Food Review - Mandarin Palace (Federal Hotel)

Name

Mandarin Palace (Federal Hotel)

Food

Chinese, Buffet, Non-Halal, Dim Sum

Getting there

Located within the historical landmark of Federal Hotel right smack in the heart of the Golden Triangle (not THAT Golden Triangle). 

Public transport is easily accessible.

Carpark

There are lots of parking at the hotel itself or if you prefer, you may park at any of the malls along the famed Bukit Bintang/Imbi areas.

Service

The wait staff's average age was probably 54, I'm serious! It looked like this place was run entirely by hiring retirees. Sadly, their customer service skills need some polishing up. 

As there was tong sui (dessert soups) as part of the buffet, we had not ordered any Chinese Tea (plus any friend of mine will know I'm not a fan of Chinese Tea). But despite telling the wait staff 3x that we had not ordered any Chinese Tea, it appeared in our bill! Seriously,what kind of service is this? We told them THREE TIMES!!!

Presentation

Another sad note here. The way the food was served made it look like a cheap Pasar Malam (Night Street Market) food stall. It really didn't do anything for the whole dining experience.

The 2 types of steamed Dim Sum (Yes, that's ALL THEY HAD) were served in large steaming trays that contained dozens of pieces all stuck together - hence my Pasar Malam reference.
Ambience

Sad to say, the place had not been well maintained and diners can see how badly kept and run down the place is.

I can imagine if it was maintained better, the place would really look like the interiors of a grand Mandarin Palace like its namesake. This is because the walls are decorated by intricate Wood-Carved Chinese Art and ornate lighting & Dragon-clad columns.

Food/Taste

To be fair, the food was not THAT BAD. However, I've had lots of Dim Sum that were lots better also.

1 of the tong sui (dessert soups) - Longan Dessert was also sour. It wasn't that it wasn't fresh. It was, but it was sour! So I guess it was meant to taste like that? But then, I'm a Chinese, and I've never had sour tong sui before.

Value For Money

Sadly, I have nothing good to report. They actually resorted to false ads because what attracted me to the place was their ad which claimed to have 20 types of Dim Sum + 6 types of meats such as Char Siew, Roast Chicken, Roasted Duck, etc)

I had taken pictures of all the food available there that day and even double-counting, I couldn't find 20 types of Dim Sum nor were there 6 types of meat (there were 3 only).

Totally cheated!

Variety

There were not many different items available and at RM28++ a pop, you may say it's not expensive but I have better uses for my hard-earned $$$$.

Overall

A totally disappointing experience which made me decide to NEVER go back there again unless there is a total revamp of the restaurant or management.

Initially, I was pretty excited about coming here as I had not had Dim Sum in quite a while. Moreover, they had all the awards placed at the entrance of the restaurant, which made me all the more anxious to dig into the food. Sadly, it was the complete opposite.

Yes, it was THAT BAD! False advertising, bad service, average food, badly maintained dining hall...just too many negatives.

So guess what my verdict will be?... >(