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Categories: Dim Sum, Venues & Event Spaces, Seafood [Edit]
359 Grand AveMon-Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
"I found the Lobster Shack through a YELP email, and otherwise may not have found them. They may be a best-kept secret in Redwood City.…" read more »
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We had our wedding here two years ago and every time we come back, it feels like our family is taking care of us. The owners (husband and wife) and wait staff are extremely friendly and will help you out however they can. Granted, this is a Chinese restaurant, so the standard of service is generally lower than that of Western establishments, but you will be surprised by their attentiveness.
Their dim sum is pretty good-- it's not like the over-priced Koi Palace, but it's a good second option if you don't feel like waiting an hour for lunch. The restaurant is HUGE.
We've been to at least THREE weddings here and let's just say, if you are looking for a banquet location that's in this area, Grand Palace is the top choice. All of the Millbrae and Daly City restaurants are too small and lacks the open space necessary for a wedding. If you want more details about the wedding package, just shoot us a private message.
All in all, a great place to eat in South City.
Met up with my family for a night of good cantonese food after a full day of black friday shopping.
Can't comment on the price of this place because i didn't pay (boo yah!) but I can comment on some of the delicious dishes I tried. Service was very good and attentive, but I can't say whether that was due to the fact that the place was half empty, or if the service was really that good on a regular basis. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a regular thing.
Dishes to try:
The garlic and chili pepper stir fried osyters- ymmm good! if you don't normally like the briny, fishy taste of oysters..this is for you. The spiciness of the dish covers that briny taste, but still tastes great.
The "snow covered Dragon": a fancy name for egg whites and shrimp. This was a real treat.imagine a whole tray filled with steamed, soft egg whites, and inside were plump shrimp begging to be eaten. Add some soy sauce, scallions, and you have a dynamite dish.
The peking duck was done just right, with the right amount of crisp to the skin.
The roast pork was also great..fall off the bone meat, and a sweet, succulent baste.
Went to check it out as a possible wedding banquet venue. You can choose to rent the whole place or just one level (there's a balcony), but the restaurant may book two separate events on each level.
For a place called "Grand Palace" I thought it would be huge, but it was not. It wasn't tiny, either, but if you've got several hundreds of people to account for then you'll probably need to look elsewhere.
Onto the food!
We got the $338 banquet for 10 people, but switched out some items:
Assorted Barbeque Combo Platter -- Cha Siu, the gray pork one, the beef one, seaweed salad, jellyfish, little octopi. It was all good, didn't particularly surpass the combo plates I've had in the past.
Chicken & Calamari in X. O Sauce -- We got a beef with mushrooms dish instead. There were 5 kinds of mushrooms in there! Enoki, button, shitake, trumpet or oyster, and straw. The large chunks of beef were tender.
Honey Walnut Prawns - We got the Sautéed Prawns & Golden Milk instead. The prawns were not sauteed but simply deep fried with a simple, thin coating of flour (I think). There's a small mayo dish on the lazy susan to garnish, which you'll need because it's otherwise bland. The golden milk is a fried dough where the middle is still kinda gooey. This was AWESOME. It's fried and so a little greasy, but it's savory and sweet and comes out piping hot and crispy. I've never had it before and would get it again.
Shark's Fin Seafood Soup -- We had fish maw soup instead. I thought it was a little bland, but you get lots of fish maw.
Black Mushroom over Greens -- standard
Dual Crabs W/ Ginger & Scallions -- kinda oily, but it almost always is
House Special Roasted Chicken -- with shrimp chips, of course. standard.
Steamed Live Whole Fish -- We got a deep-fried fish. It was good.
Enoki Mushroom E-Fu Noodle -- I like noodles and this was good, but I've had better e-fu noodles elsewhere.
Dessert of the Day -- It was a hot, coconut-flavored tapioca soup. You'll be stuffed at this point if you've had a little of everything, but not bad.
