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Dim sum @ Royal Pavilion

November 17, 2014 in Chinese

A good dim sum experience always call for another. And this time, my family was headed off to Royal Pavilion.

We came by car and one will need to enter New Market Road from Havelock Road in order to enter the hotel’s car park. However, do be careful not to miss the turn as New Market Road is one way. The entrance leading to the car park is just beside the hotel and one will need to drive past the office tower after turning in from New Market Road before reaching the hotel. My brother, who was behind the wheels, got a little disorientated due to the lack of signs leading to the car park.


Prior to our meal, I had made reservation for a Saturday afternoon (11.45am) at least 2 weeks in advance. And I will say reservation is somewhat required as the restaurant filled up quickly when the crowd started to stream in at 1pm. Better to be kiasu sometimes.

And from the dim sum menu (pages 1, 2), we ordered:-

1) “Siew mai” skewer, $5 (above) – We opted for this version over the traditional steamed ones as this was on their list of recommended dishes. While it was interesting that these were grille dafter steamed to achieve a caramelised exterior, I was not very impressed with the fillings. It tasted as though the fillings were not as compact as it should be for a nice texture to bite into.

2) Steamed chicken claw with black bean sauce, $4.60 (above)

3) Carrot cake with “lao gan tie” chili sauce, $8.80 (above) – The bean sprouts, which are not normally included in the dish, added a nice crunchy texture to the overall taste.

4) Steamed foie gras and meat “xiao long bao”, $6 (above) – This was not too bad, although one probably would not have guessed there’s foie gras within if one was to just consume it without prior knowledge.

5) Crispy shredded radish pastry roll, $4.80 (above)

6) Rice rolls with scallop filling, $6 (above) – Divide the rice rolls into halves for sharing to ensure everyone gets a bite of the thick chunk of scallops positioned in the centre. Cut into quarters and those consuming the ends won’t get to eat the scallop. This was normal as I felt the rice roll was a little thick.


7) Baked Swiss BBQ snow bun, $5.50 (3 buns) (above) – A must try. This was really good. We ordered 2 portions since we had 5 people. The filling of sweet and succulent barbecued pork went well with the bun which had a nice crisp exterior.


8) Steamed custard bun, $5 (above) – Another must try. The runny egg custard filling made of salted egg yolks literally exploded out when we bit into these small buns. So be careful not to accidentally stain one’s clothing instead.

9) Congee with sliced fish, $8 – A big bowl of porridge with chunky slices of fresh fish and thin strips of ginger. Portion was good for 2 to share.

10) Royal smoked duck, $35 (above) – From the ‘Caantonese BBQ’ section from the a-la carte menu, this was pretty good. Skin was paper crispy while meat was flavourful and tender. The duck was good enough to be consumed without the plum sauce. A whole duck costs $68.

11) Wok-fried mashed fish noodle with lobster in “lao gan die” sauce, $28 (per person) (above) – From the ‘rice & noodle’ section of a-la carte menu, this was okie. Noodle was thick and chewy which I did not personally like. But lobster was definitely fresh. We managed to share 1 portion among 4. Ha. We we really full so we were okie with just having a little of this dish.

12) Claypot rice with waxed meat and Chinese sausge, $38 (regular) (above) – From the ‘rice & noodle’ section, I was actually expecting it to be presented in a claypot. But this was okie. Rice was more on the dry and hard side.



13) Royal dessert trio, $12 (per person) (above) – I really like the pastry with red bean filling within. Really good.

14) Steamed mashed taro with pumpkin puree served in young coconut, $8.50 (above) – I love this dessert and I enjoyed their rendition with additional pumpkin puree and coconut meat (which I scarped off with my spoon).

Royal Pavilion is pretty affordable. We spent $220 for 5 people where we got to enjoy our food in a posh setting. They are also very accessible as it’s just a mere 5-8 minutes walk from Clarke Quay MRT station.

Service was great too. We were particularly impressed with one of the staff who could think quickly on her feet and joked along with us. My brother cheekily commented that the portion for the ‘Royal Dessert Trio’ was too small for us to share (although it’s to note I ordered only 1 portion cause we were really too full), and the lady replied “Small (portion) so that you can want more and come back to visit us more often” in chinese. Haha.

