Joy Palace Seafood Restaurant

I had high hopes. Always in search of a good dim sum place outside of Chintatown, for those times we don’t want to drive into downtown, search and pay for parking, wait 30 – 90 min for a table.
First time to Joys… and the last time we’ll go. We got there around 1pm on a Saturday so it was right after the lunch rush. There was no wait, however, the carts going around really started to slow as well. This is a really big place with a lot of tables so it takes a while for the few carts to get to each table. I get that, the less people, the less need for dim sum carts, but if only the food were good enough to make up for it. Many of the dishes were bland, from the shrimp noodle rolls to the baked pork buns. The shrimp in the shrimp dumplings were overcooked and chewy. The dishes that were on the OK and acceptable side were the pork Sui Mai, the shrimp in green pepper, the lotus wrapped sticky rice and the noodle rolls stuffed with chasu pork. There were 2 items that were very good and although I don’t know the names, I can describe them: a deep fried shrimp ball and an egg battered shrimp and mustard green pancake. The bill for 5 adults and one 6 yr old came to $ 79, just a tad less than what we would have spent in Chintatown. O, and they never brought us the salt and pepper squid we ordered, but based on the other food it probably wouldn’t have been that good anyway. Back to Chinatown I go.

Yummy food, gorgeous interior, friendly staff, but the dim sum carts came before we could look at the menu and never really came back. To order we had to ask the person cleaning tables to get the person we could order from…

I am reviewing this as a popular Vietnamese wedding reception venue rather than a casual dinner spot. I have never personally chosen to eat at Joy Palace. However, I have been eating here for wedding receptions for as long as I can remember. The outside looks sketchy as it is in Rainer. The restaurant is in the corner of an Asian shopping complex. The parking lot is big and dirty. Once you convince yourself to run inside, the restaurant itself looks very nice. With chair covers and white curtains, it turns into an elegant affair you wouldn’t have expected. The staff are very attentive to the guests. There is not an Asian restaurant in all the land whose staff cares more about your water levels than these waiters. I swear. If you see a waiter with a golden strand of hair, he is very well known in the area for working in tons of Chinese restaurants. He’s very memorable !
The standard reception menu is typically jelly fish leg platter, egg drop soup, crab balls, honey walnut prawn, lobster, Peking duck, (smelly fish?) fried rice, seafood «bird basket», and a whole fish. Intense right? I bet you wished you could be at a Vietnamese reception right now! ;) Every item is masterfully prepared to satisfy the picky Vietnamese elders and Americanized children. My favorites are the prawns and duck! I rarely hear any complaints after a feast at Joy Palace.
TLDR: Wedding receptions here are traditionally delicious.

Pretty good dim sum with good variety. All standard varieties are here and they serve dinner here too, so those can be ordered off of the regular menu. It gets pretty good business even on weekdays which is impressive.

Came here on new years day and was seated immediately but as another reviewer pointed out the food carts were pretty much non existent in the area we were seated which was the left section of the place (farthest away from the kitchen). Ive been here before on a non holiday and it wasn’t at all like new years day. Meaning, food and carts were abundant. Back to new years, we waited for 20 mins before a cart even rolled by and it was just the congee cart. After that another 20 mins until the congee cart made it back around and still no dim sum. We decided to order off the menu. Eventually some carts made it our way and we got some good stuff. Then the entrees came out and we had enough food. When you are ready to leave you could probably walk out without paying it’s so disorganized at the front. Of course we paid. I’ll probably come back, some day.

Usually coming here for dim sum, but I haven’t been in awhile. The quality of their dim sum has gone down since I last visited. The turnip cake was cold and stale, dumplings were smaller, their one saving grace were the chicken feet and attentive waiters who kept the tea and water filled. None the less, this place is packed by 11:30 and you’re looking at a little wait (not as long as China town) but it’s worth it if you need to accommodate a large party.

had dimsum here today. the wait wasnt bad, but the food was really below average. The beef tendons and chicken feet tasted like plastic and they were super mushy. the environment didnt seem clean (the glass cup that was given to me had stains) and the staff were really slow. I would honestly just go to chinatown and wait a little longer next time for some decent dim sum.

