Milford Eatery Strives For Quality Product, Atmosphere, Service

MILFORD, CT – Milford’s newest eatery, Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot, strives to give people the highest quality customer service possible while providing them with food made fresh daily.

“We are focused on the quality of the product, a beautiful, inviting atmosphere, and customer service is kind,” Stephanie Wilson said. “It’s important for our owner to have these elements in Harmony.”

May Lin and Steven Gao are the co-owners of Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot, but they have been familiar with the area since Lin owns The Whale Tea Milford.

Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot, located at 187 Cherry St., opened its doors on June 9 during a soft launch.

“We didn’t advertise, we just let people find it organically, and once we had all the kinks worked out, we started pushing our social media posts and worked with food content creators in the community,” Wilson said.

Lin said the location of the G Mart played a critical role when choosing where to open Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Put, but also when they decided when to open The Whale Tea in Milford.

“Many Asian People come to the G Mart, so we chose this location for The Whale Tea. Then the opportunity presented itself to open a restaurant in this location.”

Lin said the Milford community has been warm and inviting since they opened The Whale Tea Location, and it has been the same type of welcoming environment at Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot.

“We love this community, and we love we have been invited into this community and embraced,” Wilson said.

In the first couple of days, Wilson said she would get many comments from people who were excited about the Dim Sum because they would have to go to New York or other places for good Dim Sum.

“We offer it all day long,” Wilson said. “Many places have a cutoff time of 3 p.m., and they only offer the Hot Pot, but we offer both Hot Pot and Dim Sum all day long.”

At Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot, they’ve integrated automation along with a server.

“We wanted something easier and modern,” Lin said.

Wilson explained that the server will be notified when customers order what they want via the tablet. They will come to the table and review the order with the customer to ensure no mistakes or double entries.

“Once everyone agrees, the server will send it to the kitchen,” Wilson said. “There is still a human element, the modern automated approach, but you still have somebody walking you through the menu, how it works and how you cook Hot Pot.”

Old Street Dim Sum and Hot Pot have two VIP rooms featuring a round table enough to seat 16 people, and each person has their own Hot Pot station.

“People have reacted to those well, making for a great party room,” Wilson said. “People come on the weekend and enjoy time with friends and family. People have liked that concept.”

Lin said they are improving daily to be ready for when the number of customers increases in the wintertime.

“Traditionally, the restaurant business is slower in the summer months, and we use that as an opportunity to train everyone properly and work out all the kinks fully, so we are ready when everyone returns in the next week or two,” Wilson said.