Century Palace Chinese Restaurant

A few days ago, I went out for dim sum again over at Century Palace Chinese Restaurant.  It’s close to my place and it was a place I had not been in quite some time.  When we got there, the place was half empty however it was a weekday morning so I wasn’t really expecting a huge crowd to be there. 

Needless to say, we were able to get seats right away.  The place use to push their dim sums around however I believe that practice was discontinued a few years ago.  After marking on a piece of paper, our food arrived soon afterwards. 

Like previous dim sum sessions that I have had at previous restaurants, most of the items we ordered were pretty much the same which included the customary shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, siu meis, beef and shrimp rice noodle rolls, fried turnip cakes and buns. 

After finishing the whole meal, I found it difficult to really separate the good from the bad.  Nothing was really bad but nothing was really good either.  All of their dim sums were okay however there was really no wow factor to any of it.  Sometimes you go to one of these places and you are able to pick one or two dishes that really stood out however there was no one particular dish that could do just that.  Looking around the place, I know the restaurant has been around for about 20 years, maybe even longer than that, but the place could use a bit of sprucing up.  A new carpet, a new coat of paint on the walls, or new lighting could easily turn this restaurant into a more appealing place to be. 

The prices were somewhat reasonable at this restaurant.  Like most dim sum restaurants, there is preferred pricing for certain hours.  Before 11 and after 2, the dim sums are about $2.20 a piece.  It would be more expensive if you decide to go in between those hours.  Service was okay as there were always waiters and waitresses running pass your table.  There were about 50 items to choose from which is about average compared to other dim sum restaurants.  I’m not too sure whether I would return in the short term especially with so many other dim sum restaurants in Toronto.  The old saying of you get what you pay for I think perfectly illustrated this restaurant.  If you were looking for cheap but reasonably priced dim sum and you were not looking for anything fancy then this is the place to be.  If you wanted something more exotic with your dim sum, you may want to try somewhere else.  It’s a restaurant that will be there when nothing else is available however it is not a place where I would clamor or have the urge to go to.  An averge restaurant gets an average rating.  Overall I give them a 3 out of 5.

Century Palace Chinese Restaurant

398 Fernier Street

Markham, Ontario

905-415-1988