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Arriving by Bus: #7, 14, 14E, 16,36,77,106,111,128,700,700A,857,587,590,598,NR7,131,162,162M,167,171,175,502A,518, 518A. Bus-Stop No. 01479. Bus-Stop Name; Ntuc Income Ctr. Nearest Train Station; Bugis Station
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Telephone
6338 3363
Opening Hours
Today
12:00 - 15:00
18:00 - 22:30
Mon - Sat
12:00 - 15:00
18:00 - 22:30
Sun
11:00 - 15:00
18:00 - 22:30
Public Holiday
11:00 - 15:00
Above information is for reference only. Please check details with the restaurant.
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Royal China at Raffles Hotel is one of the dim-sum places I've always wanted to go and saving it up for a good occasion. My family and I had Sunday brunch here for father's birthday and my advanced birthday celebration (two weeks apart) much to my delight. Other than being set in the gorgeous colonial Raffles Hotel, Royal China itself is dripped in a pretty shade of tiffany blue all around, and the playlist is filled with covers of original contemporary mandopop songs from Jay Chou and Voice of China. Can I say it completely fits my taste?Some visuals on what the place looks like. The dimsum came one after another soon enough, with the Phoenix claws (SGD4.80) setting a very memorable start with its juicy and fat tender meat of braised chicken feet in sweet sauce. Usually this is difficult to manage and you don't get much to eat, but Royal China has got really substantial stuff to enjoy, especially the soft cartilage and and delicious skin all around. Prawn dumplings, or hargow, (SGD5.80/ 3pc), mushroom dumplings (SGD5.60/ 3pc) and Siew mai (SGD5.80/ 3pc) were up next, dim sum staples they are, but done to a standard that pales many other dimsum establishments in comparison. For one, their siew mai spares no effort in stuffing mushrooms in there, giving it an oomph and umami taste, with the freshest pork and wonton skin used.One of the service staff of Royal China came around introducing their weekend specials - Baked buns (SGD5.60/ 3pc), delicious sweet bbq pork (char siew) buns with a crusty and flaking exterior. Some other items we had were the XO carrot cake (SGD8.80) which was a tad too spicy for comfort, though it is true that the spiciness kick made it especially appetizing. The carrot cake was soft and fragrant to have, and so was the chee cheong fun (SGD5.80) of three flavours - scallop, prawn and char siew which I found to be a more enjoyable way of presenting it as everyone can try whichever they would like. The yam puffs (SGD5.60) were topped with a juicy scallop that nobody can resist and filled with soft sweet yam filling and a crunchy exterior like the classic fried yam rings. Similar to phoenix claws, the spare ribs (SGD4.80) were quite impressive in that they were picked to have very little bone, so all you have to do is to pop the whole thing into your mouth and feel the juicy and chewy burst of succulent pork. I was nearly conceding by the time the salted egg buns (SGD4.80/ 3pcs) because I was so so so full, but I can't resist going for it and trying these golden treasures. Their salted egg is not overly buttery which I liked, and of a very rich consistency (I had to give up half of it sadly to my second brother-in-law because I was at my limit...)Not only is the great majority of the dishes served wonderful, the bill for 7 pax came up to $130 ($18.60/pax). It's not cheap either but I always imagined Royal China to be exceedingly expensive than other places. Gosh, what have I been doing elsewhere? This is about the same price as most average dimsum places out there - I usually spend an average of $15/pax, but the quality here is way better, not to mention their service and ambience. Reservations are necessary to ensure you have a table.There have been plenty of bad reviews on their service, but I don't think there's any issue with it when I went. They weren't especially warm and welcoming considering the weekend crowd, but they weren't rude either. Serving of the dishes were prompt and well-timed, and we weren't chased out even though we exceeded our allocated time slot. Tea was refilled by ourselves most of the time.A little gripe was that for a birthday celebration, they didn't present the cake with lit candles but instead took out the candles before us. As usual, Chinese restaurants are quite poor at doing 'surprise' birthday celebrations. But at least they didn't simply plop the cake with the original bag on the table like how Asia Grand did and already placed it on a platter.
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For pictures and full review, pls visit:http://madamechewy.com/2014/06/25/royal-china-dim-sum/To bid my cousin farewell prior to his 2-year study stint in France and Italy, I took him to lunch at the high-raved Royal China located at the prestigious Raffles Hotel. This is a popular restaurant; advance reservations must be made to secure a table.My first impression on the service was, well, not good. No greeting whatsoever upon entering, not even a nod of acknowledgement.Surprisingly enough, Royal China originates from London, which may explain the exquisite modern décor. Tiffany blue hues, pristine white dining furniture, tablecloths and china set the tone of sophisticated refinement.The aunty waitress who took our order was friendly, brownie point for that. However, it was difficult to catch anyone’s attention when we needed our teapot refilled and we wanted to order more items later on.Bite-sized Baked Egg Tart ($4.80) was very ordinary. Ever since I tried Yan Ting’s egg tart, I have never came across any that can match up to theirs.Steamed Prawn Dumpling ($5.60). Fresh, flavorsome and crunchy prawns encased in smooth skin. Its simplicity at its finest. Mention-worthy were the size of the pawns, I had to take a few bites to finish a single dumpling.I never pass the chance to order my favorite Liu Sa Bao/ Salted Egg Yolk Bun($4.80). Although Royal China’s rendition includes fresh mango juice (I dislike mango), it didn’t deter me from getting a basket. Molten, flowy golden liquid check! Pillowy buns check! However, this mixture of sweet and savory custard wasn’t my cup of tea.Baked BBQ Pork Puff ($4.80) was another hit. Nibble the buttery, flaky pastry to reveal generous filling of lean pork meat. We like that the BBQ sauce was not overly sweet.Other popular classics we had were Steamed Pork Dumpling with Wolfberry($5.60) and Pan-fried Bean curd roll stuffed with minced prawn ($5.60). Both were average.I’d stop short of recommending the Wok-fried Cheung fun with homemade XO sauce ($8.80). It didn’t look anything like the photo in the menu which enticed us to order it, and lacked the robust flavor one would expect from XO sauce. Taste Paradise’s rendition is wayyyy better.Century egg and lean pork congee ($6.80). Don’t you just love congee with chuck of century egg in them?I love taro and I love scallops, so ordering Deep-fried yam puff with Scallop in Portuguese Sauce ($5.60) was a no brainer. While the morsels were a tad oily, the smooth yam, crispy crust and unique Portuguese sauce made up for it. Wished the scallops were thicker though, but then again, for the price, I consider it a good deal.Having dined at Taste Paradise and Yan Ting, I wasn’t particular impressed with Royal China’s offerings and service. I mean, they were not bad, but they weren’t spectacular either. Worth a try but I’ll choose Taste Paradise or Yan Ting for my dim sum fix in a heartbeat.