The food is good and fresh. Tables turn out rather quickly so the wait is never too long. Despite the animal house style of getting a table number, waiting for your table, and paying your table (zero organization, it’s a free for all to figure out where to go and what to do), if you know what you’re doing and have been there before.
This last visit however during a Christmas brunch was an absolute joke. I get the rush, I get the wait, I get it all — what I don’t get is how badly managed this place is. We had to fight through about 40 people just to get a table number, people stood around with no direction of who was being helped next. Fortunately the wait was only 30 minutes. We were sat about the outside wall and that’s when everything went down hill. The first cart took about 15 minutes before it got to us and it had nothing of our interest, we ordered one item anyways to hold us off. 30 minutes passed and that same first cart made it around again with the same stuff, hungry and impatient we ordered another dish to hold us off some more. 45 minutes passed and we watched cart after cart go down the same path (center isle) and watched cart after cart get cleaned out before it even made it passed 5 tables. We asked management if we can order off a menu or have a cart sent our way and she nodded and said yes and she’ll be right back. By the hour mark, I stood up myself and chased after a cart to order food myself, despite a language barrier — I understood her shaking her head and telling me to sit down meant I wasn’t going to get any food. At 1 hour 15 minutes the same first cart rolled around again with the same food and she just laughed at us because we only had 4 dishes of food from an hour ago on our table. No more tea, no more water, no more food.
Still watching carts go down the same isle, getting cleaned out in a matter of minutes — while everyone sitting on the same wall as us got no food, no help, no service. And I watched the manager hand bring food out to other tables DOWN THE CENTER ISLE!
it’s a joke of a place with the poorest management on a busy day. I get it. But give some care to people. But I know they won’t get this review or care about it, because they’re making money regardless off of the people that do get to eat.

As far as dim sum goes, this place is ACE.
I haven’t been here during any other time, but they have a good assortment of dishes. Parking is better than Chinatown, which is actually why we tried this place out to begin with because Chinatown was too packed!
It can get pretty busy here too, but for the most part, the place is large enough that they can get you seated pretty quick. Aside from that, good quality dim sum and they also, IMO, have larger selections than other dim sum places and are super accommodating at finding you dishes if the carts that roll past don’t have what you’re looking for.

Servers are rude… Unless you’re white…
We were there at about 1:30 PM… No sticky rice and waited about half an hour for it and by then, we were full. Anyhow, never coming back…

I have a funky schedule so I may be a little biased as I only go here for dim sum mid week.
With that aside, the service I always get here is friendly, and quick. The food is delicious although I rarely order anything besides dim sum.
The only downside is I am not sure I would recommend the seafood in the cases. Never tried it but man those fish/​/​other seafood look super sad and just sit in the bottom of the tank looking half dead.

I don’t know why previous reviewers keep talking about honey walnut prawns. Granted, their honey walnut prawns are great. But it is nothing compared to the king crabs that are in season now. They are cooked in three ways: 1) ginger and scallion fried 2) crab cream with glutinous rice 3) steamed crab legs with ground garlic
totally awesome! A bit pricy, but totally worth it!

Good wholesome Cantonese food:
Stuffed chicken: tender pieces stuffed with sticky rice: nice crisp skin.
Stir fried vegetables: mushrooms, baby bok chow, celery, baby corn, carrots, snap peas: vegetables were all fresh, no grease, not overly thickened with corn starch.
Battered fish fillets: light batter, no grease, tender and moist, just the right amount of salt.
Fried chicken wings: crispy, lightly salted, tender and not greasy.
Beef chow fun: onion slivers, bean sprouts. Conservative beef slices but tender and not dry.
Egg drop Corn soup: not overly salted and not overly thickened. Perfect start to the meal.
Peking duck with buns, served with Hoisin sauce and slivered scallions: duck is crispy, buns are fresh.
Honey walnut prawns: little conservative on walnuts, prawns nicely battered, great flavor.
Stir fried rice: carrots, peas, green onions, shrimp, BBQ pork and bits of scrambled egg.
Mango pudding: ok, could have been slightly sweeter.
All in all awesome food. Considering there were three large groups taking place: wedding and another party, they were able to produce consistently good food and provide excellent service. They came by regularly for water and tea refills.
Side note: there are some who have not experienced authentic Cantonese food. This is the real deal.
Bring your coat because there are no double doors. Get there early to get a parking spot!

