Mother's Day falls on 8 May this year, and what are your plans for this special day to celebrate the most important women in your life? There is a dim sum restaurant in Singapore that I always go to (at least five times that I can remember), and this place always live up to my expectations every single time. It is located in Chinatown and Changi. Its name is super easy to remember: it is Yum Cha Restaurant 飲茶酒樓. This Mother's Day, the chefs at this wonderful restaurant are launching three new creations that will only be available from 1 to 14 May. Find out what these are - and more on Yum Cha's best staples:
I cannot be happier to be back at my most trusted dim sum restaurant for a tasting.
For a regular dim sum meal, I would simply order the 'safe classics' (har gow, siew mai, and assorted dumplings).
This time I will get to try the Mother's Day menu and some of their bests. Their new menu draws inspiration from traditional and nostalgic tastes of Chinese dishes that your mums and grandmums would remember.
Braised Pork with preserved vegetables bun 梅菜扣肉包 (SGD$2/ pc)
This humble looking bun packs a delicious punch in its fluffy-soft sweet white bun exterior, juicy and quality tender pork belly with a secret sauce made in-house. The sauce's recipe is kept a mystery, but it definitely got us talking on how well it went with the braised pork! This used to be a convenient and yummy snack to be eaten when our ancestors were fleeing the war in China before settling down in different parts of Asia.
Pan-fried Salted Fish Bun 香煎咸鱼包 (SGD$5/ 3pcs)
This was served in a rather plain manner; after slicing it in half, it still didn't look photogenic to the camera, but you know food is meant to be eaten... so we took a bite, wondering what it will taste like. We were told that this dish originates from Guangdong province, which used to be Emperor Kang Xi's favourite food. It is understandable why. The salted fish paste was savoury and appetizing, mixed with minced meat with a lot of different layers of flavours and seasoning, which had this down-to-earth feel to this dim sum choice. The taste definitely exceeds its unassuming looks by miles though it still need some tweaks. We thought that there could be more filling with more sauce, for a more substantial bite (yes we want more) - I think when they launch it officially on 1 May, there would be an increased ratio of the fillings in this bun. This is a rare dish to be found on Chinese menus, so it would be a great chance to try it here.
Almond Tarts 杏仁挞 (SGD$3.20/ 3pcs)
Here comes my favourite part of the new items... I love this so much, I really wish they can make this a selection on their permanent menu. First, these almond tarts beats any egg tart I've ever eaten. I never knew I needed this in my life until I ate it. Second, it has the soft, flaky, eggy fragance of the egg tart crust pastry that already won me over but... the most memorable thing: the sweet almond filling inside is just amazing. I swept three tarts in a row even after trying out other mains and was already quite full at that point in time. Served warm and absolutely tempting, I will definitely say that these almond tarts are a must-try.
Disclaimer: you have to love the taste of almond first.
That's all for the Mother's Day specials, but hold up - you're not going to come to Yum Cha and just try these because no way are you going off without some of their delicious main dishes. I know I am going to say I love nearly every single dish around Yum Cha, but really because I have great faith in the consistency of their dim sum. As I said - every single time I leave Yum Cha with a satisfied tummy. These are the dishes that were recommended to us as their signature and must-try:
The fish maw with shrimp paste is interesting, fantastic to start off the meal. Their prawn and mango fritters are very well-done. I love how not overly-oily it is, maintaining a light yet nicely crisp on the outside with fresh prawns and mango in there.This was served with a dish of mayonnaise, though I find that it is already perfectly delicious on its own. In general the prawns used at Yum Cha are carefully chosen, fresh and plump in all their dim sum, so I shan't repeat myself too much :) Just enjoy yourselves feasting all the seafood selections here.
The scallop pea-shoot dumplings were really pretty and indulgent. A fat juicy scallop at the top with a fresh fat prawn underneath it as I bit into it, and I knew... this will be considered one of my 'classics' that I will order next time without a doubt along with the har gows and siew mais!
The true extravagance comes in the form of this grand array of salted egg prawns which were meant to be enjoyed with its shell together with its juicy prawn meat. It took our breaths away the moment it was served! However, I didn't find this dish particularly appealing because I didn't like the idea of eating the prawn shells - it wasn't that crispy enough to do so. The salted egg part was not distinct, and separate from the prawn itself - we had to hunt for the salted egg portions from the middle of the bowl. Maybe it was outshone by the other amazing dishes... like this one:
These black pepper lotus root beef slices completely floored me, in a good way, and I totally wasn't expecting to eat such good beef in a Chinese restaurant. To be honest, I like Yum Cha, but didn't think they would house one of the best beef dishes I've ever tried. The texture has achieved the level of godliness - melt-in-your-mouth tender. I'm talking beef, yes. I was really surprised. I don't normally like beef, but this is a very different case altogether. Definitely yes, yes, and yes from me. Even my dad who was with me, agrees that this is very difficult to achieve and simply could not resist second and third servings of this. The chefs had imported this beef from Brazil - so maybe that's the magic. Highly recommended to order the beef slices!
Something that exceeded my expectations was this Pumpkin, Yam and Golden Cake which looked like it was going to break my teeth... but no! It was actually very crispy and easy to bite through. There was disproportionately more sweet yam, which was delightful to enjoy since I like yam, though I wished that the pumpkin portion could be greater. They always manage to make their fried items still light and easy on the palate; I appreciate this a lot. Again, a subjective dish depending on whether you like yam or not.
We were also introduced to the Seven spices tofu, with a very thin crispy fried exterior and home-made soy tofu and a sprinkle of a special formula conceptualized by the chefs at Yum Cha. I found that it resembled curry powder a lot even though there was no curry powder in there. Well, taste it to find out if you're curious, though I find that it was a bit strange and the 'spices powder' too salty.
The Fried vermicelli with seafood is certainly the choice for a 'carbohydrate-powered' dish, yet don't forget to indulge in yet a luxurious serving of seafood with scallops and prawns, as well as sliced fish. Given the amount of rich ingredients there are in the mix of stir-frying this vermicelli dish, you can imagine how tasty it is. I certainly enjoyed it.
We ended off the night with one of the staples of a dim sum meal, salted egg buns! They famously proclaim that every single one of their salted egg buns have 'flowed', and if it doesn't, you get to change yours for one that flows! Not a surprise that their salted egg buns are indeed up to standard, more on the salted egg side than buttery, exactly the way I liked it. Don't bet on this to be the 'best' you've tried, unlikely because that title of best salted egg buns are contested between Yan Ting and Peach Garden. Nevertheless, they do pretty good ones here as well that deserve some loving.
Mother's Day Special Menu only available from 1 - 14 May 2016 at Chinatown and Changi outlets.
Yum Cha 飲茶酒樓 - Chinatown
20 Trengganu Street (off Temple Street)
#02-01
Singapore 058479
Opening hours
Mon to Fri: 1100 - 2300
Sat, Sun & PH: 0900 - 2300
Contact
6372 1717
Yum Cha 飲茶酒樓 - Changi
6 Changi Business Park Avenue 1
#01-33
UE Bizhub East
Singapore 486017
Opening hours
Mon to Fri: 1030 - 1500; 1800 - 2100
Sat, Sun & PH: 0930 - 1500; 1800 - 2100
Contact
6789 1717
Yum Cha Express is available as a delivery and catering concept including dim sum, seafood and selected a la carte dishes.
Contact
6222 1717
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I share interesting episodes in life revolving around food, lifestyle, travel and inspirational ideas. If you would like to stay in touch, follow me on my Instagram on @amie.hu and Facebook page!