One of many go-to places for dim sum. Well priced and fresh dim sum. Their service is fast but can get quite busy during peak hours.

BEWARE: I speak fluent Canto, and they still had trouble understanding me, although they had no problem understanding all the grannies there for super early morning dim sum. Order at ur own risk. They have 20% off dim sum every weekday from 9am-3pm and no extra cost for tea (which was a life saver since they got our tea wrong twice). The only thing to be wary of is that the curry squid has some hard bits in it (maybe not cleaned thoroughly?). Also, some of their dumpling have really thick and soggy skin (only some, not all. Test your luck). Did I mention lots of street parking? read more

Saturday Dim Sum with my feasting friends - Cindys has some very good dishes, and some not so good. The fresh baby squid (not deep fried) was top notch. Tiny, tender and tasty! Cindys fried rice was very good, with small pieces of Chinese sausage adding sweet spiciness. Green beans with minced pork and chill was very mild, but passable, as the beans were crisp. Sweet and sour boneless chicken with pineapple was tangy with fresh pineapple and sweet, crisp onions. Very nice. The standout was the mochi with daikon; ask for red and yellow sauce to heat it up slightly. The coconut and mango jello dish was not a hit! Three stars because our server argued with us about a dessert choice. I realize staff were setting up for a very large group about to arrive, and Lady Boss was getting her panties in a knot, but for heaven's sake, try to maintain some control over your emotions. We spoke very directly with the server about this issue, and he did improve. Located on Nanaimo with lots of street parking, and a small lot in the back. read more

It was ok. Points for fast delivery. Shrimp and wasabi spring roll - 5/5 (maybe set my hopes too high) Pork spring roll - 4/5 Fried Udon w shredded pork + veg - 3/5 (wasn't udon, but shanghai noodles. close enough, i guess. needed a lot of soy sauce, pretty bland) Deep fried spicy salt squid - 1.5/5 (batter was soggy and unpleasantly pastey, but the squid was tender) Maybe an off night, maybe I just ordered the wrong stuff. Will probably try again.... read more

Solid place for dim sum in this neighbourhood. There aren't too many other options close by. You may not even have noticed that there is a restaurant here. The menu is fairly extensive and prices are reasonable. It's not too busy in here for weekday lunches. Portions are decent too. Ordering is done on the 'mark-your-own-card' system, which I don't mind using at all, especially when there is a big group. They even have the elusive ox penis soup. read more

The dumplings here are huge! The food is good, everything comes quick. Staff are friendly and make an effort to speak English to you. I went at 10:30 and managed to get a table right away. When i was finishing up around noon, i noticed huge line at the front, so make sure you come early. read more

First time trying this restaurant suggested by my uncle. We had a table for 5. The restaurant was busy but we managed to get a seating straight away. We've sat down for a good minute and the server we had became really pushy. Trying to up sell a deep fried chicken with fried garlic toppings. She mentioned that it was the number one seller and that she wanted to order it before someone else did - in fact I'm sure was a mistaken order that needed to be pushed out. We agreed to try it, however the dish came out like warm like it was sitting out for a bit. We were t extremely hungry so we ordered a fish maw soup and a tofu seafood clay pot. Again all dishes didn't come out essential as hot as we expected, but the flavours was good. When we finished the owner Cindy greeted us and handed each of us a VIP card for future visits, and also discounted our dinner bill 10%. read more

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Service is hit and miss. Stopped going there because it was quite noticeable that new customers get dishes much larger than returning customers for ordering the exact same dish... however this is a great location for dimsum as u can see the food before u actually get them from the dimsum carts. read more

It is a ok place to have dim sum in East Van, but not enough parking ... but still can acceptable I guess

We drive by this place on Nanaimo Street all the times and notice their parking lot is always full, especially on weekends and weekday dinner times. Went there for dim sum brunch today, we ordered 8 dim sum dishes, the taste was okay but not bad, all portions were good, and we were all full with some left over to take home. With tips come to $35. They even have a photo menu with all the dim sum dishes so you know what you are ordering. This restaurant is a bit small and a bit crowded, but washroom and floor are reasonably clean. Will take our friends to try this place again another day. read more

