for your money to come back, get no compensation at all for your money and time spent on the dispute, and treated like sh*t, I strongly suggest you go to Hei La Moon.
(1)Rhianna C.
We came toward the end of the afternoon, when it seemed like most workers would rather go straight back to the kitchen than push the carts around. Usually, I love it here, but this trip left something to be desired. This was the first time the carts didn't all stop at our table. We found ourselves walking around the restaurant recruiting carts because we were hungry and the few carts that went by us were the dessert cart and one with chicken claws. Eventually it got a little better, but one of the ladies with a cart kept insisting the pork buns I adore did not exist... Even though I eat them here every time I come. Forget trying to track down our server to place an order. He avoided us like the plague. Compared to all the amazing visits I've had here, it's hard not to be incredibly disappointed with our last visit. Usually we get top-notch service and have no qualms getting carts to stop by our table. This visit just didn't meet my expectations.
(3)Idy T.
Of all the dim sum places that I have tried in Chinatown, Boston, Hei La Moon is the best! This restaurant is huge! There are 2 floors so even if it gets too busy, the turnover time for a table should be relatively short. It is also one of the nicer and cleaner restaurants in Chinatown. For dim sum, I ordered har gow (shrimp dumplings), shrimp rice roll, chicken feet, turnip cake, pork ribs, and fish dumplings. Everything was fresh and delicious. The har gow wrapper however, was a little thicker than how I like it. The turnip cake was pan seared perfectly, making it crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I forced my friend to eat chicken feet with me :P and it was also really delicious. Service here is also superb! The servers refilled our tea right away when our teapot was empty. They also cleared the table when we were done with our dishes. Hei La Moon will be my new dim sum spot! I recommend this place to those who are looking for a delicious dim sum restaurant.
(4)Robert C.
My new Dim Sum spot! Can't get over how much better their food is compared to the other joints. Quality, presentation, taste, they all pass in my records. I have to have Chinese broccoli in garlic and oyster sauce with my meal. My advice would be to know a little bit of what's offered at your typical dim sum place beforehand for first timers and come during rush hours or else you would get less attention. Don't know about their menu to tell you.
(4)Thomas Y.
Very solid dim sum. Most of my experiences are in NYC. I'm only in Boston maybe once a year (for PAX East), and I got invited for breakfast by a new buddy I met at PAX, so we joined. First off, the dining area is much larger than you'd think, with a seriously huge lower level dining area. The food was very good. I'll say that the turnip cakes (law bok gow) we got were the best I've had, especially since they fry them right on the cart before serving. The shao mai and har gow were also very good, and the other staples (ribs, cheong fun, lotus leaf rice) were great. The service was excellent, and I never had to ask for a water refill, and new teapots came out quickly. A huge plus was that the staff seemed to understand English fairly well, too. I'd definitely recommend this place, and while next time I'm in town I'd try some other places (to explore), it's definitely a solid restaurant for authentic dim sum.
(5)Victoria T.
My go-to place for dimsum. Pros: 1. CARTS! So much more fun than ordering from a menu. The only place (other than maybe Emperor Garden) that has carts. 2. Best shau mai that I've had in Boston. I'm not super picky about dimsum but I've definitely had bad shau mai at a few places. 3. Most variety in choices. Since its so much bigger, it has more options. In addition to the food in the carts, there is also a menu that you can order from. I always get the standard dimsum items like, shrimp dumplings, shau mai, bbq pork buns, turnip cake, cheong fun. I've always been satisfied with the items I've ordered. Cons: 1. Not necessarily a con...but be prepared to point a lot if you don't know at least a Chinese. Since there isn't really a menu for the dimsum items, you just have to wait for what you want to come by in the carts. 2. I would avoid trying to go to bathroom. One bathroom for a massive restaurant.
(4)Liliya M.
Admittedly, I only come to this place with a Chinese friend, but each time there seems to be more dim sum, more people, and a cheaper price-tag when the bill comes. It definitely feels like you up and got transported to another country. My recommendation is to go with a group of about a dozen, split a bunch of stuff, and then walk away absolutely stuffed and only about $13 dollars poorer!
(4)Heidi C.
First of all, be VERY CAREFUL when you dine here. We went there for Sunday lunch with a friend and she told me to be careful of my bag because her friend's bag got stolen in the restaurant couple weeks ago. Her bag was on an empty chair next to her and someone grabbed it and ran out. Then while we were eating there the table next to us had the exact same thing happen to them. We didn't see what happened but suddenly we see many people running out of the restaurant and yelling something. We overheard that a lady's bag was stolen AGAIN. About 30min later a police officer came. The restaurant is very loud and almost always packed so it's really not a surprise that most people dining there wouldn't even know what had just happened. Imagine my friend only just warned me and immediately it happens again. So be very cautious of your belongings if you sit along the walkway leading from the entrance. It must be something that happens regularly and the staff should really make an effort to prevent or make warnings. As for the actual visit...I go for Dim Sum very regularly, this was our 2nd visit to this place and this time around the food didn't taste as good (nor fresh) as the 1st. The Shrimp dumplings were too thick and too 'creamy' (meaning too much paste compare to the shrimp, and wasn't very fresh). Some of my favorites like braised pork pieces, chicken feet tasted a-okay. Egg plant stuffed with fish paste and Tofu stuffed with fish paste were both not very exciting. For dessert I always have the sweet beancurd and this always taste great. There's a station that cooks the rice roll next to your table, that tasted quite good.
(1)Nick H.
Hei La Moon has been my family's go to dim sum location in Boston for years now. It's a big hall and it's usually packed. A packed dim sum location is actually a good sign because it means the items are constantly coming out and the carts are changing out for fresh inventory. This place is a cart based dim sum hall which compromises freshness for arguably better visibility and a more fun experience. The quality of the dim sum here does not disappoint but it also doesn't blow me away. Hei La Moon is a very solid choice for dim sum in chinatown; a very authentic experience. I would recommend Hei La Moon, especially for people new to dim sum.
(4)Damien S.
Shocking Confessions of a Yelp CM: I've never had dim sum. I mean, I've had it, but not from the bumper cart system: stainless feasts on wheels passing every potential consumer with scandalous taunts and bakery case appeal, only to have their featured plates dished off to voracious mouths in an endless cascade of dumplings, sweet breads and bamboo baskets. My dim sumginity was taken on sweaty flash on a blustery Saturday morning at Hei La Moon, and it was quite the experience. Steamed and baked carts grabbed me by the giblets, as my unnatural fear of traveling fried foods keep me from some of the more exotic options. Pork, shrimp, mushrooms and scallions, in varying degrees and volumes, occupied most of the large, dense shumai and dumplings. A little smear of pepper relish and a dip in vinegar (Blair H sez "Soy is like white dude ketchup"), those puppies are good to go. Check the eye/stomach ration - even at a buck a pouch, three will fill you up something serious. The winner of the day came late, but oh so appreciated: baked char sui bao, or minced BBQ pork buns. Sweet pork in a tender, yeasty breading brushed and browned with salty butter - had I started with these mounds of ecstacy, I'd only have eyes for the piping hot baked goods. After our feast with unlimited tea, the damage was a whopping $10pp. Stupid cheap eats in a massive complex of chaos, chicken feet and carpeting. Bring the kids! No seriously, bring the kids - they'll get a balloon.
(4)Diana L.
Nooo! I love dim sum. I get it with my boyfriend. A lot of the dishes here were cold, or bad, or both (whatta combo). Shrimp shumai were *fine*, actually the spiced pork buns were quite good, egg rolls were incredibly greasy and cold, rice wrapped in green bamboo (?) was inedible, shrimp in rice noodle was fine, and apparently tripe and chicken feet were good (I don't eat them though). Another dish that I usually order was wildly bad here. Had dim sum in NYC and Montreal and this was the worst experience of the 3 in terms of food quality by faar.
(2)Betty C.
Excellent dim sum and banquet food for the masses. A popular spot for weekend goers, locals and tourists. Great lobsters!
(4)Lotus M.
The sad thing about this place is that some of the food is actually good...however the service is downright dishonest. For starters, I'm not a fan of the "what do I have to order to get...."; I wanted what I ordered. When I opened my takeout it was filled with onions and a deviation of what I had ordered, a huge deviation. My shrimp-stuffed tofu was nothing of the sort but rather a soupy mess of burnt hard tofu pieces with no shrimp in sight. Now, I have ordered the aforementioned in the past and it was quite good, however it seems on this occasion the chef decided to give me the end of the night's scraps rather than just say the kitchen was closing and he/she couldn't fill my orderl. To make matters worse, they overcharged me and when confronted about it said they would give me a "discount", which took my bill to the price it should have been originally--plus 20 cents. Overall, this place does have great dim sum, but I would avoid it at all costs for anything else, as they clearly try to take advantage of people who they think know nothing about Chinese food. Especially, with Chinese food being something I am well-versed in. Bottomline is, raw unions in water does not equal curry chicken with vegetables.
(1)Philip P.
This place is the best Dim Sum place I have found since The Nice Restaurant in NYC got closed for stealing tips (tsk tsk). Be sure to get there early as the place (like most Dim Sum places) fills up around noon.
(5)Joyce H.
Yum! Came here for a wedding banquet on Saturday night. This venue is amazing. They know how to feed 500 people a 10-dish banquet very efficiently. My favorite dishes included the very fresh seafood, including the abalone and lobster. Everything else was also fairly solid with good flavor. We came here the next day for dim sum, and it was also pretty solid - we ordered mostly seafood small plates. I'm not an expert in dim sum but I know that it was fresh and the flavor was good! I left pretty satisfied and feeling pretty good. I would definitely come back for dim sum to try it again!
(4)Charles G.
This is the best Dim Sum restaurant in Boston. There are a large number of varied and interesting selections. The place is usually packed and there is a line out the door on Sunday mornings. It is also chaotic and you should not be shy about flagging down the ladies with the carts. I would also add that the selection is not consistent. I love their sticky rice but its not always there. It is a bit of catch as catch can.
(4)Bryan B.
Great dim sum. Teapot was a little dirty though. Had sesame balls, sticky buns, rice and chicken cake, tofu wraps and pork shumai, all delicious.
(4)Criselle O.
This place is super huge... two large floors. Geez. Hmm... we were seated pretty quickly and got our food super fast... & it was a sunday too!! Everything was on point. Cheap and good food. Just how I like it. The only thing I didn't like was that it took days for us to find a waiter to get us some water. Plus they seated us next to the door and it was freezing cold. Not cool man.
(4)Nikhil M.
I think that I need to write a bad review after my experience. I came to yelp before going here and felt excited about this place. Let me start out with the food: Mediocre and definitely not worth the price. I am not a snobby food eater, and I am telling you, its mediocre. **Disclaimer is that I did not come for the dimsum, as I came on a Tuesday evening, so my family ordered from the menu. My experience could be totally different if I came at dimsum time. Second point. The service.... was awful. Apathetic rude and awful waiter. Our appetizers come without any sauces, and we ask for sauces and it looks like we asked him to travel to china for them. He also gets our entree order wrong. There was no silverware at the table. There were no chairs, and we are standing around the table waiting for one of them to pull up chairs, even though the place had plenty of tables with 4 chairs. They dont bring out our silverware even after the appetizers come. He forgets that I ordered a beer and charged me for one but I never got it. I order lobster. The lobster arrives at my table with no lobstershell cracker thing. I pull off the tail and eat that part but its straight up impossible to eat the claws without a cracker. So I ask for one and the guy is sulking and unapologetically sarcastic. Positive note: The schezuan duck was quite fantastic. Also, you definitely have to order their bok choy. We got it in garlic sauce and its solid. Overall: Do not come here for any expectation of service whatsoever.They have some good dishes but overall, its mediocre.
(1)Cassie C.
They don't serve fried items in the evening but overall the food was very nice.
(5)David C.
Hei La Moon (not to be confused with Howl at the Moon, which is what at least half the people I've told about it since first dining have confused it with) has quickly become one of my favorite spots in Chinatown. That it technically exists outside the Chinatown gates is beside the point. The last time I went, my friends and I hadn't even gotten to sit down in our chairs when three separate people descended upon us with carts carrying what seemed like countless dim sum delicacies. Waiters were also quick with water and requests for various sauces. Sometimes, things happen TOO quickly at Hei La Moon. You really need to know how to pace yourself, otherwise you will be stuffed to the gills in no time flat. Be warned: the food is so good (I want more steamed pork buns ASAP), you may forget to breathe between bites.
(5)Heoun Joo K.
Good taste, not much in the way of service, do not expect to communicate freely in English.
(3)Devika S.
We ate here twice in July 2012 and the dim sum was delicious! The pork buns, turnip cake, and various dumplings were among the best I've ever had in the US. Highly recommended!
(5)Catherine W.
Returned on a busy Sunday for dim sum. Food was better than I remembered from my last meal there. All the standards tasted great. The cooked to order fried foods (fried radish cake and fried rice noodles) took forever to cook though.
(3)Leo C.
Hei La Moon is one of the best dim sum places in the Boston area, with good value. It's roomie, offers up very tasty eats, and as my friends have called it, it's "Legit Dimsum!" I highly recommend coming to eat here. Since my first visit to Boston, I've been here three times now. Everytime, the quality of food has been consistently good. I would not hesitate to come back here again if I'm in Boston and looking for dimsum. One caveat that I'd like to throw out here though - yes the staff can seem aloof and sometimes mean. That's not grounds for taking stars off... that's just how these restaurants are! Sorry to go on a rant here, but folks, let's be fair and compare the right comps. :) Eat on!
(4)Alyssa J.
I've eaten a lot of dim sum in my time and I don't think I've had a more erratic dim sum experience than at Hei La Moon. The food was pretty standard, although it did make one of my co-workers barf. The pork buns are delicious, the chicken feet....were not. The people working there were completely out to lunch (get it?) and wandered over to our table pretty sporadically. It's definitely not the best dim sum joint in Chinatown, but it'll do.
(3)Sami B.
I would rate it less if that was possible. Horrible service, disgusting food. I will never return.
(1)Rona H.
Went on a Sunday around 11 with my friend and was immediately seated in the basement. The room was mostly busy, and the push carts were being pushed up and down the aisles. I am not Asian enough to know the names of the dishes that I ate; I can only point to what I want. I do know that we ordered 6 dishes and paid $27. Some dishes were good, and some were just okay, but for the value and the experience (this restaurant is the biggest one I've seen in Boston), I can't complain too much. The waiters and waitresses' English were okay depending on the individual, but it's all a part of the Chinatown experience I think :). Despite this, most of them had smiles on their faces, which was greatly appreciated. Our water glasses were re-filled constantly. I will return when in the mood for more dim sum :).
(5)Chryssandra B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I still can't tell how I feel about it. I think we arrived at a weird time -3:00 on a Sunday- and it seemed like the carts were slowing down. We had no idea what we were doing or what we were eating (one cart lady told me something was beef--it was absolutely not. pretty sure it was tripe) and no one could really tell us exactly what the status was with the pork buns- were more coming out or did we need to order them? very confusing. All the other reviewers seemed pretty ticked about the service, but that didn't really bother us. At the end of the day the food was okay and it was insanely cheap- I think we got about 10 things and only paid 40$. I think I need to read up before I go back, but would try it again!
(3)Amy L.
When my friends and I feel like eating dim sum, this is one of our usual places. Food is good and we usually don't have to wait long to get a table. Dim sum restaurants on weekends get incredibly crowded, but this place is so big that even when they're busy, you can still get seated quickly. I've also been to a couple of weddings here, so if you're looking to have a Chinese wedding banquet, this is a good place for that.
(4)Alyssa W.
Blech. The only thing this place has going for it, is that it is one of the few chinese restaurant that can cater to wedding banquets. The food tonight was nothing great. Everything was super salty or just boring. The waiters...useless. I don't even know where to begin. The table cloth was grungy, the plates were dirty. We wanted water and got a pitcher...and then the pitcher had something in it. EW. I think I'll go elsewhere.
(1)Xiao Z.
Best Dim Sum in the Boston Chinatown, hands down. The variety is superb and the price very reasonable and I love the taro root fried cakes and they're always freshly made in front of you. If you're new to Chinatown and have never tried Dim Sum, then definitely come here. The food is fresh, constantly brought to you by the minute and will not understand a word you say, no matter what you point to. Dim sum: 5 stars Service: 2 stars Ambiance: 2 stars
(4)Pxan N.
Today we attended Hei La Moon for a friend's wedding. We paid $8 for a discounted parking ticket that did not work. The extremely rude man at the garage told us to exchange the ticket for a new one. After running inside the restaurant, I encountered a Chinese man with a nasty attitude that refused to exchange the ticket for a new one, stating that this is the first he has ever heard of this. I could not persuade him any other way, and he told me I have to pay again. So, one of the bride's family member had to pay for another ticket as I left my wallet and phone in the car, unable to contact my boyfriend to come into the restaurant. It absolutely annoys me to come onto yelp and to see - lo and behold - there is a post from another yelper written just last week for the same situation that occurred to us. Such dishonesty from the owner! It didn't help that the man at the garage was extremely rude to my boyfriend because he kept rushing my boyfriend to back up the car in such a cramped up garage so that other cars could have access to the gate. You know something funny...? When you feed the discounted ticket into the machine, it stays in the machine. It does not come out again where you can pass the ticket to someone else to reuse. There's no possible way that can happen. I had proof of the defected ticket in my hand... oddly that Chinese owner just didn't believe me. Sighh.
(1)Karina L.
If you're craving for dim sim, you're not going to have many options in Boston. Hei La Moon is very solid. The service is questionable (e.g.: it'll take you eons to get a glass of water, and when it does the glass is teeny tiny), but I dare you to find a dim sum place that doesn't have rushed and impersonal service. It's the nature of dim sum, I swear! The ground floor is big, but not big enough to necessitate patrolling the floor for your favorite goodies. My favorite part about dimsum is getting the food IMMEDIATELY after you sit down, and Hei La Moon did not disappoint. The cart ladies are efficient and maybe a little bit aggressive. The traditional dim sum delicacies - shu mai, har gow (shrimp dumplings) cha siu bao (pork buns), chicken feet, spare ribs, and sticky rice in lotus leaf (not sure what to call this in Chinese) -- are all solid. My only complaint is that I didn't see a dessert cart (egg tarts, where art thou?), and some carts took a long time to come out of the kitchen. We came here on a Saturday around noon time, and we were seated pretty quickly so I wouldn't worry about time/being seated.
(4)Linda W.
I was originally going to round up to 3 stars for the nostalgia aspect but honestly when factoring the annoying service even for a restaurant in chinatown (frustration with the cart rotation, inattentive staff, and servers peering down your shoulder until you've finished signing the credit card receipt) it 's hard to justify a better rating. This place used to be a family favorite years ago along with Empire Garden which have contributed to a handful of early morning happy memories. Unfortunately the quality of the food here has gone down... quite noticeably. The chicken feet (my personal favorite!) aren't steamed long enough leaving them with a strange and bland overly chewy texture. Beef noodles seemed overcooked and were almost cold when reached the table. Sauce is meh. Maybe I'm biased but the sauce for the beef noodles at Winsor (a few streets down) is just straight up delicious.... Definitely leaves more to be desired. On the upside, I do like the ha gao (shrimp dumplings) but definitely not enough to excuse the mediocrity of all the other dishes. :( What happened Hei La Moon?
(2)Matt L.
About average. Prices are alright. No substitution for dim sum in China, but good enough. The èåœç³• (turnip cake) has kind of a weird consistency those who are regular eaters may be taken aback a little.
(3)Casey F.
Hadn't had Dim Sum in quite a while.. who knew it would be in Boston's Chinatown when I did.. This place was great.. cart after cart after cart.. so much good food.. needless to say I left a fat and happy man!
(4)Susan Z.
Came here on a weekday for the first time -- and there's still cart service! They're less busy (obviously) and the customer service was great. They were friendly and got us whatever we asked for, even if it wasn't on the carts that were coming around. It's relatively cheap - with tip and special-order tea, it came to about $15 a person for more than enough food to fill you up. The quality of the dim sum is still, I believe, the best in Boston. We also recently came with a large group of 26 on a Sunday. Luckily we made a reservation, and everyone had a good time. Would only suggest that they put a lazy Susan on the table next time, but otherwise they were very accommodating to our large group and the wait staff were very nice.
(5)Eunice E.
I really enjoy dim sum, and especially dim sum from Hei La Moon. I've tried other places in Chinatown (NYC) and Flushing, and there's just something about this place that does it for me. Maybe it's the garish red and gold all over the place; maybe it's the old ladies who push the carts around who yell at me in Cantonese when I speak not a lick of it; maybe it's the AMAZING TURNIP CAKE CART... okay, it's probably all the above. I love it all. I like to go with Chinese speakers (specifically, Canto Chinese speakers) because I don't really know how to order there besides pointing and praying nothing is made with crab. I also like to order a nice hot pot of tea ("cha"--the one word I can say since it's the same in Korean) to go with my dim sum. And I'm always impressed with the swiftness with which these people calculate our tab. Be sure to flag down the people in the red vests--they're the ones who do it, not the ones in the black vests. Anyway, definitely a winner in my book, and any time I'm in the mood for dim sum, I'll be sure to hop on the Red, get off at South Station, and walk on over to this little Chinatown gem.
(4)Gray L.
Do not come here Saturday nights. We have been waiting for our food for over an hour. We didn't even get our drinks (two cokes). The table next to ours got fed up and finally left. When we asked how much longer we have to wait, the waiter told us to wait 20 more minutes without an apology. I will never ever return.
(1)Erica D.
Very good dim sum! I grew up eating dim sum in Boston's Chinatown. Our oldest haunt closed many many yrs ago and China Pearl makes you order off of cards and it all comes at once! No fun!!!! Hei la moon is still the traditional roaming carts with nice but curt ladies. The offerings are plentiful but you may have to work a bit to get them. Trying to chase carts can be frustrating so I say flag down a server in the vest and ask for what you want. It's not a guarantee but better than the first option. The place is huge!!! Two floors and they do cram us in there. The carts do pass by but can't always get to all the tables. I am not Chinese but have never felt punished for this. Yes they do tend to send lots of people downstairs but it's always mixed clientele on both levels. I have started asking to be upstairs if it's only 2-4 of us but if we are here with a big group, who cares!!! Food is all the same up or down. One can eat a ton and have great fun for very little $$ Eat at noon or after and you don't have to eat again all day!! The crowds do thicken around 12:30 on so if you want less hassle and quicker seating make it an earlier start. 9-12 is easier! All in all good fun dim sum.
(4)Vee K.
Not much of a wait except weekend lunches. Decent Dim Sum even for Hong Kong palette. Friendly folks. Definitely recommend T-ing to South Station and walking over. Oh - and get some take out cuz you will want another char siu bau when you get home.
(4)Mary M.
Food was decent but the service was really pretty terrible. We had to flag them down (and we hate doing that) but after waiting a very long time for them to come to us we felt we had no choice. When the server finally came he was abrupt and not helpful. Bathrooms were also disgusting. I'd find somewhere else for dinner.
(2)Jenna K.
So I'm American and I still love this place. I don't speak any other language than English, but I don't find that to be a problem here. There are certain restaurants where there is definitely a language barrier. Note that if you do not want to share your table with 4 random strangers, this is not the place for you. I was taken off guard the first time this happened to me so fair warning. The seating is mostly communal so be prepared to make some new friends. Food: Great. I love everything they have. The only problem is they are out of things quite frequently. I would not go into this place thinking you must have that one dish because chances are they are going to be out. If you want some awesome dim sum this is your place. Price: It does not get cheaper than this place. Dim sum 24/7 and two people can eat and feel stuffed for 15 bucks. Service: Slow and very impersonal but that is kind of how it is.
(4)Catrina W.
One of the worse dim sum place I have ever had... Very bad customer service and very mediocre food. Dun have beverages except the foundation drink. It took them 15 min to cook some dim sum, and after rushing the order, the food delivered was not fully cooked...!!!?
(2)Jared H.
Old school dim sum is one of my favorites and Hei La Moon does it well. I always would go to dim sum in NYC and had not tried to find a place in Boston. A friend took me here and I have been going ever since. They do dim sum everyday from 8-3pm. It is the traditional dim sum that is wheeled around on carts and you pick what you want and the person stamps your check. I was used to going just on weekends in NYC but now I can even get dim sum for weekday lunch. The place gets crowded on weekends from around 10am-2pm so if you don't want a loud, busy environment, check it out on a weekday. The shu mai, shrimp dumplings, and slippery shrimp are my favorites. The staff speaks a decent amount of english and was helpful.
(5)Ha-Young K.
Personally, I am huge fan of Chinese food. My friends and I decided to come to Chinatown for some sightseeing and dimsum. So we came here. In the beginning when we entered the restaurant, it was very nice and the aura had a golden sort of warmish feel to it, with which I was very comfortable. My friends and I were all Asian, a few Chinese, so the waiter immediately began to speak in rapid Chinese, which sort of threw me off. However, after we sat down, the service was quite terrible. The food was okay, but I discovered that I was not a fan of Chinese cuisine. Since that was more my personal preference, I decided to just sit and smile and be polite. I was then eating part of a dish, but then found a hair in it. Okay so that happens, but I decided to not leave a tip because frankly it was disgusting. But when we were paying the bill, when I did not to write a tip amount on the receipt before giving it back to the cashier, who to my surprise just returned my receipt and said "Tip: $7.13". I was a bit thrown off and so were the rest of my friends. After a short silence I said "Why?" just to be responded with "You forgot." Since there was a long line and everything was overall hectic, I wrote the amount down and returned to my seat. Then I got bad digestion for the next 2 days. Definitely not going again.
(1)Margaret J.
Good, but not great. Not a lot of vegetarian options and the waiters were very hard to understand. Wish they had custard buns. But the food was good and our primary waiter was very nice. I just like the places where you can check off what you want.
(3)Jeff F.
Literally (literally) the busiest and most organized food chaos I've ever seen. Dim sum on a weekend morning is like the Chinatown DMV and Gourmet Dumpling House rolled into a two story, 3,000 square foot arena. Complete with microphone and thrown-elbows. Food is great if you're willing to point and eat (it comes around on carts without explanation). Best bet is to go with a Chinese friend and/or practice your elbow-throwing, Chinese-accented-American-name-calling identification skills. Try the taro root bun cake ( img.photobucket.com/albu… ). And thank me later.
(4)Shiri Y.
Wonderful dim sum lunch. Great variety. Everything was really great. On Sunday get there before 11 and there's no line
(5)Craig N.
Incredibly friendly service. We have 3 kids and most of the staff went out of their way to make them comfortable. Food was great. Only minor complaint was not enough carts. We were downstairs so may have more carts upstairs
(4)Jiyea C.
I was torn on how many stars to give Hei La Moon. I've been here on multiple occasions, and when I want dim sum, I usually end up here as it has two floors of seating (meaning no wait every time I've been here). The dim sum isn't amazing but it takes care of the craving, and I'm a fan of the small plates/family style of eating. This past weekend, we decided to get an order of the chinese broccoli. We had gone through half of it when I discovered a ladybug sitting in the broccoli. EW! One of the waiters gave us a choice of a replacement OR taking it off of our bill. I honestly thought BOTH of those things should have happened WITH an apology, but alas, this is Chinatown and expectations regarding service should be realistic(ally low). On top of that, my dining companion did not wish for me to make a fuss about it (he said "at least it's not a cockroach..." really?!) ugh. Needless to say, this definitely curbed my appetite for the rest of the meal, and I will hesitate before coming here again. I think a search for a new dim sum spot is in order.
(2)Julie M.
Super DimSum place :-) A friend took me there while visiting Boston and we had an awesome time for a fair price. The place is packed and noisy but the food and service are great.
(4)Maria R.
Don't come here if you are a vegetarian. Everything has pork, even if you ask and they tell you of doesn't. My tofu rolls were filled with pork. Also, just not very good in general, in terms of desserts, which was the only thing I could eat.
(1)Peter Y.
My favorite dim sum place in Boston. I make it a goal to go at least once a week. It's not too friendly for morning hangovers though, because their food tends to lean a bit on the greasy side. Anyways, they have a huge selection of different dim sum, and you're almost guaranteed something you like. The pricing is fair, and the dim sum as good as it gets (at least for Boston).
(4)Big B.
A better place than nyc dim sum place. Their food is more tasty and authentic. Worth a try but not to go regularly.
(3)Victoria P.
Managed to get a table on the main floor, but at a table hidden by a column so there wasn't much cart traffic flowing through. For the food we actually managed to get, it was just okay. The deep fried whole shrimp was the best thing I had - fried perfectly and very flavorful. Other than that, I prefer dim sum at China Pearl - I always get what I want and it's been consistently delicious.
(2)Ailynda W.
The food was good. Cheap. Service was not attentive at all. Dirty plates, cups, bathroom. They are very busy during lunch time eventhough on weekday. I gave 4 stars only to food and price.
(4)Brian L.
Solid dim sum spot, probably in contention for top in Chinatown along with Chau Chow City. Got here fair early just before 10 on a Saturday, and it was not very crowded. Brags (+): Tasty, well-put together dishes that aren't really greasy or fall-aparty (a word, fyi). We got the shumai, fengzhao (chicken feet), taro sticky rice, congee, and shrimp changfen. They also had come sort of milky dessert dish served from a watermelon, which I've actually never seen before. Beats (-): Service ain't that great... but then again, I've never gotten good service at a dim sum place in my 20+ years of eating it, so vying for the wait staff's attention is just part of the experience as far as I'm concerned. As for the food, my only complaint was that the changfen had too much noodle in relation to the shrimp. Variance (~): As is typical in getting dim sum, the cart-ladies are constantly pushing food in your face. Good if you're hungry, maybe slightly annoying once you're full.
(4)Anne W.
Their dimsum has improved.. yes, they have tons of seating so it's ideal for the large parties. But.. this last time I went there.. we uncovered a bug that was sitting on the table... dead. Euw. We told the waiter.. basically he scooped it up before I can snap a picture on my phone. He refused to do anything about it until we complained for 15 minutes. They took some money off our bill.. but that's typical Chinese. Sigh.
(2)Kai L.
Very bad service, especially the cashier. We brought my 82 year old mom to eat and they gave us a table in second floor. We asked them to switch the table to the first floor. They refused with an attitude. Who wants to go back there.
(1)Silver L.
Hei la Moon is great for Dim Sum. I really really love the pork buns. We usually go on Sunday morning. It gets crowded!!! Service is fast. The main entrance is not wheelchair accessible, however they will direct persons in wheelchairs to a seldom used side entrance or they will offer to carry you and your chair in the main entrance. Chinatown, the North End and much of Boston lacks wheelchair accessibility,so they are no better or worse than others. Food is superb!!!!
(4)Kristina N.
I've eaten here three times. Because the place is huge, there is usually not a wait. The food is good and decently priced. I order at least 8 dishes if it's just myself and another friend because we want to try different things. If I'm with a party of 4 (including myself) we order at least 10-15 dishes. Good staples are the sticky rice in tea leaf, spare ribs, any of the many dumplings, the shrimp in noodle, and the bean curd-wrapped pork and shrimp dish. For Boston, this dim sum place does quite well (but I am biased - lots of great dim sum places in New York which are cheaper and taste better!)
(3)Cody C.
I really want to like this place. All of my friend adore it. Two of my friends even had the Chinese side of their wedding here! But I've really got no love for this place. Every. Single. Time.... I get banished to the basement floor no matter how many times I ask to be at the ground level... and the options downstairs are really like 50% of what is offered upstairs. In the basement it's the same 5 carts pushing the same 8 items and that's it. Service blows pretty hard and on more than one occasion I've just gone over to the server station and picked up my own soy sauce. Once I was told that we couldn't have any chili sauce because they don't do that for dim sum... and I've never been offered vinegar. *sigh* The sunny side: The steamed char siu bao was nice and juicy. I'm sure I'll be back - but nothing in Chinatown (that I've tasted so far) will take my allegiance from Windsor Dim Sum Cafe. :)
(2)Joanna R.
When I was growing up, my father invited a couple of his Chinese business partners over for lunch on Sunday. The men would teach my mother how to cook some of the traditional Beijing dishes in addition to creating "beginner" chopsticks for my sister and me. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about Chinese food, but I felt like a novice when I tried dim sum a couple of years ago. My visit to Hei La Moon was my third time experiencing dim sum and it was by far my favorite so far. My friends and I went on Memorial Day, the place was buzzing but not overly crowded. We were seated immediately on the lower level and within 30 seconds we had our first round of dumplings. Most of the dumplings or shumai are filled with meat, pork or beef, or shrimp. So if you're a vegetarian definitely make sure you ask before diving in. One of my favorites (so hard to choose from!) was the sticky rice and meat wrapped in a lotus leaf. From the presentation to the taste, the dish hit the spot for me. I asked one of my friends at the table spent some time living in Shanghai and she didn't know the name for it. I'll just call it delicious. Another major perk- reasonably priced. For the amount of tasty food we consumed I felt like the bill should have been much higher. I'm not complaining and I will definitely return to try more new dishes!
