Yan Ting @ St Regis - It's da bombzxz

(picture courtesy of thefoodchapter)

I've heard from aplenty that Yan Ting serves the best dim sum in Singapore. Now, many of you would go, "Really?"

Well, let's see..

(picture courtesy of lifestyleasia)

I was impressed by the restaurant's elegant decor, and especially love the little booths that we were ushered to. It allowed for more privacy - something that I am very grateful for; I could fully concentrate on enjoying my delectable brunch. The whole time, I felt like I was a dowager enjoying her tea-time in a contemporary palace.

In any dim sum meal, I believe that tea is a mandatory accompaniment - to wash away all that grease and aid digestion. We had Pu Erh, and instead of charging by per pot, we were charged at $4++ per person. That's $8++ in total.

Radish cake ($5++ for 3)

Their radish cake(aka carrot cake) was pan-seared to perfection. It had a nice crisp skin and was not too mushy. Studded with tiny char siew cubes within, giving it a delightful contrasting texture to the otherwise plain radish cake. Barely oily, this was tasty enough, though not mind-blowingly so.

Char siew pastry (aka char siew sou) ($5.40++ for 3)

If I could only have one item at Yan Ting, this would be it. To me, it is THE char siew sou, no two ways about it.

Before even putting it in my mouth, the tantalizing buttery fragrance from the flaky pastry already had me swooning.  It had me speechless for a few secs.

Generously filled with gooey-moist and suitably sweet BBQ pork; the smoky aroma of the latter was unmistakable.

Ambrosial, is the perfect word for it. Try it for yourselves and you'll know what I mean.

Mini egg tarts ($6++ for 2)

These little darlings are rather pricey at $3++ per pop, and imo it's not that worth it. That's not to say that it wasn't good; it hit all the right spots - it wasn't too sweet and was rather tasty, nice flaky tart with nary a sign of oiliness.

But I felt that these didn't justify its hefty price tag.

Order it only if you must have your egg tart fix.

Steamed prawn dumplings (aka har gao) ($6++ for 4)

One of the rare places that gets their har gao skin right. Nicely-translucent skin that wasn't too thin nor thick, wrapped around fresh, crunchy prawns which I thought could have been bigger :P

Definitely above mediocre standards, but not mind-blowing.

Salted egg yolk custard bun ($5++ for 3)

This has recently become my must-have during any dim sum session. I feel indefinite happiness whenever the creamy, savoury-sweet lava within erupts into my mouth.. Yum TTM.

Yan Ting's rendition of this was pretty good, though not toppling Taste Paradise as the #1 contender.

picture courtesy of a-tale-of-two-lambs

I forgot to take a picture of the molten lava.. Thankfully, there's always Google! ^^

It was molten inside and the taste of salted egg yolk was pretty rich, the skin wasn't the softest. But this was my fault for not eating it immediately. I was simply too engrossed with my char siew sou :P

Char siew bun ($5++ for 3)
This was one of the better char siew baos I've had. Even after leaving it untouched for so long, the bun remained soft and fluffy. Imagine if it were eaten warm? Mmm~
And the fillings were exactly the same as its cousin, Char siew sou. Yumz.

 Steamed pork and prawn dumplings (aka siew mai) ($6++ for 4)
I'd probably left it alone for too long, the wanton skins had already turned dry. Oops.
However, I'm glad to report that the pork and prawn used were fresh. Still a delightful siew mai! ^^

 Xiao long bao ($4++ per piece)
It's a misnomer to even call it a xiao long bao; this jumbo baby is totally a da long bao!
My, was I appalled to see that the skin had already broke before we even touched it. All the yummy soup had flowed out of the dumpling :(
Nevertheless, we tried to scoop up the remaining juices which were delicately sweet and very, very more-ish.
The pork within was of fresh quality too.

XO Cheong Fun ($10++)
This was surprising in ways that I didn't expect, surprisingly good that is. The tubes of rolled up cheong fun were rather soft in texture, and I could taste the distinct layers in my mouth.
XO sauce gave it a robust flavour; throwing in ingredients like fried eggs(could've been more of these), leek, and beansprouts made this super delectable.

This is something I'm fairly sure I'll be tempted to order again when I return.

Conclusion: Yes, they were right. Yan Ting indeed serves stellar dim sum that leaves an unforgettable impression. It will be the place that I'll recommend my friends when they ask me, "Where is the best place to go for dim sum?".

St Regis Residences Singapore

29 Tanglin Road

6506 6888

Open Weekdays 11:45am-3:30pm, 6pm-11pm