Asian Palace

We have been going to Asian Palace since they were on Covington Pike. However, since they moved from Covington pike, the quality of both the food and the service has been disappointing. Their moo shu pork used to be the best in town, but it — along with so many other dishes — have disappointed during our past few visits. It’s time that we found a new favorite Chinese place, because we won’t be returning to Asian Palace.

Man, every time we come here for dim sum, it is worse than the last time. Usually it is due to less-​than-​fresh food, or to slow service. This time, it was both. The place was packed on Sunday at noon… and it looks like they cut staff… there was only one steam cart circulating for the entire dining room. As a result, it was over 15 minutes after we were seated before we got a sniff of food. We asked for chili paste, and I had to point out to the server that ALL the dishes on the table were dirty… he was going to give us one of the dirty dishes! Unfortunately, most of the food we got was lukewarm at best and cold in other instances. The ha gow (shrimp dumplings) were past their prime, and the scallop and shrimp dumplings were downright rancid. Other choices were just ok. No refills on drinks, 15 minutes on line trying to pay the bill. And unfortunately, this is now the only dim sum place left in Memphis. I guess we’ll have to get our dim sum fix out of town.

Good Sunday lunch spot to get some real mowing done.
They have a few carts that come around with lots of options.
The freshly cooked warm stuff seemed better than the stuff that should be eaten warm that rode around on the cart for a while.

Went to try this new Asian place because I wanted to try something different. I wanted to get a Sesame Chicken lunch special but it wasn’t on the menu. I wanted to get fried rice with no onions but they said no because the fried rice has already been made you can’t have rice with no onions so I choose the white rice with Sweet and Sour Chicken. Wow, I wanted New I got New because that was all new to me. It is a big place with lots of room lobster and fish tanks. The food is ok its make me want to come back and try again for something er Lee.

Great food! The server was very nice and continuously checked up on us. Food was fresh and delicious! Sucks that they don’t serve the egg tart on weekdays.

It’s awful. Been here twice now and the food is just bad. Everything fried tastes like it just came out of the freezer. I do not recommend! The egg drop soup was okay though.

3 stars for the food and service combined! Not one single smiling face and they were all so rude!!! I love dim sum and because it’s the only dimsum place around here I was more than willing to try it out with an open mind. Cart came right away, but I walked up and helped myself to what I needed and went to the kitchen to ask for sauces I needed and no one stopped me to ask if they could help! Checking out I waited amongst others while no one even came to the register!!!
I want to try to come again eventually but this was how they set the mood for today.

This review is for non Chinese speaking dim sum lovers: Food was good, service was horrible. Typical rude staff you’ll see in any authentic Chinese restaurant. They’ll hate you for not being able to understand them. They tried to charge a dollar a person for one pot of hot tea shared by 5 people at our ten person table. $ 8?!
Don’t worry, if you find a foot long hair in your dumpling, they’ll automatically take the hairy order and give you another order and only charge you for one. Now every time I eat dim sum, I will feel a hair tickling my tongue.

If you’re looking for authentic Chinese food, this is as good as it gets for Memphis. My family is Chinese. This is the only Chinese restaurant we enjoy eating at in the tri-​state area, and we have been patrons since they were on Covington Pike, before the millennium…
You probably shouldn’t be looking for atmosphere or ambience if you want good Chinese anyhow (that would almost contradict the experience), so let’s just skip over that part.
For dinner, remember that this type of food is designed to be served «family style,» meaning that you order multiple dishes and share, not your own individual entrée. It pains me when I see people ordering like they would at an American restaurant. Their War Wonton soup is killer, not even my own father can figure out how they make it so delicious. For something a little less traditional, try the Shrimp with Walnuts – you won’t regret it.
As far as dim sum goes, I recommend getting there as close to when it starts as possible. They still don’t have the whole operation down in my opinion… takes forever for carts to get around, you have to be agressive. But it’s one of a kind for this city, and certainly worth it if you want to try dim sum.
But, uh. Take it from me: don’t eat the soup off the carts… we would only ever eat soup like that if we were sick.