(4)Rose C.
Given the over-abundance of Asians, I had pretty high expectations for this place. Sadly it was pretty disappointing. The items were limited, it was the same items brought around and around. The push-cart ladies know it too, they' don't even stop at every table. I'm not sure if this has to do with the fact that we were shoved to the basement :( I read in another review that upstairs had more options, maybe I'll go back, hopefully I don't get pushed to the basement again. In general, the food were more greasy than your average dim sum. I thought the sticky rice, chicken feet, tripe, and the bean curd rolls were pretty good. The shrimp dumplings were disappointing though. The price was average for dim sum, we paid about $25 for the two of us. Is anything a "small" item anymore? The service was also average, the ladies could care less about you and had a hard time understanding both English and Mandarin.
(3)Art L.
Since I'm a New Yorker, I love comparing Boston Chinatown dim sum restaurants to those here in New York. What I can say is that Hei La Moon is very similar in quality to old-line Chinatown restaurants in New York, like Hop Shing and Delight 28 in the old core of New York's Chinatown. Everything is done in the old way which are thicker skins, thicker cheong fun, lot's of black beans in the chicken feet, heavy sauces, and just generally larger everything. This is not a negative but I see as an affirmation that old-style dim sum restaurants can survive into the 2000's. Hei La Moon is conveniently located just steps away from the T and from Boston's South Station. The dining room is large and cavernous with plenty of round tables but a few smaller tables for small parties. Service is pretty good and some dim sum cart ladies even speak English! The biggest plus in dining at Hei La Moon is despite the multitudes of people and tables, you will never feel crowded here as the tables are set apart far enough for comfort.
(3)Richard C.
"Hong Kong Quality Push Cart Dim Sum. One of the Best Dim Sum restaurants in Boston." Hei La Moon has above average quality dim sum for a US city. The huge basement dinning floor with push cart dim sum took me back to my time in Hong Kong. I've lived in Hong Kong, had dim sum countless times and would say that this is on par with Hong Kong dim sum, not the better than Hong Kong, but still very good for the US and Boston.
(4)Less H.
Now that I'm no longer a dim sum virgin I'm all over sticking all kinds of dim sum in my mouth. Seriously, dim sum get in mah belly! This time I went with a friend who speaks Mandarin. We let her order for us. This assured us of knowing what we were putting in our mouths. This seemed to take away from the adventure of Dim Sum but it was good to learn about the various fillings. The food was great. We were in the basement and through reading other reviews I hear that you really want to be upstairs. The carts come by pretty slowly and depending on where you sit you can end up with a lot of repeats. I tried a lot of new things and liked most of them. We ate so much food for not a lot of money. Really good.
(4)Krit P.
The best dim sum place in Boston!! More variety of foods. Better service. Reasonable price. Overall they are a lot better than their competitor across the street!
(5)Deborah H.
Probably the best dim sum in the area, though my friend warns that if you go without Chinese people in the party, they will probably stick you in some drafty corner where the dim sum carts never go. Sadness. Had banquet-style dinner here and it was fine but nothing to write home about (I miss you, Congee Village). I will continue searching for a delicious Cantonese restaurant in Boston. The best-kept secret is probably the $6 validated parking that's good for 24 hours, even on the weekend!!
(3)Ashley A.
I've been eating dim sum since I sampled it at the Nom Wah Tea Parlor in New York City in 1969. Back then, dim sum was hardly known -- a rare Asian delight. Today, dim sum is widely available. It's almost faddish for Chinese restaurants to offer it. I even had some in Madrid, Spain, under the headline "Tapas Chinos". It was horrid -- just microwaved frozen dim sum that was soggy and gelatinous. Fortunately, the half a dozen or so places in Boston's Chinatown that have dim sum are all pretty darn good. For me, that means: a wide variety of fresh offerings, without overlong delays, served steaming hot, with appropriate sauces as accompaniment, a tasty tea, and a reasonably clean bathroom. It's helpful if the place has the ability to accommodate a group of 12 or more -- since I sometimes entertain large parties. I've been to all of the dim sum places in Boston's Chinatown; Hei La Moon is at the top of my list. I have never been disappointed with soggy sui mai, tepid har ghow, cold chopped spare ribs in black bean sauce, or undercooked chicken feet. And there are always new items I've never tried to keep my taste buds hopping. I tend to go on Saturday or Sunday late morning or early afternoon -- at which time the place is crowded, but still with enough space to entertain a large group meal (usually downstairs). Service can slow some during the most crowded times -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- as it leaves time to actually enjoy and digest the food I've ordered before snarfing down new offerings from a passing cart. Prices are reasonable. I've also found the waitstaff to be more engaging and accommodating than in other dim sum places. But that could easily just have been the luck of the draw -- as there are easily 30 people working out on the floors at any one time.
(4)Geri V.
This dim sum place is the best I've been to in the Boston/china town area.. They don't have a huge variety but it's pretty decent and flavorful. The staff are pretty friendly and they try their best to get you what you want.
(4)Drew S.
The best dimsum in Chinatown on Saturday and Sundays! Try the crispy shrimp if they go by and order off the menu for some yummy vegetables. Can be hit or miss during the week in non peak times but weekends always blow me away.
(5)Amelia A.
His: Went late when it was after the peak of dim sum hours and it seemed as they were closing. Service was horrible. It was dirty. Food was okay not even that great. Hers: I've been here twice. The first time, I went with a bunch of girlfriends, and it was the typical dim sum experience - fun, continuous food, etc. We went on a weekend afternoon, and it was certainly busy, so lots of food came our way. My favorite is the shrimp wrapped in soft rice noodle (?). Also, the sweet, gingery tofu soup was really good too! The second time I came was incredibly disappointing. It made me embarrassed to give the idea of coming there for dim sum =/. We came after the typical hours of dim sum apparently - I wasn't aware dim sum had a particular time span because in NY, they seem to be operating all the time. The service was absolutely horrible. They hardly had any food, and what they did still have was just okay - most likely left overs. They were trying to clean the restaurant while there were still a few parties there. Needless to say the sound of a vacuum cleaner running around your table was super annoying. In conclusion, if you're going to go, make sure you go when everyone else does. Otherwise, you're going to have a bad experience.
(3)Stephanie S.
Came here on a weekday lunch (Friday at 1pm). We were seated on the main floor. Service: They didn't give us any tea, then sat a Chinese couple in front of us, and gave them a pot of tea. We had to ask 2 different people before we received a pot of tea minutes later. Some ladies pushing the cart were very difficult to understand, and others were easy. Food: Dim sum was pretty bad. The fried rice was almost cold. The vegetable spring roll had mushrooms inside and that's about it. They had many shrimp dishes, and no chicken. No chicken dumplings and no pork dumplings! What?! Every time they came around with the cart, it was the same stuff: more shrimp. The only thing that was good was the sesame ball which was filled with a lot of red bean paste. I would not come back here ever again for dim sum.
(2)Jessica B.
I've been to Hei La Moon a few times, today with a group of 15. As always, the food was delicious. Here's a few tips for first timers. If you are going on a weekend, avoid the noon rush and make a reservation for a large party. We went at 1:30 and did not have to wait for a table. When the carts come around indicate what you want and the server will add a stamp to your bill. After the meal they total the bill and did not include tip for us, so you need to add that on. They aggressively close at 3. The food carts really slow down around 2 so grab your food before then. If you don't see what you want, they will also let you order off the menu. I find Hei La Moon a little intimidating and usually go with my Chinese friend who knows what everything is. This is what I have tried so far. Sorry if I get any descriptions a little off, I'm a novice: Shrimp Hargow - Delicious shrimp in dumplings. Shrimp Chung Foon - Shrimp in pancakes with tasty sauce. Even better than Shrimp Hargow. Soybean Jello - This is scary, scary stuff. It's liquid tofu with ginger sauce. My husband likes tofu and ordered it and was a little surprised that it was so gooey. No one else at the table was too interested. Pan Fried Turnip Cake - These rule. They are liked fried mashed potatoes. Really delicious. I also had Chinese broccoli and a dish of something that looked like tofu but tasted like coconut. Both of these were delicious. I did not try a bowl of chopped up bones and meat that looked like vertebrae. I wonder what it was? The service is not particularly awesome, but the food is great and it's fun for something different.
(4)CJ N.
mmmm dumplings and buns.... Gahhhh.... Dim sum here in Boston's Chinatown is worth it. It's fresh, hot, fun, and flavorful. My first experience was under the tutelage and guidance of a Mandarin-speaking friend. She gave me insider info, which basically boiled down to - if it looks good, try it. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And - don't be afraid to turn something down politely. Bring friends and visitors to dim sum - it's a fun and good experience. The carts come by with great regularity, and feature all kinds of goodies, and some things that are meant only for Andrew Zimmern. Share various dishes with your group, tapas-style. Your cart server will mark your order slip. At the end, (when you've reached your point of actually turning into a stuffed bun), you pay at the front. Then you are free to walk around Chinatown and maybe walk up to Copley Square and catch a movie or walk in the park if the weather is good. Enjoy!
(5)Jen K.
So I came here on a weekday night after reading all the yelp reviews on how this is the best dim sum ever with the carts and everything...am I missing something?? Is dim sum with carts a weekend thing? Why did have I not received the dim sum memo?? The restaurant is absolutely massive, and we were the only ones there in a sea of tables with white table clothes. Kinda weird, haha, but the food was good and I ordered a few items from the dim sum menu. So I guess I'll have to go back on a Sunday to get the true dim sum experience
(4)Ambrose C.
Are you looking for some of the most fundamental dishes of Cantonese Chinese cuisine served in small dishes right here in Boston? This place may have your answer, and it has constantly been one of my primary choices in getting dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Cantonese morning meal. Please be aware that this place may not have the best dim sum (if you are comparing to New York, Toronto, and San Francisco) but I believe they can do a fine job. Here's my review on most of the dim sum dishes I have ordered and eaten during my most recent visits with family and friends. Siu Mai - Probably the plumpest pork dumplings I have found in a dim sum restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. Probably my favorite version of this dish, and I think they do a great job. Ha Gau - The shrimp dumplings are also fairly plump. Very soft exterior on the outside with a nice tenderness from the shrimp on the inside. Lo Mai Gai - The sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves are decently good, and I usually enjoyed the tender chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage inside. Lo Bak Go - The turnip cakes are cooked right in front of you, and have a slight crispiness on the outside, and a nice softness on the inside. It's not too oily, which is good. The dark sauce provided just makes the turnip cake even better. Cha Siu Bau - I usually get the steamed variety of the Roasted Pork Bun (white buns with a dark red opening on the top). It has a nice warm fluffiness on the outside and a good meaty flavor on the inside. A great choice if you want to start getting your stomach full. The baked variety (brownish gold buns) is not a bad choice, but does not have the nice and warm fluffiness. Ha Cheung Fun - The shrimp rice noodle roll is not a bad choice, did not have much shrimp, but the texture of the rice noodle and the flavor of the sauce was good. Sin Juk Guen - I do not have an English name for this, but this is usually called the Tofu Skin Roll. It's a great and tasty choice if you want a mouthful of a little tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and some bits of meat. Gam Chin Tou - This is steamed tripe made with a little garlic sauce and some oil. A good choice for a light appetizer. I really liked the texture. Wu Kok - The fried taro dumplings are pretty good. Liked the slight sweetness of the taro, and the outside was pretty crispy. So far, the dim sum has been tasty so far. I was with a group of probably 12 people on that day, we ordered 10+ dishes, and we only paid about $12 including tax and tip. Overall, this place will remain my primary choice for good dim sum especially when I am with my family or an entourage of friends. It is not my primary choice if I want a great Chinese dinner in Boston's Chinatown unless I need a lot space for a traditional Chinese banquet.
(4)Yue Z.
This is a review for the actual dinner food, not dim sum. I had to head for the restroom 5 minutes upon getting home. We came here for Chinese New Year dinner, as a part of a large group. We ordered all the same food banquet style, and had reservations beforehand. They waited almost an hour before serving anything, and even then brought the dishes out very slowly. The lobster was not fresh, neither was the fish. The fried chicken was super salty, the crab soup had way too much msg. The sweet and sour pork was very sweet...and sour with a ton of unhealthy sauce. The fried rice was super dry and the chow mein was more like soy sauce with limp noodles. The veggies were the typical cheap medley of carrots, broccoli, celery. And there's too much oil on everything. O, and they charged us $6 for a Tsingdao beer. Perhaps it's best to stick to their dim sum menu.
(1)Alex C.
Located just outside Chinatown in the Leather District, Hei La Moon used to have lengthy waits for weekend dim sum until they opened a basement level of the restaurant a few years ago. The reason for those lines will become immediately clear when you sit down to eat. The circulating carts serve up well made and delicious dumplings and buns in great variety, upwards of at least two dozen, with all the favorites (hargow, shiu mai, steamed pork buns, chive dumplings, etc) frequently showing up at your table. The restaurant is large, clean, always busy, very inexpensive and gets my vote for best dim sum in town.
(4)Ben P.
My dim sum prowess is not legendary, but I've been around the block a few times. I've ordered off the regular menu and dim sum menu and I liked the hot and sour soup, shrimp shu mai and any steamed bun the most. I really like the food (as do our out of town friends) but the service is a little stiff at times, although it is a gigantic restaurant. Just raise your hand like you are in class though and they will take care of you.
(4)Jeremy W.
Been coming to Chinatown since 1997 and over the years there have been many Dim sum places that have been my favorite. Since 2008, I've come to Hei La Moon consistently for Dim Sum and it's great every time. What people have to understand when they come here is that you have to get used to the culture here. If you are a first timer, you are going to be overwhelmed, ESPECIALLY if you are coming here with people who have not had the experience of a dim sum place. Be mindful!! Once you've graduated from rookie status, this place is a quick and delicious place to get dim sum. I usually get the same dishes every time and it has consistently been good. It's hard to order in english for me because I actually don't know the name of the dishes in english so I always order in Chinese. As a staple I get the pork steamed shu mai and the shrimp dumplings. This my bread and butter, and usually other people's as well. From there I get a variety of things- all super good. Remember, if you are coming here as a newbie be prepared to be VERY adventurous with the food you are going to try (you might not even know what it is inside at times). I recommend to BRING A FRIEND WITH EXPERIENCE (I recommend 5+ times for the best experience). It will really help. Nonetheless- go try this asian tradition here at Hei La moon. Fantastic place for dim sum and best in Chinatown at the moment.
(4)Monique S.
This was my first experience at any Dim Sum place. I had a blast. The carts kept coming. The tofu was quite good along with the dumpling in many dumplings. I do not even know what they were. But whatever they were, they were delicious. The space is huge. No one speaks English. Point and smile. They do not serve beverages. Bring one. They didn't really understand when we asked for water.
(4)Kelly O.
Finally I got a chance to experience a traditional dim sum meal, with someone in the know, and Hei La Moon was an excellent place to do it. We barely sat down before carts came by and we started feasting. Hei La Moon has pretty decent quality food IMO... I found their pork buns and hargau to be particularly good (better than most I've had, actually), but pretty much everything I ate was decently tasty with the exception of the sesame ball which was on the cold side and a major bummer (everything else seemed fresh and hot though). For 3 of us to be completely stuffed, we each paid $12 (which included tip). Insanely cheap for a filling, tasty meal. As with any traditional dim sum experience, you pretty much need to know what you're doing... if you don't know Cantonese and are picky/have lots of food aversions, or are operating on a budget, or want a balanced meal, or want your entire meal to arrive at once, or want a non-chaotic eating experience, you're out of luck. Fortunately the friend I was with was able to identify from experience most of the fillings of the various dumplings and buns and balls, which was helpful because the cart ladies can basically only tell you the main type of meat or filling that's involved and nothing else (major language barrier here, plus they're not really known for their service). I think personally, as a bit of a control freak I prefer the Windsor-type of experience, where you get a menu with descriptions, prices, and pictures of each of their offerings, and use a checklist for ordering... I like having control over my meal (making it balanced with different types of eats, rather than a million of the same), being able to price things out beforehand, knowing exactly what's in each item, and not having to worry about timing or language barriers. But that's just me, and that's for dim sum in general (not Hei La Moon in particular). Come for the pork buns and hargau, and enjoy the chaos.
(3)Helen H.
Decent- shrimp balls good seasoning Good food good priced No sharing tables
(3)Kayan H.
Pretty good place for dim sum. The standard fare was yummy, my friend even got us to try the watermelon tapioca and tofu desserts which were good. There was a waiter who was SUPER attentive and came by to check on us several times, asking whether we needed more food and personally brought them to our table. A+ for service! (which is not normal for a dim sum place!)
(4)Nancy C.
I can't speak for their dim sum, as I've never tried it, but we went here as part of a Chinese Language Partner Speaking Program for NEU a couple of weeks ago. Now, the program coordinator did order all the food, so maybe that's why it was so bad, but it was BAD. Like, straight up Americanized Chinese food, but the thing is even the jiao zi (pan fried dumplings) were bad. They weren't even recognizable as dumplings. Maybe a good indicator of how bad it was is how empty the restaurant was at dinner time, which is when the crowds come in for most restaurants. I think I literally ate bowls of rice and picked broccoli off some veggie dishes. Not a good experience. Maybe their dim sum is good, who knows, but I'm not too keen on trying it after this experience.
(1)Chi C.
Friends won't let friend host their wedding at this sh#t hole Promise 40 tables and we get the entire first floor, booked 45 and might add 5 more. The manager Mr. Chan over book another 7 tables at the back for a small wedding and completely ruined both wedding. Never go to this place for wedding. Search online and you will see this happens often for this place.
(1)Nicholas S.
My favorite place for dim sum. Keep an eye out for the giant watermelon dessert.
(4)Maureen D.
Went for mid-day dim sum on a weekend. We were seated downstairs, which was difficult for the two friends carrying babies/strollers. We were served immediately when we sat, even without all of our party there. We ate until we nearly popped. When they ran out of a dish, they quickly made more. Someone in our party asked for something he wanted, but didn't see, and they made it just for him (I think), though it took a bit longer. And it was cheap! $10 per person. I will return, with a big hungry group.
(4)Ziliang Y.
Good Dim sum place
(4)Annie G.
The dim sum here is decently priced, and you're sure to find all your favorites. There's tons of space on the main floor and in the basement to accomodate the giant influx of customers on weekends. We went for the tail end of brunch time, and it wasn't super busy, but service was still really slow. My friends and I weren't sure if it's because we were a bunch of Americans (things usually go pretty quick when we have our proper Chinese parents around to do all the ordering) or if there just wasn't that much left. Whatever the case, we did not partake of the customary stuffing of faces ritual that usually takes place when we go dim sum it up, but instead left unhungry but not stuffed. The shao mai (shumai) were merely meh but I thought the chicken feet were pretty good if you're into that kind of stuff. The little riblets were also quite tasty. Your best bet if you're a dim sum noob (or your Chinese sucks) is to just wave down a cart, take a peek, and make your decision that way. If the dish looks questionable, perhaps make further inquiries. ;) Have fun!
(4)Kimberly Y.
My family and I had came here for a late lunch on the weekend (around 2 pm) and they had pretty much sold out of all their dim sum. We left hungry. Hubby and I came here for breakfast (around 9 am) on a weekday and there was not much available yet. We had to order through the waiters since the carts didn't have much of a selection. I may have to come here at noon just to see what selection of dim sum they offer. Of what we did manage to order the food was pretty standard dim sum fare. Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant. Probably will come back to check out the dim sum selection but not sure if the wait will be worth it.
(3)Shang S.
Best Dimsum in Chinatown. Authentic, loud, cart experience, and quite affordable.
(4)Michelle L.
Seriously, I absolutely love this place. Everyone in Boston always tells me to go to China Pearl or that other one that used to be an old theatre. I've tried both of those and they don't compare. I know it's REALLY hard to find good dimsum in Boston, but this is as good as it gets. I can't come here without getting shumai, hargao, the various other dumplings in that cart (those who come here will know what I'm talking about because the ones I mentioned above are all in the same cart), and of course the tofu as desert. I've come to this place throughout the week and on weekends. Great place to come with friends, especially if your friends are daring enough to try the chicken feet. Don't come here with friends that think crab rangoons are their favorite Chinese food.
(3)Jenn T.
Came here for some saturday mid-day dim sum! I've never had dim sum in Boston before, nor have I experienced chinatown in the city as well. This was a pretty large restaurant, with 2 floors. We were quickly ushered downstairs, where we were immediately seated! SCORE! The carts came around and luckily our chinese speaking friend was able to order on our behalf. The dishes were yummy, pretty decently cooked compared to what I've had at home. The portions were pretty good, as my har gau had 2 shrimps inside each dumpling! The service otherwise was sort of lacking, as our water never got refilled and needed to be requested, as well as asking for the check as well. The restaurant itself isn't the cleanest or nicest, but gets the job done. The bathrooms are pretty dirty too. Overall, decent dim sum for a decent price with lots of happy tummies at the end!
(3)Paul J.
Worst Chinese Food I ever ate and I've been all over the world. Spring Rolls were slightly warm on outside; ice cold on inside. Hot and Sour Soup was inedible. A fly was flying around and it was in the middle of winter. Waitresses think they are doing you a favor. Maybe it's because I'm Caucasian. Would never eat there again.
(1)Melissa D.
Hei La Moon is geared towards massive parties and quick dim sum. The place is massive. two floors and even though it can be packed, the most I have waited was 15 minutes on peak times. The servers are kind of rude but it is what it is. Area is kind o dirty as well. Definitely get there early since they will only serve what they have left so the good stuff is usually gone near the end of brunch. The fried shrimp is ok and some of the dishes seemed to have been sitting around for awhile. The dumplings and rice noodles with shrimp are nice but nothing surprisingly good. If you don't know much about dim sum, it will be hard to decipher the cart ladies. Of course, prices are amazingly cheap. We had about 10-12 dishes and it came to around $40
(2)Philip H.
This is my favorite Dim Sum place in Boston. We actually came here with friends the day after we got married and did our rehearsal dinner here as well in 2011. Most people come for the dim sum, but their Chinese banquet style food was really top notch. I was very caught off guard how good it was. Very similar to what you'd get in Southern California. Parking is always the issue, so I recommend taking the T or biking here. The parking lot next door is the narrowest, creepiest parking lot ever. You are going to waste your time getting trapped here. They don't even watch over the keys for you very carefully. Back to the Dim Sum, order the shark fin dumpling, actually any of the dumplings are awesome here, the Chinese broccoli or Beijing Kale, turnip cake, Beef Tripe (Ngau Pak Yip), Bean Curd Roll in Oyster Sauce (Ho Yao Seen Juk Guen). Here is a dim sum menu decoder for some of the more popular dishes that you'll see rolling around Hei La Moon: yumchajunkies.wordpress.… The food is pretty comparable to China Pearl, but I like how there windows and the place is better lit than China Pearl. Also, the room feels much more open and spacious. It doesn't feel as crazy compacted as CP and overwhelming.
(4)Ross G.
Hei La Moon is one of the most authentic restaurants in all of China Town. Do not be fooled by the size in the exterior. The place is massive on the ground floor, and even bigger in the basement. My gf and I have been here for Dim Sum, lunch, dinner, and a Wedding! Food is very good. The language barrier is tough to overcome though. Yes it makes it more authentic, but it does also make it difficult. It is more of a point and hope game sometimes. Dim Sum is very packed. If you can park on side streets before 10:00am do so. Church lets out right after so you can get a spot if you get there. When you use the restrooms downstairs you get a peek into the kitchen if you dare, and can see all the dim sum being prepared lightning quick. The lobster Cantonese style is delicious, and is served on a huge platter. Even the Americanized food is very good. I give it 4 stars because the language barrier is tough sometimes to an American like me, and I think there is 1 other place that is better all around in China Town for Dim Sum and late night food, reserved for my 5 stars.
(4)Kan C.
The food there is great, definitely authentic Chinese dim sum. However, service could use a little improvement, thus the minus one star.
(4)Katrina B.
My favorite place for dim sum in Boston. Lots of variety, not too greasy, and packed for that awesome dim sum ambiance.
(4)Linh H.
Came here because of all the good reviews... Absolute worst experience ever. Waiter didn't seem like he wanted to work. Meal was okay until... Nasty critter ruined it... Yep found 2 dead roaches in our dim sum. Best dim sum? Yeah okay...
(1)Karen D.
I was about to get on a bus for a long trip, and I wanted to have a good mid morning meal. Having dim sum as a single diner is kind of a drag but I suffered through. The hosts are not exactly the friendliest, but the lady maître d did show me to one of their small tables on the first floor. The tea came out quickly and the waiter was very nice to this Caucasian woman. Har gow and shumai showed up by my table...both good. Not the best I've ever had, but certainly, not the worst either. Then I asked the lady with the spare ribs cart if she had chicken feet. She gave me that "really???" look and ran to another cart close by and brought me an order. She showed them to me before putting them on the table just to make sure I really wanted them. The ladies were quite impressed and I was their friend after that. Again, a solid choice. I ended with turnip cake which is fried right on the cart. So good, albeit, a tad greasy. My breakfast set me back 14 bucks. Easy on the stomach and the wallet.
(4)Mike N.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the only place to go for Dim Sum in Boston, because not only is the food exquisite (and damn cheap!) but the dining experience is not to be missed. Walking to your table is like a live-action video game where scores of servers pushing food-laden carts at break-neck speeds maneuver around a packed subterranean cavern of a room while somehow managing to not steamroll grandparents, toddlers and each other. If you can somehow manage to wade through this unchoreographed Brownian ballet and make it to your table, you still face the challenge of flagging down servers as they barrel by your table. The trick is to approach this the same way you would hail a New York cab after a movie lets out in the pouring rain. Be bold, be audacious and above all show no fear. Don't bother asking the server what you're getting (unless you speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin, that is). Just take a glance at what they're serving, and provided it smells/looks OK, keep it, because it's really, really hard to go wrong. That said, some of the things to look out for are the steamed pork buns and steamed spinach. And be all means, make an effort to try the sesame-coated red-bean balls. They are like little drops of heaven.
(5)Le N.
3.5 stars really. When my family (we're vietnamese) is craving for some dim sum, we often find ourselves here if we're not too lazy to travel. They make the best dim sum (other than windsor's). VERY big - so great for groups. Though if you're coming on a Sunday morning, get ready to wait along with all the other asian families! There are ladies pushing around carts and opening them up for you to look - so don't be wary if you can't speak chinese. There is so much variety - a little something for everybody! =)
(4)Jeff J.
Good fundamentals, not enough variety. Very fast turnover. There's not much else to say, right? The jian dui were subpar. Everything else was as expected.
(3)The Throwin S.
This place is now superior to China Pearl and Chou Chou City. While the others have declined, HLM has remained consistent. The pork shu mai were much fresher and tastier than my recent experience in China Pearl-where they smelled like a wet dog. The shrimp dumplings and fried turnip cakes were superb. Nothing was bad. Unlike another recent reviewer, I thought that the chicken feet were fine (if you like that sort of thing). The beef tripe is prepared in a curry sauce, which is not my preference. The wait staff was actually attentive! We asked them to make some Chinese broccoli a la carte--and they responded promptly with fresh (and real) Chinese broccoli. A typical maneuver from the wait staff at China Pearl would be to snicker at you... then later bring a not-so-fresh alternative vegetable buried in a greasy oyster sauce 35 minutes later. This is now the go-to dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)Jeffrey C.
We were catching the BoltBus outta town, so we were looking for a place close to South Station to get our grub on. With Chinatown in proximity and a jonesing for dim sum, we green-lighted Hei La Moon based on Yelp reviews. We've got extended dim sum experience, so I feel comfortable enough in saying that Hei La Moon was solid but unspectacular. We arrived at a little past 11 on a Friday, and the place was already fairly packed. However, we got a nice little two-seater in the corner. I was a bit worried that the carts would pass us by, but they all did a solid job of rotating around to our end. However, the cart ladies spoke little Mandarin and even less English, making it slightly difficult since neither the girlfriend nor myself have any concept of Cantonese. Nonetheless, we got by. Dish-wise, we picked up quite a few plates (that's what dim sum is for, right?). The shrimp dumplings and chicken bau stood out as particularly delicious. The chrysanthemum team we ordered hit the spot as well, although no verdict on whether it cost extra. The only real disappointment was the seafood congee, which was watered down and tasteless. It also saddened me that they weren't serving radish cake, which is my go to dim sum dish. Especially compared to Houston, the overall bill was a tad expensive, which is driven by the fact that the clipboard they mark off doesn't show any prices, so you have no idea how much your meal costs until the very end. That's some shady business practices, but hey, it's Chinatown.
(3)Siu A.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic dim sum. Amazing food!
(4)John C.
Enjoyed visit to Hei La Moon. Atmosphere pleasant/quiet (based on where we sat), and food was delicious. I had the Hot & Sour Soup and Vegi Lo Mein - would go back for these dishes for sure!
(4)Skye G.
I figured since the Dim Sum was so good I'd try it for dinner. When I walked the huge dining room was empty which should have been a red flag but figured what the heck. The fried dumplings were terrible. They were burnt and yet soggy so the flavor was such a mix. The hot sauce made it go down, well kind of. The house pan fried noodles looked right. Pan fried thin noodles with shrimp, beef, chicken and veggies in a brown sauce poured over the top. This was better but not great. The stir fried squid with green scallions and onions had a kick to it and had actual flavor and was not chewy. Thumbs up for the Dim Sum and thumbs down for dinner.
(2)Jon L.
Hei La Moon, you've been warned. I remember when I first visited you more than 3 years ago; after being disappointed by many of the other Chinatown restaurants, you restored my faith in Boston's taste in dim sum. I loved the noise and bustle, a nostalgic reminder of NYC places. I came for your law bok gaw and jiu cai bao, stayed for your chicken feet, and didn't even mind when my friends would injudiciously order the over-salted beef tripe. But, you've been slowly changing. Cutting corners on the char siu bao (too little filling) and the stuffed vegetables (too much flour, not enough shrimp). Substituting pollock (or some other cheap fish) for shrimp in the stuffing of other dishes. Turning over tables far too quickly during peak times without cleaning them properly. Not paying attention to when those egg rolls and other fried dishes have been circulating on the carts too long. The past three trips we've made to Hei La Moon have been out of deference to your reputation. You used to be really good - the go-to weekend dim sum spot. You still can be.
(2)Wendy L.
The shumai here is on steroids! This place is my number 1 place for dim sum in Boston. It's not always consistent and you are not guaranteed the same dishes every time. This is the downside of the carts-style vs. being able to place orders a la carte. Some days you will have all the dishes you want in 5 minutes if the carts all come by your table and other times you will be waiting forever to get one dish. This place is huge so they tend to run out of the good stuff early so be sure to go between 11-1pm especially on weekends. Try not to get seated in the basement because they do not have as many carts down there so your choices will be limited. My favorite by far is the pepper spare-ribs (hak jiu pai guat - in cantonese). I think they have the best here compared to all the other dim sum places I've been around here.
(3)Virginia C.
Dimsum snob here. Service was just OK (wait staff was not very proactive--you have to ask for everything). Food was good but I've had better. No almond tofu (at least when I was there) but other than that, the selection was OK.
(3)JD M.
Just came home from dinner there. The stars are for nice service, every staff including our waiter was very nice and patient, though not so helpful in assisting us to pick from the menu. Our order looked nice, but then so called zhu Sheng and veggie was full of tasteless can veggie: can baby corn, can mushrooms and lots fried tofu The other Ba Zeng Bao is filled with the same fried tofu! only noticed taste was MSG, which made my tummy feel very bad, still now... Quantity was big, but all cooked with lots starched sauce, lots of msg, too, yuck...
(3)Vivi L.
I love this dim sum place. The place is quite busy when you come on the weekend. If you come earlier, you can probably get seated immediately but if you come after 11 AM, the place is usually mobbed and you might have to wait a little. The turn around time is pretty fast though. The food selection is great and they make their rotation pretty frequently. The food quality is also great. The place is great for large group. I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)Judy L.
Best dim sum option in Boston, though I still miss the dim sum restaurants in California. Dumplings are delicious, and the cart service is friendly and rather quick.
(4)Matthew H.
Probably my favorite place to get dim sum in Boston, but don't expect to be treated like royalty in here, whether you speak Cantonese or not. Depending on where you sit, you will either be inundated with carts and choices or exiled to Planet Hoth, where you have to make sad puppydog faces at the nice people pushing the carts. I've never had a bad experience with the food here, although I've heard from friends who aren't as keen on it as when we first started going. The char siu bao is good (not great), the rice is consistently great, the siu mai is unctuous and tasty, the har gow is fluffy pillowy awesomeness, the greens are steamed perfectly w/ a really nice sauce, and the cheung fun are a pile of starchy-shrimpy wonderfulness. The parking situation is always kind of strange, made even more so by the fact that they don't own the lot and the folks who run it are rude assholes. Get the ticket validated and hope for the best. Also... when you're done, just pay up and leave. There are plenty of people who are waiting for your table, and I'm probably one of them,
(4)Jon S.
