Lunch at Royal China @ Raffles

Today is the second time I am back at Royal China @ Raffles, and it is yet another family event. I figure that if I want to return to this lovely restaurant for good dimsum, I need to have a larger group so we can order more items to share. Royal China @ Raffles is situated at none other than 1 Beach Road #03-09 Raffles Hotel Arcade, Singapore 189673 and the number to dial is 6337 1886.

Royal China @ Raffles offers a very comfortable and tranquil setting, soothing, even. Its light cyan / aqua colored walls are often likened to the "Tiffany & Co's Blue Box" hues, and this is a tone of luxury and calmness. The clean-cut furnishings makes the place elegant but non-pretentious.

We started with Char Siew Paus (buns with red, sweet pork meat) - soft and fluffy bun with tender pork cubes within, marinated in a sweet sauce. This is rather tasty, but I still prefer the traditional Hong Kong's Char Siew Pau that comes with the dark-colored minced pork.

The next item we ordered was the Peking Duck with Caviar - they served the skin wrapped in thin sheets of crepe / popiah skins, alongside with a small plate of Caviar, spring onions and a sweet dark sauce on the side. The skin was tasty and crispy, of course, and paired with the somewhat grainy texture and sweet hints of the crepe skins, and crackling caviar, the sensation was amazing.

They served the Peking Duck meat separately, of course. Stripped of its crispy skins, the meat itself was very tender and very easy on the teeth without being tough or chewy, as duck meat tends to be. The flavor was good, though the bottom layer was a tad too salty - soaked in the gravy for too long?

Next, the Char Siew Shu (pastry with red sweet pork meat within) - the crusts was a fluffy shell of slightly-crunchy flour, made all the more fragrant by sesame seeds atop. The red meat bits within (char siew) was delicious and tasty, and there was not a hint of fatty meat - somethhing that we appreciated greatly.

Following this, we had the Scallops Dumplings - a delicious creation of thin, sticky dumpling skin encompassing scallops and shrimps within. The seafood items were fresh and added a touch of flouncy-ness to the dumpling. The leek within (leek or spring onion or some other strong-flavored vegetable within) also gave this dumpling a distinctive flavor.

Now, the Shrimp Dumplings - thin, sticky rice skin with fresh shrimps in its womb. While I enjoyed the almost-gooey texture of the skin in my mouth, and the springy texture of the fresh shrimps, I thought that the dumpling was too bland overall. There was a lack of the natural sweetness of shrimps somehow.

After that, it was the Custard Buns - a favorite amongst all of us. Imagine firm little buns that when poked or bitten into, golden syrup of salted egg (and sugar?) oozing out like chocolate sauce from lava cakes! A delicacy indeed, and we loved the savoury-sweet taste of the custard and the "sandy" texture".  This was a keeper, but we thought it would have been lovelier if we had eaten it the moment it was served, piping hot. As we waited a while before attacking these, the custard became slightly solidified.

We enjoyed the Siew Mai (minced pork meat in wanton skin, steamed) - tender minced pork with no fats, tiny slivers of shitake mushrooms and a fresh shrimp atop. While I rather liked the innovative flavor infused by the shitake mushrooms, the Beau and the Bro thought that it would've fared better without the mushrooms. I also thought that while the minced meat was tasty, the overall texture was a little too soft rather than firm.

What's a good dimsum meal without Chicken Feet / Claw? Yes, this sweet-salty-spicy dish cooked with black bean paste and chilli was scrumptious - crunchy skin (basically the only thing one eats off a chicken foot / claw).

Last but not least, we concluded the meal with their Signature Chee Cheong Fun - 1 roll of char siew, 1 roll of shrimp and 1 roll of scallop. The rice skin was thin and smooth, and the ingredients were fresh and succulent. I thought the sauce could've been improved upon though, because it tasted bland and light soy-sauce like.

We had Pu-Er tea accompanying this palatable lunch all the way. I was hoping we would still have space for Lotus Leaf Glutinuous Rice or desserts, but I had made the mistake of ordering double for many of the above items. So we were all very full at the end of the meal. The total bill for five of us came up to SGD$125.90, which in my opinion was very afforable given the ambience, location and quality dimsum.