If you’re ever in the area, I suggest eating here for your Sunday lunch. Joy Palace is definitely a good alternative for mixing up your normal Dimsum go-​to spots rather than dining in Chinatown. Joy Palace is a pretty big restaurant so it didn’t take me long at all to get seated. I thought the customer service was nice, but it does take awhile for the people to come around with carts of food. I ordered the Pork Spare Ribs, Humbao, Scallop and Chives Ball, Shumai and Shrimp Flat Noodle which all tasted pretty good. Even though the food tasted okay, I did think that some dishes lacked in flavor– in particular the Pork Spare Ribs.
Note: You can take bigger parties here because this place can definitely accommodate bigger groups as well as small ones.

The dim sum here is delicious although it may be hard to find parking during lunch time. The best thing about this place is their shiu Mai.

I seriously just can’t even… with this place. I have tried, over, and over and over.
First. The parking. Even with Viet Wah closed now, its TERRIBLE. So terrible, that I don’t even want to EVER come here again.
Secondly. Why so busy? This is mediocre (at best), dim-​sum. There are places in the International District with BETTER parking (Yes, even in the I.D.) that tastes SO much better than this place.
Third. How can one simply ‘run out’ of hargow? On a Saturday. At Noon? Uh… just no words.
Fourth. The place is PACKED. People waiting to eat. 4 carts. WHAA? I don’t really want to sit here all day to wait for 5 plates. We had 10 people, and just ended up giving up.
Fifth. Don’t bring your baby. There are NO changing stations in the bathrooms (in both men and women’s). I was tempted to just put him on the lazy-​susan and change him in front of everyone.
Sixth — Just don’t. Just… don’t.

This is THE place for dinner. The food is exceptional with fantastic prices!
These are the dishes that I fully endorse:
* Lobster (4 – 5 lbs) in cheese sauce
* Salt & Pepper Pork Chops
* Beef Chow Fun (Wet)
* Fried Japanese Tofu with Veggies
* House Special Chow Mein
* Szechuan green beans in garlic sauce
Our family seriously comes here all the time. They have parking and you can reserve the venue (or part of it) for special occasions.
LOVE this place!

Joy Palace is becoming a popular place for mini family reunions! I came here for lunch to celebrate my cousin’s 1^st-​year baby party. Joy Palace offered a private dining area and were open to allow for cool decorations, craft area for kids, and balloons. Of course, they also catered a Chinese buffet with very excellent food:
Chicken Wings were fried perfectly and incredibly juicy. The seasoning was spot on — I want to say I could taste a hint of coffee in the breading but its probably a mind trick.
Other dim sum items were excellent as well: sesame balls, shu mai, and excellent honey-​glazed baked pork buns. Perfectly sized — about a 2″ diameter hemisphere filled with juicy red sweet pork filling. Truly balancing bread-​to-​filling ratio! Folks quickly emptied out trays of the wings and buns. When the waiters brought out fresh trays, folks made a beeline for seconds.
The buffet also had chow mein, shrimp fried rice, green beans, and beef & greens. All of these were pretty good. The food gets replenished quickly and the servers were very accommodating.
Because of the excellent food and service, and especially the venue, maintaining my 5-​star rating for Joy Palace. My sister and I thought this was probably one of the best baby parties ever!

Years ago, Joy Palace use to be the go to place for dim sum and weddings.
The parking lot is always full on the weekends of people who are parked crooked or double parked and it’s so frustrating, but I know it’s what to expect every time I come here.
Over the years I noticed the dim sum just isn’t as good as it use to be and sometimes not as fresh as I would like my food to be.
It’s all mediocre and we just come here if we don’t want Hong Kong seafood or to go deeper into Chinatown and we don’t want to wait in the long lines there.

The quintessential spot for an Asian family to dimsum brunch and then grocery shop at Viet wah after.
Also the spot for any celebration– we did that today.