Hua Ting (华厅餐厅) - Dim Sum at the Michelin Plate Restaurant @ Orchard Hotel [Singapore] #dimsum

Hua Ting Restaurant is said to be a top Cantonese restaurant in Singapore, winning many accolades over the years, including recognition as a Michelin Plate restaurant. Expectedly, the prices were likely too hard for me to stomach but a super good friend recently brought Alex and I to Hua Ting for a dim sum lunch, as a treat for our birthdays! 

Opening hour is at 11.00 am and seeing the queue, we were glad to have made a reservation beforehand. Given the popularity, I think the restaurant would benefit from an earlier opening hour to capture the breakfast crowd. 

Befitting its fine dining status, the restaurant put in much effort to turn the place into an arena exuding that classical Chinese interior design. No wonder the dress code is smart casual. 

Not our assigned table but similar, as ours were for three persons. Purpose was to show you the type of chairs, the kind of table and the layout of the table. Looks nice except for one thing.

The plates were flat and for rough, clumsy guys like me not trained for the decorum in fine dining; it's an irritation as I absolutely can't lift up the beautiful plate, and pushing food to the edges ran the risk of them dropping off. 

Scanning the QR for the menus (classified into ala carte, set lunch, dim sum, set and desserts). It's a pain to view the menus on our teeny weeny phone screens! As our visit was to focus on dim sum, the Great Kon literally told the service staff to serve all 18 items on the dim sum menu! Yes, all 18 of them! 

A pot of Pu'er Tea in preparation to wash down all the upcoming dim sum! Mom would have loved the tea light base as it would keep her tea hot for a long time. 

When the saucer of chips were served, one for each of us, we wonder if it would be the pickles / peanuts equivalence usually charged to me. It's the first time we saw chips though and assumed they were complimentary.

Wrong! Categorized under VIP Tidbits, it's chargeable at S$2.50 per person. Why should I be billed for something that's from packs of normal yam, sweet potato and prawns chips you could easily find in a supermarket?! To be honest, I would be more than willing if it's something made in-house, like pickled vegetables. Anyway, food's coming up! 

Signature Baked Chicken Tartlets - our first item didn't look that welcoming and to be eating pastry made me a tad guilty of my carbohydrate-restricted diet.

Thank god it tasted better than its appearance! Savoury with a fruity sweetness, it didn't overwhelm the palate and was a delightful start for my brunch. 

 

Wok-Fried Turnip Cake with X.O Sauce in Hot Stone Bowl - turnip cakes are common in Singapore although our local version is the sweeter kind called carrot cake and it came in black or white.

I never quite like the turnip cake in dim sum even though this was different; texture might not be as crispy as I would have preferred but the insides were incredibly smooth and didn't stick to my teeth. Taste wise, there was that unmistaken wok-hei, with a pinch of spiciness. 

Steamed Glutinuous Rice (Conpoy, Chicken, Mushrooms) - yet again another item on the dim sum menu that I don't order as it's usually just full of rice and with not much flavour. 

This would be ranked second as I caught a whiff of that appetizing aroma when the Great Kon unwrapped the lotus leaf. Rice was soft and moist, unlike the dry and hard one often served by other restaurants. Taste was good; thanks to the pieces of dried scallop, chicken and mushrooms! 

Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns - when I need a carbohydrate to hype the dim sum meal, I would typically go for the char siew bao as taste wise; it's quite safe. This was pretty good although didn't make that much of an impression to be considered as a die-die must order. 

Steamed Rice Rolls (Scallops, Century Egg, Shrimps) - served deconstructed, the all important sauce would only be poured in when the rolls were placed right in front of you. 

I had a hard time differentiating between this and the char siew one since they both were red. I initially thought they were raw fish and was picking my brains as you don't see raw fish on any dim sum menu! Whatever the case, this was century egg, given the bits of century egg sprinkled on top.

Honestly, sometimes I just prefer dim sum served in the traditional, old school way and this steamed rice roll didn't take my breath away.

Steamed Rice Rolls (Kurobuta Pork Char Siew) - topped with dry sakura shrimps, I am still wondering why the roll was red, instead of their typical white. Was red yeast added? 

This Kurobuta pork char siew version tasted better than the century egg, with large piece of meat in every dissected roll although once again, it didn't blow me away. 

Steamed Eastern Star Garoupa Dumpling - this was one large dumpling that cost S$12.80 apiece! Plumped with fish meat, it's interesting to note that there wasn't a tinge of fishiness, whether with the smell or the taste. 

Steamed Seafood Dumplings with Vegetables - looking like mini, greener version of the steamed Eastern star garoupa dumpling, the differences were quite drastic. 

