REVISIT POST ON CINDY'S PALACE [HERE]
I have always wanted to come to this restaurant because of the name "Cindy's Palace". Plus, I find that the restaurant is in the most random spot. So the reason for finally coming here tonight is because the owner (apparently the manager, as Cindy mentioned though) of Star Anise said that she used to work here. She also mentioned that this is the best restaurant for ginseng or herbal soup.
After stepping in the restaurant, there is an electric fireplace and a display of ceramic pots. The interior is also clean with comfortable seating arrangements. On a weekend evening though, the restaurant was fairly… empty.
DEEP FRIED CRISPY SKIN SQUAB ($12.98).
The squab is a bit smaller compared to many restaurants and the skin is somewhat crispy. However, the skin could have been crispier and the squab does not taste tender or moist (most likely because it is very small). If comparing the squab to Golden Lake's, Cindy's Palace loses.
GINSENG AND PEARL CHICKEN SOUP ($5.98/BOWL).
The soup tastes very flavourful and has all the right herbal ingredients. This individual sized ceramic pot has more ingredients than what was in Star Anise's larger pot! The broth is an actual ginseng soup and costs less than Star Anise's bowl sized soups.
OX TAIL AND CHINESE HERBAL SOUP ($6.98/BOWL).
The soup is a true Cantonese style herbal soup which looks extremely dark and tastes very strong. Despite not being a first choice, the soup tastes flavourful as well as rich and properly made. The only odd issue is that on the menu it says "ox tail soup," and BF notices a tiny one inch black hot dog like thing. After asking the waiter what it is, he responds "you know", so we assume it is a male genital… a heads up would have been nice eh? At the end of dinner, the receipt shows "ox tail and penis soup". LOL I could not stop laughing and BF says if he knew that was the case, he would not have ordered it. This is just a personal preference as we are not traditional enough to try it and is a heads up for those who are interested in ordering the oxtail soup.
4LB SUPREME BROTH LOBSTER ($13.90/lb).
The price for the lobster is currently cheaper than other Chinese restaurants' because it is only available for 4lb or 5lb lobsters. The only other option would have been a 2lb lobster which would have had too little meat. By the way, I have a tendency to believe that a 2 1/2lb lobster is the best size (I am pretty sure I am right too!) and rather have two 2 1/2lb lobsters than one 5lb. Anyways, the lobster does not taste tender and has no nice snap or bounce since it is 4lb, however the broth is tasty. Although the supreme broth is not the best I ever had, it does taste average. I would come back to try the supreme broth with a smaller lobster next time.
STEAMED GARLIC OYSTERS ($3.00/EACH).
STEAMED SPARERIBS IN WHOLE PUMPKIN ($16.98).
When we ordered this, the waiter mentioned that it would take roughly thirty minutes which I appreciate considering that some restaurants do not bother giving a heads up. The pumpkin is perfectly steamed and the spareribs taste tender as well as flavourful, although I would have preferred just having the pumpkin over the spareribs (not a fan of feeling dehydrated after certain Chinese dishes). I assume this is one of Cindy's trademark dishes because another table ordered this as well. Plus, Golden Phoenix serves the exact same thing and Star Anise has a simpler version (steamed pumpkin with no spareribs).
CINDY'S SPECIAL FRIED RICE, DRIED SCALLOP, DRIED SHRIMP, CHINESE SAUSAGE, AND EGG ($13.98).
This is BFs favourite style of fried rice and he always makes it (I personally prefer yueng chow fried rice more). The rice does not taste too dry and all the ingredients are properly fused together. The only differences when compared to yeung chow is that the rice tastes more damp and the ingredients are different (dried scallop and shrimp + chinese sauce > prawns and bbq pork).
COMPLIMENTARY PUMPKIN RED BEAN WITH TAPIOCA SOUP AND MANGO/COCONUT JELLO.
The pumpkin red bean soup tastes delicious, flavourful as well as smooth and the diced pumpkin does not taste too soft or mushy. Next, the mango/coconut jello tastes average, not watered down or necessarily tasty. I still think Pelican's mango pudding tastes the best.
POSITIVES
- I will revisit for sure
- Attentive and friendly service
NEGATIVES
- Squab is not very good and a bit small
- Accidentally overcharged us $10.00 on the lobster but we did not notice until we got home
- Ox tail penis soup? …. a restaurant should mention it on the menu and the waiter should have straight up said penis instead of "you know"
LITTLE THINGS
- Revisit post on Cindy's Palace [here]
- Waiter asked if we wanted to move to a larger table which is always nice. It is not fun having to move after all our dishes arrive and when the staff realizes there is not enough table space
- Left a $20.00 tip but when we got home, we realized that the owner accidentally overcharged us by $10.00 for the lobster. So it became a $30.00 tip -.-
Food: 2.5/5 (3/5 for fried rice and oysters)
Service: 3.5/5
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