Been wanting to thrown a Yum cha party, then the Golden Dragon is probably where you should plan it. Come Sunday, the restaurant will begin the Sparkling Yum Cha special – a set menu of dimsum, spring rolls, appetisers, soup and main course.
Just in case you didn’t know, Yum cha, also known as Ban Ming, is a Chinese style of morning/afternoon tea that comes accompanied with dimsums. The Yum cha at the Golden Dragon however, being open for lunch is throwing in an extra -- unlimited sparkling wine. Hence Sparkling Yum cha. A sumptuous mix of vegetarian and non vegetarian, the Yum cha menu include assorted vegetable and non-vegetarian dimsums, prawn spring roll sticks, stir fried scallops butter chilli garlic, Macadamia nuts, steamed vegetable pepper rolls and the snow fungus and dry lily bud soup for starters.
Cooked just right, the flavours of the steamed mouthfuls go down easy and light, but watch out because you could fill your appetite just popping those. Do try out their steamed orange peel dimsum; an interesting choice, it’s definitely one you wouldn’t expect on the menu. The prawn spring roll sticks and Macadamia nuts are other dishes to look forward to; while the former is covered in a light crisp coating, just the perfect bite of tender prawn ensconced in a crunchy cocoon, the latter will give you a break from the squishy mouthful of dimsums. Among the dimsums, the fish dimsum topped with bright red caviar is not just visually appetising, but doesn’t disappoint as well.
The soup – don’t let the name throw you off – is a clear soup that works great as a palate cleanser.
In the main course, you can choose between the east coast prawns in exotic sauce, whole boneless fish in ginger onion sauce, stir fried sliced chicken beans sprout coriander chilli, Konjee crispy lamb, braised tofu in devil sauce, steamed pokchoy with shitake and broccoli whole garlic sauce and shredded eggplant in spicy Tobandjan sauce to accompany your Singapore vegetable rice noodles or aromatic five spice flavoured moon fan rice. While most are typical Chinese flavours, the shredded eggplant in spicy Tobandjan sauce will have you reaching for your glass of bubbly. Potently spicy, it’s a nice break break to the overall platter. The Konjee crispy lamb also makes for a nice side dish, though it’s a dry dish.
At the end of the meal, you’ll be full to the brim, but the dessert platter will lure you back in – panna cotta smartly shaped like small square bowl, may fool you into thinking it’s actually one, chocolate filled coconut and rice ball (must try!) cheesecake and caramelised walnut toffees will leave you bursting at your waistband. If you still don’t feel full, then you can always top it with another glass of sparkling wine.
Priced at Rs 1800, exclusive of taxes, the Sparkling Yum cha is open from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every Sunday at the Golden Dragon, Taj Krishna.