Zine Noodles Dim Sum at Palazzo

Just The Facts, Please.

Location

Palazzo

Dining Hours

Monday - Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Chef

Simon To

Cuisine

Dim Sum

Price Range

Dishes are generally in the $15-$30 range.

Suggested Attire

Casual

Notes

Blue Man Prix Fixe dinner available.

Sample Menu Items

Cantonese Roast Duck $15.95
Honey Glazed Barbecue Pork $15.95
Cantonese Shrimp & Pork Wonton Noodle $12.80
Rare Filet Mignon Noodle Soup $18
Pan Fried Scallop in Szechuan Pepper Sauce $28.80
Braised Egg Plant with Roast Duck $28.80
"Yang Zhou" Style Fried Rice $16.80
Mango Tapioca Dessert with Grapefruit $8.80

 

 

Mavens Overview: Zine

Zine at Palazzo serves Dim Sum and more. The web site describes the restaurant, and Chef Simon To's philosophy thusly:

Zine melds traditional dishes with the exotic, simple with the extravagant in a comfortable, contemporary ambience. Drawing from Cantonese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Szechuan and other Asian cooking styles, Chef Simon To has created a menu that's equally tempting to both the casual and adventurous diner.

Unfortunately for Mr To, the Internet Buzz is not very favorable for the food served at Zine. Some of the Buzz includes commentary by well informed diners that are able to deconstruct the dishes to fully illustrate the flaws in preparation. If you're willing to take a short trip off-strip for dim sum, the Gold Coast serves great dim sum daily, in an unpretentious atmosphere. Strip shuttle service is available from Bill' Gambling Hall to the Gold Coast.

Internet Buzz: Zine

  • We had the pork dumpling, hot and sour soup, and soy flavored noodle dish (can't remember what it was exactly called, but it came with bean sprouts and beef). Everything was really good! The dumplings came out steaming hot, the soup was well seasoned, and the noodles were just delicious!
  • Cantonese Roast Duck: This dish was small but very tasty. The duck was nicely cooked, and the skin was flavorful and crispy. Enjoyed this.
  • Some of the reviewers complain that Zine is overpriced, but that is to be expected being located in Palazzo. As long as it's good, I don't mind paying a premium for good food. However, Zine's food not only lacks in quality, but also in taste and presentation. And, as far as their service goes, let's just say I've gotten better service at my local KFC.
  • Siu Mai ($6.95): Meh! We ordered this the first time and it was just as bad the second time around. The skin was completely dry and so was the meat. This was definitely not homemade, nor steamed. *ahem* Microwaved.
  • Steamed Pork Spareribs ($4.95): It was ok; however, it wasn't cooked correctly. The spareribs should have been mixed w/ the black bean sauce and then steamed. However, Zine steamed the unseasoned spareribs first and then topped it w/ black bean sauce. The spareribs were tender, but were flavorless unless you got a piece of the black bean which was extremely salty b/c it didn't get a chance to break down during the cooking process.
  • Overpriced Chinese food. I hate to say this, because to the contrary of popular belief, there IS such a phenomenon as expensive, high-quality Chinese cuisine that is absolutely worth paying for. Zine, however, is NOT such a phenomenon. While the description of the restaurant alluded to a variety of Asian dishes on the menu, it mainly Chinese cuisine, with the exception of a few Vietnamese "phou" dishes.
  • Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumplings (Sui Mai) - The meat was rubbery and it didn't taste fresh. It tasted like it was frozen and reheated in the microwave. $7 for 4 pieces.
  • I don't know if it's because I'm from Monterey Park, which in my personal opinion has the best Chinese food, or because I currently live in San Francisco, which also has great Chinese restaurants, but this food was just wrong.
  • The food was average, some bright spots, some lows.  The shrimp and pork wonton soup was a touch salty, and not really warm.  The honey walnut prawns, which i was very excited about, were disappointing.  Covered with mayonnaise, it was too overpowering and you couldn't taste anything but the mayonnaise.  It was like they dipped my head inside a jar of Hellmann's.  As for the wins, the mongolian beef was flavorful and i appreciated the texture of the beef.  The pan fried noodles were a surprising winner.

 

 

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