Chinese

When I passed by Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum to take a look at the menu, the moment I saw Deep Fired Lobster with Cheese on the menu, I stepped into the restaurant. This is possible because it was ten plus in the morning, so it was not as crowded. Usually, it is full house at noon.

One good point about this place is it also offers traditional dim sum too, but adventurous me decided to try the fancy ones instead.

Surprisingly, Steamed Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp and Scallop is my favourite. Very light and clean in taste, it is yet full of subtle flavours due to the combination of umami shrimp, briny sweet scallop and fresh green notes of the spinach.

While I can't really find any foie gras in Steamed Goose Liver Dumpling with Black Garlic, the taste of these siew mai does carry light hints of the earthy flavour of foie gras. Interesting twist.

Deep Fried Lobster Roll with Cheese is the one that got me in here. These are lighter in taste as compared to the typical Prawn Roll but good nonetheless. Super crispy too. I do wonder about where's the cheese though.

Charcoal Pastry with Salted Egg Yolk Custard & Logan has a nice, crispy, unique exterior that is good on the bite. These cute little black bowls hold custard and a logan each in their centres. Pretty yummy. But I wish there is more custard in there.

The place is like your typical Hong Kong Tea House, just think Tim Ho Wan, just more spacious here and yes, I do prefer the ambience and food here over that of Tim Ho Wan. Service is okay and efficient. The taste is lighter than that of typical Cantonese fare, focusing on subtle flavours, and I like it. I enjoy eating the dim sum here, and the plating here is surprisingly good, with a touch of class. My only gripe is it seems very little of the premium ingredients are added to the dim sum. But considering the nice price of $4.80~$5.80 only for 3 pcs of premium dim sum, I guess I can't complain too much on this department. And I saw on one wall that displays lots of awards won by the chef of this place.

This is a nice place to pop in to have some good dim sum that look pretty atas at wallet friendly price. Best of all, the food has no MSG! Cool!

After a meal at Yue Bai, I say this is one of the best Chinese restaurants I had been to. The experience here reminds me of Summer Palace, a Michelin Star restaurant that I sussed out way before the Michelin inspectors 😉 The type of dishes and the tastes are different, but both feature light yet very flavourful cuisines that have complexity in the taste profiles.

The service is so thoughtful, meticulous, friendly and professional. The staffs are also very knowledgeable on the food and the philosophy behind the restaurant. They go the extra mile to make sure patrons are well-attended to. I'm impressed. Part of the reason that I said Yue Bai reminds me of Summer Palace is because of the service.

Herbal Poached Rice, Atlantic Cod, Black Fungus is a must-try, for both the taste and the experience of seeing the collagen-rich soup sizzles in the hot stone pot as the staff pours it in. The egg fried rice is very fragrant and retains its grain shape despite soaked in the super flavourful soup imbued with herbs and shao xing wine, thus yielding a very good bite. The cod fish is smooth, full of omega oil and succulent, going very well with the rice. And the fish is very well prepared in which all bones were totally removed.
Crispy Tofu, Yuzu sauce is another must-try of Yue Bai. I'm not sure how the chef did it, but each cube of silky smooth tofu is perfectly coated with an even layer of seasoned batter. Each cube is packed with flavours, so good that I can eat it on its own. When dipped with yuzu sauce, the extra zest makes the taste even more exciting. And the texture is wow: just imagine biting into each cube and the crispy smooth exterior gently breaks up to reveal the hot smooth, soft interior of tofu.

Bamboo Clam is very interestingly served in black garlic sauce, unlike the usual light soya sauce. And it works. The sauce is actually pretty light despite the appearance, with hints of sweetness, and it goes very well with the delicate briny flavour of the clam. The friendly service staff told me that the black garlic sauce is specially concocted for the winter season since black colour food is great for health during this season. For coming spring, the sauce will be based on green colour. By the way, the bamboo clam is perfectly cooked: being springy in texture yet easy to bite.

Deep-fried Granola Prawn, Beetroots is a must-try for fans of cereal prawns or wasabi prawn balls. Yes, another must-try. The Deep-fried Granola Prawn here is the perfect marriage of the best aspects of cereal prawns and wasabi prawn balls. The homemade granola is rich in flavour and even more wholesome than the cereal, highlighting the umami of the super large, plump, succulent, fresh prawn balls. By the way, it's one whole large prawn being rolled into a ball 👍 The beetroot strands inject a refreshing element to the taste, making it even better. A very well-executed dish.

Crispy Black Sesame Mochi, Osmanthus-infused Sugar has this crispy shell that actually showcases how soft the slightly chewy mochi, aka glutinous rice dough, is. Due to the earthy aroma of sesame, the sugarless mochi actually tastes good on it own. For us who cave in to sugar cravings, just dip the mochi into brown sugar with osmanthus. The caramel taste of brown sugar and the floral aroma of osmanthus make this dessert such a delight to enjoy.
I love this place not only for the awesome food, but also for the modern, classy Chinese interior with zen influences that reflects the philosophy behind the creation of the food: modern, clean, classy and inherently Chinese.

