Best Chinese restaurant in Ithaca for soup and fried dumplings. Pork buns are average but the food is overall very authentic and cheap.I was offended by the shop owner in my first visit as she yelled at me for paying with credit for only a drink. But after several visits, she actually treated me very kindly.Make sure the shop is open before you go, as I have looked forward to eating Tianjin, only finding out that it was still closed :(My fav restaurant in Ithaca!
The food is decent, but the service is horrible. Their system for tracking orders is very disorganized. This becomes a huge problem when things get busy. You will often see them argue with customers as a result of slow orders or errors in some orders. To add to the problem, they are rude and often blame customers for their own errors. I vowed to never go back to that place, even though I think their food is decent and authentic.
Very authentic Chinese buns and dumplings. It’s hard to make great pork buns but Goubuli pork buns here are awesome. I’m so glad we have this place in Ithaca, otherwise I might have to buy frozen buns.My 5 favorites:- Goubuli pork buns- Chicken wonton soup- Beef sandwich- Seafood dumplings- Chive and pork pancake伊萨卡超好吃的包子铺，推荐狗不理包子和云吞！The owner was not like an easy-going person for my first visit, but after a few more visits I actually found she’s a nice person and made tasty food. Sometimes the place gets busy on weekends but it’s okay on weekdays. Definitely recommend it if you are a big fan of pork buns and dumplings.
Average quality food, but the old lady is extremely rude and mean.- She's not willing to offer any utensil (unless you ask).- She will not prepare your order until she sees you in person (she assumes people who order over the phone won't actually come).- She even charges you the credit card transaction fee.Also, avoid speaking with her because she will yell at you at any time.She also has crazy supporters in her group that are like brainwashed and will help her brainwash others:- if she yells at you, it's definitely your fault- if you do not visit frequently, they say you are not qualified to judge- if you do visit frequently, they say you should leave rather than complain- you should be grateful to receive food from her (as if she's not paid)- anyway the lady is old and busy so she deserves respect (and you don't)
Tian Jin is by far the best Chinese food I've had in Ithaca. The couple that owns it was incredibly kind to me and patient towards my friend who is leaning Mandarin and practiced ordering using it. The wait time is a little long because it's just the 2 of them running it and they take orders and cook simultaneously. I really enjoyed getting to watch my dumplings and noodles being handmade on the spot. The soup dumplings (xiao long bao) were very good with thicker skin that doesn't break easily and rich soup. I also got the beef noodle soup which has AMAZING beef broth, super flavorful and the beef was very tender. Highly recommend this place!!
The food here is really good! I liked 韭菜盒子 (chive and pork pancakes) the most. They are very crispy, juicy, and flavorful. The owner was really nice and ended up giving us a freebie after accidentally cooking an extra dish.
For a native Chinese the food is average. As a mild-tempered person, i now fear going back again for being verbally abused. I went in with a Canadian friend close to 6pm when they were closing. They sold food to us without saying anything. My friend and I sat there chatting afterwards, and the couple came out and yelled at us (and two other Chinese customers) for being unreasonable still not leaving, that they are already doing us a favor for selling us foods close to 6, and we are "shamelessly" pushing it too far. I was so shocked and not prepared for this. My friend didn't understand Chinese and was very confused, so i immediately pulled her away and we literally fled the restaurant. This is too unfortunate. I told a lot of people about this place hoping they would support them through Covid. But the bottom line is, nobody should go through this kind of emotional abuse let alone customers. They are much more polite to foreigners tho, another fact making me very sad.
Poor hygienic environment. Both owners do not wear masks when making food. The old lady is extremely rude for no reason.
The owner couple so nice and their food is amazing
My favorite place in Ithaca! Definitely will miss their soup dumplings after I graduated