Disney Dim Sum with Character: HKDL Highlight
For our meal at Crystal Lotus, we decided to go all out and ordered the entire menu of Disney dim sum, making it one of the more expensive meals we’ve ever done. This post reviews our dim sum experience at Crystal Lotus, eating every character from Mickey Mouse to Duffy the Bear, and shares a bit about this flagship HKDL restaurant.
Crystal Lotus is Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel‘s award-winning, fine-dining restaurant specializing in Chinese cuisine. The menu includes regional cuisine from Guangdong, Beijing, Sichuan, and Shanghai. It’s a stylish restaurant with beautiful decor, interesting dishes, and great service. Highly recommended for a special occasion.
Prior to our visit, we had heard about the special “Disney Dim Sum” menu set at Hong Kong Disneyland. These handmade Disney Dim Sum looked really cool, and since Crystal Lotus is known for its Dim Sum, we knew we had to try it. We stopped at Crystal Lotus to inquire about the Dim Sum menu on our first night. The hostess there told us we had to order what you wanted in advance, as the Dim Sum takes time to prepare.
We ended up getting lucky–you’re required to place your order three days in advance, and the Dim Sum is only available on weekends or public holidays. Fortunately for us, the last day of our trip was three days away, and on a weekend. They are strict on these rules, so do not expect to waltz up at the last minute and be able to order any Dim Sum. (Not sure how strict they are on the policy that the Dim Sum is only for hotel guests.)
Ordering was simple, with the hostess presenting a checklist style picture menu of what the options were. When I told her that we wanted “one order of each,” I think she thought something must have been lost in translation, so she asked me to point at which ones we wanted and indicate a number. Despite ordering literally the entire menu of Dim Sum, we weren’t required to pay in advance, which was nice.
On the day of our meal, we returned to Crystal Lotus for lunch and were seated quickly. Shortly after, servers began bringing out containers of our Dim Sum, and the fun started.
The setting of the restaurant is beautiful and befitting of the name, with chandeliers of crystal hanging from the ceilings, and glass walls outside the restaurant containing crystal lotuses.
Cast Members had a variety of different costumes (possibly depending upon their position), and their service was great.
We had no less than 4 different Cast Members attending to us during the meal, each of whom went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.
The restaurant in general is well-appointed, with beautiful carpet, fixtures, and a sense of design that fuses modern with traditional Chinese. Despite its impressive looks, it is not stuffy or unwelcoming.
Rather, the inside is light and airy, and felt fairly welcoming to families. Perhaps this is different at dinner (we noticed the mood was darker and more romantic when we stopped by at dinner).
We have had dim sum plenty of times before, but it’s difficult for us to review this Disney Dim Sum that Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel claims is “brainchild of our Executive Chef, which won the Gold with distinction award of the Dim Sum Category in Best of the Best Culinary Awards held by Hong Kong Tourism Board.”
To put it bluntly, most of our dim sum experience is on the lower tier of the spectrum, as we’ve dined primarily at low to mid-range restaurants.
With that said, we both found each of the Dim Sum dishes we ordered to be very good. The ‘craftsmanship’ on each piece of Disney Dim Sum was great and they were cute, but more impressive was the taste.
We’ve had bland and spongy Dim Sum before, but these were freshly steamed and had a great consistency. For the most part, the meat/filling to bun ratio was also very good. (In fairness, Crystal Lotus is not as good as our meals at Tim Ho Wan, the renowned and inexpensive Michelin-star restaurant in Hong Kong.)
Let’s take a look at each item we ordered:
We’ll start with the “Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Bun.” I thought using the chopsticks as “the claw” was clever here–I’m sure the waitstaff wondered why I was taking a photo with one hand and holding up a bun with another, though.
This ended up being my favorite bun, as the pork and vegetable flavor were a perfect compliment to one another. Plus, how can you go wrong with the aliens?!
The “Duffy Steamed Lotus Red Been Puree” is next.
