Nobody would walk to a 'Palace' this far away

JOHN YI/YH Is this Main Garden? Is this Hunan Wok? Is this Ivy Noodle? Is this Bangkok Garden? Is this...heh, heh. He said "Bangkok."

Restaurants sometimes have to pull up stakes, leave home, and hope for a better life elsewhere. Relocated from West Haven two and a half months ago, the Chinese restaurant Royal Palace now decorates the otherwise barren Ninth Square district. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner (hours vary), Royal Palace offers the diner a solid, standard Chinese fare—cuisine not readily available in downtown New Haven. That is, unless you count Main Garden or Hunan Wok. Here's how our new neighbor measures up.

Getting there: Situated one block away from the Malaysian restaurant Bentara, Royal Palace occupies 32 Orange St. Don't worry—even though the restaurant appears to have a substantial clientele, we feel confident that you'll be able to find parking, given that nobody's on the street.

If you're not traveling there by car, it's a long walk from anywhere on campus to Royal Palace. The walk isn't pretty, either: despite the glamorous and educational New Haven Walk of Fame, it's mostly run-down buildings and New Haven real estate agencies. If you are going there on a first date, you might want to prepare some possible conversation starters to pass the time. We recommend reading up on the latest edition of Cosmo for ideas. If you're planning on going there alone, think again. The streets are neither well-lit nor populated; opt for the free delivery instead.

The prices: Royal Palace provides a wide range of Chinese foods at moderate prices. Appetizers range from $1.15 to $6.95, entrees from $5.50 to $14.95, and the restaurant offers a short wine and dessert list.

The food: In general, Royal Palace's salty food is solid and comes in large portions, but it has no distinctive quality. Little is innovative about this cuisine, and attractive presentation is definitely not their strong suit. The wonton soup arrived at our table shortly after we ordered it, and the soup was hot. We liked that. The sauce on the Moo Shu Chicken smacked of processing, but even less appetizing was the fact that the paste on the Mixed Vegetables with Hot & Spicy Sauce tasted as though it could just as easily be a Chef Boyardee special in a can.

Not all of the food resembled a Lean Cuisine Specialty: the vegetables and meat were fresh enough. Royal Palace boasts a wide variety of vegetarian options, with an extensive array of vegetables in each dish. The sliced chicken with garlic sauce had a little zing to it, but was greasier than necessary. Gillian Rattray, BK '00, commented that the "food at Royal Palace was fine, not great. It's like when you're in the dining hall and eating something, and it's not bad and not good, it's just sustenance." Still, the cuisine was definitely one step up from dining hall turkey stir-fry.

The service: It's a shame the food at Royal Palace isn't as good as the service. Our water glasses were always full, and the food arrived promptly. The free hot tea was a bonus (though a standard in Chinese restaurants), and we didn't have to pay for our sides of white rice. The servers were pleasant, and when we asked for variations on menu items, all our requests were readily granted: even the degree of spiciness at Royal Palace is adaptable to your tastes.

The decor: In contrast to the dim lighting and excited tones of its neighbor Bentara, Royal Palace doesn't exactly scream sex. The ambiance is half travel agency, half glorified diner. The green carpet, elevator music, and ecru-textured wallpaper reminded us of restaurants that have early-bird specials in Boca.

Bring all of your grandparents, bring your parents, but don't bring that special someone who is about to be dumped: the tables are too public, and the walk too far.

Conclusion: Despite the fact that we probably will not be going back to Royal Palace anytime soon, we did have a promising end to our meal. The prediction of the fortune cookie foresaw "a thrilling time in our immediate future."

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