Bergen County has some of the best Chinese eateries anywhere in the state. We’re lucky to have two really phenomenal Dim Sum restaurants, Silver Pond and Dim Sum Dynasty, who make some of the best dumplings in the entire Tri-State region.
NOTE: Please also see my earlier entry for Noodle Chu, in Parsippany. Not Bergen County, but definitely worth the trip if you are in the Morris County area.
Silver Pond Seafood Restaurant
230 Main St, Fort Lee, NJ
(201) 592-8338
Silver Pond is a Fort Lee institution that has been in business for over 20 years. It really looks like something that belongs in Hong Kong, not in Northern New Jersey. Like all Dim Sum parlors you need to get there fairly early on a weekend (11:30-12 Noon is about as late as you really want to get there) and bring either cash or your American Express Card, ’cause they don’t take Visa or MasterCard. In fact, I maintain a personal AMEX Optima just for the sole purpose of eating at this place and going to Costco. That alone should tell you something. The photos here just barely scratch the surface of their dim sum offerings.
Main Dining Room (Chinese New Year, 2010)
Live seafood tanks amuse small children
Mr. Li, the Big Boss Man. (2010)
Scallion Pancake
Fried Shrimp Paste Balls, Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce (2010)
Pan Fried Noodle with Superior Soy Sauce (2010)
Salt and Pepper Fried Shrimp
Cart Service (2010)
Pork Shu Mai, Shrimp Har Gow (2010)
Shrimp and Cilantro Yuba Skin Roll (2010)
Steamed Tripe (2010)
Shrimp and Scallion Pan Fried Dumpling (2010)
Rice Congee (2010)
Eggplant stuffed with Shrimp Paste with Black Bean Sauce (2010)
Pork Wrapped with Yuba Skin. (2006)
Fried Shrimp Paste wrapped with Bacon (2010)
Pan Fried Pork Dumplings (2006)
Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf (2006)
Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf (opened)
A type of fried shrimp dumpling with cilantro. (2006)
Fried Shrimp Balls (2006)
Roast Duck (2006)
Mushroom Roll (2006)
Steamed Fluffy BBQ Pork Bun (2006)
Manilla Clams with Black Bean Sauce (2010)
Cantonese Desserts (2010)
Dim Sum Dynasty
75 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, NJ
(201) 652-0615
If Silver Pond is the classic, dependable, experienced Dim Sum Parlor then Dim Sum Dynasty is the young whippersnapper, with new tricks up its sleeve and wearing a much snazzier outfit. It is by far the more elegant restaurant and has some very interesting offerings that you don’t necessarily get at old warhorses like Silver Pond. This is not to say all the food items are superior, some are better and some are average. I like to alternate between the two restaurants myself.
Main Dining Room of Dim Sum Dynasty (2006)
Dim Sum Dynasty’s Pork Siu Mai (2006)
Fried Squid with Cashew Nuts (2006)
Crab/Shrimp Beggar’s Purses (2006)
Shrimp Har Gow (2006)
Clams in Black Bean Sauce (2006)
Flaky Pork Pastry Triangles (2006)
Mango Pudding (2006)
Steamed Pea Shoot Dumplings (2006)
Dim Sum Dynasty’s Pork Wrapped in Yuba Skin (2006)
Green Pepper stuffed with Shrimp Paste (2006)
Fluffy BBQ Pork Buns (2006)
Another type of clam dish, this one is dry sauteed. (2006)
E-Fu Mein Noodles (2006)
Baked Pork Buns (2006) Dim Sum Dynasty’s are not to be missed, especially if they are just out of the oven.
Off The Broiler 
ohhhh what i would do for a pork bun right now! great photos!
[…] Photo: Shanghainese Jiaozi pork and scallion dumplings from China 46 Restaurant in Ridgefield, NJ. […]
12/17/06
We went to China 46 today….we went there for the dim sum lunch you wrote about. When we arrived….they told us that we should opt for the Sunday buffet which had all the dim sum offerings….at a lesser price. We were very disappointed. Most of the food was below par. I felt that many of the buffet offerings were lukewarm to cold (in temperature) at best. Having been to China (Hong Kong and elsewhere in China) ….we were looking for an outstanding dim sum experience. We later watched while other customers ordred the dim sum lunch…..as well as customers who came in and just ordered off the menu. The food looked hot (again, temperature) and good.
I have no idea why the staff there would try to ‘steer us’ to the buffet…..when we made reservations for the dim sum lunch?? It was a very inadequate meal…..and are friends will not return there again. We are tempted to go back to try the actual dim sum lunch……but we have reservations….because we feel that the staff compromised their integrity by offering us substandard faire…..under the pretense that we were getting a true dim sum meal?
