Hua Ting Restaurant: From online to offline

April 5, 2009 | 28 Comments

We are all old friends, yet we never met before. We visit each other on the web, that is how we “meet” everybody. Food brings us together, finally we can put a face to each other instead of just a nickname. From online, to offline, our food blogger outing.

While waiting for everybody to arrive, we ordered some fried dim sum for the photo shoot first. Hua Ting have more steamed items than fried ones, and the baked chicken & mango tart ($3.90) headed the list. This reminded me of the one that I had at Man Fu Yuan, and personally I felt it was well executed with the sweet mango zing and crust pastry.

I am not a big fan of bean skin roll dim sum, but since this was one of the few fried item and came highly recommended by the staff, we ordered the Deep-fried bean skin with prawn ($4.80).

Oh, the prawns were fresh. Yes they were. But, but the skin was too thick, and well they are not the best Steamed crystal prawn dumpling ($4.80) I had before.

There was the option of doing it steamed or pan-fried. But who could resist yummy-sinful fried food? Not us, we went for the pan-fried carrot cake with canopy ($3.90). Eat first, worry later! For some unknown reasons that continue to evade us, we are seeing restaurants not frying their carrot cake enough. Is it for the health conscious customers, or is it because it requires more oil? I wished they will just pan-fried it longer.

The first page of the menu comprises of the signature dim sum Hua ting serves, yet i was surprised not to find the Steamed siew mai with shrimp roe ($4.80) there. I felt that it was better than their har gau. And oh yes, there was also mushroom mixed within the siew mai.

There was nothing to fault for their Steamed BBQ pork bun ($3.90). I love my char siew bun, and when there was no char siew sou, I comforted myself by indulging in every moment of this.

Drum roll! Announcing the award for the best performer for the meal, I presented to you, Deep fried scallop pastry with onion and garlic ($4.50). My personal favourite out of the 12 dim sum that we tried that day. The pastry literally melted in my month when I took a bite. And I simple love the strong garlic taste within.

I will also like to mention the good service of the staffs at Hua Ting. While I was causally asking my friend what was inside the Steamed dumpling in Teow Chew style ($3.90), one waitress who was walking by overheard us and stopped to explain. While she couldn’t get all the ingredients in it, she went to the kitchen to ask and came back to tell us. So here it is, peanut, turnip, mushroom & celery.

You definitely will have tried char siew and prawn cheong fun before. Okay, how about scallop? Aye most restaurants have that too! All right, I give you Steamed cheong fun with sliced fish ($4.80). Now that’s something new isn’t it? It was a unique and bold creation, and while personally I still preferred char siew and prawn for my cheong fun, you need to give credits to the chef for trying something new.

Steamed soya bean skin rolls with chicken and mushroom in superior oyster sauce ($4.20). With such a long name, I was caught dumbfound and the staff had to kindly explained a few times what it was. It was actually the same as the deep fried bean skin we had earlier. But somehow I like this one more, the oozing out of the oyster sauce when I took a bite into the bean skin rolls. Oh my.

The others wanted lo mai gai, but there was none. We just have to make do with the Steamed glutinous rice with abalone ($5.20) and it was competent enough. There was the grimicky tiny abalone on top to up the prestige level, but I felt it would be better to give me Taiwanese sausages instead of that.

Not many restaurants use duck for their dim sum, it is always like what I mentioned, char siew, prawn & scallop. Therefore we chose the Pan fried shredded duck rolls ($4.20) out of curiosity.

I never like ordering Steamed pork ribs ($3.90) in dim sum restaurants. I felt they were overpriced, and under-portion. Honestly I will rather order another steamed char siew bun to give me more meat. I’m a carnivore!

Total bill was $120 after a 15% credit card discount for 6 person. We tried 14 out of the 20 dim sum available, and that’s quite a lot! I was confused between Orchard hotel with Orchard Parade hotel, so do check your maps before going down.  In my personal opinion, the staffs at Hua Ting merit the good service tag, all of them were friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you!

