Ocean Star Restaurant Inc

(626) 308-2128

145 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754 34.063 -118.1344

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhood: Alhambra

Hours:

Monday To Sunday From 09:30 AM To 10:00 PM

Price:

$$

Last updated 10.15.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Catering Services:

Restaurant Management

Cuisine:

Dim Sum, Seafood, Chinese

Smoking Permitted:

No

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Ocean Star Restaurant Inc

Featured Review

Martha Burr

Contributor

In Short – The weekend din of this huge banquet hall fades as you hear the squeal of the dim sum carts approaching your table. Hong Kong stunt guys, kung fu masters, culinary pilgrims and families celebrating special occasions journey east from L.A. proper to Monterey Park for a sumptuous feast. Even if you're an authority on pork buns and shrimp dumplings, Ocean Star will likely surprise you with possibly the widest variety of dim sum in town. Hong Kong natives may even experience some firsts here, like sole wrapped around black mushroom and Chinese sausage, Chinese squash stuffed with…

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
For dinner, don't miss the fresh seafood. But be prepared for the waiter to bring a live specimen to your table for approval before the kitchen cooks it.
When to Go:
Huge crowds descend on weekends, so arrive before 11am.
ambiance
75.0% positive
  1. “love the ambience of the place, the loudness of it.”
  2. “Chinese restaurant does not have to be synonymous with C health ratings, rude service, and poor ambience.”
  3. “Great service and affordable, delicious food in an enjoyable setting, with ample parking.”
  4. “But DO NOT go to Ocean Star and expect a beautiful ambience and quiet atmosphere.”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “Flower tofu dessert is great.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “love the dim sum and chrysanthemum tea.”
food quality
78.37999820709229% positive
  1. “recommend any seafood dish.”
  2. “Service is still good, compared to other similar establishments (the servers actually greet you and explain what they're serving, although some of them don't speak a lick of English), and the food, though decent, lacks variety.”
  3. “Try the bitter mellon soup, it's awesome!”
  4. “The food is pretty authentic.”
  5. “The food was excellent.”
  6. “Excellent food for a REAL CHINESE”
  7. “Well they served great seafood though a little pricy, well worth”
  8. “used to like Ocean Star -- their food is decent though a bit over-priced compared to other places around the area.”
  9. “The food wasn't too bad, but not great!”
  10. “Submitting to the dumpling gods' disfavor, our fourth dish was a cold sesame bun with red bean paste, which was filled with a pocket of oil.”
  11. “Go there expecting great food at great prices.”
  12. “Good piece meal delivery of a large variety of”
  13. “The fish tanks look terribly dirty, and forget about smooth service.”
  14. “It still serves decent authentic Cantonese cuisine and the prices are reasonable, but can hardly rival its better competitions in the area, let alone Hong Kong's.”
  15. “The food was average at best and the service was slow, stupid and unattentive.”
  16. “For a large restaurant that's not what you could call a cheap eat, they need to train their staff on how to do simple things like placing food on the table, changing out plates between courses, distinguishing what food should be brought in what order, how”
  17. “But their food is not that bad.”
  18. “I've also been here for a wedding and the food was awesome.”
  19. “friend and I went to Ocean Star to celebrate Girls' Night Out and ordered the lobster special (and a scallop & vegetable dish that was delicious).”
  20. “The dim sum and other culinary favorites that are featured at Ocean Star Restaurant are all delicious.”
  21. “great food”
  22. “The food is decent but quickly becomes worse just from how awful the service is.”
  23. “The food we got on our second visit was actually cold when we got it and not very tasty.”
  24. “The food is decent and definitely more authentic than Americanized fusion places like P.F. Chang's, but the wait service is just lacking.”
  25. “This is one of many authentic seafood establishments in the area, the name has been around for a long time and certainly one of the best.”
  26. “Dirty dishes are left out in plastic basins as you enter further in the restaurant.”
  27. “We'll never go there again, which is a pity, as the flavor of the food was good.”
  28. “The best dish is the nan wan bao (Yellow Egg Custard Bao).”
  29. “But the best thing was the food - just unbelievably excellent, in our opinion.”
  30. “This place is just above average despite the good food because the rest of the experience is just poor.”
  31. “highly recommended for anyone into authentic chinese food”
  32. “Perfect skin, fresh filling!”
  33. “Flower tofu dessert is great.”
  34. “think Ocean Star is one of the best places for authentic Chinese food.”
  35. “food mediocre at best.”
  36. “Great service and affordable, delicious food in an enjoyable setting, with ample parking.”
  37. “We were seated promptly, but in 40 minutes at the restaurant were able to order only 3-4 dishes.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “Service is still good, compared to other similar establishments (the servers actually greet you and explain what they're serving, although some of them don't speak a lick of English), and the food, though decent, lacks variety.”
