For a brunch-loving country, it’s no surprise that we adore yum cha. The lazy Susan, the steamer baskets, the stamp card, heck even the pushy service (fine, we’ll take the beancurd). We love it all.

So, when yum cha icon Marigold closed its doors in 2021, it left more than just a free morning in our schedule. It left a har gow-sized hole in our hearts. Two years later and many of us still hadn’t moved on.

Then, the rumblings started. Not the stomach variety, the other kind, about a new yum cha destination, which has just opened in the former Golden Century site.

It was called Royal Palace Seafood and it was a 600-seat, three-level Chinese restaurant, with live seafood tanks and yum cha every day – and when can we go?

As seasoned dim sum-ers, we knew to arrive at 10.30am, before the lengthy wait times kick in.

We walk in to discover a large ballroom-esque dining room, filled with circular white-clothed tables, fluorescent lighting and patterned carpet. It was exactly as we had hoped.

Our cheeks barely touch the seat before we’re confronted with food carts, at least five of them, all at one, pushing plates in our direction. It’s yes! yes! yes! yes! no! yes! Do you have prawn? What’s the one behind it? Yes!

We’re not sure who ordered the pork spare ribs, but they’re there and they’re delicious. Little gummy riblets of pork come swimming in a cloudy broth of chilli, garlic and black beans. Would anyone notice if I sipped it like tea?

The cheong fun is good fun. Steamed noodle sheets are bundled up with juicy fat prawn inside. Or there’s the pan-fried variety, where rice noodle rollmops are tossed in a lip-smacking chilli sauce loaded with crunchy bean sprouts and garlic chive.

Whitebait is the white whale of yum cha. You won’t always spot one, but when you do, you must grab it with both hands. Here, the little fish come richly seasoned and super crisp, not greasy at all.

And, there are plenty more fish in the sea. Crisp scallops in fried pastry rounds, bundles of prawn har gow, and golden calamari curls in a salt and pepper coating. We want it all. We can’t necessarily eat it all. But we’re having a hard time saying no.

It’s not just a delicious experience, it’s a generous one too. There are too many trolleys to count, so you’re never eyeing off that one cart that’s always on the other side of the room. Plus, there’s lots of variety. It’s not just the same old sesame balls going round and round and round.

When there’s more red circles than squares on our stamp card, it’s time to call it a day (yes, we know it’s only 11.30am). All in all, the bill comes to around $40 a person, which feels like extremely good value considering how much we had.

Finally, the search for an exceptional yum cha experience in Sydney is over. Now, can we please go home and take a nap?

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