This is over a period of several years so we're rather familiar with this restaurant. Many Chinese restaurants are not known for great service, but have great food. So expectations for service... More

This is over a period of several years so we're rather familiar with this restaurant. Many Chinese restaurants are not known for great service, but have great food. So expectations for service are minimal. If the servers take your order, give you tea and deliver food to you, that actually meets our expectations. Sometimes you get that service here. However, more often than not you get unusually bad service. One senses it is a management/worker issue because this place is almost uniquely awful. We're talking Ishtar the movie, Gigli, Plan 9 from Outer Space terrible. Food service at Pelican Bay must be better than this place. If you get a response at all from them it's a quick "hai, hai" and then you can proceed to wait and wait and wait... It's interesting to watch customers flailing their arms desperately trying to catch their attention, like we're all scrambling for that last helicopter before the volcano explodes. Once when we somehow got a waiter's attention, he yelled at us for asking for water. We were very polite but it didn't matter. So he brings us bowls instead. I suppose it's better than nothing. On one occasion we saw a more knowledgeable customer pay a waiter upfront before seating. Maybe that's the way to get decent service here. The only reason we even go there is if we have guests who insist on going there, or it was over a period of years in a forlorn hope that they had a change in management. Nope. They truly are Cupertino's finest No-Star restaurant (negative stars if possible). Pros: It's possible to have decent food Cons: Service straight from Hades
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I have to agree with most of the review, its is one of the better dim sum places but it is very busy during dim sum hours and the service is very lousy. But that sort of comes with authentic chinese... More

I have to agree with most of the review, its is one of the better dim sum places but it is very busy during dim sum hours and the service is very lousy. But that sort of comes with authentic chinese restaurants, hehe. Service is lousy but not bad. If you love you food enough I guess you can put up with it. Dim sum is good here but there are always long waits so go at your own risk. Pros: good food especially the scallop dumpling. Cons: long waits, service is just so-so
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Don't go there if you want to have a good time, or if you are trying to make impression on your guests. After the hassel of finding parking space, I was hoping for a good meal. The service was... More

Don't go there if you want to have a good time, or if you are trying to make impression on your guests. After the hassel of finding parking space, I was hoping for a good meal. The service was much worse than before, not worth the 10-20% tips from $350, 10-course, dinner. The cook even screwed up an everyday dish---fried rice. It came out hard as rock, can not chew and swallow it, but had to since it would look bad spitting it out. I was ready to over-turn the table and throw chairs. Pros: None Cons: Everything. There are many other better Chinese restaurants in Cupertino.
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Don't go on Saturday or Sunday! The place is so crazy busy that you have to wait for a LONGGGGGGGGGGG time to get a table. Not my favorite Dim Sum place but still good.

Don't go on Saturday or Sunday! The place is so crazy busy that you have to wait for a LONGGGGGGGGGGG time to get a table. Not my favorite Dim Sum place but still good.
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So far everybody has commented on Joy Luck's dim sum which is excellent and DOES have a long wait. If you want a really minimal wait I'd suggest getting there as early as 11:00 AM as there is always... More

So far everybody has commented on Joy Luck's dim sum which is excellent and DOES have a long wait. If you want a really minimal wait I'd suggest getting there as early as 11:00 AM as there is always a line. I also like going here for dinner, each day they have a special soup that tastes very yummy.
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Joy Luck gets really crowded on weekends, so I try to go there to meet friends or colleagues for lunch on a weekday. Even weekdays, it can get crowded, so it's worth calling ahead to make a... More

Joy Luck gets really crowded on weekends, so I try to go there to meet friends or colleagues for lunch on a weekday. Even weekdays, it can get crowded, so it's worth calling ahead to make a reservation (even for 2). They do honor reservations. The dim sum is very good and they do a good job making sure the carts reach all corners of the restaurant. I like all of the varieties of steamed dumplings - yum!
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Joy Luck Place is one of those place where you think they are passing out free iPods if you go on a Saturday or Sunday morning. It is one of those unexplainable phenomenon that you always have to... More

Joy Luck Place is one of those place where you think they are passing out free iPods if you go on a Saturday or Sunday morning. It is one of those unexplainable phenomenon that you always have to wait for a table at a Dim Sum restaurant on a Saturday/Sunday morning. They have a good variety here (you can get the cow intestine stew with daikon) and you have to pay a little bit more. Be sure to get there early. But not too early because they won't have all the variety.
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