The service was fine, I thought, but probably not as attentive as it could have been considering we got there at 5pm on a Sunday (opening time) and nobody else was there. By 6 or 6:30 more people came in, but it looks like 7pm is when they get busier. Standard quality Chinese restaurant. I wouldn't make a trip to come here again, but it's not bad at all.
And if you like fried sweet-savory things, get the fried golden milk!
We've been coming here quite often through the years when I'm in the bay area. Everything is good, I especially love their egg white dried scallop fried rice! Yum!!
Finally a Chinese restaurant that doesn't have white table cloth. Sunday morning no waiting in line sat down immediately.
Found the perfect roast duck of my life. Right here. Grand Avenue, 400 miles away from home. Hands down. Sorry LA, I thought you knew better. 5 stars for the duck. 4 stars for everything else.
Hands down this is the best duck taco ( peking duck ) I have had to date.
Every order of dim sum was delicious and relatively inexpensive. I am no dim sum expert but the fact that I was one of two white people in an establishment seating easily over a hundred should be an indication of the Grand Palace's authenticity....
Quite a find in SSF! I have been several times and I find dinner a little too exotic for this basic cantonese food fan. The dim sum is very good with a wide variety when they first open on the weekends (10 AM). This is surprising since most places have limited selections early. Gotta get there before 11 AM on a Sunday or be ready for a wait!
Had the Gai Lan this weekend - very crispy, not wilted and very tasty. Lots of places blow this simple dish. Was too full to try the chicken wings, but next time for sure. Park around in one of the lots off of Baden Avenue.
Very nice quality dim sum overall. $40 for two but we had enough for taking home for a second dim sum meal.
They speak English when they see that you are a non-Asian (very nice for us ABCs and gringos). On a Saturday before noon, there was almost no wait. And after being given a ticket number, we were called within 5 minutes (after sitting in a nice set of chairs that they had set aside in their waiting lobby).
This contrasts sharply with Tai Wu Mr Fong's which most people are standing in the entrance both inside and outside, in front of tables and generally milling around while waiting.
The setting is very spacious and classy and nicely lit.
The service was quick and I can see what they try to do; hit you up with the chef's specials and large dishes first, when you are most hungry and weak-willed.
Well it worked. I got their BBQ pork Char Siu which looked great (about $9.50) but this was a mistake and the one of the reasons for the loss of a single star overall. The meat was very fatty and not as flavorful as it should be and not too warm.
They did have a hit with the large portions of shrimp rice rolls, the jade shrimp dumplings, the sui mai, the Chinese broccoli, the XO noodle rolls (which were good but again not too warm),
The custard cups were on the small side and while OK were not the best we've had lately; the other food item which lost them a 5th star.
Of all the dishes we had, we had only one that was classified as "small" the Siu Mai. One was Medium and all the rest were Large, Special Chef or Kitchen, so our bill was higher than normal for us for dim sum.
Here's their Dim Sum price breakdown: Small: $2.55 Medium: $2.95 Large: $3.95 Special: $4.95 Chef: $5.50
We will certainly be back to try more of their more reasonably priced options.
Wow...awesome dim sum!! The food gets 4/5 stars and service gets 3/5 stars......came on a random Monday at 11:30 AM......a good place among the 10 or so places I've been to around SF, Oakland, and Hawaii!
This large, ballroom-style restaurant was the beautiful reception location for my sister's wedding at Shakespeare Garden. It's been too long since I enjoyed such a meal and I was eagerly anticipating the magnificent multi-course meal of the evening.
The first offering was a medley of cold meats including BBQ pork, jellyfish, seaweed, and a myriad of unknown, but delicious parts of animals unknown.
The second course was probably my favorite, the honey walnut prawns. This was easily one of the best examples that I've ever tasted and the prawns were cooked to crispy perfection and the walnuts were definitely prepared in house.
The third course consisted of sautéed scallops, fish, and snap peas. The seafood was absolutely perfect and the snap peas were fresh, tender, and crispy all at the same time.
