Earlier this year, the Mandalay guild house restaurant that used to be known simply as The Mandalay was rebranded as Dim Sum @ Mandalay. With a focus on Chinese cuisine and in particular dim sum and “wok-fried delights”, the new menu was reason enough to have lunch at the NUSS guild house near Novena.
New Restaurant at Mandalay Guild House
The National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) operates three guild houses in Singapore for their members and guests. We think the Mandalay one is the nicest. The black-and-white bungalow exudes classic old house charm and has a cosy interior. There are two f & b facilities in this place, the restaurant and a bar (The Bar @ Mandalay). The latter also has a simple food menu that includes local delights such as satay and samosa.
The physical restaurant has remained the same. But the name and menu have been overhauled. The new Dim Sum @ Mandalay now features “handcrafted dim sum and wok-fried delights”. I think the latter is a fancy word for tze char perhaps.
Dim Sum @ Mandalay Menu
Here are pictures of some pages from the restaurant menu. The full menu is available online (link below). Zi char favourites like sweet and sour pork, cereal prawns and curry fish head are on the menu.
We decided on a couple of dim sum items – shrimp har kau ($6.80) and baked BBQ pork buns (bo luo bao $8.80), wanton noodles soup ($13) and Stir-fried Fish Fillet with Seasonal Greens and Tea Tree Mushrooms ($26).
Dim Sum Lunch at Mandalay
Both the dim sum performed beyond our expectations. These classic dim sum restaurant dishes of baked char siew buns and har kau could hold their own against the famous Cantonese restaurants along Orchard Road.
The wanton noodles were above average but not quite the same as those we find in Hong Kong as the wanton skins were too soggy.
The fried fish fillets dish was more beautiful than any we have encountered in a zi char restaurant. It was also very tasty, cooked with more than adequate fire power to sear some of the vegetables and impart a sense of wok hei to it.
Overall the new restaurant at Mandalay Guild House shows great promise and we hope to be able to try out more dishes in the future.
Operating Hours:
Dim Sum @ Mandalay
Mandalay Guild House
2 Mandalay Rd Singapore 308206
Daily
Lunch: 11am to 3pm (Last order at 2.30pm)
Dim Sum Afternoon Tea: 2.30pm to 6pm
Dinner: 6pm to 10pm (Last order at 9.30pm)