OK. They are back on their game. Everything for the last several visits has been great. They all know me here now and that probably helps with service as it can be spotty at times.

This is the real thing, real Chinese food, New York China town quality. I was in town for the weekend and went twice for dim sum it was that good. The pork dish with crispy skin is excellent and at $ 6 something a real bargain.
Great dumplings.
There were many Chinese people in the place which tells you something. I am sure there were a lot of things on the menu I am not adventurous enough to try, but what I had I really liked.

MEMPHIS HAS REAL GOOD DIM SUM
Dim sum prices range from $ 2.65. To $ 6.95. Certain dishes are only available on Saturdays and Sundays like the speciality bake buns: roasted pork, pineapple, coconut, salted egg and sweet rice cake. Also, being there early at 11:15 am will limit the variety of dim sum being served. We noticed the kitchen doesn’t really start producing non-​steamed dim sum until after 11:30 am.
The table tally/​order sheet is in both Chinese and English along with the prices. We did a good job selecting eleven plates for a total of $ 38. We could only consume eight of them. The rest we took away to enjoy later.
Maybe because of the size of the dim sum portions we filled up quickly. Every bite was very authentic in taste. Memphis is very fortunate to have Asian Palace. For sure we will have to heed our advice and dine closer to noon for the next time we crave for dim sum.

Asian Palace… the dim sum epicenter of Memphis. I’ve been there for a ‘regular meal’ before, and frankly they’d be more of a 3-​star restaurant (on a good day) for they’re typical menu… but 4-​star all day long when it comes to dim sum on a Sunday.
If you don’t know dim sum, and you’re looking for something fun with the family or a big group of friends, you must try this. Its quite simple… follow these steps:
–Go to Asian Palace at 11:30am Sunday
–With 6 people or more… up to say, 10
–Ask for table of that size (you’ll get a spinning thing)
–Sit down, ask for hot tea and waters
–PRO TIP1: sit close to the kitchen vs. back wall
–Three carts will be cruising around:
1) Clear cart, cold items, get some greens
2) Soup cart… it’s not my favorite, so, your call
3) Steam cart… go crazy here, get it all except chicken feet
–Special dishes from the pushy lady, handle this way:
1) Default to ‘no’… she won’t mind, she’ll ask again
2) Keep an eye for noodle dishes, they’re great & go fast
–PRO TIP2: don’t order from menu or ask for special dishes
–PRO TIP3: have on person pay, and split it evenly, it’s cheap!
And that’s it… enjoy your time, and a fun part of Chinese dining culture… it’s a great experience and you’ll leave full and happy.

This placed failed their health & safety inspection last year. Absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately, ever since Golden Coast in Cordova closed, this is the only dim sum place left in Memphis.
Wait time: Infinity. On a busy afternoon, there was no one seating customers. We literally had to push people out of the way and stand next to an occupied table in order to wait for those customers to finish eating. It was like a riot.
Atmosphere: Insanely disgusting. The damp cloths they used to wipe the table smelled like they had mold festering in them, leaving the table smelling like roadkill. The waiters couldn’t tell the difference between the dirty & clean silverware on the cart, as they were mixing the 2 from one pile to the other. The restaurant had a gut wrenching stench.
Service: They served you your food so I guess that was nice.
Food: It was lukewarm but edible.
Never going back again. I went to McDonald’s afterwards.
Overall: ⁰⁄₅ if I could.

The biggest restaurant I can ever remember entering ! These dedicated ppl are up and are present to dutifully present a truly unique dining experience in Memphis TN!
I was ushered through it a few yrs ago by a dear friend who assured me I had never had «real Chinese food» She was right! Thank god that after 33 yrs I was shown the light!
Do not be daunted by the overwhelming and teaming crowd, the loud fast talking in language that I don’t even begin to understand, or the first time you see chicken feet roll by your table! Lol
Try it (push your limits I’m not crazy!) all ;)
It’s upbeat fun, and you get to enjoy food in a anonymous fashion few ppl really appreciate, order 2 drinks water and coke… Because there are about 12 ppl serving between 200 and 350 in an hr!
Those that dint get that ala carte isn’t meant to be a hold your hand exp but an up-​sale u don’t get why ppl open restaurants;)
Dint miss the truly fantastic carnival of energy, or the amazing food !! That’s what it’s all about!

