Michelin Star Dim Sum at Summer Pavilion

Having a slow Michelin star dim sum lunch at Summer Pavilion on a weekend is one of the best ways to celebrate the end of a work week. There is nothing exciting at this Chinese restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Singapore. The decor and the main menu look roughly the same over time. But we find attractiveness in the consistency and predictability.

This is a picture of the restaurant from a previous visit. It still looks like this now.

Summer Pavilion a La Carte Menu

There are only a handful of one Michelin star Chinese restaurants in Singapore. Of these our favourite is Summer Pavilion. Their a la carte menu has remained largely the same over the many years we have visited them. The menu is available online, but here are a few pages that we ordered from during this visit.

On weekends, a short chef’s recommendation menu is available. It provides more options, especially small dishes for those dining in a small group.

For us, the highlight of lunch at Summer Pavilion is their dim sum. Both their “common” dim sum items like char siew bao and the more unusual items like deep-fried lobster roll are well-made and have some distinct flavours. Enjoying them on beautiful crockery also makes them more delicious. The range of items is not wide but adequate.

The pieces of dim sum for each item can be changed to suit the number of diners. In our case, each dish was served in two instead of three pieces and the prices on the menu were modified accordingly. It is a useful option to have, especially when there are only two diners.

Our Michelin Star Dim Sum Lunch at Ritz Carlton Singapore

First to arrive were the steamed dried scallop dumplings ($4 per piece). These were small, but packed with flavours of prawn, dried scallops, cabbage and parsley.

Next were char siew bao or BBQ pork buns ($4 per piece). These looked no different from the usual Chinese restaurant bao. But it has a very light and fluffy skin that goes perfectly with the not too fatty char siew inside.

The final two dim sum items have a more special appearance. These are distinctly Michelin star dim sum served at Summer Pavilion.

The deep-fried shredded yam pumpkin (picture above) reminds us of wafer biscuits with a soft pumpkin core sandwiched between two crisp shredded yam covers. Most photogenic dim sum award goes to the deep-fried lobster roll ($5 per piece). Deep-fried breaded vermicelli wrapped around a core of pieces of lobster and prawn paste. These have a wonderful texture and flavour.

Main Courses

Apart from dim sum, there were also other parts of the menu to explore. This time we ordered a beef dish and a hor fun dish. We enjoyed the poached beef with golden mushroom and bean sprouts ($52). The mushroom and tow gay were placed under the thin slices of beef. A bowl of beefy broth was provided to be applied as desired. The result was a light beef dish with lots of crunch from the bean sprouts. It was very good.

We were not as enthusiastic about our other dish of beef hor fun with bitter melon ($40). This was too much like a typical beef hor fun dish and we did not perceive any Michelin star magic with this one. Quantity-wise, both dishes were good for two or three persons. There was no space for dessert after this. As usual, service at Summer Pavilion was top-notch – professional and friendly.

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

Summer Pavilion
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039799

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