ROYAL PAVILION
23 Merchant Road, Park Regis, Level 1, Singapore
6818 8851, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Sun : 11:30 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Ambience: 8
Mon – Sun : 18:00 – 22:30 (Dinner)
Value: 8
Service: 8 

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Dim sum @ Swa Tow Restaurant

October 5, 2014 in Chinese

My brother was lamenting of how we have been eating all cuisines but Chinese. So, I suggested heading off to Swa Tow Restaurant. I had their dim sum last year and still can’t quite get over their liu sha bao (流沙包). So I felt it was a good place to bring my family to.


We reached at 11.30am on a Saturday afternoon to a busy restaurant. But we were promptly led to our table and were lucky to be given a table located at the side / perimeter as it meant we had easy and direct access to the push carts. For customers sitting in the centre, the staff would go up to them and say what they have in their push carts instead of being able to show the dishes.

There was no menu for the dim sum. Thus, we relied very much on the staff whom we noted were mostly aunties and uncles. Friendly aunties and uncles. =) One of the push cart aunties would unload the different types of dim sum for us to look and choose while others would say what they have.

And from the push carts, we ordered:-

1) Pork dumpling (siew mai) with fish roe, $4.50 (above) – One of the items I will always order for dim sum, and these were so good. An entire prawn was packed within the siew mai. Such a delight to bite into it!

2) Mini pork dumpling (小笼包), $4 (above) – These were average. Would have been better if there was soup within the dumpling.

3) Pumpkin dumpling, $4 (above) – A vegetarian dish, I did not really like this. I would think one needs to have an acquired taste.

4) Szechuan wanton, $4.50 (above) – Surprisingly, this was pretty good. Skin was thin and smooth. But it was the spicy-sour sauce that brought out the flavour of the meat within.

5) Chicken feet, $3.80 (above)

6) Pan-fried carrot cake, $3.50 (above)

7) Malay cake, $2 (above) – I was quite surprised when the staff presented the dish and introduced it as “Malay cake” when it looked like our fa gao (发糕). But this was light in texture and slightly sweet. Not as dense and sticky as compared to our Chinese steamed cake.


8) Molten salted egg yolk bun (金碧流沙包), $3 (above) – This was the bomb! The filling of custard and egg yolk just burst as we sunk our teeth into the bun or tore it apart. So good. My brother is now a convert! Keke.


9) Paper-wrapped chicken (纸包鸡), $4.50 (above) – Meat was tender and flavourful. The only drawback was that the dish was really oily. My brother did not like that the paper stuck to the chicken skin.


10) Porridge (fish), $4.50 (above)


11) Rice noodle roll (chee cheong fun) with pork, $3.50 (above) – Skin was thick while they could have been more generous with portion of char siew. I remembered this was better on my previous visit.


12) Deep fried pig trotter (脆皮元蹄), $28 (above) – We had wanted roast meat but were informed that they did not have that. Instead, the manager recommended their signature dish. And it was indeed not too bad. Skin was thin and crispy while meat was fork tender.

13) Man tou (馒头), $2 (above) – With a minimum order of 4 pieces, we ordered these plain Chinese steamed buns to go with the pig trotter dish. And I am glad my Mom suggested getting these because the buns were surprisingly good!

14) Herbal jelly (龟苓膏), $3.50 (above, left)

15) Mango pudding (芒果布丁) with milk, $3.50 (above, right)

16) Almond jelly with lychee, $3,50, (above)

17) Chinese tea, $1.50 per person – We were given a pot which we could ask for refill of hot water.

We were happy with our dim sum experience. Food was good and affordable. Although one may want to go for their dim sum buffet that’s available from 3pm to 5pm daily, priced at $19.80 per person on weekdays and $22.80 on weekends.

Because there’s no menu to specifically mention what’s offered for dim sum, one may want to refer to their website too. It’s mentioned some of their other signatures which we did not manage to try include gold fish dumpling, crispy durian and shrimp roll, crystal dumpling in Teochew style. But service was good. When we asked for a particular dish, the staff wouldn’t mind leaving their push cart to go to the correct push cart and take the dish which we requested.

Parking wise, there’s a big gantry carpark (behind Toa Payoh Public Library) where one can get a parking lot. And as the restaurant is located on 2nd level, one will need to climb up and down a long flight of stairs. I forgot about it and had to go slow in my high heels. Ha. But there’s a (small) lift for handicap and elderly although one will need to call the restaurant to operate the lift.

