Dimsum Lunch at Xin Tian Di

Last Father's Day, we had Dimsum Unlimited at Xin Tian Di at the 4th floor of the Crowne Plaza Galleria Hotel. The place was busy but service was good enough. The food is good. This and Lili's dimsum buffet are our dimsum go to places now. The establishments in Ongpin just don't measure up anymore.

Xin Tian Di's cuisine is Singapore Cantonese, and as such you'll see some menu items with a Singaporean twist, like curry in dimsum. But all in all, it's pretty good. They also have a more extensive menu compared to Lili's weekday dimsum buffet. More on Lili's on the next post.

The menu:

I wasn't able to take pictures of everything we ordered. What I would recommend though, is the Scallop/Fish Congee. They make really good congee, and I know my congee.

I also recommend the Steamed Seafood Dumplings, pictured below. Don't let such a simple looking dish fool you. The broth is really tasty, the dumpling skin firm, and the filling? Light yet simply delicious.

Here is our plate of fried dimsum - Crispy Curry Beef Dumplings (triangular one), Salmon Taro Puff, and Deep-Fried Chicken Meat and Curry Dumplings. The Salmon Taro Puff was good, and it grows on you. At first, you won't notice the salmon (I was expecting the thing to be filled with salmon chunks, but no, it wasn't), but keep eating and you'll notice it. I hoped they would put more salmon in it, though.

Raddish cake. Crispy outside, soft and smooth inside. What can I say? I love raddish cake. Make sure to ask for Hoisin Sauce to dip the raddish cake in. I find that I like raddish cake with hoisin sauce best out of all possible condiment pairings.

Steamed Crystal Prawns "Ha Kao" - the popular favorite. Really, very very few Ongpin dimsum places make Ha Kao like this anymore. The skin is strong but not tough, the shrimp inside the perfect state of doneness, and the taste? Light and subtle, but, oh, so yummy. Best with as little soy sauce as possible. Just put enough soy sauce to highlight the flavor of the shrimp and subtle seasoning. Do not desecrate it by dunking the whole thing in soy sauce.

I forgot what this was but I love the dumpling skin...

Xiao Long Pao. It was good.

Steamed Glutinous Rice Dumplings Stuffed with Duck Meat, Mushrooms and Egg Yolk in Lotus Leaf. Take a look at those glistening pearls of glutinous rice and tell me you're not salivating. The glutinous rice was firm but soft. Okay, that's a heck of a description but this little morsel is just mouthwatering. There was just enough of the soft but still slightly chewy sticky rice for the filling (some restaurants put a lot of rice to make up for the fact that they don't put enough filling). The filling was flavorful and not too salty.

For dessert, go for the egg custard thing. I wasn't able to take a picture of it though. It's the best thing from the limited dessert selection.

Xin Tian Di's Dimsum Unlimited is available everyday from 11:30pm-2:30pm. Tel. No. 633-7222.