Won Kok Restaurant

All things considered over the years that I've come back to visit this place, there was always a few key things that stood out:
* Open Late
* The sio pao/char su bao/mana pua is made fresh and sold quickly, because it's good.
* The service varies - I've had service where the waiter not only is always there, but remembers what I had the last few times, even if it was months ago! And I've had service where it's almost non-existent, and have had to wave someone over. My advice is to sit in the upstairs area, and keep an eye out for your waiter as they'll pass by going to the downstairs section.
* Regardless of the time, probably one of the safer places late at night, since the police frequently stop by to eat and there's someone in the parking lot to direct cars to open parking spots.
* Oh, did I mention the steamed BBQ pork buns? Try the red bean sesame balls and the sweet cream filled buns too.
* And I second the notion on tipping well, if you get good service. Many of the waiters don't forget and have surprisingly *long* memories.

05.19.24 ordering dim sum at the window. Check. Your. Order. Bag. Before. Leaving. had ordered cream buns and coconut buns, but they mistakenly gave it to the wrong customer. at their current prices, that's $10 of items i didn't get.

what would have been helpful, is if they weren't trying to fill 3 large orders at the same time. ended up waiting a long time, since one of the families ordering works order per person, and constantly adding to their order an item at a time. frustrating; note to self, get there earlier to avoid the family rush.

Won Kok restaurant is an absolute gem, deserving of the highest praise! From the moment you walk in, you're transported to a culinary haven reminiscent of a 1930s Chinese grandmother's kitchen. The BBQ Pork Buns are, without a doubt, the best I've ever had - perfectly succulent and bursting with flavor. But what sets Won Kok apart is the consistency and excellence of every dish on the menu.

I've had the pleasure of trying every single item they offer, and I can confidently say there's not a single miss. Each dish is meticulously prepared, offering a harmonious blend of authentic flavors and heartwarming nostalgia. Whether it's the delicate dumplings, the rich and savory noodles, or the exquisite stir-fries, everything is absolutely delicious.

Won Kok is not just a meal, but an experience. It's a place where each bite takes you back in time, celebrating the rich culinary traditions of China. Highly recommend to anyone looking for an unforgettable dining experience!

Won Kok has both a dim sum service window and a full restaurant with an extensive menu where you can also order dim sum, and both are excellent. The inside restaurant menu has every possible dish you may want with large portions for around $15. Service is slow and not super attentive, but the free Jasmine Tea and food makes up for it greatly.
The service window sells almost everything for $1.29-1.69 and is delicious and fast. All the food is premade so they grab and hand it to you. The chili oil must be noted, it's some of the best I've ever had and I usually order an extra for $0.25 to bring home, as it's smoky garlic crunchiness is uniquely deep and addicting while not too spicy or overpowering, a perfect compliment to the savory dim sum. The menu is extensive and a bit repetitive, so go with your gut and be adventurous as it's so cheap.
Make sure you grab a BBQ pork bun, a sesame ball, a coconut bun, and the almond cookies, they're always slam dunks.
I'd skip any of the curry pastries, they're underwhelming and doughy.

This review is for the walk up kiosk attached to the restaraunt.

So I'm driving along in Chinatown - fat, dumb and happy and I come upon the Won Kok kiosk. Why did I notice it? The line of people waiting to be served, 10-15 deep! I had to stop, right? So I did. I had already had lunch but I'm no fool, I had to take home some Dim Sum because this little kiosk specializes in Dim Sum. I ordered my favorite, Sesame balls along with Pork steamed and baked buns. Outstanding! Like I said this is a walk-up dim sum joint only, and a pretty good one at that!!

I came here under the advertisement of a tik tok influencer, big mistake. It was promoting cheap dim sum...

Yes, it looks that way when you're ordering shumai for instance, but it's one piece of shumai for $1... set of 4 is $4 so comparatively speaking it's same price as regular dim sum place.

The menu is seriously lacking. They only have shumai, hagao, sticky rice and a few desserts like egg custard. I was very disappointed. However my family only spent $30 and we're full off of this small menu choice.

