YOU MUST TRY THIS RESTAURANT! I won't be selfish. But I hope this dimsum place gets the recognition it deserves cause the dimsum here is GREAT!
Lynn and I were debating since last night where to have lunch today. We decided to have dimsum. First thing I did? Go to Hungrygowhere and check out what was on the highly recommended list. We have tried some other places like "Taste Paradise", "Din Tai Fung", and "Crystal Jade" but wanted to veer away from our normal places.
Fortunately she suggested that we got to the newly renovated China Point Mall in the Chinatown area. There used to be a chinese restaurant there that was good as well. So when we got there the old chinese restaurant I was thinking of became Din Tai Fung, which I wanted to avoid.
So we went around and saw Luk Yu Teahouse and Restaurant. The receptionist was quite busy but from the outside I saw some empty tables. She also seemed to be not paying attention to the queue as she was sometime entertaining people behind us (mind you she hasn't even asked us for details yet). Not a good sign but well Singapore doesn't really have the best service standards anyway. I'd say they were roughly 90% occupied.
But kudos to this place as I would have really really regretted it if we chose any other place.
Our Orders (and emphasis on order"S")
Beef Ball Dumpling
Yam Puff
Ha Kao
Xiao Long Bao
Creamy Custard Bun
Century Egg Pork Congee
BBQ Pork Pastry
Herbal Tea
Minced Pork Noodle
Abalone Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf
Siew Mai with Prawn
Pan Fried Carrot Cake
Pork Ribs in Black Bean Sauce
The food in Luk Yu was surprisingly delicious. Good enough for me to actually say... "Honey, do you think this is the best dimsum restaurant here in SG?" And I mean it. I was surprised at how good the Pork Sio Mai with Prawn (SGD 1.80/pc), BBQ Pork Pastry (SGD 3.80/3 pcs), the Chicken Feet (SGD 3.80/plate) and the Abalone Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf (SGD 5.5/pc) . These four dishes were probably on top of the yummy list. For some reason they have been able to make these "regular" dimsum just taste better than normal.
The next part of the yummy list is the Century Egg Pork Congee (SGD 5.80/bowl) and Minced Pork Noodle (SGD 7.80/bowl). The congee was simply fantastic. Why? I don't know. Its probably the way they executed the crispy wanton as it was perfectly crisp and every spoonful of congee seems to have that wanton skin. But it just wasn't that. There was something else which you must experience to know how that "different" tastes like.
The Minced Pork Noodle is the same. Looks like a normal bowl of noodle but again it had this distinct taste and smell that made us say "Wow! that's gooood". Normally dimsum places will have 1 or 2 good things going for them but if they are able to deliver very good food across different items then you know you have a winner.
The rest of the dishes: Xiao Long Bao, Yam Puff, Pan-Fried Carrot Cake and Beef Ball were also good but I would say nothing special. Paradise Dynasty is still my no.1 Xiao Long Bao place. Lynn does like the Yam Puff but I think I've tasted better.
Special mention will be the Creamy Custard Bun. If people will eat this first time in this place, I promise you, they will keep on going back to order this here. But I have to give the 1st price still to Taste Paradise Creamy Custard Bun. The bun there is just softer and the Luk Yu bun was, for me, a bit tough. BUT, its still good. When I go here next, I will still order it.
Price and Value
All-in-all the bill amounted to just around SGD 81.70. Not cheap but I would say we ate for more than 2 people today. I'd say given what we ordered, we could have had another person and not order anything more.
Rating:
Food - 4
Ambiance - 4
Value - 3.5
Service - 3.5
Overall 4 of 5
Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!):
Yes!
Restaurant details:
Official Website: http://www.lukyu.sg/ (under construction)
Address: Chinatown Point #01 - 41/42 Chinatown
Tel no: +65 6262 1717 (Reserve for big groups)
I book their only VIP room for a birthday 5 weeks in advance. one week before the manager call me to comfirm. 2 days later call me to tell me that the room air con is not working???!! and I need to move to a place in the main hall with some pcs of frame for some privacy. Well I have no choice even though I can cancel it.
ReplyDeleteImagine on that day itself when I arrived the book was set up for some dinner.
They can cook up a crap story that their boss have a business meeting and need the room even though dont have air con. Since its a happy day I keep quiet and accepted the other room.
Then when I requested for a ice bucket to put the wine the waitress says run out of bucket!!!
We waited and then another waitress offered to go and find a bucket which is available.
Now comes the food which is their set menu.
Imagine all the guest says its too salty,
I thought maybe first 2 dish then still so saltish for the next dish.
One waitress serving us was apologizing and offered to tell the cook to make it less saltish. Then the vegetable came same, and then the fried beehoon which we did not eat it. I was wondering whether I should give it to the boss who is in the next room to taste it.
I purposely book this place because when I order a la carte the food was great & even though one one room only I book in advance ONE MONTH and yet the management choose to treat guest like nobody and give a CRAP story about air con leaking.
THIS IS SERVICE WHICH SUCKS!!! No need to say they lost not one but ten customers and the ten customers on the table will give their version of this "EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE"