Eastern Restaurant @ Centrepoint

A few of us were invited to a food tasting session last Friday at “The Eastern Restaurant” which is located on the 1st level near the back entrance of Centrepoint Mall, Orchard. We were all very excited about this event because of some highlights on their “New” dishes and their famous "Eastern Yi Ping Steamed Pork Dumpling (东方一品小笼包)” that is freshly made by their Dim Sum Chef.

From their menu you could easily scan through each categories before making your order from the range of Cold Dish, La Mian, Main Dishes, Tim Sum and Desserts. And as usually while waiting for the dishes to be served you could also try out their complimentary sides such as mixed vegetables pickles and braised peanuts which is quite different from the usual braised dark soy sauce type.

First to arrive on the table was this basket of "Eastern Yi Ping Steamed Pork Dumpling (东方一品小笼包)” which is the main item that lures us to this tasting gathering. In Singapore it is not difficult to get Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) as you can find them easily in most Chinese Dim Sum Restaurants or even food court and hawker centres. But if you are looking for some with thin wrapper, well seasoned filing and lot of soup broth I guess you might have to spend slight more.

But here at Eastern with a reasonable pricing, their "Eastern Yi Ping Steamed Pork Dumpling (东方一品小笼包)” has a fragrance scent from the “Chinese cabbage” that is used as a base on the bamboo basket for the pork dumplings. So before you nip the top off to taste the soup broth you could already smell the lovely scent circulating around your nose which makes it a great combination for both sense and taste.
Price: S$4.00 per basket (4 pieces)

"Wanton with Hot Chilli Sauce (红油抄手)" is one of the famous Chengdu snacks in Sichuan, China. It is a delicious meat dumpling that is cooked with soup broth, chilli oil and spices that makes it taste a little spicy and sourish. Although the filling of these dumplings served at Eastern are well seasoned and moist but we find the accompany chilli sauce was rather a bit too spicy that it actually covers the taste of the dumplings and leaves our mouth with a slight numb feeling.
Price: S$6.00 per plate (6 pieces)

Usually most of the similar "Century Egg with Tofu (皮蛋豆腐)" dish is pair with pork floss or just century eggs iteself but at Eastern restaurant the chef actually drizzle some crunchy peanuts bits on it to contrast with the soft texture of the tofu. Overall we agreed that this is a very tasty cold dish that blends well with the ingredients used as well as their special soy sauce that comes with the tofu.
Price: S$5.00 per plate (New!)

For me I am very particular with chicken dishes especially those ‘cold” chicken such as Hainanese Chicken as I would be totally turn off and lost my appetite if the chicken contain those frozen/strong “smells”. So before I tried this “Chicken Marinated with Shao Shing Wine (绍兴醉鸡)” I was kind of hesitate till I confirmed with Lobs and Maureen that this is worth trying. To my surprised the chicken taste great even without any dipping sauce and it is infused with a very nice shao shing wine aroma that tingle in your taste buds.
Price: S$6.00 per plate

From some read up at the local forum, most people recommend on their "Stewed Beef Noodle (清汤牛腩面)" which is a must try item in from the noodles category. The soup broth is filled with a light and sweet fragrance when taste and it goes well with the spongy hand pulled noodles that makes it a great lunch treat especially on rainy day.
Price: S$8.80 per plate

I have tried a few version of this "Noodle with minced meat & mushroom in spicy sauce (炸酱面)" in different Chinese restaurants. And I find most of the noodles taste quite similar except for the taste of the minced meat sauce which might be either too sweet, salty or sour due to the ingredients used. And since I don’t really fancy dry version of Lai Mian and when I get to try this it is already cold (as we are busy with the photo taking and other dishes) so I could not comment more on this.
Price: S$7.80 per bowl

If you like Sichuan type of sourish food, this "Noodle in Hot & Soup Soup (酸辣汤面)" would definitely be your choice. But remember you have to eat it while hot or else the texture and taste of the noodles would be different.
Price: S$8.00 per bowl

This "Sautéed Green Bean with Minced Pork in Chilli Sauce (干煸四季豆)" is one of my favourite dish among all the dishes that we tried that day. This dish has a lovely fragrant that makes you keep popping those crunchy green bean into your mouth. These green beans have been blanched in hot oil before frying with the minced pork and etc to give that extra wok taste and most importantly this dish is not oily at all.
Price: S$9.80 per plate

"Braised Tofu with Scallop (瑶柱豆腐)" is another good option for Tofu lover where these homemade tofu are deep-fried till golden brown and braised with shredded dried scallop and superior broth.
Price: S$16.00 per plate (New!)

