Location: Shang Palace, Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore

Author: My Husband

So… most of us have had dim sum in Vancouver, and we all seem to end up ordering the old standbys: prawn dumpling (蝦餃), meat dumpling (燒賣), steamed cakes (馬拉糕), glutinous rice rolls (糯米雞), spring rolls (春捲) and maybe even some chicken talons (鳳爪).

But what is dim sum in Asia like? Is it the same old same old, or have restaurants there moved the game on? I took the opportunity to find out when I was in Singapore several weeks ago. I had my heart set on going to Lei Garden, but alas, the improbable happened – they were closed (gasp!) for renovations! So, I looked to my foodie aunt for guidance and she took me to yum cha at the Shang Palace instead.

The entrance to the restaurant.

In most Asian Shangri-la properties, there is a Shang Palace restaurant serving fine Cantonese cuisine. Interestingly, the Vancouver Shangri-la doesn’t have a Shang Palace. I’ve also mentioned that the Shangri-la in Vancouver is way too small, and the reason I said that was because “real” Shangri-las look like this:

The Singapore Shangri-la lobby is probably big enough to swallow the first 5 floors of the Vancouver Shangri-la.

Every public space is built on a grand scale.

Anyway, I digress. Here’s a sampling of what dim sum at the Shang looks like:

Deep fried Taro croquettes. These had a nice balance between the taro shell and the meat filling. Neither one overpowered the other.

An upper-class version of fried Radish “cake”? Truth be told, I prefer the regular version.

Roast suckling pig. The crackling was super crispy, and the meat juicy and tender. A stupendously good dish.

Kurobuta Pork neck charsiu – this had a superb mouthfeel and tenderness, and my aunt commented it did not have the gaminess of Canadian pork.

Xiao Long Bao, each one served on a very thin crepe to prevent sticking. Nice, but I’m really feeling quite indifferent to Northern Chinese dishes these days.

Deep fried shirasu, or “white rice fish” in Cantonese. These are tiny sardines, fried in a seasoned batter. Each little fish is crispy and packed with flavour – this would be really good drinking food.

Deep fried tofu. Tastes like agadashi tofu w/o the broth, except with a silkier texture.

Scallop and prawn dumpling. This is another variation of siu mai wrapped with nori and topped with a slice of scallop. Nice.

Dumpling in broth. The broth was the real star – it had a rich, complex flavour.

Open abalone bun. Think half a steamed bun topped with a small slice of abalone.

Bird’s nest tart. A lot of pastry, and not enough bird’s nest. Christina will probably want to try this though…

Double-steamed milk with bird’s nest. Silky smooth texture and not too sweet. I had 1.5 servings of these.

Naturally, the old standbys are served in at the Shang as well, but it seemed a little pointless to order them. While the dim sum at the Shang wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, it was definitely made with care and very tasty. The variety on offer puts Vancouver dim sum restaurants to shame. Looks like I’ll have to bring Christina here when we’re back in Nov…