Cindys Palace - Good price and we are full! - Dim Sum Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Discriminatory service! We arrived for Dim Sum to be seated and given a picture menu, which we ordered our items from. Once I glanced around and noticed different menu items being served to neighbouring tables, I realized there was also a paper menu being used by other customers. After enjoying most of the items we were served, I requested a menu to order a couple more items. This time, I requested a paper menu (written in Chinese and English) and discovered there were 30+ more items on it! This is bothersome because this would have changed my order if I had been privy to the entire menu. When we asked the server why we were not offered the paper (whole) menu he replied, "if I see a white guy, I give him the picture one". I spoke with the manager and he repeated "sorry" but I believe that this behaviour will continue. We are quite upset about this experience, as an interracial couple. Not many wish to be excluded because of their race/culture. We will not be returning to Cindy's. What do you think? read more

This place is very dirty. Its cheap neighbourhood restaurant but its not good food, only come here because grandma does but the food here has too much msg and oil. The utensils are never clean. Will rate it no star if possible. read more

Came here for dim sum on Wednesday at 1:30. Cindy's Palace wasn't too busy so I thought my food would come fairly fast. I ordered two plates. Stuffed eggplant and shrimp wrapped in rice flour roll. I was surprised it took 30 minutes for my plates to be complete. The eggplant came first, 4 pieces for $4.95. It was good, but I found the eggplant quite watery without any taste. The shrimp roll came last about 20 minutes later. It was fine. I realize if this was old tradition "carted" dim sum, yes there would be a wait between rounds. But here, you tick off your sheet. I kind of expected that they would come relatively close together. What is nice at Cindy's is that if you come before 3pm you get a discount on your dim sum. Slow service, okay dim sum. read more

They gave us the special "private" room. Service was more attentive, which meant constantly changing plates even though 1) I'm still eating, 2) No I don't need it 3) Um...4th plate change??? 4) No thanks, I'm not eating anymore.. The manager tried to offer special treatment because we were testing their evening dinner for a possible 4 table booking next month. Thus this special karaoke room. Room was atrocious, paint scratched walls, sound was AWFUL (sound bouncing and echoing all over if you dared to close the door and actually SING....terrible "hi-fi" system) Room was SMALL, we fit 11 and it was still comfortable. Though when the server kept trying to move around, his uniform definitely kept cleaning the walls around him. The linings over the chairs were gross, who knows how many different moves (locations) they've been through. A lo, behold, the chairs outside in the small dining area outside this room looked a BIT better. Ventilation=BAD, was strangely stuffy in the room, draft on and off while eating. Okay so here comes the food: It's not like I expect fantastic food for $250 for 11 people (small eaters). But, can it at least be reasonable? Our night was ruined by the faux service and garbage we poked at. omg, worst chinese meal out in a long time. I compared it to the China tour dinners where they crammed 3 tables in a room and served you chopped vegetables and minced meat where they were EITHER Salty or BLAND. We ordered a total of ELEVEN main dishes, AND one soup ($20), and complimentary dessert. (red bean soup; whatever). 1)Deep fried oyster- HOW DID THEY MESS THIS UP SO BAD. it was so oily and bland and chewy with a thin batter, and just so bad. 2)Sweet and sour pork: refried/DOUBLE FRIED: this means it was out/ old batch and refried again before serving when convenient. 3)Soup: nothing special; laden with MSG $20 whatever! 4)seafood CHOWMEIN: this is where it gets ridiculous: BLAND AS ALL. where's the soy sauce says my mom. she wasn't kidding. sorry no soy sauce. JUST AWFUL. 5)dau miu: BLAND. BLAND BLAND. 6)steamed sliced eggplant with minced pork on top: why did we order this????? this fits perfectly with the china tour comparisons..... 7)pork hock in black vinegar with preserved sour plums 8)taro root with bbq duck: Lacked decent taste you would expect--from a restaurant, you know what i'm saying? 9) blanched baby bok choy with bean curd: in soy sauce water. WOW WHY AM I EATING AT A RESTAURANT. 10) Deep fried cod--obviously you know why they fried it. $30.. 11) pan fried clams: ew, oily, BLAND, COLD. We actually requested to like microwave this but they gave us a "new" batch. Sure, I divided 1/3 of the plate with empty shells when it came back. 12)Pan fried shrimp with deep fried tea leaves-presentation was creative and nicer. Meh, this was only alright dish, too bad we started with this. and went downhill from here. & 2 bowls of rice ($2.50 each) GROSS RICE! slight brown tinge, mushy, recooked again & again. For some reason, we got 10% off. WITH DISCOUNT, it came to $200 + hst + tips. CONCLUSION: why eat out in a cramped, uncomfortable setting, with food you can prepare better at home. THERE IS NO "WOK HAY" (for canto readers) aka no taste you'd expect from eating out. There are so many better places you can go to spend a couple hundred dollars. read more

