August Gatherings
“I still can get that but they also serve a bigger selection of Coffees (By La Colombe) and Teas, DOUGHNUTS by DOUGH, Macarons.”
“Beside all the traditional Cantonese cuisine all time favorites.”
“He introduced some signature dishes for us to try like the truffle lobster, balsamic sweet and sour pork, jumbo shrimp with wasabi cream, peasant snow pea shoots & xo scallop fried rice…”
August Gatherings
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Pretty good change from the original Canal's Best it used to be. They definitely spruced the place up under new management — looks a little more high end, albeit still a small place. Very clean and organized, a more attentive staff, friendlier service, new menus with plenty of pictures, and…smaller portions/higher prices. But the food comes in nicer bowls!
However, I like the ambiance better, and the fact that the waiters look at you and talk to you without showing signs of annoyance or impatience. It's easy to communicate with the waiters, because they all spoke English — some better than others, but you can definitely order without playing a game of charades. IF all else fails, repeat yourself, and point at the menu item and pictures!. It's the little things that make the difference — bring you a soda, they also bring a cup of ice and a straw. They don't toss the can and run away, but the guy actually stayed there to open our cans and pour it for us.
They let us eat in peace, meaning they didn't offer us a check when we were halfway through our meal…which has happened before at other establishments, even when NOT crowded.
Food quality was OK. here's what we got: (I came on two separate occasions, and the service was the same, so I decided to just review all the food in one post).
Spring rolls – 2 for $3. Had no filling inside, and when I took a bite of one, the inside was almost completely hollow. But had a nice crunch, so if you want something deep fried to dip in a sweet sauce, this is the thing to get.
General Tso's — Tender chicken, but fatty bits. Didn't seem as crunchy or deep fried, which I liked. The sauce was plentiful at the bottom of the bowl with broccoli, but it was too spicy for my liking.
Pork Lo-mein — Not oily or salty, which was a surprise for this kind of dish. Actually a bit dry.
Beef chow fun — Pretty standard, the dry sauce kind, not overly salty. Beef slices were tender.
Beef Pan fried noodles — crispy, delicious noodles, but the gravy sauce was so salty.
Mayonnaise shrimp/walnuts and broccoli — Big shrimps, with plenty of mayo, but they added their own twist of using orange and it skewed the taste.
Whole crispy cod — OK, seriously, what a rip off! They deep fried the bones, so the presentation was nice and tossed on a bunch of veggies, but the actual fish itself wasn't even on the bones. It was basically small pieces heavily deep fried in batter, to the point you didn't taste anything but soggy, salty breading. That was definitely not a whole fish, or even half the fish. What a way for them to cut costs, at $29.00. They have a pricier version of that ridiculous fish dish, if we opted to have truffles on them.
Chilean Sea Bass — pan fried, over a bed of green Chinese veggies, and the pieces were two tiny, thin ones, that were a bit overcooked. A good amount of truffle shavings over the fish, but it didn't make up for the sub par quality of the fish either.
Expensive — I would come again if I didn't want to travel anywhere further for the same type of food/quality (which I could get for 1/3 the price). I happened to be next door doing my taxes with a family friend, and it was too cold and late after a long work day to walk elsewhere. Definitely steep, given the area and type of food. First time I came, the lo mein, the spring rolls, General Tso's chicken, and mayo/walnut shrimp was around $60 after tip. The second time I came for dinner, it was around $85 before tip but that included two fish dishes. You could go elsewhere in Chinatown for the same exact dishes, and a larger portion that could yield leftovers.
3 stars for being able to eat in peace, nice waiters/staff, a cleaner establishment compared to typical Chinese restaurants.
I was really hoping to find just ONE good dim sum place here in Manhattan. Alas, it was not to be found here at August Gatherings. They served typical greasy, intro-to-dimsum fare, wholly lacking in authenticity and creativity. It didn't help that when we went there was a group of servers sitting at an adjacent table sorting through vegetables.
Oy.
At the gate to Chinatown this restaurant stands out of its neighborhood not only by the highly professional La Marzocco espresso machine.
I only had starters on my (first) visit.
The shrimp dumplings were great. My order was a set of three – with different flavors added (wasabi, saffron, plain).
The quality of the dumpling both "outside" and filling was very good and the additional flavors not too intense. Great!
Remark: It was later in the evening when I visited first time. Therefore no coffee tasted – I have to return…
Alright, so I decided to give this place another try. This time I ordered the garlic chicken with white rice. And I must say it was really good. I have no complaints. Service is very quick. I'll be back for a lunch time run. *cash only
Dislike
Not authentic
But still lots of people here for dim sum
Why?
Cuz they hate waiting for another hours with a hungry stomach
Reliable choice for lunch special in Chinatown. A notch above divier places in terms of decor, and definitely tourist-oriented, but they do the basics well. Also a dollar or two more than comparable joints. On my jury duty list of go-to Chinese lunch places. Can't speak for the dim sum.
Came in for a light dim sum and also I wanted to see how this place is after revamped and with new management. With this renewal, service has gotten better, meaning what you expect outside Chinatown, and my waiter was fluent in English. Quality and price seems to be higher. My waiter was overly nice that made me uncomfortable eating quick lunch by myself.
I ordered one small plate from Dim Sum, Har Gow. This Steamed clear dumplings were slightly bigger than what I'm used to and packed with shrimp. It was pretty good.
The space is dark as before but the front area that serving takeouts, and baked goods are still busy and bright as usual. I wanted to try their well received pork filled pineapple buns or Marco Polo to go but they only serve it after 2PM(?). I have to come back soon.
I have been here a couple of times but my most recent trip I noticed they redecorated the place. They sell some pastries and tea up front while and in the back it's a restaurant. The staff was very friendly and nice most of the time. My last visit I did a take out order, I got two orders of fried rice (one beef and one chicken), an order of general tso's chicken and chicken and broccoli. The fried rice was decent but then again it's hard to mess up fried rice. The general tso's chicken was delicious but the chicken and broccoli was meh. I had a few bites and didn't bother to finish it. They also do accept credit cards as well.