Last week, the lads and I had a little dim sum adventure where we tried a new Yum Cha place called Café Delight nearby my office. I have to say, the interior looks pretty damn good as it has just recently opened. But the layout of the entrance obviously showed that the restaurant expected long queues which hmm lets just say that has not turned out quite correct yet.
Its food was not the tastiest and at best, most were mediocre.
The prawn dumplings felt rather typical. Not that it tasted bad but after having so many, most seem to taste the same. One point to note was that the dumplings were cooked spot on as the skin did not break when we brought it out. Prawns were springy not powdery I guess this it a good thing.
Another thing we ordered was the chicken feet which I found was well marinated. It was sweet, and salty with just the perfect amount of heat which is not too much at all. I liked the way the skin was puffed and fell right of the bone when I ate it. This to me is the most important thing for a dish like that. No bad smell as well, so yay!
We also ordered bean curd skin rolls and congee which were all ok but then again, mind blowing it was not. Too many thing here felt rather typical.
At the end of the meal, we also ordered things like the egg tart, chicken pie, rice flour rolls and chili pepper squid. All of which were under average compared to its peers with the exception of the chili pepper squid. Chicken pie felt certain as if they were trying to copy New Moon/Dim Sim Café all of which I believe are related to Hoi’s Kitchen when I try certain dishes. The fillings of the pie were shadowed by what seemed like an eternity of pastry! Rice flour roll was deceptive with a thin layer of the roll on top ending with 3 layers at the bottom. My dim sum comment shall always be the same about rice flour rolls in Perth! They suck so bad!! But what made me happy was the squid which was crispy and really tasty which to some would equate to very salty.
When I asked the guys what they thing about the food, Mr Cincai said “OK” which he always does, while Chau said it was OK, but felt really bland at some point. Win reckon’s Dragon Palace is better. To me, many things that day felt lucky. Well cooked chicken feet and good dumpling skin has always been a matter of luck for most diners. Sometimes if you are lucky it is good, sometimes everything feels overcooked and falls off the dumpling. Chicken feet always has the issue of being too tough. Fry it more! Soak it in colder water! or just braise it more! But when intimidating crowds of 100s queue outside, I guess dim sum business really becomes the hardest! Would this be a valid excuse for us to pay continue paying $20 per head when the quality fluctuates so much? I wonder.
WenY