  2. “They have the widest variety and best quality.”
  3. “Ocean Star is a huge restaurant and offers a wide variety of dim sum items.”
  4. “All of the selection and freshness we expect was there, served by mostly friendly women.”
  5. “Don't jump in and order everything you see right away, because they have so many variety of dim sum, you'll be full and saying to yourself I should have try that instead of two orders of Har Gao!”
  6. “It's where I go when I want dim sum, great variety, very noisy(what dim sum is all about), and feels just like home in hong kong.”
  7. “huge menu.”
  8. “Good piece meal delivery of a large variety of”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “This used to be a great dim sum restaurant.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “think many people come back because the price is very reasonable but I would never compromise price for service!”
  2. “We'll never go there again, which is a pity, as the flavor of the food was good.”
  3. “love dim sum but I will never go back to this place.”
service
45.65000057220459% positive
  1. “All of the selection and freshness we expect was there, served by mostly friendly women.”
  2. “Insufficient service for a big restaurant; greasy dumplings”
  3. “The service is fast, but the staff are a bit rude.”
  4. “don't know if we just got crazy great seating last time or the right hostess, but service has been utterly slow to non-existant.”
  5. “The food is decent and definitely more authentic than Americanized fusion places like P.F. Chang's, but the wait service is just lacking.”
  6. “Oceanstar, however, is slow in catching on this idea and has yet to hire wait staff that speak some English to cater to the younger generation and anyone else who doesn't speak Chinese.”
  7. “The fish tanks look terribly dirty, and forget about smooth service.”
  8. “don't know if I had bad service due to me not being Chinese but based on the reviews I think it's across the board.”
  9. “The service was horrible, the waiters are rude to the point you want to rip there heads off, Most do not speak or understand english, which made it quite dificult to order anything.”
  10. “Chinese restaurant does not have to be synonymous with C health ratings, rude service, and poor ambience.”
  11. “The food is decent but quickly becomes worse just from how awful the service is.”
  12. “The service is terrible.”
  13. “Service is still good, compared to other similar establishments (the servers actually greet you and explain what they're serving, although some of them don't speak a lick of English), and the food, though decent, lacks variety.”
  14. “very poor rating due to service!”
  15. “Great service and affordable, delicious food in an enjoyable setting, with ample parking.”
  16. “The service isn't great but that's not what i'm there for.”
  17. “It's loud and the service isn't the best.”
  18. “think many people come back because the price is very reasonable but I would never compromise price for service!”
  19. “went to the Ocean Star with a big group of people and were seated in this stage-like area that had 2 steps to get up to.”
  20. “BUT the MALE waiters,, ALL OF THE MALE WAITERS are very rude.”
  21. “For a large restaurant that's not what you could call a cheap eat, they need to train their staff on how to do simple things like placing food on the table, changing out plates between courses, distinguishing what food should be brought in what order, how”
  22. “The service was good.”
  23. “The food was average at best and the service was slow, stupid and unattentive.”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “Great service and affordable, delicious food in an enjoyable setting, with ample parking.”
  2. “It still serves decent authentic Cantonese cuisine and the prices are reasonable, but can hardly rival its better competitions in the area, let alone Hong Kong's.”
  3. “Good dim sum at a great price!”
  4. “huge menu.”
  5. “Ocean Star is a huge restaurant and offers a wide variety of dim sum items.”
  6. “For a large restaurant that's not what you could call a cheap eat, they need to train their staff on how to do simple things like placing food on the table, changing out plates between courses, distinguishing what food should be brought in what order, how”
  7. “think many people come back because the price is very reasonable but I would never compromise price for service!”
  8. “Go there expecting great food at great prices.”
  9. “And the prices are very reasonable!”
  10. “Well they served great seafood though a little pricy, well worth”
  11. “And the prices were extremely reasonable.”
wait time
40.0% positive
  1. “Oceanstar, however, is slow in catching on this idea and has yet to hire wait staff that speak some English to cater to the younger generation and anyone else who doesn't speak Chinese.”
  2. “The food was average at best and the service was slow, stupid and unattentive.”
  3. “don't know if we just got crazy great seating last time or the right hostess, but service has been utterly slow to non-existant.”
  4. “This is one of many authentic seafood establishments in the area, the name has been around for a long time and certainly one of the best.”
  5. “We were seated promptly, but in 40 minutes at the restaurant were able to order only 3-4 dishes.”
3 Star Rating: Average

