Yan Palace Restaurant (Hong Lim Complex)

Ee fu mee: Too starchyHar gow: Soggy and unfreshPipa duck: The only saving graceMango sago: Watery and bland

I'd been here a while ago and returning for Sunday breakfast. Expecting a large crowd based on previous experience, I made a booking for 10am but it proved unnecessary, the crowd was more subdued this time. We ordered the usuals - har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, prawn cheong fun, sticky rice, deep fried prawn dumplings. Nothing really stood out as either good or bad, on the whole food quality was very average. Perhaps it has deteriorated a little from my earlier recollection. Pricing is very competitive, but on the whole it's an average experience and i'm unsure if I would return. 

It has been years since I actually had tim-sum in an "old school" Chinese restaurant.

I was actually expecting push-carts but, nevertheless, the "self-order" form did just fine.

We had quite a lot of food and were pleasantly surprised by the decent quality and quantity.  We didn't expect that the whole breakfast cost just $14 / pax.

Har Gow was fresh with good quality "non-sticky skin".

The Char Siew Buns scored high among my fussy kids, soft, light and not too fatty.

Century Egg Porridge was served with good crispy, not soggy fried fritters.

The fried banana rolls was interestingly yummy.

Spring rolls were crispy and were not soaking with oil.

and we had so much more and it would be boring to list them all here........

So, basically, those steamed dishes were fresh and light, the fried and deep fried ones were good as they are not overly oily nor soaking in oil.

The only "down" dish was the steamed pork ribs which looked to "pale" for mum. She was expecting something more savory like those with hosin / black beans / char siew sauce.

Service was decent. Though almost full-house, we did not need to wave the house down for attention.  While the food took much longer to arrive (due to the crowd), the company at the table made the waiting bearable.

In conclusion, this is a good restaurant to visit for wholesome tim-sum fare. There was no MSG effect after the meal.  A decent breakfast / lunch venue for a 3- generation family gathering.

My impression of Yan Palace has always been that it's a family get-together type of place, probably because my 1st meal here was as a kid with my family and it has always been so (except I'm no longer a kid!).

I wanted to go for the dim sum but sadly, it's only available during lunch. Is it so unconventional to have dim sum for dinner??

Anyway, the Roasted "Pi-Pa" Duck ($35++) was the 1st to make an appearance. This was clearly everyone's favourite due to the crispy and fatty skin. I thought the duck was quite skinny though (not much meat).

The 1st comment when the Braised Deluxe Dried Seafood ($20++) was served? “Wa! Such a small bowl!” With delicacies such as sea cucumber and scallops in it, I dug in with gusto. Within minutes, the pot was wiped clean. Note to self: order a larger serving next time!

A common dish to be found in Chinese restaurants, the Sauteed Scallops with Broccoli ($22++) was faultless with the fresh ingredients used and simple execution by the chef.

The Fried Noodles with Prawns & Egg ($16++) came in a large portion. I like the runny scrambled egg with asparagus and mushrooms though the sodium level was a tad too high. Prawns were large and succulent too!

I love anything and everything pumpkin so the Braised Pumpkin Casserole with Seafood ($18++) is my personal favourite. Steamed till soft, the whole sweet pumpkin acts as a bowl to contain the savoury braised seafood. Two thumbs up!

I was fully prepared to like it but the Deep-Fried Yam Ring ($20++) didn’t make the cut. Everyone agreed that the yam was bland to the point of being tasteless. The only saving grace was the stir-fried mixture of assorted veg, chicken cubes and cashew nuts.

In my dictionary, no meal is complete without desserts. I was surprised to like the Chilled Mango Pudding ($3.50++) since it’s not as gelatinous as I had expected. Milk was added to complement the sweet mango.

I felt cheated when I saw the Chilled Sago Cream with Mango & Pomelo ($4.30++)! I thought it would be the type sold at “Ji De Chi” since its Chinese name on the menu reads “Yang Zhi Gan Lu”. This is more like honeydew sago cream with a change in fruits. Disappointing, to say the least.

