The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒海鮮酒家

One of the reasons I have always wanted to try Jade Seafood is because of the chandler which can be seen from the outside! Furthermore since I was getting my car cleaned, my friend and I decided to walk fifteen minutes here for dim sum.

Jade Seafood is a typical "cleaner" Chinese restaurant which gives the impression that one will get good service and with their above average prices, the quality of food will be good.

SUPREME DUMPLING IN SOUP ($6.88/BOWL).

The soup comes with a wonton rather than a dumpling which was a bit odd considering that I have never been to a restaurant with anything "supreme", that is a wonton. The wonton has shrimp and that is pretty much it. However, the highlight of the soup is the fish belly along with the dried scallop. As for the broth, there is a chicken flavour with a hint to dried scallop.

STEAMED SPARERIBS WITH PUMPKIN AND OLIVE ($4.68).

Errr, by olive, I think the restaurant means Chinese preserved plum (incase some may think it will actually be an olive). The spareribs taste tender and have a natural flavour, along with preserved plum and mandarin peel. By the way; yes, I know the photo looks blurry. You would think I know how to take photos by now...

STEAMED CRAB MEAT DUMPLINGS ($5.25). 

This is my favourite dish as well as the only one that I truly liked. The dumpling tastes refreshing as well as light; there is a nice crunchiness from the water chestnut and the chives provide a refreshing taste. Furthermore, the filling is basically all crab meat and the skin is not too thick or thin.

STEAMED PHOENIX CLAWS ($4.48).
The chicken feet are flavourful, but not tender or soft enough.

PRESERVED EGG, FRIED OYSTER AND PORK CONGEE ($6.99).

Whaaaaat… the congee comes with a side of Chinese donut?! Definitely a bonus. The congee has a nice smooth consistency and is quite flavourful. In addition, there are slices of preserved egg and the meat is shredded. Also, despite that the pork tastes chewy, it was fine.

BEEF WITH CHINESE PARSLEY RICE ROLL ($5.28).

The rice roll is soft as well as fresh, and the beef tastes tender. Other then that, I do not have much to comment on since rice rolls are not a first choice of mine.

Usually Chinese restaurants do not make much off dim sum since it is a way to keep employees busy and have the restaurant open. So, Jade Seafood seems to offer more lunch selections than dim sum and dinner menus are provided as well, during dim sum services. As for the menu, it is somewhat limited since there are only around twenty dim sum dishes and six rice rolls (which is good for rice roll fans). Overall, I think dinner would be more suitable for me. I mean, the quality of the dim sum was good which justifies the slightly higher prices, I guess. But, I just think dinner services will be so much better, food and service wise.

As for the service, it was horrible. When we arrived, there was a line up and despite the restaurant only less than half full, no one came over to seat anyone. Everyone waited fifteen minutes for the hostess to finally show up and there were seven to ten minute gaps between seating every table. None of the waitresses or busboys even bothered to grab the hostess or a manager, and plenty of managers looked over at the line up and did nothing about it. In addition, the workload is kind of distributed awkwardly because there would be three waitresses and two busboys cleaning one table, and a few managers cleaning another; when there is a line of people that need to be seated. If anything, the waitresses are good at bringing out the dishes but it is hard for someone to remove empty plates. Also, many people seemed to walk up to the counter to pay which is not really what I would expect at a restaurant that charges higher prices. Furthermore, during dinner, there was another line up and again, despite the restaurant not even half full, those people in line waited twenty five minutes for someone to finally seat them! I felt so bad for them.

Food: 3/5

Service: 2/5