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Dim sum @ Jade

September 18, 2017 in Chinese

My girlfriend was raving about the food at Jade after her dinner at the restaurant. And since I was craving for dim sum, I thought it would be a good idea for us to head over to Jade. Thankfully my girlfriend didn’t mind returning too. Keke. And for the a-la carte dim sum buffet, Jade has 2 seatings; 11am and 1.15pm. My girlfriend assisted to call and make reservation for the later slot.

Located in The Fullerton Hotel, I arrived slightly early at 12.50pm on the day of our dim sum date. But it was weird there was no staff stationed at the receptionist stand. So I stood around with what looked like fellow customers who have arrived early and was waiting for the appearance of a staff. And at 1.05pm, after the tables were set and ready for second seating, the receptionist finally appeared.

And it was only during our visit that I realised Jade underwent a recent refurbishment with pastel blue wallpaper. Apparently the colour was chosen because it reflected the lustre of jade.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Dim sum with options of:


(A) 01: Deep fried taro paste wrapped with truffles and mushrooms (above)


(B) 02: Crispy prawn dumpling (above)


(C) 03: Pan-fried seafood bean curd roll (above)

(D) 05: Pan-fried radish cake (above)

  

(E) 06: Pan-fried minced pork and chives “guo tie” (above)


(F) 07: Baked fresh milk bun (above)

(G) 08: Steamed glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf (above) – With chicken and mushrooms.

(H) 09: Steamed crystal shrimp dumpling (above)

(I) 10: Steamed pork siew mai with abalone (above)

(J) 11: Steamed pork rib with black bean sauce (above)

(K) 12: Steamed chicken feet with oyster sauce (above) – This was pretty good.


(L) 15: Steamed osmanthus char siew pau (above)

(M) 16: Steamed glutinous rice roll in sesame dressing (above)

(N) 17: Steamed superior stock xiao long pau (above)

(O) 18: Steamed dried longan sponge cake (above)


(P) 19: Steamed green tea custard bun (above)


(Q) 20: Golden ‘man tou’ stuffed with chilli crab meat (above) – Limited to one piece per diner.

2) Soup (one serving per diner) with options of:-

(A) 21: Braised bird’s nest with truffles, egg white in superior broth (above)

(B) 24: Double-boiled winter melon with bamboo mushrooms (above)

3) Appetiser with options of:

(A) 26: Crispy honey vinaigrette sliced sea bass (above)

(B) 28: Roasted five-spiced and sea salt pork belly (above, left)

(C) 31: Honey-glazed “char siew” (above, right)

(D) 29: Deep-fried prawns coated with wasabi mayonnaise (above)


(E) 34: Deep-fried century egg (above)

4) Main course with options of:

(A) 36: Stir-fried french beans with minced garlic (above)

(B) 42: Sauteed pork ribs with coffee sauce (above)

5) Congee/noodles/rice with options of:

(A) 48: Wok-fried silver needle noodles in hometown style (above)

(B) 52: Boiled congee with lobster and dried scallop (above)

6) Dessert with options of:

(A) 53: Dessert of the Day (cold) (above)

(B) 55: Oven-baked egg tart (above)

With only 1.5 hours for our a-la carte dim sum buffet, it was a little rushed as my friends and I attempted catch up while trying to eating lots at the same time. Buffet mah.

One should note that the kitchen takes some time to prepare the food after passing the staff the order slip. I reckon it’s because most tables are giving their order slips at almost the same time. So when one is trying to order more before ‘last order’, one should do it earlier for the food to come out faster and to allow oneself sufficient time to enjoy the food. That said, my friends and I weren’t too impressed with food. It was good but it didn’t wow-ed us.

One should also be careful of the units; Piece and quantity. The order slip indicated the chicken feet was by pieces. So when we first ordered, we wrote ‘2’ and were served a basket with 2 pieces. And because we really enjoyed it, we re-ordered as 4 (pieces). But we were taken aback when we were given 4 baskets. Hmm…

Would I recommend Jade? Well… Honestly, I had better dim sum experiences elsewhere.