A bitter dessert is an oxymoron but I take my Chilled Herbal Jelly ($3.80++) without honey since I like its bitterness. The best herbal jelly eaten in my life is in Hong Kong (tell me if you want the address!); this doesn’t even come close but it’s good enough!

It’s always a must to have the Yam Paste with Ginko Nuts ($3.80++) at every Cantonese restaurant. I like that the paste was not overtly smooth as I like texture in my food. Mixed with liquid lard and coconut milk, this is definitely artery-clogging in every bite but so worth it!

This being a weekday night, we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Which was great because it means the staff had only us to be attentive to! If there’s a chance, I’ll love to come back for a sample of its dim sum!

For photos/reviews, visit My Food Sirens =)

we had a good start, really.

or maybe we were just really hungry.

then it went downhill.

the mini egg tarts were great

the filling just melted in the mouth and the crust was fragrant and crumbly

just the way i like it :)

char siew sou was OK. but a tad too oily the pastry.

then there was the glutinous rice balls with pumpkin in it

this was quite unusual and refreshing..

but one cld get sick of it after a while.

we also ordered dumplings

i will never ever order xiao long bao anywhere else other than Din Tai Fung/Imperial, coz it's bound to disappoint

the skin was thick and broke when we tried to pick it up

then the chee cheong fun.

oh man. the sauce was essentially just soya saunce and sesame oil.

seriously, id much rather spend my money at Victor's Kitchen.

So much more value for money.

Yan Palace offers pretty affordable and decent dim sum. My family of four had a filling lunch here for $72, which works out to $18 each. This restaurant has been around for a long time and while the Chinatown outlet we visited was not that old, I found the ambience to be rather drab. The grey carpet and plain white walls of the dining area (equipped with TVs for entertainment) were quite a contrast from the majestically decorated entrance and the walkway linking to the private rooms and washrooms.

Here's a run-down on what we had:

Must try!

1) Lotus paste pau (3 pieces/serving): I will never enter Yan Palace without ordering these again. Totally hooked on the divinely smooth and moist lotus paste filling! Oh no... how I wish I could have one (actually, maybe four) now...

2)Century egg porridge ($3.20/serving): This served with youtiao that has been cut into small pieces and fried until they're crispy. Delicious when mixed with the smooth and flavorful congee!

3) Golden phoenix claws (i.e. chicken feet): I'm not a fan of steamed chicken feet, but my family raved about how  melt-in-your-mouth-good this dish was. In fact, they enjoyed it so much, they ordered another serving!

4)Egg tarts (3 pieces/serving): The pastry here veers towards the crisp and crumbly side, rather than the tender texture that I prefer. Nevertheless, these miniature egg tarts were stillgreat in their own right.

Worth a try:

1) Banana with prawns (6 pieces/serving): This tasty confection reminded me of goreng pisang studded with a generous amount of crunchy prawns.

2) Yam balls with lychee (3 pieces/serving): Sweet, juicy lychee surrounded by soft orh nee (yam paste),  encased in a thin, crisp, flaky shell.

3)Pan fried carrot cake: Be sure to eat this while its hot!

So-so:

1)Pork ribs

2)Deep fried prawn dumplings: I like smearing this with lots of mayonnaise (:

3) Har Gao

4) Prawns with mango in almond flakes (3 pieces/serving): A generous amount of prawns encased inside a shell of almond flakes. A tad too oily, and the taste of the mango was practically undetectable.

5) Siew Mai

Bad :/

1) Mango pudding: My family harbored wonderful memories of the smooth mango pudding that we had here five years ago, only to find ourselves disappointed by how sticky and lacklustre this dessert now is. Clearly, too much gelatin was used.

This is one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. Love the dim sum there. Granted, the ambience isn't that great, service can be a bit slow, and the crowd at the entrance of the restaurant can get quite daunting, the food more than makes up for it.

