It’d been probably three weeks since my last visit to a Dim Sum house when Jane suggested the idea of going on the weekend. I was certainly not going to turn this offer down, not only getting a chance to try the local interpretation, but also an opportunity to check out Calgary’s Chinatown at one of its busiest days.

Like most places in Calgary, arriving early has its benefits and when we sat down at Regency Palace by 11am, we certainly weren’t the first, yet it filled up almost shortly after.

I was overjoyed at seeing the plenty of carts zooming around, and much like a number of these I’d been to in New York, they complemented the carts with a number of standing stations just in case you couldn’t wait for right cart or wanted some noodles or vegetables.

Overall portion size, at least, compared to London’s dim sum is impressive with classic har gau or siu mai almost appearing twice as large. Unfortunately I’d have to say they didn’t have as much flavour or quality. The prawn dishes just didn’t seem to have really fresh flavours, the BBQ pork in the Cha Xiu Bao’s seemingly stringy without the sticky sweetness I’m used to.

Certainly Regency Palace offered much more variety and with a group of ten of us, I still really enjoyed my time there. I’d be keen to see what all the other places are like compared to this one, and though I’ve had better, I’m also certainly had much worse before.

The hot pot was okay, the buffet was far too understocked for a Saturday night. Dim sum will be the next trip, but I’m not holding my breath for stellar performances…