Peach Garden II: The best custard bun

August 15, 2009 | 36 Comments

I’m pregnant. Or at least I think I should be. Otherwise how else do you explain the fact that I’m constantly craving for food? Of course guys don’t get pregnant, so there must be worms inside my stomach. Okay I shall stop here before the whole controversial topic gets out of hand.

Anyway, I’ve been craving for dim for some time now. Fine, I lie. I’m always craving for dim sum. For those of you who have read my blog long enough, you’ll know that char siew sou and egg tarts are among my favourite. But this time, I was actually pining for custard bun.

And that’s the only reason I come to Peach Garden!

I swear that they’ve the best Custard buns ($3.60 for 3) among the ones that I’ve tried so far. The molten lava custard flowed out when I poked a hole in the bun, with a hint of salted egg yoke, the yellow custards within the tiny, soft, pillowy buns were SO GOOD! We ordered two each, and still it wasn’t enough. I will come back to Peach Garden just to takeaway their custard buns.

We couldn’t resist not ordering the Peking duck, and the slight promotion at $48 instead of the usual $60 helped too. The crispy skin was thinly sliced and placed within the pancake; every piece was drenched with some sweet sauce, and served with spring onion. One piece each, definitely wasn’t enough.The second dish was done with the ee-fu noodle ($10), shreds of duck meat fried to greatly enhance the flavour of noodle, with the remaining of the duck in the form of two delicious drumsticks. Crisping on the surface with the legs and everything intact, coated golden reddish-brown. They look good. They smell good. I love duck drumsticks, they are so sinful, and good. I’ll take up the whole thing, gnaw it right to the bones and not waste every bit. Delicious.

The branch at Novena does not have their full dim sum menu during weekdays, so in the end we only manage to try about 5 dim sum. It was maddening that’s all we got when I’m craving for the whole array of dim sum. The beancurd roll ($3.60 for 3) was like the typical ones, prawn fillings wrapped within beancurd skin and seaweed.

In dim sum context, I crown Siew Mai as the king, and Har Gau ($3.90 for 3) as the queen. But somehow I do not enjoy eating Har Gau anymore, well it’s just prawn wrapped inside skin isn’t it? I know how much effort the chefs put in to make each and every piece of har gau, but still, I couldn’t help feeling that way. Give me my char siew sou, give me my egg tarts.

Honey, they shrink the phoenix prawns!

I remember the prawns on top of the Siew Mai ($3.90 for 3) here used to be much bigger. Well even though the prawns were downsized, but the siew mai was still prawny with a crunchy bite.

A messy affair. Always the case when we have the deep-fried prawns wrapped in vermicelli ($2.40 for 3).

* * *

It has been a while since my last visit to Peach Garden, and honestly I only remember them for the XO carrot cake ($10), and their wonderful custard buns. We didn’t have the carrot cake this time round since I felt that while it’s good, but it definitely didn’t justify the hefty price tag. I will come here, just for their custard buns (Nai wang bao).

Peach Garden
273 Thomson road
#01-06 Novena Gardens
Tel: 6254 3383

Comments

36 Responses to “Peach Garden II: The best custard bun”

diva
August 15th, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

ooo love dim sum. it’s a real treat after a trying week! and i love watching my mates struggle with the chopsticks. aaah. custard buns. i’m a char siew bun & dao sha bao lover speaking of dao sha, i really want some sweet adzuki now. i can eat those things by the tablespoon. x
princessMic
August 15th, 2009 @ 8:04 pm

have u tried the steam mee sua? is very yummy too. had mine @ orchid country club.
zay
August 15th, 2009 @ 10:06 pm

yea mann now i know what’s a custard bun! lolol.
Maureen
August 15th, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

HAHA! U ARE ALWAYS PREGNANT!! LOL! There are many lil’ brads hiding in ur stomach!

eh dabao custard bun for me too!
ai wei
August 15th, 2009 @ 11:42 pm

LOL, pregnant?! haha.

the photos are superb, tempting ar. i m hungry again at this midnight
Shirin Loh
August 16th, 2009 @ 12:46 am

HMMM.. hehe. i love char siew sou and cheong fan.. (: my must-have dim sum food. i didn’t know peach garden had dim sum though! i’ve only eaten there once, for dinner (had their peking duck though – fantastic stuff!)

