Mutiara Palace

It was near Christmas and my friend and I decided to have early dinner at this place. It was a weekday so traffic was good and parking isn’t a problem because they have a few parking lots just right outside the building.
Staffs here are efficient but may not be the most friendly because they look stern and serious. We ordered 3 dishes only because there’s only two of us. Their Claypot mushroom vegetable is very tasty and the size of it was way too big for just two.
We had a long nice dinner and the environment was quiet and cosy. Most probably because it wasn’t 730 yet and plus it’s raining.
Price here is expensive though. This is after all a prestigious chinese restaurant. Perfect for family dinners.

Despite first being intimidated by the interior of the restaurant, believing it would cost a ridiculous bomb, this place has proved to be worth the money and it is priced quite reasonably considering it’s quality.
The restaurant was mostly filled with families and had many reserved tables. One thing though, it can be quite chilly so do bring a light sweater. They have an exquisite variety of dishes cooked in authentic styles from braised abalone, sea cucumbers, pigeon, sharkfin soup, pork dishes, fish and more. The place is huge too, having an inner banquet section that has a stage, easily fitting about 200 people.
My absolute favorites would be the: 1. Braised Pork Knuckle in Abalone Sauce, priced at RM32, it feeds 3 and if you are a fan of pork knuckle, everything in the bowl is edible. Preferring the lean meat, I took most of the flesh and it is so succulent and soaked with flavor, and I love the baby bok choy and mushrooms underneath. 2. Spinach in «Siong Tong», I’m not too sure if this is included in the menu but it is a kind of Spinach broth that has wolfberries and it is excellent, it is below RM20 for a medium sized bowl. 3. Homemade Beancurd in Stone Pot, at RM24, it has 5 big pieces of braised beancurd made together with some spinach on top. It’s a little hard to explain but the spinach is «embroided» in the beancurds. It is also served with baby bok choy and brown enoki mushrooms. The entire dish is just extremely fragrant and you can taste the «heart» in this. The one dish that was mediocre was the Sweet & Sour Pork, portion was small too.
I would suggest that you come in at least a group of 3 – 4 so you are able to savor the variety without being overwhelmed by it’s portions. I have previously tried their Steamed Village Chicken and Eggplant with Pork on Stone Plate and it was pretty good too.
Service is not too bad, they have some foreigners and I didn’t like the fact that they wore name tags that labelled «cleaner». The price is quite reasonable for me because I have been pleased with the quality and portion. Definitely a fan.