Cherry Garden

The beautiful, each piece: Oh-so-dainty, Oh-so-refine. Almost like art, delicately crafted.

O’ my dear, I love you so. Never in my heart, I stopped thinking of you. Miss sushi, and Miss tapas: both seemed to be more popular than you, but I will always put you in the first place.

It was big, no, huge! This was, one of the many, different renditions of har gau we would see today. Essentially a har gau without the skin; the crab meat dumpling. It was prawny, with a nice bite - but crabby (no pun intended) it was not, well who cares?

Rather than an-overly-thick-skin, give me a dumpling without skin.

The well-admired Steamed Prawn Dumplings had an injection of carrot purée which only served to beautify the appearance of the har gau skin.

“We protested! We protested!”

The purist camp did a demonstration on the streets, crying for the restoration of the conventional har gau which they were so used to. But for the ladies; the boost in vitamin A. What was missing however, was the carrot taste.

The novelty. The inclusion of preserved vegetables was a brilliant stroke of art; the saltiness enhanced the flavour of the pork, which brought us to the question: why didn’t anybody thought of this before? Steamed pork dumpling with preserved vegetables, siew mai.

Now this was a not-so-simple bun that was bound to turn heads. Served piping hot, the bun seemed quite insignificant until you took a bite at it. Immediately, you would realize that you just had something very special. The bun itself was soft, fluffy and light as a feather while the fillings were so, so sweet and juicy. The Steamed kurobuta char siew pork fluffy bao, was the winner for the day.

The humble har gau did an open-faced sandwich; with shark’s fin on top. Luxury, it was, wealth, it symbolized, and prestige, it presented. Sorry sharky! Steamed shark’s fin dumplings with dried scallops and shrimp.

The tinge of pink, at the top of the tri-top; pretty and so pretty. Another piece of art we seen, at the gallery of Cherry Garden. However, the Scallop and spinach crystal dumpling did came across as slightly dry.

Truffled Essence Crystal Dumplings stuffed with Assorted Fresh Mushrooms. This, was a beauty; the translucent skin, the jelly texture, the array of mushrooms, almost perfect - but it was too large!

Prawn was the main lead, and mango was the second lead. There was the accompany of the green, hot wasabi! Netted rice crispy turnover. I held you, in my arms, into the late wee wee hour: without the wasabi! My dear, the netted rice crispy turnover.

And there was the famous XLB. The voluptuous folds, the goodness of the soup stock, everything, gushing out.

Like a peacock spreading his feathers, the netted rice crispy did a peacock effect: it caught everybody’s attention. Oh my, so beautiful, was this meant to be eaten?

And oh wait, there’s something hiding below the feathers; the netted rice crispy I meant. Ah, that’s the pan-fried chives and chicken dumplings!

Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of chives - I would leave the taste of the dumpling to your own imagination. This was, a piece of art! Why don’t we turn it upside down?

This was the umpteenth time we had a make-over of the har gau, they called it, Steamed Chinese spinach dumplings. The spinach, provided the lovely lines, just like how a painting adorned the wall. The egg yolk, provided the oomph, so, so good.

This, was a poisonous pear, for snow white. The wicked witch threw in some pumpkin, a pinch of jicama, stirred stirred, mixed mixed, and finally, some vegetarian ham.

Poof! With a wave of her wand, the deep-fried potato “pear” appeared. Crispy texture checked, mesmerizing appearance checked, vegetarian (snow white is on a diet) checked. Sticky innards (to stick the mouth together) checked. Everything was present, and OH, where’s the poison?

And we took a plunge, into the deep, deep blue sea. From the land to the sea, the Symphony of live pacific grouper prepared in three different ways. The first: we have a soup, grouper fish broth with ginger, onion and Silken tofu.

Steamed grouper crystal fish dumpling. Was this a dim sum, or was this a fish? It was both, with a twist. Brilliant it was, bravo we shouted. Grouper fish meat inside a dumpling of the fish skin. It was beautiful, too beautiful to eat.

It was not all smooth-sailing, nothing was. As much as I loved the creativity, there was a snag. The use of fish skin, for the translucent was great for the eyes, but not for the mouth. It was chewy, and slightly fishy: non fish lovers, would say, no no!

Prawn and pork, were absent. I give you fish, fish for dim sum. The very first, I believed. Let there be more, say fish siew mai? This, surely, would be a great day for all the fish lovers.

One price, one fish, for the value of three. Worthy, indeed. Sautéed grouper fillet with asparagus, no parts of the fish were wasted, from the meat, to the skin.

I have always wanted to go to Cherry Garden. And I’m glad I finally did. It was a feast, for the visual senses. The dim sum, so delicately craft piece by piece, was an art, for all to enjoyed. Creativity was certainly in the air, the adventurous use of different ingredients, the details to attention for the tiniest things, the emphasize of making it look as good as it tasted. I’m sold. Praises, have to be reserved for the savvy and charismatic executive Chinese chef, Mr Hiew Gun Khong.

