Golden Peony @ Conrad Hotel

The relative adores Golden Peony so much, the wedding had to be put on hold for an entire year for an available slot.

Their lunch slots are so hard to book, getting a decent table needs a week's notice to be safe.

They are possibly one of the few restaurants that open its doors at 1030am for hungry diners. 

If there's any indication of its popularity, tables are lined outside the restaurant into the foyer.



Tables for lunch.



Orchids that looked so picture perfect.



So with the above experiences, Golden Peony seemed to set the bar so high for a gastronomical journey.



Candied walnuts speckled with sesame seeds as appetizers..the only time I indulge in such toothy affairs..especially when the sesame seeds get embedded in the teeth!



The platter of yum drizzled with barbequed sauce and paprika powder.



Cold Platter and Roast Meats (3 for $22)

Char Siew - Honeyed roast meat that was passable.

Signature Duck - A drumstick's worth, the duck was barely peking but was more than decent. Probably the best of the platter with all its succulence and flavour.


Roast Pork - A jab of disappointment. The pork crackling started off crunchy and ended off soggy, the meat was a tad dry as well.



Steamed Xiao Long Bao with Abalone, Sea Cucumber and Pork ($3 per serving)

Baffling this was. Ordinary stuff.



Steamed Scallop and Prawn in Golden-Fried Beancurd topped with Crabmeat ($3 per serving)

The fragrance was hard to miss! I was already salivating at the mere whiff.




Yum-yum-yum, pretty amazing how a steamed dimsum item could be executed so brilliantly. Fresh seafood with every bite whch taught me not to underestimate steamed dimsum..this was quite a stellar one.



Steamed Prawn Siewmai ($7.50)

Reviews mentioned har gao was disappointing so we skipped that but I had to give at least one dimsum usual suspect a go, siew mai did not wow and still continued the bland journey.




Baked Layered of Pastry filled with diced Slipper Lobster, Crab Roe and ($4.80)

Yet another brilliant one! If East meets West always gets pulled off in such exquisite mouthwatering fashion, I am totally switching camps. I love taking a whiff of such incredibly fragrant dishes, I headed to butter heaven and back.




The pastry was surprisingly not over doused in butter but came across rather light..what lay in store for us within the pastry was mamma-mia-finger-licking-tongue-scorching rewarding!




Indulgent lobster, dusted with scallop shreds, cholesterol pumped crab roe and a couple of other sea treasures made this beyond great.

Please, please...please give this a try!



Steamed Crystal Dumpling with Minced Shrimp, Chinese Parsley and Century Egg ($4.80)



Bland filling wrapped in thick skin, though there is nothing a dip of soya sauce nor chilli sauce cannot salvage.



Pan-fried X.O. Carrot Cake with Diced Chinese Sausage ($4.80)

Amongst the first to get served, this was scrumptious! Never quite thought this could rival the hawker's darling of char tao kuay but this did. Enough wok hei despite being served luke warm, the flavourful cubes of carrot cake fried with beansprouts and chives...I say seconds please!



Steamed Barbequed Pork Bun ($4.80)



The char siew filling was too dry.



Baked 'Bo Lo Bun" with Char Siew Filling ($4.50)



Unlike char siew pau, the char siew filling for this was just right with enough goo and meats, for once I actually prefer bo lo bun over char siew pau.



Fried Rice ($20)

Very homemade in more aspects than one; from the light flavouring to the lack of wok hei...I tried really hard to cleanse the palette to taste the scallops and prawns in this.



Generous portion aside, this was not quite the fried rice I expected...not even salted egg could save this.



Steamed Layer of Custard and Salted Egg Yolk Sponge Cake ($4.50 for 3)

It had to be the dissonance of not getting my favourite flowy custard bun so this was the next bestest alternative. Nothing worth mentioning.



Chilled cream of Avocado with Movenpick Vanilla Icecream ($8.80)

Somehow still preferring Shang's though the vanilla beans were causing quite a stir in the moat of avocado cream.



Mini Egg Tarts ($6, 3 pcs)

This were more like milk tarts than egg tarts. With a base more biscuit than pastry and a mad wobbly custard, I did not particularly love or hate it.



Sour lime juice to round off the meal, nice one!

The main positive draw of Golden Peony is they do not overindulged in enhancers nor sodium which is healthier.

I suppose the draw of Golden Peony lies in its experimental offerings, rather than wowing with the quinessentials..they wow with the complexities; especially combining a myriad of ingredients to put together some really memorable items. For once, simplicity does not rock..complexity does.

Golden Peony
Conrad Hotel