We thought that we would let you know about our poor experience there. We have not decided whether we will return to this restaurant or not. Thank you, Terri and Bob
Oh, you made the same mistake everyone makes the first time they go. I should have clarified this.
The Dim Sum lunch is PART of the complete sunday lunch. There is no difference between the two. You get the chafing dishes and you also get the dim sum. You’re entitled to as many Dim Sum items you want from the Dim Sum menu, you just keep asking for more. You do NOT need reservations.
Did you not eat any of the Dim Sum at all? Someone should have explained to you that you just order from it and and they bring the items to you at no extra cost.
[…] In a previous post about Dim Sum in Bergen County I touched upon the dumpling wonders at China 46, my favorite Chinese restaurant in the entire NYC/NJ area. But China 46 isn’t just about the dumplings, it’s range of food encompasses all sorts of Shanghainese, Sichuan and Hong-Kong style dishes, and when you compare the place to the most lauded Chinese restaurants in New York, it easily matches them in quality and is an utter bargain by comparison. […]
I am planning a wedding reception, and have thought about having a dimsum lunch for about 80 people. Do you know if any of these restaurants do catered events?
My boyfriend and I stopped into China 46 for the soup dumplings. We were very disappointed. We usually eat at at the Shanghai Cafe in Chinatown, however we were looking for some good dumplings in Jersey. The dumplings were terrible. There was no soup inside! It looked as if they had been sucked dry. We will never eat at this restaurant again!
Audra, when exactly did you go, what time of day? It sounds like an aberration, the dumplings usually have a -LOT- of liquid in them. Why didn’t you send them back and ask for better ones?
Dear offthebroiler:
We went to china46 based on your recommendation on this site. We have to agree with Terr & Bob here, that the food was below par. The buffet was luke warm and they didn’t replenish often enough (average wait time: 15-20 mins). We did order the soup dumplings as part of the Sunday buffet (this was the main reason of the drive to china46). Comparing to the ones that we recently had (01/14/07) in Singapore and Indonesia, they are far below average. And we’re not really sure how ones could possibly overlooked the fact that this place is in serious need of good scrubbing and maintenance (though the pictures on their website do not reflect the dispair current state of this establishment, we still went in to honor our reservation and focus on the food only, soup dumplings in particular). Can someone tell us how is it possible that this particular restaurant pass health inspection? Did anybody notice the large dirty buckets on the buffet table, or the dirty buffet servers? We could not really say anything positive about the service either as it was not only slow. The waiters/waitresses could not speak or understand English, and somewhat rude (they repeatedly ignored our requests for tea and water refills, but immediately came back to pick up the tips). We left them only 10% tips, which we all thought was adequate considering the services rendered (and they dared to give us a look too!).
Sorry offthebroiler. We just may have to show you better (and cleaner) chinese places around. Rest assure, there isn’t enough force in the world to bring us back to this place. Our overall experience sums up to: overpriced far below average food served in a rundown extremely dirty place by rude non-English speaking tips-hungry waiters/waitresses.
I haven’t been to the Sunday buffet in a couple of months, but obviously, I’m a bit disturbed to hear that you had a negative experience there.
Overall, I think the quality of the food they serve during dinner hours is fresher than what is served at the Sunday buffet. That being said, your comments about the cleanliness have me a bit taken aback, since I haven’t experienced what you’ve experienced, and neither has the large majority of people I’ve referred to the restaurant. I certainly hope that the place isn’t taking a steep downturn, because over the last five years its been one of the best Chinese restaurants in all of Northern NJ, and rightfully so.
This restaurant may be one of the best Chinese Mainland/Shanghainese establishments in Northern NJ, though our group failed to see how this is even possible (our group of 10 adults gave China 46 a failing grade in service and establishment, D- in buffet and fresh soup dumplings category). We’re just more used to the Hong Kong, Singaporean, Malaysian/Indonesian, Taiwanese style as our overall Chinese-food dining experience in these types of establishments were normally and definetely more satisfactory than the one at China 46 . Check out Dim Sum Dynasty in Ridgewood, Noodle Chu in Parsippany, Sweet & Tart in Flushing, or Ace Cuisine in Thornwood NY (Asian Fusion type). These places have more customers than China 46, but they’re able to maintain quality, service and food; majority of things that we, the customers look forward to. Though we all feel that theirs are so much better than China 46s, we are still in quest of the best overall Chinese-food dining experience.
I’ve covered Noodle Chu, Dim Dum Dynasty and Sweet and Tart before. All excellent restaurants. However, it’s clear you haven’t eaten dinner at China 46 and want to judge it solely alone on its brunch service and have closed the book on it. You can do that, but you’re doing yourself a disservice.
I’ll be giving this place a try soon enough. I pass it constantly, but never popped in since I expected it to be just another take-out place, but with better advertising. Shouldn’t have assumed.