This place is massive. Situated in the leather district across from the chinatown gate, it has 2 floors that big enough for a small casino. The dim sum is good, better than China Pearl. The portions are bigger and the servers come more often with a bigger selection. All in all a good place for weekend dim sum!
(4)Rob E.
Came here for dim sum today. Everyone I know, raves about this place. I didn't think the dim sum was that good. The food was not as fresh as expected. The duck feet was too salty. The short ribs order from the cart only had 4 ribs in it! I think there are other places within chinatown that serve up better dim sum
(2)Celia Z.
We pigged out this time, getting 5 helpings of the shrimp Mei Fun, four helpings of the steamed dumplings, three helpings of the Baozi, chicken feet, beef tripe, pork ribs, and a million other dishes. All for just fifteen dollars each. Which just shows how far money goes at Hei La Moon. The boys at our table had a huge competition to see who could eat more. They're still arguing who won...
(4)Nicole W.
Yum yum! Yay for dim sum! Great selections. 3 of us got seated right away at 1PM on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Being total non-connoisseurs, we just peeked inside the bamboo steamers, asked if it was shrimp or pork, and adventured our taste buds away- loved it all. We did get passed by a few times- maybe they were profiling, and I wasn't offended- not interested in chicken feet, although I've heard they are pretty good. The dumplings and shu mei were fresh and delicious, loved the sesame paste buns, not so much the red bean paste. We DID have a laughable Soup Nazi moment when my friend may have asked one too many questions about a dish and the cart lady just sped off, insinuating "No dim sum for you!" But later, when a cart lady only had pork dumplings, she remembered that we wanted shrimp and soon returned with some! Got outta there STUFFED for $17 each, including tip.
(4)caley t.
Came here for dim sum for the first time a few days ago, and I have to say, I was a little under impressed. The set up is pretty traditional- a big room where you eat with a bunch of friends by ordering from carts that are pushed by. My friends rave about this place, so perhaps I hit it on a bad day, or wasn't in the right mood or something. I'm also pretty sure that the fact that I am pescatarian didn't help (they don't speak much english and everything seems to have pork in it.) The cart system didn't seem to be set up very well- they hardly ever came by and we kept getting the same ones. A glass of water would have been nice too- my drink was gone quickly and we never saw the drink cart again, leaving me extra thirsty with all the sodium rich food. We also had a really hard time getting soy sauce- had to ask about 6 people before it finally came. When all was said and done, all we ended up eating were a ton of dumplings and some bao. I would have liked to try other things, but like i said, the carts never seemed to come by, so we just kept ending up with the same dumplings and not much else. That being said, the dumplings were actually very good. But frankly, I can't see paying 20 dollars again to sit around and wait for dumplings when I can just order a bunch of them somewhere else in chinatown for about 5 dollars.
(3)Ranley K.
Being an out of towner and living in the NY area with awesome dim sum, I wanted to see what Boston had to offer. We sat down only to see that there were multiple carts going around the place. Being on a table full of dim sum noobs..we ordered everything that was out of the ordinary (for them). Honestly, I couldn't pin point anything that was amazing, all the food was good! The place itself was more suited for a wedding banquet with everything from the chairs to the walls all in red. Bottom Line: Very asian..thus very good. Everything was stellar and well prepared. I mean the place was packed with Chinese people along with some non-Chinese (who clearly were in the right place because they were the minority) Two thumbs up!
(4)Arcadian B.
Great dim sum although the Wait was really long It's a probably one of the biggest restaurants in Chinatown Be aware of the restrooms!!!
(4)Anita C.
Good dim sum. Similar to all the other places in Boston but the only difference is that they are quick and you get seated immediately. So if you want good dim sum and good service, I highly recommend this place. Every time I come to Boston I've always been hesitant to go to dim sum because of the long wait and the inability to ever get glasses of water. Here, there's no wait, good dim sum and you get water!! We ordered the standard dim sum stuff but I was impressed with the steamed pork buns and the sticky rice!!! Don't order the noodles, as they were a bit dry.
(3)Pete G.
My absolute favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. And I've done the research. The buns, the dumplings, the fried things, the other fried things. Everything is amazing. I have a rule that whenever I go to dim sum, I always try something completely new. This has burned me in the past, but not here. Oh no. Example: I went with some friends back in January. All of them are Chinese-American, I'm not. Half-Filipino so you'd assume I'd get a little Asian cred, but no. They start dropping off plates, and one of the waitresses asks me "do you need a fork?" Offended, I reached out with my chopsticks and say "No thanks. I;m good." and I picked up a piece of tripe. The thing is: I think tripe is repellent. But this dish was actually delicious. Maybe because it was flavored with spite, maybe because Hei La Moon knows what the hell they're doing with everything they serve. I'd highly recommend every type of pork bun they serve, the spare ribs, the chicken feet (if you can get over the texture, they're melt in your mouth delicious), the deep fried whole shrimp and squid. It's a huge, clean place, so I can't imagine you would ever have to wait too long. The staff is very friendly, and the language barrier is easily overcome. definitely worth the trip. Last warning: when the dessert truck rolls around you might see a plate with a couple green balls rolled in sesame seeds. You might think that you were looking at some lotus or red bean buns. You are not. They are durian fruit, and they are disgusting. Avoid. avoid!
(5)Wolfe S.
Great dimsum, although less options for vegetarian/vegans. Especially great for large groups with no reservation.
(5)Samantha L.
I think Hei La Moon has actually been going down hill the past few years. A few years back I said their dim sum was comparable if not better than Flushing's dim sum. Now, it's only becoming acceptable to me. But of course, to each their own. They have typical standard fare, nothing out there or extradordinary. If you need a dim sum fix, cannot parallel park and need to stop at the C-Mart you mind as well stop here since you can do all that in one fell swoop at HLM. Park in the garage next to the place, get a stamp at the restaurant or if you're going to buy more than $75 worth of groceries, get a stamp at the C-Mart around the corner instead and you'll get FREE parking. Anyways, I've only had dim sum here... and we leave full, but not super wowed at all. But the food is always hot, service is pretty decent for a place that is always so busy and packed. I just hate that you leave smelling like the place. I would recommend avoiding most of the fried dishes that are not in a hot box/cart thing because they're probably not very warm or hot like the rice noodles, shrimp etc. I usually avoid the steamed black bean spare ribs because there isn't much meat, mostly fat or bones and nothing else.
(3)Phan H.
Just your usual wednesday afternoon dim sum. This place wasn't as large as your usual sunday dim sum, but it was definitely cozy, and we got the window corner seat. The food was decent, the selection was okay, and the service was fast. Nothing too characteristic about this place from most places, other than that they weren't as aggressive, but probably because it wasn't Sunday. They validate parking for the lot that is adjacent to it, but I'm totally confused how they do it. They make you pay $6 up front, and give you a voucher for $6. I'm still confused.
(3)Henry P.
Just got back with having brunch with the family today, this was my first time trying out Hei La Moon's dim sum after reading so many rave reviews on yelp. I can honestly say I am very pleased! Thanks yelp! Hei La Moon is located near Boston's South End on the other side of Chinatown which is usually ignored. It sits underneath a huge parking garage so its not that hard to miss. Inside the restaurant has BEAUTIFUL red and gold decor with golden dragons decorated around the restaurant as if they were dancing around you as you are eating. The service was the usual, if you're a non-native speaker of Chinese dialect, its basically a bunch of pointing and choosing and hoping nothing gets lost in translation, it usually it goes pretty smoothly. I've been to other dim sum restaurants nearby and so far I'd say hands down that this is so far the BEST place to get dim sum out of the others. The dim sum here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap, not as cheap as others but with the quality that you are getting its outrageous. Succulent, moist shrimp Shu-mai thats just PACKED with flavor and expertly wrapped so tight that the contents just bursts in you're mouth as you take a bite. Their chicken congee was hot and sticky, with fair amount of chicken that just gives it a unique flavor, freshly chopped green onions on top with chinese fried dough gives it that extra kick! The marinated chicken feet were steamed to perfection within its own savory black bean sauce, melts in your mouth! Everything else that we ordered was also on par in quality. Also one thing that I would like to add, those who frequent Chinese restaurants alot should know that their bathrooms are usually very....meh... But SURPRISINGLY the bathroom here was REALLY clean and very actually pretty fancy and up to date, I was shocked! Just thought I'd throw that out there. Will definitely be coming back here for my dim cum cravings from now on!
(4)Lily N.
I went to take out last Sunday night. The girl took my order at the cashier was terrible. I changed my order due to the price for the Cantonese style fried rice was almost doubled than those fried rice listed on the menu. I went back to pick up the Singaporean fried noodle and beef fried rice after I placed the order for 15 minutes. The girl who took my order didn't even get out from the chair. In stead, she pointed at my take-out and said "your food is here!" She looked at me with very despiteful eyes and didn't even say "thank you" when I was walking out of the restaurant. After I ate the fried noodles and the fried rice, I started to have diarrhea for two days.
(1)Angeline P.
This review is actually 3.5 stars. I came with one other person, so we couldn't really try everything, but what we did try was pretty good. Har gow was as you would expect. Chive dumpling with shrimp was good. The skins on their dumplings were actually pretty good. They don't compare to Hong Kong Lounge, but for not being made fresh on the spot, they were pretty good. Preserved egg porridge and sweet tofu hit the spot, but I guess I've never had a bad porridge or bad sweet tofu. The fried taro was the only thing I take issue with, because it was mostly bland with not much meat. But everything else we had was good. The 0.5 star is for getting seated right away on a Sunday at 11:45am. No wait at all! But I guess there were only two of us...
(3)Helen L.
Okay, so I've been to Hei La Moon AND China Pearl, and I don't really see a huge difference in terms of food tastes. They serve the same things and it tastes the same to me. HOWEVER, I've noticed that 1) China Pearl has longer lines and less seating space so maybe that's also why its more crowded sometimes and 2) Hei La Moon never has the variety of food that China Pearl does, or if it they do, the carts come out MUCH slower so you don't get to eat as much of a variety. The second time I went to Hei La Moon for dim sum, I only got like 3 dishes because I didn't have many options to choose from. I kept looking to see when other carts with more food options would come out, but it never happened. I was disappointed. I ended up paying like $15 for three lousy dishes and it was a rip off without the variety. I'm not sure I'd go again.
(2)Harri S.
Saying the name of this place you instantaneously sound 100% more Chinese. It also sounds suspiciously like Sailor Moon. Alright, enough with being racist. I came here with my friend and foodblogger Charlene W, her friend from high school and the Biff, who did a stint in Hong Kong and incorrectly believes he's of the Asian Persuasion. Whatever, we all really like Dim Sum, so we did the proper thing and came for breakfast. This place is EXACTLY like the massive dim sum halls of San Francisco: crowded, bustling and a place that you'll get away with all sorts of body language. We had the traditional shu mai, Biff had to get the pork buns, cause Charlene W. said no way AND we got chicken feet amongst numerous other things. Not to mention we had massive volumes of tea to accompany all this. Alright, so all I really want to talk about is the chicken feet, which seriously sound DISGUSTING, but man am I glad I tried 'em. They were marinated in this delectable chili sauce and deep fried. You don't eat the whole thing, just the skin, so basically if don't like the skin off your Popeye's deep fried chicken, don't bother. Otherwise this is a taste explosion you won't regret. The ridiculously large amount of food came out to $10 each INCLUDING tip. Damn! Full stomach and full wallet, I left VERY happy.
(5)Lauren P.
Starving on a weekend morning ? Nothing hits the spot better than some steaming dumplings at Hei La Moon. This place is huge so no waiting time. Try the shrimp cheung foon besides the usual shu Mai and pork bun staples. Best part - you'll be stuffed to the brim without putting a dent in your wallet.
(4)Nikhil P.
Oh, sweet dim sum. After totally disappointing experiences at China Pearl, and a slightly weird, creepy experience at Empire Garden, this is THE place for Dim Sum in the city. Dim sum carts are rolling, grandparents, kids, strollers, possibly illegal workers, random guys, and people wearing suits are shouting into walkie-talkies, and chaos reigns. And amidst that, the food is freaking awesome. We had great Cantonese-speaking friends who helped navigate the language barrier, but even without that we generally scored with the point-and-shoot method. Dim Sum at a place like this is an exercise in assertiveness training. You want water, pork buns, hot sauce, or a napkin? Ask, and you will receive. And ask again when you get the wrong item. Tonnes of food for 4 people = $70 with tip. Damn cheap and amazing.
(5)Chelsea L.
Two words: Dim Sum. Although it does get crowded on the weekend afternoons, my roommates and I are always down to squeeze our way through the crowded doorway, past the large parties of people waiting in order to get our group on the waiting list. Why, do you ask? Because of the shmorgasboard (did I spell that right?) of food that is awaiting your consumption both on the ground level and downstairs in the basement. Dim sum isn't too easy to mess up, so while I LOVE the typical foods (shu mai, har gow, cha siu bao), it was all pretty standard. The service there is typical of an authentic chinese restaurant: no chitchat, you wave them over if you want something, and they get it for you ASAP. Bing Bang Bong. I still don't really understand how some of the waiters do the math on the check so fast though. I'm always in awe as I watch them add up all of the dishes and even factor in the tax (carry the 3, multiply that by 2....except imagine 10 more of those calculations in 5 seconds flat). I always come here with people who sometimes have no idea what the heck any of the dishes are. And because me and my family are dim sum freaks, we can usually navigate through all of the names and contents of the food with little frustration. Everything that we have tried at Hei La Moon has been yummy, no complaints there. There was just this one incident that we joke about even to this day. Last year one of my friends really wanted those fried sesame balls with the sweet paste in the middle. However, I guess they were in high demand that day so one minute we saw them from across the room but before the cart came to our table, all of them were gone. Needless to say, my friend was about to have an aneurysm and it soon became a little cat-and-mouse game at our table to eye those sesame balls when they came out of the kitchen and find a way to snatch em up before they disappeared onto another table. I'm sure that was an isolated incident though because all of the other times, there have been plenty of sesame balls for us. Bottom line: Don't have high expectations for the service and don't predict that you will be blown away by the food. But for yummy, authentic, affordable, Chinese cuisine (4 of us were full for $40 total), put on your fat pants and come to Hei La Moon!
(4)Rani P.
Any excuse to go somewhere new with two of my chef-friends is never an opportunity I want to pass up... So I wasn't surprised to find myself eager to dim sum de-virginize myself with two of my favorite Asian chefs walking me through it. I have to say- I don't know why I put it off so long. Was it the overwhelming feeling of strange, unusual things surrounding me in carts? Or was it the surprises you find hiding inside the giant green pastry balls? Well, whatever it was- it was worth the wait. Who knew you had to leave the Chinatown gate to find something so delicious. What made this experience so good was not only the amount of food we ate for little to nothing- but it was the pork rolls. THE PORK ROLLS! Who would have guessed... and they don't even have shrimp in them. It was pretty packed in there- but we got a table quickly.. and the service was just as insane as I expected it to be- but the experience was worth it all!
(4)Stefanie Y.
Honestly, I want to give this place a 4/5. Their dim sum is delicious and the carts are fun. I came here the other day and had a great meal. But alas, my friend and I brought a bunch of people here for Chinese New Year and we had a heinous experience. We had made a reservation, but had to wait for about 15 minutes until we were seated. Understandable, seeing that we were a 10-person party. Less understandable was why it took 30 minutes for a waiter to take our order, and least understandable of all was why it took another 45 for even ONE dish to make it to our table. Being Chinese-American, I was...confused. Literally every Chinese place I've ever been to has really fast service. To make it all worse, they messed up our order, which we had ordered in Chinese, so it's not really like they misunderstood us. One of the girls in our group had an allergy and if the Chinese members of the group hadn't recognized the dish as being the wrong one, she could have had an attack. The allergy thing is really what made me knock off a star. I still get nervous thinking about it. Then the food wasn't even that great. Half of the dishes came out cold. We ordered traditional Chinese New Year dishes, yet many of them were very greasy, saucy, and tasteless, kind of like bad American-Chinese food. My party left two and a half hours later, dissatisfied. I want to reiterate that the dim sum is great. I love how traditional this place is (they even have this weird watermelon jelly thing that I haven't ever seen outside of the mainland), and they really execute their dim sum dishes well. I'm confused as to why their dinner is so sub par considering that dim sum dishes are much harder to make than, say, steamed fish.
(3)Kat H.
good for hitting up your dim sum cravings but the food was a little more bland than most dim sum places. i know that heila moon gets a lot of hype but the tastiness of my usual faves was not up to par. i think that if this was the only dim sum place in the area, i would go since the food was still decent. shrimp dumplings are good here! a bit crowded on the weekends, i'd recommend going early.
(3)Mary H.
We eat here very often! The food is really good. You can see the food pushed out in carts to see if you like them. Parking is horrible of course. But not they don't make the steamed lotus paste buns!!!!!! Soooo sad!!! I loved them! Other than that, it's a great place for dim sum.
(3)Matt C.
Great late night spot... Salt and pepper Shrimp, what-what son! Just don't come in smelling like that loud-loud or the host will talk shit. I think he just wanted some for himself lol. They refused to serve us cold tea? really? I guess our chinese to non-chinese ratio wasn't good enough, oh well, we really didn't need it anyway. Even so, this place was the heat and no matter what the food is worth it.
(5)John R.
My Dim Sum location of choice. Service is good, keeping in mind that in a cart based Dim Sum food will sometimes come in waves and can take a while to come around. I don't like that parking garage upstairs where validated parking is. Ate lunch once and was good but can't speak to dinner menu really.
(4)Ivy G.
First time, I was amazed by its food quality and it tasted very traditional Dim Sum. But after several visits, I kind of thinking their food quality is decreasing. I am so disappointed that every time I order some new items, I usually regret. So I would stick to my old fashioned favorites. Hope it can back to the first taste that I had one year ago
(4)Cindy W.
great yum cha place!!! an authentic yum cha taste!!! love it!!!!
(5)Miguel R.
One moment while I rub my temples as I decide where to begin. OK, I was brought here by a good, native-Chinese-speaking friend. In retrospect, I am glad she was chaperoning me, because I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of Chinatown. Not Boston Chinatown -- New York Chinatown. I half-expected one of the aggressive cart-ladies to wave a live chicken in my face or drop a flapping fish on my plate. The à la carte menu is simple enough to figure out, but the dim sum carts are anyone's guess. My hostess told me she was being 'conservative' with her selections, which I was fully aware of; once you've had menudo, you've had all the basic training you'll ever need to spot an animal stomach from a mile away. In short, I enjoyed myself because I have a high noise-and-chaos tolerance and because I was accompanied by a very kind interpreter. I recommend you come here with someone who knows anything about authentic Chinese food or who can actually speak Chinese. Some offerings are not for the American faint of heart.
(3)Kenneth F.
Great place for dim sum in Boston, much better than two other places I have tried in Chinatown. Here are some of the dish highlights: Good: Giant Har Gow...seriously, check out my picture, I placed a tea cup next to it for comparison. Although the dish came with two only, it was much better than the one that came with four. Tofu dessert...I forgot the exact english translation, but you'll see this cart strolling around and serving up a storm. Some dogweed/shrimp dish...never seen it at another restaurant before, but it's good here! Mediocre/Not so good: Chicken feet rice noodle (cherng fun)
(4)Josephine L.
Been here for dim sum a few times and it's always a guaranteed good experience. They do dim sum the old school Cantonese way, with frowning old ladies pushing carts full of food while curious and somewhat bewildered diners gaze warily at the contents before finally settling on an item and ordering it through a mixture of sign language and overly loud English. Unless you already speak Cantonese (or Mandarin), in which case you breeze through the process. Everything is delicious, solid and decently authentic. The beef tripe is wonderfully chewy and ginger-y, the chicken feet are tasty, the steamed pork buns (a favorite with the boyfriend) are fluffy, mango pudding is delish, congee is hot and comforting and the custard pastries are fabulous. You pretty much can't go wrong with anything you pick, and if it looks unusual, eat it anyway (unless you have allergies) because life is short and you only eat once. Per meal. Er....you know what I mean.
(4)Alma C.
The dim sum here tastes good and has above average selection compared to the other dim sum in the area. I ranked this place a two at first b/c the first time I went here, one of the dishes had a hair in it. I saw it before anyone in my party touched it, but when I called over the waitress to tell her, she could not speak a lick of English and I had to point at my head and then the plate and then my head again for her to understand. She then quickly brought a replacement dish and the rest of the meal was fine. Since this is probably one of the better places for dim sum around Boston, I'm giving it a few more chances to redeem itself from that first time visit. I've actually been here a couple times since and it's been fine.
(3)John L.
Been here countless times since the mid 90's. It's just a block outside of Chinatown, actually right outside the sign for Chinatown. Super busy on Sunday, but Saturday can hold it's own too. Very good dim sum, service is always great in Chinese restaurants. But please keep in mind that the waiters and waitresses will NOT ask you how the food is. They will take away your empty dim sum plate in less than two seconds flat but you'll be waiting until the next blue moon if you want some TLC from the staff. Oh and when you are done with your meal, simply flag down a wait staff by waving your dim sum card and never expect the waiter to add your total in a calculator. If he/she whips out a calculator, you are not in a real dim sum restaurant. Just sayin. I also suggest coming here for dinner for some authentic Chinese dishes. Bring a large party b/c the dishes are large and Chinese dishes are best shared!
(4)Bailey Z.
Hei La Moon is your standard dim sum joint. It's large enough to accommodate groups and serves the typical dim sum fare. The food is decent, the prices are reasonable, and the place is relatively clean. It's a big step up from China Pearl, but I still liked Winsor better. Get here before 10 am because both levels of this restaurant fill up fast.
(3)Deanna D.
Dim Sum Review: The service is push cart style so you can see everything but the servers don't tell you what in the dish, so when you ask they just put it on your table. No explanation or menu + no prices =down side to this type of dim sum. You end up with random stuff that looks cool but not knowing what your eating is not cool. Not a huge selection since its essentially the same stuff passing over and over again. Fried rice was horrible--too sticky like it was over cooked/steamed. BBQ pork buns were delicious--the best dish we had Shrimp in bean curd was ok--the strange consistency was not appealing and lacked flavor Shrimp & Leek fried wantons were tasty BBQ pork ribs were not very good--lots of fat pieces in a tiny order Shrimp steamed dumpling was flavorless. No condiments on the table to sauce up your dish--not a good thing since I'm a sauce whore. Overall not a great meal. The restaurant was clean, the staff was friendly and the food was OK. We won't be back anytime soon. I prefer Winsor for Dim Sum--more selection, tastier food, real menu and cheaper too.
(2)Jerrica J.
Was in Boston last weekend due to a family emergency. My boyfriend and I ate a lot. I liked how big this restaurant was. Everything was tasty. My favorite was the har gow and shui mai. I was sad that at 1:30 they ran out of my favorite egg custard tarts. One star off because the servers were a little lazy and didn't want to check for dishes for me. I had to flag people down numerous times. They forgot our water.
(4)Joanna C.
Came here for dinner and a book club meeting last week! The facility was a tiny bit hard to find (my GPS kept telling me to make right turns down one way streets in the opposite direction and I almost ran over a tiny Asian woman because I was so distracted!), but regardless, showed up and was able to find street parking (Sweet!). The place was EMPTY. And oh yeah, it's also GIANT! Clear out those tables and we can have a touch football match! But anyway - great for our book club since we could talk and eat and not be worried we would be taking up a needed table. The servers seemed to have a tiny bit of a comprehension issue with understanding everyone's questions, but we were finally able to order our food and settled in for a nice discussion. When suddenly, a tour bus pulled up and out jumps out about a hundred or so people?? They poured into the restaurant and it's chaos! We were promptly forgotten as the servers ran around trying to accommodate the HUGE group. Our entrees arrived haphazardly. We weren't offered rice (and couldn't order it until about 20 minutes after our entrees because no one was within our vicinity). Our tea went empty for a while as we tried to flag someone down. But all in all, a pretty solid meal (once it arrived)! I definitely recommend the aromatic beef (deep fried beef strips!), and the empress chicken (we were all stealing bites of that!). Service left some to desired, but what can you expect from (right outside) Chinatown? I do need to hit it for dim sum soon!
(3)Hung L.
Came here for a wedding, quite possibly the worst Chinese food in Boston. Typical 10 course wedding meal, one of the dishes that came out had the same reaction from everyone, "steak? never seen steak at a Chinese wedding before" Probably the most chewy piece of steak I have ever ate. Fried rice...tasted more like plain rice with veggies thrown in it. Red bean dessert, was like eating red bean in water, didn't taste sweet at all. I would have to say 2 out of the 10 dishes were acceptable. Definitely not gonna do my wedding here. Hei La Moon definitely needs to sound proof their rooms better, another wedding was going on next to us and they were obnoxiously loud. I saw the other bride, definitely a bridezilla, clubbing music and no one in your party was even dancing.
(2)Cady T.
In my opinion the best dim sum in Boston. Clean, conveniently located right outside of Chinatown, and consistent, if not too daring dim sum. Particularly good char siu bao, or steamed bbq pork bun. Steamed shrimp dumpling, har gau, consistently good. They make a chiu-chao dumpling with pork, peanuts, and fall spices that is outstanding. The watermelon soup, a seasonal dish served from a hollowed watermelon is chilled coconut milk spiked with miniature tapioca pearls and balls of melon. YUM! The fried taro is not very good, too starchy. The noodle rolls are too soft and the tea could be better. The bathrooms aren't the prettiest. The only place in Boston I will go to get dim sum. Its certainly not New York or San Francisco quality, but it hits the spot.
(4)Mary B.
I've rode the lunch rocket to La Moon for both dim sum and food off the menu and ... I haven't been impressed. It's a little pink and red garbed orphan of the rest of the Chinatown resto scene, actually residing in the Leather district across the street from the gate. The lunchtime scene here usually quite chaotic, which is kind of part of the fun but not the best option if you're looking to have a cozy and serene dining experience. Service is quick and without frills, just straight up ask them if you need anything because they're not going to offer anything other than a plate and chopsticks on their own. The food is at best, adequate. If you're really craving dim sum goodies, you may be able to get your fix here, but there are better DS experiences to be had in the area. The regular menu has the breadth and scope that you would expect and the portions are served large for good family style sharing. It kind of pains me to call joints out on this, but at the last nom fest, we found hairs in a couple of the dumpling filled bamboo steamers. Yea. When we told a waiter and asked him to just clear it away, he brought the hairy dumplings back to us in a take-out container. 0_o The one thing I've ever eaten here that I really liked: garlic Chinese broccoli. Really lovely, but one dish does not a fan make.
(2)Mary Beth R.
I took my family here for dim sum and it was totally amazing. Thought everything was great from service to food. The decor coud use an update but i think its kind of a cool vibe. My 4 year old loved the spring rolls and shrimp shumai. I loved the crispy shrimp and the sticky buns and tea! Yum yum. Cant wait to go back.
(5)Reese D.
Went there with sis n bro-in-law at 2pm on Sat. Found out that it ia better to get there late. Everything is fresh n there is no wait for it. Will be going to the restaurant for late weekend dim sum from now on.
(5)Kim V.
Almost every time I went for Dim Sum, this was the place everyone recommended. It has a nice variety, and is reasonably priced. It had my favorite dumplings and they were pretty good. Regardless of the group size, my party often got seated pretty quickly.
(3)MJ L.
Can't go wrong with this Chinatown gem. Perfect for a dinner date or for hosting large events. Can cater up to 130 people. Food is authentic cantonese style. One of the best dimsum is also available for lunch. Have gone a dozen times and will definitely continue!
(4)Brian L.
Like in my earlier review, this place is good. As always, packed (if there is one thing to know - when going to Chinese places, the more crowded, the better - that means fresh!).
(4)Virginia C.
Prob. the best in Chinatown, but I've def. had Better and I am a dim sum SNOB. 1) It is packed on the weekdays/weekends and the old ladies are not really friendly (even when I use my Cantonese!). Usually if I want something and I don't have it, there are other establishments that will make a special effort to get it for me. Ummm.. don't count on it here. 2) All dumplings are fresh (Har Gaw= DO IT) 3) Tofu Pudding. MM, and don't knock it until you try it. 4) Pork SpareRibs (Satisfying) 5) Cun Fun (Exceptional) 6) Everything else (Sui Mai, Chicken Feet, and Shrimp Rolls, or Whatever is pretty standard). They have a pretty great selection, and there are a variety of Cantonese and nonCantonese Peeps in this joint. During the weekend, please remember to get a number. In addition, Chinese people don't know how to wait for their turn= no such things as lines. Therefore, just push your way to the front, and don't let the short asians and pushy old ladies walk all over you. And, even if you don't speak Cantonese, this place is manageable :)
(3)Josh S.
One of my favorite dim sum joints, located just outside of Chinatown proper, closer to the Leather District. HLM offers a great selection of dim sum dishes and traditional entrees, but on the last visit (out of 3 total) the service was extremely lacking - as in we sat there and weren't served for 20 minutes. Other experiences have been more positive.
(4)Cindy K.
So I only give this three stars because I've been spoiled and have experienced much better dim sum in other cities (NYC & Toronto are at the top of my list for North America). HOWEVER, this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. (I've heard Windsor is very good too however its much smaller so everyone comes here) First off, if you hate crowded restaurants, do NOT come here on weekends for brunch - the place is packed and can get extremely loud. But if you're brave enough to trek over to Chinatown and looking for an authentic dim sum experience, this is where you want to be. Food is carted around by older Chinese ladies and you basically order what you want. They don't really speak English so if you aren't brave enough to just look and order either come with someone who is Chinese or someone who is really familiar with what to order. Most of the time everything is very good but it's hit or miss depending on the day. My favorites are shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, beef meatballs, shrimp rice cakes, and my absolute favorite is the tofu pudding for dessert.
(3)Joe T.
Standard food and the service is really bad. I was serves beef spare ribs that were un-chewable and they refused to refund after i could not eat it. Gave them a chance again just to sit down 10min before some one came who ha trouble understanding what I wa ordering. Eventually he took the order and 20min later i asked where my order was. A lady said she did. not know!!!! I then took off. There way better places
(1)Corey L.
This place is HUGE! Got there on a Sunday, didn't have to wait b/c they have 3000 tables. We were seated way in the back and I was nervous that we'd be left out. However, within a few minutes, we were surrounded by carts - like we were chum and they were shark-carts. My main complaint is that I think it's impossible to not order WAY too much food. The food was good and it was a cool experience to boot.
(4)Debby L.
OK fine, the Chinese food in Boston is not the Chinese food in San Fran or Monterey Park. But really... We were seated really fast despite the insane amounts of people outside. Their system was really efficient with the number calling and two floors of seating for patrons. Tons of students from the conventions flocked here as this was the recommended place to eat. We got shu mai, ha gao, Chinese broccoli, dumplings, and fried shrimp. The Chinese broccoli was the best dish, and that isn't saying much. The fried shrimp was ok, but the batter was really thick and there was barely any shrimp inside. Everything else was dry. I washed everything down with hot tea, and we got out of there. The bill was quite expensive for dim sum, and I spent double what I normally pay for half of what I normally eat. Lesson learned: when in Boston, eat Bostonian food. And it does not consist of Chinese food. So unimpressed.
(2)Erika T.
The place is big, with 2 floors of dining - main floor and basement. There were a nice mix of large and smaller tables so you don't have that awkwardness of sharing a table with strangers, which I really liked. The dim sum was better than most. Good proportions and kept warm. My only complaint here is that there were so many tourists on the Sunday I was there. There was a table constantly taking pictures, not just of the food on their own table, but also of what was in the carts. Another table kept asking that each dish be identified of its contents. This made all the carts slow to get to the rest of the other tables, which was really annoying. So if you're looking for decent dim sum and have patience, then this is a place to try.
(4)M T.
Dim sum is cold and not fresh. Will never come back again.
(1)Vivian H.
They have a different selection than I'm used to, and it was kinda limited. Still got the usual shu mai, har gaw, and turnip cake, but we got to order clams in black bean sauce, calamari, and even the rice noodle-wrapped you tiao. They didn't have eggplant, which is my all-time favorite, or the fried taro thing so wtf. Everything we ordered was very good though. The meal was pricier than I'm used to for Chinatown at $40 for 3 people (and one didn't eat much since we couldn't find many vegetarian options). Next time, I want to try the dessert that comes out of the big watermelon (it's like tapioca with watermelon balls)!
(3)Sandra C.
I'm a shameful Chinese person who cannot order in Chinese at all! But service is SO MUCH better if the servers UNDERSTAND you! So I always go with someone who can speak... The dim sum here is the same as all the other dim sum places in Chinatown (Emperor's Garden, China Pearl)...pretty standard. I came on a good day, where lines weren't too long, and carts weren't too busy. I could name several times when my family would come Sundays and the place would be PACKED with people. The waits can go pretty long too, so be wary.
(3)Minah L.
