Noble Palace Chinese Seafood Restaurant

8 Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  8     

Had to drive from the other side of Canberra but we weren't disappointed, We got there early and it was lucky we did as it filled up fast. Attentive wait staff and very good yum cha, would recommend the lobster. Not too sure on prices as my partner paid.

Jan 06, 2012 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

The worst food and service that I have ever had. They decided that they were busy and could only serve us 3 yumcha dishes, so we ordered from the menu. It made the old 80's Chinese restaurants seem 5 star. Steer well clear.

Dec 28, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  8     

Firstly - the mud crab hot pot/vermicelli dish they do here is amazing. So good that often they sell out of mud crabs, so I always call to reserve one before I come. It's quite a large restaurant so you don't feel as cramped as other Canberran chinese places. Service isn't amazing, but there are a few really friendly and helpful wait staff.

I've come for yum cha a few times, and I think it's much better than the other yum cha options in Canberra (miles ahead, in fact), although not quite up there with the Sydney options!

Sep 02, 2011 

3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  3     

Went to Noble Palace for yum cha on a Sunday. The line was really long and had about 3 different members of staff ask us how many people and then whether we had a booking. The funny thing was, after each of them asking the set of questions twice each, they did nothing about seating us. About 15 minutes later, we were escorted to the dingy little corner, given a table for two with an extra chair - by this stage I had lost my appetite having observed the staff direct another table of six up and down stairs to wait when the group had two very elderly, immobile members.

The company I was with did order and eat and the food appeared to be presentable although just be wary that for 'special' yum cha dishes, get to know the wait staff or you'll miss out (i.e. preferential treatment is provided to friends). So if service you are not fussed with the quality of service, the food may be worth it.

Aug 08, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

When this place is crowded and happy, it really is a good place to go. However, I found a better place to go for yum cha now, and I didn't have to look far. The Noble Palace needs to get back to its former glory, especially with the history of these premises.

Nov 29, 2010 

5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  5     

Food is above average in Canberra but comparing to real Hong Kong restaurants in other parts of Asia, it's just average. Service from waitress and waiter are reasonably good But the boss at the cashier has Big attitude problem, screwing up customers who insist on spliting bills when it was agreed much earlier prior to even ordering dishes that we Need to split bills due to claims issues. He even tells customers that No second time that he'll do it so that's prefectly fine since there's No way we are going to revisit the restaurant.

Nov 12, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  8     

I've eaten yum cha/dim sum at Noble Palace twice now and been thoroughly pleased on both occasions. My immediate recollections are that the chicken feet are fantastic and that service is very good for this form of eating (perhaps, even a little too intrusive). Most waiters seem taking order or serving a dedicated item off the menu but there was always seemed to be a free floating staff member to take any ad hoc item orders we requested or to ensure that prawn dumplings from the trolley on the other side of the room made their way to our table.

Given my comments on the promptness of the service, if I was going to be mean, my impressions were almost as if some waiters were working on commission to sell the chicken pies to a table as quickly as possible before reloading.

Noting another review, the fried lobster dumplings are indeed delicious (but much better piping hot). The prawn dumplings were my staple and they were served in a number of varieties including with spinach or coriander. Battered whitebait was tasty enough.

If there is a better place for yum cha in Canberra I am unfamiliar with it. In any case, as a value for money proposition or based on the quality of food, I would recommend Noble Palace with confidence or take overseas guests there for yum cha.

Curiously, our table of eight has each time averaged $25 each and we did not hold back on the food we ate. I’m interested that some describe Noble Palace as expensive for yum cha, I thought this was a very reasonable price for Aus.

Nov 05, 2010 

5.8 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  2      Value  6     

Where to begin. The food was fine for what it was, then again you would have pretty much the same menu somewhere else at the Hellenic Club with far better service. This leads me to my biggest issue with this restaurant: Service.
By far one of the worst service I have ever received at any place.

For starters, some of the dishes were not hot and were almost room temperature, many times we had to send the food back to heat it up. Asking for drinks was a hassle, we ordered a beer and soft drink and had to wait more than 20 minutes for it to come (the restaurant was quiet for a Sunday night). Then we had spilled some water on the table and if they could clean it up, they removed all the plates and left the water sitting on the table.

I had to call the waiter back to tell him to please clean the water (it was going to be left there if we didn't say anything). Then the waiter came back and was wiping the table down and there was a slight altercation between him and one of our guests, I could see that the waiter had a clenched fist and was almost threatening, ready to hit the guest.

Then we go and pay the bill and as we were putting our pin in the Eftpos there was a $70 surcharge added on top of the actual bill. We had to stop and correct them, there was no way we were going to pay what looked like a tip after all the poor service we received. It is a shame that despite the decent food the service was shocking, save yourself the hassle and go somewhere else instead, where service is paramount.

Oct 10, 2010 

7 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  7     

Have only eaten here for yum cha. The food is most pleasing, as good as the high end yum cha in other capital cities. The steamed pork buns are very good, lobster dumplings are a must have and so are the custard buns.

Very nicely set out restaurant for yum cha, the service is pretty good although there are a few waiters that could be more helpful. It's quite expensive as far as yum cha goes, however, the quality largely makes up for that.

Jun 27, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Easily the best Yum Cha in Canberra and not far behind in the standard menu either. It is a little pricey, although the seafood flair to their food is an easy explanation. Does get very busy though on weekends, try to arrive by 1130 to secure the freshest and widest range of food. Beware that parking is a 5 minutes walk from the restaurant.

May 22, 2010