royal seafood: review

Don't read the Yelp reviews. They must have been written by the dim sum place down the block.

The waiters are attentive, polite, and helpful. They even smile (well, some of them). The servers can tell you in English the main ingredient of the dumplings on the carts.

We arrived at 11:40 in the afternoon, assuming we'd have the place to ourselves. The place was packed to the gills with Chinese people, mostly older. A woman with a microphone and standing on a soapbox to survey the room gave us a slip of paper with "15" written on it. "Shr wu" I pulled up from the memory banks and got a smile. We were seated in a few minutes in a good spot: near the dumbwaiter where the food comes up and on the outside of the table, so as to be close to the servers.

We ordered two half lobsters with ginger and scallion, crispy chicken, snow pea leaves. From the cart, we had shrimp dumplings (spherical, delicious) and some flat, rectangular shrimp dumplings that were also amazing. It was nice to get some dumplings as soon as we sat down.

The lobster, which is spectacular, comes cut up on a large platter. The pieces are cut so that the meat is easy to get out, even if you're not sure what part of the lobster you're dealing with. It was fresh, the sauce was subtle, it was some of the best lobster I have ever eaten. The crispy chicken was quite good, with crunchy skin and juicy meat. It comes with the bones, chopped into pieces with a cleaver. I would order this on a visit with a larger group; for two people, it was not interesting enough to justify when those shrimp dumplings are circulating. The snow pea leaves were tasty and a nice contrast to the other items. There was a pleasant dearth of saltiness which allowed us to taste the flavors of the meat more subtly. Is this a Cantonese thing? If so, it was very pleasant. Our one regret: passing up the barbecued pork bits on rice that passed our way as we sat down: next time.

The room is a huge dining hall with very nice lighting. The noise level is minimal. You will be seated with other people, but this went very well.

Prices were reasonable. Be aware a service charge of 15% will be added to the bill, though this was clearly explained to us. Opens at 11am. Get there early, even on weekdays.

Grade: A

Royal Seafood

103-105 Mott Street, Chinatown

212-219-2338