Dim Sum Palace

After watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we wanted to grab some late dinner.  That wouldn't be a problem in the Theater District as there are plenty of places open late.  We ended up heading to Dim Sum Palace, only a couple of blocks from our hotel.  As its name suggests, they serve Dim Sum and in fact, it is all day!  Unlike some other all-day Dim Sum spots we've been to, this one maintains the same price all day.  It was quite busy and we were lucky to snag a table.  The service is rather efficient, with our water glasses never being empty.

To get a sense of the menu, we went for the Palace Dim Sum Platter consisting of 8 different dumplings.  These included Shrimp, Shrimp & Chive, Roast Duck, Pea Shoot, Veggie, Chicken, Pork & Chive and Shrimp with mayo.  The best of the bunch was the duck dumpling as the translucent wrapper was full of glutinous rice texture that was chewy in a good way.  Loved the duck too, tender and meaty.

 

Since the dumpling combo didn't include the Shrimp & Pork Siu Mai, we just had to get an order of it.  Although I would've preferred that the tobiko be placed on the siu mai after steaming, the dumplings ate well.  There was a buttery bounce texture to the pork and a snap to the shrimp.  A bit of brininess from the shrimp and tobiko added another layer of flavor to the pork filling.

 

Just by looking at the picture above, you will notice the ribbons of thin sheets of rice noodle.  Hence, the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll was on point.  The rice noodle was silky and delicate while still having a rebounding elasticity.  Inside, the large shrimp were the proper texture being meaty but having a rebound texture.  They were sweet and had a natural brininess. 

 

Looking abnormally plump, the Steamed Chicken Feet were a bit hit and miss.  I thought the outside layer of skin was not fried enough, and hence was too soft and almost flabby.  However, the totality of the chicken foot was texturally-pleasing.  The fat and cartilage underneath were tender while not melting away.  As mentioned, these were plump, which meant there was more to eat off the bone.  Flavor was quite good being sweet and savoury with just the slightest of spice.

 

Portion size-wise, the Steamed Honeycomb Tripe was pretty meager.  There should have been half more on the plate.  In terms of texture, these were on the chewier side and could've used a bit more time on the braise (prior to steaming).  Nice flavor for the dish as the tripe had been cleaned properly and hence, it wasn't gamy.  Good balance of sweet and savoury.

Despite looking rather pale, the Steamed Steamed Pork Spareribs with black olive sauce were on point.  Almost all of the pieces were meaty with very little fat and cartilage.  Texturally, there was the desired bounce to the meat while still being meaty and not over-tenderized.  The "sauce" was quite fatty (as in completely made of oil), but the spareribs did have enough seasoning in terms of saltiness.

 

Since we wanted some leftovers, we got the always filling BBQ Pork Buns.  As evidenced in the picture above, there was a good filling to bun ratio where we had more than enough meat.  The slices of BBQ pork were fairly lean with only a few fatty bits.  Filling was saucy, but that made for a more moist texture combined with the fluffy bun.  Naturally, it tasted sweet, but it was still balanced off by saltiness too.

 

I really should have taken a picture with the Roast Duck Spring Rolls cut, but I wanted to eat them hot and not mess around too much.  I enjoyed these as the filling was not the usual pork nor shrimp.  Rather, the shredded duck add plenty of body and texture while it tasty unmistakably "ducky".  These were wound somewhat tight, hence they stayed intact even after our first bites.  The outer wheat wrapper was crunchy and not too greasy.

 

Ending off our late night Dim Sum adventure, we went for the Coconut Pudding.  It was served in a plastic container rather than in squares.  So we ended up eating this with a spoon and it was pretty silky and smooth.  I thought it was lightly sweet and plenty aromatic.  With all things considered, we felt Dim Sum Palace offered up decent eats at reasonable prices.  Loved that they serve it all day, including late night.  Perfect for a bite after a show nearby.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Okay pricing

- Open late

The Bad:

- Obviously better Dim Sum could be had in Flushing, but we have to consider the location