Last Monday, we had the pleasure of stopping by DimSum Palace in Catonsville. It was Juneteenth and our older kids didn’t have camp, so it was the perfect time to try out a new restaurant. I’m not sure when DimSum Palace opened but it was probably within the last few weeks.
I love dim sum. For years we visited Asian Court when it was located on Route 40. We even went up to its new location near Turf Valley Resort a few times but lately to get our fix we’ve driven to Gourmet Inspirations in Silver Spring. Gourmet Inspirations is a good 40 minutes away and with the parking situation there (street parking or a really jammed lot), having dim sum in Catonsville was a welcome addition!
DimSum Palace is located off 40 in Catonsville in the Lotte Mart shopping center. It’s right next to a CORT Furniture Outlet and there’s plenty of parking.
It was pretty busy on a holiday Monday but we were seated in about fifteen minutes. When you leave your name, they even ask for your phone number so they can call you when they’re ready. We wandered around the Lotte Mart for a few minutes before getting the call it was our turn.
They had all of the greatest hits – shiu mai, har gow, chicken feet, egg custard tarts, custard buns, beef balls, steamed pork ribs. We started eating before I started to take pictures so I only have a few to share, the rest were eaten too fast. They were all on point.
One very interesting dish that they offered was a Har Gao that had black truffle in it. I wish I had taken a photo because the skin was jet black and the shrimp inside was cooked with black truffle. It was a new flavor and though I’m not sure I’d get it again, it was certainly a new one for me.
UPDATE: We went back recently and I took a photo of the black truffle Har Gao!
The only negative was the tea. We got Oolong tea it was like someone ripped open an tea bag and poured the contents into the infuser. There was dust and little bits everywhere. Tea was only $1 a person but even at that price I expected something better.
UPDATE: We went back and got tea again, this time it was much better. I still would’ve preferred whole leaves in the infuser but the infuser is small and I understand why they probably can’t use it. That said, we got jasmine this time and it was great.
Service was great. There were only two carts going around – one with the steamed dishes and one that had everything else, like pastry items and turnip cakes. I suspect on busier days they have more than the two carts, but I’m not sure.
We will definitely be back the next time we want to get our dim sum fix… which will probably be soon!
Thanks for your review. I just found out about this place a couple weeks ago and plan to go on Saturday. I am a big fan of Asian Court, but Ellicott City is a bit of a haul from Towson.
It is a bit of a hike but totally worth it!
I was there today and had 3 ($7.95) large dishes, 1 small dish and ($1.00) tea for $33.00. While it was very good, if you wanted any meat dishes, they would be ordered separately with no price given. Usually, other places would have a small dish of BBQ spare ribs, as in your photo, for example. I had two shrimp, one pork shu mai, and two custard cakes. I did go alone, so maybe the trick is to share to bring the price down. The Asian Court place always had engine fumes from the Tire place next door, so it was refreshing to have dim sum without the fumes.
It is a bit on the pricier side but we are in Howard County, I was happy with the prices though (and yes, going with a few other people does bring it down… plus you get more variety!).
I miss Asian Court but you are right, you had the smell of tires from next door but also the occasional cigar smoke from patrons of the smoke shop on the left.
I don’t miss the parking situation there though!