i like how you satisfy your cravings.. i should satisfy some of my recent ones too
pam
August 16th, 2009 @ 1:18 am

awww, i’m making myself hungry right before i sleep ):
thenomadGourmand
August 16th, 2009 @ 5:32 am

ohh… my must haves dim sum items – char siew pau!
The custard buns are Canton-i is really good too!
(not sure abt the Sg branch tho..)
ladyironchef
August 16th, 2009 @ 8:03 am

diva: hahaha been eating at a lot of places since u came back? I love char siew bao too, cherry garden got kurobuta char siew bao, it’s the best! what’s da sha bao?

princessMic: You mean there’s steamed mee sua at peach garden, or u are asking in general? lol! anyway i din try steamed mee sua anywhere before, is it really that good?

zay: YES! how can anybody not know whats custard bun! nai wang baos are so delicious!

maureen: me think so too! that’s why lor. hahahaa I will go to peach garden to tabao 10 custard buns for myself

ai wei: heheh thanks. it’s good, that means i’m doing my job, to make u hungry.

Shirin: I’m so touched, S you always comment I love char siew sou too, yan ting got the best, have u tried? dont bother trying peach garden dim sum, i only went there for the custard buns. lol! for better dim sum try royal china and yan ting. Yes you shld satisfy yours too, and better still you shld tell me what’s yr current cravings so that I’ll have excuse to tag along and eat with u too.

pam: well done! it shld be a ritual coming here every night before u sleep, so that u will become hungry, and the breakfast next day will be good. hahahahah

thenomadGourmand: yes my must haves too. I tried the custard buns ar dragon-i in kl, they are quite good, so i guess it’s the same as caoton-i since they are sister restaurants
Tesia
August 16th, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

Oh! Time for me to hunt it down soon!
Jo
August 16th, 2009 @ 8:34 pm

I really really love custard buns so definitely going to make the detour to thomson plaza for these man. Good shots!
Camemberu
August 16th, 2009 @ 9:27 pm

Whuah you made the custard bun look so good! What a gorgeous shot! I don’t remember mine looking so luscious, although it tasted divine.

The har gau is actually quite good – the skin is sooo thin and translucent, yet resilient. LEET SKILLZ!
itchysole
August 16th, 2009 @ 9:52 pm

Try the custard buns at The Cathay –>

http://itchysole.blogspot.com/2008/09/steam-custard-bun.html

Very very delicious! Really to-die-for!
Shayna
August 16th, 2009 @ 11:45 pm

i want the custard buns! they were missing when i went o the peach garden at thomson plaza. ) :
ladyironchef
August 16th, 2009 @ 11:49 pm

Tesia: Just get their custard buns! I prefer the dim sum from royal china and yan ting. But Peach Garden got the best custard buns.

Jo: Yea me love custard buns too! if it doesn’t seem weird, I don’t mind going in just to order a few basket of their custard buns and nothing else. lol!

Camemberu: heh thanks! yeah it certainly taste divine yeah? the best custard buns! I’m getting a bit sick of har gau though, maybe that’s why no feelings. haha

itchysole: wow, i never really thought of going to the cathay before, okay will try their custard buns next time!

Shayna: oh? how come they were missing? I thought thomson plaza shld have the full dim sum menu!
poisonivy
August 16th, 2009 @ 11:56 pm

omg u just made my mouth water! i love custard buns! the best i’ve tried is at man fu yuan. but i was told hei1 she4 hui4 ones are even better, and now u’re telling me peach garden! pls takeaway some for me too! haha
princessMic
August 17th, 2009 @ 11:44 am

Yup. The steam mee sua is gd @ Peach garden. very special. u should go try it. not sure if it is available at Thomson one, but definitely @ Orchid country club. u can choose what ingredient u want it to go with. i tried the one with seafood. it was great!
Andrea
August 17th, 2009 @ 2:34 pm

Hey. met you at the bugis roadshow the other time.
The little india dimsum just got featured on TV, you should have a go at it. Whether its still awesome or not i have no clue. Havent binged there for quite sometime. Its been around for 40 years that i know.
vonvonx
August 17th, 2009 @ 3:58 pm

i <3 custard buns a hell lot! The pau store outside Jurong Point used to sell DELICIOUS ???s and I would tapao a couple after work at my then job ard that area. Sadly, they’ve discontinued it from the menu…. Also, I think the shop’s moved into the mall after JP was renovated.

I tried custard buns from Crystal Jade and they were a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT… cos I went in to dine with hope that those buns they offer are those ‘custard flow out’ type… but they are not… its those hard custard type…. oh man!!