07/10/11

Nice but kind of dirty

by donaldforhire

We were hungry when we hit he Ocean Star.. Ok, it was the weekend and the place was packed.. but it was ALSO filthy.... I felt the only cart that passed our table was deep fried random animal feet. Maybe I am being a little harsh, but it does drive me crazy when I have to get up and ask every waiter to bring a cart by out table. There were kids running around everywhere (even one who found his way under our table... while the parents two tables over just ignored the situation...) The food was ok... the service was horrible and the parking was hard to find.. (we parked across the street) The only thing that keeps this from being a one star joint was the price.. the plates were pretty cheap. I love dim sum, don't know if I will be on my way back to this place soon..

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/07/11

I recommend it!!!

by jjstyles

I started my order with a bowl of Hot and Sour soup

It was very tastey bowl but it did have a lot of tofu strips in it. Nevertheless, it was still a great appetizer.

My sister doesn't like their kung pao, but so far, everything was delish!

I recommend it!!!

2 Star Rating: Below Average

06/24/09

Current Lobster Special Isn't

by Lovesdimsum

Lobster at $3.99 each! What's not to like about that, especially when its preparation is so tasty?

A friend and I went to Ocean Star to celebrate Girls' Night Out and ordered the lobster special (and a scallop & vegetable dish that was delicious). We were (1) disappointed and (2) outraged. What we got for $3.99 was the end of the tail (where it fans out), the end of the head, part (and only part) of a claw, and the body part. Almost nothing to eat. When we asked about where the rest of the lobster was -- specifically the meaty part of the tail and the claws, we did not get a satisfactory answer. All we were told was that it was a small lobster. Hello! The good parts weren't there.

The Chinese couple next to us had a lobster, and the amount of lobster on their plate was twice what we had.

We'll never go there again, which is a pity, as the flavor of the food was good. And I used to love their dim sum.

  • Pros: Cooking is very tasty
  • Cons: Advertised Special Wasn't
2 Star Rating: Below Average

06/15/09

good the first time, not so much after that..

Contributor

About 1 1/2 years ago we went to Ocean Star based on a friend's recommendation and liked it a lot. The service was good. The food was excellent. We had a great time.

Since then, we've returned twoce and both times have been amazingly disappointing. I don't know if we just got crazy great seating last time or the right hostess, but service has been utterly slow to non-existant. The food we got on our second visit was actually cold when we got it and not very tasty. I'm going to give them one last chance, but for now I'm going to stuck with the Empress Pavillion.

1 Star Rating: Poor

03/28/09

Horrible

by rainbowland

a very poor rating due to service! I don't know if I had bad service due to me not being Chinese but based on the reviews I think it's across the board. When I first came in and was brought tea, the white tea container was spotted with tea leaves and was obviously dirty. I actually wanted to leave right then, but the place was pretty crowded around 10:30 a.m. so I thought I would still give it a try. The cart girls were very nice. I did NOT have any customer service issues with the cart girls...BUT the MALE waiters,, ALL OF THE MALE WAITERS are very rude. In the end, I asked for to go containers and one of the male waiters kept on saying ok you pay me now, you pay me now $15 you pay me now VERY VERY RUDELY and he rolled his eyes, as I was packing things in my hand. I asked him can I pack my food first. He said because we are busy, you pay me now. I will never come back ever again do to the service!!!!!! The food wasn't too bad, but not great!!! All of the individual portion size were way too small leaving the texture of the food mostly of rice wrappings. The only positive I would say is the price. I think many people come back because the price is very reasonable but I would never compromise price for service!! Or lack of...

  • Pros: nothing, maybe price
  • Cons: Everything, Service

The Details on Ocean Star Restaurant Inc

Place Categories:

  • decent chinese food
  • bad service
  • best dim sum
  • very reasonable prices
  • huge dim sum restaurant
  • recommend seafood dish
  • authentic decent authentic cantonese cuisine
  • mediocre food
  • particularly good nothing
  • like ocean star
  • worst restaurant
  • love ambience
  • all delicious other culinary favorites
  • rude staff
  • great seafood
  • favorite place downtown
  • favorite old time
  • great plate
  • terribly dirty fish tanks
  • excellent dimsum
  • best chinese restaurants
  • enjoyable setting
  • love tea
  • rude waiters
  • fresh filling
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