Small dishes begin to fill the table at a new dim sum restaurant

People get attached to their favorite dim sum. That’s certainly one reason many San Diegans who seek out the dim sum experience are happy to drive to the Convoy District to seek out their favorite. Of course, another likely reason is that Convoy is home to most of our region’s dim sum spots, so it’s either that, or drive deep into Mira Mesa.

So when a massive, new dim sum restaurant opened up, closer to home, I had to drag my family out to pay a visit. Diamond Palace sits at the edge of City Heights, right about the spot where Chollas Creek meets El Cerrito, so the location will still feel out of the way to most, but it sits considerably south of the 8 freeway, and that’s kind of a big deal.

And it’s a kinda huge venue. Housed in what had been a banquet hall, the venue boasts just shy of 70 tables, and 300 seats. There was no way it would be anywhere near capacity when we showed up for a late weekday brunch, but we did find enough fellow customers that a normal sized-restaurant would have seemed full.

A large restaurant and banquet hall

Only moments after we were seated, someone rolled a cart up to our table, and the meal was under way. Our table was filled up with steamed pork buns, shrimp siu mai, and chicken egg rolls before the menus even arrived.

A full menu featured a vast assortment of entrees running 20 dollars and up, including the likes of crispy pork belly, roast duck, Dungeness crab, and lobster. But though we opted for an $11 plate of Chinese broccoli, in order to get some greens on the table, we primarily stuck to the separate dim sum menu, where four tiers of small plates were priced at $5.29, $6.99, $8.09, and $9.39 apiece.

A dim sum cart parades small plates among tables

A hundred dollars later, it seemed as though we’d finished everything but the chicken feet.

Admittedly, I’ve never had the nerve to try chicken feet before, and hadn’t planned to at the outset. But that gets me back to peoples’ attachment to their favorite dim sum. The kids were disappointed that the har gao and xiao long bao dumplings didn’t live up to their favorites at another restaurant.

Fair enough. Let’s try something different, then, I encouraged them, It’s a big menu, I’m sure we can find something new to appreciate.

I don’t know whether he’d overheard, but before I knew it a server was at our table, dropping off a beef rice roll, and he happened to casually mention that chicken feet are one of the restaurant’s most popular and talked about dishes.

Well, that put me on some kind of hot seat. So of course, with manufactured bravado, I said bring it on! Without much wait, there appeared a dish of so-called phoenix talons, fried and braised, and dauntingly claw-shaped.

Chicken feet, not pretty, but considered a delicacy of sorts

To the kids’ credit, we all dug in — at least, so far as you can dig in to chicken feet, which offer far more bone and skin than flesh. But to that extent, they weren’t much different than eating skinny chicken wings: messy but super flavorful. I can see why — for the initiated — they’re recommended. We might even have finished them all, had the desserts not arrived: sweet rice cakes, mango pudding, and egg tarts looked immediately more appetizing.

During the shorter than usual ride home, we agreed Diamond Palace might not be our favorite dim sum destination, but sometimes it’s about learning to order what a place does well. As I explained to the kiddos, Let’s be thankful our server didn’t recommend the tripe!