This one was okay, but not a highlight. It also notably looks more like a generic bear, or perhaps even a Shiba Inu, than Duffy the Disney Bear.
This is “Mickey’s Seafood Glutinous Pancake.”
It was basically a crispy pancake of a seafood medley. I’m not sure which types of seafood were in it, but it was quite delicious.
Here’s the “Little Pigs Barbecue Pork Bun.”
This was right up there with the green aliens as my favorite Dim Sum. The pork was delicious and made this a nicely substantive bun.
The “Chicken Little Steamed Lotus Seed Puree Bun” is next.
This was another good but not great bun.
This is the “Mike Wazowski Shrimp Bun,” and was another great–filling–option.
This set is called “Mickey’s Double-layered Turnip and Taro Pudding.” They didn’t look or taste like any conventional idea of pudding, but these were excellent.
“Mickey’s Chilled Fresh Fruits and Mango Pudding” was brought out for dessert. The mango pudding was really good, and I suppose the fresh fruit was neat with regard to presentation, but I wish we would have ordered a more novel dessert.
That’s the downside of ordering everything on the special menu as opposed to picking and choosing, though.
If you are planning on visiting Crystal Lotus, we highly recommend the Dim Sum. It’s unnecessary to order the full menu as we did, unless you have 4 or more people in your party. (We’re pigs.)
Getting a couple of orders of Dim Sum for the table is probably sufficient, and that may also allow you to order something else from what looked to be a very impressive menu.
However, we figured that since Crystal Lotus touts the Disney Dim Sum as its signature menu items, and we were not going to be able to get cool Dim Sum like this anywhere else. The meal was not cheap, but Crystal Lotus is Hong Kong Disneyland’s flagship fine dining restaurant, so a cheap meal should not be expected. In terms of quality, we considered it on par with any Walt Disney World “Signature” restaurant, and you would easily spend at least $75/person on a meal at those restaurants…so the value wasn’t so bad here.
Overall, we highly recommend Crystal Lotus for the Disney Dim Sum special sets. The restaurant is gorgeous, the cuisine is creative and delicious, and the service is impeccable. While we didn’t sample the non-Dim Sum choices on the menu, we cannot imagine Crystal Lotus disappointing for a regular lunch or dinner, either. The unique Dim Sum is something you won’t find anywhere else, so even planning on doing a smaller meal or snack here is well worth your time.
For the rest of your planning needs, consult our Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. It covers everything you need to know for a visit to HKDL, including reviews, strategy, packing, and more. If you’re visiting the city as well, please consult our Hong Kong City Guide on TravelCaffeine, our non-Disney planning site.
Your Thoughts
Have you visited Hong Kong Disneyland? Tried the dim sum at HKDL..or the city of Hong Kong? Dined at Crystal Lotus? What do you think of the Dim Sum served at Crystal Lotus? Is it something you’d like to try? If you have fined at Crystal Lotus, what did you think of the restaurant? If you have any questions or thoughts to share, please post them in the comments. We love hearing from readers!
We really want to do the Disney Dim Sum while we are there! On the official website it states “Disney Dim Sum is available on weekends and public holidays for lunch when you order at least 24 hours in advance. Please order at least 48 hours in advance for Monday through Friday.”
Does anyone know how strict the 48 hour rule is for weekdays. We plan to do 2 days at the park, but are wondering if we can just book it the day before.
I want to clarify that your post is a bit misleading in that Disney dim sum is available to anyone who dines at Crystal Lotus. There is a separate dim sum set that is available only to hotel guests, but it’s entirely different. It’s called the Crystal Lotus Signature Dim Sum Lunch and comes with a variety of other menu items as well. That is the only thing that requires the 48 hour advance notice from what I’ve been told.
I’ve been eating at HK Disneyland Hotel for years doing the Disney dim sum a la carte, even when I’m not a hotel guest. And, while reservations are strongly encouraged, you can luck out and walk in sometimes (I just did Sunday afternoon around 2pm) but I don’t necessarily recommend relying on that.