Shark fin soup is usually reserved for only the grandest of events and a wedding certainly qualifies for that. This fourth course was full of flavor and tons of the expensive delicacy throughout.
The fifth course consisted of sautéed sea cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, and bok choy. While not my favorite food in the world, this particular preparation was quite flavorful. By the end of this course, I was already getting pretty full but we were only half way through with the meal.
Crab came next and everybody really started getting into it. A favorite amongst Asians, it seemed to be the dish most highly anticipated. Fortunately for me, many of the appendages were already cut open and made enjoying this delicious dish as easy as can be.
At this point in the dinner, our wedding party broke for some fine champagne to toast each of the tables and to give thanks for sharing the day with our family. By the time we completed the rounds, our next dish was waiting.
Another one of my favorite dishes is Peking duck. This savory specialty is usually off limits and saved for special occasions since it's relatively difficult to make. Eaten in a fluffy bun with slivers of green onions and hoisin sauce, the combination of flavors were absolutely delicious.
Steamed fish in soy sauce came next smelled incredible. Extremely delicate, tender and flaky, the subtle flavors of the soy sauce with the fish made my mouth water. Even thinking about it now is enough to kick start the salivating.
Finally, the last course of the evening was the seafood fried rice. Full of crab and shrimp, the little bowl was full of savory sea flavors. It was one of the tastiest things I had ever enjoyed. After finishing all of this food, I was thoroughly stuffed and barely had any room left for the cake.
While not actually a dessert prepared by the restaurant, the wedding cake was phenomenal. Filled with a raspberry jelly and sweet cream on light and fluffy white cake, I could not get enough of the stuff. The restaurant added a couple of pastries filled with a sweet yellow bean paste that complimented the cake nicely.
Though a tad tricky to find if you aren't from the area, the Grand Palace was an excellent place for the reception. The food was excellent and the service was attentive and outstanding. For those of you getting married soon, I highly recommend this venue and restaurant for all of your reception needs!
Food: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Price: $$$$
Atmosphere: 9/10
This has become one of my favorite restaurants. The service good and food is always tasty. My recommendation is go early and plan to stay a little longer so that you can see and taste everything.
I go about to lunch here at least once if not twice per month. I recommend you give it try.
I just came back from Grand Palace Restaurant this evening as I attended a wedding banquet for good family friends. The banquet started at 6pm and there were 22 tables with seating for 10 people each. Personally, I think the table was a bit cozy and 8 people per table would be much more adequate.
With a 4 star average and 186 reviews of this place, how could anyone go wrong!?!!
I've been here for a Red Egg & Ginger party with buffet, and another Red Egg dinner, but nothing on such as grand scale like this wedding.
Everything was simple.
Their menu choice was the $438 menu consisting of:
1) Suckling Pig & BBQ Platter - Easy and traditional cold platter
2) Gold Shrimp Balls - Light and fluffy, good texture
3) Stir-Fried Chicken & Scallops - Crunchy ginger snap peas and large scallops
4) Braised Shark Fin Soup - Decent, although I've had much better before
5) Mushroom & Sea Cucumber over Greens - love the slimy sea cucumbers and large crunchy mustard greens, good sauce
6) Black Peppered Steak Cubes - Way overpowering sauteed onions and too much pepper
7) Dual Lobster in Supreme Broth - No meat, only shell. They could've put 5 lobsters on that place and still noone could find any meat
8) Peking Duck - Good traditional selection. Duck was not too fat, good meat and flavor. Plain sweet breads are always a favorite eaten by itself or as a sandwich prepared with Hoi Sin sauce and some skin
9) Steamed Live Whole Fish - the waiter deboned the two fish. well cooked meat and not rubbery. The oil and soy sauce mixture was a light combination
10) Enoki Mushroom & Crabmeat Noodle - Traditional long life noodles
11) Dual Petite Dessert - Fried lotus seed sesame balls & Flaky crust red bean balls
12) And last, but not on the list: Wedding Cake from Alex's Bakery in SF
Overall, the food was great. I was very full and I'm not sure how I put all this food away. For the same dishes at another comparable chinese restaurant like Mayflower in Millbrae or Dynasty in Cupertino, you could easily be looking at $750 per table and up. This one is a steal if you think about it.