For regular readers of my blog you would notice that our family loves fish dishes so when this "Pickled Fish Soup (酸菜鱼)" is served I was very excited to try it out. But since I am not a person who likes sour dishes I was kind of pull back by the spicy and sour taste of the soup and we also find that the fish is kind of salty too. Perhaps for those who like stronger taste in their food, this would be a great choice to go with steam white rice.
Price: S$15.00 per pot (New!)

When comes to “Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy (梅菜扣肉)” what is the first thing you would look for, the soft and fatty pork that taste good and not greasy or the rich aroma from the pickled mustard? For me a good pork belly with mui choy dish should be something like when you bite a piece of the meat it should be soft like tofu and the oil from it will burst in your mouth leaving a light fragrance from the mui choy. But this dish at Eastern Restaurant taste rather a bit sweet and I find the pork belly is still not soft enough.
Price: S$12.00 per plate (New!)

“Fu Rong Special Scramble Egg (芙蓉赛螃蟹)” is one of their “New” dishes, which use egg white as the main ingredients. The whites are stir-fried together with crabmeat, green beans and broth/fresh milk till cooked then top with a raw egg yolk. Indeed this is a very special and delicious dish that we all love and before you start eating you have to mix the raw egg yolk into the dish so that the texture of this dish would be even more smooth and fragrant.
Price: S$10.80 per plate (New!)

Although this is not the best "Shanghai Pan Fried Pork Bun (上海生煎包)" that I had ever eat before but the taste is still ok for those who prefer pork bun. For me I find the skin is rather too thick and the filling is not as moist and juicy compared to those that I have tried.
Price: S$4.00 per plate (3 pieces)

We were so excited about this "Steamed Custard Bun (蒸奶黄包)" the moment it was placed on the table. When Maureen (Miss Tam Chiak) starts to break open one of the bun we were all very eager to see the yummy custard oozing out from it. But when she breaks it open, we were quite disappointed as the custard was kind of dry compared to what we look forward to. If you don’t mind having paste like custard, these custard buns are still soft and fragrant to taste.
Price: S$4.50 per basket (3 pieces) (New!)

Deep-fried Red Bean Balls (高丽豆沙) is a very popular dessert in Yunnan, China that always attracts people of all ages. The red bean balls have a crispy outer skin that is infused with a light “egg scent” together with its smooth and fragrant mixture of red bean paste and banana fillings which I am sure you would set aside your diet plan just for that moment.
Price: S$4.50 per plate (3 pieces)

I would like to thank Dennis from Flaunt PR & Communications and Eastern Restaurant (Centrepoint) for having us on this tasting. From more reviews about this tasting you could also refer to the following blogs of those who attended the outing too:- Daniel Food Diary(BanBan), Keropokman, Lobsterpaints and Miss Tam Chiak(Maureen).

There are so many dishes availables during this tasting and out of those, I recommend "Chicken Marinated with Shao Shing Wine (绍兴醉鸡)", "Century Egg with Tofu (皮蛋豆腐)", "Fu Rong Special Scramble Egg (芙蓉赛螃蟹)", "Sautéed Green Bean with Minced Pork in Chilli Sauce (干煸四季豆)" and "Deep-fried Red Bean Balls (高丽豆沙)".

The Eastern Restaurant(Centrepoint) Pte Ltd
(东方｜上海拉面，小笼包)
176 Orchard Road
#01-57 Centrepoint
Singapore 238843
Telephone: 6736 2638
Website: http://www.easternrestaurant.com/

Operating Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 11.00am - 10.00pm

Paradise Dynasty @ ION Orchard

Located on the top floor of ION Orchard, Paradise Dynasty is the latest addition to the Paradise Group of restaurants by the founder Mr Eldwin Chua. This young entrepreneur is often spotted in the restaurant walking around to make sure that things are going on well in operation. And this restaurant is aiming to sell their signature Xiao Long Bao such as Black Truffle, Foie Gras, Garlic and Cheese pricing between $8.80 and $12.80 for six pieces.

