Name: Crystal Palace Chinese Restaurant
Delivery: YES
Delivery Fee: $5 (a recent change)
Website: Link
Phone Number: 519-888-6828
Location: Downtown Waterloo (get there with iXpress)
Review: I admit that I kind of like this place. I wouldn’t touch most of the menu because they tend to use too much bad and old oil in everything (especially in their noodles). However, there is one exceptional redeeming quality about this restaurant: they serve really good Dim Sum. Dim Sum is the Cantonese term for an array of appetizers that are customarily eaten with morning/afternoon tea. You may have tried dim sum before in the form of shrimp dumplings (ha gao) or phoenix paws (a funny English translation that secretly means chicken feet).
I personally enjoy dim sum very much and, in Toronto, there are no shortages of dim sum restaurants.In K-W, you have to hunt a bit more but I have found 2 locations: Crystal Palace and Cameron. I may write about Cameron in the future but my short review of that restaurant is: they use really bad quality oil that’s probably been re-used for months (much worse than Crystal Palace), their dim sum is more expensive than Crystal Palace, and they have shorter hours. While I would recommend Crystal Palace for food (if you know what you want and its not on the menu, you can even get them to make it for you… but expect to pay a premium) I would not recommend Cameron.
Be aware, if you’re ordering from Crystal Palace, they stop making dim sum around 9PM.
The Bottom Line: Easy to get to, student discounts (10%), and a pick-up discount (15% over $30). Nice place to go if you’re looking for some nice dim sum.
3.8/5.0