Grand Ave is hard to find parking at times, but the trick is to park across the street at US Bank. They are closed Sundays.
I definitely need to come back during dim-sum and give it another rating. Until then....
Went for Dim Sum lunch on a weekday. Service was quick, friendly, and ongoing until is was completely obvious we were finished consuming. Wait staff was very patient about repeating items for us English-only speakers. A bit of a communication breakdown (shark fin soup was heard as chicken soup. Tofu was really tofu and pork, etc...). However, there is a printed menu on the table as well. Next time I will probably ask wait staff to point to which dish(es). Seemed to take an exceptionally long time to receive the check -- this might have been due to coming in at the end of lunch service/beginning of dinner prep.
The green tea balls were so yummy I would go back for these alone.
Street parking was a bit of a challenge, but at 30 minutes for a quarter, I didn't mind metered parking.
Very good dim sum at a reasonable price -- what's not to love?
I have trouble at some dim sum places because I don't speak Chinese and sometimes the restaurant staff doesn't speak English (I'm talking to you, Koi Palace!). At Grand Palace, there's enough understanding on both sides of the table to get a delicious lunch, with some old familiar treats and even a new item or two.
Today, my daughter and I had shrimp dumplings, shrimp-mango rolls, pork buns, custard buns, Peking duck, and Chinese broccoli. The only one that wasn't great was the shrimp-mango roll. The carts come by nonstop, but if you want to be sure you get what you came for, you can also order off a sheet of paper. I love places that do this! So many other items looked good, but one can only eat so much at a sitting.
Husband and I went here for a wedding reception. It was a beautiful restaurant. The food was great. It's a typical chinese banquet. I know how stressful planning a wedding could be and how terrible it could possibly go. So, the fact that the night went smoothly deserve a four star.
This restaurant has good dim sum and generous servings of Chinese food. Every visit to this particular restaurant results in full stomachs and plenty of leftovers to carry home in standard Chinese takeout boxes with white plastic bags.
The servers and hosts were patient and respectful to my group, as we had a mix of Cantonese and non-Chinese people at our table during all of our visits. The servers spoke enough English and Cantonese, which is a nice touch as well.
The latest visit was for a banquet as two of my friends got married, where we got to eat lots of seafood dishes to celebrate a lovely union of two good people. Their lobster and sea bass, and shrimp ball dishes seem to be their signature seafood banquet dishes, which was adequate.
Overall, I'd come to this place for their dim sum and for Chinese banquets only, as it has its moments of good food, though I won't be going out of my way to visit regularly unless I were in the area with a craving for dim sum, or if an Asian couple needed a suggestion for a banquet hall.
Can't comment on anything but the Ma Po Tofu lunch special which was pretty decent.
my mom and aunts were visiting from out of town and i was looking for a dim sum place nearby. we came a little after it opened and were a little wary because it looked so dead in there. but the food came out fresh and hot and delicious. i was bummed we were already full but there were new dishes coming out that i wanted to try. my mom and aunts were happy so i was happy.
This place is alright, though it seems like there is a long wait the line moves quite quickly.
Food wise, I can say hands down this place is much better than Hung To which is about a couple minutes away. There is a much wider selection of dim sum to choose from and its not the same tray over and over again. Taste wise it was pretty good, nothing spectacular but definitely not bad.
Customer service wise, its a typical dim sum joint so dont expect fancy shmancy shine your shoes service.