It was delicious; filled with what appeared to be a scallop-based paste, there was that refreshing vegetable sweetness I found irresistible! 

Steamed Prawn Dumplings - another common dim sum item, the har gao was not bad, just that I was expecting more surprises from this Michelin Plate restaurant.

Steamed Crystal Dumplings (Mushrooms, Sweet Corn) - I didn't know what to make out of this since the appearance was a bit strange. 

Turned out to be soft, transparent dough skin that burst with mixed flavours of sweet corn and earthy mushrooms. Being a lover of mushrooms, I gave this a big thumbs-up! 

Steamed Xiaolongbao (Crab Roe, Minced Pork) - as some of you might be aware, I generally don't quite care about the appearance of a dish as what matters eventually would still be the taste. Hence, I get a bit triggered when food is served with the unwanted purpose to make it more difficult for us to eat.

It would be less cumbersome for customers to eat if that bamboo strip was removed. Regardless of the display, the xiaolongbao seemed bigger than those I usually. Taste wise; didn't disappoint! 

 

Crispy Scallop Pastry (Wild Mushrooms) - okay, I admit this was pretty but hey, it didn't inconvenience the diners right?! For the xiaolongbao, there was that nagging fear I would break the dumpling and lose all the flavourful broth contained within. 

Sadly, the pastry skin was overly thick and I did what I would do when I was a kid; attacked only the yummy filling that had pieces of tasty scallop! 

Well, useless goose head.  

Deep Fried Beancurd Sheets (Minced Prawn, Seaweed) - looking like three badly wrapped dumplings, I didn't have much expectations honestly.

Turned out to be good; the beancurd skin was thin and fried to a crisp and the filling was chockablock full of sweet, delectable prawn meat. 

Steamed Pork Dumpling (Prawn, Scallop) - known commonly as siew mai, this was the best amongst all 18 dim sum item! Topped with scallop and sprinkled with fish roes, the meat was tender with an exquisite flavour missing from other siew mail I had before. For extra shiokness, throw the whole thing into your time and slowly savour!

Bird's Nest Dumpling (Fish Soup, Sea Whelk, Mushroom) - I would order whenever I see this soup dumpling on the dim sum menu. p.s. I have never had one that looked this milky though. 

The broth had that rich, delish flavour similar to fish maw soup and the content inside was nice! I initially though it was pieces of scallop lips but guess they were more likely sea snails. 

Whole South African Abalone Puff (Crispy Yam Pastry) - some of the dim sum items came in per piece, like this one. The yam pastry was a letdown, with an earthy filling that could have benefited with some sweetness. I love abalone although this was just alright. 

Stuffed Crispy Sesame Balls (Prime Beef, Truffle) - with fillings like peanut or bean paste, this was one dim sum I have enjoyed since my childhood days! 

However, these were unconventional as beef was the highlight and this little ball gave a burst of truffle aroma when I bit through. Skin was crispy yet it had a QQ texture right underneath that thin crispiness.

Steamed Charcoal Lava Custard Buns - an item I can't resist not ordering when I saw it on the menu; however, I am only keen in lava custard. If it is just custard buns, my resistance strengthens. 

Nectarous lava custard that was so alluring to the taste buds! 

Only issue; the charcoal dough was too thick! To the extent I decided to just suck up all the yummy lava custard and leave more than half of the dough untouched. 

Chilled Marinated 16-head South African Abalone - this wasn't from the dim sum menu even though this was one of the highlights in this meal. The abalone was plump and solid but what's most unforgettable was the chilled sauce surrounding it; lip smacking good! 

Chicken Feet - the Kon ordered, thinking this would be a small plate. Turned out to be way beyond his expectation and I was persuaded to try, despite the fact that I have never wanted to attempt as I can't imagine pitting out the knuckles! 

Well, verdict was that it's okay and not my cup of tea. My friend's review was the skin was well done and tore easily without being overly flaky. Having said that, he did mention that these were not as good as Tim Ho Wan. 

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Address 

442 Orchard Rd, 

Orchard Hotel, Level 2, 

Singapore 238879

Map

As above.

Website

https://tinyurl.com/3ukwh745

Dim Sum Menu

As above.