If you advertise something in the newspaper you should honor your advertisement. Hands up if you agree. Well Cindys Palace tried not to for something in the newspaper advertised as Buy 1 get 1 free. Manager told us this discount is only applicable if you pre-order (phone in 1 day ahead). OK are you saying you don't have this item available tonight if we order. Manager said no it's available just not discounted??? I would understand if this item needs special pre-order, but it seems like manager just does not want to honor newspaper pricing. (Again no mention on newspaper you need to pre-order) read more

Woohoo!!!!! Cindys palace is an explosion of flavorful experiences in my mouth!

Nice looking place that need a little more "sum" in their cooking. Strangely, though as it was my first time I walked through the doors of Cindy's Palace there was a familiar feeling as if I've been here before. This locations had rotated owners a few times with some good and bad restaurants on this corner. Cindy's Palace looked quite nice on the inside with the chair covers, entrance display, and decor. I was thinking to myself that this place could get pricey, but I don't mind paying for great dim sum!! The dim sum here is served on dim sum carts and carried on trays with hagging ladies. Ahhhhh now I remember you.... Golden Phoenix (http://www.yelp.com/biz/golden-phoenix-vancouver#hrid:9zKkjxHNWFtyW-OOqp8lqw), we meet again!! That's right, don't have a conversation with something without someone interrupting you every couple of minutes. No means no, but to them they are pretty pushy sales people. On to the food: Lets start with the staples. Har Gow/Sui Mai, typical on the mediocre end. The portion was very big, price was average, and taste meh. Egg tart was probably the worst I have ever had! DON'T ORDER THE EGG TARTS! Unless you enjoy a bland custard in pastry. I never ever not finish my egg tart in my life and this was my first time I've done so. Seriously, that's a huge thing for me. Shrimp w/ Eggplant. Shrimp portion tasted good however the eggplant had no flavour infused in that portion of the dish and was just a touch undercooked on the inside. Shrimp w/ Egg tofu was much better than the eggplant one we tried. Salty water corner (Say it in Cantonese and you'll know what I'm talking about) This is one of the better items I've ate in the batch. Well seasoned, crisp shell, and a good balance in flavours. Tapioca custard was awesome! This should be the only thing you order from this place IMO. The crust was perfect and crisp. Delicious custard with bites of tapioca and surprise of red bean on the bottom of the bowl. Having this at the end of the meal actually made my experience so much more enjoyable. Overall: So after being reunited with my long avoided restaurant, I feel as if they have gotten even worse from my last visit to when it was first Golden Phoenix down the street. The price is pretty good for the amount of food you get divide per person, but I rather have good dim sum than more dim sum. read more

Food is good. Really slow service, took almost an hour to get food and felt like every other table in the place got their food before us.

I would give this a lower star if I could, this has to be the worst customer service experience I've ever had. We ordered pea tips from the set menu, they wanted to charge us extra for it which they had no rights to. After we refuse, the came back to tell us that they magically ran out of peat tips. The two waitress was extremely bitchy to top it off and practically change the order for us. We had a large party and the room the stuck us in was stuffy and dirty, the utensils seems like it's been there forever and was dirty and dusty. Food was not appealing. Would not recommend. read more

Came here for dimsum on a Sunday morning. Luckily we made a reservation for 10:30am. It wasn't that busy when I arrived but by 11am the place was packed and there was a line. The restaurant isn't very big so I would recommend making a reservation for dimsum. Food was pretty good here. The dimsum portions were pretty large for the most part. Everything we ordered was tasty. But one stand-out item for me: Sesame Balls with black sesame paste. They were a great dessert item to end our meal. It was a perfect crisp on the outside and oozing with sesame paste on the inside. It's a must try! Service was okay. They messed up our tea and kept forgetting to bring our hot sauce. But overall, a very good place for dim sum. I'll have to come back and try their dinner menu as well! read more

I gave it three stars b/c the ambiance is good - not too loud and we were easily able to get a table for a big group. The food is just mediocre, though the portions are fairly big. The shrimp dumplings were huge, for instance, but the skin on the dumplings wasn't even - thinner in parts, thicker in others. I enjoyed the taro root though. The service was slow. Overall I might be back to try it again next year to see if there is any improvement, but for now there are better dim sum places in town. read more

