Why stand in a long line at Jade Garden when you can stand in a shorter line here? There’s little to differentiate Harbor City from the other dim sum joints in town, and it won’t settle the never-ending and frankly futile “best dim sum” debate, but it does turn out some fresh and flavorful—and cheap—dumplings along with a few decent dinner options.

The many versions of pork dumplings are a strong suit here—with siu mai being the favorite—but there are plenty of interesting nibbles from tendon to tripe to chicken’s feet. Avoid har gow, which is like, well, a wet noodle; we’ve had better luck with other varieties of shrimp dumplings, which have ingredients like chives or bean curd adding some stronger flavors. At dinner, the simple barbecued items like ribs or roast duck are best and also a very good value.

This is more dim sum parlor than dim sum palace, which means less sensory overload than Jade Garden but fewer tables (don’t sleep in too late on Sundays). Service is surprisingly friendly, and magnanimously accommodating of newcomers—for a dim sum restaurant, anyway.