OVERVIEW

www.greateasternsf.com

Upon arriving to Chinatown we decided to find a local place to dine at. The draw of this place seemed to come from the fact that President Obama once dined here. We weren’t impressed, but it was close so we decided to give it a shot.

It was peak lunch hour and the restaurant was packed. That was an encouraging sign to me that it would probably be good. After the wait, they shuttled us down to the basement with the rest of the hungry tourists. The feel in the basement was much different than that of the main level.

If we had been seated on the main level, I would have given atmosphere a better rating. Service was without a doubt nothing special either. We asked for recommendations and the waiter basically just read off the menu to us saying everything was good.

As for the food, until we were served our last two items, it was excellent. We ordered some traditional items such as different types of dumpling, roasted duck, and pot-stickers.

We also ordered two very nontraditional items. These included steamed fish balls and steamed beef balls.

I would have to say that my favorite of these items was some of the dumplings. The rest of the traditional items were on par with your basic Chinese food. As for the fish and beef balls, that is a different story.

I want to add that I am far from picky when it come to food. I love food and will never dismiss anything until after I have tried it. The presentation of the steamed meatballs definitely did not help the dining experience. Both of them looked very pale and simply put just unappetizing. The best way to describe the texture would be that of jello. I don’t think I have ever had anything quite like it. I only lasted about one bite.

All things considered, would I return here? Probably not. When I make it out to the Bay Area again, I will more than likely try something else. If in the area is this a bad choice? No, but I would not strictly recommend it either.

CONCLUSION

If you are looking for decent classic Chinese dim sum in the Chinatown area of San Francisco, this would be an okay find.

Atmosphere:	(3.5 / 5)
Service:	(3.5 / 5)
Price:	(4 / 5)
Food:	(3.5 / 5)
Overall:	(3.5 / 5)