Their dim sum dishes are delicious and taste fresh. Dishes that deserve special mention include their prawn balls with almond flakes, pan-fried carrot cake, char siew buns and egg tarts. We usually spend less than $20 per person, including tax and tea charges, for a good and hearty meal.

Other than dim sum, their main courses are also quite good. I used to like their pumpkin seafood soup, but the most recent time I went, the standard seemed to have dropped. Hope it was just a one-off slip in quality.

We had a farewell dinner with 5 tables last night. It was a good and memorable one.

Service was only okay. The staffs were fierce, like they were totally UNHAPPY to work. Why complain when the whole restaurant seemed so EMPTY.

Food wise, all the food came piping hot and it was good (maybe cos the restaurant was empty and the cook made a hell of an effort?)

We had the $368+++ menu which included:

1) Cold Dish

- The centre prawn and salad was disappointing. But the others were fantastic. I loved the prawn thingy I ate (dun ask me what it was).

2) Sharkfin's soup with Dried Scallop and Pacific Abalone

- I didn't eat any abalone nor sharkfin's BUT the soup was just nice. Not salty or corn starch filled.

3) Roasted Pi Pa Duck

- One of the best dish as the duck came out nice and hot. Skin wasn't that crispy but it was good enough. The sauce wasn't that salty either

4) Steamed Garoupa

- Abit overcooked but overall fish was fresh and food was tasty

5) Deep Fried Vension Roll

- Did I eat that? I think it was changed to something like a roll with golden mushroom which was the best dish to me

6) Fried Cuttle fish with broccoli

- I dun eat cuttle fish but the broccoli was not too bad.

7) Fried Tiger Prawns

- Disappointing dish. The Prawn looked "dead" (Well, the prawns are dead technically) but it didn't look that appetising

8) Fried "mee suah"

- Most ate their mee suah. I didn't cos I was happily being entertained by the Karaoke and also moving to different tables. So I am presuming it wasn't that bad

9) Mango pudding

- Disappointing.

I was first introduced to this place by my colleague who is crazy over their dim sum - close to Crystal Jade Takashimaya standard but cost less. Well, I tried their dim sum and must say that these little delights are worth trying and would not disappoint for the price range they offer.

A little digression here, so just 2 weeks ago I brought my family to this restaurant for a get-together dinner. We ordered :

1. Fried omelette with sharksfin

- really quite good. This dish is done really flavourful with wok-hei smell and nicely seasoned eggs. Butter lettuce is served as a salad wrapper to put in those delicious egg shreds and its saltwater condiments.

2. Sauteed squid with broccoli

- Another tasty dish. The chef has to be recommended for whipping up a beautiful seafood sauce and this dish goes very well with rice. The only complain here is that the squid is a tad too chewy and a bit on the rubbery side.

3. Fried mee sua (their house specialty)

- We were to full to actually savour this dish and had it take away "ta-pao". Was told that it taste good even on the next day served as taiwanese breakfast (eaten with white porridge)

4. Deep fried coffee pork spareribs

- This dish, while supposed to be their specialty dish, is a bit of a mixed reaction. The meat is handled superbly - crispy exterior and juicy meat interior with its meat well seasoned through. I feel the imperfection is on the choice of coffe-based sauce which gives a bit of the bitterness. Somehow I still prefer the universally tested sweet & sour pork.

5. Steam chicken with ham and vegetable

- I really don't know how to describe this dish here, but I can tell you quite distinctly to avoid it unless you really (and I mean REALLY) cannot find any other alternatives.

6. Sauteed cod fish ball with brocoli

=My favourite for the night. I would recommend you to try this dish

Service is quite prompt and courteous.

28 June 2008 : the gang of peasants – JT, EW, RZ, GL and JC – decided to meet to get some sustenance after our morning escapade. I was very happy to be eating dim sum because I have been craving for dim sum for quite awhile. =o)

SLIDE SHOW

I really enjoyed myself and the food was reasonably good. The service staff were prompt at pouring more tea into our empty cups and serving the food to the table quickly.

I was filled with a great sense of well-being because I had satisfied my craving for dim sum….