HL Peninsula Restaurant

Took my parents here on a Monday and all tables were filled by around 12:30. Service for us wasn't as terrible as other people's experience. After we placed our dim sum order, the manager asked us to double check and let them know if they missed anything. They missed my lava buns but this was quickly rectified. It seemed like we had one main lady bringing our food to us, and she was nice and joked around with us.

I haven't been here in almost a year now, and the food was better than I remembered it to be. Definitely one of the best dim sum places near SF, with good portions and flavoring and even decent pricing by Bay Area standards.

Food:
- Baked Lava Buns 5/5: they were perfectly runny
- Spare Ribs 4.5/5: good portion and flavor but the pieces of meat were each a bit too ginormous for my liking
- Steamed Meatballs 5/5: flavored well and had a good bouncy texture
- Portuguese Egg Tarts 3/5: I kept saying to my mom we had better ones at the airport lounge in Lisbon, Portugal. Not very sweet, so maybe good for the older folks, but it tasted pretty flavorless and no different than a normal egg tart to me
- Beef Rice Noodle Roll 5/5: nice, thin layer and a good amount of meat
- Beef Brisket and Turnip Soup 5/5: nice, clean flavors and beef is very tender
- Fried Bean Curd Skin Roll with Shrimp 4.5/5: seemed a bit overly fried color wise but otherwise very crispy, tasty, and super big portion
- Sautéed Pork Intestine 4/5: good flavors and no weird smells or taste with the intestines, but the texture of the intestine was a bit more chewy than I expected it to be
- Beef Offal Stew 4/5: not as flavorful as I was hoping and it seemed like they missed a few ingredients with the seasoning

Not really sure why this place has bad reviews but I highly enjoy this restaurant for dim sum and dinner.
I recently came here for a wedding banquet and was blown away by the beautiful venue and quality of the food.
This is one of the few restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area that can nail a roasted piglet.
The service at the wedding was also really good. Waiters were readily available but definitely not in the way.
I wish I was able to book HL peninsula for my wedding!

We went here for Sunday Dim Sum and were not disappointed. Food was great, restaurant was clean, service was good.

Some of the highlights were the shrimp dumplings and the golden fried rice.

A little pricy on some of the items, but overall a good experience

Here for an association dinner. Huge place, waiters were very busy with the banquet tables. Food wise, some better than others. Soup was bit bland, appetizers no complaints. Lobster was fresh and meaty. The black fungus salad was good. I'm sure the dim sum must be on par with their other locations but a great place for association and wedding gatherings. They do have huge LCD screen for showing videos or slideshow.

Listen up, because Daniel got something to say about HL Peninsula. If you're looking for the best damn Chinese restaurant in town, look no further. This place is a knockout, and that's the bottom line.

We had our wedding at HL Peninsula, and let me tell you, it was off the charts. From the moment we walked in, we were hit with an atmosphere that screams elegance. The staff went above and beyond, making sure every little detail was perfect. We worked with the manager, Leon, and that guy is a straight-up legend. He made sure everything went smoother than a butter.

Now let's talk about the food. The menu is packed with dishes that'll make you wanna say "Hell yeah!" The wedding selection is out of this world. Every piece was crafted to perfection, bursting with flavor. The Peking Duck? Carved right at the table. The skin was crispy, the meat tender. And those Honey Walnut Prawns? Perfectly cooked and coated in a honey glaze that'll knock your socks off.

The service at HL Peninsula is top-notch. The staff are as attentive as a rattlesnake, always ready to help and make sure you're having the best dining experience possible. They don't just serve food; they serve up excellence.

The ambiance is as classy as my suit. Perfect for any special occasion, whether you're tying the knot or just out for a damn good meal.

So if you want a meal that's gonna hit you harder than a Stone Cold Stunner, get your ass to HL Peninsula. With killer food, stellar service, and an atmosphere that's second to none, HL Peninsula is the undisputed champion of Chinese dining. And that's the bottom line, 'cause Daniel said so

Similar to what everyone has stated about HL Peninsula, prices definitely are pricey and food is mediocre to okay. I feel like the Bay Area is littered with plenty of dim sum restaurants that one can choose from. HL happened to be a convenient 3-5 minute ride from work and was easily accessible for lunch time for my team and I. For a group of 8 people, we had a whopping $450 (service fee included).

