Golden Palace 金皇廷酒家 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After being thoroughly spoiled by the consistently superb dim sum at Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) over the past two years, I figured it was about time to explore a few other local options on this solo trip.

My adventure officially started with Golden Palace (or Jin Huang Ting 金皇廷酒家), thanks to its convenient location near Futian Station. Ranked No.15 for Cantonese cuisine in Futian, I wasn’t quite sure if that was a compliment or just a polite way of saying “it’s fine”.

This place is massive. The kind of banquet hall you’d expect to host a hundred tables — easily. 

Sweet corn juice (玉米汁) (¥18) — I’ve recently developed a real soft spot for sweet corn juice in Shenzhen. Served lukewarm, it’s creamy, gently sweet, and surprisingly comforting.

Steamed rice rolls with barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒腸) (¥40.8) — This came stuffed with barbecued pork and coriander. Something we don't see often in Hong Kong these days.

Steamed prawn dumplings with bamboo shoots (當紅蝦餃皇) (¥41.8) — Pretty decent with prawns, some bamboo shoot crunch, and what I thought was celery (or parsley?) giving it a faint grassy note. But let’s be honest: once you’ve had TTJ’s har gow, it’s hard to go back. These just didn’t have that same finesse (but far more expensive 😡😡).

Steamed pig tripe with aromatic ginger (沙薑蒸豬肚) (¥41.8) — This one missed the mark for me. The presentation felt a little sad and the tripe was too rubbery for my liking.

Stir-fried glutinous rice with Chinese preserved meats (臘味糯米飯) (¥40.8) — Visually underwhelming and a bit soggy, but surprisingly, it tasted alright. 

Well, I tried to be adventurous today but I guess it didn’t quite pay off. Tao Tao Ju remains the golden standard for dim sum in town — and now I’m reminded why.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ¥¥¥¥

Address: 5/F, Golden Central Tower, 3037 Jintian Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福田街道金田路3037号金中环商务大厦裙楼5楼

Closest Metro Station: Convention and Exhibition Center (会展中心)

Tel: +86 13049322393

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/51/Rcv