Emperor's Table

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Yes a yum cha place where the service was above a 2, in fact in this place they were an 8, actually really interested in giving a good experience. Shame one has to travel so far out of the CBD to escape the attitude.

Food was totally perfect, the decor of course was Chinese suburban 80s but you'd expect that. The elevated view of the leafy suburbs across to Chatswood was surprisingly lovely too. Of course you're in an RSL but even that made the experience, being a good one, more surprisingly enjoyable.

May 19, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  5      Service  10      Value  9     

Great food. The place was full of Chinese people, a good recommendation. We lived in Hong Kong for 20 years and we are really glad we found this restaurant. The Peking Duck is wonderful and the scallops in XO sauce are a must.

Jan 27, 2012 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  7     

Service was spectacular, we were shocked at how good the service was, unlike any other yum cha restaurant in Sydney. The empty baskets were cleared away quickly, the staff were friendly and funny and could all speak fluent english which made ordering a breeze, tea was refilled multiple times without us even having to ask.

The place was clean and there was plenty of space between the tables, all the yumcha favourites were available and the food was hot. The prawn har gao was delicious as was the bbq pork buns and custard tarts. Thank you Simon and staff!

Dec 15, 2011 

4.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  4      Value  6     

Went here on a weekday afternoon for lunch. The restaurant looked a bit tacky, but we were excited that there was yum cha near by. Unfortunately, we were pretty disappointed with the food, it was quite bland and tasted like there was msg or something funky in there.

The tea was good, which is hard to get wrong, but the food was just a big let down and my stomach didn't feel very good afterward. The only good thing about it was that it's the cheapest yum cha I've been and there is lots of parking available and it seemed to be very popular with big groups dominating most of the crowd, but I'm a bit confused why. Will not be back.

Jul 30, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Came here on Saturday around 11. Were seated round the corner (no view) but within 5 minutes we had half a dozen dishes on the table and people asking what we'd like to drink. Not bad. The variety wasn't as good as it had been on previous visits, but I note they do provide laminated menus in colour describing the available yum cha dishes + prices at the register, if you had one of those at the table it would be good so you can order what you want if it isn't showing up.

Prawn dumplings are a favourite with the kids. Nobody was particularly keen on the dumpling variant with celery. Other yum-cha staples (spare ribs, beef balls, spring rolls) are competently executed and they have the best mango pancakes here (Marigold sydney must have the worst) but they usually go quickly. Bit disappointed the tofu-fa came in a lidded bowl and isn't wheeled around in a big wooden vat. I gave it a go but it didn't taste all that fresh and we never did come across the crunchy-topped custard buns.

The glutinous rice parcels we had (Not wrapped in the dark leaves, I believe it was a yellowy leaf or some kind of membrane) weren't very interesting. The fellow wandering around trying to interest people in sushi rolls added a touch of the surreal some kind of cross-culinary experiment.

Overall, we prefer coming here because it's no worse and probably better than some places we've tried in the city. The kids enjoy coming because they love the aviary downstairs and the grownups love knowing that parking is not going to be an issue so you can take your time.

Jul 24, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  8     

One of the better Yum Cha places I have been to, although trolley service is slow. Prices are also quite good, when compared to other Yum Cha places on the Northern Shore.

Apr 06, 2011 

3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  4      Value  3     

If you're after a nice, authentic cantonese/chinese yumcha, this is definitely not the place. Went there few days ago for yumcha with family.

Food: Had siumay as first dish, when I picked up the siumay from the basket with my chopstick, the siumay skin fell off, unbelievable! This was a sign of a 'not fresh' food! Oh, and not to forget to mention, the siumay taste so below average.

Well, we thought maybe that was just one disappointment, then we pick up the combination dumpling and hargao (prawn dumpling), which looked ok, but after first bite of the combination dumpling, I didn't want to eat it anymore, they used the dried tiny shrimp in it, which gave the unpleasant taste. As for the hargao, it wasn't too bad but certainly I've tasted much better hargao elsewhere.

So we finished off and left with disappointment after only 3 dishes above.
Service: Something you would expect from yumcha-type place, was ok, got attended quickly, but, perhaps, because we didn't order any other drinks than the crysan tea.

Ambience: Nothing exciting about the seat, table, or the view, as we got window seats looking to epping rd, nothing special. Overall, we weren't satisfied and don't think that we'll ever going back there for yumcha again.

Feb 07, 2011 

4 Below Average

Food  4     

I'm Chinese and love yumcha. Just rating the food: Below Average yumcha. Not a lot of variety and some dumplings didn't taste very good. Not many other Chinese diners here.

Feb 05, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  4     

We went to the Emperor's Table for Yum Cha early this month for Sunday lunch with the family. This was our second visit, and we were very disappointed and won't be back (although my first visit was quite good).

You expect a Yum Cha restaurant to have plenty of trolleys of food circulating, but this certainly wasn't the case and at one stage we looked around and you could see the people at most tables scanning the room to see if there was going to be any more food! It was doubly bad for us because our table was in a corner near the window (great view, but...) the staff found it difficult to get their trolleys near us and so in the end they just avoided our table.

The food itself was nice, but we were there a long time and didn't really feel all that full by the time we left.

Oct 19, 2010 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

My family and I come here every other weekend and aside from occasional slow service (it gets very busy!), I've yet to be disappointed with this place. The staff recognise us and always have a smile and the food is consistantly good. I must admit, I'm a bit of a regular and a local to boot, but I feel no need to travel further for yum cha, it's just as good as Chinatown!

Apr 15, 2010