Pricing

Pu'er Tea - S$3.50 per person

VIP Tidbits - S$2.50 per person

Signature Baked Chicken Tartlets - S$6.90

Wok-Fried Turnip Cake, X.O Sauce in Hot Stone Bowl - S$12.00

Steamed Glutinuous Rice, Conpoy, Chicken, Mushrooms - S$8.40

Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns - S$6.00

Steamed Rice Rolls with Scallops, Century Egg, Shrimps - S$7.80

Steamed Rice Rolls with Kurobuta Pork Char Siew - S$7.80

Steamed Eastern Star Garoupa Dumpling - S$12.80

Steamed Seafood Dumplings with Vegetables - S$6.90

Steamed Prawn Dumplings - S$6.90

Steamed Crystal Dumplings (Mushrooms, Sweet Corn) - S$6.00

Steamed Xiaolongbao (Crab Roe, Minced Pork) - S$8.40

Crispy Scallop Pastry (Wild Mushrooms) - S$11.40

Deep Fried Beancurd Sheets (Minced Prawn, Seaweed) - S$6.90

Steamed Pork Dumpling (Prawn, Scallop) - S$6.90

Bird's Nest Dumpling (Fish Soup, Sea Whelk, Mushroom) - S$16.80

Whole South African Abalone Puff (Crispy Yam Pastry) - S$13.80

Stuffed Crispy Sesame Balls (Prime Beef, Truffle) 

Steamed Charcoal Lava Custard Buns - S$6.00

Chilled Marinated 16-head South African Abalone - S$16.00 

Chicken Feet - S$12.00

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

So Good Char Chan Tang - A Hong Kong Style Cafe @ 111 Somerset [Orchard, Singapore]

I love the Somerset area along Orchard Road as it's not as crowded as the main Orchard area and I can find plenty of good stores like Don Don Donki, Tokyu Hands, Decathlon (housed in the former Metro premises in Centrepoint) etc. 

However, there's one shopping mall that I often overlooked; 111 Somerset, also known as Triple One Somerset. Recently, I decided to revisit the small mall and one particular shop caught my attention. 

So Good Char Chan Tang - there's always a queue and while I am not a huge fan of Hong Kong food, except for dim sum; I thought it might still be worth a try and arranged to have a late lunch one Saturday, hoping for a shorter queue at about 3.30 pm.

There was still a line but we were third in the queue and only waited about 15 minutes to get into the nondescript cafe. One thing to note, the staff would pass you the menus while in the queue and I would suggest you look through and decide what to have as the first thing you do upon entering is to order at the self-ordering kiosk.

Hot Coffee - I should have known better and requested for milk tea, for which Hong Kong is famous for. This cup of coffee was the westernized with milk kind that was bitter and required a sachet of sugar for the sweetness. Absolutely not my cup of tea and a literal letdown as the first cup of coffee for the day.

Honey Char Siew Noodles - looking for something substantial to fill the tummy and aside from char siew, you may consider other options like roast duck, soy sauce chicken or steamed chicken.

Noodles were the rubber-band kind that clumped up although taste wise, surprisingly appetizing. Portion was a bit small as I finished up the noodles in three mouthfuls! 

Given my experience with char siew in Hong Kong, I really shouldn't have opted for char siew. It was meaty, not as fatty and the slightly charred bits failed to the taste. Why why why. 

Chee Cheong Fun with Shrimp - the prawns were fresh with a nice, tasty crunch. Only problem was the rice rolls; they were a tad thick. As a veteran of chee cheong fun, Alex shared the same sentiment.

French Toast - when it comes to French toast, my benchmark was the one in Kim Gary. It's a pity that they have closed down their only branch in Singapore and it's not like we can travel to Malaysia anytime soon due to the pandemic.

To be frank, the texture of the egg covered toasts was fine. Just that you need that sugary syrup to up the sweetness; if not, it's actually quite bland and I would likely be better off having our local style toast with kaya.

Hong Kong Style Plain Rice Roll - don't ask me why I ordered this as we already had in mind the chee cheong fun with prawns. Anyway, it was plain chee cheong fun drizzled with two types of sauce and topped with sesame seeds. 

That brown sauce was like a diluted version of peanut sauce, albeit as a whole, there was a tinge of saltiness. I found the combination refreshing; just need to cut down on the salt, and maybe add in a bit of fried shallots for extra aroma and flavour. 

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Maybe I didn't order the right thing as given what I had so far; the food didn't elicit that "so good" tagline in my brain and were more average in my opinion. From my discussion with friends who had been to their original cafe at Midview City (Sin Ming), it appeared that affordability appeared to be the common theme. 

Address

111 Somerset Rd, #01-17, 

TripleOne Somerset, 

Singapore 238164

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Hot Coffee - S$2.20

Honey Char Siew Noodles - S$6.00

Chee Cheong Fun with Shrimp - S$4.80

French Toast - S$3.50

Hong Kong Style Plain Rice Roll - S$3.00

(Inclusive of GST)

Loyang Way Big Prawn Noodle (Soup & Bee Hoon) @ Hong Lim Food Centre [Chinatown, Singapore] #honglimhawkercentre

Hong Lim Food Centre is so full of delicious food that I have yet to complete trying all their popular stalls! My sister just told me of another stall with lip-smacking good char siew but today, my focus is on a prawn mee stall that came strongly recommended.