DIM SUM was so freaking delicious. i was in a group of 7 people total and i have to say we ordered quite a lot. but even still everyone paid about ten bucks. i say that's a pretty good deal. their shumai and har gow and those dumpling looking things were pretty big. very fulfilling with just a couple. it was super crowded on a saturday early afternoon but i think it was definitely worth waiting for tables. :)) i wish i was back in boston just for dim sum here. a lot of their plates contained shrimp in it so one of my friends couldn't really eat much. but she was still able to enjoy this place with other things. im not sure if dim sum in general is just really shrimp based or this restaurant specifically. but either way.. if you want good dim sum. come to this place!!
(4)Marissa P.
Classic dim sum experience: carts overflowing with tasty treats pushed around a huge, open space filled with round tables and happy, Chinese faces. I've only been here twice, but everything I tried was good. I especially like their shumai and their flat, wide noodle (not sure what the dish is called). My second time dining here, I took my boyfriend and his family. His grandparents were born in China. They are hard critics and they loved it! So, it must be good! Best part: you always leave with a full, satisfied tummy at a very reasonable price!
(4)Madeline N.
Ok, here's the gist. Dim sum makes me happy. Specifically dim sum with carts. And with space for all my friends. Hei La Moon fits the bill! It is enormous and you'll probably be shunted to the downstairs floor if you arrive. Hardly any wait even when I roll in with 10 people. The carts make their rounds quite quickly and while there aren't all of the specialties, you're going to hit any cravings you might have. Short walk from the T. They validate parking if you park in the adjacent parking structure. Near Chinatown and grocery shopping if you're trying to be efficient.
(4)Susan A.
Came here for dim sum this time instead of dinner. Traditional food done ok, food is solid. The shrimp quality though, wasn't that great... definitely not my expectations for Boston shrimp. Chicago, perhaps, but Boston, definitely no-no. Bumps it to a 3-star. Good selection, decent prices. The cart ladies though, remind me of dudes at a bar. Either waaaay too aggressive in-your-face, please can't you see i'm busy eating aka stuffing my face... to ones whose eye you try to catch but too antsy/antisocial to want to come up to you and you gotta REALLY flag 'em down!
(3)Winnie T.
Want your dimsum fix? Come here. The dimsum isn't great, but this is probably among the best you'll be able to find in Boston (pathetic, I know). Go early, because it tends to fill up quick during noontime. This is a favorite among Boston locals along with China Pearl. Personally, I like this place better because it's bigger and the dimsum is more fresh since the chefs keep making it. Warm dimsum is never good; I want it scalding hot just so I know it hasn't been sitting on the cart. Oh, and another thing: don't get shafted and get seated downstairs if you're willing to wait a little longer for the tables upstairs. I've noticed that there are way more carts in circulation upstairs than downstairs.
(3)Ferdinand H.
Solid four stars. Maybe with a plus. I recall that the first time that i went to Boston Dimsum, I was sorely disappointed. I guess I'd been hoping for an NYC level experience... perhaps not Toronto/HK, but maybe NYC, given all the HKers and southern chinese in the area. That first time, I wasn't very impressed, nor the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th nth... My friend took me here recently, and it was much improved from my memories. I ate until bursting... and still managed to stuff in egg tarts and sweet tofu. It's pretty authentic, with constant motion; quick tongued managers barking orders with occasionally withering glances (and quick smiles when needed...!). I felt like I was back in a southern chinese cultural stronghold. Ah... home... :) In general, I think that this place's dimsum is about right in terms of sodium, oil, amount of steaming. I've had better, but mostly out of the country. Cheers for Boston!
(4)Michelle J.
I've eaten here and at China Pearl. It was a 11AM and the place was packed. Thankfully the group I was with either made reservations and got there early. The host at the front informed me my group was downstairs but when I got downstairs there was no staff that was available let you know where your group was. Luckily my friend had an excellent view from the stairs to wave at me when she saw people. The food was good and plenty. However they don't have the lazy susan round spinning things so often to get something across a 10 person table you have to constantly ask people to pass things to you. Food was great and plenty. As with most dim sum you'd eat. Sticky rice, dumplings and buns all delicious. There was a wall of folks waiting when we left so if you don't get there early I think you'll expect to wait a while for a table. Good luck during dinner time if you're not an early eater.
(3)Ziyan C.
Can't say much for dim sum in Boston in general, but this place is probably the best that this city has to offer. The food is this best quality I've had in Chinatown (i.e. not overly oily, decent selection) and the restaurant has the nicest atmosphere (not crowded, more open, doesn't feel cheap). It also comes at pretty much the same price as any other dim sum place in Chinatown.
(3)Eric F.
My other go-to dim sum spot in Boston, Hei La Moon has yet to disappoint. With two large floors, the wait here is virtually nonexistent even during peak weekend hours. The interior is easily the most upscale of the dim sum restaurants in Chinatown and is more or less on par with some of the better spots I've been to back in California. All the dishes are well done with particularly good custard-filled Pineapple buns, Malay Steamed Sponge Cake, and steamed tripe. To put some perspective on this, I've tried numerous places in the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, Vancouver, and Toronto, and the food here definitely still manages to hold its own.
(4)Mike G.
3.5 stars had tourists in town hungry for dim sum. turns out last time we all had some was on a fab floating restaurant in aberdeen, hk served in carts by curt ah ma's (old chinese women). here it was just passable dim sum served by curt waiters. what i would come back for: garlic sautéed green beans ($10) and steamed lobsters w/ ginger-scallion dipping sauce ($15 ea).
(3)James O.
I want to give this 3.5 stars, but one can't. Alas I had two very different experiences here. The first time I went here I had dinner. I brought a friend, and the place was empty. Completely. Empty. This doesn't usually bother me, except for the fact that the restaurant is ginormous and has tables as far as the eye can see. We were promptly seated, given a pot of hot tea, some water, and we ordered. To start off with we had the scallion pancakes and fried crab claw. Both were fine, nothing special. I ordered the sweet and sour fish, while my friend ordered pan fried calamari. Mine was bathing in sweet and sour sauce and was a bit on the greasy side. It was good, but a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they had cooked my friends calamari. It was juicy and lightly seasoned with some steamed vegetables on the side. Overall, the dining experience was standard take out fare. Dim-sum for Sunday brunch, on the other hand, was a full 180. The restaurant was packed, with a group of people waiting at the door to be seated. We walked in, luckily, with a party of 10 and were promptly seated, as no one else had taken up one of the massive tables. Dim-sum madness ensued. My friends kept taking things off carts, to the point where I no longer knew what I was putting in my mouth. Oh well, as long as it tasted good. And it all did. Everything I ate, which was a lot, tasted amazing. Stand-outs were the turnip cake, pork bbq buns, and breaded garlic prawns -- amazing. Every dumpling was perfectly squishy and juicy! The only disappointment was the sticky rice rolled in banana leaves with beef. A bit bland. As far as the actualy restaurant goes, it's tacky asian fare. Giant golden dragons decorate the ceilings and waiters wear ridiculous red satin vests. It's pretty dirty, not gonna lie, but hey it's about as authentic as a dim-sum experience as you'll geat. The nitty gritty. All in all, hit up the dim-sum, but skip dinner.
(3)Patrick L.
This is where I go for Dim Sum in Boston. Can get v busy during weekends and around holidays. Lots to choose from and reasonable price. I like the carts, makes the experience a bit more interesting. Park upstairs and get it validated to pay a reduced rate. Nice that you can choose the type of tea you want! If you dont tell them then they give you Jasmine Tea. Enjoy!
(5)Chu H.
I will not support a restaurant that mistreats their workers.
(1)EricaLynn J.
---------- | : O : ~~|~~ : *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* | : : used: : : : : : : U R G H : : : M B S N : ---------------- ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* H __ __ __ __ M __ __ N like the simple game of letters and guesses and stick figures that you played during rainy days at sum
(3)Leslie N.
Traveling to east coast from California. Chinese restaurants are not comparable to LA or SF. The dim sum are not fresh at all. Ha gao without a shrimp, carrot cake taste yuck, bun is cold inside. Only the congee, Cheung fun and tea are on standard, definitely not good. Service is soso. I do not recommend this restaurant
(1)Sally B.
This Polish-French girl loves her dim sum, so believe me when I say Hei La Moon is worth visiting. My family and I go out to dim sum a few times a year, and this has been our only destination for this meal in the past three years. My sister can get the pork buns she's crazy about, my mom gets as much tea as she wants, my dad never leaves hungry, and I am always satisfied with the wide variety of veggie options available. The last time I came here, it was with two vegetarian friends, and we ate well and left an hour later, completely full and out only $10 each. That being said, you have to know a bit about dim sum to feel successful here. Say what you want, ask everyone (nicely) until you get it, and stay on the lookout for new and exciting food going by on carts. My absolute favorite dish is the fried dough wrapped in noodles with herbs on top, with silken tofu coming in a close second. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in Boston. If you see it coming past you, grab it. You'll be glad you did. The only downside to dim sum: you don't know what your meal is going to cost until it's over. But if you enjoy it, as I think you will here, it's always worth it.
(5)E J.
Simply put you will love your meal at Hei La Moon. Roving steam carts piled with miniature bamboo steam baskets contain a wide variety of dim sum. Take as much as you want. Experiment. It's all wonderfully fresh, delicious, accessible to the Western palate, and surprisingly inexpensive! Despite reviews here to the contrary, the servers are NOT rude. They simply do not speak English well. That said, each server genuinely tried their best to explain what was contained in each dumpling. Wife and I tried many selections, all were wonderful, and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't finish our selections. All for 25 bucks. Go here. Don't think anymore. Just go. Your stomach will thank you later.
(5)Nancy W.
I went here for dimsum on a Sunday afternoon, and we were lucky to be seated right away! The food here is pretty standard -- nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either. They're pretty good about trying to get you what you want, but at the same time, their choices are limited. I wish they were offering 'cha shao su" (the bbq pork pastry), but we were still satisfied with our 98237 other dishes. We ordered 18 plates among 6 of us, and it came out to around $12 each. Not bad!
(4)Heather B.
This was my first dim sum experience, but I was brought here with a couple Asian friends and some other dim sum enablers. Seating takes less than 10 minutes, even though the crowd outside would suggest you'd be standing around all day. Once you're seated though, it makes sense. This is rapid fire. Thank god I was accompanied by people who know what they're doing! I couldn't tell you what I ate, but it tasted good. We were all stuffed in no time, and the bill came out to less than 10 bucks per person. This was a cheap fun adventure!
(4)Kim P.
I've been here for both their Dim Sum menu and their normal food menu. I've been a fan of their normal menu, and found the food to be really good, but a tad bit expensive for the average college student. Granted, I went there with my parents at the time, haha :-p Sometimes it helps to go with bigger groups so you can split the costs and dishes. Their Dim Sum is really quick, but the location is kind of small and gets pretty crowded. Could be a good thing or a bad thing, seeing that populated places mean this place must have something good going. The cart rotation is generally quick, and they have an okay range of dim sum from the exotic to the basics. I was a little bit disappointed with the amount of seafood Dim Sum they had to offer though, but then again I'm just a fan of the seafood in general. Overall, it's fairly clean and their Dim Sum gets the job done in the end, so you'll leave with a full stomach.
(4)Kevin L.
Hei La Moon is among my first choices for dim sum in Boston. You can tell when a dim sum restaurant is good if there is a large crowd and a waiting line. Hei La Moon definitely got those qualities. The har gow and siu mei are very good. The fried shrimp with taro shell is also super good. I've noticed the same stuffing in the siu mei is also in other dishes. Eating the same stuff gets old so that's why I took away one star.
(4)May N.
I am no dim sum connoisseur, but I like food and I like cheap. Which may be why I don't usually do dim sum. But when an old friend called and invited me out for dim sum for Lunar New Year, how could I resist? We made reservations for 2 large tables at 12:30 Sunday and then invited a bunch of friends. I got there 15 min late, partially because I didn't realize the restaurant was located at the complete opposite end of Chinatown from the Chinatown T stop. Our group was already seated at 2 large tables, even though we weren't all present. Ladies speaking mostly Cantonese wandered around with carts of delicious-smelling goodies. As soon as our entire party arrived, we quickly started stopping carts for food, trying the pork buns, bean buns, many different iterations of pork/beef/shrimp wantons, taro, chicken feet, pork ribs, vegetables in oyster sauce, and custards for dessert. I thought the food was good and the ladies speak enough English to tell you what the food is. I was a little disappointed about lack of vegetarian options, but that could also be because we came in the middle/late part of usual dim sum time. The bill for our group of 15 came out to $10/person including tax & tip. We hung out for almost an hour after we paid the bill just drinking tea and catching up while the staff was cleaning up and did not get kicked out. I would come back, maybe earlier to try more stuff as available. Oh and they validate parking in a garage above the restaurant.
(4)Kevin S.
Hands down the best dim sum in Boston Chinatown. It gets extremely crowded (and loud) during the weekends, but you can always try getting a table downstairs which is usually a bit more quiet. If you sit upstairs, try to avoid the back of the restaurant, as the carts do not go there as frequently. Variety of dim sum can't be beat, and is much more affordable than comparable restaurants like China Pearl. My family has been coming here for dim sum for years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
(4)Lauretta L.
4 people Dim Sum was $54 inc. tax which was pretty decent. The food was okay...I'm used to pretty damn good dim sum so I'm picky. The Hai Gao and Shrimp and Chive dumplings are alright, although I've had better. The fried calamari and shrimp were over fried but I still enjoyed it since...almost anything fried tastes good. Not that impressed, but again, I have yet to compare it to other dim sum joints in Boston. Service is typical Chinese restaurant service...impatient and sometimes rude....unless of course you're Caucasian...then they dote on ya. Yeah, I said it.
(3)Snuffles B.
This place is like Dim Sum with Attention Deficit Disorder. - The ladies who push carts do not go in any distinguishable pattern (the place is big, but not THAT big) - Every time one of the carts came by, there was someone different pushing it. - At any given time half the carts are parked outside the kitchen (full) and the ladies are milling around it. - Some of the carts just pick a random location to park, they should Twitter where they are for you to locate them. - The same cart of food would come by 5 times in 15 minutes and some carts would never come around. The food was decent, but not the best or the freshest, this was during prime hours on two different Sat. Steamed and pan fried dumplings and shumai had good skins and were decently flavored and generously filled (get anything with green veggies stuffed in) Fried items were room temp, sogging a little and heavy. Turnip cakes were average. What they excel in is glutinous rice: pumpkin flavored pancakes, fried sesame balls, and the best thing we had: coconut/peanut and mango/coconut glutenous rice balls - some of the best ones I've had. Price for about 8 medium/large plates - pre tip: $30. If I wasn't so persistent about chasing the carts around, I would have starved. Actually I probably net negative calories from all the chasing, so maybe this was a good idea.
(3)Celeste M.
This place is huge, there are lots of seats and lots of carts. It is pretty overwhelming for someone not accustomed to dim sum. You kinda have to know what you want by sight, which of course is difficult the first time as you have never seen it. The first time I came to dim sum here, I was turned off by the food we had because it all seemed slimy and greasy. But the second time, I just stuck to drier fare, like buns, instead of various slippery objects. The watercress we got was good, as were the sesame buns and pork buns. We had some strange scary thing they said was vegetarian but just tasted like solidified pork fat. Maybe I just don't like this much "adventure" in my eating, but I like to know what I'm going to eat. So yeah, go with an experienced person or maybe a place that is more clear about what the food is.
(2)Allen Y.
I think this is the place to go for dim sum in Boston. It's large (two stories, banquet-hall style) and the food is about as good dim sum as you'll find on the east coast. Prices are reasonable, service is fine, and the carts come around quickly. Plus, it's easy to get to on the T (just a few blocks away from South Station, before the arch).
(4)Lyn L.
No speak Chinese (even tho' I'm Chinese).....The sign for the restaurant is in Chinese characters...so you gotta go close up to see the English version of the sign...good thing the guy at the Chinese gift shop gave us a good explanation of where this place is The dim sum was very good...especially the black bean spare ribs and chicken feet!...We also had the siu mai, harm siu gok and spring rolls. At first I thought we were gonna get passed over....the lady at the front asked if we wanted to "share table"...figured that's faster, we agreed.....they sat us with other folks who spoke only Chinese...but our waiter was kind enough to help us get the food we want. I can say the name of food items, but can't speak Chinese...we got everything we wanted. They were really nice and the food was good...
(5)Elizabeth D.
I was already to give them 3 stars... and then the House Special Pan Fried Noodles arrived and they instantly got another star. Topped with chicken, beef, shrimp, and Chinese broccoli, this is surely a dish to please. My father, who I often picky, really raved about this one. I wouldn't ever come here for dim sum alone because I don't believe they have enough variety in their selection, but with the pan fried noodles, it was a good meal. The service is not very good or particularly friendly, but then again it usually isn't at dim sum restaurants. Our favorite dim sum dish was the silken tofu topped with syrup. It reminded my mother of her childhood in the Philippines when a Chinese man living in her town would go around selling it. In the Philippines it's called "taho." It was delicious and very touching for me to try something my mother remembered from her childhood. Looks like I'll be back the next time my parents pop in for the weekend.
(4)J T.
This place has the BEST dim sum in Boston! As a vegetarian, it's hard for me to find anything to eat when I go out with friends for dim sum. This place actually has quite a few to choose from. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not overwhelmed with veggie options. However, I do leave feeling stuffed.) If you're a fan of durian, they have a durian fried dessert that's pretty good! Also, if you don't find what you like, you can always order off of the regular menu. I usually order a veggie fried rice or a veggie fried noodle dish (in addition to eating whatever veggie foods come by on the carts). This place is cheap. Every time we go out with friends, each person pays no more than $10 - including tips! (We don't leave until everyone is stuffed!)
(5)Momo K.
this place used to be okay but has gotten worst now. Maybe that's why there are less patrons than before. You used to have to wait in line for half an hour b4 you get a table but now you walk in and get it right away. It's getting expensive too, 25 pp and we didn't eat that much. ppl i know and from my experience the waiters here ask you for more tips. their shrimp dumplings is full of baking powder taste, beef rice noodle was the same. their beef short ribs tasted bland. the only thing that was passable was the lotus bun. i will stop coming here if i don't go dim sum in a large group since the quality has really declined.
(3)C. C.
Best dim sum in Boston. (I used to be a China Pearl regular but converted once I discovered Hei La Moon). Located just one block outside of Chinatown. Friendly waitresses who want to make sure you aren't hungry! Cheap validated parking (although that garage is pretty scary). Favorite dishes: -steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots -steamed shrimp dumplings with chives -fried shrimp dumplings with chives -fried beef spring rolls -steamed shu mai Minus one point for dirty bathrooms and the chaos in getting a table.
(4)Bob P.
Went for Dim Sum with a party of 10. Walked out fat and happy for $120 bucks plus tip for everyone. Everyone including the kids loved it. If you want 5 star service stay in the suburbs. If you want to have great food at a great price then get sum dim sum at Hei La Moon. This is not just a meal it's a life experience.
(4)stephen s.
COCKROACHES!!!!! i see other reviews here about the insect infestation at Hei La. we had a similar experience last week. a good sized roach was sitting right on top of a scallion dumpling that i was about to eat. i showed the offending dish to our waiter who was extremely apologetic,,,HOWEVER, the manager couldn't care less! our waiter insisted that we wait for the manager to see how the restaurant would handle the offense. the manager kept us waiting, never apologized, and then made a big show of offering to not charge us for the tea and to take 20% off the bill. his attitude really was more offensive than the roach! when i told him that i should report the restaurant to the health board he quickly comped the meal! my partner is chinese...but that had absolutely no impact on how the manager treated us! we will spend our $ somewhere else in the future.
(1)Quang H.
Aight, here's the run down. I've only been to three dim sum places in Boston since the day I could hold chopsticks, and it has been China Pearl, Hei La Moon, and Chau Chow City. Hei La Moon's is really spacious, and the wait in line on a super busy day is not too bad compared to China Pearl, since they have both a larger first and second floor. In regards to their dishes, it's pretty good. Pretty typical of any normal dim sum places. The one thing that bugged me though was that the employees who dragged the carts sometimes went MIA for extended periods of times, not covering all the floor. It's just a minor set back, but there is a highlight to this place! I definitely would recommend getting the watermelon tapioca desert they have. It's watermelon pieces with little bits of tapioca, all submerged in coconut milk. Definitely a great way to end the meal. I definitely would recommend Hei La Moon to any tourist visiting Chinatown. Do note though, i think Hei La Moon is a tad pricier than China Pearl. We had a group of 4 today, and the bill came out to be about $60. Usually it'd be a lot less from my experience. But nevertheless, good eating.
(3)Ashleigh P.
I just realized I never updated my review post-dim sum experience. I went here with some friends and my mom for dim sum after I got my "I-have-way-too-many-degrees-and-I'm-already-a-Âlawyer-and-need-another-degree" graduation from BU. First the good: They had an amazing selection and cart service, which is getting more and more difficult to find, not just in Boston, but in general. Everything we had was delicious, especially the clams in black bean sauce. The bad: Many of the wait staff who work the dim sum service don't speak English. Of course my Chinese friend who was at my graduation didn't join us for lunch due to other commitments! We had a hard time communicating "no pork" to the people who came by with the carts. Other than that, the dim sum was great. I'll come back...but only with my friends who speak Chinese.
(4)Julie T.
Stay the Hei la away from here. This place is dirtier than your avg dim sum joint. if your an experienced dim sum eater; you won't like this place. the fare is average with the usual suspects (cheung fun, bao, shu mai,etc) not being very good at all. better off getting frozen at a grocery store. no white people...in this case they know better......
(1)Roseanne C.
Was trying to make a noon bus at South Station, so we popped in here b/c it was the closest place in Chinatown to the bus terminal at 11:20am. It was pretty packed for mid-morning on a Thursday. Additionally, almost no pale face round eye - also a good sign to me for a dim-sum spot. No one spoke english except the woman at the counter in the front and one waiter who seated us. We just pointed and ate with the quickness; the servers were very nice and everything was very tasty - I'm not that picky when it comes to dim-sum, I just want everything hot and fresh, and everything here fit the bill. I don't really dig the chicken feet, but theirs looked really good - very big and meaty. My fave had to be the little pork bits with the rolled up rice noodles. And cheap! Ordered quite a few little plates and was stuffed, and the whole bill came out to just under $20. Def plan to come back the next time in Boston.
(4)Kevin C.
So, so typical of Boston Chinatown restaurants, i.e. wildly mediocre. Kind of limited selection, the servers are pretty slow, and the food itself is greasy and pallid. Really not a great option, but it might just be one of the better dim sum places in town, so I'm reserving my two stars for Empire Garden, which was fucking terrible.
(3)Bata D.
Good food with a wide range of dim sum dishes and carts that make frequent trips around the floor. Can also park upstairs for $6 for the day. Still not as good as dim sum in NY or CA, but probably amongst the best in Boston.
(4)Leslie F.
A walk through Boston's not so awesome Chinatown with my cousin in-law led us to his favorite dim sum restaurant, Hei la Moon. Embarrassingly enough, I've never had dim sum before but was overwhelmed with tasty treats coming at me every which way. We ordered shrimp dumplings, pork and scallion dumplings, black bean sauced clams, steamed BBQ pork buns and cilantro rice noodles. Without question, the dumplings left the most significant food impression on my palate. The handmade noodles, which encased the scrumptious shrimp filling, were soft and chewy, making them terrific in texture. The shrimp was fresh and generously stuffed into the delicious noodle pockets. The pork and scallion dumplings were salty in only the most perfect way making them a perfect companion to the sweet heat of Sambal chili sauce. Patrick devoured the black bean drowned perfectly steamed clams but fortunately I was able to pop a couple of these suckers in my chops before they were gone. A huge restaurant with patrons flocking in and out every second, this place does one serious lunch hour business. Luckily, they have the space to pull it all off and the service to keep people coming back for a speedy and delicious lunch every time. Did I mention this Chinatown restaurant was incredibly clean and tastefully decorated?
(4)Peter C.
This place is okay, came here with my parents to tour Boston after I moved here. The sticky rice in banana leaf was a bit bland, missing the flavor of Chinese sausage, and the Phoenix claws did not have spicy peppers. Steamed BBQ pork buns were not piping hot. The peppered spare ribs were pretty good though. I just moved to Boston, having lived in New York for 12 years, and previously grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco where I ate dim sum every Sunday with my parents. I tried dim sum in all the major cities with Chinatowns, and my rating is calibrated to dim sum dining experience in Hong Kong and also the best dim sum restaurant in the SF Bay Area (vs. L.A. and NYC), Koi Palace in Daly City.
(2)Irene Y.
Pretty authentic Chinese experience, but it doesn't quite compare to dim-sum in LA and Canada. It's tasty, but I've had better.
(3)Blair H.
Things you should know about Hei La Moon, dim sum, and yum cha: 1) It's chaaaeeeep - Imma hungry dude, and I can pack it down plus order some for the late night munchies for $15, out the door 2) Them ish is good - I'm not fancy like some of these folk that know the names of everything, but I know good food. Stick to the steamed basics - pig dumps, some dim, and dum buns. The fried shtuff is alway nasty...everywhere. Also, stick to the carts, nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering fried rice...and having a big ass. 3) Order tea. Dim sum is traditionally served with tea. It's kind of the whole point. Hei La will hook you up with all kinds of tea (maybe even the "cold" kind...jeezus, don't order iced tea), free of charge. I like freebees. Nothing says Imma big ass white dude than ordering a coke for brunch...except, see above. 4) Bathrooms are always gross...I'm going to assume that the kitchen is juuuust as nasty. See above (stick to the carts). 5) Service always sucks. They can't speak your language, and we can't speak theirs. Just wave your arms around and point at stuff. Just don't point at a coke or fried rice...see above (big ass white dude). 6) Don't pay attention to the dead fish in the tank. They're just playin'. It's a survival tactic, you get eaten last.
(4)Tanya S.
I've only been to this place for dim sum in Boston, but it's pretty tasty. They even handled us well when none of us spoke Chinese. Very attentive service, especially if you come not too late in the day. The pork buns are soooo good :)
(4)Helen W.
Yummy dim sum!
(4)Laura T.
Best dim sum in Boston. Fresh flavorful dumplings, and quick cart service. Easily accessible location right off the highway exit. If you come during the summer make sure to get the watermelon soup.. and try to avoid any fried specialties.. they tend to be dry.
(4)R B.
Great dim sum at a great price! I went there for lunch on a Wednesday as was seated and served right away. The BBQ pork buns and shrimp har gau were my favorites-- I thought the glutinous rice was a tad overcooked. It helped that I was with a friend who spoke Cantonese. Way better than that massive dim sum place in the old opera theatre. Definitely recommend.
(5)Lilo P.
Dim sum. The greatest thing ever! And this place does a pretty good job. The one and only thing I wish for every time is pai gwut fan (sp? [obviously the spelling is off...]) but it is just so scarce? I never come at the ideal time. Which leads to my next point. Sometimes when you come too late from morning batch and not late enough for the next batch of Dim Sum, they food quality goes down... Or has this only happened to me? Anyways, beef rice noodles, I love you! And their fa cha is very nice.
(4)Hillary D.
When you see the 98% Chinese clientele elbowing each other out of the way to get at the food carts being rolled around, you know you are in the right place for dim sum! Although the carts come around slowly, it is sooooo worth the wait! Absolutely delicious. I ordered shrimp dumplings that were juicy and had lovely big chunks of shrimp in them. Also shrimp shui mei and two large chicken in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. I loved this dish! Baked within the sticky rice was chicken and a fried egg. An entire meal in one package. I know. I ordered way too much for one person, but it all tasted so good I couldn't resist! So I then picked out a dish of large shrimp stuffed mushrooms that when you bit into it you could taste a subtle hint of sherry coating the mushroom. I also stopped a cart for wonderful little green shrimp crescents, which I dipped into soy sauce mixed with sweet hot chili paste. Yum! And yes, I did weaken and stop just one more cart! This time for amazing Barbequed Pork Buns that were light as air and filled with a rich and slightly sweet Barbequed Pork. The dim sum at Hei La Moon were not dainty or inventive or even different. However, they had superb flavor. And that's all that counts. I am definitely making this my favorite dim sum spot in Boston.
(4)Lily X.
Great dim sum place in Boston!! We came here on a Saturday morning by the red line train. This place is huge! They have spacious dining rooms on two stairs. The dim sum section is the downstair one. Three of us got chicken feet, sticky rice with chicken, shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice roll, taro buns, BBQ pork buns, chinese cruller, sweet soy milk, tofu with ginger sauce and finally watermelon tapioca as dessert. Every dish is simply fantastic!! I wish we had more people so we could try more dishes. The total came out to be $42 including the tips. Compared to the other dim sum places I have been to, the waitress are more friendly here (they are willing to speak mandarin with me)! Overall, highly recommend it!
(5)Sara Z.
I made the mistake of going there for dinner, not dim sum. Bad idea! The winter melon soup was about as mediocre as it gets. The duck with mushrooms was not worth the price. Tasted like canned mushrooms and leftover duck (not to mention ridiculously salty). The calamari was bland. The billcame to $40 and I would not come back for dinner again.
(2)Kendall L.
I was with 5 other people and the bill came to $65. It's incredibly cheap for the amount of food you get. That should be reason enough to run here every Saturday and Sunday! I'm not too hard to please when it comes to dim sum, so this place gets an easy A. Come hungry. Come often.
(5)Mike M.
We had dinner at this place and it was supposed to be a great celebration. But the service was so slow it took 3 hours to complete. We placed the order at 6pm and there was no food until 7pm. And between each course we had to wait 10 minutes. Also there were two wrong dishes. Terrible service. Don't go here.
(1)K S.
My favorite dim sum spot in boston. The service is ehhh but hey, its a cultural experience, (pretend youre in china), They conveniently have a parking lot above instead of fighting for street parking in chinatown. beats china pearl and chau chow!
(4)Sarah A.
So delicious! The shark fin dumplings were my favorite! They also have a great selection of different steamed dumplings, some with vegetables, some with shrimp. For the most part, I had no idea what I was eating, but it sure was yummy. The atmosphere is very hectic. You've got a mass of people waiting to be seated at the front, the tables are a bit crowded together and then, of course, you have all the servers making their way around with their carts. Things move fast so, as others have said, don't expect pleasantries and detailed explanations of what is in each dish. Just point, get your card stamped and see if you like it. If not, pass it along to someone else at your table. Also, the prices are extremely reasonable. We came here with a group of five and ended up stuffing ourselves for about $60. Good food, good value, highly recommended. The only unpleasant experience we had was dealing with the crazy parking attendants in the garage above the restaurant. Note that you can get a parking coupon at the restaurant for $6 and then you can be reimbursed for your $24 "deposit" at the parking garage, essentially making the parking $6 (although you still need the $24 in cash to hand them while your car's there).
(4)Saika C.
Most horrible customer service. Server wave me away when i approach to get dimsum. God, where is the manner! I speak Chinese. Cant just said please wait. Cold food!! Never in my life so mad. I m a Chinese. It is like a living style which we go dim-sum since my family came from Canton region. I will never recommend this place. There are many other choices. Chinese who knows about dim sum wont go to this place.
(1)Priscilla T.
Good enough for me. Had most of the dim sum dishes I wanted: cheung fun (rice noodle rolls filled with beef), egg tarts, bean curd rolls, fried turnip cake... and also had sauteed pea shoots (my fave). Service is pretty helpful - definitely helps to speak Cantonese though. And get a reservation! The wait can be long.
(3)Elen C.
Huge place...we were the only non Asian, which is usually a good sign if you are looking for authentic. We were starving, and the Dim Sum came quickly, and I thought they were quite good.
(4)Angela Y.
The group I was traveling with went here for a dim sum lunch. It was pretty busy at lunch time but were seated very quickly after we arrived. One of the downsides is that most of the cart pushers do not speak any English (yes I know we are in a Chinese restaurant but basic words do help) which can be kinda of hard to communicate what specific items you are looking for. Food was good and authenic. The pork buns were our favorite and the pork meatballs and the chinese tamales(thats what my Asian husband calls them) were also very good. All in all for a cheap meal (fed 4 people for $35) it was pretty good.
(3)Leean O.
Came here once and probably WOULD be back for dinner which according to the reviews on here doesn't seem to fare as bad as the early lunch experience I had. To summarize my experience in a nutshell, AND to point out I went with a very asian friend who served as my guide/consultant through our selections, ultimately we both left disillusioned with our dim sum fun. Food tasted like yesterdays left overs, poor texture, incorrect temperatures for certain options, and all around mediocrity at its finest. Again I do not like to give up on a joint, especially when I see promising reviews at later times of the day........ so I SHALL RETURN.
(2)Nik C.
Had the most surreal experience here. Came on a Sunday 6/5, arrived at about 9:30am. Upstairs had a fair number of people. We were seated downstairs. Nobody was there. And I mean nobody; we were the only ones eating there. The carts sort of hovered around our table. Nobody else showed up for the whole time we ate. Nobody. It was very strange. We're used to this place being absolutely packed. Dunno what the story was. It was the strangest thing.
(4)douglas h.
Dim Sum My favorite dim sum place in the Boston area. Potential to stand in a line.