JADE
1 Fullerton Square, The Fullerton Hotel, Ground Level, Singapore
6733 8388, Website
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Mon – Sun : 11:30 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Ambience: 7
Sat – Sun : 11:00 – 15:00 (Dim sum)
Value: 7
Mon – Sun : 18:30 – 22:30 (Dinner)
Service: 7

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Dim sum @ Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant

June 6, 2017 in Chinese

A few weeks back, a friend asked for my opinion on Wah Lok’s dim sum. And I was embarrassed to reply with “I haven’t been to Wah Lok yet.” Chinese cuisine isn’t on the top of my list lah.

But with my friend’s text, I thought it would be a good idea to have dim sum with my family. Thus, reservation was made for a Saturday morning via email. And yes, I realised too that I would opt for email whenever I can in making my reservation. Keke. While making the reservation, I was informed there was 2 seatings. And it’s no surprise that we opted for the 2nd timing of 12.45pm to 2.30pm.

On the day of our dim sum breakfast lunch, we reached 5 minutes before our 12.45pm reservation time. As the staff led us to our table, I noticed there were 2 awkwardly arranged tables near the entrance. I certainly was glad we weren’t assigned to those tables. The importance of making reservation. My family and I were led to the ballroom rotunda which had a cascading chandelier as the feature piece. With the restaurant’s high ceiling and contemporary interior, we were off to a very good start. Felt very atas. Haha. And I loved how the floor-to-ceiling windows let in an abundance of natural light.

And from the dim sum menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4), we ordered:-

1) 上海小笼包, $7.20 (above) – Steamed Shanghainese dumplings.

2) 赛螃蟹海鲜饺, $7.20 (above) – Steamed crab meat & egg white dumpling.

3) 川椒蒸凤爪, $5.40 (above) – Steamed chicken feet with chilli.


4) 肠粉, $7.50 per serving (above) – Steamed cheong fan (barbecued pork).

5) 肠粉, $7.50 per serving (above) – Steamed cheong fan (dough fritter). And yes, my brother ate before I could take a picture. Haha. But I must add that it’s amazing how the dough fritter remained crispy even though we took our time to finish this dish.


6) 黄金流沙包, $5.40 (above) – Steamed custard & egg yolk bun.


7) 鲍鱼鸡粒批, $9 (3 pieces) (above) – Baked diced abalone & chicken pie. And yes, the restaurant was flexible to allow us to order 5 pieces (since there were 5 of us). And this was really good. A must order.


8) 焗菠萝叉烧包, $5.70 (3 pieces) (above) – Baked barbecued pork bun. And when we were placing our order, we originally ordered the steamed buns. And thankfully the staff highlighted to us that there were 2 versions; Baked and steamed. Since we had a steamed bun order (dish 6), we changed our order to baked barbecued pork bun. And we were so thankful to the staff cause we could have missed out on a very good dish. This is a definite must order.

9) 鲜荷珍珠鸡, $7.20 (above) – Steamed glutinous rice wrapped with lotus leaf.


  

10) 北京片皮鸭, $40 (half) (above) – Peking duck. In addition to our dim sum items, we decided to order the Peking duck from the a-la carte menu. And for the meat, we chose to have it fried with noodles (additional $10).

11) 芝麻豆腐花, $6 (above) – Homemade soya beancurd & sesame cream.

12) 青萍果菊冻, $6 (above) – Chilled green apple jelly with chrysanthemum.

13) Chinese tea, $2 per person

My family and I were very impressed with the entire dining experience. Almost every dish had me nodding in agreement that food was great. Service was impeccable too. Our cups were never once empty. The staff even changed our plates twice! In fact, after the staff got our first go-ahead to get us a pie each (dish #7), she automatically ordered in 5s for dishes which only come in 3s. Like the 上海小笼包. So if one is ordering a dish which not everyone at the table may eat, one should let the staff know.

And it’s a bonus that we (children) didn’t have to dig deep into our wallets/purses for the wonderful lunch. Who said good food have to be expensive. Keke.

