I need elaborate no further. It's the much anticipated dim sum lunch gathering @ Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant, Turf City. Second visit to this ulu place located on a peaceful area of Singapore. It used to be rowdy on the weekends, at least from my memories of the place. One can hardly squeeze up the buses that pass through Bukit Timah with all the gamblers rushing to make their killings(or get killed) at the racecourse. The process of event organisation is a mental torture. Especially true when you see the attendance dwindling...from 7 to 6 and finally 4: Garrie, Michelle, her bf and me.
Anyway, dim sum at 50% discount on weekdays at a high-class restaurant, what else to ask for? Look at the pictures:
The eggtarts. Michelle was demanding eggtarts on the way there, we were thinking "eggtarts for dim sum? Since when did eggtarts originate from China?". Got stumped when we saw it on the menu. Honestly, not the best, just normal, better than those at bakeries though. I still prefer the ones from Crystal Jade.
Forgot the name for this. But supposedly it's Chee Cheong Fun with either shrimp or Char Siew wrapped in it. A big serving of both. The shrimp's fresh and the char siew's good. But one complain though, the skin's too thick...i prefer mine thin and slippery so it glides in well. And once again, CJ offers better quality.
The must-have dish, Steamed Shrimp Dumpling. My favourite at every dim sum affair. Disappointing dish though, I had high expectations for it. The skin's too think and the fillings aren't juicy enough! Not fantastic but I suppose it isn't that bad either.
Deep-fried Beancurd Roll with Shrimp. Oh I quite like this, the beancurd skin's well-fried to a golden crisp and the shrimp filling inside is substantial. Finally something I don't have much complaints on.
The Char Siew bun. Common dish to occupy some space in the stomach. Sorry but i'm not a particular fanatic of buns or bread. The char siew inside was nice and juicy though. Worth a try.
Halfway through the affair. How could I have forgotten about the carrot cake on the right? This, my dears, is a very nice carrot cake. Slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with the occasion fragrant shrimp. You won't regret trying this. Give the dumpling rice with abalone a miss though, heard it's not really palatable. A plain space filler.
I remember this name. Something like Fried Banana balls with red bean paste. I wouldn't try it a second time though. Taste exactly like the Goreng Pisang from the hawker centers, no taste of the red bean paste. Money-waster, try others instead.
Here comes the finale, Deep-fried Seafood Roll. This is the best dim sum of the day. Something unique that i've never eaten before and it's fantastic. I can really just order a whole table of it for dim sum. I suppose it takes quite a bit of effort for this dish, crispy outer layer with an intricate blend of seafood paste in the middle. I tasted lots of shrimp and others which I still can't figure out. This is really good, a must-have for the affair.
For such quality and a 50% discount, the 4 of us chalked up a bill of merely 46 bucks. I suppose this is a cheap price to pay. Some hits and misses but overall worth the amount we're paying for a fulfillng meal. One thing to note, especially for people allergic to seafood, is that most of the dim sum uses prawns and I mean lots of prawns as the main ingredient. A distinct difference from many others who use the cheaper alternative that is pork. A thumbs-up for seafood lovers but no-no for seafood allergic poor souls.
Till then.