(4)lisayelp c.
Have checked out almost all dim sum places in the greater Boston area, including the new ones like Windsor, Hei La Moon has been rated as one of my top in the past 4 years. I like inviting friends (~10 to 20 people) to go over there and enjoy the good dim sum brunch because the space is huge and food had been nice. However, I noticed that the quality has gone down in the past year, the chicken feet is not as tasty and the turnip cake is not as yummy. However, because of the $6 parking validation, we still like to go over there. Worst happened yesterday, and I decided I am not going to invite friends over there anymore. When we were there, service was slow, food cart didn't pass by fast enough to fill our table, and the dishes were not hot enough. When I asked for more tea leaves in the tea pot, the attitude was ok and he probably added 2 pieces of tea leaves in that pot. When we were leaving, we validated our parking ticket, and paid our $6. We took the ticket to the garage and they were to charge us $18, which means we ended up not getting any discount from dining at the restaurant. We went back to the restaurant and told the manager about it, she refused to help and refused to do anything about it. It was not a very friendly experience, and we decided we are not going there anymore. We certainly don't like to pay to eat and see other's attitude at the same time. Bad bad experience.. I am going back to China Pearl for big party and Windsor for small party.
(1)Michelle T.
Having grown up in Hong Kong, this dim sum comes close to a few er...average restaurants in HK and above average compared to dim sum in Chicago's chinatown. This place is always busy (the 2 times i was there) and they seat you almost immediately! Love the trolley's that come by your table every 2 minutes, but hate that the same carts keep coming over and they always ask if you want the same stuff they asked if you wanted 10 minutes ago. :P Har gao - Shrimp dumplings are plump and stuffed with lump shrimp chunks. Hate the stuff filled with pork, but this stuff is gooood. Siu mai - are pretty large in size! Tasty, flavorful porky dumpling. Egg tarts - My bf can eat all 3 in the same meal. The crust is a little too doughy and thick for me though. Cold cucumbers - EW. I love Chinese cucumbers, but these suck. The cucumbers are bitter and the marinating sauce is tasteless. The only dish I didn't finish here. Chicken Feet - Could be steamed longer until the tendons fall off the bone, but still decent. The feet are skinnier, less meaty than what i'm used to in HK though. Shrimp rolls - They are fried, a little oily, but still flavorful. The minced shrimp they use it tasty, but I'm not a fan of the pieces of celery in there. Spring rolls - Average. Congee with shredded meat and century egg - love this stuff and can't get enough of it. :P Authentic. Yummy. I'd definitely come back again and even bring out of town guests from Asia, but skip that nasty cucumber. To stuff 2 people, ~$15/person is quite enough.
(4)Cee C.
There is never a wait here. The seafood is fresh, and the prices are cheap. China Pearl's dimsum is soooo much better.
(3)Lauren L.
This is my pick for dim-sum in Chinatown, over Chau Chow City (everything tasted a little cold and old here), China Pearl, and Emperor's Garden. There are lots of food carts rotating pretty quickly around so you rarely have to get up to flag one down. The food is always hot and fresh, and the prices are more than reasonable. Their standard dimsum dishes (shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, shumai, roast pork buns) are all good, but I think their more 'unique' dishes definitely take the cake here. If you see them, definitely try the fried eggplant stuffed with pork and get the dessert buns filled with custard (SO GOOD). If all these dimsum dishes are too heavy on the meats for you and you just want some simply prepared veggies, they can also cook up a plate of gai-lan (Chinese broccoli?) dressed with oyster sauce. Sodium overload AND dark leafy veggies that make you feel 'healthy' for less than $10 per person? Sign me up. I'm always down for a trip to Chinatown for Hei La Moon dimsum.
(4)Jas L.
so i went here. i had a chicken foot. i was taken out of my comfort zone..... sounds successful for me. food is different (i cant say good beyond that it was good in my book.... no comparison though), and challenged me. They come around in carts and unleash this banquet of food on your table. i think i heard that this is a very older version of dim sum because it uses the carts. regardless everything is amazing and you just settle into this place of magical that is so different from the rest of the food you typically have. go on sundays. its slower around 12pm, but its still very busy. you wont wait its like three stories tall (i kid you not). this is on boston secrets list as dim sum goodness.
(5)Adam C.
1st timer to Boston Chinatown (in many many years). Went with my son & my mom. Fri. 24 June 2011, about 12:30pm. It was a very large place, very noisy, and very crowded..lots of pushy people. All of us are mega dumpling fans, so it was a no-brainer.. We ate all types of dimsum, I couldn't tell you what type they weer, but most were great. Different locations in the restaurant had different foods on the carts..we were in the front of the place, and at the rear, there were balls of something being carted around. My take-sit somewhere else and your menu will change ? The cart pushers didn't offer any explanation as to what it the itemes were... I did notice that some of the young asian business men were waited and douted over by the younger female staff :-) not the cranky cart ladies. I liked it very much, for the food and the crazy atmosphere. I want to go back....
(4)Meridith H.
This is only the 2nd place in Boston that I've tried for Dim Sum, and I already know that I've found my regular place. The atmosphere outside the restaurant is just as frenetic as the atmosphere inside - within seconds of being seated, my partner and I already had 2 choices of dessert on our table. Within minutes, we had a feast. Obviously, service was quick. It was also friendly, and the language barrier was no barrier (unless you really want to know what's inside those steaming buns or the steaming pot stickers...but if you want to know that, then where did your sense of adventure go? My partner took out his cell phone to look up the menu, but I call that cheating). I liked most of what I ate, and can't wait to come back with an empty stomach to try more of their offerings. The location is great, too; it's a quick walk from the Boylston stop on the Green or the South Station stop on the Red Line.
(4)Tammy L.
My favourite DS place in Boston! I love almost everything that I've tried at HLM, especially the char siu bows. The cart ladies can be persistent but some of them are really friendly. Dinner at HLM is another story. I've had about five family dinners at this place. The dishes are bland so I usually have to add soy or hot sauce on everything. Normally I would just eat everything the way it is, but not at HLM. But hey, the dim sum is fabulous. My only complaint is the long, long wait.
(4)Z T.
My first experience there, dimsum is pretty good, but service and speed is the slowest I've seen in Chinatown. Nearly impossible to get what we wanted. I went back the 2nd time, and service was excellent, but this time we have a bigger crowd.
(4)Yan L.
It is these sort of places that makes me want to move back to Hong Kong. Sure, you may say it's not a fair comparison, but that doesn't excuse the horrible dim sum. Where shall I start? -- Shrimp dumplings (har gao) had skin which was too thick. But thick here doesn't mean strong, actually (you'd think it would) because the moment you pick it up with chopsticks, it breaks and all the filling spills out. -- Lotus leaf rice (lor mai gai) was dry on the inside. Rice was undercooked and had a grainy texture. (Btw, eating undercooked glutenous rice is not good for your stomach.) -- Siew mai had a dot of pink food coloring on top to substitute for roe (usually orange). At least I hope it was food coloring. Very suspicious. -- Fried taro dumplng was too oily and tasted stale. Had to spit it out. -- Char siew buns had too little filling. The bun was cooked for too long and probably with not enough steam, making it dense and hardened. -- Chicken feet in soy sauce. This one was actually alright. Though I'd be surprised if they could ruin this. -- Century egg pork porridge. Nothing redeeming. Bland and not cooked long enough to get the flavors of the ingredients out. I suspect the only reason why so many people come to this place is because the wait is short (if any), as they have a lot of space on multiple floors. So i guess it depends on whether you want to subject yourself to longer waits elsewhere to get better food, or get a quick shot of crap.
(1)Helena Q.
Most of the food here is definitely above average and quite good. Suffers from the common problem of inconsistent push carts, so definitely make sure to try and sit in an area where lots of other people are. I do feel that it's a bit expensive for dim sum though. My biggest complaint is that the chrysanthemum tea / other tea mix we got had only one flower in it... (I don't actually know the English name of the tea)
(4)Alex L.
By far the best dim sum in Boston. Period. End of sentence. After living here for 4 years at some point in my life, I regret wholeheartedly that I never knew about this place during my entire tenure. It was just outside the gates of chinatown, which I suppose made it out of our line of vision at the time. The food here tastes amazingly fresh and they do a great job on pretty much every dish I care about (Tripe, Shumai, Chung Fun). On an average trip, you can expect each person to spend ~$12-15 for the meal, but thats not particularly different than anywhere else worth checking out in Chinatown Boston.
(5)Oiyan P.
I took my whole family out to dim sum today to celebrate my return from LA and completion of my Ph.D. Since I haven't been around much in a while I let my parents pick a place. The first thing they said was that they didn't think there was any place good in Boston, but then said that Hei La Moon was decent in their opinion. Oh goodness... it was just not good. My elders (aunts, uncles, parents) just wouldn't eat half of the dishes. The shrimp rice rolls (har cheung) was kinda cold, and the rice roll tasted gritty like the cooks hadn't mixed up the powder enough or something. The shrimp dumpling (har gau) wrapping was too thick (couldn't see through it) and the shrimp tasted funny. So I asked my dad what he thought of it, and he and the other elders thought that the shrimp had gone bad! So we didn't finish those 2 dishes. The cold/pickled chicken feet were pretty good - not too vinegary, and had a good texture to it. The only really good thing was the vegetarian rice rolls (jai cheung) and that's cuz it was brought out to us on a special order. It was hot, straight from the kitchen. Tasty with the smooth rice rolls with a good balance of cilantro. Everything else was pretty forgettable. The other good thing was that at $117 (not including tip) for 16 people, it was a pretty good bargain. But when I asked for a receipt (I paid cash), the hostess was hella rude to me, asking me why I needed it. Damn, biatch! I want it for my tax records. Also, the parking validation is really weird. There's a garage right above the place. You pay an $11 deposit, and after dining you ask for parking validation in the restaurant, which gives you a sticker and $5. Or something like that. Too many transactions!!! I don't know if I've just been spoiled by Chinese food in California, but wow... this was unimpressive. Come on Boston! We deserve good dim sum!
(2)Dominique N.
Is the "yum cha" here as good as Hong Kong or Vancouver or the Bay Area? Obviously not. But it really hits the spot and is great compared to the generally poor state of Boston Chinese food. Plus they still have the old-school dim sum carts (not ordering at the table) which is awesome! Instant gratification + ability to check out new dishes before buying. Finally it's very cheap - I never end up paying more than $10-12 per person here for more dim sum than I can eat. Har Gow are a good measure of dim sum since it's basically shrimp + dumpling skin- if the shrimp aren't crisp or are overly seasoned, there's nowhere to hide it. The har gow here are good - nice flavor, large in size and the shrimp are fresh. In addition to the regular dim sum (like har gow or sew mai) Hei La Moon has some more authentic dishes like dow foo fah (sweet tofu dish) and ja leung (Chinese donut wrapped in a rice noodle). These are Cantonese favorites and usually pretty hard to find. This restaurant can get mobbed so the best bet is to go on Saturday mornings (versus the more popular Sunday mornings). If the upstairs seems mobbed try heading downstairs to the basement and ask to be seated by the hostess there. I've never had to wait more than a few minutes. I think they also take reservations. There is also validated parking in the attached parking garage - it's a little confusing. You pay the parking garage the full amount (something like $6-10?) and then take your parking pass to Hei La Moon, where you pay THEM another $3. You then take your stamped parking ticket back to the parking garage and they refund your original payment. There has to be a more efficient way, but that's how it works.
(4)Iv L.
2.5 Star. Nice big place , did some renovation to expand the back. Dim sum cart rolling around and you get to take what you want. average dim sum food.
(2)Jeffrey L.
Best dim sum in boston, everyone knows it too. Went to China pearl for years and saw the ship sinking for years so I had to find a new gem. Their Shu Mai are easily the best, much bigger and succulent with black mushroom. So if they did dim sum only I would be cheering all the way BUT they do dinner items as well and that's where they honestly deserve 2 stars. Their dinner items are very poorly constructed and the flavors are usually bland. I just love the dim sum too much to give it below 4 stars, plus the decor and service are always good especially for Chinatown and there's parking above.
(4)Marc L.
This is the new hotspot for Dim Sum in Boston. The restaurant isn't new but their Dim Sum selection and service has improved considerably and has replaced China Pearl as the premiere Dim Sum place around Chinatown. The place was packed on a weekday at 10am. Can be very noisey, but so is any popular place. Thats a good sign. The servers are friendly, food was so fresh. You could tell the food was prepared that morning. Prices were very reasonable.
(4)Crystal E.
Went there for dim sum and a friend's birthday. Both pretty good for dinner and dim sum. Crazy on Sunday since dim sum hours.
(4)Qichen Z.
A huge restaurant in Chinatown. Easy to miss because it's tucked away on the end of Beach Street, close to the harbor. Food was okay. Didn't get to see the menu since I went there for a friend's party, but I imagine it to be comprehensive. Seafood was pretty good, but do NOT order the raw fish. The lobster and fried cod were delicious. Overall, the food was good, but the ambience was a little weird. It only has one huge dining space so you feel like you're eating in the middle of a tackily-decorated ballroom. They served Sapporo and Tsingtao (surprisingly hard to find in Boston), so they get points for that. Go here if you have a large party, not necessarily if you want to have an intimate conversation.
(3)Chris P.
No joke...people told me this place was going to be busy, and they were right - there must have been 500 people eating in there when I was in there, but they are set up to handle it and (for the most part) we weren't left waiting on food. I went on a cold Saturday morning with a couple of friends and on the recommendation of a local. There were carts-a-plenty rolling around all over and bottomless green tea to keep us warm. We ate and ate - great dumplings, beef, clams - basically everything we tried was delicious. The only complaint I have is that there was a period of about 10 minutes where we didn't see any carts come by, but it's a stretch to be upset about this. Three people, we all stuffed ourselves and got out of there for $39. You're not going to beat that. The food is legit, the service pretty good, and the atmosphere lively. A good place to keep on your list!
(4)Soooap L.
If I crave dim sum, at normal dim sum hours (breakfast - lunch time), I go to Hei La Moon. (I married Cantonese and been to HK a few times so I think it's the best here in Boston compared to the others : Emperor's Garden, China Pearl). Pretty standard selection, hot and fresh (at peak hours) and decently priced. If you go in a larger group, you get more value, of course. but if you're craving dim sum AFTER peak hours, go to Windsor instead where you can get fresh dim sum. I give the food 4 stars, but the service 3 stars. Even if you do speak Chinese, the staff are generally rude and rarely friendly.
(4)M. Deloris D.
After fostering a love affair between ourselves, the dude and I planned a pre-honeymoon staycation in an attempt to begin a love affair with our fair city, Boston. A menage a trois of sorts, that is to say, he, me and Hei La Moon. A friend recommmended this place. She, a bonafied Asian and self proclaimed AZN (which she claims is an ultra-hip, in the know, Asian). It was seconded by the Yelp family and so it was, that we made our way over to Beach Street to experience the magic. The first issue here is being seated. The top level can get a bit busy as the hostess is the first station of attack past the double doors. We were first timers. We collected a number and waited less than ten minutes to be seated. It was the most confusing ten minutes of my adult life, with numbers being shouted out in three languages (I'm sure one was English, I assume the others were Cantonese and Mandarin). Some folks walked in and breezed through to tables, others collected numbers and waited, others stood and waited without numbers and some just went downstairs. Our strategy worked and I think it's the one we'll implement going forward. The pace at Hei La Moon is breakneck. Carts fly past and the servers only ask if you want to try something once before they pass to the next table, which can be a problem once you figure things out because you start saying yes to everything (except chicken's feet, we never say yes to chicken's feet) once you realize it might be a while before these carts come back around. This can lead to being stuffed prematurely. If you're super starvolated, get a dish to tide you over and wait to survey the carts as they pass the tables and approach you. Nearly everything at Hei La Moon was tasty though I'd say skip the steamed vegetables which were gorgeously green and utterly bland. Go for the beef wrapped in noodle and fried dough wrapped in noodle. The char siu bao were tasty and other dumplings were tastetastic whether boiled, fried or steamed. The pork and black bean spare ribs were tender and delicious. He loved the varied, fried, small fish, squid and shrimp. I was weirded out by the roe in the fish. Roe separate from fish? Yummy. Roe inside the fish? Ummm...ew. A final piece of advice, when heading to dim sum at Hei La Moon, be sure your party is at least three people, that way you'll be able to order more and taste a broader array of the delicious offerings. If you're taking the T, South Station is your best bet. Dig in!
(4)Clara L.
Another tasty dim sum. Every table upstairs and downstairs was full, there was a few minute wait, longer for parties of 4 our more. Just try not to get seated at the back of the restaurant away from the kitchen if you have a choice, carts don't get back here often and quick enough, some of our dishes were not that warm and we didn't get the best pick of items.
(3)Sara M.
Went to this restaurant for dim sum on New Year's Day. Didn't actually make it to the restaurant until around 1:15PM, but we were seated within five minutes of arriving. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. I like dim sum restaurants that have the old style carts being wheeled around throughout the meal. We had a great time picking new things to try, and we especially loved any of the dishes involving shrimp (the one with rice noodles was great!). We also liked the sesame balls. There were plenty of different dishes so we felt like we had many options. We ate fairly light, and the bill for four people came to $37. Will definitely return!
(4)Shao H.
The char siu sou there is the best.
(3)Jo-Anna L.
Be sure you're willing to go on an adventure before coming here. If you're coming here and you're not Asian, be prepared for the shock of being one of the only non-asians in the restaurant. But, I'd say that must mean it's authentic, right? There's a few normal things to sample here, but I'd say the experience here isn't complete without trying the chicken feet or the tripe. I was less impressed with the variety of dishes here, I found that nearly every dumpling contained shrimp, so if you don't eat shellfish, you're out of luck. There were also a few other dishes, like steamed buns that I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't find (except for some red bean filled ones). But, at least, go on a weekend at brunch time for the best selection as this is the typical time for eating dim sum!
(4)Nate Y.
One of several restaurants that serve Chinese brunch otherwise known as dim sum, Hei La Moon is situated in the outskirts of Chinatown or the area known as the Leather District. I scored street parking with an "out of service" parking meter. So far so good. The decor was fairly clean and not too shabby. We were seated fairly quickly and had our choice of tea. As we ordered the many different dishes from the carts, we picked what we were familiar with. In a sense it was comfort food for us. The tastes were familiar, but nothing really stood out. The service was fine. Even for those who don't speak Chinese there wouldn't be much of a problem of getting service although it does help knowing what the dishes are. For those who haven't had dim sum before this is a fine choice to try it, but for the experienced don't expect more than the usual.
(3)Winnie T.
I've only been here twice,maybe three times? but that just goes to show you this place is not memorable for me. During my last visit here with my mom, there weren't many options available at 11:45am. Some of the dishes were bland, some tasted odd and the others just weren't good. On the bright side, there was no wait. But I'd still rather wait for a table elsewhere than be seated right away and eat at Hei La Moon.
(2)Kevin L.
Considering this appears to be the most highly rated dim sum joint in Boston, I'm pretty shockingly disappointed. It doesn't even compare to the dim sum options in and around the DMV... and the ones that we have are pretty abysmal in comparison with the offerings of San Francisco, New York, or even Chicago. Let's start off with the lack of variety in dishes. The carts that kept passing us by offered up the same set of roughly a dozen different items. One has to order chong fun (the long wide tubes of rice noodle) specially - they don't come around in carts like other dishes? Also, where were the greens, or the guo tie? Then, let's talk about the fact that they appeared to have a single lone cart offering luo buo gao. One. And that lady was -way- slow in serving them up. It took readily upwards of ten minutes for a single order. And even when that came, it was mediocre. Boo. Perhaps it's a function of where we ended up sitting (at a table with a dead-end, so carts could only pass us in one plane of motion), or perhaps it was due to the time of day (we sat down roughly around 1330). The bottom line is that I left completely unimpressed. On the up side, if you pay $11 to park in the cluster of a garage directly above this restaurant on a Saturday, then pay the restaurant $6 for a coupon, they'll refund you the parking fee at the cashier's stand when you exit the garage. Basically, dropping the price down to $5. Presuming you remember to purchase the coupon from the restaurant, and are willing to deal with the hassle of obtaining your money back when you exit.
(2)H W.
Authentic and affordable dim sum that you can be confident in.
(4)Ryan L.
Great service and good food consistency. Found the parking a pain, but there's definitely plenty of tables in this place. Always busy during the peak times of the day and the waiters are right on top of it. I'd say this place is the best Dim Sum in Boston.
(4)Jen M.
We've eaten dim sum many times in many cities. Today we tried hei la moon. Our first Boston dim sum. It's definitely average-above average food-wise. The service was pretty good and the cart ladies were able to communicate fairly well. We got there before noon on a Sunday as a party of six and we were seated immediately I think it helped to have gramma with us because none of the cart ladies was surly with her or us. Had it just been us non-Chinese folks it might have been different. Two downsides on the food...(1) They did not seem to serve scallion pancakes which always keep the kids happy. Luckily I brought a snack for one my picky eater. Also they did not have juice so if you bring young kids you should pack their drinks. (2) They did not seem to have many of the steamed dumplings I love and have come to expect at dim sum.
(3)Happy Eater B.
Went here for a party. Tons of food, all of it tasty. Definitely a quantity over quality place, as the huge amounts of food lost a bit of finesse. Service was also a little lacking - trouble getting water, extra chopsticks, etc. because the wait staff was so busy. But a solid four stars for a great experience overall. An excellent place for large groups.
(4)Billy Su B.
ok so hei la moon is the latest thing for me to OBSESS over. here is the tale: upon arrival, things were looking grim. a teeny chinese girl, beneath the gaudiest chandelier you have ever laid eyes on, stood behind a booth at the entrance. she was handing out mangled little pieces of paper with numbers scribbled on them with one hand, and holding a microphone with the other, which she would periodically half say, half.. kind of, sort of shriek: NEKSA PAHTY!! NUMMA SEEKS!!!! is this dim sum or chinese bingo? either way i feel like i win. before she could call our number over her microphone though, a huffy little man motioning violently to and fro confiscated our ticket and sent us down a grand staircase where a lady looked at us solemnly and pointed to a dirty table. mike and i looked at one another skeptically and sat down. is this punishment? must we be flogged with dumplings now? he made a face as he flicked a stray piece of rice onto the floor and glanced reluctantly at the remaining debris. mulling all about us were waiters in the filthiest uniforms i have ever seen. seriously, do the employees all roll around in the dim sum before each shift? was there a food fight? are the crusties their version of "flair?" was someone's mother dissed? so there we were in the middle of this dining room when a waiter pulled up with a broke-ass cart with some duct tape on the side. my eyebrows were about to assume the sassy position when i spotted the food: steaming, fresh, gorgeous, aromatic plates heaped with dumplings, shumai, sweet pork belly buns.. ladies and gents, the food was FANTASTIC. the shumai was unusual, saturated in savory goodness and atypical spices. the pork belly buns were MY FAVORITE! like little desserts! i had a banana leaf stuffed with hot rice and pork-sausage with egg that was so so yummy.. bingo? yes, it would seem so after all. hei la moon, i will brave your crusty waiters, your bad chandeliers, your shrieking hostess, and your one injured toilette with no seat. really? no seat? let's just neutralize it, shall we? / / / / two stars off for being a dirty debbie. ( * * ) | ___ ___ |___ / | | | _______________/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | dumpling cart! | m---- ---m | | | | | | | | | ______________ | | | ( ) ( ) | |
(3)Angel C.
If you have a big group and want to go for dim sum, you either go here or you go to China Pearl. This place is maybe a little better than China Pearl. One thing I like about China Pearl, though, is that they have a bigger dessert selection (hooray for my sweet tooth!), although HLM recently started serving tapioca in coconut milk, which is one of my favorites, so yay! If you want to avoid waiting, go before 11AM.
(4)Sophie H.
Unequivocally better than China Pearl. I've come here many times for dim sum, and I've never been disappointed. We find something new and delicious every time. Everyone leaves happy and stuffed for only about $10 each - who can complain? My only caveat is that you really have to be aggressive if you want them to give you water in the first place, let alone refill your glass. But this problem is so minor, and so easily fixed, that it doesn't cost Hei La Moon even half a star in my book.
(5)Hannah F.
Once again, I must admit that I've been spoiled by food in Los Angeles. That said, I went into Hei La Moon with hope. I did. I read some reviews on Yelp and there were good ones on there. I've been dying for good dim sum since moving to Boston but alas... I have not found my place yet. Hei La Moon has a good, energetic dim sum atmosphere. That's a good start. Plus, the servers milling around with the carts were able to tell us, in English, what the food was, so that's a plus since I'm (sadly) allergic to shrimp and crab and definitely didn't want to make an early afternoon trip to the ER. The biggest food plus has to be the BBQ pork buns. I may seem weird for saying this, but I'm slightly obsessed with them. I had actually been craving one for a week or so before deciding to go to dim sum so this was perfect timing. The buns didn't disappoint. Piping hot, super tasty... DEFINITELY have them if you go there. The rest of the food didn't wow me at all. Hence the 'meh, I've had better' rating. Maybe I just have higher standards. I don't know. I went with my parents, boyfriend and a family friend who lives in Boston. He loved it. The rest of us were underwhelmed. Honestly, it might just be because we've had the best of the best dim sum at home. We had dumplings with all kinds of fillings, vegetables, sesame sticky balls, shrimp balls (not for me but for everyone else), tofu and a few other things. We lost track. But the fabulous tastes you expect with dim sum just weren't there. Slightly too salty or bland or oily...what have you. Nothing really popped (aside from the BBQ pork buns). That being said, the waiters and waitresses were all very nice, prompt and courteous. But the food just did not deserve a stellar rating. I wish I could rate it higher...but I just can't. I can't help but wonder, is this just good dim sum for Boston? I hesitate to try another dim sum place for fear of the same result... General disappointment and a little queasiness after the fact.
(2)tritri j.
Damn, Boston, 3 and a half stars? Really? Sheesh no one in this city knows what real, quality Chinese food tastes like! Apart from the tummy ache I incurred later that night and the questionable bowel movement that followed later, their kung pao chicken had veryyy little chicken and was pumped FULL of celery! google kung pao chicken - none will have celery in the pictures. Another plate (shrimp with cashews) was also chock full of celery. I mean, could the place be any cheaper? We're supposed to pay $12-15 a plate for stir-fry celery? C'mon.. Also, the service was terrible, which is not surprising, but what did surprise us was when one of our party handed over her credit card to pay, the waitress brought back 2 credit cards! After we told her it wasn't ours, she just looked at it like she didn't know what to do with the situation! Fair warning for everyone - you may be charged for someone else's crappy food! Avoid this place!!
(1)Maithili R.
I've been here twice and wasn't excited about it either time. The first time we had dim sum and it was just very mediocre. Nothing to write home about. The second time around, we got entrees. This time two sets of our chopsticks were sticky and had left over food on them. Then later, one of my coworkers found a hair in her food. Between the chopsticks and the hair, we've decided to not go back here. I have to say the curry chicken was delicious. But between taste and hygiene, I choose hygiene.
(1)Jon H.
Okay, so I came here with a friend around Saturday at noon. Already, I have decided that its WAYYY better to come here on Saturday instead of Sunday. We waited only about ten minutes, then were seated downstairs. Almost immediately we started our dimsum cart ordering, and had a ton of different plates on our table. Like I said previously, the food is all great here, with a ton of traditional type dishes that are all very flavorful and good portion sizes. The service was much better this time, although we had to wait until the end to get our chicken porridge. I love the fact that when you order taro cake, they fry it to order in front of you. Two people, a good amount of food for 22 bucks. I'd say the prices felt much better the second time around. If you don't wait long, and you get lucky with the carts, there's no better place to experience DimSum. Oh yeah, it might also help that we just paid $10 and parked in the parking structure on top/side of the restaurant. That saved me a GIANT headache.
(4)Keith S.
Best and authentic dim sum restaurant. Always crowded which is a good sign. We've started eating here at least once a week. Huge variety of dishes that can make both meat lovers and vegetarians happy. Service is outstanding in a traditional Chinese style (ie fast, efficient) Looking at another yelpers review- finally did get up the nerve to try the chicken feet. Not bad but there must be some technique that I haven't quite mastered yet. We eat slowly, enjoy the table conversation and the banter with the ladies on the pushcarts. Lots of tea and for the time spent and dishes consumed, we have always paid a reasonable price. Favs are the shrimp fun and the beef fun; soft tasty broad rice noodles around the filling. Also baked Chau Su Bau - the best!
(5)Tracy C.
I want to start this review by stating the fact that Boston has no good Chinese food. So, the ratings and review are not based on the standard of real Chinese food, it is merely relative, to other Chinese food establishment in Boston. For that, I give Hei La Moon a 4-star, not because I don't know better, but because there ain't much choices in Boston. I like how the restaurant is spacious, the dining rooms are clean and the decor is extremely traditional Chinese--kinda lame but also cute. I always order shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and the noodle thingy w/ shrimp inside ( I don't know how to call those in English). Sometime I also get congee, sweet tofu soup, some fried taro shrimp cake stuff, shu mai and sticky rice chicken in lotus leaf. Nothing comes close to what one'd expect in China, Taiwan or HK, but here in Boston/Mass, there's only two other places (windsor, and the huge weird place in Saugus) that I think match up to Hei La Moon.
(4)Gwen S.
Carts of mouth watering dumplings. This restaurant will hit the spot and will top my list of preferred restaurants. The staff was a little rough and I couldn't understand them, and even though I had no idea which dumplings we chose, they were all pretty damn good. When you see alot of chinese people dining here, that means that their is something good that waits inside. I was not disappointed other than the rude service.
(4)Ally W.
I think Win Sor is the dim sum spot in Boston nowadays but we do miss the fun of ordering from carts. We decided to eat at Hei La Moon for brunch on a Sunday. Food is usually mediocre, nothing special about the dishes. We do appreciate the brighter atmosphere and cleaner-looking dishes. However, this was probably the last time we will ever step foot into this joint. While we were looking for our usual dishes, we noticed the turnip cake lady had a minor accident with her cart. The top part of her cart fell over and spilled all the turnip cakes on the floor. Her peers did not help her clean up the mess, instead they kept pushing their carts and looked curiously at the mess. When the girl was about to sweep up the turnip cakes from the floor, one of the kitchen managers rushed out to the floor and handed the girl a big tray. The girl carefully stacked the turnip cakes and carried them back into the kitchen. Of course, the cart came out with ""fresh" turnip cakes in a few minutes. We noticed that some of the cakes were broken into pieces, maybe from the fell... very unethical way of doing business to save a few bucks.
(1)Julien P.
One of the better dim sum places in Boston. My wife and I have been to this place 4-5 times. Usually we order very similar stuff. Once you know what dim sum is, you really don't go out of your comfort zone. The food in general is good. You get seated fairly quickly despite the fact that it's always super crowded. Smaller parties up to 4 obviously benefit from faster table turnaround. I think the most inconvenient part about this location is finding parking around there. What a pain. The parking garage above charges something like $10 but it's one of the triple transaction things (you pay a larger sum, get validated, get reimbursed partly), quite annoying in fact. My wife who is Chinese gives this place 3 stars but agrees it's one of the better places in Boston. Maybe she knows what she's talking about more than I do. From my experience though, I would say that comparing cities, Boston in general is better than Seattle or Chicago for dim sum. There are 3-4 places in Boston I would give 4 stars to, and this one is in the top 2. The best dim sum I've had, which gets my 5 stars, was in KL, Malaysia. What's good here, flavor-wise (not authentic-wise): the crepes, the chicken feet (except this one time - today!), pork ribs, shrimp and pork dumplings (ha gao, shiu mai...)... actually too many things to list. Most are fairly good. I was surprised they had soy milk w/ Chinese fried crullers in the carts. My first time trying it in a place other than a Taiwanese breakfast places. What did I think? Not good! I think the tau fu fah (tofu in ginger/sugar sauce dessert) is better at Chow Chau but the wifey totally disagrees and says it is silkier and smoothier here. Service: well, typical for big dim sum place. Not much service but no charge for tea. Ambience: typical, busy, crowded, but at least not dirty I come back to this place on a rotation with the other 3-4 places in town. When friends visit, this is one of the better places to take them because it is not directly in Chinatown but is close enough for a walk.
(4)Jim K.
A decent dim sum place. They still use the traditional bamboo steamer trays in their carts, unlike many others who have switched to stainless containers. They had a number of good dumplings that I hadn't seen before, and all were tasty. Were this restaurant falls down is on cleanliness. Our teapot, cups, glasses and plates were all bespeckled with food chunks - not the most appetizing.
(3)Robert D.