This place doesn’t compare to other places around the country, but for Memphis this is great. That is due to the lack of the Asian population in the area. The food is really good and is a complete upgrade from your typical Asian buffet in the local strip mall. Very authentic.

The only game in town for dim sum but they’ve got it down to a fine art. The line moved quickly the hot carts came by often the dishes were pretty good. I especially enjoyed the piping hot shu mai and fried shrimp ball. Our toddler enjoyed the corn stuffed dumpling and the sweet rice sugar cake. Cart attendants were surly but the few waiters we recognized were very friendly. Price point is nice for Sunday brunch and the hot tea is good to cut through the grease. Keep it up Asian Palace we need you here. Btw they used to offer bubble teas wonder if they will bring them back in the hot summer?

I came in here with two friends and a coupon for buy one get one entrée from my Memphis City Saver Book yesterday around 3 or 4. Chinese music (or a movie, I did not really look as I was engaged in conversation about Pokemon the entire night), played on a TV high up on the wall. Fancy cultural paintings decorate the walls along with a bunch of pictures of food– what I think are now Dim Sum options.
There were only one or two other people there and our server seemed like she might not be having the best of days. Also, since the place was huge and mostly empty, it was cooooold. But the seats were comfy and the food was awesome.
I ordered eggdrop soup for myself and crab rangoon for us to split. The soup was wonderful and I wish I had gotten a large instead of a small. You get 8 crab rangoons and they are stuffed with amazingness and taste good both with and without the sweet sauce.
For dinner, I ordered off the authentic menu. I got chicken with pan fried noodles because it sounded neat. It originally comes with a white sauce but when I asked how flavorful it was the waitress said I could switch to a brown sauce for a stronger flavor, so I did. I made a good choice– my meal was the favorite of the night. The only reason I had anything left to take home is because they give such large servings.
One friend ordered Chicken with Ginger and Onion off the authentic menu and the other ordered beef curry off the non authentic menu. The chicken comes with bones in (they warn you on the menu and when you order it). My friend who got it really liked it but I was not as fond of it. The other friend ordered curry because he thought it would be spicy. It was not. it was rather bland and not very tasty, but then again I am not a good judge as the only curry I like is spicy Thai curry. However, the guy who ordered it has the same tastes as I do as he was not fond of it either.
It was a fun night in a nice authentic place. I will totally go back.
Summary:
Food is great. I loved:
~ Chicken with pan fried noodles with brown sauce substituted for white sauce (authentic menu)
~ egg drop soup
~ crab rangoons
~The prices are incredibly reasonable and you get a lot of food.
~ Authentic Menu doesn’t really have spicy food on it. They will add if you want.
~ They do not use peanut oil in their food (we asked as one friend was deathly allergic to peanuts)
~It’s way cooler to go ahead and agree to try different things together and sit at a table with the moving circle in the middle so you can share food easier. I did this with my aunt in Chinatown in Chicago when I was younger and it’s fun and makes life easier. I will definitely do that next time I come.

Great place for live lobster. They come big here and you can order up to a ten-​pounder. An employee also said they can order the gigantic spider crab, and they even make a soup out of parts of its body to go with the meal. Sounds great– I’ll have to try that!

Being one of the two dim sum places left in Memphis, you know this place is as chaotic as it gets on the weekends.
The service here has been getting worse. There may be just one lady here who is great with customers… (hence the removing of stars)
Dim sum is a traditional small tea snack food, and if you’ve been putting it off for a while, don’t be hesitant to get in touch with me. Heck, an Atlanta field trip might be nice!
Their regular menu items are great, but not as good as the sibling rivalry restaurant New Asia in Germantown. But as far as authenticity goes, Asian Palace is one of the few in town.