Updated 7 April 2015. We are back again to try out the dim sum!
One of the best Dim Sum I have ever eaten is at this Chinese Restaurant Grand Garden in Rotterdam. They used to be called Paramount. The new owner of Grand Garden is the uncle of the owner of Paramount, Located right in downtown Rotterdam inside NH Atlanta Hotel and near Bijenkorf. The restaurant is usually full of Chinese people which always mean that it is good. Nowadays you’ll see more Dutch locals visiting this place.The first time I came here I tried their dim sum. I like their dim sum better than the ones in Amsterdam. Simply because their food is less oily and more tasty. The restaurant is big, elegant, modern and clean. It is not your usual crampy, noisy , chaotic Chinese restaurant.
I like their prawn dumpling, rice rolls filled with prawns, vegetable dumpling, steam spicy squid, beef fried noodles, har kau, sui kau just to name a few. My friends love the char siew bao (steam pork buns). The XLB (Xiao long bao) is the famous Shanghai dumpling which is actually meat soup dumpling. Don’t be mistaken it is not dumpling in soup but meat soup inside dumpling.The XLB is good but lacking in the burst of soup. The hot and sour soup is peppery and spicy. We like spicy so it is not a problem for us.
As in most dim sum places that I have been to, “doggybag” is normal. We ordered too many and brought back home some leftovers. Dim sum prices here are between €3.50-€4.50 per plate which is normal like in most dim sum restaurants here. Our chinese tea is free flow 🙂
Tip: If you are wandering why the waiter is not filling up your empty tea pot, don’t get angry with him. Probably you may not know the teapot rule. Flip the top lid of the teapot sideways. This way the waiter knows that you want your tea to be filled up. He will come soon. (see photo of teapot below)
Pros: Clean, modern and good ambience. Good place to chill out for an afternoon dim sum and chat with friends. Very good relax atmosphere. Waiters are very friendly and helpful. Also attentive. Best to call for reservations. Waiters speak dutch and english. If you park opposite the restaurant , a parking garage called Par-King and you spend more than €30 in the restaurant , you’ll get a rebate of 2 hours of parking cost which is equivalent to €5.
Addres Parkeergarage Par-King
Sint Luciastraat 59 Rotterdam (achter de lijnbaan)
Cons: Nothing at this moment. We are here on Sunday afternoon around 14:30 hours so the lunch crowd is slowly disappearing.
Food (9/10) Service (9/10) Ambience (9/10) Price/Quality (8/10)
Aert van Nesstraat 4, 3012 CA Rotterdam
010 280 0171