Although I've been to Cindys Palace as part of our Chinese Bites dinners, I wanted to return and sample their dim sum. Late last year, that's exactly what we did. Shrimp Dumpling First off, we started off with the tried and true, the Har Gow. When we were here for the Chinese Bites dinner, they actually treated us to some dim sum, some pork Sui Mai, and I distinctly remember them being gigantic. And sure enough, these didn't disappoint. The skin was nice and translucent, and sure, there was lots of shrimp, but unfortunately, the flavour was a little bland. I would have preferred the shrimp to be sweeter, but slathered some chilli sauce on it and all was fine. Tripe Now I know many of you aren't a fan of innards and organs, but I do love my Beef Tripe. Did you know that there are several types of tripe? Many of us know the two common ones, a Honeycomb one (from the second stomach), and the Leaf/Bible tripe (from the third stomach) you see above. Did you know there is also a smooth tripe from the first stomach? The Bible tripe is the one you normally get a Vietnamese pho places. If you think this looks plain, you'd be correct. The green onion and ginger flavours are mild, but I have to admit, the tripe was super tender, surprisingly so. I think I'd order it again to give them another chance. Mushroom Rice Noodle Rolls What really set off the craving for dim sum today was a craving for rice noodle rolls. So we decided to get a Hot Pot of Mushroom Rice Noodle Rolls. The rolls were not cooked in the hot pot but they were steamed perfectly. Each little roll held its own and wasn't mushy at all. And as you can see, there was a variety of mushrooms and plenty of it. This is really good comfort food for a cold fall day. It's not as much as a bowl of ramen but it does hit the spot. Sticky Rice Bun Normally, we always get sticky rice as part of dim sum, usually during lunch at Kirin on Alberni, but this location had something different, a Stuffed Sticky Rice Bun. As soon as it arrived, we realized it's not really a bun, it's more like a dumpling. I found this dry, probably because it was reheated and not actually steamed. It was a big ball of dried sticky rice and definitely disappointing. Sauteed Sea Snail How to save the day? I was delighted to discover that they have Stir Fried Sea Snails. Once the ends are slightly shaved off, use a toothpick to pull the meat out slowly. Once removed, take off the flap (it looks like a fish scale) at the end and you're good to go! This plate was just under $10 but the scarcity of it makes it worth the price, since I so rarely have it. Take Note: Good dishes for dimsum (shrimp cakes and spring rolls). For dinner, try the Stir Fried Chicken with Steamed Rice in Leaves. Their Special Fried Rice tastes a lot like Phnom Penh's! - See more at: http://xmasbb.blogspot.ca/#uds-search-results read more

Went on a easter Monday. It was packed. had I known how long the wait was I would have left but sometimes your on that line so we waited. Place is ugly garish type room. your not here because of its Michelin stars. your here for the 20% off dim sum Monday to Friday! We got shu mai, braised spare ribs, fried taro, shrimp dumplings, something with pea shoots which was off the hook. Everything was great except the taro but I think that's me. not a taro guy,ever. Oh, we also got fried squid which rocked. So like I said everything was super pleasing. Service was pleasant and prompt. they even had a door man butler guy in a suit. So now heres the kicker. So I got the bill and there was no 20% off, I asked why, he said its a holiday. OK I thought, its not. Its Easter Monday which is not a holiday. Now family day is a holiday but Easter Monday is not. Its not posted on the sign except holidays. I wonder if Valentines day and Halloween are holidays for you guys. I wanted to ask if they were paying their staff overtime for the holiday...... read more

I eat here everytime i'm the neighborhood as it is my best buddy's favorite, but i just love it too. The wait staff are very friendly and they serve dim sum all day! The portions are generous, as big as any i've had in a dim sum resto stateside. Just got back from a food tour of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and i must say it compares very favorably. We're lucky to have Cindy here in our corner of the world. read more

Terrible service. They ignored my request for tea. Took forever to get the food. Greasy and bland flavour. I said excuse me can I please have the bill and they ignored me. If you want waiters to walk right by you and give you dirty looks you should definitely try this place out read more

Favourite dim sum place on vancouver. Huge portions of dumplings at dim sum. Great flavours! Come on a weekday and get 20% off or menu prices are a bit overpriced. They also charge for tea. Generally cleaned washrooms and decent dinning experience. read more

My go-to take out choice. Always tasty and well cooked. Generous portions with lots of yummy fish options. Friendly, helpful staff.