Upon entering the restaurant from the front counter, there is a very unique entrance path that leads you passed their glass view open kitchen into an incredible modern and beautiful dining area with 206 seats. Eating at this restaurant definitely give you a feeling like having a “royalty meal” at the palace especially with the backdrop Qing Dynasty Emperor’s throne.

I was captured by a poster on these colourful Xiao Long Bao (XLB) near the bus-stop outside The Hereen at Somerset some weeks ago. And also with some good recommendation from friends who have tried, we decided to pop by and try out their “Signature Dynasty Xiao Long Bao - 皇朝小笼包” which consists of eight different flavour in a basket. Each flavour is represent by an unique colour such as:-

White: Original taste featuring fresh pork filling in sweet soup broth.

Green: With Ginseng smoothing herbal soup broth with pork filling but too bad the herbal taste is not strong enough for herbs lover like us.

Brown: Foie Gras with a touch of French luxury combine with Chinese delicacy.

Black: Black Truffle stands out with a fantastic aroma soup broth with pork filling which makes us tempted to order another basket full of just black truffle XLB.

Yellow: Cheesy with a hinge of the silkiness of cheese with pork filling which I think is a very interesting combination.

Orange: Crab Roe are finely minced and mixed with the pork filling which bring out the freshness of seafood taste.

Grey: Garlic infused soup broth with pork filling for those garlic lovers, but not me.

Pink: Szechuan flavour consists hint of spiciness when sipping the broth and it gives out a light aroma from the Szechuan peppercorn.

In order to get the correct and finest taste from each Xiao Long Bao, you would have to start from the original flavor, follow by the sequence ending with the strongest taste from the Szechuan Xiao Long Bao.
Price: S$13.80 per basket (8 assorted pieces)

"Pork Dumplings with Chili Sauce - 油抽手" is one of our all time favourite whenever we visit Din Tai Fung or Crystal Jade Kitchen. But today after trying the one served at Paradise Dynasty we declared that they have won our vote for this dish compared to the other two restaurants mentioned above. The Pork Dumplings are indeed more tender and juicy with its filling wrapped by a thinner layer of wrapper which is smooth and soft when bite. The accompany chili sauce is also not too salty or spicy and it goes perfectly with the dumplings.
Price: S$4.80 per plate(6 dumplings)

Mum and I both love this "Scallion Pastry - 葱油饼" which is so crispy on the outer layer and fragrant in its filling with the chopped scallion (spring onion). This is sure to be a great tea-snack if you are looking for some snacks for tea time to accompany with the Xiao Long Bao.

Each mouthful of this you ccould taste the flaky pastry that is well wrapped with generous amount of scallion mixture that makes you crave for more.
Price: S$2.80 per plate (2 pieces)

For those who fancy La Mian, Paradise Dynasty has prepared 18 different types of La Mian freshly made from their open kitchen. Each strand of noodle comes with fine and silky threads that are served with different pairing soups and ingredients. And for your information, their soup broth used ingredients such as pork bones, pork ribs and whole chickens that are simmered over slow fire for at least 12 hours before being served.

Out of so many La Mian in their menu mum chooses this "La Mian in Signature Pork Bone Soup with Pan-fried Chicken Chop - 煎鸡扒拉面" as she preferred something light instead of seafood or beef. Overall their pork bones broth taste just as good compared to the others and their noodle's chef definitely has done a good job in making such tasty and springy noodles to go with the broth. I am sure after this La Mian we would definitely come back to try out more on the other 17 choices soon.
Price: S$9.80 per bowl

After all the savory food that we had now it’s time for some dessert and after looking through their dessert column, I decided to get a bowl of this “Rice Ball Dumplings -酒酿丸子” which I believe not many youngest would order unless they like the taste of rice wine.

