What does a genuine dim sum cart service look like outside of a major Chinatown? In West Valley City, Dim Sum Palace on Redwood Road offers a convincing answer, running traditional-style weekend dim sum in a room that seats well over a hundred people and fills up fast after 10 a.m.
The setup follows the old Hong Kong model: metal carts pushed tableside by staff who lift bamboo basket lids on request. Har gow, siu mai, turnip cake, sticky rice in lotus leaf, egg tarts, char siu bao — the rotation is broad and restocked steadily through the late morning rush. The har gow here is notably good, the rice flour wrapper thin without tearing, the shrimp filling dense and simply seasoned. The turnip cake arrives pan-fried with a proper crust. Not every item lands perfectly every time — a few of the fried items can sit longer than ideal before they reach the table — but the overall quality is well above what the strip-mall exterior suggests.
Weekday lunch is a different experience: the full cart service gives way to a shorter menu ordered from a checklist sheet. Competent, but not the same. The reason to come is Saturday or Sunday, arriving no later than 10:15 if a party wants a table without standing in a lobby that gets crowded quickly. By 11:30 the wait can stretch to 30 or 40 minutes on a busy weekend.
Pricing runs on the lower end for restaurant dim sum anywhere in the valley. A table of four eating well — four or five rounds of baskets, maybe a congee or a plate of lo mein to round things out — lands somewhere between $40 and $60 before tip, sometimes less. Each basket is typically $3 to $5 depending on what’s inside, and the staff will keep bringing items until a guest waves them off.
The room itself is large and loud on weekend mornings: extended families across multiple generations, tables of coworkers, a few solo diners nursing tea. The noise is part of it. Servers pour jasmine or pu-erh tea at the start without being asked, and refills come consistently. The space is functional rather than decorated — round tables with lazy Susans, fluorescent lighting, nothing on the walls worth studying — but the service pace during peak hours is efficient and the cart timing is generally reliable.
Dim Sum Palace sits in a commercial strip on Redwood Road in West Valley City, close to the intersection with 3500 South. Parking is straightforward and plentiful. The restaurant is cash-friendly but also takes cards. They do not take reservations for dim sum service, so early arrival is the only strategy that works.
For anyone who grew up eating this style of food, or anyone curious about it, Sunday morning at Dim Sum Palace is one of the more genuine versions of the experience available in the Salt Lake metro area. Come hungry, come early, and let the carts do the ordering.
