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| - I've been on this planet for nearly 30 years, and I didn't even know there was a Sam Woo in the city until now. I am ashamed of myself.
Sam Woo could be considered the de facto Chinese/dim sum restaurant in the city. Coming here last night was like walking into another era. It evokes the 90s in its decor, but the food is fantastic and the experience was overall very enjoyable.
There are certain things you just come to expect from a Chinese restaurant. Unlike other Yelpers, I won't judge a mainstay for poor decor if the food is great. After all, I've been to Chinese restaurants with much worse seating and cleanliness that had absolutely incredible food. That's a dime-a-dozen in Chinatown. Likewise, the staff comes across as a bit "gangster-ish" (the manager/owner looks like he stepped right out of a John Woo film, and some of the servers are abrupt and to-the-point).
We came here for the express purpose of getting peking duck, although I ended up ordering vermicelli instead because I wasn't feeling like too much meat. The portion size they gave me was huge, and easily enough to share with two people. Like most pho/dim sum restaurants I've been to, the selection for a regular weekday is overwhelming. I'd suggest that you bring someone along who's visited the restaurant multiple times before and can help guide you to make certain choices.
The a la carte menu items are priced quite reasonably for the amount of food you get. though one of the options for the duck (shaved pieces w/ lettuce wraps) is a ripoff. With that option, they give you a few shaved pieces of duck with crepe-like pancakes and lettuce wraps, while the other option (have them cut up pieces in the back) nets you a lot more meat at the expense of having to deal with bones. It's worth choosing the latter option. I did try a couple small pieces of the duck, and it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Very fatty and almost having a butter-like texture.
The service is a bit dodgy, but then again, I expect that whenever I come out to a busy restaurant like this. All things considering, the dishes we ordered were served promptly and the staff were reasonably attentive. We did have a bit of a problem at the end when our server failed to split the bills separately, but we managed to smooth things out easily and get the matter sorted out. There was a review down the page that mentioned you had to pay for take-out containers - not sure what happened to you, but they gave me several for free. You probably just didn't turn on the charm like I did.
They also engage in what I like to call "diet racism". Apparently, if none of the guests are Chinese in the group, they don't actually serve you dessert. My friend (who had been to this restaurant multiple times recently and knew the servers) ended up telling us this, because we wouldn't have received it otherwise.
Overall, Sam Woo is a restaurant I enjoyed visiting and will be back soon in the near future. Great atmosphere, great food and reasonable service made me a very happy eater.
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