24-Hour Dimsum For All Your Drunken Needs

June 11, 2018 Taipei Expat

Good news if you’re looking to add to your drunk food options — Citystar Dim Sum is a 24-hour dim sum chain here to satisfy your cravings for Canto food any time of the day. They also have multiple chains around the city (although only three branches are open 24 hours, and two are technically affiliates), so won’t have to pay a small fortune to taxi yourself all the way across town.

Sound too good to be true? It is, kinda. The dim sum here isn’t the best, so there’s probably a hundred other places you should eat at during the day before trying this out.

We visited the Zhongshan location on a Saturday afternoon in May and found the restaurant crowded.

First, we pounded some kimchi, and peanuts with dried fish that were already at the table. We were starving, so it was nice to have something to nibble on from the start. We passed on the century eggs.

Then, we ordered some old favourites—BBQ pork buns for NT$80 and Siu Mai for NT$95. They were both pretty good, but we’ve had better.

We also got some meatballs for NT$95 and assorted pastries for NT$110. The meatballs weren’t great, and the pastries were on the bland side and didn’t really live up to our expectations. This was our first time trying either in any restaurant, though, so it could just be that we didn’t care for the dishes themselves.

Finally, we got some dumplings. They were NT$115 and tasted pretty good. That was actually enough to satisfy both people, so we didn’t end up spending too much in the end.

Check out their menu below:

In conclusion: we found the dim sum here to be hit and miss, and there wasn’t much atmosphere to speak of at the restaurant. We’d never particularly recommend that anyone go here, but it’s a totally passable option to have when everything else is shut.

What’s the vibe?

Big, family-orientated restaurant serving Cantonese food and dim sum. Servers have a no-nonsense attitude.

Worth it?

That depends. If it’s during the day when there are better options then no, not really. But if you’re craving dim sum after hours, it’s a solid choice that won’t totally break the bank.

Would you go back?

Not during the day, but perhaps when we’re steaming drunk one night.

Visited: May 2018

Citystar 京星港式飲茶 PART1

Hours: 24-hours

Phone: 02 2741 2625

English Address: No. 216, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

Chinese Address: 106台北市大安區敦化南路一段216號

Citystar 京星港式飲茶Part.2店

Hours: 24-hours

Phone: 02 2777 1717

English Address: No. 166, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 10688