In fact, the cuisine here fuses together elements of Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew cuisines to create dishes that are familiar yet unique at the same time.

I'm so happy to find a new gem in Yue Bai. I definitely look forward to going back, and this is one place I can bring my family to since the food here will cater to their tastes too and the great service will make the outing even more enjoyable.

Had been wanting to enjoy some old school dim sum, unlike the younger me who just wanted fancy dim sum, so I shortlisted Sum Dim Sum into my wishlist. Somehow, there is something about this place that attracts me.

One thing I like about this place is dim sum is also served for the night too, unlike lots of restaurants. And there are patrons dining there already when I arrive at 6pm. The place soon gets crowded after a while. Looks like lots of locals crave for dim sum at night too.

Deep Fried Shrimp Dumplings have lots of juicy, bouncy diced shrimps wrapped within the deep fried wanton skin. Nice! Though will be nicer if the skin is crisper.

Pandan Crispy Pork Bun has this lovely crispy biscuit dough top that tastes so good when eaten hot or warm. The light sweet aroma of pandan and the sweet savoury char siew makes it even better.

Smooth dough skin with light soya sauce, chopped spring onion and sesame seeds, ahh, this is how I like to eat rice roll, but I do wish there is more scallop meat in it.

Scallop Dumplings do fulfil my wish by having a slab of juicy scallop decked on top of each siew mai. And beneath the scallops is lots of succulent shrimp pieces 👍.

The exterior and interior has this old-school charm that feels as if one is transported to a Hong Kong dim sum house in the old times. There are some modern elements, like the blue forest painting, wooden frame, and hanging bamboo lamps, to make the place somewhat cosy. If I'm not in a hurry, I can really lounge here for quite a while and enjoy the piping hot dim sum. The service is friendly and very efficient, way better than that of lots of old school dim sum houses I had been to. This is a good place to enjoy some old-school dim sum with family, friend, partner(s) and oneself.

Thoughts: Sometimes simple old-school food can be good too.

Song Garden had always been on my wishlist since I had lunch at this place three years ago. It was with family though, so I totally had no impression of what I had eaten, except that I like the food here. So I'm finally back again to slowly savour the food and write this post about this restaurant.

Treasure Platter (Chilled) of Foie Gras, Abalone and Sake Infused Crabmeat Salad is a good showcase of what this restaurant has to offer: Classic Opulent Cantonese Food with a Twist. Sake infused Crabmeat coupled with thinly shredded pickles cucumber is very refreshing on the palates. The umami of crab and flying fish roe go very well with the tangy flavour of the cucumber. A good starter. Chilled Foie Gras is very buttery and the jelly that comes with it introduces a burst of refreshing juice that harmonises perfectly with the richness of the foie gras. The abalone is very flavourful and the texture is just right: not too chewy but firm.

My favourite got to be the Deep-fried Homemade Charcoal Tofu with Crab Meat and Hokkaido Scallop. I love this so much. So traditional yet so unique. Every bite of the soft fresh tofu is filled with awesomely sweet umami of fresh crab. Even the veggie is also soaked with the goodness of the crab. The slightly crispy exterior of the tofu gives a nice variation to the texture. The fresh, well-seared Hokkaido Scallop is plump and meaty, going well with the tofu.

Lots of dim sum items on the menu are the old-school types, and I decide to try one of the staples of dim sum repertoire: Deep-fried Prawn Dumpling with Mayonnaise. Crispy deep-fried thin dough skin wrapping around super fresh juicy, bouncy prawns get the thumbs-up from me. Now I look forward to trying the rest of their dim sum items.

Pan-fried Pork & Foie Gras Dumping is one of the more innovative dim sum items on the menu. This is like gyoza filled with meat and soup à la Xiao Long Bao. So juicy, so good. And the hint of foie gras inside gives the dumplings an extra buttery richness.

Chilled Black Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream Served in Young Coconut is pretty good. The coconut ice-cream is so creamy, so good that I do wish more ice-cream is added. A little dollop of ice-cream is so easily over-whelmed by the sea of black glutinous rice soup. Yes, I said "soup" because texture wise, the black glutinous rice part is a bit like starchy shark fin soup. Some people may like the smooth texture of black glutinous rice prepared this way, but I prefer to enjoy the wholesomeness of rice grains by chewing on them. By the way, I also dig up the young coconut flesh from the shell to enjoy. It is yummy.

The place is very posh and full of traditional Chinese influences, yet inviting and comfy at the same time. The red plush chairs make for very striking impression. I love the semi-circle red plush sofa seats at the side, it makes one feels like one is in a private space of his/her own. The service is professional and efficient. And the tall lady staff is very friendly and helpful in recommending the dishes without hard-selling. This is a very nice restaurant to enjoy traditional Cantonese food, with some twists at times.