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Cha For Tea Palace
Category: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Dim Sum [Edit]
17512 Stony Plain Rd NWEdmonton, AB T5S
(780) 443-2832
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 11 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
10 reviews for Cha For Tea Palace
10 reviews in English
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Review from Aditya R.
5/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Although I'm not a big dim sum guy, I do appreciate the preparation and execution involved with dim sum. Cha For Tea palace has the strangest name (why are they telling us that tea is called cha in Chinese?), but they serve up a full variety of dim sum. Dim Sum is basically Chinese tapas originally from Guangzhou, but didn't take too long to reach the west ;-).
I think, between the 4 of us, we ordered roughly 12 small plates and I would say about half of them were of 4 star calibre while the other half were roughly 3 stars. Certainly the steamed buns were good and so was the sticky rice with meat inside ("Treasure rice?"). I also thought the shrimp cakes were quite tasty and so was the eggplant dish. The ginger beef was really quite good. I wasn't particularly impressed with the chicken spring rolls and was a tad disappointed with the curried squid. The dumplings were okay.
It was a worthwhile experience, with the faint hope of something better. I like that we got a lot of time to relax and drink jasmine tea while chit chatting about Community with great company at the Yelpy UYE. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt since we did go on a Wednesday evening and as I have realized, most people eat dim sum in the morning. I'm guessing that the kitchen although equipped to make dim sum, wasn't in full flow. There were just two other occupied tables apart from ours.Listed in: Hidden Gems, Murdered by the lip-smacking…
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Review from Brittany K.
Edmonton, AB
5/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Major props go to Aditya R for planning an awesome UYE at Cha For Tea Palace out on the west side of town! It was my first time trying out dim sum!
The ginger beef set a high bar when it came out first. It was seriously great!
Of all the other dishes that came out, my favourites were the pork buns (although I should note our steamed chicken buns did not come out properly), and the dumpling things (there was so much food! it's blurring together). I didn't even mind the shark fin and the squid, although my mental block wouldn't let me get past more than one bite.
It was quiet, so service was good and the food came out fairly quickly.
I appreciated having a card full of food pictures to play the matching game. Made it easier to avoid some of the seafood-y type of items that I don't really like.
I found that a few of the dishes were a bit bland. They all seemed to have the same general salty flavour. Overall, the food was pretty good and I had a blast because of the company I was with! -
Review from Kristin K.
Edmonton, AB
6/3/2011
My husband and I used to frequent Cha until we discovered Jumbo Jumbo Dim Sum down the road.
Cha is good - but probably the most expensive Dim Sum I've had in Edmonton.
Our bill is always $30+ yet when we order the same items elsewhere it is frequently only $20. -
Review from Lauren N.
10/3/2010
Gotta say, I'm very surprised to see all the good reviews for this place!
My friend recently had her wedding at Cha for Tea, and while the wedding turned out good, the food was disappointing, I have to say. I heard so many good things about the restaurant too, before coming here, which meant my disappointment was only heightened. This is definitely not what authentic Chinese food tastes like!
The food, to put it bluntly, is bland. No flavor whatsoever. We had the traditional wedding menu served to us that night, a full course banquet with about 10-12 dishes altogether. I think the best thing was the jellyfish, and even then I suspect it may have been from the instant packages you can buy. I stopped trying to see if anything was good after the fourth dish or so. And coming from a starving bridesmaid, that says a lot!
The service was alright, I admit. Although I did have to remind the server about my drink several times. Other than that, the food came out fast and the dishes were cleared quickly. Still, the lack of flavor and quality in the food is enough to keep me away from now on.
In my mind, Golden Rice Bowl remains at the top of the list. Actually, I don't think it even has to worry about any competition! If you want authentic fine Chinese dining, go there instead. -
Review from Sheridan J.
Edmonton, AB
10/1/2010 1 photo
Cha for Tea Palace may be known for its fabulous Dim Sum, but that's not all this fantastic restaurant has to offer. The facility is large enough for birthday, Christmas or anniversary parties, wedding receptions, banquets, and extensive families. They also offer delivery and catering.
I have hired Cha for Tea Palace in the past for an enormous 400 person function, which required the restaurant to not only be shut down for the entire day, but also 'relocated' to the venue in the back of a truck. The occasion? Chinese New Year 2008: The Year of the Pig.
J.R., the owner, and his marvelous staff provided a copious 10-course, authentic Chinese meal, including the roast pig, after hours of slaving in a kitchen not their own (starting at 6:00 AM). J.R. provided advice for the decor and atmosphere, as well as insight into the traditions associated with Chinese New Year. If this isn't considered going above and beyond, I'm not sure how it could be classified.
The food is scrumptious, the service is incomparable and the atmosphere is quite tasteful. I love going to Cha for Tea Palace for special occasions. My entire family fits quite nicely and there's lots of room to spare for the other guests just dropping by for a bite to eat. -
Review from Tope C.
