Hugging the dim sum at Sky View Kitchen - new restaurant at Singapore Flyer

Sky View Kitchen

After reading the review of Sky View Kitchen restaurant by Jaime Ee in the Business Times on 4 April 2016 (Familiar Chinese fare hits the spot) where she said : “… At Sky View Kitchen, we want to squeeze the har kau affectionately and whisper, “it’s been a long time since we met a dumpling that didn’t come out of a Pandan Loop central kitchen“, we could not resist making a trip to the Singapore Flyer to try out this new Chinese restaurant opened by a team who moved from the Crystal Jade group.

(2017 Update – Sky View Kitchen has been renamed to Sky View Pavilion)

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For some of us, it was a first trip to the Singapore Flyer. It looks much bigger and quite impressive (with all its mechanical details) at close range. But we had no time for sightseeing, we were there to hug some dim sum. Sky View Kitchen is a large Cantonese restaurant located on the ground floor. The decor was simple but the overall ambience was good as the tables were spread far apart. The service staff must be pretty fit, covering long distances between tables and the kitchen.

Sky View Kitchen @ Singapore Flyer

Sky View Kitchen’s menu contains mostly the usual Cantonese restaurant classics. Here are pictures of their dim sum menu and pages from the regular a la carte menu. We ordered a mix of dim sum and other dishes, mostly inspired by the items that were written about by Jaime Ee.

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Sky View Kitchen Menu

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We had to try the two dim sum staples – har pau ($6) and siew mai ($5.20). They were as described in the review – plump and traditional. The har gau was good but not to the extent of hugging them I am afraid. The siew mai was better – having a springy texture and no ‘porky’ taste. We asked for some black vinegar and ate them Teochew style. That pushed up their desirability a couple of notches.

Sky View Kitchen, Marina Bay

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Sky View Kitchen Chinese Restaurant

Sky View Kitchen Dim Sum

The dim sum dish that we felt deserved a hug were the chive dumplings ($6.40 for 4). They were made with thin translucent skins which were strong, yet yielded to a bite. The fillings were rich and flavourful. They reminded us of the deep-fried variant which we recently tried at Wah Lok, which we thought were also very good.

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Next were the baked and fried dim sum items. The deep-fried glutinous dumplings ($6 for 4) was a more unusual item. The egg-shaped dim sum was a light and simple snack. The char siew soh (BBQ pork pastry) looked promising but we were not crazy about it as the char siew filling was too sweet. No cuddles for these lot then.

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Sky View Kitchen Chinese Restaurant

Sky View Kitchen Chinese Restaurant Singapore

We also tried two items from the “chef’s recommendations” menu. The claypot dish with braised bean curd, eggplant and peppers stuffed with carp meat ($16.80) was simple but with deep complex tastes. We thought that was very good.

Sky View Kitchen Restaurant

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The deep-fried chicken wings stuffed with glutinous rice ($10.80 for 2) were nicely presented. Each wing had its bones and meat removed and stuffed with glutinous rice. The wing was stuffed till they looked like biceps on steroids. The highly stretched skin was very thin and when deep-fried, formed a light crisp layer over the rice. Very well done.

Sky View Kitchen Restaurant Singapore

Sky View Kitchen Restaurant Marina Bay

Sky View Kitchen Singapore

Finally, we ordered two very traditional Cantonese restaurant desserts – almond beancurd ($4.50) and mango pudding ($5). They were both good, no frills desserts. The almond jelly had the firm texture that we like and which is not too common these days.

Tourist attractions are not usual places to find down-to-earth dining places and it is refreshing to find one in the form of Sky View Kitchen at the Singapore Flyer. We also appreciated the friendly service and the lack of hard sell tactics to try to “push” some of their pricier dishes or drinks. We would certainly return to try some of the other items on the “chef’s recommendations”.

Parking is available in the multi-storey carpark across the road from the Singapore Flyer. There is an overhead bridge for pedestrians linking the two buildings.

Sky View Kitchen