That aside, Swa Tow Restaurant also has a Teochew opera performances by actor Nick Shen and his team on Friday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

SWA TOW SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Blk 181 Toa Payoh Lorong 4, #02-602, Singapore
6363 1717, Website, Facebook
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Sun : 08:00 – 11:00 (Dim sum)
Ambience: 7
Mon – Sun : 11:00 – 15:00 (Lunch & dim sum)
Value: 7
Mon – Sun : 15:00 – 17:00 (Hi-tea buffet)
Service: 7
Mon – Sun : 18:00 – 22:30 (Dinner)

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Dim sum @ Crystal Jade Golden Palace

July 28, 2012 in Chinese

I’ve been to Crystal Jade Golden Palace for dinner (More than a year back) and recently, for dim sum. Called on a Saturday evening to make reservation for the next day at 12.15pm successfully. And over the tele-conversation, I was told that there’s a 1 hour 15 minutes time limit for each table. Well, I am not too used to having a time curfew, but it sounded fair enough.

It was a pleasant surprise when we were led into one of the rooms, instead of the main dining area, which provided us the privacy and allowed the children to run around. Ha. =) We ordered a fair bit for 7 adults from the menu, with the dishes which left an impression being (Do note that they do not serve buffet, everything is ordered a la carte):-

1) Diced barbecue pork (above) – Comprised of 9 pieces and served with a dish of mustard, the skin was thin and crispy. And together with the thin layers of fat, the meat of the pork belly was tender and juicy. A must try!

2) Steamed char siew (barbecue pork) buns – It’s always a visual treat to peel / spilt the bun into halves to see the red, juicy char siew (pork) that’s within with steam coming out. =p The sweet pork fillings went well with the soft bun. A must try! Eat it while it’s served piping hot too.

3) Liu sha (custard) buns (above) – Frankly, this is my first time trying this dish, and I regretted sharing the orange bun after taking my first bite of it.

4) Sharks fin, scallop dumpling (above) – Pardon me if I got the name of this dish wrong, but this is a gigantic dumpling served in a bowl of soup. And when the thin skin of the dumpling is broken, all the expensive ingredients spill out. I did not really fancy the dumpling skin, cause I prefer to consume the soup with all the sharks fin, etc on its own. Ha.

5) Pan fried rice rolls – This will be like our chee cheong fan, but presented differently. Instead of a mess of cut up rice rolls, we were served with a plate of rice rolls neatly stacked on one another. It was a little spicy for me (I am not spicy trained) though I have to acknowledge that the rice roll was smooth amidst the spiciness. And it was commented by the rest that it had the ‘old school’ taste.

6) Glutinous dumpling with grated nuts & sesame, $1.30 per piece (minimum 4 pieces) (above) – The presentation was nothing to shout about, being 8 nut-covered balls served cramp-ly on a white plate (We went with the dry version). But it was simply delightful to bite into the skin of the glutinous dumpling, which was chewy with the right thickness, and have the sesame burst out. A must try!

I will definitely recommend this place for dim sum. For the price of almost $200 for 7, I would not say it’s expensive, especially with the quality of dim sum served. But come in a group though. What’s dim sum if we are going to order only 2 to 3 dishes? Imagine the price tag if you’re ordering 5 dishes for 2. And even though we were in the room, we were always promptly attended to by the staff.

As for the time curfew? We managed to finish our last dish by 1.25pm, with us settling the bill at 1.30pm. But apparently, I guess the 1 hour 15 minutes includes for the staff to clean up the place and have it ready for the next time slot. Cause when we were leaving our room at 1.30pm, I overheard the staff whispering harshly into her ear piece “They are standing up already. They are standing up already.” Definitely a pat on the back for this staff who managed the situation well and chose not to spoil our dining experience by chasing us out at that very last minute of 1.30pm.

CRYSTAL JADE GOLDEN PALACE RESTAURANT
290 Orchard Road, The Paragon, #05-22, Singapore
6734 6866, Website
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Sun : 10:00 – 23:00
Ambience: 7
Value: 7
Service: 8

UPDATE 1: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2016.
UPDATE 2: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.
UPDATE 3: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.

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