The six of us ended up somewhere for more desserts after this filling dim sum lunch. When floggers come out to eat, there is always food, fun, joy and laughter. Oh yes, Dslr, snap snap! Look out for my next post on the after-desserts that we had!

Hua Ting Restaurant
442 Orchard Road
Orchard Hotel
Tel: 6739 6666

Read about my dining companion post:
Catherine @ Camemberu
Evan @ Bossacafez
Julia @ AromaCookery
Leroy @ The Hungry Cow
Nic @ Black Tie, White Lie

Category: # Restaurant Review, * Central Singapore, Dining Guide Singapore, Food Photography, Singapore Food Blog
Tags: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Comments

28 Responses to “Hua Ting Restaurant: From online to offline”

  1. Life for Beginners
    April 5th, 2009 @ 5:05 pm

    A sextet of the sexiest Singaporean floggers! ;)

    Life for Beginnerss last blog post..A Love Letter in Seven Days

  2. Evan
    April 5th, 2009 @ 5:31 pm

    pressurize me again to post by putting my blog link at the end eh? not so fast, good things are worth the wait!! you’ll see dallas, then something else, then something else and then some before this. haha.

    anyway i tot you’re always secretive about dining companions one LOL

  3. maureen
    April 5th, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

    omg dim sum dim sum! drools drools…. >.<

  4. ladyironchef
    April 5th, 2009 @ 9:30 pm

    LFB: haha! yeah plus Nic, who’s from both sides. heh. when are you coming to Singapore for yr vacation? :p

    Evan: hahahaha faster blog about dallas!

    maureen: lol! soon, the next one : D

  5. adel
    April 5th, 2009 @ 9:52 pm

    Hey,u ordered most of my all time favorite dim sum staples there! i like the restaurant’s setting and quite reasonable pricing.
    I better get a recommended list from you on the must-eat places that encompass different cuisines in S’pore before I fly back there in Sept.

  6. ladyironchef
    April 5th, 2009 @ 9:57 pm

    adel: lol! when’s the last time u came back? recommended list, http://www.ladyironchef.com/category/see-you-there/ :)

  7. June
    April 5th, 2009 @ 10:39 pm

    Maybe i should try the dim sum @ Hua Ting. By the way, which credit card offer the 15% discount? =)

    Junes last blog post..Bark Cafe

  8. Fen
    April 5th, 2009 @ 10:51 pm

    Ah, so this is all the mystery about the dim sum outing with Catherine and Evan… But reading dim sum entry is always a sad thing for me. They look so good but I can never enjoy it due to my allergy to prawns…

    Wow, must be great to catch up with people of the same interest…

    Fens last blog post..Laurent Bernard Chocolatier ~ Easter Special 2009

  9. thehungrycow
    April 6th, 2009 @ 12:46 am

    Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    thehungrycows last blog post..Ladyironchef’s Outing @ Persimmon

  10. noobcook
    April 6th, 2009 @ 1:50 pm

    I love dim sum, and somehow I always seem to crave dim sum after visiting your blog ;p

  11. EteL
    April 6th, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

    brad, dim sum’s my fav. if possible, count mi in for dim sum outings! hee!

  12. zay
    April 6th, 2009 @ 10:21 pm

    hha i love dim sum too! lols. i’m going for fullerton’s ala carte dim sum buffet this weekend! =)

  13. feizhu
    April 7th, 2009 @ 2:49 pm

    14 items is quite little for 6 people. :P I usually order in excess of 10 items for 2 pax :P

    feizhus last blog post..Porta Porta – A Pictorial

  14. Sihan
    April 7th, 2009 @ 5:58 pm

    zay: I’ve been contemplating the fullerton’s dim sum buffet too.. let me know whether’s its good.

    Brad: the spread looks wonderful! glad that you enjoyed urself with the gang!