It's still good for the price! Bathroom for the men's need to be stepped up, otherwise try this place out if you haven't.

Ignore the social media hype. The dim sum here is nothing special; in fact, it's not even very good by 'the 626' standards (insiders know what I'm talking about.)
Go inside the restaurant and order real Cantonese grub from the menu, way better (4 stars) -- wonton soup (with roast duck add-on), fried bone-in chicken with crunchy shrimp chips, beef chow fun, shrimp egg or beef egg rice plate.

086/2024

Always busy here no matter what time we come.

Parking is very tight with limited spaces.

The dimsum bakery that is located inside the restaurant is also accessible to the public with a walk up window outside. Always a long line

Food lacks flavor and service slow




rather than falling in line outside walk up window.

Decided to grab dim sum for lunch following a recommendation. I was a little skeptical due to the non descript nature of the restaurant. There was a bit of a line during lunch on a weekday which is expected. Although it did move a little more slowly than I was expecting. Once we got to the window, the cashier/order taker was friendly and worked quickly to take my order with I wrote down on the paper menu in advance. I'd like to say I'm a pretty good judge of dim sum. While Won Kok wasn't the best I've had, it was very solid and at a great price point and convenient carry out. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the food, but I ordered mostly the staples like char siu bao, shumai, har gow, and jiandui. Great flavor, not overly greasy, and good price point.

So I saw this place on one of the Social Media apps on cheap eats. I desperately wanted to go immediately but I waited. I brought my daughter and my wife. My wife tends to change my plans so while I had planned on going to a local park and eat it on this beautiful sunny day, my wife decided we would eat inside the restaurant... at a cost of $2 per person.

That wasn't too bad, especially since we got tea and chili oil and a place to sit. The prices are amazing and we got to try lots of things for a very low price. The service was a little slow getting to us but that could be because we did not order from the restaurant menu. Although there were some good items in the menu.

First the bad; not a big fan of the chicken sticky rice. It was not bad but not something I would order again. Unless there is something I should have done to improve the taste. All I did was dip it into my chili oil on my plate. Which, hell makes anything taste good. Don't know if I would order the egg rolls either. Again, not bad but so many things that I would rather have on the menu.

The good; the pork bun[s]. Yes buns with an S because we tried both. Daughter and wife both said steamed was better but I think it was really close but the baked bun had a really buttery texture which gave it a slight edge for me.

The best; pork and shrimp dumplings. The pork Shu Mai and shrimp Har Gow is amazing. Is it possible that $0.90 Shu Mai going to taste better than $3 Shu Mai, I think so. Pieces are NOT discount dim sum, this is the real deal. Super tasty and served hot.

The WINNER is baked Coconut bun. It was sooo good. Can't wait to come back. I'll take it to the park and sit in our wonderful CA winter day. You know, 82 degrees.

BTW, we got lucky and only about 12 people in front of us in line when my wife convinced me to go inside. By the time we left, the line was 40 yards deep.

I've been coming to this place for over 10 years!! It's been a secret little spot I'd show friends when they visited for the best dim sum.


Now this place is getting featured in instagram must-go ads and other marketing is blowing this spot up. I'm happy about it I am!

However -

Today I stopped by for a quick meal before a show at the Ahmanson... I went in, asked for a table and menus for my friend and I. He asked if we wanted the dim sum menu. I said yes please. Typically I get a chow fun, or fried rice and some dim sum. Since we have less than an hour to curtain, my friend and I just decided to eat dim sum.

After waiting for the server to take our order. About 10 minutes or so...it's busy I get it...he then informs us since we are getting only dim sum it will be a $4 up charge to sit and eat it inside.

$4 and a waste of time.

I happily would've waited in line if I knew they started a new sit down dim sum surcharge. You're paying for the food, the service, we were gonna buy drinks, and tip...

Now...

I'm frustrated I admit it, but now I'm waiting in the dim sum line outside. It's dumb. They would've made more off of me as a customer if I was dining inside. Period.