Great place for dim sum. I always walk into this place starving, and I always come out barely able to breathe. I literally have to wobble out to my car after I eat here. Beware, this place gets really busy during the lunch hour...especially Sundays. But once you're seated, the fun begins. The carts are on a constant go at this place, however don't be surprised if the same lady comes by you at least three times during your meal offering you the same shrimp ball repeatedly. Much of the staff at Grand Palace do not speak English, but that's okay. A simple smile, nod, or point will do the job. It is reasonably priced, great for groups, and great for families.
Came here for a wedding banquet it was goods. Nice place to hold a banquet, bright open space.
I have one qualm with this place: Their shark fin soup was hella corn-starchy. It was like eating sweet tapoica dessert without the sweet and tapoica. bleeh
For traditional Chinese receptions, Grand did a fabulous job for us. Tony really knows how to set things up and make sure he has everything you need for a memorable reception for you and your guests. They were very accommodating for all the changes we wanted from layout, menu, and even a last minute swap from upstairs to downstairs.
Tony has seen it all when it comes to large scale events, and he has everything you can think of all at his disposal. From privacy, dressing room, dance floor, projector, audio system, decorations, Grand has it all.
The food was exceptionally good as well. Not a single guest left hungry and all bellies were beyond content.
I've only been here for the dim sum and it's great! The food is delicious, in particular the shrimp dumplings and the chicken feet.
Free tea is also a plus!
Must try!
Parking - bad.
Service - it's a Chinese restaurant, what do you expect?
Food - The bacon wrapped shrimp was pretty good! :) I liked it a lot! Everything else was decent...just your usual dim sum.
Place - The place is big and not too crowded. It's definitely not your avg hole in the wall, that's for sure!
Came here last night for my cousin's wedding banquet. Parking here was pretty easy - all street parking though. The neighborhood is so-so - not the best neighborhood but it wasn't anything scary either. When you walk into the restaurant, its actually pretty nice inside for a Chinese banquet hall. The restaurant is split into two parts - the upstairs and the downstairs. We had the downstairs section which fit comfortably a head table, dance floor, and 20 round tables of 10 people each. There is a staircase that leads to the upstairs - but I didn't go up there to see the size of that.
We had the pork appetizer dish, deep fried shrimp balls, shark fin soup, prawns and scallops over snow peas, abalone with mushrooms and Chinese greens, lobster, crispy chicken, steamed fish, and dried scallop fried rice. Since I don't eat shellfish - I can't really write about that. Everything else I had was pretty good though. I only didn't like 2 things - the soup and the fried rice. The soup had way too much corn starch in it - it was boarder line drinking gooey jello soup. The fried rice had dried shredded scallops - but it more or less tasted like steam rice mixed with green onions and dried scallops - this had no flavor to it at all. They also give you warm sesame ball and baked pastries at the end of the meal - which was basically my favorite part of the meal.
Overall, this is a pretty nice restaurant to hold a Chinese banquet at. It was clean, the spoon that we used was like gold plated so that was pretty cool. Service here was pretty good - changed our plates when it got dirty, refilled our tea really quickly, and the servers were very efficient in clearing out unnecessary bowls and plates that we were done using. One thing I didn't like about the location was that there was actually 2 weddings that night - one on the top floor and one on the bottom. And basically its all open space - think of it as a loft. So we were able to hear the MC talk from that wedding and vice versa. People talk about the dim sum being good here - I shall come back to try this one day!
I'm not very partial to dim sum houses that use the check list order form instead of push carts. Maybe it's because when I was a youngster in the middle of last century, we visited Hong Kong and in a tea house the women would carry the dim sum around in big round steam trays with a canvas strap, calling out the dishes. Now we didn't understand what they were yelling out, but we knew good dim sum when we saw it. Hey, I'd probably go to more Giants games if they had dim sum vendors like that... I could see myself sucking on some chicken feet while watching Tim Lincecum strike out a few Dodgers. Might even be funnier watching a few fans lose their lunch when I start to pick my teeth with a claw of some skeletized chicken foot. Anyway...