It doesn't seem possible that I've lived in Boston for over two decades, am on a quest for the best Chinese food and I've never really had Dim Sum. Well, I've had it at local suburban places where you order off the menu, but not the so-called traditional experience of the carts. Today, I did, and it was FANTASTIC. The line, while intimidating, moved quickly. All of the food was fresh, delicious and non-greasy (I know that sounds like faint praise but if you've eaten bad Chinese food you know that's important). A lot of folks were raving about the pork buns, which were great, but not the best thing there, especially if you're trying to favor the low-carb side of the world. They are better than the chicken buns in my opinion. The ribs, shumai, taro and shrimp dumplings were excellent. All the greens I had-- from the cucumber salad to the junior bok choy were also scrumptious. I had a wrapped cabbage thing that I didn't know what it was which I'm sorry for because it was also delicious. My least favorite things were the salt-n-pepper shrimp because, for me, eating lots of shells gets tiresome quickly, and the tofu soup. I was sad that I had run out of room before I had run out of options, but I think that means that I will return soon. I also got a nice couple of take out boxes to go, so now I'm full and happy.
(4)Claudia H.
If you are looking for a good dim sum place in Boston, stop the search because you already found it. Hei La Moon has the best dim sum in town in my opinion. You can't go wrong there. Special attention to the bbq pork steamed buns. I don't give it a 5-star because service can still improve. Sometimes it takes several minutes to get the waiters attention and order a glass of water.
(4)pauline l.
It's alright. Good enough for the US. Their ingredients are usually pretty fresh. There are 2 decently-sized floors, so the wait is rarely very long. I like that they've started to bring out the za leung (fried bread stick wrapped in rice noodle) on the carts instead of having to special order it from a waiter. The nice thing about this place is that you don't *have* to climb up any stairs -- except for one step at the entrance, I think -- or deal with an elevator, which means you can bring grandma and grandpa here without worrying too much about accessibility issues. Plus, they have validated parking upstairs for $6. (You can pay for your food with a credit card but you'll need to pay cash for the validated parking.) I think I'd rate this place 3.5 stars marked down to 3 without the two convenience factors, but considering that bringing grandma to dim sum is pretty much the only reason I go to Chinatown these days and almost all the other restaurants there have a lot of stairs, I'm bumping it up to four.
(4)Lily C.
My father was a partner with the owner of Hei La Moon wayyy back in the day so I might be biased.... + = pros - = cons + cheap dim sum ..but not cheaper than empire garden + good selection of dim sum + good for dim sum/wedding receptions + the push carts go around fairly fast so you get food quickly + the food itself doesn't have as much MSG in it compared to other places - not that great of a place for dinner although the price may be worth it - dinner food kinda sucks - street parking in the area sucks - can definitely be extremely crowded - the tables are pretty close to each other so you might be bumping into other people with your chair A-OK place for dim sum. Not my personal favorite, but acceptable for what you pay.
(3)Ying M.
Hei La Moon is my go-to dim sum restaurant in Boston- less greasy, in my experience, than China Pearl. It's loud and crowded and sometimes you have to chase down carts, but hey! that's what dim sum is all about. Standard dim sum fare is good here- you can't go wrong with har gao or siu mai (although sometimes they run out of what you're looking for). The dofu-hua (sweet tofu soup) is quite good. I'm personally not a huge fan of their pastries- it's probably a better idea to get your sweet fix at one of the myriad bakeries in Chinatown (I highly recommend Eldo for their dan tat). If you're smart about ordering and go with a big enough group, the prices are ridiculously low. I think one time we managed to pay something like $6 a person. Don't bother ordering anything off the menu- it most likely won't be worth it. Summary: Not the best dim sum I've ever had, but certainly not the worst. 4 stars for Boston (would be something like 3-3.5 in LA). If you've got a dim sum craving, Hei La Moon is the place to go!
(4)Deann M.
Shrimp and chives dumpling - my new fave Everything else - pretty darn good Went here twice within 3 days. Probably the best dim sum that I've ever had - and at $10 a piece for a feast, you can beat it!
(5)Doug P.
By far the best Dim Sum in Chinatown. I can't even keep track of how many times I have been here. The food is really good and it shows because they are always packed on the weekends and quickly expanded to add a basement level. I'm craving their chicken feet and tripe just thinking about it......
(5)Dan R.
I'm not a fan of dim sum, and Hei La Moon didn't change my mind. Getting to the restaurant was pretty easy, seating took about ten minutes. Even though we sat right in front of the kitchen, it took a long time to get the food that we wanted. The staff was so preoccupied with other things that we were skipped over plenty of times. I used to think that the worse the service, the better the food in Chinese restaurants. This place is the exception. None of the food was memorable, just decent enough to eat.
(3)Aimee S.
I don't know why people like this place so much. The food is average at best, and the staff is so rude. Not to mention how dirty the place is. Oh, and I almost forgot--one time I was in the bathroom, and I saw one of the employees walk out without washing her hands after using the facilities. I was horrified, and told my mother when we got back to the table, and she promptly complained to the manager. I got dirty looks from the employee for the rest of the night. Excuse me for worrying about my health.
(2)Sarah S.
This is the only place I go for dim sum in the Boston area. It is authentic and awesome. Try all the dumplings and steam buns you can while drinking endless tea at this Chinatown gem! The spare ribs over noodles are surprisingly good, the steamed greens are excellent, I love the turnip cake fried to order on a rolling grill-cart and the yummy desserts (the sweet soft tofu is delicious as are the sesame balls and gummy sweet green tea and coconut balls).
(5)Alex H.
Where should I begin? Was in Boston last week for a conference; decided to visit Chinatown for dinner. I wanted to have dim sum, but didn't know it's a weekend thing. It is a weekend only thing, right? Anyway, the place was empty, only a few customers at the time of our arrival. This is normally not a good sign. Quite often I won't even enter an empty restaurant, but decided to give Hei La Moon a try. Kind of glad I did. Had only two dishes - the Orange Chili Shrimp (I think that's what they call it) and the Crispy Duck. Both dishes were loaded with vegetable that were perfectly cooked - not too limp and not to crunchy. Cannot remember going to a Chinese restaurant and getting perfect veggies. The shrimp dish was absolutely the best I ever had. Perfectly cooked and sauced shrimp, orange-flavored with visible chili flakes. The best! The duck, too, was a great dish. Not to greasy, but perfect duck to fat ratio. Enjoyed that as well. My only issue is the restaurant could stand a shampooing, especially amongst the high traffic areas. Another reviewer noted the same. One note - there's a special menu written in Chinese. No, folks, it's not a myth....Hei La Moon has such a menu menu. There are such favorites as Stir fried Duck Tongue. Not sure if many of you would each such a thing, but I would have loved to give my evening a little adventure. If you go, ask 'Mike' for the Chinese menu. He'll be happy to translate for you.
(4)Amy L.
We are from CA, Came here with a tour group. Paid $28 a person to have their 1 LB lobster.. Came with 2 veggie dishes 1 plain chicken dish, shrimps and steamed fish. We basically got ripped off. You would think a table with 10 ppl x$28 would give you a family meal with at least 8 dishes. The lobster was plain... Did not came with any sauces. My advice: if you are going here with a tour group, skip the lobster "dinner", roam around and find something else. I'm sure the lobster back in your hometown is better. i cannot review this place for their menu, because we were not served anything that was from the menu besides the lobster.
(1)Ed M.
I cannot wait to go back already. I was a dim sum virgin and went with my wife and a friend/former co worker who knew what he was doing (parents from Hong Kong, lived there for a few years). I felt like we had everything but I know we didn't. We were seated instantly and watched in amazement as all the carts passed by with interesting things. Everything was fantastic. Thanks to the website for helping me out with most of this list, we tried and loved the following: -jasmine tea -tsingtao beer -shrimp hargow -steamed chicken feet -BBQ pork bun -BBQ pork cake -sweet egg cake -pork shiu mai -sticky rice and we also ordered a beef with noodles dish from the kitchen. We arrived at 10:30am and it was near empty downstairs, when we left around noon-ish, it was jam packed with no empty tables. I cannot wait to go back. Awesome meal.
(5)Lisa D.
Every once in awhile, I need a good dim sum fixing and Hei La Moon is MY FAVE dim sum place to go. Some people may think all dim sum tastes the same, but NO, it does not. At least after eating at Hei La Moon, you can definitely taste a slight, delicate difference. I think their dim sum has much more flavor. And my favorite dim sum, har gau are plumper than other places. =D To have a good dim sum experience you must 1) Go at a prime time, usually before 1, I think 11 or 11:30am is best for those of us who still love sleeping in late, but hey, if you want to show up at 9 or 10am, go right ahead. There is A LOT more variety of these tasty little dishes when you go earlier. I think by 1 or 2, they only cook the standard dim sum fair. 2) Go with a large group. Large group = more plates = try more things = if you don't like something, make someone else finish it. 3) ORDER: shumai (pork and shrimp dumplings), har gau (shrimp and bamboo shoots in a translucent wrapper, my favoorite), the spare ribs (i think they have two kinds here), chicken feet (just do it, it's tender and flavorful), fried turnip cakes, asian meatballs that kids seem to love, and beef and shrimp wrapped in a fresh made thin sheet of rice noodle. Uh, I think I covered most of it, but I'm probably being lazy because I've put off finishing this review for a month, yelp me if you want more suggestions! 4) finish off with some dofu fa or tofu pudding with a side of sweet syrup to flavor the delicate, silky tofu to your level of saccharine. 5) split the bill with n amount of people and realize that you guys only spent like $10 each and leave full and happy!
(4)Stephanie L.
This place has blown me away in the couple times I've returned. The servers still are friendly, and they manage to find a plethora of veg options I'm able to eat - and they taste AMAZING. (Try the green ball pastry with the yellow filling ... mmmm. Sorry, I don't know its name.). The servers are also really sweet about letting you sit there for however long you want, and if you want takeout boxes for every little morsel you have left, totally cool. Hei La Moon, I love you. Even more than I love many of the dim sum places in NYC ... your dishes are even more interesting and unique than theirs.
(5)Benny D.
I came here with friends for Dim Sum. The service, food, and price is good. This place do get crowded after noon.
(5)Jade Y.
I would give this 3 and half stars if I could. I had fun here. We came in a group of 5 on Sunday late morning and they were able to seat us immediately. They have an upstairs and downstairs room that are both giant. The dimsum was all there: ha gao, shu mai, cha shao bao, etc..all pretty good too. Will definitely come back next time we get a chance.
(3)Heather G.
I don't understand the stellar reviews. The wait is LONG and when we did get a table, they tried to seat a small group of us (4) at one side of a larger table, with another party on the other side - makes for a really awkward meal. We were asked to move, and a few minutes later we found ourselves at a new table next to what was a main-traffic aisle. Despite the table-placement, carts came by so infrequently and it took just short of leaping out of my chair to get someone to stop. The food was generally the same as the other dim sum places, and nothing stood out one way or the other on that front. 2 stars for poor service, rating unaffected by food.
(2)Omar F.
I really love dim sum in general, but particularly i think Hei La Moon is a good place to go. I got there at around 11:30am this morning, none of my friends had arrived yet and it was a group of 8 people total, so I was just standing around since usually at Dim Sum places you're not seated until the whole party (or most of it) is there. After a few minutes an official looking woman told me to just walk around and find a table. That was nice! I went and found a round table for 8 right away so I just sat there and my friends didn't arrive until ~5-10 minutes after. Nevertheless I was served tea and no one bothered me for seating by myself at a table for 8 people. It was nice. The dim sum was really nice, and it is one of the easiest places to actually get a waiter to get you water, sauces, etc. It's not like other big dim sum places in which 30 mins can go by and you still don't get that freaking soy sauce or mustard you asked for. Anyway, the place is great and has a great selection. My friends and I were able to get everything we really like to order at dim sum places, so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. It was delicious.
(4)Tani S.
My review is closer to 3.5 stars but giving them the benefit of the doubt and rounding up. We've been here three times and were suitably impressed each time. It isn't the best dim sum we've had...we enjoyed the dim sum more that we sampled in San Francisco/Mountain View but this does come above what we regularly have in Seattle. It is fairly inexpensive and has such a wide selection of dumplings. We preferred sitting upstairs to our downstairs experience but they always seem reluctant to seat us there. We enjoyed their bbq pork buns and all the interesting varieties of shrimp dumplings.
(4)Sarah C.
Solid food. I like it better than China Pearl. It is the closest I'll get to the bliss encountered in SFO. I love the little fried tofu rolls and sauteed broccoli, those are always a favorite.
(3)Walter G.
this place rules. my friends took me here for brunch like a month and a half ago and i've been back twice since. i just love the atmosphere. nice ladies and gents pushing around carts filled with the likes of pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and chicken fried rice. specifically i like the raised "stage" type thing along one wall with the huge golden dragons. it looks like the owner of the restaurant should be sitting there in a fancy robe overseeing everything. at least that's what I'D do if i was the owner. i can't decide how i feel about how the waiter immediately brought forks over to my table last time i was here... it's reasonable i guess since we were the only non-asians in the restaurant and a lot of white people probably don't know how to use chopsticks. more than anything i guess it's indicative of considerate service. which is a plus. it's good times though, i'd definitely hit this place up. i don't think the dim sum is necessarily "better" than the dinners but it's a lot more fun so for your first visit i'd recommend making it a weekend mid-morning.
(4)Milee S.
Ever feel like you were lost in translation? That's how I felt when I tried Dim Sum for the first time ever and friends took me here. We had about a 2 minute wait, and the lady up front called numbers out in English. The place was packed with hardly any non-Chinese people in there. To me that is a good sign. We started with tea and the shrimp steamed dumplings. Those were pretty good. Next we got the sweet tofu, which was fantastic. A must have. After that, we got the fried shrimp pancakes with stuff that looked like coconut, but wasn't. That was my favorite. We tried the broccoli and then finished off with the sweet red bean cake. It was about $25 for the three of us. While the food was good, I kinda wish there were a couple more veggie options (like a spring roll or something) and/or signs telling us what things were. Even basic signs like, shrimp roll, or beef stew. Trying to point and say "shrimp?" didn't work very well. My group didn't want pork or beef and a lot of the options were just those. I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't go every weekend.
(4)Michelle H.
My favorite dim sum place on the east coast! The food is always fresh, not too greasy and good portion sizes. Beware, this place is always packed on the weekends!! But the wait goes by fast and it's definitely worth the wait. I've had dinner here too, but I thought it was so so. Dim sum all the way!!
(4)Wendy H.
We went there on a Saturday at 1pm. In 45 minutes, only 3 types of carts rolled around. Our side of the room, about 10 tables had the same experience. The bottom floor was hot and stuffy. China Pearl has better food, more selection, and better service.
(1)Kelly C.
My favorite part is sitting down, and 30 seconds later there is food on your table. I'm still trying to figure out the best time to go, to maximize options of food. We were there on Saturday around 11, and there wasn't much available. Well, nothing new and exciting. The typical siu mai and har gow (sp?) abound. I love when they come out of the kitchen with plates of steaming treats. We got a yummy dish of rice wrapped in tarro , and some fried green ball(not sure what was inside and I didn't really like it) They are way better about getting ice water!
(4)Serena L.
I moved here from SF a few years ago and was anxious to find a good dim sum spot. Being Chinese, I know my dimsum and am very picky! After trying another place in Chinatown, I came here with some friends and loved it! Yes, it does get crowded on the weekends with all the families but that's a given! There is nothing bad that I can say about this place because everything is so good! I took my in-laws here for their first dimsum experience and they enjoyed it. I have yet to try China Pearl so I don't know how it matches with Hei La Moon.
(4)Robert J.
I recently visited a dear old friend in Boston. She has been living in Boston for the past two years. We went to Hei La Moon on a recent Saturday afternoon. I asked her at the beginning of the meal, "So, this is your dim sum spot?" I was very encouraged to see all the Chinese faces in the background. Superimpose my 1/8 Chinese, 7/8 Filipino face and her 100% Chinese face, and you've got me feeling like we're in the right place. This is especially so, because both floors of Hei La Moon were filled nearly to capacity. The unfortunately damning comment--though I don't think she meant it that way--that she made was, "It's not the best I've had before, but it's the best I've found in Boston." That was enough warning. She and I have shared countless dim sum meals in the past. Most of those meals have been in the Far East--in various places in and around the Manila area where there is a very large Chinese population. Some of those dim sum meals have been here in the U.S. This was the first one we had while she was living in Boston. I trusted her judgment that this would be the best dim sum I could find in Boston. I only bring up our shared history of eating dim sum together to illustrate that she knows me and that I know her. We know implicitly what we both expect and hope for in a meal. For her to say what she did was a signal to me that I was going to think that the meal was fine, but it wasn't going to be particularly memorable. I found that to be the case with the food at Hei La Moon. We started off with some radish cakes, which I had never had before. We both enjoyed those. The shrimp rice noodle rolls were decent. Unfortunately, the beef short ribs were leathery, but they had great flavor. The spicy salted shrimp was probably the highlight of the meal. We also had some fish, which kind of reminded me of smelt, but I'm not sure what they were. They came around with the spicy salted shrimp cart. The fish was quite delicious. The har kaw and shumai were fine, but not outstanding. The chicken feet were had nice flavor, but also were not outstanding. Overall, Hei La Moon, which two friends call the go-to spot for dim sum in Boston, isn't bad. Again, I wouldn't say that it's outstanding in any way. Even the best dish I had, the spicy salted shrimp, wasn't particularly fantastic. It was probably too breaded for me. It was also cold and dry compared to what I usually would want. Still, it was serviceable. It was decently enjoyable enough to give us that dim sum fix without making us feel completely disappointed.
(2)Emily S.
I was here on a Sunday for brunch, and I now miss it every day I'm not there. I just got back from China but I think Hei La Moon is better. Is it more authentic? Probably not. Do I care? Hell, no, I want tasty snacks right after I wake up from a late Saturday night. As much as I love Chau Chow, this place trumps it and rocks my world. Hei La Moon will keep me wanting more. More turnip cake, more bbq pork buns. More, more, more. :)
(5)Liz M.
Dim sum was disappointing. And I'm not comparing is to NY Chinatown or Flushing. Just plain disappointing. Actually, the one good thing was dan ta (egg tart) but they probably get it from a local bakery. I've attended weddings here. The weddings were fun, food was not so fun. Unfortunate. I like my jellyfish slippery and my Chinese cold cuts somewhat dry, not the other way around. Lastly, I was pretty peeved when a group of us paid cash and they charged us for tea and rice. Yes, yes, its recession, but we paid cash and its not like we were gonna ask them to take away tax (yea they charged us tax too!)
(2)Michael M.
Hei la Moon at first seemed like it was going to be another mediocre Chinatown eatery... After a while they all seem the same - large room with round tables and a big stage with golden dragons on the stage. I couldn't have been more wrong - the food at Hei La Moon is phenomenal, arguably the BEST chinese in Boston. I took a friend from Vietnam after telling her that I read about it on Yelp, she was skeptical and said that she had low expectations and expected "Americanized" cuisine... Since our first time she has been back 10 times in 2 months. Some of the highlights: - Hot and Sour Soup - so yummy, the perfect blend of spicy and sour without tasting too much of vinegar - Dry shortribs - fantastic - crispy and spicy - Pan Seared dumplings - again, phenomenal
(4)Tara B.
My favorite place to go for dim sum in Boston. You know how you know it's good? There are only white people when accompanied by Asians. I love seeing all those lovely bamboo steamer baskets loaded onto those windowed carts being sped around by the grumpy ladies. It's fantastic. Also fantastic, listening to your Asian gatekeeper yell at the ladies in Mandarin. It's like dinner & a show. You can get rolly-polly panda fat for under $15. Tis a beautiful thing. Some of my faves: - Sticky rice with it's nuggets of mystery meat wrapped up in a leaf - Pork belly buns with that tasty bbq-sweet meatyness in the most delectable white-bready bun - Dumplings of any shape, size or content. BRING ME DUMPLINGS! - Those sweet buns made with condensed milk
(4)Sue P.
I went here on a Sunday morning for Dim sum with some friends and was highly annoyed to see a huge line of people waiting to get in. Luckily my friend had already gotten a table inside so we just went right in. This place is huge! I couldn't believe it was so popular. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised to see that the food was distributed on carts that circled the entire restaurant. I'm not Chinese, and I haven't had dim sum more than a handful of times. Frankly I didn't even recognize half of the things I ate. Luckily I went with a friend who was perfectly fluent in Cantonese, although I think I would have been fine on my own just pointing at everything that looks appealing. The dumplings were fabulous, especially the chive ones. My friends went absolutely gaga over the pork buns. I don't think I tried anything that I didn't like. Who knew that dim sum could be so delicious! I'll definitely be going back time and time again.
(5)Jake L.
Serviceable dim sum, but doesn't compare to Toronto. Mad dash for a seat. We spoke directly to a hostess and were seated rather earlier than i was expecting. Bonus.
(3)Calvin N.
A LOT BETTER than the other place I went the day before for Dim Sum out here in Boston. Food tasted fresher and the lighting is def a lot better. It feels cleaner here and a lot friendlier service. Once I get back to Boston I will come here only for Dim Sum.
(4)Alex B.
So this place is still great and I go a lot but thought I should mention, you need to be SHAMELESS. LIke if you like what you see on that cart GO FOR IT. There is a little cart which three levels... FIND IT. It looks like a desert cart and actually has some deserts but on the upper deck is usually the best crispy items in the whole place. One is a dumpling shape, and has has herbs, shrimp, and other goodness stuffed in it (amazing). Another is a disc which looks like it needs a shave but its actually taro shreds (I think) fried on some shrimp thing. NO that didn't make sense or sound appealing but yes it is accurate and it is delicious. So if this passes you by, don't be ashamed about walking across the room, politely tap the lady's shoulder, then awkwardly hand signal that you need her now, right now, at your table.
(5)KoreanSoup S.
Good dim sum. I've tried about 4 places so far in china-town and this is one I like the most in terms of food. There are still quite a few more, however, that I have not tried.
(3)Alfred D.
My favorite dim sum in boston. I grew up eating China Pearl, but the older I got, the worse they seemed to get. And then I discovered Hei La Moon. They have a really bright ambiance, and all the food is good! BBQ pork buns are fluffy and delicious. They have these really good dumplings with fresh celery in them. So yummy! Another bonus is the hygiene. My mother and sister were both very impressed by the relative cleanliness of the bathrooms. So skip over China Pearl, Winsor, Emporer's Garden, and Chau Chau City, and pick Hei La Moon for your dim sum cravings!
(5)Ray m.
being from hong kong, I constantly try to look for dim sum that matches home. its' hard to find but this place is pretty close. the haw gow and sui mei was outstanding! 4 diff dishes with tea, total price was $14.95. not too shabby....otherwise it'd be 5 stars located off the orange line subway chinatown exit almost into the center of china town. also part of the appeal is the food carts that roam around enticing you to order more food. I'd definitely come back next time I am visiting
(4)Jason L.
My father is from hong kong, so my family always eats dim sum. Been here a couple times now, usually a small selection, not enough variety compared to china pearl. I think i've tried everything (minus the porridge), and I really can't think of anything that was standout. It's one of the better places for Boston chinatown though. To judge a dim sum restaurant, you have to start with the classic shrimp dumpling [har gao]. The filling was average, could use more bamboo flavor, wrapper was ok. Pretty much sums up the rest of the dim sum there. China pearl's chong fen is better. Shumai's not bad here. This place draws large crowds on the weekend, probably because its big, clean, new, and has easy parking. Good atmosphere. Reasonably priced (~$10 a person). Spotty service. Food (6/10) Service (3/5) Decor (4/5) Value (4/5)
(3)Wen Y.
The best dim sum I have ever known!
(4)Lisa C.
We went to this place for a dim sum brunch after hearing rave reviews from many people (and, in fact, ran into a coworker while there) and we were incredibly disappointed. The wait wasn't too long to be seated, and we were given a nice table to share with other people we didnt know. Having grown up eating dim sum in new york, this didn't bother me, but we were unfortunately seated with some really ignorant people who made fun of the food and didn't know what anything was. I'll give them credit for trying things even though they didn't understand what they were being served, but hearing them making fun of another culture's food was just annoying. Once we were seated, it took FOREVER to get food. I'm so used to having food on the table from several carts within 3 minutes of sitting down. It probably took us at least 30 minutes to finally get what we wanted. The food itself was solid and not expensive which is always nice, but having to wait that long for dim sum? no way.
(2)Jodi Y.
Dim sum that hits the spot! Good standard "yum cha" issue. Nothing too funky or creative, but old-school traditional. They bent over backwards and accommodated 2 tables of 12 of us and kept helping us squeeeeze in more chairs as more of our friends arrived. Brush up on your Canto food terms or bring a Hongkie (not to be confused with Honkie) if you want lightning fast service! PROS: Never over $10/pp CONS: The usu loud Chinese crowd (but you know it's authentic) SPECIALS: They were giving away free tea sets for bills over $100. Happy Year of the Tiger!
(4)Chris G.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dim sum at Hei La Moon. We stopped here one Saturday afternoon and were seated right away, although unfortunately it was right by a waiters station. Our first dish was a plate of garlic fried prawns that you could eat heads and all. Crispy and delicious! We did have to wait a while for the dumplings and sticky rice carts to come by, which seems like an eternity when you are hungry. But once they did arrive we gorged ourselves - the portions were substantial and the quality was good. For example the sticky rice had huge pieces of pork inside. I would definitely come back to Hei La Moon.
(4)L G.
Went there for a 10-course meal for a post wedding day celebration. They assigned us the bottom floor. They were very accommodating allowing us to set up flowers on the tables and setting up table cards etc. The place was packed for Sunday dim sum with a line going outside. On top of that our party was running late but they didn't give us a stink! Food was definitely great. Most people were done at course 7 due to the amount of food. They used the traditional pushcarts for dim sum. Great selection and large portions. I would recommend trying this place before going to Winsor Dim Sum Café down the block. Plus Hei La Moon has more seating (top and bottom floors).
(4)Josh K.
First off, I got to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Hei La Moon as I absolutely destroyed the beautiful white tablecloth on top of our table. Even though the tablecloth looked like my friend took a caveman for lunch, I did clumsily try to use the chopsticks, but some of the pieces of dim sum were big and hard to maneuver. The right thing would have been to leave my business card to pay for the ensuing cleaners' bill to clean the white tablecloth. I mean no extra strength Tide will take care of the mess I made; that cloth is going to need to be dry cleaned. I thoroughly enjoyed my food at Hei La Moon contrary to what one might think by looking at half of the food I left scattered on the tablecloth. The place works out well for a large group and also has some smaller tables but it's definitely not the type of place to have a romantic dinner with wine, flowers, and such as the noise level is quite high. The service is great as you just tell the staff what you would like off the cart carrying multiple types of dim sum. My friend did the ordering, and all the dim sum was delicious and flavorful. I even had a chance to try chicken feet but that might have been the only choice that I was not a fan as it was simply too much work for so little nourishment. For dessert, I had the small bean paste roll with coconut on the outside and mango center. The coconut provided a nice texture and was not overpowering, so that you also could enjoy the taste of the mango inside. The entire meal was only $28 dollars between the two of us. I would highly recommend Hei La Moon for dim sum; just next time I might bring my own fork or newspaper to cover the table for extra food stain protection.
(4)Burger B.
Oh, Hei La Moon! -squeezes restaurant and pinches cheek- You are so wonderful. Unlike other dim sum locations, you always seem to know the right moment to send the steam cart wheeling by our table, brimming with hot shumai and har cao. When it's time for our meat fix, the tripe comes gliding past our table. *YOINK!* So perfectly chewy with just a slight hint of spiciness. Ambiance is wonderful. Go on a Saturday or Sunday morning (preferably before 10am) and you'll see a ton of close-knit families noshing together and catching up on their week. Another plus -- They don't use copious amounts of MSG in their food. (I'm very sensitive to MSG and don't get the headaches and fatigue after eating here when compared to some of their competitors).
(5)Prudence L.
My first time and last time to Hei La Moon...what a disaster! My husband and I were sat in the lower level, seated in the back corner where the carts were few and far between in stopping by to offer us food. The waiter was late to give us hot tea, never offered us water (we had to ask) and rarely stopped by to see if we needed anything. The food was barely tolerable. - Beef & shrimp wrapped in wide noodles (over cooked, the noodles were cracked) - Chicken feet (over cooked, really bland) - Stuffed eggplant (bland - could not even taste the seafood stuffing) - Pork shumai (one of the two dishes that tasted good) - Fried chive dumplings (again, very bland) - Pan fried turnip cakes (the second of two dishes that was better) - Steamed pork dumpings (never tasted them because there was a COCKROACH in it) The manager comped us on the pork dumplings and the hot tea, but outside of the cockroach, the experience was so poor that I will never go there again.
(1)Jeannie H.
This place serves tolerable dim sum in a pinch but it hardly qualifies as good eats. The dim sum is tolerable but it's not nearly as refined as what you would find in Hong Kong, no matter what anyone else posts on here. The ingredients are not of good quality nor are they fresh. ATMOSPHERE - It's relatively clean for a dim sum standards, which is scary and not saying much. I'm Chinese but will never understand why my people insist on having filthy bathrooms in their restaurants. It gets horribly humid during peak hours with the carts rolling around. It's the quintessential dim sum experience and will definitely appeal to the non-initiated since you can point to the tasty treats of your choice. SERVICE - Don't expect anything. FOOD - Everything is decent but nothing is particularly good. The har gow skin isn't delicate enough, the rice crepe too thick and boggy, the shu mai too dense, and the chicken feet undercooked. No dish stands out but nothing is inedible either.
(3)Chase S.
This place serves ok dim sum, but there's at least 3 other places within 200 yards that have fresher food, better decor, and charge less. I'd pretty much only come here if the other 3 places had a wait and this place didn't. It's not bad, it's just that...well... there are better choices. I'm not a hater! Don't you label me!!!!
(3)Jean Luc P.
It's the place to go if you want a Hong Kong dim sum experience in Boston. The push cart system is very authentic and reminds me of my childhood. It's also great place to go with friends who enjoy a more interactive dinning experience. The dim sum tasted the way it is meant to taste, I've been there with chinese friends, I've been there with non chinese friends, they all had a good time, I've been there by myself. My recommendation is "Ha Gui" (shrimp ball), "Sui Mai" (pork dumplings), "Pai Kug" (short rips), "Gar Nui" (rice noodle wrapped fired dough - happens to be a favorite for many first time dim sum tasters) "chung fan" (rice noodle wrapped, can be with beef, shrimp or veggie, ask the cart lady for your preference). A tip for my non chinese friends, if you want more tea, just lift the cap off your tea pot and place it on the table, and someone will come by to add hot water. You are suppose pour tea to others before you pour yourself, even if their cup is full you still need to make the gesture. If you see a chinese person tapping the table next to his cup with two finger as you pour tea, they are not asking for more, the gesture means "thank you". Here is a food video of my last visit youtu.be/TNRrKxcbshQ
(4)Peter W.
The Dim Sum is good. The diversity was not that great, but the quality is good (e.g., not too greasy). The experience of getting a table or service for water or tea is something to just sit back and laugh off. Have fun.
(4)David B.
This place is always crowded-a good sign.We always try to get there early on a sunday.If you get there past 11:30 or 12 there can be a bit of a wait. It is worth it.Shrimp in rice noodles,slippery and tasty.Har gow is always good as are various other shrimp dumplings.Good sticky rice in lotus leaves and the sticky rice under glass.The turnip cake is good but Windsor's is better.Pork buns are tasty and stuffed w/sweet bbq pork.If you go and they have the soup in the hollowed out watermelon,get it.It is a treat.A fun,noisy,tasty place for dim sum.
(4)Josephine P.
This place is our go-to place for dim sum. I have been here pretty much every time we get that Dim Sum Craving. I like it because it's big, you never have to wait as long as you would at a smaller restaurant and you get what you want. All you have to do is hassle someone to direct the desired cart over. This place has so much food. Beware. One time we ordered mochi balls and we just did not understand the lady when she gave us the description. We eat it anyways...and it turns out to be durian. puke. die.roll over. die again. Just know your shit when you get here so you don't fail like we did. I'm not that adventurous when I eat dim sum, but this place is good on those days where I do wanna try something new. I also like the carts; it's nostalgia.
(4)Jennifer J.
Good Cantonese dim sum. Nothing to complain about.
(4)Jamal G.
This place has gone downhill. The carpeting is filthy, sticky, and soggy. We went here for dim sum at lunch, which was... ok. All of us have had better. It just wasn't all that great and the cost was $22 per person plus tip and parking. I'll give them credit for validating parking for the adjacent garage for $6. I don't think any of us will come back here again.
(2)ana l.
My friends and I come here when we can wake up for our "11am Dim Sum Sundays." 11am is the best time to go--usually there is no wait and the food is hot and "fresh." The restaurant is spacious, but I've decided sitting on the main level leaves you with the best experience and first choice for food. I like their siu mai (steamed shrimp & pork dumplings), cheong fun (rice noddles-stuffed with either shrimp, beef, or fried dough), steamed ribs, taro dumplings (stuffed with pork and veggies), and steamed tofu (with lots of ginger flavored sugar syrup). So, get your friends together for a dim sum sunday (even if you can't wake up at 11am, the wait is worth it) and try everything!
(4)Marty C.
