Quick Review of To Go Department of Imperial Palace Restaurant

Most people know Imperial Palace (818 Washington St) by its former name, Golden Dragon, mainly by the tragedy that happened there back in the 1970s. It does offer dimsum, but what most people fail to notice is just uphill from the main door, it actually has a "to go" door where you can buy steamed buns, and even lunch boxes. Unfortunately, neither turned out to be a good deal.

Updated August 6th, 2025: I tried going back in for a re-eval. Got a lunch box to go, and an order of siu-mai. She charged me $15! It should have been more like $12! And the food is bland and tasteless. (Pumpkin, tofu, and string beans). Even the siu-mai tastes a bit funny. I would NOT recommend this place ever again. ENDUPDATE

When you go in, there are the buns in the window on the left, and a steam table on the right. I was there at 1:30PM, and there are only 4-5 items to choose from on the steam table. For comparison, Yummy Dim Sum (profiled elsewhere) has at least 10, plus chow mein and chow fun (stir-fried rice noodles) to choose from in addition to rice. AND the rice box here costs $8.

For funsies, I also ordered a large bao (steamed). While still soft, the bao clearly has been sitting a while, as the outside has dried slightly. And there really wasn't much flavor. It doesn't feel it had as much filling as the $2.20 bao I bought from Wong Lee Bakery (on Jackson, profiled elsewhere). And there is a LOT of bao, and not much of the filling.

Overall I have to rate this place 2 out of 5. If you are looking for cheap eats in Chinatown, you probably would NOT want to eat here.

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The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

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