Grand Palace has got to have some of the best dim sum around. The Har Gow, shark fin dumplings and steamed pork buns are fantastic. The stuffed bell peppers are cut to very large portions. The Hong Kong style chow mein is excellent too. The dining floor is large and wide open with lots of room and very comfortable. They actually would have plenty of room to use carts, if they decided to. It's a great place for parties & banquets as well. The dishes off the menu are awesome too. Try the Peking Duck, Scallops and Black Mushrooms, and items of fresh seafood. The service is fast and friendly enough. We were here for a wedding banquet couple of months ago. You gotta check the dish presentation. The place is no joke.
$o why only 4 $tar$? That'$ pretty much all I could afford after paying the bill. Dim $um lunch for four, without beer... $70.00
The food is great! This place would impress anyone!
The Grand Palace Restaurant is COOL!!!
Unfortunately, you could be a regular at Taco Bell until next pay day.
Sunday at 1:45pm this place is still bustling but got a parking space on the street fairly close and a table on the first floor quite easily. Servers are hopping and instead of carts, serve on trays. The servers were always coming by. Had to ask for water and tea and the check. Ordered 9 dishes, two were special orders of Walnut prawns and xiao long bao. Impressed that Peking duck came out as a dim sum item.
For 3, came out to $46. Pretty cheap, I was pleased with the price and the food.
Official 3.5 star rating...
We came here for Saturday afternoon dim sum. Luckily we arrived before the lunch rush. I recommend coming before 11:15am, otherwise you'll be caught in a hefty wait. I sat with a table of six and we ordered your typical dishes:
-shu mai
-shrimp dumpling
-shanghai pork dumpling
-preserved egg porridge
-shrimp rice roll
-chicken feet
-pineapple bun
-white turnip cake
-vegetarian noodle (special order)
-beef ho fun (special order)
I enjoyed everything we ordered. It was all very fresh and well prepared. I highly recommend the porridge and the shrimp rice roll. The noodles were also very good. Price-wise, I think it was rather reasonable. The noodles were a little pricier here than places I have been to in the East Bay. The restaurant is clean. A great location for big groups. Service is the service you'd expect from a lunchtime dim sum restaurant. Worth a visit if you're looking for some dimsum.
My brother was in town for training and he had a few hours before his flight so I met him for dinner by SFO. I don't know any good eats by SFO so naturally I looked on yelp and picked this restaurant based on the reviews
When we arrived the restaurant it was empty but we were promptly greeted and seated. Our waiter brought out our tea, it was placed on top of a ceramic container that had a tea light inside which kept the team warm. It was my first time seeing something this and I thought it was cool. Would've taken a picture if I had my camera. We ordered
- Walnut Prawns ($13): Excellent, prawns were lightly battered and sweet.
- 1/2 Chao Zhou Duck ($12): Tastes a little lighter then roast duck even though there is still a lot of fat on it. I think it was stewed instead of roasted. Wondrously delicious.
- Stir-fried snow pea leaves w/whole Garlic ($13): Good, snow pea leaves were fresh and the garlic was slightly browned and crunchy.
The waiter also offered us complimentary dessert. The two options were sweet red bean soup and black sesame soup. I ordered the sweet red bean soup. It was pretty good, hot and sweet.
While we were there, a lady came in to ask about wedding banquet reservations. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the decor inside is very nice, nicer then other restaurants of wedding banquets I've attended.
Thanks Yelp!
I am between a 3 and a 4 for Grand Palace. I used to frequent Grand Palace a lot with my co-workers and found the place clean and food great with lots of variety. This past visit after a couple years absence was a little disappointing. Food was still good but I felt the variety was lacking. I kept looking for dim sum that never came around. Maybe they've changed cooks since my last visit.
Dim Sum is good. Try:
Siew Long Bao (Steamed Pork Shanghainess Dumplings)
Har Gow (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings)
Siew Mai (Steamed Pork Bites)
Peking Duck
Har Cheong (Shrimp Wrapped in Rice Noodles)
Sorry, my translations are not the best descriptions.
