Burnaby Palace Restaurant — Restaurant in Burnaby

The past few times I have been here, it wasn't during the dinner rush. Food was pretty good and service was decent. However what I saw today was absolutely uncalled for.

We arrived during the dinner rush and had to wait over 30 minutes for a table. It would be more understandable about waiting so long if we didn't watch 2 tables clear up, and not be cleaned and prepared for at least 10 minutes. We finally get to sit and order our food within a few min of sitting. We watch the table waiting line continue to dwindle while we literally wait 10 minutes for our drinks.

Then we watch as the people who were behind us in line (with no reservation) who got seated about 5 minutes after we ordered, get FREE food delivered to them immediately (Heard the server say it was on the house) because the girl was hungry. Okay. They ordered. We sat there and watched as they got all 3 of their plates while we waited (despite us being seated before them). In fact, we waited over 30 minutes for our soup to be delivered. 10 minutes after that, we got our rice (at this point the people who sat after us were DONE eating....). 5 minutes after that, we got our beef... and then a whopping 20 minutes after that, we got our last dish (and at that point the people who were behind us already ate and left).

Now while the food can be quite good, it was abysmal. We ordered black bean chow mein with CRISPY noodles.... which ended up being incredibly soggy and soft. We order this every time and I don't even think that was the right noodles. We order the ginger beef, which states "served in a honey-spicy sauce".... except it had absolutely NO spice.... just honey. I spent about 2-3 minutes trying to flag down absolutely ANYBODY (which at this point the place was 1/2 empty and waitresses were talking chinese to each other) and simply asked why it wasn't even remotely spicy. I was told that "Most non-chinese don't like it spicy" and offered to bring us a pot of chili oil to spice it ourselves.

So rather insulted, we ate our fill... never once being checked on by our waitress. We had to spend literally 10 minutes trying to get the attention of a waitress to even get a refill of pop. All in all we spent 2 hours total in that restaurant, and at least 1hr of it was waiting around for all our food to arrive. When we wanted the bill, we waited minutes. When we wanted change, we waited more minutes.

Between being racially profiled and heavily ignored, I don't even know if I'll come back here again.... which is a shame because I have been quite a few times now and always wanted to come back.

If you want to come, just don't ever come during the dinner rush...

A disappointing experience that fell short of the glowing reputation Id heard about. • Portion Size & Presentation: Despite the food being delivered nicely, the portions were surprisingly small, which was off-putting given the premium price of over $100 (for the five dishes (delivery fee aside). • Texture & Preparation: The house special chow mein noodles, while high quality, weren’t the crispy texture we”d expected and ordered, resembling more of a soup noodle. The soya sauce chow mein was also mediocre with the same noodle and a few green onion. Additionally, the bean sprouts were overcooked to the point of disintegration, and the beef in the beef chow fun was minimal and lacking in flavor. One of the worst versions of this dish we’ve had. • Flavor Balance: The chicken dish suffered from an overpowering green pepper presence that masked the actual flavor of the chicken and mushrooms, making it hard to tell one from the other. The Pea tips were good but watery. • Service Experience: I called to express my concerns during the meal I was met with the same person who took the order, and only compounded the negative experience

Interestingly, while many online reviews on sites like Burnaby Palace’s official review page, TripAdvisor, and Yelp often praise the restaurant for its generous portions and quality dishes there are also voices from the community that express similar frustrations to mine. This suggests that experiences can vary widely—sometimes due to timing, specific orders, or even individual expectations.

This experience was significant enough to rule out a return visit Sorry, didn’t realize I didn’t get a picture of the chow fun which is thick rice noodle with beef, green onion, and beef sprouts. The house special chow mein had some squid, a couple prawns and some barbeque pork and gai lan I didn’t take a picture till I started eating and realize I needed to...

I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel it's important to share what happened during my recent visit to this Chinese restaurant — especially for those who expect to be treated with basic respect and decency.

As someone of Indian origin, I was appalled by how my family and I were treated. We had dined here once before, and while the food wasn’t impressive, we decided to give it another chance, hoping for a better experience. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much worse.

The server assigned to our table was extremely rude and dismissive from the beginning. His behavior was clearly biased and disrespectful, making us feel very uncomfortable. It was evident that we were being treated differently because of our ethnicity. When I raised my concern and politely asked for a different server, the owner — who was sitting right next to our table — didn’t seem surprised at all. That lack of reaction made it clear that this kind of behavior might be known and silently tolerated.

As a former restaurant owner myself, I strongly believe that every customer deserves to be treated with respect, regardless of their nationality or background. It’s deeply upsetting to see such discriminatory behavior in an industry that should be about hospitality and inclusion.

The food only added to the disappointment — bland, oily, and nowhere near what it used to be. It’s clear that this restaurant is now relying solely on its past reputation. The quality, service, and overall experience have declined significantly.

This was not just a bad meal — it was a reminder that no one should have to accept disrespect, especially when paying for a service. I will never return, and I do not recommend this place to anyone, especially those who value dignity and...