This is one of the common Shanghainese sweet desserts where the cooked mini glutinous rice balls are added into the distiller’s grains sweet soup together with fragrance candied osmanthus(桂花). When consumed you would find it a bit sweet and sour due to the distiller’s grains leaving it with a mild alcohol and floral aroma.
Price: S$4.20 per bowl

To avoid long queue and waiting time during weekends, lunch/dinner timing maybe you could call for reservation or try to reach slightly earlier.

Paradise Dynasty
2 Orchard Turn
#04-12A Ion Orchard
Singapore 238801
Telephone: (65) 6509 9118

Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11.00am - 10.00pm
Satursday - Sunday & PH: 10.00am - 10.00pm

Din Tai Fung

A few months back I have shared a "Blog Post" on some of the dishes from "Din Tai Fung - 鼎泰丰" that we have tried. Today we shall continue with some other new dishes that you might be interested with.

For the appetiser, we start off with our all time favour which is the "Steamed Dumplings - 小笼包" whereby you will find exactly 18 folds on each dumpling which marks a distinguishing feature of Din Tai Fung's dumplings.

Mum loves this spicy " Hong You Chao Shou - 红油抄手" which are cooked dumpling served in chilli oil and vinegar. The dumplings filling are always very fresh and it taste great with that chilli oil dipping sauce which act as a very good appetising dish.

This is my 1st time trying their " Zha Jiang Mian - 炸酱面" which is "La Mian - 拉面" topped with spicy minced pork, tofu and beans. Overall we are quiet satisfy with the texture of the noodles which is bouncy when eaten and combines well with the sauce ingredients too.

Since last visit we have tried their "Pork Chop Fried Rice - 排骨蛋飯" which we all loves, this round we shall give their "Fried Pork Chop Noodles Soup - 排骨面" a go. Although the present of the dish might not look good as it seems to have too much soup covering the noodles and pork chop but basically it still taste great.

Finally to wrapped up today's dinner, we ordered their sweet dumplings that consists our favourite yam paste. But unfortunately this "Yam Paste Dumplings - 芋泥小包" is not really up to our standard. As you can still see that the top peak of the skin seems to be too thick which cost is to be hard or undercooked when served.

Din Tai Fung - 小笼包

Din Tai Fung(鼎泰豐) starts with a small shop, located on the intersection of Xinyi Road, in Taipei City. It has become a symbol of Chinese delicacies with its "Steamed Dumplings - 小笼包". This small shop has venture out into international market where they have many branches in countries such as Taiwan, Japan, USA, China, Singapore, Korea and etc.

Din Tai Fung(鼎泰豐) has about 5 branches in Singapore located at Paragon Orchard, Bishan Junction 8, Tampines Mall, Wisma Atria Orchard and Raffles City. They have a many varieties of Steamed Dumplings varies from Savory to Sweet. Other than steamed dumplings, they also have a few choices of La Mian.

My mum and aunt love to order this "Appetiser - 小菜" which is on a mixture of seaweed, tofu, bean sprout, chilli etc whenever they visit Din Tai Fung. They always kick off with this signature appetiser before starting their main course.

This is one of our favorite dish called "Pork Chop Fried Rice - 排骨蛋飯". I love the way they seasoned the pork chop which the spices and the combination of the pork chop goes well with their fragrance egg fried rice.

First time ordering this "Glass noodle soup with fried bean curd and pork rolls - 油豆腐粉" which is one of their recommendation dish on the menu. The soup base is great and overall this dish is light and healthy with their self-made Pork Rolls. But if you do not fancy "Glass noodle - 冬粉" then don't expect too much from this dish.

The distinguishing feature of Din Tai Fung's dumplings is that the chefs would make 18 folds to seal the dumplings. I love dumplings especially the "Steamed Dumplings - 小笼包" which I will use the chopsticks to poke a little hole in the skin of the dumpling to let the soup flow out onto the spoon and sip the soup. Then I will add some julienned ginger (soaked in black vinegar) on top of the dumpling before eating it.

Other than their signature "Steamed Dumplings - 小笼包", we also ordered their special promotion "Steamed Chili Crab Dumplings" which is one of the Food Festival Award dish. Although the dumplings that serves on us is not what we expected it to be, it still have it's unique taste. The combination of chilli crab gravy with the soup base of the usual steam dumplings makes this festival dumpling a special dish to venture on.