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| - First things first ... contrary to its name, this place is not a Buffet, at least in the traditional sense. Also - Dim Sum Hours are limited, so check their website.
Three of us went to Phoenix Palace to celebrate a friend's birthday and enjoy a nice Dim Sum brunch. We were promptly greeted and seated at a nice table in the aisle (which is by the way prime seating - the carts were whizzing by offering all kinds of delectable things). I was happy to find that the vast majority of customers (90% or more) were Asian and heard quite a bit of Cantonese and Mandarin being spoken, so I know this place must be close to authentic to garner this kind of "street cred" among the Asian crowd. By noon, the place was almost chock full. So point of advice, get there by 11 AM to get a good table and avoid a wait.
The Dim Sum on offer was overall very good, very tasty. The skin items (dumplings) were very good, and the pork buns were also very good (though a little bit more pork might have been a bit better). Overall the portion sizes were decent (three of most things, four of other things), and I could conceivably see one filling up here for under $10 easily, but we had a birthday to celebrate after all. The only thing that was under par was the rice noodle shrimp, which is basically a giant rice noodle wrapped around shrimp then steamed, it was just a tad over steamed. I had a nice rice congee with Chao Quay (fried bread), which reminded me of Indonesia (we called it Chakwe there - almost the same thing) ... oh the memories... but I digress.
Service was prompt, efficient, and the quality was good. Staff were responsive to our questions about what things were and what they had. Also I didn't see the congee cart and asked the waitress if they had congee, she said yes and asked me what kind I wanted, and she ran over to the cart and got me my congee. Excellent service. The price was very good ... we had a total of 14 dishes between the three of us, plus tea service for me, and iced tea for one, and water for the other. The total bill was about $40 for three people, which I have to say is less than the tab for the three of us at other brunch locales downtown (though to be fair, it was quite a lot of food).
Overall, a great place for the Dim Sum neophyte. Though perhaps not the caliber of places in San Francisco or even the mecca of Dim Sum (Hong Kong), this is certainly one of the better places in the valley for Dim Sum.
Positives: A good example of traditional Dim Sum (if not a perfect one),
Good food, great place for groups. Good service. The place
is also VERY clean.
Negatives: For me this is a positive, but a due warning to Westerners with ideas of being "culturally superior" or otherwise demanding tourists: Goinghere is akin to a mini trip to Hong Kong or even China. Be aware that eating Dim Sum is not just a different culinary experience, but also is about participating in a different culture and pace of life. Have an open mind, and above all BE PATIENT. So if you don't see the carts (or the cart you want) coming by for a few of minutes, chill out, enjoy your tea or other beverage, and relax. If you can't handle this, go to a Chinese Buffet.
Oh yes, and before I forget, GRADES:
Overall: A- (no other demerits taken other than mentioned below)
Service: A- (The only major demerit on service was that the English
spoken by some of the cart pushers was not intelligible
however this is excusable as this is a Chinese place -
the "specials" board was completely in Chinese)
Food: A- (A good example of traditional Dim Sum. Some demerits
include over steamed Shrimp rice noodle [some firmness
is better], the Har Gao (shrimp dumplings) were good,
but on the verge of being over-steamed)
Drinks: No Grade (we did not consume any alcoholic beverages, so no grade is given in this category - though I have to say my Oolong tea was delicious).
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