Chinese Palace Restaurant 中华饭店 in Kampung Attap
[Non-halal] We had a royal good time at the Chinese Palace Restaurant in KL.
Recommended by a chef, we brought our mum to check out the dim sum menu here at the Chinese Palace.
Chinese Palace Restaurant 中华饭店 in KL
Opened for about a year, Chinese Palace Restaurant 中华饭店 resides in the 100-year old KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kampung Attap.
The space here is nicely spruced-up, and we like that they offer seven private rooms as diners now prefer more privacy since Covid-19. The rooms can also be expanded to cater to a banquet of 30 pax.
We brought our mum here for dim sum lunch on Saturday noon, and there was a table for us with no reservations.
Menu is designed by retired Chef Frankie Woo
There was a bit hype leading to the opening of the Chinese Palace as renowned Chef Frankie Woo is said to have came out of retirement to design the menu.
For the uninitiated, Chef Woo is well regarded in the industry for combining Chinese, Western and Japanese elements to create his unique dishes. He had worked in various five-star hotels and restaurants in KL, HK and Singapore and is known for his Soft Boiled Egg with Foie Gras dish.
Chef Woo called out of retirement to help design the menu, and had appointed Chef Sam Loo to run the kitchen here at the Chinese Palace.
Delectable dim sums at Chinese Palace
During our meal at Bowls of Steel (see our old post here, updated post coming soon), we had a lovely discussion with Chef Jun and partner who recommended us to check out the dim sum here.
We often bemoaned the declining quality of dim sum in the Klang Valley – so we were quite excited to check this place out.
Thankfully, the food here exceeded expectations. We thought the prices were quite reasonable and commensurate with the ambience, service and quality of food.
Porridge of the day
We started with the Porridge of the Day (RM14.80 per pax), which was porridge cooked with braised peanuts and fried wanton skin.
This was delicious. The porridge was savoury with the perfect creamy texture, and we really like the combination of sweet braised peanuts with meat and crispy wanton skins. Our mum especially enjoyed this, and it was not one of the run-of-the-mill yumcha porridge offerings.
Crispy Rice Rolls with Prawn
Chee cheong fun (or rice rolls) is a typical dim sum dish, so we really liked Chinese Palace’s special take on this dish: Crispy Rice Rolls with Prawn (RM13.80).
Instead of the typical char siew/prawn fillings, the prawns here were deep-fried and coated in a crispy skin and finally wrapped with delicate rice sheet.
The prawns were succulent, and we liked how the crispy parts complemented the soft rice roll.
Special Wu Kok
We also enjoyed their unique take on Wu Kok aka Deep-Fried Crispy Yam Puffs (RM13.80).
Instead of just offering the usual yam puffs, these were topped with scallops, roe and mayo. And all the elements worked together.
Spicy Garlic Tofu
We recommend the Spicy Garlic Tofu (RM18). All of us agreed that this was an excellent dish.
While the skin was crispy and had nice garlicky kick, we were really surprised how the tofu inside remained so delicate and soft.
Trio of traditional dim sums
We had no complaints about the trio of Siew Mai, Har Gao, and Fish Balls (RM11.80-15.80) as they were tasty and fresh-tasting.
Summary
Our meal came up to RM164, which was quite reasonable to feed three people comfortably.
In sum, we think the Chinese Palace offers excellent value, as they offer a quality of food, service and ambience that are on par with five-star hotels at a fraction of the price. RECOMMENDED!
We advise you to make bookings in advance.
Chinese Palace
Address: 1G, Jalan Maharajalela, Kampung Attap, City Centre, 50150 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm Daily
Phone: 016-833 6228
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