If we were seated inside the actual "Regal Palace" restaurant, I would give it 4 stars. But because it was "full" or that we made reservations late (two days before), we were brought to a completely different part of the hotel, to the Victoria Rooms. Still "part of the hotel", but practically above Fu Sing and Din Tai Fung. This had me confused. We booked to have lunch at the Regal Palace, not inside some function room. I was looking forward to being seated at the nice tables with the tall ceiling, and we did pass a lot of empty tables at 12:45pm, but no, we were ushered to the back. A couple who arrived at the same time as us, but didn't have a reservation, was also ushered to the back, but as soon as they saw the function room, they decided to leave. I wouldn't blame them.
The rooms has a very "yellow" tinge to them, perhaps the lighting and the low ceiling made it seem less elegant or Regal for that matter. I was already disappointed. But I couldn't rule out my analysis without trying the food.
Because you are dining at a hotel restaurant, the dim sum is a premium. The tea is a premium at HK$22 per person (higher than Fu Sing and Ho Choi but less expensive that dim sum at the Grand Hyatt where tea charge is about HK$60 per person), but what I didn't like was the hidden charge of HK$22 for a tiny plate of peanuts! PEANUTS! You wouldn't have known if you hadn't read the fine print at the bottom of the menu. Sneaks. Maybe I had gotten up at the wrong side of the bed, but I was not having this dim sum.
Food: prices are double than at established dim sum places. Does it translate to better quality? Surprisingly yes. I will elaborate dish by dish.
Deep fried taro puffs: instead of serving 3, they served 4! I was surprised, but expected it considering the price of HK$58. Since it was just the 3 of us, my parents and I, we were thankful for this extra piece. I dislike ordering dim sum for a party of 4, only to find that they only serve 3 dumplings or 3 Buns. The taro puffs were a little small, but filled well with your expected pork stuffing. It was crispy and truly "puffed" on the outside.
Vegetarian Pea shoots and mushroom dumpling: my fave!!! This dish is a must for me at any Chinese dim sum restaurant, and a bench mark for my rating of their cuisine. Bravo!
Fish balls with mushrooms: good but not amazing.
Chiu Chow Fun Gwor: I love ordering this dumpling but it's usually a hit or miss for me. I dislike it when the clear translucent dumpling skin is too thick. But the one at Regal Palace was perfect - peanuts inside with a mix of scallions and minced pork. And thin dumpling skin! Yes! I could not be happier.
Chicken feet in black bean sauce: great! The skin and fatty ligament came apart easily, just delicious.
BBQ pork Buns: very generous with the char siu (BBQ pork) inside. In fact when I picked mine up from the bamboo basket, some meat was spilling out. Best eaten steaming hot!
Glutinous Rice: the fact that they served this last (or towards the end of the meal) shows that they know how to sequence the dim sum. If served at the beginning, it fills you up and you can't enjoy the rest of the dishes. If served at the end, you can enjoy the dumplings and buns first, with the glutinous rice as a closing dish. Same goes for the char siu Bao. And it was one of the best I've had in HK. Definitely better than the one at Tim Ho Wan.
So I may have been a bit harsh at the beginning, but they were my true sentiments and observations. Overall, we paid HK$460 (with discount for using Hang Seng credit card). For this price, I would much rather go to the Fu Sing Seafood Restaurant downstairs. read more