East Ocean Seafood Restaurant

For fresh dim sum, one feels inclined to visit a restaurant in Oakland’s bustling China Town. Outside of this area, there’s one destination that stands out – East Ocean Seafood Restaurant in Alameda. Arguably serving the best Chinese food on the island, East Ocean has come to be recognized for a quality dim sum selection and fresh seafood choices.

For lunch, diners may choose between 40 dim sum options, each of which is spiced and prepared daily by hand. Beef, shrimp, barbeque pork, and vegetarian crepes, various baked or fried dumplings, egg rolls, and pot stickers are a good place to start for less seasoned dim sum eaters. Those on the look-out for more exotic choices will find the likes of cold chicken claws, shark’s fin soup, steamed beef tripe, and seafood wrapped in bean curd skin. Keep in mind that the wait can take the greater part of 30 minutes.

A dim sum meal is great for tasting various flavors in a single meal, and vegetarian options are aplenty. Desserts include egg custard and deep fried sesame balls filled with sweet mung bean. During holidays and weekends, dim sum is served the traditional way, rolled through the restaurant on carts for you to see and select on the spot.

Of course, you’re not limited to dim sum here. No where else in Alameda will you find fresh whole lobsters, crabs, and fish served with specialty Hong-Kong style sauces. The restaurant is also known for roasting and preparing Peking Duck and other meats and seafood order by order in the kitchen to guarantee freshness. Aquariums in the restaurant display farm-raised tilapia, rock cod, Dungeness crab, and other live seafood.

East Ocean consists of a large single dining area that’s open and spacious. As many tables as there are, the restaurant is usually packed. Service here is friendly, with many regulars frequenting the establishment. Banquets accommodating 4 to 420 guests are also held here.

HelloOakland tip: Look out for the tea, which may be a bit too strong, and on several occasions, the wait for rice has been known to be long, arriving on the table long after the entrees. 
 

- by Renee M. Rutledge, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Renee M. Rutledge

Renee M. Rutledge currently writes articles on local travel and culture for Red Tricycle, Parents' Press, Oakland Magazine, and Alameda Magazine.