Golden Unicorn

Reviews

• Samantha W.

  star star star star star_border 22 July 2026

  I really really like this dimsum place. The only complaint is that if you come after 10:30am on a weekday there's a huge wait if your party is a little bigger (4+)
  
  We really liked the fact that the push carts had pictures of the food on them! So you didn't have to get the servers to open the containers each time and it's really easy to spot what you want.
  
  The salted egg yolk bun was the best. We ate 3 servings between 2 people!!

• Alice R.

  star star star star_border star_border 14 July 2026

  It was one of those moments where I was craving dim sum all the dang time. Every time a friend wanted to hang out, it would involve dim sum. Want to get lunch, dim sum. Want to get dinner, dim sum. Want to grab a drink, dim sum. I realized that one must go to Chinatown and Flushing with a Chinese speaking friend to get somewhat good service. So, I got not one, but two Chinese speaking friends to go to dim sum with me AND they picked this place. Apparently it is the best in town or something.
  
  So, we are here. My one friend and I get to the place before our other friend and we start ordering because I am HUNGRY. When I am hungry, it is a bit hard to keep my away from food especially if there are people carting them around. We ordered, we ate, and had the people clean up the empty plates so my other friend didn't see how rude we were. However, the plan didn't work because, just like George Washington, I could not tell a lie and told my friend. When my other friend got situated, that is when all the ordering really happened. I knew exactly what I should get because I did my research and watched Simply Dumpling (Mikey Chen) YouTube video on dim sum. I pointed, the people gave me, and my friend translated. Okay so here is the breakdown of what we got and my thoughts on them.
  
  - Pork spare ribs in black bean sauce: my first time trying it here and oh my gosh. I fell in love. I don't normally like pork but, I hogged this (pun intended). I am used to the jjah jjang myun black bean sauce so when the pork wasn't black, I was a bit confused, but happy at the same time. Amazing!
  - Shrimp shumai: above average. I had so many shumai in my life, it wasn't the star for me. However, you can tell how good a dim sum place is by their shumai. Good!
  - Clear shrimp dumpling: Mikey Chen said that a good shrimp dumpling is based on the bounciness of the skin. No, do not start dribbling this on the table. You will know if it is bouncy. It just springs right back up when you tap it. I was strategically trying to try everything without getting too full so I did not eat as much as I did of this one. Excellent and Bouncy!
  - Chicken feet: It comes in a sweet and savory sauce which is good, but it must have sat out a bit too long because the skin was soggy than chewy. Not a fan!
  - Shrimp flat rice noodles: This is a classic. The sauce is what makes this dish. I actually tried keeping the sauce on the plate after we ate the dish, but the staff kept trying to take it. I probably spent a good amount of time telling them NOT to touch my plate! Good, but uncomfortable circumstances!
  - Lotus leaf wrapped rice with pork and sausage: This was super delicious. It is rice stuffed with minced seasoned meat and Chinese sausage (my fave) wrapped in a lotus/ banana leaf and steamed. I would have ate more, but my friend said it takes up a lot of real estate in the tummy so I had half. Regretting I didn't have more!
  - Salted egg bun: I normally like these when I am getting take out, but not when I am at a sit down eating all the other savories. However, probably the best I've had so far. The key is that filling needs to be flowing. Yummy but I have priorities!
  - Tripe: made me mad that my friend moved it away from me. NEXT!
  - Pork Bun: So... Tai Pan has better, bigger, and cheaper buns. So.... Thanks for coming!
  - Cheese topped grilled mussels: You know you see a guy and you're just thinking to yourself 'he looks good, but he's probably a POS'? Your gut tells you no, but for some reason you need to explore that route and learn your own lessons. This is exactly it. Looked good and I love mussels so I was like okay. Let's see. NO!
  - Durian dessert: My first time trying durian. Once you get over the smell and yourself, it is not all that bad. I had half and then went to the restroom. When I was in the restroom, I smelt something really gross (number 2), and when my friend asked me if the bathroom was clean while I was trying to finish the other half of this treat, I almost threw up. Good, but finish before using restroom!
  
  Take away is get the spare ribs, shrimp dumplings, steamed rice, and flat noodles (keep the noodles but guard it). I am giving this place the rating I gave it because 1. it is out of my way to get here 2. although their food is pretty good, it does not differentiate them from other dim sum places by that much 3. I didn't like how they just took plates without asking. I was getting a little anxious at one point.

• Dave F.

  star star star star star 13 July 2026

  Amazing dim sum.  Was told to go here by my best friend's parents and my friends I went with said it was better than SF Dim Sum.
  
  Went on a Saturday for mid-brunch.  You have to check in at the booth past the elevators and get a ticket.  They will call your number, based on the size of your party.  If you're a party of 2, I noticed there aren't many 2P tables on the 2nd floor, so you're better off just sitting with strangers to speed up your time to start eating. They do have 2 dining rooms as far as I could tell.
  
  Once at your seat, if you don't know dim sum, you look at the carts as they go around you and you order off of it. Then they stamp your sheet with what you had. (You can also order menu items if you know what you want.) The carts here have pictures on the front to help you choose.  The cart pushers know some bare bones English, but I found the manager to be real good, especially when I asked for something in particular.  She also was nice enough to google translate a couple of words to explain some items to me.
  
  Even if you don't drink the tea, they charge you $1 for it, oh well.  They also provide a nice chili sauce/hot mustard combo dipping dish.  They replace it too when it gets empty.
  
  We tried a ton of stuff, and most all of it was good.  The Steamed Roast Pork Bun, and the Steamed Pork Siu Mai were probably among my favorite.  I know its not authentic, but I also really loved the "Deep Fried Bacon Rolls".  They came with Pringles, and a mayo dipping sauce, lol.
  
  The custard-filled pigs were probably the most "instagramable" items here, haha.
  
  Staff were all very friendly and some were extremely attentive to replacing napkins, refilling water, and taking away containers.  I never felt rushed to GTFO.
  
  I enjoyed every item I had. I would go back for sure.

• Ron J.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 28 June 2026

  I never thought I would give a Dim Sum place located in the heart of Chinatown a poor rating but here we are. Located on the second floor, this restaurant has been around for ages. One of the more popular spots for Cantonese style food with Dim Sum until late afternoon. When I arrived it was fairly busy with the dim sum carts still making their rounds however selection for some reason was very limited. I had asked for fried turnip cakes and they told me they've stopped making it -_- what dim sum place stops making turnip cakes? Tell me you've run out would have been better than telling me you stopped making them. I was disappointed so I only ordered whatever they had left but I can say it was not worth the trip.
  
  Steamed Pork, very gamey flavor. Not what I expected nor would I recommend it
  
  Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, these were good, my first one had a dirty shrimp so I had to spit it out but the others were good.
  
  Meatballs, worst dim sum meatballs I've ever had, and when I asked for Worcester sauce they gave me a tiny drop and got upset when I asked for more
  
  Beef rice rolls, the only thing that was good.
  
  My experience sucked, this has to be the worst dim sum place I've ever had and I've had Dim Sum on Staten Island. They also charged me for tea when I didn't ask for tea, I just wanted water and the worst part my bill came out to $25 for 4 items and a tea. Total rip off for a terrible dim sum spot.

• Katey G.

  star star star star star_border 27 June 2026

  I've paid many a visit to Golden Unicorn, especially over the last few months. It's a super solid place to get dim sum in Chinatown, and I've never had to wait more than 30min for a table.
  
  One of the best things about GU is that they rarely run out of anything, and have most dim sum dishes well into the afternoon.
  
  Things I love:
  -shrimp balls
  -har gao
  -pork ribs
  -shrimp with walnuts/broccoli
  
  The only disappointment for me at Golden Unicorn is their siu mai. It's definitely not a favorite here, and many other dim sum places do it better.
  
  If you eat dim sum and live in NYC, Golden Unicorn is a must. I've also brought a ton of friends visiting from out of town and everyone always enjoys.