Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant – Weekend special and dim sum

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant in Carlton Hotel is one of the most well-known Chinese restaurants of Singapore.  We believe that it is probably on many people’s list of the best Chinese restaurants in Singapore. Weekend lunches at Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant have to be booked in advance and those in the first dining slot starting from 11.00 am have to vow to finish eating in one and a half hours.  Which was what we did.

The dining hall of Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant is a beautiful place. Under-stated elegance is probably a suitable description. What we particularly appreciate is the amount of space separating the tables and for use as passageways.  It was a full house when we were there but there was no feeling of congestion, just the familiar hustle and bustle of a busy Chinese restaurant. There are several dining areas, of which the round hall (above) is our favourite location.

Wah Lok has a good range of dim sum available for lunch. The average price of most items is $6.90 for three pieces. Not too bad, but this is at the higher end of dim sum prices in Singapore. There is also a menu for daily specials where we noticed that there is a March special for whole Peking ducks going for $48 each which sounds like a good deal. Here are pictures of the Wah Lok dim sum and daily specials menu.

We ordered a selection of dum sum items and the weekend special made up of two dishes – Lobster mee pok and poached vegetables for $78.

The por lor pau (baked barbecued pork buns) is compulsory eating for us when we are at Wah Lok. These buns of gold ($7.20 for four) are some of the best in Singapore.

Next we had the steamed crabmeat dumplings ($9.20 for four). They looked wonderful with colourful ingredients peeking through the translucent skins. The taste was good, but the crabmeat content was low.

The deep-fried yam rolls ($9.20 for four) were delicious. Each piece was crafted like a modern art sculpture. We can imagine a giant piece in the foyer of the Art Museum.

The final dim sum item was the deep-fried chive dumplings ($$9.20 for four). They do not score well in the looks department, but they certainly have personality. The fillings had lots of chive and other tasty ingredients. This is certainly not a run-of-the-mill dim sum item and is one of the best chive dumplings we have tasted.

The poached vegetables with ling zhi mushroom was a simple, light dish. The mushroom and lettuce are everyday ingredients but it was a lovely dish thanks to the flavourful soup. Very delicate and yet with complexity, this is a good dish which has low calories.

The mee pok with Boston lobster, ginger and onion was a luxurious dish. The lobster was a decent sized specimen with firm flesh and a fresh taste. The only negative was that the taste of lobster were not infused into the noodles. Not bad but a disappointment by the standard we expect from Wah Lok.

Overall, a pleasant weekend lunch at Wah Lok. A day of mostly hits and one disappointment with the dishes. Additional charges are $4 for pickles and $2 per head for Chinese tea. One Carlton Hotel car park voucher is provided for every $100 spend.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 5
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant
Level 2 Carlton Hotel Singapore
76 Bras Basah Road Singapore 189558

Tel: +65 6338 8333

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Saturdays
Lunch served from 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner served from 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Sundays and Public Holidays
Lunch served from 11am to 2:30pm
Dinner served from 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Nearby MRT Stations : City Hall, Bras Basah

Website

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog