Dim sum means "warm the heart." Cute and good little tidbits of this and that, with an emphasis on pasta-like stuffed dumplings and little piece of unusual meats and seafoods. Chinese think of dim sum as a mid-morning snack with tea, but the Royal China serves it all the time.
Royal China is distinguished as the only local Chinese restaurant that serves a large selection of dim sum, the appetizer-size nibbles that could be called Chinese tapas. Royal China makes it all the time. Although they don't serve them from a cart as the San Francisco dim sum places do, a book of photographs gives one a good idea of what's available. The rest of the menu is more familiar but equally good--enough to keep the small dining room filled with regulars at most hours.
The building went up in the 1960s as a Plantation Fried Chicken take-out restaurant, and became the Royal China in 1978. The Lees (no relation to the late Sheriff Harry Lee, although he used to dine there a lot) still operate the restaurants in a hands-on, mom-and-pop (and kids) style.
The main room is made to look much bigger than it actually is through the use of mirrors. It's decor is nicer than the exterior, but still not what you could call opulent. But neither are the prices.
The dim sum menu absolutely must be explored. There's a buffet at lunch. This is to be avoided. As in all Chinese restaurants, forget about fried rice, moo goo gai pan, and Mandarin chicken. There's much better to be had here.
| Attitude | 2 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 0 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 3 |
| Wine | 0 |