Fortunate to be with friends and family to share the best king crab dishes i have ever had. Food was excellent, but to be expected in the big city, otherwise they would be out of business no? The one item that i still crave though is the baked tapioca dessert. Bearing in mind that as a rule, i can't stand Chinese pastries except moon cakes which are very traditional and therefore pretty good. Modern iterations of Chinese desserts for me usually don't do it for me. I simply loved that dessert. Not too sweet, not greasy like some cakes with "frosting". Loved, loved, loved that dessert. If you like really sweet desserts this isn't for you. read more

Very welcoming place. The staff are very friendly and great with giving recommendations. The food didn't 'wow' me, but it was good enough. Larger portions than a lot of the similar places I've been to. Quick service. read more

After hearing about this place from friends, we finally tried it a couple of weeks ago for dim sum. The staff were all friendly and attentive and our lunch was amazing. We had a big lunch for 2 people and brought home enough for dinner for under $30.00. I brought another friend for dim sum last week and he loved it, too. Our lunch, with enough to take a few pieces home, was around $15.00. After too many years at the big dim sum houses with attitude, lineups and over the top prices, Cindy's Palace is perfect. read more

Cheap and decent Dim Sum, specials on weekdays. Can get really busy if you arrive after 11am. Food is ok, service is ok.

Decent price and food. Will try again One thing I hate is waiting too long for food This place makes ur orders fast read more

Wasn't sure how to review this restaurant. Lunch and dim sum service is fantastic, but dinner is extremely lackluster. For lunch, they have the classic dim sum push carts rather than the "fill out the paper". I kind of like this old school way of doing things as you are more likely to experiment with new stuff when it's roaming around. They have the more unique items here such as items with scallops and 3 mushroom rice rolls (you gotta ask for this as they usually aren't in push carts). Portions are big, tasty, and well-priced. Dinner... they must have a completely different set of cooks. We ordered a 6-person set menu and the food took forever to come. The food we got was not very original and seemed like something my mom would serve up. Our cold meat appetizer was a cold free-range chicken that looked like just came out of the fridge. The green onion/ginger dip looked a day old. I've never seen that as an appetizer before at a Chinese restaurant. Our soup was just boiled veggies and pork. Something my mom makes every night. There didn't seem to be any of that restaurant precision in any of our dishes with lots of short cuts being used, such as using the deep fryer. So in summary, lunch dim sum, big yay for price and quality. Dinner is a big nay for price and quality. read more

Food and service was good. The staff always makes me feel like it's a family coming over for dinner. The food was delicious and comes out piping hot. I've only been here for dinner. And I would recommend it. read more

Tried this place out because it always seemed busy. Pretty standard dimsum, only thing that was standing out was the terrible service.

on friend's recommendation, came here for dim sum. Size/portion good, freshness good, price good (even better with 20% off promo), service could be better, tastes varied - some not salty while some were. Went in at 2pm, a good sign seeing plenty of occupied tables. A bit aged look, needed some cleaning, and brighter lights. read more

Dim sum is great here! Everything taste really good. I usually go here with my friends and family and everyone always likes it. Reasonable price and good sized portions. I really love the special baked bbq pork buns from there, so good! Will keep on going there! read more

They take reservations but they don't respect them. We waited over 45 minutes after our reservation time and politely asked for an update every 15 minutes. But each time they just brushed us off while they sat equally sized parties with no reservations ahead of us. After asking for an explanation they just kept continuing to brush my wife off. My wife kept her tone and voice level neutral while the server/host continually raised her voice and became increasingly rude when we just want to know why other people are being seated. It's partially a language barrier but there's no need to be rude when my wife had not raised her voice at all and we had already waited 45 minutes with reservations. In the end we got no explanation except to being told in the rudest and loud tone the exact same thing for the 4th time which was to sit down and wait for 15 minutes. Needless to say we left and won't be coming back ever. read more

We called ahead to get a price for King Crab and we were quoted $12.99/lb, which they said they would honour. When we arrived, they tried to charge us $18.99, and eventually dropped the price to $16.99. We ordered a 10.5 lb crab but I'm certain they switched the crab on us to a much smaller crab. I had troubles digging the meat out of the shell because there was so little. Having been to 2 different restaurants in the previous week, I know how big a 10.5 crab should be and this looked like a 7-8 lb crab. Service wasn't great and we had to constantly remind the waitresses that they forgot to bring our bottle of wine. They also had a 10% off grand opening special but we only received $4 off our $300 bill because they said our fish and king crab didn't qualify for the special. Overall the food was ok but we didn't like getting misled over the pricing for the crab and the 10% off special. read more