The meat options were okay, but the veggie options were a bit sad. I had two coworkers who were vegetarian and they didn't enjoy the dishes so much. We actually ended up having to order two different fried rice dishes because one of the vegetarian fried rice options actually had seafood!! Luckily a non-Vegetarian person took a bite and informed the group. So, if you are vegetarian, be sure to flag the server and let them know you will need a strictly vegetarian dish (aka no XO sauce) and ask for some veggie dishes from them. We had them modify the fried rice dish to not include XO sauce, which would've been nice for know from the beginning!

We ordered everything from xiao long baos to roast duck to har gow to steamed veggies. Some dishes were a hit, but most happened to be a miss. We definitely did appreciate how fast the food kept coming out. At one point, the waiters just had to take plates away and mix two dishes into one plate to fit everything onto our table lol. In the end, we ended up having to wrap up a lot of food to take home. I could see the look of disapproval from the waiters lol. At least we didn't toss the food!!

Overall, the ambiance inside is really nice! I always forget that dim sum establishments transform into wedding hall banquets at night.

TLDR; dim sum here is okay. Conveniently close for a lot of biopharma companies nearby. Be careful with vegetarian dishes--ask for no XO sauce.

I was part of a large banquet that took up most of the massive restaurant. Located on the east side of the 101 freeway HL Peninsula is a Cantonese seafood dim sum restaurant. The interior is one huge open room the can be sectioned off. We were part of a 30+ dinner banquet. The usual precession of Cantonese dishes.

Appetizer plate 5 stars best dish of the night included duck, seaweed salad, jellyfish, Cha Shu, and veggie tofu wrap.
Pickled daikon and Wood ear fungus.

Seafood foie sharks fin soup 0 stars it was awful , our table of ten in total agreement

Steamed chicken 3 stars

Mustard green and shiitake mushrooms
3 stars

Steamed fish 3 stars large sized whole fish.

Deep fried pork ribs and shrimp 2 stars
Ribs were so tough shrimp was over fried.

Stir fry beef and scallops 3 stars

Lobster with yi- mein 3 stars

Yang chow fried rice huge portion 3 stars

Dessert mango pudding and sliced oranges.

Service was ok. Plenty of parking in the large parking lot. I think with the management of several high end Cantonese Seafood restaurants, the chefs really need to taste their dishes some of them are very bland. The space is nice with huge video walls.

At $80/pound it better have been amazing and life changing. Alaskan King crab prepped 3 ways - sautéed with ginger and spring onions, with yee fu noodles, and steamed legs with garlic and fun see noodles.
It was and the fellow diners at my table whole heartedly agreed.
The manager who tended to our selection of the Alaskan King Crab was professional and accommodating. Spoke English and Cantonese equally fluently. And answered all concerns. The ambiance was busy but the servers all were efficient and quick to tend to our requests.
Even anticipating some needs such as plate changing between courses.

See the photos, the whole dining experience was top notch.
JYW recommends!

As an ABC who grew up in the Bay Area, I can say with my chest that HL is one of the best dim sum houses in the bay. The quality of the food is great in my opinion and especially good value.

The ambiance inside reminds me of the traditional tea houses in China with grand chandeliers, large open rooms, and occasional carts with dim sum that come by.

Service is very traditional for a dim sum house. Don't expect wonderful customer service because you're here for the food.

My favorite items that I ALWAYS order EVERY TIME:
1. Shrimp rice rolls
2. Egg yolk lava baked pineapple buns (SO SO GOOD)
3. Shiu mai (they're super big)

Came on a Saturday around noon and the place was completely packed. Make sure to have your entire party with you or they won't seat you. Plenty of parking.
Large banquet style restaurant with TVs at both ends.

They have a pretty extensive dim sum items with all your standard dishes, as well as some unique ones.

Stand out dishes include pan-seared lotus root cake with foie gras paste (rare to see this item at a Dimson place and they do an excellent job. Imagine a small crunchy Lotus sandwich with a meat and shrimp filling.), beef chow fung dry style.

Prices are comparable to other dim sum places in the peninsula ($25-30/pp).