This was my very first visit to Yan Ting at St Regis and it will probably be my last visit for a very long time to come (unless they come up with something new / special). We were there on a weekday lunch and the restaurant was not that crowded, with only a few pockets of people chowing on dim sum. Comfy sofa seats, mood lighting and impeccably polite service sets the mood for this posh Chinese restaurant. The food, however, was quite a letdown.Let's start with some of the good ones first - Pork & Century Egg Porridge 皮蛋瘦肉粥 ($9.00) was tasty and smooth, and reminded me of the kind of congee you get in Hong Kong. The pork slices were also very tender even though they were quite thick.Another dim sum item I thought was quite good was the Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($6.80). Its skin was thin and moist and the prawns were fresh and crunchy. However, considering the price that you are paying here, I could easily find a cheaper (and equally delicious) alternative.The Siew Mai 燒賣 ($6.80) however, was suprisingly bland. It's very seldom that I taste bland siew mai, but I guess they were going for the more 'health conscious' palate because this siew mai really did not have much of a taste to it. I was drawn in by the novelty of charging Xiao Long Bao by the piece and decided to order one 小笼包 ($4.00 for 1 piece) to try. Encased in an individual basket, the 小笼包 looked just like your regular sized dumpling and wasn't particularly huge or anything. Biting in, I found that it didn't have much soup inside either which was pretty disappointing. The meat tasted healthy and overall had very plain, natural flavours with hardly any seasoning.Both the Char Siew Pau 叉燒包 ($5.00) and Baked BBQ Pork Pastry 叉燒酥 ($6.00) tasted quite normal too since they both make use of the same char siew filling. The good thing about the 叉燒酥 was that the pastry was very crumbly as it should be but the steamed pau was not as fluffy as the menu pointed it out to be.Their Salted Egg Custard Bun 流沙包 ($5.80) looks really good with the slightly orange colored skin but inside, the lava was a little too diluted and light, not the rich, thick flowy salted egg yolk that you would expect for the price.Finally, we couldn't leave here without having tried their legendary Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉 ($10.00) which costs 10 bucks no matter what filling you choose - we picked the scallop one since it seemed like the most "value-for-money" option. Turns out, it wasn't as legendary as we had expected it to be. The rice roll was a bit too thick and it wasn't as silky smooth as it should be.

Overall, if you're looking for a healthier Dim Sum choice, then Yan Ting would probably be your best bet because I have personally not eaten such plain and bland dim sum before. It will probably suit the palate of the older generation but adventurous foodies like me, really get no kick out of dim sum like this.

Decked out in Tiffany blue, Royal China at Raffles Hotel exudes an aura of grandeur and elegance. I love how the restaurant has a high ceiling with large windows from the floor up, letting lots of natural light fill up the space. It was surprisingly packed for a weekday lunch; the main dining hall was full so we were ushered to the separate dining area at the back instead.This area is probably more suitable for private dining parties and dinners, and unfortunately we were seated right at the corner where it was difficult to get the attention of the staff. Although it was a pretty nice and quiet environment to enjoy a relaxing meal. =]First up we tried the Pan-fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.00) which looked fantastic but tasted pretty normal. It was good that it had some turnip slices in the 'cake' to give it a varied texture.We also ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Bun 叉燒包 ($3.60). I thought the char siew filling wasn't as tasty as the I had at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei. It still had the rice wine taste to it, but it wasn't as prominent. Good thing that the skin of the pau was oh-so-fluffy! =DAnd of course, I never miss a dim sum without ordering the usual Steamed Pork Dumpling ‘Siew Mai’ 燒賣 ($4.80) and Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($4.80). The siew mai here comes with a wolfberry on top, instead of the usual fish roe and had a slight mushroom taste to it which was rather refreshing. The skin of the Har Gow was paper thin and jammed packed with crunchy fresh prawns.While it's totally understandable that the restaurant is crowded and they are short on staff, it was disappointing that they got our order wrong. We actually ordered their specialty 3-in-1 Chee Cheong Fun (BBQ Pork, Prawn, Scallop) but only got the BBQ Pork Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉 ($4.80).

Even after we highlighted the mistake to the staff, they brought the plate of chee cheong fun back to the kitchen, only to serve us with the same thing again (*rolls eyes*). The rice roll was pretty silk and moist and the meat was good too, so it was a pity that we didn't get to try the other fillings.They also got quite a few of our other orders wrong - starting with the Deep Fried Beancurd Skin with Prawn 鮮蝦付皮卷 ($5.60) which took a very long time to be served and we even had to remind them twice. The only saving grace was that the food is good. The deep-fried beancurd skin was extra crispy and hot, and also very tasty.The Baked BBQ Pork Pastry 叉燒酥 ($4.00) was another item we ordered that they forgot to serve - really not a good idea to sit in such a desolated corner. One bite and the pastry was crumbling all over the place, which is a mark of a good 叉燒酥.This Steamed Custard Bun 流沙包 ($4.00) is quite interesting. Unlike the usual rich and flowy salted egg lava, this 流沙包 had a fruity note to it and I found out later that they had actually added mango juice to it which gives it a deep orange color. It was also more liquefied that normal. But overall, still equally yummy!To end off our very long lunch, we had some Baked Egg Tarts 蛋挞 ($4.90)! They were quite tiny and I easily finished mine in one bite. =D

Overall, although the service wasn't top-notch, I felt that the quality of food made up for it. Plus, the dim sum at Royal China was surprisingly affordable and not as expensive as I had expected. It would probably be better to make a reservation beforehand so that you don't get stuck in a corner where they will forget about you. I will definitely be back for more!

There are quite a number of Imperial Treasure restaurants around, each with their own signature dishes and specialties – Cantonese, Teochew, Steamboat and even La Mian Xiao Long Bao. We had a craving for Dim Sum one day and decided to check out Imperial Treasure Nan Bei at Ngee Ann City (Takashimaya) which is usually packed with lots of customers. Good thing we only had to wait for around 5-min before we got our table.The Pork Ribs w/ Black Bean 豉汁蒸排骨 ($3.60) is much more lean and chewy compared to others that I've had before. Although I’m not a fan of pork ribs, I thought that it was executed pretty well and would go perfectly with a bowl of steamed white rice. Dim sum is never complete without the Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($5.00). They were very generous with the prawns but I found the skin to be a little bit on the dry side. Other than that, this is probably one of the better har gow I’ve tried before.The Siew Mai 燒賣 ($4.80) was rather interesting – it had a very distinct Chinese black mushroom flavour to it unlike any other siew mai I’ve tasted. If you're like me and enjoy eating mushrooms, then I'm pretty sure you will appreciate this siew mai.Moving on to my favourite Bo Lo Bao - Baked BBQ Pork Bun 菠蘿叉烧包 ($4.20)! There is something about bo lo bao that I simply cannot resist - the crumbly baked exterior with char siew inside is a combination made in heaven. The char siew here is also very well flavoured and has that 'extra kick' (marinated in rice wine) which just makes it stand out from your regular char siew bao.Same thing goes for their Steamed BBQ Pork Bun 叉烧包 ($3.60) which uses the same marinated BBQ pork filling. I thought the skin of the bao was also fluffy enough and not too thick. A rather good char siew bao, in my opinion.The Steamed Custard Bun 流沙包 ($4.20) was quite a letdown though - I had expected it to be flowy but the salted egg custard filling turned out to be a yellow paste instead. The good thing is that it was extra rich and buttery with all the goodness of the salted egg yolk and custard.One thing about Baked Egg Tarts 蛋挞 ($3.30) is that they should have a crispy pastry and this one did not disappoint. Not only was the pastry crispy and crumbly, the egg was also very smooth and had a good balance of sweetness.And last but not least, there is a secret item that is not found on their dim sum menu - you need to order it from their Ala Carte menu instead. The legendary Red Bean Paste Souffle Egg White Ball 高力豆沙 ($4.80). This dessert is made fresh and comes piping hot but be prepared to wait a while for it as it takes time to prepare. You will be delighted with a combination of red bean paste and banana, encased in an extra light and fluffy pastry souffle. This is the perfect way to end off a good dim sum.