Oh wow, I did not realize that at all. Thanks for correcting me. Perhaps there was a language barrier, but the hotel CMs sure made it sound like we were getting the exclusive set.
No prob. I def think there is a language barrier — the only reason I found out about this exclusive set is because it happened to me a year or two ago. We just wanted to make a reservation for dim sum that weekend and were staying onsite. We got there and they provided us with the menu for this exclusive set that included some Disney dim sum and we were like uhhh, we only want dim sum. I had to take the special coupons back to reservations and ensure we got a credit. If you’re ordering a la carte, it’s not the exclusive set and, the way the website describes it, it isn’t entirely clear either.
Great that I found your post! I have a question. Since we are not staying over at the hotel inside Disneyland, can we still order these dimsum characters? I want them so bad!!! 🙁
When we visited, the dim sum menu was only available for hotel guests, but I have heard of others successfully ordering them. So I think it’s worth a shot. Remember, you need to order them 2 days in advance.
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Another fantastic review that makes me really want to go to the Asian Disney Parks! They just seem to be doing things right!
On a side note I was on the Disney Magic last week and it was phenomenal it was my 2nd Disney Cruise and it was as good as the first I have 2 more scheduled over the next year! Palo was as incredible as you said it was now I cannot wait to give Remy a try in October!
The Asian parks are firing on all cylinders right now in terms of the “Disney Difference.” Hong Kong still has some ground to cover in terms of substance.
Based on the one cruise we’ve done, I feel like the Disney Cruise Line is the same way–just doing things right. Glad you liked Palo!
This may be the reason I visit HongKong Disneyland – how awesome are those Dim Sums shaped like characters!
Ever since you guys posted these pics on Instagram, I’ve been dreaming of getting out there one day and going. Have a feeling I’d have the same review of the red bean and lotus paste ones. I’ve had them here in NYC before and was never blown away. Acquired taste I’m guessing. But the taro cakes? Surprisingly one of my fave dishes each time. Thanks for the review and pics!
The taro cakes were excellent, I just didn’t quite know how to articulate that. Certainly not what I expected them to be!
Great review Tom! They didnt have the Duffy and Mike Dimsum when I was there.
Reading these reviews is like we are there with you. These dishes look/sound good, although I am not one to venture out and try different things. You might have had Crystal Palace on your mind, as that is what you called it instead of Lotus when you returned there on your day for lunch.
Thanks again, and I am glad I had met you and Sarah a couple of years back at MK 40th Anniversary.
Haha, thanks for the catch on Crystal Palace–fixed it!
With the Dim Sum, they looked like ‘normal’ food so it really wasn’t like trying anything adventurous. Plus, Dim Sum is relatively tame, anyway. 🙂
“looked like normal food”. Do you eat aliens, monsters, and Duffy bears regularly?!? 😀
In Casa del Bricker, we *always* eat foods shaped like aliens, monsters, and Duffy. I don’t know how things are in the Kevin Household, but it sounds like you’re missing out.
(What I meant is that the foods don’t look exotic. They may not look normal, but they don’t like intimidating.)
I take it that you didn’t order the “Chicken Little” feet or they didn’t have it on the menu.
You wouldn’t happen to know if “weekends” included Friday night at all do you? We’re thinking we could get this in on a Saturday before our afternoon flight but it would be pushing it.
Just found out from now until Sept 30 they’re doing the dim sum lunch every day. 🙂
Really? Where did you read that? (Great news, if so!)
http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/special/listing?name=DisneySpecialDimSumLunchSetPage
Just on their official site now. I’ve taken your advice and we’re going to spend one less day in Hong Kong Disneyland and an extra one in Tokyo Disneyland. Honestly, the MiraCosta booked out within two minutes. I thought booking ADR’s was bad but managed to wing it! Can’t wait!
Awesome, thanks for the feedback! Yeah, depending on when you’re going, MiraCosta can book up quickly. The occupancy rates are 95%+ even with those high rates, which really says something about the Japanese fans!