Wah Lok Cantonese restaurant: Dim sum lunch with the ladies

August 23, 2008 | 8 Comments

It’s a shame that Dim sum isn’t getting the recognition as its Sushi counterparts. The Japanese sushi is also like what Dim sum is to the Chinese cuisine, just that it comes in the form of vinegared rice topped with ingredients like fish, various meats and vegetables.

With the entrée of more Spanish restaurants in the local dining scene, more people knows about tapas, and degustion has always been a firm word on the menu of the French restaurants here. How about dim sum? I think that most youngsters nowadays are not really into dim sum, since it’s often seen as a more traditional meal. Youngsters want to break out of the tradition, they want something hip and cool, and dim sum is not that. Which is cooler, saying you had dim sum, or tapas at the latest Spanish restaurant and a 6 course degustion dinner?

Dim sum is akin a piece of artwork crafted by the chef, so exquisite and refine. No offence to the Sushi-fanatic, but give me dim sum over sliced raw fish anytime.

Every hotel will have their own flagship restaurants in the different cuisines, and at Carlton hotel, Wah Lok is the Cantonese representative. Our latest dim sum adventure brings us here, together with hautestuff and ladies, we had a great time over our dim sum lunch.

Wah Lok is located on the second level within the Carlton hotel, the high ceiling of the restaurant makes the interior looks very spacious. The decor is typical of most Chinese restaurants, with a very comfy and homely feel. There are two different dining halls and can easily fill up on a normal day, which shows the popularity of the restaurant.

Char siew sou ($3.80 for 3)

The Baked BBQ pork pastry or more affectionately known as char siew sou, has always been one of the dim sum that i will order first. Wah lok’s version of the char siew sou did not disappoint, within the buttery surface of the pastry were juicy and sweet char siew fillings.

The rendition at Wah lok may not be as refine as the one i had at Yan Ting, nevertheless it’s still better than most char siew sou that i had before, and all of us were tempted to order second helpings.

Baked BBQ pork buns ($3 for 2)

We asked the captain for recommendations, and he promptly suggested that we have Wah Lok’s signature, char siew bao. We were rather surprised when the char siew bao came, as it’s not the normal steamed buns which has white pillowry exterior. Instead, the baked counterpart is browned and glazed, more like bo luo bao.

The juicy and sweet char siew was enveloped within the baked pastry. Although we just had the char siew sou which is a different variety made with puff pastry, the pork buns were gone in an instant.

Baked egg tarts ($3.20 for 3)

The petite baked egg tarts had smooth and eggy fillings within the puff pastry. The miniature size of the egg tart was the only problem as we only had one each.

Steamed prawn dumplings ($5.40)

The steamed prawn dumplings, or “Har Gao” at Wah Lok had fresh, succulent prawns contained by the thinly light skin. Solid and reliable prawn dumplings.

Steamed pork dumplings ($4.60)

The steamed pork dumplings or “siew mai” is another dim sum which i would not fail to order. The siew mai was well-balanced, not too porky.

Fried XO carrot cake ($10)

The fried xo carrot cake was off-the-menu, which we requested for instead of the steamed carrot cake. However this was a mistake as the carrot cake was bland and too soft for my liking. We couldn’t taste much of the supposedly “oomph” xo sauce. At $10, we would be better off ordering two other basket of dim sum.

Steamed chicken claw with chili ($3)

I am never a fan of chicken claw, but the three ladies certainly enjoyed it, munching the chicken feet and spiting out the small bones.

Deep fried beancurd ($5.6)

We wanted one more dim sum after our first round, and the waiter recommended this. The deep fried beancurd skin with prawns was excellent. Normally, the beancurd skin would be more than the prawn, but in this instance, the succulent prawn fillings threatened to overshadow the beancurd skin.

Fried mango ice cream ($6)

We ended off our dim sum lunch with a very non-chinese dessert. Fried ice cream was a craze a few years back, and i remember there’s even a store at the Tiong Bahru market which used to sell fried ice cream. But not anymore, where can you still find fried ice cream nowadays?

The crispy exterior had a strong hint of coconut taste, while the interior was icy cold ice cream, simply magic, how did they do that?

Total bill was $63.75 for 4 person, which worked out to be around $16 per person. We didn’t really ordered a lot, so the price might seem deceptive, nevertheless, the dim sum at Wah Lok is still priced reasonably given their quality. The portions are quite petite, but it will do for our ladies. I foresee i’ll be coming back to Wah Lok quite often in the near future to try out the rest of the dim sum.

Wah Lok Cantonese restaurant
76 Bras Basah road
2F Carlton hotel
Tel: 6311 8188

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Comments

8 Responses to “Wah Lok Cantonese restaurant: Dim sum lunch with the ladies”

  1. D
    August 24th, 2008 @ 8:27 pm

    I don’t think that dimsum is not getting the recognition that it deserves per se but just that it has been around way longer than tapas and even sushi to a certain degree that Singaporeans tend to talk less about dimsum. I’m a great dimsum lover, it’s more than just the food, it’s like a whole dining experience or ritual. One of my best memories of my time back in Singapore was heading up to Red Star in Chinatown after my morning run for some tea and dimsum as early as 7am!

    Gas spend to travel there: 5sgd,
    Parking on Sundays: free!,
    Dimsum: 10sgd/pax,
    Sitting amongst an audience with a median age of 65 (75 if you include waitstaff) on an early Sunday morning: PRICELESS

    Ds last blog post..Food by the Sea, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

  2. ladyironchef
    August 24th, 2008 @ 11:46 pm

    D: Same sentiments there. Ya its not just about the food, its the complete package of eating your dim sum while appreciating the tea.

    Nice quote! : )

  3. carmen
    August 25th, 2008 @ 3:02 pm

    I beg to differ that youngsters “aren’t really into dim sum” cos… I love dim sum and so do a few of my friends. Yup.

  4. ladyironchef
    August 25th, 2008 @ 4:16 pm

    camen: i think you misunderstood what i meant. i am a “youngster” too, but i love dim sum. I know of friends who love dim sum too, but what i meant was generally speaking, i felt that dim sum is under-regarded by young people.

    Give you an example, ask them whether they want to go for a meal at some fanciful italian, french restairant, or dim sum, i think naturally most young people will choose the former.

  5. Angelrain
    August 27th, 2008 @ 12:04 am

    Then am glad that am not a youngster who hasn’t forgotten bout Dim Sum. There are surprisingly quite a few eateries in SG that serve quality dim sum that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Afterall Dim Sum is all about variety, can’t really order that much if you head down to a restaurant can u? *think money flying outta wallet* =D

  6. ladyironchef
    August 27th, 2008 @ 1:25 pm

    Angelrain: hahahah! Where? can recommend some places to our readers? Actually restaurant dim sum is all right, as in you cannot eat as much as compared to those eateries one, but you can tell the quality of the dim sum in restaurants are higher. Definitely will be full, unless got a big appetite : )

  7. Zheng Tian Wen
    March 4th, 2010 @ 2:27 pm

    Very nice! I just come back from there, their stream carrotcake is world best!

  8. ladyironchef
    March 4th, 2010 @ 8:17 pm

    tian wen: Wah lok has pretty good dim sum, but i find them to be slightly pricey. do try yanting and taste paradise, they are my fav for dim sum

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