It's none other than Loyang Way Big Prawn Noodle! As the name suggests, it originates from the far eastern side of Singapore and this is its 3rd or 4th branch. The Great Kon was full of praise for it and I patronized with a tummy of excited anticipation. 

There wasn't a queue and I got my bowl of big prawn noodle with bee hoon without much delay. Standard noodle is the yellow noodle type which I generally don't fancy unless they are in char kway teow or hokkien mee.

Aside from two decent-sized prawns sliced into half, there were slices of pork, bean sprouts, an paltry amount of pork lard and a sprinkling of deep fried shallots. Seriously, the prawns shouldn't have been sliced half as it so reduced the satisfaction when one bites through.  

As can be seen, the soup was the clear kind; flavourful with a dash of spiciness and pepperiness. However, it didn't taste much of prawns and I personally feel the soup was more pork infused. Nevertheless, the bee hoon, with its ability to soak up the broth, was palatable and a joy to have! 

I went to Hong Lim Food Centre again today and Alex ordered the same prawn noodle again. Since it was in front of me, of course I had to steal a spoonful of soup. Turned out real different from my first try two weeks ago; the flavour of prawn was way more noticeable, even the colour of the soup (above) was a bit redder. 

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Address

531A Upper Cross St, 

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, 

#01-64, Singapore 051531

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Big Prawn Noodle (Soup) - S$5.00

Champion Bolo Bun Cafe along Tanjong Pagar Road - Really the Best Bolo / Polo Buns in Singapore

S$2.80 for a polo bun?! That sentence came out from my sister's mouth when I told her of this pretty good polo bun from a brand that originated from Hong Kong. Irony is that this was the same sister keen to try a new cafe along Tanjong Pagar Road, that focuses only on polo bun and it's priced minimally SS$4.50 apiece. 

Operational only for a short period of time daily (12.00pm to 3.30pm), except for Mondays; both the line to order and wait were said to be long! But good things should be worth the wait, given the above information. 

I was lucky; no one was queuing to order although there were a quite a number of people waiting for their polo buns both inside and outside the store! After I indicated my order, it's my turn to wait for the pager to beep. 

Many were just lingering around on the first floor but with the safe distancing measures, seats were quite limited and I decided to check out the second floor, even though it was expected to be full.

Way more seating and more inline with the cafe setting, featuring a minimalism look! I was thinking why champion bolo bun is considered a cafe, given what I saw on the ground level and without any knowledge, then, of an upper floor.

There was even a third floor but from the notice on the door, it's only for invited guests. Nevertheless, I had then managed to secure a table with four seats on level two (lady luck hit me a second time) and was happy to stay put. 

After a wait of 25 minutes, I finally got my buns! As I thought I wouldn't be able to secure any table / chairs for a sit-down indulgence within the cafe, I had requested for takeaways. I would have to anyway since I got like 10 boxes of polo buns.

Offering four types of polo buns, I shall review three of them here; the classic, classic with butter and the mini of 4. You would have realized I kept writing polo buns, instead of bolo buns as the former is more commonly used to address the bun.

They looked almost the same from far but look closer and you would realize the mini of 4 was as described whereas the classic with butter would have the "butter" sticker on the plastic cover, and of course, the noticeable slab of butter in between the bun. 

Mini of 4 - shall start with this one; tore one piece off and bit half off. Oh my gosh; this was amazing and I was begging for more even though the remaining three were already in the hands / mouth of my family members.

Classic - proceeding to the next one since everyone's concentration was still with the mini. 

Once I chomped through, it's once again that soft touch of a fluffy bun tied in with an ultra delicious thick, biscuit-like crunch from the top. I don't know about you but when it comes to polo bun, the top crust is my favourite part! 

Classic with Butter - going to the third one. Well, there was an added buttery aroma and flavour although I am more than happy to stick with my classic, that cost 50 cents cheaper. 

Showing you the thickness of the crust, which can be easily separated from the bun; that's bad news for us as Jovyn only attacked the crispy part and left the bun alone! If you ask me, go for the classic for the amplified satisfaction but if you prefer to share, get the mini. 

A very important point to note: do eat the polo bun within 20 minutes! You can exchange it if it's not consumed within 20 minutes, with the original receipt. I am glad I did within minutes upon collection as the polo buns were so good; they were the best I ever had in Singapore. I did bring one home for Alex and taste, texture wise; really not as fantastic as what I had fresh out from the oven. 

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Address

92 Tanjong Pagar Road, 

Singapore 088513

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Mini of 4 - S$4.50

Classic - S$4.50

Classic with Butter - S$5.00

(Subject to GST)