Hong Kong Islander

5675 Freeport Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95822

Rating:  

I know that Hong Kong Islander has been open since July 26th, but we finally got a chance to try it out. In short, King Palace runs laps around Hong Kong Islander. Since the last time I was in the building of Hong Kong Islander, renovations completely changed the look of restaurant since its buffet days, returning to its original dim sum roots. I do have to say, the new decor is quite inviting.

Now, the decor is where the pluses end for the most part. Service when greeted was acceptable, but no extra mile was provided. Food carts were around, but many of the workers lacked enthusiasm and courtesy. Selection mirrors most of the other dim sum restaurants.

Today, we ordered har gow, sui mai, beef balls, steamed shrimp balls, shrimp chow fun, chicken sticky rice, and fried shrimp balls. The har gow was pretty good. The sui mai was not formed too well, but it tasted OK. The beef balls were not that good, and were a bit red. The steamed shrimp balls were OK. The shrimp balls were tasty. The chicken sticky rice was not that good. There was some weird fishy taste inside, and not many big chunks of meat. The fried shrimp balls were very fresh and crispy.

Overall, if I were given a choice to come back to Hong Kong Islander, I would pass. If I was looking for dim sum, I would go to King Palace for better food and better service. If you live around Hong Kong Islander, and you don’t want to travel far for food, Hong Kong Islander is acceptable.