I haven eaten at Peach Garden before…will do so soon!!
vonvonx
August 17th, 2009 @ 4:15 pm

???peach garden liao… bth liao… my love for ‘flowy’ custard buns… is such that u wud nvr imagine! hahahah
Life for Beginners
August 17th, 2009 @ 7:00 pm

Oh that first picture is just gastrorgasmic! The hot custard on the verge of spilling out… O how you do tempt us your readers you!
FFichiban
August 17th, 2009 @ 9:35 pm

Hahah according to your logic I am pregnant too (or have worms although I’m too fat to show an infestation haha) And looveee that custard bun shot mmmmm
Ratatouille
August 17th, 2009 @ 9:38 pm

try the signature custard buns at Bosses Vivocity for a comparison.
ladyironchef
August 17th, 2009 @ 10:21 pm

poisonivy: man fu yuan has custard buns? man, i din have it that time i was there! yeah i heard abt hei se hui ones too! have to go try soon, wait for my post on it :p

princessMic: there’s a peach garden at Orchid country club? I thought there’s only three outlets, ocbc centre, thomson and novena?

Andrea: Hello! I was wondering when will u comment! haha ah the little India one that u mentioned, i need the address!

vonvonx: we are the same kind. haha i never eat at crystal jade before :p try the ones from peach garden and let me know how u find them

LFB: cheers! I love the sound of gastronomic! heheh it’s my job to make everyone hungry, but pity the bun was too small! we had two and it wasn’t enough!

Ffichiban: Now we have two pregnant man, *gasp* haha

Rataouille: Yes sir! Heard abt it, will try their custard buns asap
pufferfizz
August 17th, 2009 @ 11:20 pm

andrea here. its along mustafa centre. a small road inbetween mustafa and the restaurant. only opens between 6pm to 10am i think and its closed on tues.

do you only take chinese? if not you should try the buffalo wings at jerry’s bbq & grill. it has a hotness meter you can choose from. level 1 for the sweethearts and level 10 for the daring.
poisonivy
August 17th, 2009 @ 11:26 pm

to LIC: oh yes they do…mfy’s version is just like peach garden’s, molten yellow custard with a hint of salted yolk in soft pillowy buns. (but i tink can be softer then it’ll be perfect) u shld try n see how it compares i hav pics of it on fb!
ladyironchef
August 18th, 2009 @ 8:32 am

pufferfizz: i think i only been to mustafa once in my life. lol! of cos i dont eat only chinese, i eat everything! Ah, jerry’s, i think i heard abt their hotness level wings before. It’s really good eh? haha

poisonivy: ok wait after i finish trying ALL the dim sum places in singapore, den i will make a trip back to MFY
princessMic
August 18th, 2009 @ 10:11 am

yup,, there is one.
princessMic
August 18th, 2009 @ 10:20 am

here u go

http://www.peachgarden.com.sg/occ.swf
ladyironchef
August 18th, 2009 @ 10:11 pm

princessMic: whoa, i never know! i keep thinking there’s only three branches! thanks for letting me know, but i think most likely i will go the thomson one if i ever go back, since i’ve been to novena and ocbc liao
princessMic
August 19th, 2009 @ 10:20 am

let me noe if there are steam mee sua there too…
Nate
August 19th, 2009 @ 3:46 pm

I’ve just recently been introduced to these custard buns and am smitten. Must try next time I’m in S’pore.

At first I thought that was bak kwa inside the pancakes, not duck skin. I think either would taste good.
ladyironchef
August 20th, 2009 @ 12:19 am

princessMic: Sure! but I’m sure it will be a long time before I go back PG again, unless I’m really really craving for custard buns :p

Nate: hahaha they are good stuff right? lol! it’s not bak kwa, but peking duck! I’m sure bak kwa will taste equally nice too, now that we mention it, how come nobody try it before? hee
amy
August 24th, 2009 @ 9:39 pm

i m craving dim sum now! and i dont think i m pregnant!lol. i crave food all the time…
Adelina
August 24th, 2009 @ 11:57 pm

You’re a true “lady iron chef”, for sure! I literally want to lick off my computer screen as soon as I saw the first shot of this post of the custard bun!

These are great photos for those of us who enjoy foods but want to stay on a skinnier side…!!!

Thanks for posting!!! Congratulations on the great news too!
ladyironchef
August 25th, 2009 @ 10:22 am

amy: How many months are you? HAHAHA we belong to the same species! High five!

adelina: Hello there! you flattered me, really. heh, keep eating first, worry abt weight later. u must drop by often and comment okay!