A party of 4 of us wanted to try some place new in Cleveland for dim sum and heard about Emperor's Palace located in the old Chinatown area.
The restaurant was easy to find, with plenty of parking in the lot across the street from the building. The lot is very distinctive because there are 12 stone statues of animals standing guard facing the restaurant. These are the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, a very nice landmark.
We were very impressed with the decor inside the restaurant. It is ornately decorated with gold and other Chinese trimmings. The staff was very friendly and quite knowledgeable about the menu too. Our drinks were kept filled (hot tea and iced water) and the dim sum dishes we ordered were delivered to our table piping hot.
Compared to other dim sum places in Cleveland, the food here was head and shoulders above the rest. The portions were larger, the temperature was good (we know it had not been sitting in a cart cooling down), and the taste was more flavorful. The Phoenix Claws we had were plump and not overcooked. The Turnip Cake was thick and crispy on the outside. The riblets in black bean sauce were tasty morsels of deliciousness. We had two pastry dishes, both which were excellent. The pastry was flaky and light while the filling was savory and hot.
While this restaurant's dim sum selection is quite large, we would have liked it if they had a couple of items we liked at the other large dim sum place. Unfortunately, the Emperor's Palace did not serve fried sticky rice or our favorite dessert, "tau foo fah". Even then, I would not hesitate to return to this restaurant for some excellent and authentic dim sum!