Asia Grand Restaurant

Having heard many rave about the good but expensive dim sum at Asia Grand Restaurant, I finally made my way to the Cantonese restaurant at Odeon Towers (opposite Raffles Hotel) recently. Not sure whether it would be packed for lunch on a weekday, we decided to call that morning to make reservations before making our way there. Promptly seated and asked what tea we would like, as the appetiser of assorted pickled capsicum and cucumber with fishcakes was served. Different from the usual braised or roasted peanuts, this was surprisingly addictive even for someone who does not eat capsicum and cucumber. Service was professional, and we did not have to wait long for our orders upon placing them. As mango and prawn go well together, Fried Mango Shrimp Roll is a hard-to-go-wrong dish except that it can sometimes be too oily. But here, it was not too greasy.

While skin of Steamed Shrimp Dumpling "Ha Kau" neither stuck to the paper on the bamboo steamer basket nor fell apart when taken up with a pair of chopsticks, it was not as translucent-thin as I would have liked it to be. Still springy and not too chewy, the skin wrapped around filling of succulent prawns I had no complaints about. Could not say the same of the prawns used in the mediocre Steamed Cheong Fun (Shrimp) though. We also ordered a Steamed Cheong Fun (Beef) which was my first time trying and not my cup of tea. There was nothing I could fault on the tender Steamed Pork Dumpling "Shao Mai" and fluffy Steamed B.B.Q. Pork Bun. Neither could I rave about its Carrot Cake (Fried) and Lean Meat Porridge with Preserved Egg. The latter, a tad salty and mushy for my liking, was disappointedly not served with deep-fried dough fritter.