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Today is the second time I am back at Royal China @ Raffles, and it is yet another family event. I figure that if I want to return to this lovely restaurant for good dimsum, I need to have a larger group so we can order more items to shareRoyal China @ Raffles offers a very comfortable and tranquil setting, soothing, even. Its light cyan / aqua colored walls are often likened to the "Tiffany & Co's Blue Box" hues, and this is a tone of luxury and calmness. The clean-cut furnishings makes the place elegant but non-pretentiousWe started with Char Siew Paus (buns with red, sweet pork meat) - soft and fluffy bun with tender pork cubes within, marinated in a sweet sauce. This is rather tasty, but I still prefer the traditional Hong Kong's Char Siew Pau that comes with the dark-colored minced pork.The next item we ordered was the Peking Duck with Caviar - they served the skin wrapped in thin sheets of crepe / popiah skins, alongside with a small plate of Caviar, spring onions and a sweet dark sauce on the side. The skin was tasty and crispy, of course, and paired with the somewhat grainy texture and sweet hints of the crepe skins, and crackling caviar, the sensation was amazing.Next, the Char Siew Shu (pastry with red sweet pork meat within) - the crusts was a fluffy shell of slightly-crunchy flour, made all the more fragrant by sesame seeds atop. The red meat bits within (char siew) was delicious and tasty, and there was not a hint of fatty meat - somethhing that we appreciated greatly.Following this, we had the Scallops Dumplings - a delicious creation of thin, sticky dumpling skin encompassing scallops and shrimps within. The seafood items were fresh and added a touch of flouncy-ness to the dumpling. The leek within (leek or spring onion or some other strong-flavored vegetable within) also gave this dumpling a distinctive flavor.For more detailed information and photos, please feel free to visit:http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2014/03/lunch-at-royal-china-raffles.html
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The quality of the dim sum, the freshness of ingredients and the ambience really impressed me. The service crews also very friendly, efficient and will take the initiative to check with the kitchen when they notice that something is taking longer than usual to serve. One of the must try is their famous salted egg yolk bun as it is slightly different from others. Their salted egg yolk bun is filled with abit of mango puree which made it much more tastier. This is really a top notch restaurant that's still relatively friendly to the wallet. Will definitely visit this place again!
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Inside Royal PlaceThe place is not exactly big, but it's comfortable. I particularly like its posh setting in its blue and white simplicity. This is definitely a contrast to the traditional dim sum Chinese restaurants which are usually in red and probably come with dragons pillars.You cant find rowdiness, as everyone dine in class here. Again, something different from traditional Chinese restaurants where waiters shout to the kitchen, or customers chatting away over the little small things, sometimes a tad too loud. It's totally a different ambiance, so it's all up to your own preference.Century Egg Porridge - $5The porridge was the typical Cantonese style, thick and rich with so much sweetness that I was suspecting that the chef had secretly threw in rock sugar! HahaAt $5, the portion was generous, probably sufficient to share with 2 or 3 pax. Well, you dun want to miss out other goodies by stuffing your stomach with porridge, rite?Barbequed Pork Puffs - $5.60 ( 4pcs)Before I go on, most of the dim sums come in 3 pcs. Then again, you can just tell the staff that you need more to suit your group size and you will be charge accordingly. In my case, we had 4 pax, so by doing so, we dun have to order 2 plates of 3 pcs. Thumbs up for the flexibility.Ok, back to the food!The puff was soft and flaky, which easily broke apart when you bite into it, revealing the sweet cha siew. Nice one!Barbequed Pork Buns - $4.80 ( 4pcs)I'm a sucker for Cha Siew Bao aka barbequed pork buns! I especially like the bao itself, which was really soft and came with a tad of sweetness. Totally a different story from the factory-made bao sold at the kopitiam. If it is not that filling, I probably finish one basket myself... heheCustard Bun - $5.60 ( 4 pcs)This is a must-order if you adore custard bun. The custard was mixed with salty egg yolk, which helped to heighten the flavour. Different from the custard bun I tried elsewhere, and definitely a pleasant surprise. Even my bf who is not a fan of custard bun, said that it was quite good.To read more and visit photos, please visit http://fun-hideout.blogspot.sg/2010/07/royal-china-raffles-hotel.html
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