11/10/2008
WHO WANTS DIM SUM? I do...I do!!!
This seems like a traditional way of serving dishes with carts and small portions. Traditional or not...this is some good S@*#!
Alright so some of they ways the food is prepared is either Steamed, Pan fried, stewed, deep fried. Various different methods.
You got your seafood, chicken, beef, and pork dishes. Let me list some of my all time favorite dishes:
You got Chicken feet...with a nice sauce that can be spicy...no, not toe jam. This may not be for everyone seeing a young asian lad like my myself bite the toes off one by one...its definitely something to try. my girlfriend loves this stuff!
Deep fried shrimp dumpling. Ok...really all this is is just a rice wrap with shrimp paste filling. Shrimp paste can be placed onto different food combos like on stuffed greeen pepper, on top of egg plant, the tip of a stick of sugar cane...so many things. Its just that good....don't believe me, you try...
Then there is rice roll long donut...you may have heard of this from other postings. They do this so they get 5 stars...yes...yes...my posting I can say 5 stars. This is an always to oreder going to any chinese restaurant, if they don't have it....I leave. Rice roll is also very good when wrapped around meat...like ground beef, shrimp, pork slices. So much...so much...
Yes...if this is overwhelming, there is a regular menu to order for you non adventurous people... :oP
I say kick back, enjoy the food...and let your tummy neslte in that asian goodness....Peace out! E-town..do-doot do-dut!Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Jessica D.
Edmonton, AB
2/9/2011
After being bugged time after time to go here for dim sum by my boyfriend we finally went. Not paying attention to the prices on our card we just got dish after dish. I don't COMPLETELY regret doing that because everything was delicious and portions were quite nice. But for the amount we got and our bellies only half full our bill rang up to $50 bucks ! Two people ! Now I know Mirama is definitely not even close to as good as this place but my family of 6 eats there for that much ! Regardless though, service was great (especially when you flaunt that you`re Chinese) and it was a great experience. But as usual being a student, it`s one of those places I wouldn`t return to unless I`m sending gold to those infomercials. CASH 4 GOLD !!!!!!!
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Review from Maria F.
10/22/2009 2 photos
What a neat place. I wondered into this restaurant with one of my former co-workers during our lunch break. The size of this dim sum place is impressive - at first glance there seem to be about twenty or thirty tables. At noon, when we came in, the place was extremely busy but nonetheless we were seated right away. What I loved about this place is that the waiter pushes the cart stocked with bamboo steamers full of freshly made dim sum, and as he stops by your table, you can pick what you would like to eat. Then comes another waiter with other freshly made menu items. And another... I ended up with the plate full of different kinds of dim sum and of course my favourite fried squid in curry sauce. Everything tasted delicious.
The dinner was my colleague's treat so unfortunatelly I cannot comment on the prices. -
Review from Jason L.
Edmonton, AB
5/26/2010
I confess that this is my second place "go-to" restaurant for Chinese in the Westend. That's not really a knock to Cha for Tea, but the reality is that I go to the big Chinese restaurants for events like birthdays and Chinese New Year with big groups. Cha for Tea is great for big groups because they have some realy big tables - excellent for big extended Chinese families or large groups of friends.
The menu has some unique authentic dishes and some really spectacular seafood dishes. As with most North American Chinese restaurants, the really authentic dishes are on the Chinese menu as are the specials. The only reason that this is my second choice is that the food that Chinese cook for westerners is really done with a lot of indifference. It's just not as good as the Chinese dishes they serve. Because any group we bring is mixed and few Chinatown dishes inevitably get ordered, it makes for a really uneven meal. The westernized stuff is just too salty, too fried and too gloopy. I guess that they think (and they're probably right) that if you think ginger beef, fried rice and sweet and sour (neon sauce) anything is Chinese food, you wouldn't know good food from bad. There are other restaurants though that prove that inauthentic food need not be of lesser quality (though by it's nature, it's fried, salty, bland and covered in sticky neon sauce). However, while the food is not as good, often Cha for Tea is the only place able to accommodate a large group.
The food is still good enough, and some if not all of the Chinese dishes are honestly spectacular. Portions are good. Service is prompt and efficient. They are on the pricey side, especially since there are options at least as good near by. It's a nice place and I wish I could give it a whole hearted endorsement, but this is a town with world class Cantonese cuisine so it needs to keep up.
Dim Sum is good here with good portions, tasty food and good variety, but it's not stand out especially since it, like dinner, is a little pricey. -
Review from Tim D.
1/10/2010
High quality chinese cuisine, excellent service. This is a great restaurant, one of Edmonton's best. All of the items we have tried have been first class, with very personal service. This restaurant seems to be very well frequented by the Edmonton Asian community which tells me it is a great place to eat. You will not be disappointed, we haven't been.
