Celestial Court Dim Sum Buffet @ Sheraton Imperial

I have been searching high and low for an excellent dim sum restaurant in KL that won’t cost a bomb. I was extremely strict though: the restaurant must serve fresh to order dim sum, not crowded, priced around RM100 per pax, and better if it’s eat-all-you-can. With that in mind, my options are narrowed down to only a handful of Chinese restaurants that are mostly in hotels.
Now, as you can probably tell from the title of this blog post, my recommendation based on the criteria mentioned earlier is Celestial Court of Sheraton Imperial hotel.

For those interested to know more before I bombard this post with photos of the dim sum. Here’s the gist of Celestial Court’s All You Can Eat Dim Sum promotion:

• The promotion is valid until 31st December, 2015
• It is available on every Sunday and public holidays from 10.30am to 2.30pm
• Price: RM114 nett/pax (food only)
• The restaurant is pork free and features 70 authentic and innovative Cantonese a la carte items – means the dim sum is not steamed in batches and laid out on a tray or table. Waiting time is between 5 to 15 minutes.
• SPG members enjoy 15% off the bill (if you don’t have it, can apply on the spot before you pay)
• Citibank card holders can enjoy up to 45% off the bill (details here)
• My bill came to a total of RM204 for 2 (RM102/pax inclusive of Chrysanthemum tea) after the discount I got from the applied-on-the-spot SPG member card
• Food’s generally fresh and good, restaurant is classy and the overall experience was great. Besides dim sum there are also seafood on ice, roast duck and chicken, Western cakes and desserts. So it’s super worth it and hence highly recommended.

Since the selection of dim sum is quite huge, we only managed to try less than half of what they have to offer. You are given a smaller menu booklet that is divided into steamed and deep fried dim sum, special menu items that can only be ordered once, appetizers, soups, vegetable and bean curd, rice and noodle, and chef recommended dishes. Based on what we sampled, the dim sums marked with ‘*’ are recommended:

*Wok Fried Scallop with Fungi and Celery

*Crystal “Spinach Phoenix Eye” Dumpling with Scallop and Prawn

*Celestial Court Steamed ‘Har Kao’

*Steamed ‘Siew Mai’ topped with shredded Scallop and Pacific Clam

*Stir Fried Shrimps with Honey Bean and Fungus

*Chinese Cruller stuffed with Squid Mousse served with Thousand Island dressing

*Sweet and Soup Grouper Fillet served with Pineapple

*Stuffed Mushrooms with Shrimps and Squid Mousse served with Crab Roe Sauce

*Skillet Shrimps with Capsicum and Mushroom in Hot Bean Sauce

*Crystal Vegetarian Dumpling with Truffle Oil Essence

*Steamed Grouper Dumpling with Century Egg and Asparagus in Vinegar Soya

*Steamed ‘Lion Head’ Beijing style with Abalone Sauce

And here are some picks that were not great but won’t disappoint either: Homemade ‘Yong Tau Foo’ with fish paste.

Steamed Chicken with Fish Maw in Hong Kong style

Steamed Charcoal Soft Bun stuffed with Chili Crab Meat filling

Soups are generally good with plenty of seafood, shown above: Seafood soup with Snow Fungus and Egg White

Poached Seafood Dumpling served in Superior Chicken Consomme

There were only two items that did not meet our expectations. Shanghainese ‘Siew Long Bao’ in Tom Yam broth: the dumpling and tom yam tasted good on their own, but weird when paired together (personal opinion). Steamed Prawn with Julienne Ginger and Bird Eye Chili: bland and underwhelming in portion size and presentation considering it’s one of the ‘one time order’ items.

While waiting for your dim sum to arrive, you can get some prawns, salmon, crabs and clams from the seafood on ice. Next to this are the various dipping sauces and roast meat served in small plates. We only tried the roast duck and it’s pretty good compared to what the other similar restaurants are serving.

For desserts I think you won’t be disappointed with the selection that they have. Since we did not expect these to be included in the promotion, it was a rather pleasant surprise.

Conclusion: Although it’s an eat-all-you-can kind of thing, they certainly did not skimp on the quality of the food served. So if you are looking to enjoy a slow-paced, delicious dim sum meal with your family and friends in a gorgeous restaurant, then do not look any further – Celestial Court’s the place for you. We enjoyed every minute of our time here, it’s simply money well spent!

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