I know what you faithful Michelle S. fans are probably thinking. You're probably thinking, "Ooh, our favorite unemployed biochemist was eating in 'The Birthplace of Biotechnology;'*/** did she have an interview?!?!?!?!"
No. I didn't. :*( BUT, I did the next best thing: had dim sum with my two favorite female PhDs. (I certainly have been milking the networking/free lunches...and I now owe a lot of lunches because of the, "Cool, I'll get you when I have a job!"
So you know how if you put infants under those tents with the blinky mobile toys and music, they freak out because they are overstimulated? That's kinda how dim sum is here. No shortage of service. Once you sit down, you will be overwhelmed by the carts of dumplings, etc. Not that that's a bad thing. It's actually pretty rad.
I also recommend actually ordering their green beans in addition to the dim sum. If they are out of the deep-fried bean paste balls, they will gladly make some more for you. If you don't want dim sum, they have a full lunch menu as well. They also have large fish tanks of live shell fish to choose from. AND....the bathroom is fancy and spotless.
So, if I do end up getting a job in South City, this place and I will get very close.
* There is actually a statue of a DNA double helix that says "The Birthplace of Biotechnology" as you drive off Oyster Point Blvd. toward the mall of biotech companies. It is paid for by Genentech (who I foolishly turned down fresh out of college...biggest mistake of my career). It is a lot nicer than that eye-sore on the hill that says "Industrial City." =/
** April 25, 1980: My Birthday. April 25, 1953: Watson and Crick's paper on DNA structure published in "Nature." I just didn't stand a chance.
Went to Grand Palace after only selecting dim sum restaurants given 4 stars by yelp reviewers. Thought this is going to be a place with great food just like my hometown Toronto, Canada. It was just okay.
The portions were a good size, but, most of the food arrived lukewarm except the shrimp dumplings and were not the freshest or very tasty. Even the food on the push cart was surprisingly lukewarm. We were there just before 12 noon so expected the food to be piping hot.
The service was okay except the one waitress with the push cart kept passing us by or if she did stop would only tell us some of the items on her cart. My husband had to go to her and ask to see the items. She finally got the message to stop at our table but when she did she wanted to know what we wanted and my reply was "What do you have?"
Had the following items:
Har Gaw (steamed shrimp dumplings) - lots of shrimp which tasted fresh, skin too thick
Stuffed Mushrooms - bland and lukewarm
Stuffed Bell Peppers - bland and lukewarm
Chow mein with green onions - tasty but lukewarm: asked for red vinegar and waiter brought white vinegar
Shrimp crepes - shrimp not fresh, not tasty, and crepe was too thick
Chicken's feet - hardly any black beans, not hot or tasty
Steamed pork ribs in Black Bean Sauce - no black beans, somewhat tasty
Pan fried Shrimp and chive dumplings - tasty but lukewarm
Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce - good but lukewarm
Steamed BBQ pork buns - lukewarm and the pastry was a bit tough and not soft, worst I've had so far
Green chives shrimp dumplings - somewhat tasty but lukewarm
Total came to $45.84 (not including tip) which is expensive for the quality of food. We were going to give this place another chance because when dim sum is not HOT it can really put a damper on things; however, changed our minds. My thinking is if you can't get most of your food out hot, especially at 12 noon, that says something about the establishment.
It alrite had Better make sure you have a Chinese guy with you who speaks Cantonese if you want good dimsum drive downtown to hong kong lounge much better
Luckily I don't get grossed out very easily. And let's be honest, some Chinese restaurants aren't very clean. Well, Grand Palace seems pretty clean but when I went to set my purse down on the floor next to my chair I saw what I'm pretty sure was a piece of tripe lying there. But as I said, I don't get grossed out very easily. ;)
The dim sum here is actually pretty good. I liked the siu mai--my test for any dim sum place. My sister and I just ordered a few things but were pleased with what we had. If I were in the area and craving dim sum, I would definitely go back. Better service and less crowded than Koi Palace, but less refined than Ton Kiang.
