There are Sunday mornings, and then there are Sunday mornings at Kirin Court. If you have never experienced the controlled, joyful chaos of a proper Hong Kong-style dim sum service — bamboo steamers stacked to the ceiling, carts weaving between packed tables, the clatter of chopsticks and laughter bouncing off high ceilings — then Richardson has been quietly keeping one of the Dallas area’s best-kept culinary secrets from you, and it is high time that changed.
Kirin Court sits on Greenville Avenue in the heart of Richardson’s vibrant Asian dining corridor, a stretch of the city that locals simply call “the strip” and food lovers make pilgrimages to from across North Texas. The restaurant is a full-scale, banquet-style Chinese establishment, meaning it is big, bright, and built for gathering. The dining room fills fast on weekend mornings, so arrive before 11 a.m. if you want a table without a wait — though honestly, even the wait is part of the experience, giving you time to watch the room hum to life around you.
The dim sum menu is the main event, and it is a genuinely impressive spread. Har gow — those translucent shrimp dumplings with paper-thin wrappers that are the truest test of any dim sum kitchen — arrive plump and perfectly steamed. Siu mai, filled with pork and shrimp and crowned with a dot of bright orange roe, disappear from the table almost before you can reach for them. The turnip cake, pan-fried to a golden crust with a tender interior, is the kind of dish that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about radishes. And the egg tarts, with their flaky pastry shells and silky custard centers, are a non-negotiable way to finish.
What makes Kirin Court special beyond the food is the atmosphere it creates. Families of three generations share lazy Susans. Business colleagues toast with tea. First-timers point excitedly at passing carts while regulars flag down specific servers by name. It is communal dining in the truest sense, and the staff — while busy — are patient with newcomers who are still figuring out the ordering rhythm.
Dim sum service runs through early afternoon on weekends, and the full dinner menu, featuring Cantonese classics like Peking duck and whole steamed fish, draws a devoted evening crowd as well. But the weekend morning experience is the one worth planning your weekend around.
Richardson often gets overshadowed by its bigger neighbors when food conversations come up, but Kirin Court is exactly the kind of place that earns a city its culinary reputation. Go hungry, go with people you like, and let the carts decide the rest. You will leave happy, full, and already planning your return visit.