  15. Camemberu
    April 7th, 2009 @ 6:37 pm

    Haha, you post faster than me this time. :D

    It was a very enjoyable outing. And only part 1 too! Many more to come, hopefully!

    Camemberus last blog post..My New 50mm Lens

  16. Fatkuraprincess
    April 8th, 2009 @ 12:28 am

    Tu Zi Hao Er wor! Roar~!

    Fatkuraprincesss last blog post..PY’s 23rd@Villa Bali

  17. Nic (KHKL)
    April 8th, 2009 @ 3:53 am

    hey, nice meeting you at hua ting! we were such gluttons, werent we? hahaha! i think the cheong fun was actually quite good. the soy sauce was MSG laden but still, yummy!

    see ya!

    Nic (KHKL)s last blog post..Ken Noodle House

  18. D
    April 8th, 2009 @ 8:07 am

    I know what you mean about underfried carrot cake. I like the crisp edges too.

    Ds last blog post..Potbelly Sandwich Works, Ann Arbor, MI

  19. ladyironchef
    April 8th, 2009 @ 9:05 am

    June: Citi and Amex, i think there is a few others too but not sure which one.

    Fen: yeah it is all about the company, pity you allergy to prawn! missing out on so many nice things

    thehungrycow: lol! :)

    noobcook: heh! come join us next time okay!

    etel: okay :)

    zay: ah, the 28 bucks by jade fullerton one? let me know whether if its good, i dont like buffets tho. haha

    feizhu: you all have a huge appetite then, most of us were very full after finishing, we prefer to appreciate dim sum in quality rather than quantity : )

    sihan: haha you also keen on fullerton jade eh? but buffet leh, must gorge yourself silly. lol

    Camemberu: heh! yeah there will be many more outings dont worry. All of us are always hungry! hahahahaha

    fatkuraprincess: lol! go eat! dont let yourself be hungry.

    Nic: hahaha yeah like finally meeting you after so long! Yep, the cheong fun was good but somehow the slice fish didn’t apply that much to me, i guess i prefer the traditional prawn or char siew type. see you soon! :)

    D: yeah this one was, under-fried man. Just make it more crispy! haha

  20. Fatkuraprincess
    April 8th, 2009 @ 9:50 am

    uuu!made me crave for dim sum la!
    U know anywhr got good yet super cheap dim sum.
    Yeah..dirt cheap!
    ~budget budget budget~

    Fatkuraprincesss last blog post..PY’s 23rd@Villa Bali

  21. Ee Ling
    April 8th, 2009 @ 12:18 pm

    Eh I like dim sum!!! Makes me think I’m not eating so much :I

  22. ladyironchef
    April 8th, 2009 @ 1:37 pm

    fatkuraprincess: victor kitchen dim sum is very cheap, but i dont really like it. Try Royal China :)

    ee ling: hahaha yeah because every piece so small eh? lol

  23. zay
    April 8th, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

    Sihan & LIC: yea. actually buffet gives me the impression that quality is compromised. anyway, i think fullerton shdnt be that bad ya? hmm. will keep u updated! =)

  24. ladyironchef
    April 8th, 2009 @ 6:34 pm

    zay: hahahaha yes let us know again : )

  25. adel
    October 5th, 2009 @ 11:06 pm

    I wanted to have good dim sum on Sun around Orchard. I have no clue whatsoever, then I thought of your blog gracing dim sum every so often …
    Brad, help, what do you reckong for good & reasonably priced dim sum on Orchard? I arrived at Hua Ting, is this the right decision?

  26. ladyironchef
    October 5th, 2009 @ 11:28 pm

    adel: you are back in Singapore? welcome home! when will you be staying until? My fav dim sum places are Yan Ting and Royal China, i blog on them before! hee

  27. Fusion Splicer
    August 6th, 2010 @ 7:40 pm

    I know what you mean about underfried carrot cake. I like the crisp edges too.

  28. diva
    November 20th, 2010 @ 12:11 pm

    imma eating all this up today! whooop!

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