Hey Jason, do you happen to know of any good dim sum places in Jersey that do the cart service thing that they do in Chinatown, at places like Jing Fong or Ping’s? It would be a hard sell to get my girlfriend to hit up one of these places if we’re ordering all our dim sum off the menu.
[…] congested with local traffic. That being said, two of my favorite restaurants, Sakura Bana and Dim Sum Dynasty are based there, so I tolerate the occasional hassle of getting there and finding a place to put […]
NOODLE CHU IN PARSIPPANY
I HAVE BEN GOING HERE FOR QUITE A LONG TIME FOR DIM SUM
ALWAYS LEAVE VERY HAPPY
THE TEA –ALSO ALWAYS NICE ,,JASMINE
I LITTLE BIT PRICEY,,SO BE CAREFUL HOW MANY DISHES U GET…USUALLY BETWEEN 2 PEOPLE COULD EASY GO TO 50.00 VERY FAST,,SO BE CAREFUL….I KNOW ITS VERY HARD NOT TO KEEP GETTING MORE,,N MORE,,SINCE THEY LOOK SO SMALL THE DISHES U DO NOT REALIZE HOW THESE CAN ADD UP,,,,,,,,,AND THEY DO!
BUT I TREAT MYSELF AN D A FREIND ON SPECIAL DAYS OCCASSION IT IS VERY FUN THE ATMOSPHERE FOOD SERVICE INPECABLE,,,AND THEY VE EXPANDED TOO SO NO MORE CROWDED FEELING,,LOTSOF ROOM GET THERE EARLY THOUGH ON SATURDAY!
Anyone still reading this? Our family (asians) goes to China Chef Restaurant in Secaucus for dim sum. Don’t miss the tripe! Mmmmmmm!
I also forgot to mention… Don’t forget to make sure everyone in the car comments about “Bagel Buffet” when they drive by it… i.e. “How many bagels can you possibly eat?”. Everyone seems to turn into Jerry Seinfeld when they see the Bagel Buffet sign… ugh.
[…] pretty good Hong-Kong style restaurants in New York City’s Chinatown and in the Queens and New Jersey suburbs, but nothing even close to this. I mean, LIVE Alaskan king crabs? Where the heck do you find those […]
I have been here. It is o.k., but not like the places in Sunset Park Brooklyn. I do love Hong Kong Cusine. Lately I seem to go to Viet. rests. in Chinatown or Thailand rest., an oldie but a goldi. In my neck of the woods, Cresskill, Hanami, which is totally inedible and Mr. Wok, even worse, are considered good eats. I’m gonna try Petite Soochow and will let you know what I think.
May I recomend an Italian place. A Toto Modo Mia in Ridgefiled. They have a location in Hoboken as well, but I like the Ridgefield one better. Good eats. Not anywhere as good as Ponte Veccho in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, which I call the shrine, but really good fresh Italian American cooking.
Today is my b-day and I just came home from Dim Sum D. in Ridgewood. My first time there. I was so disappointed. The steamed shrimp dumpling was supurb so we were looking forward to the rest. However, the pork wrapped in Yuba skin, one of my favorites had no delicacy. Has it gone down since your last review?
I went here for lunch on Friday 3rd July. We were given the lunch menu that only had about 15 dim sum items on it. I was disappointed by the lack of choice although what I had was tasty.
There was no baked pork buns or flaky triangles, no mango pudding. Is the evening menu more extensive? If so I may return.
You don’t go on Fridays for Dim Dum. Saturday and Sunday is when they have the full Dim Sum service. Make sure you get there at 11:30am or so.
I go for dim sum weekdays as Im not in the area on weekends. Silver Pond do full dim sum every day so I will be going there from now on instead of Dim Sum Dynasty. I thought it was more authentic than Ridgewood too.
[…] have to go to Mo’Pho for probably what is the best Vietnamese in Bergen County and also to Silver Pond for excellent Dim Sum and Cantonese seafood items. If you’re really jonesing for Thai in the […]
[…] Silver Pond continues to demonstrate that it is the indisputable king of Bergen County Dim Sum in Fort Lee. […]
I love to eat dim sums and have tried many at locations in Chinatown of NYC, Boston, CA.
We did an online search for dim sum in NJ and your site mentioned Dim Sum Dynasty so we decided to try it out today. Got there about noon, got seated right away. The service was prompt, the food was fresh and excellent, the atmosphere was casual and cozy. We ate well and ordered a few extras to take home. It is now our new favorite location for dim sums.
PS we have also been to Noodle Chu, its also another favorite dim sum location, great variety. I say, we need more in NJ closer to Sussex County. Thanks for your input/website.
Glad to hear Dim Sum Dynasty is still solid, it’s been a while for us.