Marigold’s Night Yum Cha – Haymarket :o/ $

Monsieur loves Yum Cha but there’s one golden rule he doesn’t get. Yum Cha and Dim Sums are good when they’re fresh and have just been made. They’re served from 10 am to 3pm and you will never see Chinese coming after 1pm. Just because the choice is no longer there, the taste is not the same, and first in get the best out of yum cha. But Monsieur doesn’t believe in such rule and has had an eye on the Marigold degustation menu for over a year now, so he’s extremely happy I finally surrender. Tonight, we’re having Yum Cha.

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Take the lift to the 4th

We take the lift to the 4th (5th is for Yum Cha… at Lunch time). We’re given, our menus, but none have the yum cha, so I ask the waiter for it. He’s a tad disappointed and tells me there’s going to be no trolley. No joke? I’d like to say… The restaurant is 3/4th empty so had there been a trolley, I would have noticed. I nod and tell him that I’d like it for my Monsieur Kweilo just facing me.

Marigold Dim Sum degustation – Green vegetables

Service is extremely prompt, and the table ends up crowded in minutes… The green vegetables come first and resemble a dish my father used to cook. They’re good, but a bit too salty.

Marigold Dim Sum degustation – Fried scallop dumpling (front) and spring roll

Next to come are the fried scallop dumpling and spring roll. I eat too quickly and feel in a bit of a rush with all the dishes coming at once. Though good, I do not think they’re outstanding and frankly prefer East Ocean’s Yum Cha. Monsieur likes the sauce.

Marigold Dim Sum degustation – Fried Rice

We’ve been given the choice between noodles and rice, and Monsieur chose rice… Which is a good thing as noodles can be very oily. The one good thing about the fried rice here, is that they didn’t add extra salt (thanks god!) Because the salt in the ‘calamari in spicy salt’ dish clearly is worth mentioning in the menu. I wonder if they’ve fished the calamari out of the dead sea. It’s too bad, because I love calamari and we don’t get to finish it because it’s way too salty…

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Calamari in Spicy Salt

The other dish that’s a tad too salty is the barbecue pork. It’s better than what we’ve had at fat buddha, but doesn’t equal Golden Century nor East Ocean (Best Char siu I’ve ever had was at East Ocean)

Marigold Dim Sum degustation – Barbecue pork

The dishes arrive randomly, so we’re not too sure what it is that we get when it comes to steamed dumplings (wish they came in the first place as I feel full just looking at the dishes that are on the table)

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation

By the time the steamed dumplings come, I have 3 of them…  and can only eat the filling for the last one.

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Siu Mai (pork dumpling front) and Har Gau (shrimp dumpling back)

The Siu Mai and Har Gau do not have a wow filling, though Monsieur prefers the Siu Mai.

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Steamed spinach dumpling left, seafood and snow pea dumpling right

I like the thin pastry around the steamed spinach dumpling and the taste is better than all the other dumplings we’ve had. As for the other dumpling on the right, I can’t pair it with the items on the menu, and my guess is they probably didn’t have a leftover of one of that one because there is absolutely no snow pea in said dumpling

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Mango Pudding

When we ask for the egg tart for dessert, here’s the surprising answer of the waiter. “No egg tart now. Only lunch” Except that the dim sum degustation menu is an evening only menu. The obvious answer is that they don’t have any left from this morning, and I rather have the truth than a made-up answer that doesn’t make any sense when you think about it… So that’s how we end up with the mango pudding…

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – The Bill

Will we come back? Probably not. I mean I prefer East Ocean on any point.

Marigold’s Dim Sum Degustation – Take the lift to the 5th

The only good thing about Marigold is the tea they serve (cleaned teapots, not an overly strong flavour)

The bill comes down to 64.5 AUD (4.5 being a small bottle of sparkling water) and I’m sure we would have had a far better Yum Cha experience elsewhere…