When getting a table at Ginger and Onion became too
difficult, a search for another Scarborough dim sum restaurant started.
Fingers crossed, but the foodie gods may have answered my prayers with Royale
Fine Dining & Banquet.
Royale’s regular prices are $2.80 for S, $3.80 for M, $4.80
for L, $5.80 for XL, $6.80 for SP and $7.80 for J. If you dine between 9am –
11am, all S, M and L dishes are $2.80, with a cash payment. Since it’s a
great deal, other customers tend to dine at this time so be prepared to wait if
you arrive after 10:30.
Of course, they offer the traditional dishes: steamed pork siu mai (L) and shrimp har gow dumplings (L). The fish roe on
the siu mai adds an essence I’m not
crazy about, but the pork mixture is delicious with shrimp and straw mushrooms
mixed in. The har gow is brimming
with shrimp and well-seasoned, although it doesn’t contain the fish maw (the
dehydrated air bladder of a fish) listed in the description.
Other steamed dumplings include a crab meat and egg
white (L) and steamed stingray shaped dumplings filled with shrimp and fish (L).
Both are beautifully presented, but the crab meat one is rather bland. Although
the beady eyes are slightly creepy, the filling of shrimp and white fish in the
stingray dumplings is succulent with some diced asparagus adding a fresh element.
Royale also has a fried dumplings filled with shrimp &
pork (L). While the pork was non-existent, there was plenty of shrimp with
chives. All is encapsulated in a sticky slightly sweet wrapper before
being deep fried. A bowl of consume accompanies the dish, acting as a dip or
just something to sip on after having the crispy treat.
A popular old school dish that’s starting to make a comeback
is shrimp toast (L). It was one of my grandfather’s favourite dishes, so I
decided to order it in his memory. In between the bread and wonton wrapper is
shrimp paste and comes with a spicy radish soy sauce dip. It’s nice and crunchy
but too oily for my taste. Overall, a decent version of the dish if you like
shrimp toast.
Another interesting shrimp dish is the steamed prawn’s tails
stuffed with shrimp mousse and glutinous rice (L). Although not the most photogenic, it’s rather
good with a shrimp being wrapped in shrimp paste and a layer of sticky rice. As
the dish steams, the sticky rice soaks in the shrimp’s sweet juices – just eat
it quickly to avoid having the rice get too soft.
The steamed beef balls mixed with old age tangerine peels
(S) are a fair size. Like other restaurants, chopped parsley is mixed with the
beef; there wasn’t any citrus as noted on the menu.
Underneath the steamed curry cuttlefish Singapore style (L) were
potato pieces, soaking in the flavourful curry sauce. The cuttlefish were just
cooked through and thankfully not rubbery.
Unlike other restaurants, Royale doesn’t have many steamed
rice roll choices. The Chinese yellow chive and prawns (L) is the better of the
bunch with large prawns and pea shoot leaves to vary the flavour. If you enjoy
the silkiness of the rice roll, the version with minced pork and parsley (L) is
ideal – there’s not much filling but plenty of carbs.
Other substantial dishes include the popular sticky rice
options. The steamed lotus leaf dumpling filled with glutinous rice and dried
scallop (L) has been a varied experience. Once, there was plenty of well
flavoured minced pork, mushrooms and a quail egg inside. While on another visit,
the minced pork and mushrooms were swapped out for plain diced pork pieces and
shrimp (sounds delicious, but made the dish bland).
Or there’s the steamed glutinous rice dumpling filled with
pork and wrapped in bamboo (M), which is boiled in the wrapper and contains a
big hunk of fatty pork, a salted duck egg and mung beans held in the
sticky rice.
Royale’s baked barbeque pork buns topped with puff pastry
(M) are salty and sweet, adding a flaky buttery crust to the traditional pork
bun. Since they always arrive hot out of the oven, there’s such a lovely sweet
yeasty smell that accompanies the dish.
The pan-seared glutinous rice rolls filled with Chinese sausage
(L) isn’t properly named as the wrapper is a steamed bao rather than the thin
rice roll. A savoury sticky black rice mixture is studded with diced Chinese
sausage.
Although the deep fried spiced octopus tentacles (XL) are not
breaded, they are very crispy. There is a sweet and savoury taste to the dish
as the octopus seems to be basted in a light teriyaki glaze prior to be deep
fried. As a warning, unlike Mediterranean grilled octopus, these are thinner
and the texture tends to be harder and chewier.
For dessert, the thousand layers coconut cake (L), steamed
green tea steamed glutinous rice cake (L) and steamed sponge cake traditional
style (M) are my top choices. All are sweet enough to satisfy, but different in
taste and texture. The thousand layers cake is airy with alternating layers of
steamed cake and coconut custard; the sponge cake has the same airy texture with
hints of coconut and rock sugar.
Meanwhile, the glutinous rice cake is chewy with a thick
green tea paste inside. To make the dish sweeter, I suggest letting them cool
down prior to eating.
Overall, Royale isn’t the best dim sum in the GTA, their
dumplings aren’t as seasoned so some may find it bland. However, the food’s
quality is relatively consistent and their service has been attentive and
helpful. Additionally, if you’re able to arrive at the restaurant, get seated
and ordered before 11am, the $2.80 price point is a pretty good deal.
Apprehensively, I’m completing this post. I’ve finally found
a new go-to dim sum place and of course want to share it with Gastro World
readers. But, here’s hoping not many of you will visit on Sunday. After all,
it’d be a shame if Royale became too busy and I’d have to such for another
place all over again.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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