Paul V, who joined me on this jaunt, has a very special relationship with all-you-can-eat Chinese places. He’s the one customer in a hundred who gets his money’s worth. Diners stop with their chopsticks in mid-air to watch him eat his seventh plateful. When he goes up for eighths, the waitresses get a wild look about them, try to clear the table and make frantic signs to large men in the kitchen. Paul V says it’s the only sort of restaurant that makes him feel properly full.
We passed Dim Sum Palace on our way down Rokin to the Flower Market, and he got that gleam in his eye. It doesn’t look like good eating when you walk in. There are melamine tables fastened to the floor with seats attached. You pay before you eat, and service involves being handed a plate and pointed in the direction of the buffet. And you have to get your drinks from a coke machine (it dispenses cans of beer too).
The deal is, all you can eat in one hour for 7.50 euro. Really, who’d complain about a slightly sticky floor and unflattering lighting? The buffet was recharged regularly, and the food was tasty –- that is, each dish tasted different. It was hot, it was nourishing and it didn’t give anyone bellyache. If you’re hungry and poor, come here.