I haven’t been to East Ocean in ages, having ended up in the habit of dropping by Zilver, mainly, or perhaps Marigold for old times sake. But taking a young fourteen-year-old friend out for yum cha, I liked the idea that they have a menu with photos to point at. Ascending the carpeted stairs, you really have no idea how big and crowded this place is going to be, but luckily, at 10:30am on a Saturday, we didn’t have a problem getting a table for two.
I found the food tasty and fresh, nothing special with no modern flair, but dependable. We had the steamed char siu bao, rice noodle rolls, also with char siu, prawn dumplings and chicken spring rolls. The wait staff were surprisingly friendly, and really made an effort to see if we wanted anything.
On the other hand, we ordered a drink, which got lost, and we had to ask for again, and then when we requested the spring rolls, which we could see in the distance but kept on moving away and away, it took them a very long time to get to us, much longer than if I’d gotten up and searched for it myself!
On the other hand, the perfection of these egg custard tarts, glossy and bright yellow with the flakiest pastry, kind of wiped out any complaints. $50 for the two of us. A dependable choice if you’re in Chinatown.