Cherry Garden has the weekend dim sum ala carte buffet at $45 per head, which has a selections of 20 over dim sum, and other Chinese food as well. My appreciation to Kelly, the PR relations manager for hosting us, and Cuisine & Wine Asia for the invitation.

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!

Cherry Garden at The Oriental Singapore, voted one of the best restaurants in 2006 & 2007 by Singapore Tatler and one of Singapore's top restaurant in 2006 by Wine and Dine magazine, played host to my gf and I as we popped by for lunch before embarking on our new year shopping spree.

Stepping into the restaurant takes you into a different world - a world where our ancestors lounged and dined in courtyards found only in TV programs and complete with a replica of an age old bird cage. I guess WOW would be most apt in describing my first reaction to the almost picturesque scene which unfolded before me. Even my gf, who's not one to be impressed easily, was taken aback by the charcoaled teak panels, slate floors and ambient lighting. Without a doubt, this is one of the, if not THE best decor I've seen in a Chinese restaurant in Singapore. Don't believe me? Look at the pictures. ;)

Appetiser of Deep Fried Silver Fish - This didn't appear anywhere in our set lunch menu, so it must be complimentary. Nicely deep fried with the coating of flour crispy and not too oily. But could have been better if a little more salt and pepper were added, without which, it would be rather tasteless.

Double Boiled Soup of the Day - Lao Huang Gua Tang translated into Old Yellow Melon Soup - I found this soup quite refreshing as it was light on the palate yet appetising enough to kick start our lunch. However, it was a tad too sweet for me.

Three Varieties of Dim Sum - A very nicely presented dish with 3 types of non conventional Dim Sum. The first was vegetables wrapped in a crystal dumpling skin ala Har Gao style which I didn't find the least bit impressive. Average at best as the dumpling skin wasn't elastic enough. The second was a Shui Jiao with chicken meat and vegetables, which was slightly better than the first one because the chicken provided some fibre to chew on. The third was the best with fresh and crunchy prawns enveloped within a crispy deep fried exterior. Without this, I would have dismissed this dish entirely.

When a dish comes branded as a Chef's recommendation in a fine dining restaurant, it is usually good. However, the Combination of Fresh Scallops in Three Flavours was a case of hits and misses. The Pan Fried Scallop with Salt and Pepper tasted nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that I couldn't get elsewhere. The Deep Fried Scallop Roll with Phyllo Dough was a tad better, with the Phyllo Dough (whatever that is) brittle and crunchy. But it pretty much masked the slightly raw taste of the scallop. I personally found the Chilled Water Melon with Scallop in Garlic - Chilli Citrus Jus the most delectable. Though simply done, the sweetness from the chilled water melon blended well with the slightly salty and raw taste of the scallop and the garlic - chilli citrus jus added a tinge of spice and zest. Each individual flavour was so distinct yet melded together perfectly.

Braised Homemade Tofu topped with Minced Pork and Preserved Vegetables - Perhaps salty best describes this dish, probably due to the preserved vegetables in the gravy. The tofu was soft and silky and very much to my liking while the meat was finely minced but didn't taste out of the ordinary.

Wok Fried Beef Tenderloin with Trio Pepper in Chef's Concoction & Fragrant Fried Rice with Crabmeat, Asparagus and Fish Roe - In case you are wondering, these are 2 seperate dishes altogether but served together on the same plate at the same time in view of the customers hectic lunch schedule. Lets start off with the rice, which had fish roe evenly distributed within. Says alot about the effort put it. Unfortunately, apart from giving the rice a tinge of hardness and adding colour, the fish roe did nothing much. The shreds of crabmeat were almost non existent and the cubes of asparagus didn't taste like much. On the other hand, the Wok Fried Beef Tenderloin with Trio Pepper in Chef's Concoction was quite a star with the beef cubes cooked to perfection. Juicy and tender although it was well done. I didn't think too much about the sauce though. It tasted pretty much like normal pepper sauce to me, albeit a little stronger and thicker.

Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera Flavoured in Lime Citrus Jus - Now this was the epic finale to the very eye pleasing lunch. Streams of carbon dioxide were shooting through a gap in the cylindrical honey pot look alike serving glass - a result of putting dry ice in water at the bottom of the glass. Visuals aside, I didn't enjoy this dish one bit. The jelly was way too sour and made me cringe everytime I took a bite. Just for the record, I drank 5 cups of tea just for this dish alone to wash down the taste. But if you like sour stuff, then maybe it might taste good to you.

The bill for lunch came up to $111.90 for 2 pax. Certainly on the high side, especially considering that its lunch. Food is slightly above average but not outstanding, with the focus more on aesthetics rather than taste. Each dish is visually appealing and much attention is paid to the tiniest details. It could work on the quality of food though. Service is prompt and unhurried, which is excellent for a leisurely lunch. My conclusion? Go back only if ambience means a lot and quality of food takes a back seat. Oh and of course, if you are feeling rich (dinner is priced per pax by the way).

See my pictures here