Sea Palace - Amsterdam

Sea Palace

Oosterdokskade 8
1011 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands



One of the first things we saw, as we looked for our hotel, was the astounding floating palace across the main canal.



The Sea Palace is a truly awe-inspiring sight. Built in a very traditional Chinese style - seating over several floors rather being totally open plan - the restaurant seats up to 700 guests over three floors. Nowhere else in Europe have I seen such a grand undertaking.



So why are we sitting in a Chinese restaurant in Amsterdam, when I espouse all the virtues of eating local, when visiting new places? Well, being weary from travel, and hedonistic - bordering on noisome - revelry, we deserved a little respite, and plus it was my birthday. It's my birthday and I can eat dim sum if I want to.



The menu contains what one grows to expect, with a few Hong Kong favourites that aren't often seen in the UK, such as water-chestnut jelly, and peppers stuffed with fish paste.



Pots of steaming Jasmin came and went. Our cups even had doilies. How cute.



Spying on what the other tables are ordering. This place is immense.



Most, if not all, Chinese restaurants seem to give you: good value for money; good food; good service; good presentation; but you may choose at most two. We would like to report that Sea Palace provided three, with presentation sadly lagging far behind.



Prawn cheung fen. The sheets of starch was delicate and thin, filled with very fresh prawns. The taste was superb, although the sauce was just a smidgen too heavy for the lightness of the dish. Utterly delicious, but looks like somebody had peed on it.



Taro croquettes. Ethereal, crisp, filled with a creamy and tasty pork-based filling. Although the insides were like molten lava, the silken strands of crisp fried taro lovingly cradled around the filling wasn't greasy. The chef had drained the croquettes well but not allowed them to get cold.



Pork siu mai were large, flavoursome, bouncy, and filled generously with giant and very fresh prawns. These were a positive delight, and superior to anything found in Chinatown in London.



The feng zhao were well prepared with a gelatinous mouth-feel that makes or breaks the dish. Well seasoned, but not quite as falling-off-the-bone as we have had at Imperial China.



Taste: 9/10. Presentation... we reserve comment.



Ox tripe. There are (at least) two types of tripe from beef. The usual one found is honeycomb, which tends to cook into a gelatinous mush; we opted for the other type, which cooks to a surprisingly crunchy texture and has a less intense flavour. This was one of the best preparations I've had, with a slightly softer bite (a tribute to the cooking time), and a lovely stewed sauce.



It looks pale and bland, but was incredibly savoury and flavoursome.



Steamed ribs. However I try, I cannot recreate this at home. The rib tips being cut to no more than a cm square, doused in a wine sauce and steamed with black beans. Utterly delicious.



Peppers stuffed with fish paste. In a previous life, I used to order this regularly, but since the UK, it's not been sighted on menus.



Although officially it's fish paste, the ingredients are actually the same as the fish balls one finds in Chinese supermarkets everywhere. This incarnation was slightly disappointing, with the pepper not quite charred enough to have softened sufficiently, nor giving off that gorgeous sweet aroma that cooked peppers can have. The dish was also slightly cold by the time it had reached us.



The view from our corner window seat was staggering. With almost 180 degree views of the waterfront, on such a frosty but sunny day, there couldn't have been many better spots to sit in Amsterdam.

Service was prompt, courteous and mostly efficient - not something I associate with Chinese food. The food was exemplary, and if were a local, I would definitely choose a table to call my own.



The damage: €32.10 for 8 very generously sized dishes, and two servings of tea. Approximately £30 due to the British economy going down the gurgler, but compared with our recent misery at Yo! Sushi, this was a definite bargain. If you're in the neighbourhood, run there now. I mean you, yes you, run, right now.