Had 2 things: beef chow fun = decent portion size and quality of the beef was great, however lacking a bit in flavor and a bit oily. Garlic green beans, bit overdone and over salted with lots garlic. Service was fine. Would come back to for the chow fun again and perhaps another dish or 2.

Mostly get Uber eats from here but still super tasty! Really great quality food but pretty pricey for what it is.

I had a great dinner at Steam with a friend and was so happy to see their gluten free options! I was able to have steam buns (ask for gluten free) and one of the rice noodle dishes safely as someone with celiac, and they have gluten free soy sauce available. Some items are marked gluten free on the menu, but others are available on request. It was a bit confusing when we got there because no one was at the greeting stand, but we ended up following another group and just walking right in to the bar area to ask to be seated.

STEAM has a great location in downtown Palo Alto on one of the main streets. Great outdoor seating for air and sun. Inside gets a lot of light as well. Lots of street parking around the restaurant location available. The food is very tasty and savory. I ate the following, -beef basil dish: it was tender and flavorful. I liked that you can really taste the basil & it comes with veggies. It balances out the saltiness of the meat seasoning. -Brown rice on the side was good to balance out the savory flavors of the beef. -Hong Kong noodles with chicken and shrimp: it was filling and there was a good amount of shrimp and chicken spread throughout the dish along with veggies. -I also ordered the shrimp ball appetizer: each one was quite large. It had maybe 2-3 shrimps in each ball with the crispy cover around it and dipping sauce. It had a subtle shrimp flavor, very tasty. The dipping sauce was a little vinegary for me, but I liked the ball with soy sauce. Portions are substantial & reasonably priced (for Palo Alto prices. Compared to other areas with more Asian cuisine available, it would be considered expensive) It's a good amount of food for sharing. I took my leftovers to-go. I got about 3 portions out of my beef order. Service was excellent; my friend and I were seated right away and given a choice between inside and outside. I wanted to sit outside, since the weather was amazing. I would definitely recommend Steam, and return!

I've been to Steam a few times and never had to wait for a table, so that's a big plus! It's on the pricier side like other restaurants in downtown Palo Alto. But they have good vegetarian options so it's an easy choice if we're in the area. The service is good and the ambience is casual. I really like the mapo tofu and vegetarian mu shu. I ask them to make the mu shu without egg. I think it comes with egg normally. The vegetarian spring rolls are good too. You can ask for them to make some of the rice and noodle dishes vegetarian too. They have 3 vegetarian dumplings (mushroom, pea shoot and fun gow) but I didn't enjoy these too much. They're too bland for my taste. My friends enjoyed the other dumplings (pork and shrimp shui mai was a favorite).

I was pleasantly surprised by what Steam has to offer in terms of dim sum and other pan Chinese dishes. The atmosphere is very chic, open, and clean. They serve jasmine tea by default, but you can also ask the server to provide tea based on preference, such as oolong, green tea, chrysanthemum, or pu'er tea. Any of the "classic" dim sum dishes will be a good choice for your visit: -Sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaf. Steamed perfectly with lots of great fillings, including pork, egg, and sausage. -Shrimp dumpling (Ha Gau). Tried and true, with excellent shrimp portions. Try it with a little soy sauce or a some hot sauce -Pork dumpling (Siu Mai). Great job on a classic. They add a little roe on top too! The lunch and dinner items are also excellent. Don't miss the Singaporean rice noodles! Finally, you can decide on tipping. They add a 15% service charge on top. The service is excellent!