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2012-08-14
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After work, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, I made my way to the Intercontinental for a late dim sum lunch at Yan Toh Heen to celebrate T's birthday. I had always wanted to try the dim sum there, but had always thought it quite difficult to make a spontaneous booking. So I was quite surprised when my Miss K, told me that she had managed to make a late booking that Saturday. I think it's because of the late time too, since we booked for 2pm and last order is at 2:30pm, but I can tell you that ther
Originally we were a party of 5, and Miss and Mr. K who arrived earlier ordered servings for 5 people. However, one friend was unable to make it so we ended up having quite a lot of food left over. But anyway, once we had all sat down, we asked the waiter to bring the dim sum. It was brought out quite quickly one after another and very soon our lazy susan was crowded with steamers and dishes haha..
First was their signature Steamed Seafood Dumpling in Soup with King Crab Leg and bamboo pith (Goon Tong Gao). The dumpling was generous in size, and the filling of crab meat was tender, but quite standard in terms of taste. What I find most important in Goon Tong Gao is the broth, it must be clear and flavourful due to the concentrated quantities of ingredients used in the preparation. Here it was both, which resulted in me drinking all the soup, but leaving most of the dumpling behind.
The siu mai was generous in filling in terms of the prawn to pork ratio. Most places use more pork as a cheaper alternative, but here Yan Toh Heen places emphasis on the prawns. Quite good, as the whole package retained it's juiciness.
The har gao, looked good in appearance, with a translucent skin veiling the prawn filling. I didn't try this, but there was no negative comments made by those that tried.
The assorted mushroom and string bean dumplings arrived in disarray, but what lacked in presentation made up in taste. The skin was thin with a slight chewy texture and the bounciness of the mushrooms contrasted with the slight crunch from the string beans.
The braised abalone and seafood on crispy taro nest was another signature dish. It was surprisingly big in size, almost equivalent to a tennis ball. I didn't try the crispy taro nest as I am not a fan of fried food, but the abalone was tender enough. I must say, I think after eating one of these you wouldn't be able to eat much more afterwards.
Their honey BBQ pork is supposedly quite renowned as well. But I was very disappointed. The texture of the meat was quite tough, not tender at all, I have had much better char siu elsewhere for a fraction of the price.
The baked roast goose and taro buns looked exactly like baked BBQ pork buns. And according to my friends it tasted like it too. It also veered a little on the sweet side.
The poached tofu sheet rolls with fungus and shrimp in chicken broth was quite light. The shrimp was fresh and the tofu skin was just the right texture, not too mushy.We also ordered the wok fried turnip cake with XO sauce as well as the wok fried cheong fun with soy sauce. Both came in generous servings, but I can't comment as I was already too full to try.
Overall, I would say the steamed dumplings are quite good, but nothing was really spectacular. I must say the service was a little unprofessional though and that one of the waiters very clearly did not understand what the meaning of discretion is. Miss K had wanted to quietly ask one of the waiters behind her to bring out the cake we bought for T's birthday, but rather than that waiter responding, another waiter came from the opposite side exclaiming loudly 'Miss Miss, what can I get for you?' which made it difficult for Miss K to quietly ask for the cake, and once she did, the loud waiter verbally directs the other staff to go and get the cake, all of this said across our table. Extremely disappointing. I mean yes, we were practically the last table to leave and we understand that you need to make preparations for dinner, but operating inside a renowned hotel like the Intercontinental we would expect you to show a little more courtesy to guests.
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