Atrocious service... scratch that, the service is nonexistent. Why support a restaurant that customarily disregard proper etiquette? Won't you question the amount of care put into the food that will eventually go into your body? Service is more important to me than good food. Let me explain further why HLM is getting one star (equivalent to zero stars in my book). I went in with a party of 5 in a half-empty restaurant. The waiter decided on seating us at a square table and pulled an additional chair to one corner. We explained that it is uncustomary for us to sit in such fashion and please allow us to sit at one of the many available round tables. One waiter said yes while another forbid us to do so. We walked out immediately without any further discussion.
(1)Del S.
I know I have been spoiled with better dim sum in the CA bay area, but dim sum at Hei La Moon was acceptable and probably plenty good enough for Boston since there aren't that many Chinese here. The service was fast and efficient. The waiter was setting up plates on the table like throwing Frisbees. I was impressed that we didn't need to wait long for dim sum at Sunday lunch hour. The biggest surprise was the chicken feet (phoenix claws)!! The texture was soft, chewy but not soggy, and tasty without being too salty. It's a bit sweet, a bit salty, a bit of garlic taste with some black bean sauce taste... great combo for your taste buds! In contrary, I'd recommend you to stay away from their fried dishes. The fried Taro ball was soggy with very unfresh greasy taste. We suspected they probably reused the frying oil way too many times, or it could have been days old left over oil. The typical dim sum dishes such as shrimp dumplings and shiu mai all tasted decent here. If you are in the area and crave for dim sum, this is probably the place to go but try not to have a high expectation.
(3)Thomas F.
I went with a number of friends for dim sum. We enjoyed it greatly. Everything was very fresh and flavorful, with our usual selection of favorite items. As reported by other reviewers, the pork buns are indeed superb. In general I would say that the quality is on par with what you could expect from China Pearl if you arrive at CP in the morning when things are plentiful and fresh, although HLM's pork buns are slightly better. Unfortunately they had few of some items on the carts, so we left wishing we'd been able to get more pork buns, and I felt the selection, while good, wasn't quite as large as the selection at China Pearl. The prices were excellent: we all ate until we were full with no concern about prices of items, and we also ordered several additional items just to taste, and it worked out to a mere $12 per person. Overall, I would be delighted to return to Hei La Moon with friends or family, and will view it now as one of several excellent dim sum restaurants I can choose from in Boston.
(4)Jane Z.
To make the deal even sweeter, a friend recently showed me the City of Boston's health inspection record for this place upon reading the other poster's comment about the glass in his congee, and it is revolting to think I ever went there. Toxic chemicals, mice, chickens dripping onto equipment, unsanitary treatment of cooking utensils.....CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS. I encourage everyone to Google their health inspection record!!!
(1)Linda M.
This place was great for authentic and fresh dim sum. They have all the traditional dim sum dishes and a couple of nice surprises too - so there's lots of variety. It's clean, fast and the staff are very nice. I will definitely return for more!
(4)fred n.
Terrific dim sum. I am just in love with all their delights. This is pretty darn crowded on the weekends, but I believe worth the wait (40min). You'll definitely have a happy and healthy full tummy. Atmosphere is like a busy cafeteria with excitement. You might share a table with others if you're group is a small size (4) and it's peak. Don't be shy...everyone is friendly. Only draw back is that when it's busy it's tough to get beverage refills. And sometimes you wait 5-7 min for that tasty cart to make the rounds. Yum.
(4)Aimee G.
Although friends seem resigned to China Pearl, Hei La Moon remains my favorite place for a Sunday afternoon dim sum. I counsel that one arrives early, late, or ready to wait in a queue. It's a worthwhile wait, though. One must leave the pearly gates of Chinatown and wander to the Leather District near South Station in order to find this mediocre venue. My recommendation does not reflect the décor. it's not directly from Metropolitan Home or any other reputable design magazine. Though, I will never be the diner paying for interior design. The weekend dim sum menu offers items not found on the other Chinatown menus. The variety is much appreciated. I am particularly drawn to the dumplings and shumai. My friends inform me that the chicken feet are divine. Perhaps it's low standards or laziness but I haven't had any concerns about the service, cost, or final bill. Then again, I never go to a dim sum restaurant expecting warm service. Do others? Anyway, I digress. Let's bottom line the situation. Dining in a hall filled well beyond fire code, surrounded by a cacophony of voices, and experiencing the semi chaotic delivery of great food strikes me as part of the overall charm of Hei La Moon.
(4)CeeCee R.
Went there recently for dim sum. It was pretty good! I'd say they're the best dim sum place in Boston. Must Try: Can't get enough of the Har Gow (Shrimp Dumpling), Chang Fen with Yu Za Kuei (Noodle with Chinese Crueller), Fried Shrimp and Chinese Chives, Fried Taro and Shrimp. Service: Way better than China Pearl, the staff are friendly. Ambiance: Super clean compare to other establishments in Chinatown, especially compare to China Pearl. Best time to hit them is earlier in the morning or before 2 PM for dim sum. The 11 am slots tend to be busier. I'd give them a 3 out of 5 star as far as food goes. Overall, they are probably the best dim sum spot in Boston. Too bad that there is no place like Yank Tsing (San Francisco dim sum joint) in Boston. Yank Tsing would be 10 out of 10 stars.
(4)Ligaya T.
Know how to say 'mediocre' in Cantonese? Warning: poor pin yin ahead. For dim sum rookies this place is a steaming, bamboo pot wonderland. A hectic maze of lazy Susaned round tabled obstacle course for bumbling, uniformed oompa loompas pushing carts who don't speak English but whom respond well to pointing. For dim sum lovers this place deserves a shrug. They've got all the standards: har gao, shu mai, baozi, chicken feet, tsong tzi, etc but nothing really outstanding or creative. The carts you really want to intercept are the ones with the lo bo gao (savory turnip cake) grill and the vat of dofufa (watery tofu). To get greens you'll have to be more aggressive. Try the dao miao or the kong ching tsai (Chinese watercress) for spinach-like veggies. Three stars for fresh, warm, clean and always having a seat!
(3)Susan K.
We love to eat here for breakfast on the weekends. The service is usually quick, and food/dishes consistent. Some waitresses don't speak English, but they are happy to show the dishes to you before you choose. You can park in the lot for a discount, if you eat here, but if we get here before 10am-11am, we usually don't have that much trouble getting parking on the street.
(4)Christine S.
Because my visit here was only the third time I've had dim sum in my life, this review may be more helpful for people who are also new to dim sum. We came here on a Saturday around noon and only waited about 15 minutes to be seated. It was busy and crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The cart ladies weren't too aggressive that day, although I do wish they were able to speak enough English to at least say if the contents of their dim sum dishes are vegetable, bean, animal or mineral. My vegetarian friend definitely got a mouthful of pork when trying an unidentified dumpling. Speaking of pork, their BBQ pork buns were really good - a little too much of the bread for me, but that may be the way those buns are. The filling was sweet and tasty. Another deliciosity was some kind of piece of lightly fried fish wrapped around sauteed veggies and tied with a spring onion. SO GOOD. The fish was cooked perfectly. Too bad we didn't know it's name and never saw the cart again, or we would have gotten several more. One of the best parts of the meal was some kind of green leafy vegetable that was cooked right by our table, then drizzled with a delicious sauce. The cart lady identified the vegetable as "broccoli," although it looked more like leaves on long thick stems and tasted like a combination of spinach, asparagus and broccoli. It was bright green and delicious and I really wish I knew what it was. We got one of those glutinous coconut balls wrapped around a filling for dessert. Now, at Chau Chow City we got those and they had granulated sugar and chopped nuts inside. Here, there was a delicious fresh mango filling!! Is that normal? I have no idea! Can I find it somewhere else? I wouldn't even know how to ask! But it was yum! My only concern was that when we paid our bill and asked for an explanation of the different ways they charged for the items, the lady at the cash register did not want to answer. It was clear that she spoke enough English to understand what we were asking, and yet she just kind of ignored our questions. I'm a little bit wary of being taken advantage of because we obviously can't read Chinese, but the bill didn't seem too out of proportion - it came out to about $9 per person. So, we will definitely be back!
(4)Brady B.
I'm with Aimee S. on this one. Granted, I only had dim sum once here, but when I did my friend and I quickly decided we didn't need to come back here. It wasn't the worst dim sum I ever had, but quite bland and uninspiring. Overall our service was very lackluster....especially when it came time to having our bill tallied up. Maybe I'll give them another try based on these glorious reviews. When I do I'll be sure to update. Until then, my heart (and palette) belongs to China Pearl.
(2)Tessa C.
My new favorite dim sum place. Everything is fresh and delicious. If you want to avoid lines - then show up as a small group - less than 4 people and come at off peak hours before 11AM and after 1PM. My sister and I came here around 1PM and the quality of food was still good. I recommended this place to my out-of-town friend for his post wedding brunch. His family is Taiwanese and they were impressed by the quality of food. Dim Sum is best experienced with someone who knows the food and a very large group. What a great way to spend brunch with friends for less than $12 per person!!! As others have warned - you will be surrounded by loud Chinese families and served by people who know very little English. But they do their best to help you out. Parking tip: Park on the roof of the South Station garage during the weekend for a flat rate around $6. This is also great for the evening.
(5)Yvonne W.
I went all around the Chinatown area trying to find this place this morning with my boyfriend to find out that it's actually not IN Chinatown -- it's across the street from the gate (we didn't have the address originally)! I'm so happy that we found it, though -- we waited less than 5 minutes before being seated. And then all the food started rolling by on those carts that I love.. We had ham sui gok (sweet deep fried yumminess pastry with savory meat filling), feng zhua (chicken feet), pie gwat (spareribs steamed with black bean sauce), luo bo gao (radish cake), wu gok (deep fried taro with meat filling), seen jook goon (pork wrapped in yummy tofu wrapper), beef chang fen, and dau fu fa (silky tofu dessert in a gingery syrup). It was all so good, and the food comes out so fast! A pleasant surprise in the pie gwat were these small cubes of cut-up taro. It provided a nice flavor/texture contrast with the salty black bean and the spareribs. The service here is kind of strange. We really wanted to end our meal with dau fu fa, and when we asked one of the servers, she said she'd look out for the cart for us and tell that cart person to come by our table. That never happened. Five minutes later, we asked another worker for dau fu fa, and she sort of had a scowl on her face but did proceed to bring us our beloved dau fu fa. :-D And the prices are pretty decent here for dim sum, too. This is now our Boston dim sum place.
(4)Edwin O.
Very solid Dim Sum. After going to China Pearl for so many years, I was surprised to hear about this place, having never eaten there before a few months ago. The traditional favorites are done well. My wife feels their garlic shrimp is the best in Chinatown. My daughter plows through their shrimp dumplings and sticky rice with relish. The parking garage above the restaurant is very handy, and is one of the cheaper garages to park at in the area, I believe.
(4)Tom E.
Hei La Moon always makes me think of 'hey the moon', said in a fashion to distract the other person whilst you run away (first you point to the sky behind them). I guess in that way it's like the Goodyear Blimp - 'hey, look it's the goodyear blimp!' - but as this analogy lingers on too long I think it's worth comparing Hei La Moon to the Goodyear Blimp in two other ways... 1. Handily, it's always just over there when you suddenly think about it (across the old surface 93 from regular chinatown). 2. It's big as bigness permits. Shall I think of a third analogy? 3. Christopher Walken uses it to try and kill James Bond. Okay - 3rd analogy is not so accurate. Let's stick to reality All-in-all it's another average large dim sum parlour. It doesn't impress but it doesn't let down either. If you've had dim sum in SF, London, HK or Canada you'll know that this kind of summary means 3 stars all the way. Its size means it's good for groups but its 'Best of Boston' title of 'Best place to take your foodie friends' is laughably patronising, even for those of us who'd contemplate suicide at being called a foodie.
(3)Ezra E.
I guess I should preface this review by saying that I had only eaten dim sum once before and didn't really know what I was in for. I'll start with the good stuff. The place is huge and was packed, but they still sat us within about 10 minutes which was nice. The carts come by very frequently, and fresh food seems to be brought out very regularly. It is very reasonably priced and you can eat a wide variety of foods for not a lot of money My biggest complaint was not really knowing what I was eating most of the time. I'm a pretty adventurous eater, but I like to at least know what sort of animal/vegetable I'm chowing down on. Even the dim sum that I could identify just didn't taste very good (some kind of shumai, i think, not sure what was in it, definitely a some shrimp, but other slimy stuff too, egg rolls, some has brown looking thing, and maybe a few others). We decided to try their regular menu and ordered won ton soup, chicken with broccoli and beef with broccoli. The won ton soup was inedible, the broth tasted like water someone had soaked their feet in, and the won tons were filled with the same squishy-slimy meat as the "shumai". The chicken w/ broccoli was in a clear sauce (i prefer the brown sauce) and tasted kind of fish-like. The beef with broccoli wasn't much better. It was definitely an interesting experience, and judging by the number of 4/5 star reviews here other people really seem to like it, but I will not be going back.
(1)Anna W.
My family has dim sum ADD. We can never stay loyal to one place for too long. It started off with Golden Palace (truly the best dim sum place ever... RIP), then China Pearl, then Chau Chau, then Empire Garden, and now it's Hei La Moon. I've been there for dim sum as well as dinners/receptions, etc. Dim Sum is pretty good. It gets packed here on weekends, so you have to go either really early or really late. It's great for large groups of people. The place is always loud and abuzz with lots of Chinese yip yap. Be open-minded about the food. Never ask what anything is because the answer will most likely be "shimp" (shrimp), even if it's not. Yeah, it looks different, and tastes different, but it's GOOD! :-) Their family-style dining is better than some of the other places in Chinatown. They need a drastic makeover and a good interior designer though. Though the food is good, I would never want my wedding reception here or anything. The interior is just drab and blah. The last event that I attended, the restaurant let us bring our own coolers of beer and wine, which was cool. They could have suckered us into buying alcohol from them, but they decided to be decent instead. They don't take reservations for dim sum, but they will at night. My favorite dish is the mayonnaise-covered shrimp with walnuts. Sooooo delicious. I don't care if my coronary artery just closed up as I was typing that. Also, the garage upstairs offers validated parking. It's kind of a shitty place to park and the columns are oddly placed, but if you have good motor skills (haha, I made a funny), you should be able to maneuver yourself around well enough to get in and out without harming anyone. Hopefully, my family decides to stick with this place for a while.
(4)Matthew M.
Let me break it down for you. I'm from San Francisco. I grew up eating Dim Sum. I moved to Boston in August and so far have generally been disappointed by the quality of the Dim Sum here. Until that is, I found Hei La Moon. This place competes with the very best Dim Sum places in SF both in terms of the quality of the dishes as well as the price (about $10 per person). For the uninitiated: prepare to wait in line for a long time before you get seated; prepare for the waitstaff not speaking english (they don't really need to since 90% of the clientele are chinese anyway); prepare to eat things without knowing ahead of time what's in it. Warning: If your idea of good chinese food is sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls and pot-stickers, you better stick to places that specialize in those things because you'll probably be disappointed by all the chicken feet and tripe. For Dim Sum afficionados: try to show up early if possible, because after about 12:30 the variety of dishes starts to decline (we showed up at 12 and there were no more char siu bau); also, if you like fried turnip cake: unfortunately it's a little mushy here, but it's worth forgoing this one dish because all the others are so phenomenal.
(5)Marilyn T.
Coming from California and having visiting Asia on many occasions, I have pretty high standards for dimsum. The restaurant offers many typical dishes but lacks on more unique items. It definitely caters to the crowds, and it gets very busy on weekends. As most dimsum is, it gets pretty hectic. Dishes are greasy and pretty standard. I don't think it's worth the wait, though.
(2)Katy P.
A group of three of us went for dim sum on a Sunday morning. The line was long, but we didn't wait terribly long since we agreed to be seated with a few other folks. The food was delicious and I really enjoyed the douhua dessert (warm tofu pudding with a sweet ginger syrup) and all of the dumplings. My only issue with this place is the pricing. Make sure you watch the servers like a hawk. We ate plenty of food but our bill came to over $70 for 3 ppl which is robbery for dim sum. Of course, no one spoke English well enough to explain the bill so I have a sneaking suspicion that we got taken advantage of. Whatever...next time I'm bringing someone who can read Mandarin, suckers!
(4)Charles T.
When this place first opened the quality was pretty good but I feel like the standard has dropped over the last couple of years. Overall ok dim sum but nothing spectacular, especially compared to other cities.
(3)Tony O.
My 'go-to' dim sum place. Excellent Dim Sum - fresh, clean flavors and responsive service even on the most hectic weekend mornings. All the lightbulbs seem to exhibit some slightly perceptible 'surging' (rapid cycle of slight dimming followed by bright surging). A whole new take on some dimming while having Dim Sum . . .
(4)Khantha S.
Nice big restaurant with pretty good dim sum. This place is a few walks from chinatown
(4)Nina N.
I was tempted. Very very tempted. To say. That this place was better than China Pearl. It was what I wanted to say after trying the shumai and rice pork meatballs. I am glad I did not let myself say this until I tried all of the other dishes because it was not true. I have to say, the crowd/mob mentality got me thinking I was being served really excellent food. What do I mean? Since when does a large crowd mean good food? It's assumed that good food draws a lot of people and therefore the store is always crowded. Well, here is my theory. When you eat around happy and loud people, you feel like you can eat more, let loose, and even have good and loud conversations yourself without disturbing a neighboring table. No need to be shy. And somehow, you think the food is better since there is so many people squished in the room with you and they must also be enjoying their food too right? And how they manage to always find seats for you is amazing considering the long lines waiting for the seat and how packed the place is the whole time you're eating. Well, this does not necessarily mean good food. When I slowed down, after the peak of the new place, new food, and the "I haven't had breakfast yet!", I realized that not all of the food was good. The shumai was definitely good. Piping hot and steamy. The rice covered pork meatball reminded me of sea urchins. Strange eh? It was my first time having this dish and it was pretty good. Very hot and juicy. The ha cao (not sure of the spelling) or the shrimp dumpling was not so good. It was juicy which was not right. Oil dripped from the dumpling when I bit into it. Then it fell apart. Uh oh. The beef tripes was ok. At first I thought it was really good but the more I eat it and try to disect the flavors, I realized that it was quite pungent. The ginger and green onion did not do it's job to mask the smell of the tripe. It could be that they did not boil the tripe long enough before steaming it. The egg rice congee was really good. It was really hot. Not spicy hot but steaming hot. It was watery compared to the slightly thicker congee I would get from other places. This is perfect for me though. We also had the chicken feets in black bean sauce. It was good. Not the best I have had but decent. The soft tofu in a sugar syrup was cold. That bothered me. I was not happy at all with this. I would definitely give it to Hei La Moon for having a packed restaurant and always seeming to have seats and piping hot and steaming dishes (except the tofu dish I had) of food when the carts go around. Quality wise, I was not satisfied.
(3)Danny F.
food alone is 3 stars; it's very very O.K.-la and perfectly competitive with anything else in boston/manhattan. variety is somewhat limited to the standards, but enough to keep me happy. carts came around fairly quickly, and were constantly replenished, so food always arrived at my table hot and fresh. also seemed less oily to me than lesser establishments. but...there's no wait, and the room is airy, bright and clean! so due to the fact that i cannot give half stars, it luckily gets a 4 star rating from me.
(4)Albert D.
I can safely say that this is the best you'll get in Boston. Normally I'd be all snide about it since Boston asian food is nothing to write home about. BUT, this place is actually decent! It can be a wait, but there are lots of tables, so probably wont be more than a 30 minute wait. If you can wait an hour to get into Cheesecake Factory, then this should be a breeze. I batted my eyes and winked at the hostess and she hooked it up with a seat even earlier (actually, i said that we were in a rush, and pleaded with her... but details, details..) As far as dim sum goes, everything we've gotten was good. Some things should not be missed, like the BBQ pork buns (the white ones), shumai, and OF COURSE THE CHICKEN FEET. They infuse it with heroin from what I've been told? For dessert, get the soft tofu with ginger sugar sauce on top. It's a sweet-dessert-soup-triple-screaming-orgasm in your mouth. It gets a four because the utensils were dirty. But I was on the fence about marking them down for that. Cause it just takes a quick wipe-down.
(4)Ulf V.
Stopped by on Labor day for some Dimsum.. Been here many times before, this time no different. Food was good, seating a bit cramped, but got upstairs digs. Many carts to choose from and all told, 4 of us ate plenty and bill came to $40. Tried the taro wrapped rice for the 1st time.. very tasty!
(4)Miriam L.
I can't believe it had been so long since I'd had dim sum! I came here for the first time in probably five years yesterday afternoon. The waiting area was crowded, but we were assured that the wait wouldn't be more than 10 minutes. About 8 minutes later, the hostess seated another party of two people whose number was after ours. Oops! I think she realized her mistake, and a few minutes later asked if we minded sharing a table. We said we didn't, and were seated with two other groups: an older Chinese couple, and a young couple with their daughter. I think at first the older woman thought we'd never had dim sum before, because she started explaining what the different dishes were and asking which ones we wanted to try. It was really sweet, but I think she realized quickly that we actually were familiar with dim sum. I think the ability to use chopsticks will do that. The food was mostly very good, though the first shrimp dumplings we got were a little on the cold side. Other than that, the food was great; broccoli rabe with fish sauce, steamed pork buns, fried shrimp and spinach dumplings...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I'll definitely be coming back more often with friends.
(4)Justin Gwailo H.
I used to go to China Pearl. I would have to say, comparing the two, Hei La Moon (a.k.a. Xi Ling Men) is the BEST dim-sum place in Boston area. They don't have the food stations like China Pearl, but the food quality is far superior. Although, I am not impressed with their non-Dim Sum dishes.
(4)Allison N.
It is a fairly traditional dim sum restaurant - huge room (I think there are two floors, actually), lots of Chinese people giving me, the only white person, funny looks, and women with carts. Solid food for a reasonable price.
(3)monica m.
Went to eat here for lunch today because I was having a major dim sum craving and heard this place was the place to go. I have mixed feelings about Hei La Moon...mostly negative, but I DO have a positive. First of all, the place was packed, but we were real lucky. We went in around 1pm and it looked like the majority of the lunch crowd was gone and we were able to be seated within minutes. Dim sum at this place goes until 3:30 so we had plenty of time to eat. Went to go to the restroom and it was FILTHY. There was water all over the floor and it was just gross. They must have a lot of foot traffic during lunch because I felt like I was crossing a small moat just to use the facilities. As I got back to the table, I see that my family had already started getting food to the table. Took a bite of the shrimp, pork, and shrimp & pork shumai and they were delish! We had the pork buns, ha-gao, and dan-tat and they were just as delicious! My family and I were so happy as we were munching on the food. My mother wanted the Chinese broccoli so we ordered it from the waiter, but after 5, 10, 15 minutes, the broccoli didn't come out. We finally flagged down one of the carts and asked for it. It was really tasty. We decided to order another one so we did again from the waiter because the cart lady disappeared. Took them another 15 plus minutes to get that out as well. It was really frustrating. Our server looked miserable and the ladies that pushed the carts didn't speak a word of English. That was also frustrating. Whenever we wanted something, the lady would look at us and say "no" or "retire" and then we'd see it 10 minutes later in another cart. So, the food was really good, but the service really stinks! After lunch, we asked for the check and it was a whopping $57 for 4 adults! $65 if you include tip. Half the awesomeness of dim sum is that it's cheap. This was not cheap! We were able to feed 5 adults for half that amount at a really good dim sum place in Southern California. I expected better from Chinatown! Well, we left the restaurant feeling full, a little disappointed about the price and service, but happy with the taste of the meal. Until an hour after... I had a huge headache, felt dehydrated, and had a stomach ache. In fact, I still have a sensitive stomach and it's been about 8 hours since eating. Found out why too. My mom said that the food had a lot of MSG, which I now think I am incredibly allergic to. So, for those that are sensitive to MSG, please beware before eating here! I know that many people state that all Chinese food has MSG, but I've eaten dim sum and not gotten sick after wards so I know that no or little MSG in Chinese food is possible. Like I said in the beginning, the only thing that is a positive for this place is the brief deliciousness that it gave me while eating their food. The service, MSG overkill, bathrooms, and price is what keep me from coming back.
(2)Erik S.
A decent Dim Sum restaurant. Tons of people and tons of food. They kept bringing food by but they didn't seem to have that much variety. It seemed like they kept bringing by the same things. Everything was good but nothing was great. One thing going for it was that it was super cheap.
(3)Julian M.
This is certainly the best dim sum I've had in Boston. It's all kept rather fresh with decently-thin skins. It has some slightly newer dishes. But it still doesn't keep its dishes as up-to-date as some of the places in the San Francisco area. It's no Hong Kong, of course, but I've not had better in Boston.
(4)Jeanette Y.
Authentic dim sum with a traditional banquet feel. Everything I had here was delicious. Great (and fun!) for large groups of people. One of the best things about Hei La Moon that you don't get in NYC Chinatown is that you can come early or mid-afternoon, and it is always bustling with plenty of food. In NY Chinatown, you would need to come at 9:00am - any later and the restaurant would be all out of food.
(4)Byron M.
If you are familiar with Chinatown, this place, like China Pearl, is a larger restaurant that is designed as a dim sum place during the day and a full banquet facility in the evening. They also serve dinner for individuals and small parties as well. Because they are located on the street level this place is better suited for persons with disablities as not all places in Chinatown are able to accomodate folks in this area. The dim sum is on par with China Pearl and the dinner menu and quality is a bit better. This restaurant also offers discounted parking on the evenings and weekends in the garage upstairs. The banquet food is also very good and recommended for larger parties.
(3)Kenny L.
For those that aren't familiar with Sailor Moon, she is a teenage middle school girl with magical powers to defend the evils of the universe. In this episode, she teams up with Sailor Venus (Roni E., official Cantonese translator of the day), Sailor Mars (Nate Y.) and myself, Sailor Mercury to find allies and opponents along the path to battle Dim Sum, the warriors of unknown powers. The war was fierce. We encountered the clear skin dumplings with shrimp (won), wonton soup with only shrimp wontons (lost), turnip cakes (won), small soup dumplings (won), sticky rice (won), egg custard (won), flour skinned meatballs with mushroom (lost), and sweet tofu flower soup for dessert (won). Key: won=good taste, lost=bad taste. In the end, the powerful Sailor Scout Team beat Dim Sum. But even though most battles were won, some were almost borderline tasty. It was definitely unlike the battles fought in NYC, LA, SF, and even less so in the motherland of Hong Kong. We will wait patiently for the next battle in Boston and we hope to win in a larger margin. Maybe next time Tuxedo Mask will come to save the day, or at least Trish the Dish.
(3)Nancy L.
Hei La Moon is the rival to China Pearl for the best authentic dim sum experience in Boston Chinatown. In my book, HLM is very good but not better than China Pearl. It has bigger portions, each of the dumplings, buns, or shumai are all bigger than that of China Pearl and it is more accessible. If you park in the parking lot above HLM, you can have it validated after your meal at HLM and only pay around 6 dollars for a whole day of parking, a pretty good deal in Boston on a weekend. However the food at China Pearl is better and has more variety and more authenticness to it. It's something that I cannot put into words completely. The same rules of agressive queuing up for the wait list, stopping the ladies who push the cart, and fighting for the last dumpling still applies to HLM. Very loud and busy on weekend with prompt wait service.
(4)Matt L.
I originally submitted a review back in Sept 2006 and since then it's been a twice a month (if not more) dim sum house of choice. Hei La Moon are from the same owners as China Pearl so back then it was like all the (food) of China Pearl but in a shiny new room. Oh how things change over time. For years, we've coming for dim sum, often early in the morning on weekends, yet inexplicably the hostess continues to direct us downstairs regardless of how few people there are in the primary (non subterranean) dining room. The first couple of times, we obliged and went downstairs to find that not only is the "new car smell" gone, but replaced by "old, greasy, needs a 'Stanley Steamer" guy to steam clean this whole nasty carpet" smell. The point of continued maintenance and cleaning was lost - replaced by the old Chinatown saying, "f*ck it!". More recently, we insisted on being seated upstairs - even accepting a longer wait. The funny thing, the wait was never any longer, so why were we "guided" to sit downstairs in the first place? Do I have some kind of "Brad Pitt carved asshole sign on my forehead" (e.g. "Inglorious Basterds")? That had to be the case, as I saw no other clear seating pattern - with a random blend of old and young; Chinese and non - that warranted the Yankee fan at Fenway treatment. Anyhow despite the second class seating preference we continued to come - now more out of habit than anything else - although the food was still consistent. Until.... On our last visit, I ordered a bowl of congee (a Chinese rice porridge) . To my surprise, I hit a crunch. Not a yummy, "was that peanut or cashew crunch." Not a "cookoo for cocoa puffs crunch" but rather a, "does someone have the number of my dentist crunch!" There was a peanut sized hunk of glass in my congee! Luckily it was not sharp but rather thick and well rounded - kind of like a piece broke off a thick glassed (blue) vase. Either way, not cool. I raised my hand and brought this to the attention of one of the wait staff. She too was shocked. So much so that she ripped the piece of glass out of my hand (still dripping from spit and congee) and inspected it carefully. Really? No napkin, nothing - nor did I see her was her hands before helping other customers. No additional comment needed. So she came back, apologize and took the ONE DISH off the check. Umm....really?!?! REALLY!?!?! One of the head waiters ultimately came back and wiped out the whole check. A nice gesture, but all things considered, we decided that would be our last trip for the foreseeable future. We've switched back to Empire Garden - a favorite of my aunt's and I must say, it's been a pleasant trip back. Finally, can't a first class dining experience and awesome Chinese food in Chinatown be synonymous? And we're not talking about a dramatic change in the food, but more so update the presentation and service. Pay the workers industry standard wages so they don't look like they just rolled out of bed (not their fault in my opinion). Restaurateurs, please take note.
(1)Jennifer S.
don't go for anything but dim sum. like another poster mentioned their food is really bland and flavorless. no soy, no ginger, garlic NOTHING. lots of cornstarch though. so yucky. but their shrimp dumplings (Har Gow) are a delight.
(2)Dee H.
The dim sum is pretty good. They've got all the family standards, plus the variations of the same that we usually ignore. The extra star is for the cleaner and newer facilities than the old standby China Pearl, and for bringing out full cans of soda when we asked for a glass of diet coke and a glass of sprite for the boys.
(4)Kathleen M.
By far my favorite dim sum place in town. I shouldn't scream that too loud because I have always found the wait much shorter here than at places like China Pearl or Chau Chow City. Spacious set-up with upstairs and downstairs seating, just outside the Chinatown gate. Food is always fresh and carts rotate pretty frequently. They cook up all your dim sum faves, and my Chinese pals swear by the tripe and "phoenix claws" here, but none for me, thanks. Sadly, the least frequent cart contains turnip cakes, which are my favorite dim sum delight. I do advise you, though, to hunt this cart down--quite delicious and best when hot off the griddle. Just don't frighten the person with the cart as you charge across the enormous dining room in a focused effort to obtain just a small bit of this turnipy goodness, we don't want to do anything to further reduce the frequency of the cart!
(4)Corey B.
Ok, this place is probably the best Dim Sum place in Boston. That said, I recently had a terrible experience there. I went recently with three others and we had a great meal, though they apparently make the calamari once in a year as we have been several times since January and only saw that once- it was excellent! Okay, the bad experience: After our meal we paid with a credit card, but decided to tip in cash. The person collecting the check saw no tip on the card receipt and ripped into the card holder about how he should have tipped. She had no shame, and she only brought us the check and provided no other service, therefore would not have had any idea as to our dining experience- she was telling him to tip 15%. She should have said nothing because it is not her choice to make- what if the service was dismal? (It wasn't) and was a honest misunderstanding, but demanding a tip is not a good business practice. My out of town friend will never go for Hei La Moon again.
(4)Jennifer L.
Is it just me, or does all dim sum taste the same? To be fair, I've only been twice, once to Hei La Moon and once to China Pearl, but seriously, the dim sum at both places taste exactly the same to me. The dishes seemed to be exactly the same. My experience is, if you get something with filling (besides the pork buns, which were ok), you can choose from some combination of pork, shrimp, and scallions.
(2)Danae B.
Best Dim Sum in Boston, hands down. Just watch out not not to get hit by one of the carts. It smarts!
(4)Naomi U.
The absolute worst Chinese food I have ever eaten in my life anywhere. We had three take-out dishes Not many chinese ingredients were in evidence...and many huge chunks of vegetable like 3/4" celery and carrots...as well as canned white western muchroons and western cabbage in evidence.... It was as though the worst dorm food chef in 1950's NE directed unwilling 17 year old student serfs in making Chinesesque chop suey without any crunchy noodles.
(1)Al N.
