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Food - 7.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
This busy Chinese eatery located in the Crowfoot area has been around for a number of years and over that time we have visited on numerous occasions for both lunch and dinner. This particular evening we had the foresight to make reservations as the place was completely full by the time we arrived at 6:30pm on a Wednesday. Having had a light lunch in anticipation of the meal ahead I was a bit worried that with only two waitresses working and a packed house that the wait for our food would be unbearable.
Although it took a bit longer than usual to get the attention of one of the waitresses, after placing our order, the food arrived on our table within ten minutes. Whats more is that even on such a busy night our waitress was friendly, making us feel at home.
The food was also on par with the service. Our first dish was deep fried fish fillets with sweet and sour sauce served with deep fried milk with a light drizzling of mayonnaise. The fish was fresh and crispy while the fried milk (more like a fried condensed milk dumpling) was sweet and not too heavy.
One of the specials offered that evening was a dish of orange peel scented garlic beef short ribs. The beef was extremely tender and falling off the bone while the garlic sauce had just the right amount of sweetness and a great citrus orange aroma.
Next was a spicy Szechuan seafood hotpot. On a cold night this hotpot really warms you up and is full of seafood including scallops, shrimp, cod and squid. The seafood was fresh and the squid was tender, not overly chewy.
The last dish was a traditional Cantonese braised duck dish. Having eaten this dish at home many a time, it really is one of my favourite comfort foods and difficult to find at restaurants. The duck is actually a BBQ duck that is slowly steamed in a flavourful oyster and soy sauce until the meat is extremely tender and falling off the bone while the duck flavour is intensified. Underneath the duck you will find a slices of taro root, which has a similar taste and texture to sweet potato, but a little less sweet.
As with most authentic Chinese restaurants dessert is a complimentary 'Tong sui' which translates directly to 'sweet water.' This evening it was a black sticky rice soup that is one of my favourite desserts. It reminds me of a traditional rice pudding but using the much more aromatic black sticky rice and flavoured with coconut milk. The rice is similar to wild rice and has a slightly crispy hull, adding texture, also colouring the soup red.
Conveniently located, Snow Palace offers great tasting authentic Chinese dishes with great service.
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Looks delish! Do you know the Chinese name of the place? Is this restaurant more cafeteria style like Pebblestreet/Sun Chiu Ke?
ReplyDeleteHey Gary,
ReplyDeleteYeah it does have a Chinese name and roughly translates to "bountiful harvest garden" (豐澤園) the food they serve has more of a traditional Cantonese style menu with dishes to share amongst the table rather than the individual Hong Kong style dishes you can order at pebble street or Sun Chui Kee.