This month we ventured into Northbridge to enjoy yum cha at Dragon Palace.
Yum cha in Cantonese Chinese literally means ‘drink tea’ and refers to the entire meal. People often refer to the experience as dim sum but this actually refers to this dishes served.
Dragon Palace opened in 1999 and offers one of the best yum cha services in Perth.
We went on a weekday and got there just after 10.30am as the place was starting to get busy.
When you step into the Dragon Palace it reminds me of a visit to a Hong Kong restaurant; all the staff are Chinese and there’s lots of Chinese themed decorations. The tables are laid with white table cloths, chopsticks, bowls, small plates and chili oil. Complimentary Chinese tea is served too.
Dan and I are both lovers of yum cha and we get excited as the trolleys of steaming bamboo baskets roll up to our table.
Dragon Palace offer one of the biggest selections with 27 steamed dim sums, 11 rice flour rolls, 11 deep fried dishes, 13 congees (porridges), 18 special dishes, 23 lunch specials and 12 desserts.
There are so many dishes to choose from with dumplings of various sizes and fillings, meat dishes, tripe, chicken feet, deep fried morsels and then sweet offerings, there is something for every taste.
We chose a selection of dim sum including siu mai (pork and prawn dumplings), hargao (prawn dumplings with a sesame oil flavour), cha sui bao (pork steamed buns) chilli pepper squid, prawn and coriander dumplings and our absolute favourite xiao long bao (Shanghai dumplings). The Shanghai dumplings ooze with soupy goodness when you pop one in your mouth.
It’s an absolute must to finish yum cha with one of the sweets and one of our favourites is the crispy. These morsels are crispy on the outside and ooze delicious sweet eggy custard, perfect with Chinese tea.
The other thing we love about a yum cha brunch is the price. The meal cost just $54.10 for the two of us, fantastic value and you won’t need to eat again all day.
We always recommend an empty stomach when you go out to eat yum cha.
Dragon Palace can seat up to 400 people so there is no necessity to book. It’s like stepping into Hong Kong or Canton and the quality of food is delicious.
We gave them four spoons for their authentic yum cha experience.
Dragon Palace
66 Francis Street, Northbridge
9228 2888
Yum Cha Service
Mon – Fri 10.30am – 3pm, Sat – Sun 10am – 3pm.