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant? I highly recommend!

WAH LOK CANTONESE RESTAURANT
76 Bras Basah Rd, Carlton Hotel, Level 2, Singapore
6311 8188, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 8
Mon – Sat : 11:30 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Ambience: 8
Sun : 11:00 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Value: 8
Mon – Sun : 18:30 – 22:30 (Dinner)
Service: 8

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Dim sum @ Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant 瑞春点心餐厅

April 14, 2017 in Chinese

Every Thursday, my colleagues and I would attend HIIT classes where the fitness instructor would come to our office and train torture us. Keke. And although we were left with almost no strength in our legs, we still got to fill our empty and very hungry stomachs. Haha!

It’s hard to believe but I haven’t been to Swee Choon yet. And since it came under my radar recently, I suggested to put back the calories (that we burnt from exercising) by eating dinner at Swee Choon. And because everyone was too tired to think, they agreed. Yeah!

But dinner didn’t happen as smoothly as we thought. It was difficult to find a parking lot! My colleague drove many rounds before deciding we should just park far and walk back to Swee Choon. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long for our table after taking a queue ticket. Having reached at a non-peak time of 9pm, the queue moved fast as dining-in customers were leaving. And knowing that Swee Choon has tables arranged in the back alley too, I was glad to be allocated a table within the unit. You know, proper lighting for me to take photographs of the food under. Keke.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4), we ordered:-

1) 蝦餃, $2.40 (above) – Har kow.

2) 燒賣, $2 (above) – Siew mai.

3) 上海小籠包, $4.50 (above) – Steamed xiao long bao.


4) 四川红油抄手, $4.50 (above) – Sichuan chilli oil wanton.


5) 奶黄流沙包, $4.20 (above) – Steamed salted egg yolk custard bun.

6) 鳳爪, $3 (above) – Chicken claw.

7) 羅卜糕, $2.40 (above) – Carrot cake.


8) 芋角, $2.20 (above) – Yam fritter.


9) 瑞春招牌面綫粿, $2.40 (above) – Swee Choon mee-suah kueh.

10) 香蕉炸蝦筒, $3 (above) – Prawn & banana fritter.


11) 鲜虾腐皮卷, $3 (above) – Beancurd prawn roll.

12) 猪腸粉, $2.20 (above) – Plain chee cheong fun.

13) 鮮蝦肠粉, $3.80 (above) – Rice roll with prawn.

14) 葡式蛋撻, $3 (above) – Portuguese egg tart.

15) 千層餅, $4.50 (above) – Layer pancake with egg & pork floss.

16) 黄金豆腐 (豬肉鬆), $4 (above) – Fried golden tofu with pork floss.

17) 肉松茄子, $4.50 (above) – Crispy egg plant with pork floss.

18) 糯米鷄, $2.50 (above) – Law mai kai.


19) 香蕉高丽豆沙, $4 (above) – Egg white puff with red bean & banana.

20) 豆沙鍋餅, $4.80 (above) – Red bean paste pancake.

For dishes like egg white puff (item 19) and pancake (item 20), one could indicate on the ordering slip if these were to be served with the savoury dishes or to be served later. Ie, 先上 or 后上.

Did we enjoy ourselves? Certainly. I always say the company is as important as the food. And my verdict on the food? I would say the dim sum at Swee Choon was good old comfort food. Not the best, but good enough for the price we were paying and satisfying enough to fill our empty stomachs with. Keke. My favourites were chili oil wanton (item 4), salted yolk custard bun (item 5), mee-suah kueh (item 9), layer pancaked with egg & floss (item 15) and egg white puff (item 19).

SWEE CHOON TIM SUM RESTAURANT 瑞春点心餐厅
191 Jalan Besar, Singapore
6225 7788, Website, Facebook
Overall: 6
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 6
Mon, Wed – Sat : 11:00 – 14:30
Ambience: 5
Sun : 10:00 – 15:00
Value: 6
Mon, Wed – Sun : 18:00 – 06:00
Service: 6
 
* Closed on Tues

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