For the Dim Sum: 5 Stars. They got all my favorites, from turnip cakes to pork ribs in black bean sauce to chicken feet to taro cakes (shrimp cakes with crispy shredded taro stuck to the outside--amazing) to wide noodles with XO sauce. Good prices, fun to eat, fast service. So why the two stars? It it weren't for the great Dim Sum in the earlier hours, I'd give them zero. I went at night with four friends, all of whom are white. I look white enough, even though I'm half Asian. Not like it matters. First of all, there's no Dim Sum. Second, I order the Peking Duck and they only tell me ten minutes later that they're out. I know that takes a day to make it, but if it's on the menu, WTF? The biggest offense of all was NOT the waiters constantly looking over at our table, pointing, and laughing (yeah, we're ugly dorks, but have some manners), but the way that no matter what we ordered, THEY GAVE US THE WUSSIFIED GWEILO VERSION. We asked for chicken with ginger and scallions--repeated it twice, actually. They brought chicken with broccoli. I asked very clearly so as to be absolutely sure that the waiter understood that I wanted Spicy Salted Shrimp WITH SHELL and HEADS. They brought decapitated, shelled shrimp. When I said it's not what I wanted, the waiter said, "This is better." What a load of crap--shrimp without shell is like bowling ball without liquid center. They missed one dish entirely. It's like Hei La Moon is two different restaurants, one a fantastic Dim Sum place and the other run by a idiots so afraid of offending customers' palettes that they completely disregard what was ordered. Don't go at night. If for some reason you feel you must, bring a lawyer.
(2)Moookao K.
Is it just me or have Chinese people gotten heavier over the years? If so, it's all because of this place. The dim sum is the best in Boston!!! and I know my dim sum. It's in my genes for goodness sakes. Before I found this place, I was worried about surviving the next 3 years in Boston without good dimsum -- given that I come from the motherland of dimsum -- CA. Unlike the dim sum offered by China Pearl or Chau Chow City, the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Especially noteworthy were there beef noodle rolls (chang fun), meat balls, shu mai, hargow, and leek/veggie dumplings. Also yummy are anything bun related -- BBQ pork buns and the sweet custard bun. The bread is the perfect balance of fluffy and chewy. Damn, I'm salivating all over my computer again. Oh yeah...and the service is great and the dining room is spacious and clean! Why not 5 stars? cuz I'm a spoiled dimsum whore and have had the best of dimsums from around the world, SF, LA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan. Sorry Boston. Though you're the best here, you don't compare to the rest of the world. But congrats on the 4 stars!
(4)Jimmy C.
Dim sum heaven. The spareribs over rice noodles are delicious!
(5)Liana K.
Dim sum is yum yum! While I can't recall the names of everything that ended up being swallowed, it was all good. Pricewise wasn't too bad since it came out to like $62 for 8 people.
(4)J L.
Had to spit out the beef balls. It's so nasty my gag reflex kicked in. The Phoenix claws tasted like they dropped the whole winter's salt in them.
(1)Justin M.
Only ate here for Dim Sum. Being a native San Franciscan, I really hate to be biased about eating dim sum from other metro cities. To me, their dim sum was just average. Since I've heard that Boston's Chinese food is not the greatest, I would have to say that Hei La Moon is just ok for what is available in B-Town. The service was good. The minute you sit down, you're surrounded by the dim sum carts. Choose your selection and go from there. We went during a weekday with a large group and didn't have to wait that long. I'm sure that a weekend visit would pan out a different story. It seem that they like to heavily season their food with "white pepper." Almost every dim sum dish we ordered seems to have that similar distinct white pepper flavor. It's ok to season with this, but it's overly too consistent. I also usually judge a dim sum place on how well they make their flavored chicken feet. It was ok. Didn't experience the pushy staff forcing plates on us. If this is the only somewhat decent dim sum place in Boston, then I would probably give another star.
(3)Ayuka H.
The #1 dimsum place in Boston!
(4)Huan z.
Was invited to have dim sum with few American friends. Even though I don't speak Cantonese, I enjoyed the food. I felt it tastes better than few other dim sum places here in Chinatown. Not every dishes has shrimp in it which is a plus. Will try some other time if I am happen to be in Chinatown.
(3)Annie I.
oh my god....dim sum here is amazing. you can get a ton of food for a very reasonable price, and the pork buns are life changing!
(4)Lindsay B.
The food was yummy at first BUT I found THREE hairs - all of different textures and lengths - in my food. I'm still nauseas thinking about it. I looked up their health code history and it was NOT pretty.
(1)Lisa P.
Went here on Christmas or the day after, can't remember, for some good ol dim sum. The line was really long and parking is impossible. We ended up parking upstairs in the garage. But once we were seated, the food was yummy! They had a good selection of dishes. The bathroom, however, was a bit dirty and greasy.
(4)Kittery R.
I was here for Dim Sum, we had a huge group, so had to get 3 tables. I find that this is a large restaurant but the foods is not so good/fresh. This was on a Saturday at peak time, so if foods are not fresh then, I cant imagine how fresh they are on other days. Waiter/Waitress are the worst of Chinatown, we ask for some cake waited 30 minutes and still nothing, when we asked again, they brough in like 20 minutes later when everyone was done. The waitress were so rude and wanted to forced us to take it the dishes they didnt bring us 50 minutes ago, but We were all full and didnt want to pay, so the waitress was all angry. Not santiarize and foods not so fresh and horrible service. Pearl and Burcha cha has better dim sum. there is another place, but I cant remember the name. All are better than this place.
(1)Hubert H.
I'm writing about both the dimsum and the dinner options. Dimsum was fine. A step about China Pearl in that the restaurant is cleaner, and the items more steaming hot. Fair cuts of shrimp in the hao gao, and nicely done sticky chicken rice inside lotus leaf. One thing to note is that on weekdays not many varieties of dishes are presented, so it might be useful to complement the dimsum with a noodle dish or rice. Another thing: once in a while they throw in an experiemental item: this time it was bits of taro, celery, and cilantro inside a sticky rice flour wrapper. Dinner was fine as well. Be sure to order off the Chinese only menu as that menu is the only one that has the group dinners (2-person, 3-person, etc.). Ours came with a seafood and vegetable dish, a fried rice, a seafood soup with crab and fish stomach, and a ginger/scallion stir-fried lobster. We also added a hot pot with chicken, salted fish, and tofu, which was a nice complement to all the other seafood. The stir-fry technique was solid and there was plentiful to eat.
(4)Thuy Tien L.
I used to get my dim sum fix at China Pearl, but one day I decided to investigate the place with the long lines out the door of Chinese families, and I found Hei La Moon. Oh man. I love this place! Best dim sum I've ever had, and definitely the best in Chinatown. Bring a Chinese friend (it might help you get a table faster, and it'll be easier to get food), and try one of everything. Everything. They serve pretty much every food item anyone could ever want to eat at dim sum, so bring an empty stomach. Come early to avoid the crowds (before 10 am, esp on a weekend) or else you'll be half-dead from hunger by the time you get a table. And you'll DEFINITELY need a Chinese speaker in your crowd in that situation, because numbers are called out in both Cantonese and Mandarin but rarely ever in English. Shady, but true. Another useful tip: either come in small groups (2-4) or giant extended family-sized groups (10-12). Sometimes large round tables are saved for large parties, sometimes several small groups get put together at one of these tables. Seating often depends on your group's size and table availability, so numbers aren't called in order. The food is absolutely amazing and really fresh because they get so much business. I often drop around ten bucks for a gut-busting, soul-fulfilling meal. Heaven.
(5)Mark W.
Excellent Dim Sum!
(4)James C.
Dim sum review. The food is good but the service is spotty. The carts come so infrequently that people go to the carts. Service in general is poor
(2)Andra Z.
This is a great place for dim sum, and for someone who isn't Asian, an experience not to forget. It's always busy when I've gone, which makes the experience even better. The carts are packed with yummy dim sum goodies and the staff is helpful enough to give you some sort of indication as to what you're eating. I wouldn't go in if I weren't willing to experiment. The broccoli rabe is fantastic, I highly recommend it. And I've always stayed away from the cart with the chicken feet. I have eclectic tastes, but not that eclectic. The prices are incredibly reasonable for the amount of food you can and will consume.
(4)Mia D.
UPDATE: Went again when my father in law was in town. We went EARLY, like before 11 and that was the key! We got in right away and the food carts swarmed down on us quickly, I was pointing and saying yes so fast! This time we were more impressed with the variety of food we got and it was tasty!!!! We ate in less than an hour and were all stuffed when we left! Again, we decided to skip dessert mainly because we never really saw a dessert cart go by and got dessert at the bakery down the street. Still a solid four stars!!! It will never get 5 from me because my fav dim sum place is in SF and London... OH and we found that the garage right next to Hei La Moon is a flat rate of $10!!! Finally, I've discovered a great dim sum place! I'm so excited!!! After hearing from people that this was the best in Boston, my family decided to check it out. We got there around 11am on a Sunday and there were already packs of people waiting! After shoving my way to the entrance and after people rudely shoving their way ahead of me, I looked the lady who was handling the "list" and put up 4 fingers (the lady behind me was already speaking in Chinese to her, trying to get a number before me!), she graciously gave me my number first (HA!) and then it was the waiting game. Having 2 little kids with us, that was fun, let me tell you! I had to keep standing by the lady calling out the numbers, because it was so hard to understand her! She had her mouth too close to the mic, so the sounds were all muffled! Frustrating... But finally, we got seated in a pleasant window seat with plenty of room for my kids to be comfy. The food came fast and it was worth it! Soooo delicious and warm and BIG! I couldn't believe how big the dumplings were! So, why only 4 stars? Well, the variety wasn't great, I am used to a lot of different things, and the only vegetable we saw was the broccoli, which we got. And my husband almost got sick when he saw how dirty the bowls were that the woman serving up the tofu was using. I mean DIRTY like they had never been cleaned before! Luckily we didn't get that and also after that we were on the lookout for substandardly clean utensils, plates, bowls, etc... And the desserts were seriously lacking, mainly because she kept avoiding us even after we flagged her down! The service isn't great, they try to explain what it is, but unless you speak their language, sometimes it's tough to understand what is inside some of the items. However, the price is wonderful! It was only $40 for us to eat and that EASILY would have been doubled at my fav place in SF Yank Sing. We ended up getting perfectly pleasant pastries at the store down the street. My only complaint about Chinatown is the lack of parking. Anyone have tips for cheap parking, I'd sincerley appreciate it!!!
(4)Anthony Y.
Why are all the good Dim Sum not in NYC? Hei La Moon is a perfect example of what Dim Sum should be across all cities as it follows this supposedly simple (but apparently not so) template: - Spacious (so you don't have to sit with randoms) - Fresh food (too often in other cities the dim sum looks microwaved) - Clean! (a previous review I wrote recounts where this was lacking) Now I guess the only minus I saw was the variety was a little too standard which meant very few options for those who don't eat pork or shellfish (which I need to keep in mind for my gf). But since she wasn' there, I definitely ate my fill and appeased my craving. Actually, there's another minus... the soup dumplings weren't soup dumplings. It made me look like a dumbass ordering them trying to explain how to eat one only for it to be a lame knock off (that is the moment the 5 stars went to 4). My quest for quality NYC dim sum continues...
(4)E C.
Recently had dinner here with a group of friends. The food was good and plentiful. We had 5 tables with 48 people and each table ordered off the menu. Each table ordered 8 meals and then everyone ate family style. There were no complaints on the food it was all good. For a last minute reservation the restaurant was cordial and handled our group with ease, although they did try to get us to purchase the group dinner specials we insisted on ordering off the menu and they did a fine job of getting us feed and keeping us happy.
(4)Derrick C.
Better than China Pearl
(3)Meg M.
I've been to three dim sum restaurants so far in chinatown and this is the best of the three. The food is fresh, cheap and very filling. You eat like it's thanksgiving and pay only $10. The only downside is going on the weekends when the line is out the door. It's best to go during the weekdays. Have the shu mai and pork buns.
(4)Jack P.
very good dim sum, but not the absolute best
(4)Tony Z.
Excellent dim sum restaurant. I personally prefer this over China Pearl, another very popular Chinatown dim sum restaurant since the overall taste is much more flavorful and tasty. Be sure to come at the right time as the wait can be a bit long. Also, parking is nearly impossible to find on a weekend.
(4)Leili T.
I've been to much better places for Dim Sum. The food wasn't that special and it smelled a little. I will never go back. It killed my interest in Chinese food altogether and I used to be a huge fan of Chinese food and specially Dim Sum.
(1)Sandra Y.
The dim sum staples like siu mai and har gow were really fresh tasting, while the less ordered things like sticky rice tasted stale. Overall the food was pretty good, not the best I've ever had but it definitely fills the spot. It was easy to make eye contact with the cart ladies and ask for the appropriate items, although they do run out of certain items pretty quickly (they didn't have char siu cheung when I was there) I recommend reserving a spot ahead of time so that you don't have to wait for a seat.
(4)Theodore Y.
One of my favorite Dim Sum places in Boston. I either come here or China Pearl whenever I go dim sum with my parents or a large group of friends. 7/10 times i'll come here though. The food is great and some of my favorites here are the Fried Dough wrapped in Rice Noodles (called "jia leurng" in chinese), the pan friend Rice Noodles ("jeen cherng fun") and all the regular dumplings that are great. Compared to many other Chinese restaraunts, this establishment is noticeably cleaner. The only complaint I have of this place is that there are often not enough carts coming around (which is a bitch when you're hungry), though a waiter is willing to search for what you want. It just takes away from the experience and thrill of getting it off the cart.
(4)Perry F.
One of my new fav places to have dim sum. The food comes out hot and steaming. The har gows are big and stuffed with shrimp. The chicken feet are plump, meaty (?) and flavorful. Try different types of steamed dumplings as they all have different fillings. The egg tarts have a flaky crust and custard-like egg filling. One of the best I've ever had! They even have a lower level that they open on the weekends to catch the overflow once the main level is full.
(4)J. M.
Don't expect service or manners if you go here! First, the cashier always has a scowl on her face and really needs to know how having customers is actually a benefit to your business. After having dim sum, I noticed that there was a $1 charge on the bill. No biggie, but since it wasn't marked as to what it was for, I went up to the cashier and asked. She said it's for the tea, but when I informed her we didn't have tea, she changed her answer to water. What?!! Are you kidding me? I had a small dirty plastic cup of iced tap water, and that cost $1?? Me thinks not! Save your money and go elsewhere.
(1)Elisa T.
Stumbled upon this place one day when I was walking by during lunch. I had a hunch it must be good because it was packed with Chinese people for lunch on a weekday, and all the dumplings and dim sum goodness looked so yummy from the window. I've been going there at least once every other week for dim sum lunch and went there on the weekend for the first time today. It is awesome! Fresh food, big variety, relatively good service (only got attitude from 1 cart lady, but it adds authentic character to the experience), and it's relatively clean. Definitely a go-to spot for dim sum!
(5)E K.
I'm giving it four stars because everything is great, except the chicken feet. Nevertheless, I would come back again. A very authentic Hong Kong timsum feel with the pushcarts and people speaking Cantonese. A little pricier than the other dimsum joints, but the food was very good (except the chicken feet).
(4)Mark D.
So the concierge at the hotel gave me a list of dim sum restaurants which included the likes of China Pearl. But knowing that cops always know the best eats in their beat, I asked him where the best dim sum in Chinatown was...and he told us to go to Hei La Moon. And it was perfect. It's your classic chaos inside with carts racing around, food always being thrown on the table and for Chinese New Years, lions dancing inside. The food was awesome...and the bathrooms were surprisingly clean!
(4)Julia R.
delicious dim sum. seated immediately. pork buns were great. otherwise nice but average dim sum dishes.
(4)Tyler C.
Probably the top amongst the 3 big places for dim sum in Boston. Prob a touch less tasty than, say, Millbrae, CA or Alhambra, CA, or Flushing, Queens, but that would be an unfair comparison based on per capita Cantonese population around these parts. Still, well prepared dishes. China Pearl and Chau Chau City have really taken a dive lately so unfortunately this is the only game in town. As with all humoungous dim sum palaces, be prepared to fight for a table. Fortunately, the lady with the bull horn at the front means business and gets people in and out. (note to all you overcrowded brunch places - get a good bull horn...)
(4)Ben M.
The carts of steamed dim sum are really great. They have buns, dumplings, desserts. I just went here for dinner and the pan fried shrimp with shell on it was very tasty, with a nice sweet sauce. My friend's squid dish had good broccoli and a flavorful gravy. The tea is nice but has the leaves on the bottom, which you should be careful about.
(4)Dennis L.
This Dim Sum restaurant across the street from the Chinatown Gate, I have been to a number of times since it opened for different occasions, ranging from business meetings, to wedding receptions, to elaborate family association dinners, to simple dim sum with the family. This review, I am focusing on the dinner faire, which I had at a business meeting aftermath yesterday night. I have always found the food to be middling, and my dinner yesterday night was not much different from other faire I have had here. I have yet to be blown away, but in comparison, the quality seems to be lightyears above the place I despise the most *cough*Emperor's Garden*cough* and a small step above China Pearl, but unfortunately, when I think high quality Chinese cuisine, the cha laos in Boston still has a ways to go. We ordered one of the set meals, which cost about $200 after tip to feed 9. The first course was a mixed seafood soup with crab meat and egg being the most defined flavors. It seemed more flavored by salt than by the seafood stock and extremely heavy on thickeners. It was passable, but not particularly good. Next was a bird's nest filled with mixed seafood. The bird's nest was cold and thus did not break apart easily, making interaction a bit difficult. The seafood within it is of reasonable size, using moderate-sized scallops and plenty of cuts of fish, not being overly laced with vegetables as filler. You can not go wrong with ginger and scallion tossed lobster, since it is such a simple and basic dish... but after seeing it so many times, it does not seem any different. I wish a Chinese restaurant out there would learn to blanch lobster, extract the meat, and slow simmer it to make it more tender, but that is but a dream... The beef short-ribs with black beans are served on a hot plate with onions and green peppers. The cuts of the short-ribs were varying in quality, some being very high in fat and seemingly untrimmed ends, others fine. There was a celery-like green Chinese vegetable that I forget the name of, served in broth, but I avoided because after experience with it in the past, the strands within are like celery in terms of getting caught in my teeth. The salt and pepper shrimp used whole live shrimp, so a bit more work is needed relatively, but the preparation method preserves the internal juices. This was fairly well-executed with the salt not overwhelming, which is a tendency I've seen with such. The steamed fish of the day was butchered very well and seemingly the highlight dish in terms of preparation, the bones parted without being broken, steamed with soy sauce and topped with scallions. The Haianese chicken was served somewhat tepid, though for me, that is better than cold, but I wish it were hot. However, it was butchered very well, the amount of work needed with my mouth to extract bones minimal for every piece, though about half the chicken was very light on meat compared to others. The admixed fried rice had ham, bean sprouts, beef, peas, and shrimp. Nothing unusual, except to note that the fried rice is seemingly not sauced and just lightly salted, which I personally prefer. It was not too dry, nor too sticky. For dessert, we had a chilled dessert soup of tapioca pearls and sweet potato. In terms of flavor and thickness, it was wonderful and light, the sweetness not overwhelming, but in terms of texture, a lot of the tapioca pearls were stuck together in large globs, meaning it was not stirred enough to keep it from sticking or the tapioca was left out too long to dry. Overall, Hei La Moon is a safe bet. It can cater to a large array of tastes, but it seems like a place to take the family rather than a date. If you are versed in Asian dishes, you will find nothing innovative here, but the standards executed fairly well. In comparison to the other dim sum/function hall restaurants in Chinatown, I'd say it is the best, but not by much. There is room for someone to craft a wonderful Chinese dining experience rather than a large room for dinner. The group meals offered here is good for when you want to focus on gathering with your family rather than spending time arguing over what to order. Just learn the even Chinese numbers, walk in, peer at the Chinese menu, point at the number of people you want, and get back to conversation. Let the restaurant take care of the rest.
(3)Liezl P.
This place is huge and has a great selection of dimsum! I happily nibbled on braised chicken feet, lotus wrapped sticky rice, hargao, etc. on a recent visit. I just wish we had a place like this in DC.
(4)Kit Y.
I am having difficulties rating this place, while I truly appreciated the food and restaurant, I did not like the service too much. For a staving vegan, dim sum usually sucks balls, but Hei La moon has lots of stuff, like the green veggie cart, and fat scallion rice noodles in sweet soy sauce, and some kind of mushroom roll in tofu skin- all good shit. The place was definitely not as crowded as most dim sum joints are at 11am on the weekends so that's a plus too, BUT- beware they will take advantage of you if you are not chinese!!! We went with friends non chinese and chinese and I was the only one who spoke chinese, so before I got there to save them, the dim sum cart ladies had already harrassed them into taking a bunch of dishes that they didn't want. So as a tip, just say no! if you d not want the dim sum that they are trying to force on you. If you can do this, then the dim sum here is pretty good.
(3)Marlarissa M.
Fun and delicious lunch experience. Go with someone that speaks Chinese or you better be patient and adventurous.
(4)Garett N.
This has risen up the ranks as one of the best dim sum places in Chinatown... on par with maybe China Pearl. With two floors, it's relatively easy to get a table if you arrive at a good time for dim sum. There is never a problem getting a table for dinner. Overall, it's very fresh, typical service, and recommended!
(4)Mayo B.
Dim Sum is really good here. BBQ pork buns are excellent as well as the chive and shrimp dumplings! Shumai was generously stuffed and very tasty. The Fried Taro Cake is great too! Definitely check this place out!
(4)Kristine M.
Yum! So far it's probably the best place I've eaten dim sum at in Chinatown. It's a little more expensive. Everything is piping hot and yummy! AND when I asked for water, they brought it within minutes! Best siu mai I've had in a long time. Go with an empty stomach and eat eat eat.
(5)Jackie C.
Pretty good dim sum. This is the go-to place for dim sum these days, I just wish the wait for a table isn't so crazy during the weekend. I've also come here for dinner and the food is done all right, not bad for the price. They have downgraded some of their ingredients for their dishes this past year, probably in response to inflation and what not. If you're looking for decent dim sum and don't mind hectic wait (if you're going on the weekend), I say give this place a try.
(3)Ashley M.
Ok this is important .... Hei La Moon vs Emperor's Garden.... price and quality being the same.... this is what i think is the big difference. Hei La Moon 1. better atmosphere - no horrible pink tablecloths across too huge tables Emperor's Garden 1. bigger, so no HUGE wait
(4)Aditi R.
My first time trying Dim Sum and the experience was really nice! We walked in during lunch right before the crowd started really coming in, so around 12pm. We were immediately seated at the big table (we had a group of 5) on the platform. So it made us feel all smug and stuff :) Anyway, I'm really glad I came with people who knew what they were doing because all the ladies with their carts running around was quite overwhelming, but I have to say pretty exciting to see as well. There was just so much life in the place! I really liked the atmosphere. So I can't exactly name all the dishes we had and we had about 10 or so. But I can name a few. Please note I do not eat pork or beef so I was very limited in my selection at this particular place's dim sum. 1. There was a pork dish with rice around it and it was wrapped in a leaf. The rice was great! 2. Another pork dish with large flat noodles. Once again the noodles were phenomenal! 3. Finally a dish I can eat! Chicken buns. The buns were slightly sweet and there really wasn't enough chicken meat in the bun. But the bun was very light and I did like that about it. 4. We decided to go a little crazy and order chicken feet! Sounds disgusting I know, but it was pretty good. That's also because I like the chewy tender parts and I don't mind bones in my meat - most people were quite put off by it. But I liked it! 5. Silken Tofu with Sweet syrup - really good! We ate this as a kind of dessert and I was very pleasantly surprised. The texture was somewhat wierd and took a little time to get used to, but it was really good! 6. My favorite though, were these sesame covered balls with red bean sweet filling in it. OMG, uh-mazing! Had it not been for etiquette, I would have certainly eaten a good portion of that dish :) There were 4-5 more dishes, but since I didn't really eat them (or couldn't) I do not remember and cannot review them. The service was good. The ladies with carts came frequently and with plenty of dishes on their plate. That could also be because were on one of the main tables and right next to the kitchen as well. I never interacted with the ladies, but they didn't really speak english well. But I believe that's fairly characteristic of good dim sum places. The best of all!! The bill was less than 50 bux! for 10 dishes. I was absolutely amazed and could not believe it. Loved the experience and wish I could have tried all the dishes. For that reason and that reason alone is the reason why I'm giving the place 3 stars.
(3)Jongpol J.
for the first 10 times i've been coming here i thought the place was called "sailor moon" .. -_-'' i always come here for dim sum. they can get very busy during morning-lunch time so the cart are sometime slow to come by... to solve this problem.. just grab ur bill and go look for any cart with the dish u wants to eat =] i've never been dissapointed with this place yet .. when we ask for something.. even when they're xtremely busy .. they still get it for us .. which is pretty awesome for a busy chinese restaurant (other restaurant often forget to get something for u when u ask)..
(5)Captain H.
I prefer this place over China Pearl for dim sum. But I won't claim to be a dim sum expert or anything, I just like it because it tastes good and it's cheap. It also has a sushi boat appeal to me, that is, I don't know what I want until I see it. There are bad things about this place - mainly that most of the waitresses don't speak English (but you can point to your food!), the food tends to be greasy, and I always feel like they stick us white kids at terrible tables and often together in the same section. (And they always try to pass off certain foods to our tables that they don't in the rest of the place, although I didn't want chicken feet anyway so I don't really mind. I just make them show me everything and take what I want.) Overall though there are a lot of choices and the carts have pretty high turn around so the food usually tastes pretty fresh. We usually stuff ourselves and get away with $12/person bill. That's tough to beat, especially since my boyfriend had a huge pit for a stomach. My favorite is the fried shrimp w/ taro, although I kind of prefer the ones that are more gooey inside. (They have those too, but just taro no shrimp.) I went here once with a guy who didn't eat shrimp or pork and another guy who didn't eat beef. That was a bad idea. I don't think I would take a vegetarian or another picky eater here either. But, if like, you'll eat anything than go for it.
(4)Chin C.
I went there a couple of months ago. There is only one reason keep me from going back there, BAD SERVICES!! OK, I don't remember about the food, to be honest, but I don't go to restaurant to only eat, good services are expected too. The place is clean and bright with nice ambient, better than many Chinese restaurants here. Here is the thing, the server gave us a dim sum that we didn't order so we called the waiter and told him about that. He was furious and asked us to confirm that we didn't order it and we told him so. Guess what he asked us again did we want it, and we said no. HE THREW THAT PLATE TO THE BASKET IN FRONT OF US. OK that's enough. Good bye not even want to go back!! Do I have to give one star for this place?
(1)el e.
Had dinner here. Place was totally clean (the seating area, at least), the waitstaff was attentive, quick and friendly, and the food was super delicious. We got the egg rolls, the beef and vegetables, and the eggplant with black bean sauce. oooh, i missed eggplant and black bean sauce, and how. it was so delicious. they give you heaping plates of food, just like any chinese restaurant should. while the prices aren't dirt cheap, the food is actually very good in my opinion, so it all works out. hope to go again soon.
(5)Jen Jen W.
Thought the dim sum was just ok...we ordered mainly lobsters/crabs and some other duck/chicken dishes and they were pretty good! If you have a big group you need to make reservation in advance!
(4)Lindley E.
Ate here pretty recently and was impressed. I've been eating dim sum since I was a kid -- when they still counted plates rather than stamped your check -- and I think I know what tastes good. I've had dim sum in Hong Kong, in Guangdzou, in San Francisco, New York, and LA. I live for the stuff. This place ranks up there. While Hei La Moon isn't groundbreaking, the quality is very good to excellent. I'd recommend going early in the morning to take advantage of fresh-from-the-steamer quality. Very good har gau here -- I polished off a steamer full during my visit. Prices are reasonable. You will leave very satisfied. Chicken sticky rice also delicious. Brought a little extra home and ate it cold -- was still amazing.
(5)Karman L.
My friend had her wedding here this past weekend. It was great that setup for her wedding. She was able to get the whole restaurant. Food was good (wish I actually had time to eat them all). I've been here for dim sum too, it's decent, and reasonable price.
(3)Shawn F.
My family always comes to Hei La Moon for our dim sum adventures in Boston. Good selection, as long as you don't arrive too late. White tablecloths and a general attention to cleanliness makes the place seem a cut above some other establishments. Recommended.
(5)Karsten R.
I've been a China Pearl die hard. Ever since '00. And today, I must say, I am moving up in the world to Hei La Moon. A large clean cavernous place that is crowded on a weekday lunch will undoubtably spill out on the street on the weekend. Quickly seated, I shared a table (fastest way to get served). The table had a table cloth...nice touch. The Shu Mai, Hai Gao and other standards were fabulous. Lighter and fresher looking. They really looked homemade. Grease content seemed lower than other places. I tried a fried nest of some sort. I think it was white carrot with some shrimp base....delicious. I recommend this place for a good lunch for weekdays. Fairly loud so dont bring older hard of hearing folks. 4-5 dishes and walked out for $13. It's $2 over the mythical $11 at China Pearl, but very very worth it. Our office is right next to Chinatown, and I am embarking on a winter long odysee to try every eatery in Chinatown.
(5)Bo F.
The main boss lady who does the bills is extremely rude and so are some of the waiters. She does not even acknowledge you when you bring the money to her. To her benefit, it's really busy and she's used to Chinese people being rude to her so she doesn't make any effort. In addition, I feel like the place has a sense of arrogance, because it's close to the only elevated parking lot in chinatown and they get a lot of customers, they feel like they don't need to be that polite. One time, one of the waiters came up to us and yelled at us for not tipping enough in front of everybody. After about 5 minutes of yelling, we gave him 2 more dollars and he said thank you and left us alone. Another time, I asked if we can be seated on the first floor so my elderly grandparents don't have to take the stairs. The hostess said in Chinese "please...I'm sure they can manage." After these experiences, I boycotted them for about a year but went back simply out of convenience (it's closest to south station-red line) and the food is rather good. I've been to this place at least 10 times now. Compared to Emperor's Garden and China Pearl, the food selection is slightly larger and tastes slightly better.
(2)jazzy l.
We didn't come here for dim sum but came here for dinner. We got two chinese orders of (party for 4) dinner specials. Baked Lobster, Steam fish, chicken fried rice with salted fish, and some other dishes. It came to under $100 for 7 people.
(3)Kevin T.
One of the best dim sum places I have ever been to...period. First, let me start with the food. I love the variety of dishes that they have and the food is always warm or hot when served, as they should be. Flavor is great and the price is more than decent. Second, although you'll probably run into a fatty line outside, don't worry, the turn around time is fairly quick. I have never waited for more than 15 minutes with a big group. Third, they have a nice decor which makes the food even more appetizing. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking into a restaurant in chinatown where they have ugly decorations and dirty tables/utensils. When you pay, one thing that you might notice is that they don't really "ring you up" at their cash register. They add up the total themselves...and you might wonder how the heck they calculated the tax. From what I've seen, they have a tax table on the back of their carbon paper pad, which gives them rough estimates. The reason for the minus star....well, they have a few tables on the main level where the floor is elevated; therefore, the dim sum carts aren't able to be pushed next to the unlucky customers sitting there. The customers must get up every time to walk to the carts...ANNOYING! Thankfully, this has never happened to me but I've seen people get up and down and I feel pretty bad for them.
(4)Raymond W.
After sampling the dim sum at King Fung Garden and China Pearl, I opted to select Hei La Moon for a Sunday Brunch. Upon calling in for a table of 12 reservation, we were able to get a large round table downstairs that actually had at least 4 large tables. The crowd was lively and the restaurant was humming along with various carts flying by. Sometimes it was hard to flag down carts if you didn't have you game face on or if you are busy in conversation. Over the course of the meal, we got shrimp and pork dumplings, spring rolls, Chinese broccoli, pickled vegetables, sticky rice, pork buns, shrimp wrapped in white rolls, egg tarts, chive dumplings, and a few others that elude me at the moment. For the 11 of us, the total came out to $12 per person including tax and tip. It has been a long time since I've had Chian Pearl and King Fung Garden, but I think I would label Hei La Moon above King Fung and on Par with China Pearl (possibly slightly ahead). The biggest frustration was flagging down non cart pushing staff to get water, tea, and the check.
(4)David K.
After many years of happy dim-summery at China Pearl, I was happy to find an even better alternative in Hei La Moon. The food was fresh and delicious, and they had some nice dishes that I hadn't seen at Pearl. The one thing they didn't have was enough of the turnip cakes going around, and also the other dumplings that are warmed up on a skillet before serving. Yes, I obviously don't know the names of all the dishes but I know what they're supposed to taste like and Hei La Moon does a fine job. This is an excellent choice for a weekday lunch or weekend gathering. Prices are very reasonable.
(4)David K.
Dim Sum here is probably the best and tastiest you will find on the eastern side of Toronto. That said, there a few good spots in NY City and short of taking that short cut on your way to San Francisco for the Best Dim Sum I have had in the USA -- Hei La Moon does a wonderful job of crankiing out all of the favorites. Lots of great little meat wrapped wonders, steamed things (admitting that I pretty much stick to the steamed things and shy away from the fried foods). The service is pretty decent and they send out a lot of carts since the whole restaurant is pretty much filled with Dim Sum customers v/s those who order off a menu. You can of course do a little of each --but I have always just gone with the really fresh and hot dim sum items.
(4)