I haven't been to Chong's for a few years and the last time I visited, the setting looked different from before. They have put in more small tables, so we didn't have to share a table with strangers. The food was the same great taste I remember from a few years back, with large portions and low prices. I especially enjoyed the congee yesterday. The stuffed eggplant and fried rice were pretty good, too, though the steamed rice rolls were somewhat lacking. They also offered a few choices for the complimentary tea. Service was prompt and efficient. I will likely come back one of these days.

I have been on the look-out for a decent dim sum place to go near my home. This little place is on the south side of Kingsway, just east of Slocan Street. It is a 10 minute drive (in normal daytime/weekday traffic) from my home in Champlain Heights. I think I have found "my dim sum place." Thank you to the previous reviewer for sharing their experience and bringing it to the attention of DineHere readers. It is otherwise easy to miss.

The ambiance was better than I expected. Dark wood tables, all clean. Plenty of tables for parties between 2 and 10 (no need to share tables with strangers). There were no plastic tablecloths (not that I mind those). The restaurant was clean, with pictures on the walls and tvs playing Chinese programming, but with reasonable volume control. It was not high end - but serviceable for a family afternoon outing or if meeting with casual friends or even a casual business lunch.

My husband describes the washrooms as clean and adequately stocked.

We were seated promptly by a smiling waitress. We were given tea immediately and appropriate dishes/table ware for dim sum (including chopsticks AND forks). The waitress brought the menus and explained which one was for dim sum, as well as a pencil to check off the desired items. The menu was clear and written in both Chinese and English.

We ordered and the items starting arriving within 10 minutes.

We ordered the steamed prawn dumplings, steamed spareribs in black bean sauce, steamed sticky rice wraps, deep fried spring rolls, pan fried eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste, and rice flour rolls with bbq pork. All of these items were priced at a very reasonable $2.75 each. We also ordered the braised spicey green beans at $5.00 and the Deep fried Chicken knees with black bean sauce at $3.75.

All of the items were served hot. Our favourites were the braised spicy green beans, which were a very generous portion and absolutely delicious. My other favourite was the pan fried eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste. It was different than anything I have ever had at dim sum and was heavenly. The spring rolls were also tasty and non-greasy.

We noted that there was ample condiments at the table - soy sauce, chili sauce, hot sauce and red vinegar (as well as salt and pepper). In addition, the spring rolls were served with a generous amount of Worshesthire (sp?) for dipping.

All the food was very good and the value was excellent (hence my five star rating). Our entire bill (with taxes and generous tip) came to $35. We left very satisfied.

We will be back and often.

(Please note - it is a cash only establishment).

I have been going to Chong's on and off for years. The ambiance isn't the greatest. Most of the tables are cramped together. When it's busy, you usually ended up sharing tables with complete strangers. The atmosphere is very loud when it is busy. This is the place where you eat and run, not for a intimate lunch outing.
Most of the waitress spoke very little english. But because my friends and I are regular, we are treated well. Overall, the staff treated everybody well esp. when the majority of their customers are seniors.
I like to come here for their crispy roast pork on rice. Its the best in town for $3.00 and I think this is the only restaurant that serves this dish for dim sum. I also, like their steamed ginger milk, corn and shrimp dumplings and steamed white fish. They charge $3.00 for their baby bok choy with bean curd sheets and gingko nuts. Thats incredible value. Other restaurant charged $5.00 for this dish. Their other dim sum dishes are ok, but for $2.30, you can't complain.
One word of advice, if you know what you want, I suggest you order thru the waitress or else, you wait forever.
Recommended - crispy roast pork on rice.

Chong's has been in the neighbourhood for a while and mostly serves the Chinese Senior's crowd during Dim Sum lunch hours. The food is usually decent and cheap, at $2.30 per Dim Sum dish (it used to be $2.00); certain dishes are even cheaper if you know what to order. The service and ambiance are not great, but you get what you pay for.

The restaurant is quite small and always packed during lunch hour. You could end up sharing a table with strangers if you aren't lucky or don't have a large enough group to take large table to yourselves. It's definitely a cramped eating space, so don't expect to be able to recline into the aisle. Dim Sum dishes are carried out on platters by the waitresses and called out by name in Cantonese. The servers are polite but curt, they won't be good on conversation but they are usually responsive to requests. It helps if you go with someone who's been there before, and also note that most waitresses don't speak much English, only Cantonese and some Mandarin. If you know what you want, ask the waitress directly (in Chinese) to get it faster. Although certain common dishes like Ha Gow (shrimp dumpling), Siu Mai (pork and mushroom dumpling), Cha Siu Bao (BBQ pork bun), etc. come around with some regularity, others may not. It's definitely recommended to order directly if you come near the end of lunch.

The food itself is usually decent and served hot (don't touch the steamer basket). It's a little oily for my tastes but I've certainly seen worse; the salt content is also okay in my opinion. No dish in particular stands out, except the prices. You can get a large bowl of Duck Egg and Pork Congee (Pi Dan Sou Rou Zhou) and a plate of their "famous" Hawaiian Fried Rice (Xia Wei Yi Chao Fan; composed of diced vegetables, pork, and scrambled eggs) for $2.30 each; "White Cloud Phoenix Talons" (Bai Yun Fung Zhua; actually non-marinated chicken feet) are just $1.00 a plate, ridiculous! These dishes have to be ordered directly from the waitress for sure, and they may also take a while to serve them as they build up a good number of orders to serve at the same time.

If you have leftovers after you are done eating, ask the waitress for take out cartons (styrofoam containers) and a plastic bag to carry everything. You'll have to pack it yourself, they don't do it for you. In the past, I have ordered extra dishes on purpose to pack for dinner or the next day. Ask the waitress for the bill, she may calculate it right in front of you and ask you to pay her directly on the spot to save time. Note that they charge tax and expect a reasonable tip. You can easily eat a Dim Sum lunch for under $10 a person depending on what you order. After you've paid, someone will probably begin to clear the table within a few minutes whether you've left or not (ie. it's time to go). Also note that the way they clear the table may be surprising for the initiates of fine Dim Sum dining; the "table cloth" is a soft plastic sheet and the waitress simply bundles everything up (cups, plates, utensils, everything) in the plastic table cloth and carries it away.

Chong's is a noisy and cramped restaurant full of loud mouthed Chinese people. The washroom is what's to be expected of Chinese eateries: terrible. It's definitely not your "mainstream" kind of place, although I suppose that depends on your definition of "mainstream." The food is bland, the service brusque, the prices are cheap. I wouldn't have it any other way.