Ritz Carlton’s Summer Pavilion is a busy place at lunchtime on a weekend. We had called ahead and were fortunate to secure the only remaining table. It was worth the effort as we discovered that a refreshed dim sum menu had been introduced at this one Michelin star Chinese restaurant in Singapore.
Tóng Lè Private Dining 同樂 is the leading restaurant in the Tung Lok group. It is perched at the top of the OUE Tower which was formerly known as the Change Alley Aerial Tower. The revolving restaurant structure had been there as long as I remember. In the eighties, it was occupied by a Chinese restaurant known as Red Lantern Revolving Restaurant. I think that name might have been inspired by the Chinese name for Clifford Pier : 红灯码头. Anyway, that area has changed a lot in recent times and Tóng Lè Private Dining took over the revolving restaurant in 2012.
There has been some negative news about Orchard Road recently. See for example the Straits Times story on 16 April 2017. We think that the recent talk about the potential demise of Orchard Road is slightly exaggerated. Of course there are many things wrong that need to be fixed. Sky-high carpark rates is one of them. But overall, we think that Orchard Road is (still) a fantastic place. There must be a thousand food options in the area. Best of all, it is inclusive with something for all budgets. From swanky Michelin star restaurants to humble places for the ordinary patrons. This is where Central Hong Kong Café (Wheelock Place) comes in, a comfortable place where we can get a meal for less than $10 each.
Since the revamp of the Shaw Centre in 2014, new restaurants had been added to the list of tenants. Lucky 8 restaurant in Shaw Centre opened in this Orchard Road shopping mall in late 2016. This Chinese restaurant is one of the bigger eateries at Shaw House. Most of the other restaurants are modest in size. We stopped by for a simple dim sum lunch recently.
When Tai Cheong Bakery Holland Village opened at the end of 2016, there was widespread excitement in Singapore. This Hong Kong based baker has apparently been in business for almost seven decades. During that time their egg tarts have achieved a strong following. Tai Cheong’s Singapore fans were therefore delighted when they first started selling their goodies from a Takashimaya stall. Tai Cheong Bakery Holland Village took their presence in Singapore one step further by having an actual dining location in Singapore.
We decided to have some early informal CNY celebrations as we know that from next week onwards, many Chinese restaurants will be booked to their gills for Chinese New Year lo hei events – both for families and for corporates. In case you have not done the bookings, we hope you find our list of 2017 CNY restaurants useful. Our first choice to have a weekend lunch was Summer Pavilion – a top Cantonese restaurant in Singapore.