Grand Palace is a nice place to go for dim sum or dinner. You don't feel cramped because the tables are spaced far enough apart that you're not eaves dropping on your neighbors from all sides. For dinner, your tea is kept warm at your table on it's own candlelit heater.
They have a wide selection of food during dim sum hours that's brought around on trays by the servers. I would recommend not ordering everything that comes by but holding out for your favorites to prevent getting over stuffed too quickly.
My favorites are from the Chef's special - Peking duck with buns served with a nice complement of green scallons and thinly sliced cucumber and the honey walnut prawns lightly battered and not the sauce not too overpowering the prawns. They have a wide selection of fried items such as seaweed tofu and deep fried shrimp balls. For the steam items I like their steamed tofu skins with minced pork.
During the mornings try parking at one of the lots and walking the block onto Grand, it'll be easier to exit later on when you return to your car. On Sundays and after 5pm parking is free.
I went here for dim sum today, and it was absolutely delicious! The taste of the dim sum was average - the shu mai tasted like shu mai from other places, etc. I tried something cool called "liu sha" today though, because I thought it was "nai wong bao" (the egg custard buns that I really like (you can tell if you read my other reviews)) - it actually tasted just like nai wong bao, except the filling inside was very liquidy and hot, and had a very different texture from the nai wong baos I usually order. The uniqueness of those buns made this restaurant a definite go-to-again place for me.
I also liked the service here, as the waitresses came by every 30 seconds to ask if we wanted more food. However, it was hard to find a waiter who could refill our tea and get our check, among other things. It was really full and lively in the restaurant though, so it makes sense that they were busy.
Good dim sum, but a little pricey for me just for dim sum especially if you are on a budget. I love their deep fried shrimp balls! lol Good with groups.
I was here a year ago for a wedding, and came back this past weekend for my friend's red egg and ginger party( http://static.px.yelp.... ). The restaurant is two levels, so they put the banquet/party on the first floor, and they shove the regular patrons on the top floor. I found that a little odd since the regular patrons have to walk past the party to get to the stairs.
The first floor is very spacious, so they try to jam pack as many tables in as they can. This turns the floor into a huge maze since some of the chairs are back to back, and you have to figure out how to get to the exit.
For the red egg and ginger party, they went with a buffet. They had a variety of food to chose from, and it was all pretty good( http://static.px.yelp.... ). My favorite was the roast pork with the crispy pork skin..MmmMMmm. The fried shrimp balls were really good, too......anything fried is gooooood.
I've seen so many good Yelp reviews for the dim sum, I'll have to come back for that one day!
Finally, I woke up early enough to go dim summin' here! Usually, it's packed on the weekends, get there early!
I like the different variety of dim sum offered here besides your usual shrimp dumplings and baos. They have these sugar puff desserts that I haven't seen in ages!
How do you judge customer service at a dim sum place? I judge it upon how fast they pick up my finished platters and how quick they refill my tea kettle. This place has been on point in keeping the tea full and removing finished platters.
I love the atomosphere here because it's big enough to hold parties and comfortable enough just to hang out casually. This place would be awesome for holding banquets because you have enough room for people and projectors.
I like how their seafood tanks are clean! I kept staring at the geoducks (they are the yummmy creatures with a long tube sticking out of a big clam).
I like Grand Palace because you don't feel cramped with the high ceilings and elegant appointments to detail. Where else will in South San Francisco will you get a two level dim sum restaurant that rivals others in the peninsula? Even full granite stairs, you don't see that too often.
I have never been disappointed with the food or service.
The only drawback, and it's not Grand's fault is the parking. Bring patience, luck and quarters for the parking meters.
South San Francisco, CA
Category: Dim Sum
South San Francisco, CA
Category: Chinese
South San Francisco, CA
Category: Chinese
Millbrae, CA
Category: Chinese
Millbrae, CA
Category: Dim Sum
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