Daniel B.
Yelp
Chinese buffet isn't really my style. Maybe I'll go once every several years just as a reminder about why I stay away. Or perhaps I'll find myself in a position where I need to eat my feelings, although in those cases, I'll still tend to favor Indian buffet.
But dim sum is my jam, especially when there is cart service.
What I really need to do is return to China Palace with a posse, because my daughter an I were able to take down precious few dishes before we simply couldn't eat any more. And there was a lot that looked delicious.
The highlights were the custard filled pineapple buns and the shumai.
There isn't chili oil on the table, but it was quickly brought over once I asked. Actually, the service was much better than I'm accustomed to at dim sum parlors. The two of us were slow rolling our dim sum brunch, being careful to take just one plate at a time, and it felt as if the staff might be concerned we weren't happy with the offerings.
Quite the opposite. There were so many tempting options on each cart, it made it hard to choose which one was going to be the plate that sparked joy.
Baked pork buns and fried shrimp dumplings were okay, but each could have been warmer. However, I blame that on my rookie mistake.
Every dim sum parlor does things a little differently. After observing the flow of carts around the room, I realized that instead the carts refreshing their wares in the kitchen, kitchen carts come out to the dining room and replenish the servers.
Keep an eye out for those deliveries! As we were eating our less than warm pork buns, a fresh batch came out to the cart, and I was filled with regret.
Sometimes that's the way dim sum goes.
I'm looking forward to returning as many times--with as many people--as I can to try and work my way through more of those delicious delights.
Bonus: Not only is parking super easy, but there is an Asian grocery store next door. So if you're inspired by your meal, or simply want to try and walk off a few of those dumplings, you don't even have to get back into your car.