88 Palace — Restaurant in New York

So I was here yesterday for a fundraiser.

This building is like a mini mall so if it's your first time here and you are looking for something specific it might take you a while. Thankfully these days most people have cell phones so I called on of the organizers who directed me how to find it.

This is a huge space and looks like a good space for a big party or special event. We were told there would be 12 courses and there sure were.

Every table was given a family style platter of whatever was being served except dessert. Dessert was served on individual plates. At my table the server helped distribute to everyone when she brought the platter. When it was near the time for the next course she would come over and distribute what was left on the platter on the table to us. She was very professional and answered questions about the dishes the people at my table had questions about.

It was a planned menu and everything seemed to flow well. We used audio-visual equipment during the dinner and had a DJ for the party afterwards but there were no issues. The bathrooms were made into gender neutral bathrooms with...

This was the 2nd time I visited 88 Palace. The first time I was here for dim sum. It was alright. The price was inexpensive and you could get a table fairly quickly. The 2nd time I was here for a banquet dinner and it did not really amaze me given the price of the banquet.

We were served 8 dishes and there were 2 outstanding dishes among all. One of them was the walnut shrimp. They gave you a lot of shrimp and it was done right. The other dish I enjoyed was the stir fry beef. The rest of the dishes were mediocre. For example, the fried rice was worse than the one I can make. It was so plain it tasted almost as bland as white rice. The peking duck bun was also lacking the dipping sauce and duck was somewhat dry. The banquet table was also very small and they don't have a lazy Susan to help serve better.

On an interesting note though, this place could turn into an after party spot because it is spacious and you can have DJ spin all night. Unfortunately, the sound system here is poor so you would have to be literally right in front of the DJ to really...

This is another grand banquette hall style restaurant tucked inside a mall under the Manhattan bridge. The vast spacious space is filled with your typical round tables and metal chairs we all know and love. We went for Dim Sum which can be a hit or miss depending on time. We arrived around 11am to a restaurant full of people. This is your Asian lady cart pushing Dim Sum. The variety here can also be hit or miss. They also have a table for prepared specialty dishes like clams. The usual Dim Sum staples…didn’t even appear until towards the end of our meal. The cart ladies are generally friendly and if you ask for something they don’t have they will get it for you. Oh, an be prepared to chase down the cart if you see something you like because as they say the early bird gets the worm and here if you wait by the time the cart gets to your table it might have ran out of the items you want. Think of as dash for your Dim Sum. You can burn of some extra calories so you...