Damansara Palace Restaurant, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

2nd January 2008 was grand-uncle's 77th birthday and to celebrate, he treated us to a 9-course dinner at Damansara Palace Restaurant. The menu was lavish, with some of my favourite food (Prawns! Cod fish! Shanghai pancakes!). We got our own private dining room (for a party of 13) with a karaoke set, and I got to select all the old songs that I am inclined toward (Arthur's Theme, Stardust, Surfer Girl, Southern Nights, New Kid In Town....I could go on!).

The menu.

The feast started with the 4 seasons combo.......

.......which consisted of the very delicious salted egg yolk, oyster and prawn deep fried parcel. The way the salted egg yolk melts in the mouth, contrasting with the crunchy texture of the parcel's (beancurd?) skin was just luxuriant.

The 2nd item in the 4 seasons combo was crunchy squid and jelly fish with a slightly sweet-sour taste, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

3rd item was beancurd balls in oyster sauce.

4th on the 4 seasons combo was the stir fried snow peas and celery with scallops.

The sharksfin soup was very rich with ingredients, I could see chunks of prawn and crab meat along with the sharksfin. Taste-wise, the soup had just the right consistency, not too starchy nor too watery.

This was pure indulgence. Steamed, uber fresh cod fish (3 big slabs!) in soya sauce. Loved its rich, buttery taste and smooth texture, glides on the tongue like silk.

The Palace roasted chicken was actually pei pa chicken, with very crispy skin to be eaten with a sprinkling of salt and 5-spice powder. This tasted great as well, not too dry like what some restaurants tend to serve.

I took the chicken head, since it was, well, served! Was feeling adventurous (watched an episode too many of Bizarre Foods) and actually nibbled on the chicken comb which tasted alot like keropok (crackers). I stopped with the comb....no chicken face for me, thank you very much!

This dish was my favourite. Pan fried prawns with Thai sauce. The sauce was creamy, sweet, sour and slightly spicy, and had bits of cashew nuts mixed in. Greedy me feasted on 3 huge prawns, everyone was extra generous to the prawn queen.

Braised siew pak choy with abalone mushrooms and beancurd sheets. Good, crunchy and the bean curd sheets were very filling.

Longevity noodles....tasted rather like wantan mee with slices of pork. Pretty good, too bad I was stuffed to the max at that point and couldn't get much down.

Shanghai pancakes with tausar (red bean) filling. Light and fluffy.

And a sweet dessert drink to wash it all down. Longan with sea coconut.

Grand-uncle had a birthday cake from Secret Recipe called Chocolate Indulgence. We sang the birthday song, wishes were made, photos taken, the cake cut.

And I ended up with a generous piece of heaven. There was not much cake (as in flour) in this, it was 90% cream! Vanilla flavoured cream (the yellow parts) and chocolate flavoured cream layers came together to form this "cake". I LOVE it!! It was like eating ice cream, so rich and meltingly, sinfully good.

Damansara Palace Restaurant

1st & 2nd Floor,

Plot A, Persiaran Surian,

Jalan PJU 3/31,

47410 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Tel: 03-78015055

Fax: 03-78015581

Email: info@dpalace.com.my

From the LDP, turn left into the road that leads to Mutiara Damansara. Go straight, go through the underpass, go pass the Pelangi Damansara Apartments till you see a Shell petrol station on your left. Damansara Palace will be on your right. The restaurant is just before the Palm Springs Damansara Apartments.

Our rating system for overall satisfaction with what we eat and where we eat....

1-bam = don't even bother
2-bam = good enough to fill the tummy
3-bam = a very good restaurant in its category
4-bam = excellent cooking, worth a detour
5-bam = exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

We would give this restaurant a 3-bam rating.