After the last dissatisfying ala carte dinner at Peach Blossoms, I was careful about returning...what more so soon! The improved dimsum menu was too good to resist, at one glance so I caved into temptation and within two weeks, I was back to pig out. These melodious birds are a joy to listen to, something that sets Marina Mandarin apart.
The chinese entrance I like.
You can tell how much I love the embroidered napkins by now.
Still the same appetizers.
Mustard and Wasabi mayo dips.
Vinegar and mayo...don't ask me why we requested for so many types of dips.
Prices..
Soup of the Day
Watercress soup was tummy warming but overladen with MSG.
Fried Crispy Fish Skin with Seven Spice Salt*
Like pork cackling, the skin's wafer thin and well spiced..so much so you don't feel guilty eating this cracker!
Century Egg with Young Ginger*
Albeit a very common dish, I somehow always order it if it's available.
Marinated "Tianjing" Crystal Noodles with Shredded Chicken in Hot Spicy Dressing*
In short, cold kuay teow tossed in vinegar and sprinkled with shredded chicken. It's good as an appetizer but I left it at a few mouths.
Fried Crispy Eggplant with Chicken Floss
This arrived at the same time as the rest of the deep fried dishes but kudos to the kitchen for achieving the "crunch" factor without compromising on the oil used.
Chilled Drunken Chicken Marinated with Chinese Wine and Plum*
It always intrigues me how chefs can create beautiful pieces of edible art, not that dish particular dish was a spectacular one but the way the "gou qi" was woven into each slice was quite a sight! In terms of taste, it gave the tender drunken chicken a sweet aftertaste.
Braised Vegetables Ball in X.O. Chilli Sauce*
Simply, fishcake in slices.
Deep-fried Spare Ribs with Sour Plum Sauce*
Awesome. The spare ribs were generous cuts and all were meaty! I'm quite anal about fat laden spare ribs. Look at the shreds of meat...loved the balance of sweet and sour flavours.
Steamed Rice Roll with Mushroom and Shredded Chicken
Was disappointed with this. The mushroom and shredded chicken combination proved to be bland.
Steamed Pumpkin Cake with Dread Shrimp, Sausage and Mushroom
I've found the pumpkin cake! Many years ago, as a
Steamed Beancurd Skin Roll filled with Minced Pork, Prawn Paste, Ginger and Spring Onions
Boring.
Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun
Credit has to be given for the savoury pau well executed.
Steamed Xiao Long Bao
After the oh-so-ordinary XLB in Shanghai, this fared way better with better craftsmanship and taste.
Steamed Prawn Dumpling
The green specks made it resemble seaweed skin. Adored the chewy skin and fresh prawns used.
Steamed Pork Dumpling with Mushroom
First impressions, it's too small. But in all smallness, it was a meaty dimsum.
Sauteed Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onions*
Fresh filets stir fried with ginger and spring onions. It was one of those dishes I wish they did not limit! Perfect with a bowl of steaming rice. Simplicity at its finest.
Marinated Sliced Duck Meat with Beancurd*
Peach Blossoms did good out of this Teochew dish. Duck meat that was tugging at the saliva glands (ok, that sounded gross but you get the drift.) In all tenderness, I liked it.
Deep-fried Prawns coated with Wasabi Mayonnaise*
This fared poorly as compared to the ala carte version, somewhat overfried to stiffness.
Deep-fried Chicken marinated with Shrimp Paste*
Despite knowing it will fill me up, Har Jeong Gai proved it worthy of all calories.
Sweet and Sour Pork*
All flour and was overly sour. I cringe thinking of it. Stick with the ribs, please.
Deep-fried Homemade Beancurd with Oats and Chilli Padi*
Slurpworthy! The beancurd coated with such a thin batter and like the eggplant, equally crunchy! The oats complimented this dish really well.
Fried Omelets with Bitter Gourd*
Well, it's just fried egg with bittergourd.
Baked Barbequed Pork Pastry Puff
Crumbly and buttery..oh wait, absolutely fragrant too.
Deep-fried Yam Dumpling filled with Crabmeat, diced Shrimps and Minced Chicken
Honestly, the strawberry did little apart from cosmetic purposes. A pretty decent yam pastry.
Fried Carrot Cake with Chinese Sausage in X.O. Chilli Sauce
Lacking in "Wok Hei" as compared to the hawkerfare, the hotel version failed to wow.
Deep-fried Beancurd Sheet Roll filled with Prawn Paste and Bean Sprouts
Deep-fried Bacon Roll with Prawn Paste and Enoki Mushroom Deep-fried Prawn Dumpling served with Mayonnaise
Fried is just fried after awhile.
Steamed Seafood Roll in Barbequed Sauce
It failed to leave much of an impression.
Steamed Spare Ribs in Black Bean Sauce with Minced Garlic and Red Chilli
Way too sweet.
Poached Shrimp Paste Dumplings in Szechuan Spicy Sauce
Slippery smooth dumpling but I did not agree with the sauce.
By this time, I was more than thrilled to welcome the next course of desserts! They revamped the menu quite abit, allowing free flow of desserts rather than limited portions as before.
Chilled Puree of Mango with Sago and Pomelo
Chilled Mango Pudding
Both were passable though I preferred Mango Sago. The pomelo ended up slightly bitter after the numerous shooters I had.
Chilled Herbal Jelly with Aloe Vera served with Honey
Lacked the bitter punch authentic gui lin gao would taste, more like black jelly.
Refreshing Chrysanthemum and Apple Flavour Jelly topped with Walnut and Plum
My favourite of the lot, the apple flavouring teased the palette quite a bit.
Sweetened Cream of Almond
I figure the chef forget the sugar.
Chilled "Ching Teng" with Ginseng Jelly
A nice interpretation with Ginseng Jelly.
Sweetened Red Bean Paste with Lotus Seed and Tangerine Peel
Yet another that was bland.
Steamed Custard Bun with Salted Egg
The heart skipped two beats when I spied this on the menu. Two words: Sorely disappointed. The salted egg custard was too clumpy, the balance of salted egg was too much.
Steamed Sponge Cake Cream Roll
Reminded me of a cotton version of Ma Lai Goh.
Seasonal Fresh Fruits (Papaya, Watermelon, Rockmelon)
Noway you could go wrong with this.
*Limited to one serving
Skipped:
Prawn Dumpling Soup with Choy Sum
Sweet Corn Soup with Lobster
Braised Crabmeat Broth with Fish Maw
Century Egg and Lean Meat Porridge
Fish Fillet Porridge
Steamed Chicken Feet in Szechuan Spicy Sauce
Deep-fried Crispy Mango Roll with Prawn Paste
Deep-fried Vegetarian Spring Roll
Pan-fried Bun filled with Crabmeat and Pumpkin in Black Pepper
Deep-fried Squids with Fine Salt and Pepper
Stir Fried String Bean with Minced Pork in X.O. Chilli Sauce
Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetables with Minced Garlic
Wok-fried Rice Vermicelli with Shredded Chicken
Seafood Fried Rice
Fried Flat Noodles with Seafood
As compared to the previous buffet attempt, this one was much better with better quality of food. I have to mention this amusing incident that took place between the waiter and I. The waiter insisted on us scheduling more food only when we are done with those ordered and cleared hence creating a long wait in between dishes and the appetite took a beating. So, we ended up getting the attention of the other waiters only to be diverted back to the same waiter. ;s
Go for the buffet for more value, ala carte only if you pick the right dishes.
Dimsum Unlimited Buffet
$30.80++
1130am - 3pm
Peach Blossoms
Marina Mandarin
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