Here's a tip: be sure to make all your orders in one go to avoid having to wait too long in between multiple orders. The staff here generally have their hands tied and will not have the time (or patience) to attend to your every need. It's a good thing that the quality of food makes up for the lack in service. Will I be back for more? Definitely!

I was hunting around for places to eat around the Fullerton Bay area and came across this very interesting Japanese restaurant called Kinki (what a cute name, don't you think?). Kinki sits just on the edge of the Kallang River, directly overlooking the majestic Marina Bay Sands hotel. The view from the restaurant is excellent on a clear day and I'm sure the night view will be even more stunning! It was rather packed for a weekday lunch, and we were told that it was full house when we got there. However, the service staff were kind enough to make a table for us when we mentioned that we were just looking for a quick bite. But be sure to make a reservation beforehand to avoid disappointment.Their menu is rather impressive - not the usual Japanese food you would find at other restaurants. From Blue Fin Tuna, Sowrdfish, to even more exotic dishes including Foie Gras & Scallop Sushi or Sea Urchin. Prices can be quite steep, so be prepared to splurge on good food! >.<"

I ordered the Negi Toro Don ($28) which consists of chopped Ootoro and Scallions on rice. Ootoro is taken from the most tender part of the Tuna belly and is packed with loads of Omega-3 goodness - I could eat this all week and not get bored of the freshness of the tuna. The scallions also add a refreshing kick to the dish. It's a very simple dish that is all about the natural goodness of the tuna and well-flavoured sushi rice. You don't need any fancy sauces - it's just all-natural goodness that makes this dish extremely good!My Negi Toro Don also came with a Red Bean Mochi on the side. While it's not exactly the softest mochi I've tasted, it had a pretty good chewy texture to it. Plus, I'm always picky when it comes to my desserts - they shouldn't be too overly sweet and this mochi was just right. The red bean paste inside was sweet enough to compliment the mochi skin dusted with matcha powder. Having traveled all the way to there for lunch, it would be a shame if we didn't get to try their other food items. So we decided to order an Unagi & Hokkaido Scallop Maki ($28) to share. This dish didn't impress me too much as I didn't quite like the deep fried Tempura exterior of the maki.Nestled inside layers of sushi rice is a slice of unagi, scallop, snow crab and avocado - a perfect combination, except for the tempura battered exterior which kinda ruined it for me. But it was still quite an interesting dish to try and I am definitely looking forward to coming back here again for more!Another interesting thing about Kinki is its design concept - the ceiling is filled with manga art and so is their menu. You will also find feisty wall murals of their mascot (this Japanese Sumo wrestler). I also enjoyed their sushi bar counter where you can watch the chefs skillfully slice up the sashimi for you. Oh, and did I mention that they even have an alfresco rooftop bar area for you to party?

Overall, Kinki serves up super awesome authentic Japanese food in a funky artsy setting, making it a definite must-try for all Japophiles! =D

Nothing beats a nice quite lunch at Shaw Centre - there's usually not that many people in this area unless there is an Isetan members sale going on. It's been a decade since I last ate at Dome, and I recalled how I used to love their pastry and coffees. I was seated by the window and ordered myself a Beef Lasagne ($15.90).
The lasagne was not too heavy and had just the right amount of cheese. Although it get a little too salty, the salad on the side was a lifesaver and balanced out the saltiness nicely.I also ordered myself a Long Macchiato - this is probably one of the few coffee places that still serves long/short coffees. You hardly get that any more these days. The coffee here is just as good as it was 10 years ago, with a deep chocolatey flavour that warms you up.