Dim sum and then some for a bite-sized feast
Who doesn’t love dim sum? Me, I can never have enough of it. We had our fill of dim sum—and then some—at the launch of the expanded dim sum menu at the City of Dreams Manila’s Crystal Dragon, created by the new dim sum chef de cuisine, She Chong Ngooi. Chef Chong not only pays tribute to China’s cherished teahouse culture but also gives the new dim sum selection a contemporary twist.
I haven’t seen a more picture-pretty, Instagram-worthy dim sum menu—it’s almost too good to be eaten—served amid Crystal Dragon’s newly refreshed setting with a luxurious carpet and modern tableware.
Whether steamed, baked, pan-fried, savory or sweet, Crystal Dragon’s over 20 innovative dim sums, available early this month, are bound to dazzle the taste buds with their intricate preparation and vast range of flavors and textures.
“I pay special attention to the taste, focusing on the combined flavors of ingredients and innovative techniques to give traditional dim sum new vitality by incorporating some local ingredients and enhancing traditional recipes to suit contemporary taste preferences,” Chef Chong discloses.
Chef Chong adds that the plating and presentation are important to make each dim sum pleasing to both the eye and the palate. For instance, a well-executed shrimp dumpling (har gow) is defined by its clear, crisp, translucent wrapper to perfectly capture the delicate flavor of the shrimp filling, which should be succulent and sweet.
And so, our bite-sized feast begins, served with meticulous care, starting with amuse-bouche (Jade Puff Pear with Seafood Filling) that certainly amuses. This is followed by the first course—a steamed basket containing four items: Goldfish Dumpling Filled with Shrimp and Diced Pumpkin, Imperial Crabmeat Crystal Dumpling (with dry scallop and a bit of shrimp paste), Chilean Cod with Lemon Zest, and Steamed Preserved Turnip and Chicken in Bean Curd Bag.
“To color the goldfish, we used carrot extract while the green color of the codfish is due to the spinach extract,” explains chef Yong Iin Chua. “We don’t use food coloring, only fruit or vegetable extract. We use Chinese wolfberry to get the orange color.”
Then comes the second course: Dragon King Dumpling Soup—truly souper, especially on a rainy day.
The third course consists of the Chef’s Selection: Deep-fried Hoisin Sauce Roasted Duck Meat Puff, Deep-fried Shrimp & Duo Egg Rolled (century egg and salted egg yolk), and Pan-seared Black Pepper Wagyu Beef Bun. For the non-pork and non-beef eaters, chef Chua recommends wild mushrooms and edamame beans in crystal wrap.
For the fourth course, we’re having Poached Homemade Spinach Noodle in Aromatic Szechuan Seafood Broth and Tiger Prawn Stuffed with Prawn Mousse.
Finally, for the fifth course, which chef Chua calls “sweet ending,” there’s Cranberry Red Wine Snow Skin with Kataiffi Avocado Lava and Golden Swan Puff & Mango Pudding.
Served with jasmine tea, it’s a tea-licious way to end an indulgent dim sum meal.
Executive chef-Chinese Danny Khoo and Crystal Dragon chef de cuisine Chan Choo Kean have also cooked up some latest additions to the restaurant’s à la carte menu guaranteed to delight the taste buds.
By the way, did you know that dim sum literally means “to touch the heart”? Surely, these dim sums will never fail to warm the cockles of our hearts.
