Riding strong on the wave of Dimsum buffet, I made an attempt on Wan Hao. Wan Hao loosely translated as a thousand pride, the place strikes me as cozy.
Brilliant way of "chessing" the occupied tables.
Packed lunch hour.
Warm water..yes, the tea/peanut charge of a reasonable $2 is acceptable.
The napkin was folded beautifully.
Well roasted lightly salted peanuts that had an addictive nutty fragrance.
Menu...the soft drinks cost an arm and a leg literally, coke for $9.50 and the works.
Dim Sum
Steamed Items
Three golden rolls.
Vietnam Vermicilli
Amongst the first few dishes to be served yet it was lukewarm, I liked it though. It's filled with shredded chicken and topped off with pork floss. The portion of pork floss was quite measly, until the superfluous at Pine Court.
Cha Siew So
The buttery pastry and honeyed sesame top reminded me a little of Malt Candy, I found the sesame seeds sticking to my teeth. Likewise, the char siew was a tad too sweet.
Pastry filled with Smoked Duck
Nice flaky pie pastry with smoked duck that did not quite taste like smoked duck. Otherwise quite good.
Luffa Melon Rolls with Vermicilli
Chewy soon kueh skin with delicious fillings. The fillings reminded me of a cantonese dish I always have "大姨妈嫁女" (Stir fried hairy gourd with shrimp and vermicilli).
Har Gau
A disappointment because it came across dry and limp, it was not served piping hot to begin with and the prawns were clumped together so tightly, it tasted as if it were steamed quite a while ago and left to cool.
Parsley Shrimp Dumpling
I found it enjoyable, a pocketful of tasty tender chicken wrapped in wanton skin.
Spicy Wanton
Neither spicy nor appetite whetting, the attempt by Pine Court was more outstanding.
Spinach Dumpling
A crystal dumpling stuffed with chopped spinach, tastewise was ordinary.
Beancurd Sheet filled with Shrimp
The filling was more of fish cake, I did not mind this too bad.
Spring Roll
On the oily side, mayo was missing.
Beancurd Sheet done in Thai Style
Not a favourite, the sweet and sour sauce was too sour for my liking.
Siew Mai
Just ordinary siew mai packed with chicken.
Chicken Roll
Tasted more like tau kua with chicken, another bland dish.
Chicken Cheong Fun
Wan Hao's interpretation was unique, paper thin rice rolls wrapped around a sliver of minced chicken, I found it quite bland however.
Glutinous Rice
The rice was chewy, ingredients were quite fresh..but was lacking the fragrance of a the Pearl Chicken.
Panfried Pumpkin
A pleasant attempt with carrot and pumpkin cubes embedded in the oily cake.
Shrimp coated with Mashed Taro
Arguably one of the most mismatched "Wu Koks" I've had, the tasteless smooth mashed taro was oily on the outside, bland on the inside..and then there was a shrimp stuffed in the middle, as if by chance. The two weren't in harmony.
Crispy Prawn Dumpling
Basically this tasted the same as the crispy prawn, oily snack.
Crispy Prawn
A knotted deep fried prawn it is.
Mushroom coated with Shrimp Paste
A mushroom cap with shrimp and corn paste, tasted so very ordinary.
Sweet Corn Pastry
Ack, the corn pastry was a letdown. A pasty mass of sweet and salty.
Chicken Claws
I barely stole a bite, chicken feet totally isn't my thing!
Carrot Cake
A rather decent and tasty carrot cake, the soft cake and radish bits were delicious.
Cha Siew Bao
The pau consistency was nice but I'm not sold on the honeyed char siew bits.
Beancurd Sheet done in Black Bean
A blander but more palatable version of the thai style.
Spare Ribs
I'm beginning to appreciate spare ribs with taro cubes, the cubes give this dish an added flavouring and bite, a pity that the taro cubes were slightly dry.
Jellyfish with Cucumber
Not refreshing, the supposedly crispy bits were soggy by the time it was served.
Breaded Prawn
Too plastic and the oil taste was too much.
Spare Ribs with Spicy Pepper and Salt
So not a fan, it was served warm. The spare ribs tasted more like chicken tenders with a dash of sour.
Panfried Cheong Fun with Dried Shrimp
Ok, finally a dish that deserves the props. The cheongfun had a charcoal fragrance about it, permeated through every bite. The shrimps were scarce though. Not the tastiest but was a different way of preparing cheongfun that I liked.
Century Egg Porridge
Stomach warming, it was packed with century eggs than meat.
Fish with Conpoy Porridge
Fresh fish was the main draw.
For once, I attempted the full menu..including those I usually would not attempt, 32 dishes!
The dishes were either served just warm, if not cold. One major peeve, food tastes different warm and piping hot imo and despite the really thoughtful start of serving half fried items and dimsum to cut down the long waiting time for dimsum seemed more like an excuse for not being able to keep up with the demands more so than being attentive to the customers' needs.
Tastewise, with fair comparison to Pine Court, Pine Court exceeds in terms of quality, taste and value for money. I have to admit WanHao was a disappointment. On an irrelevant note, the name of the dishes are "in your face", very point blank..nary the fanciful names which is queer for a hotel.
Service is prompt despite the bulgeoning crowds, it was fully booked after the advertorial in I-Weekly early this month. None of the dishes warranted a second serving, if that's a yardstick of Wanhao's weekday dimsum buffet.
$36++ (1-for-1)
1130am - 230pm
Wanhao Restaurant
Marriott Hotel
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