Min Jiang: The Goodwood Park Dim Sum high tea experience

It was a mind boggling task for me when daddy asked me how do I wanna celebrate my nineteenth birthday.  You see, I already had in mind as to where I want but that doesn't equate to what my family would enjoy. For me, any meals must be enjoyable not to  me but to the people who dine with me as well.

Sometimes it's not just about the food. It's also the diners right?

Dim Sum, high tea and buffet. Those were my criteria I had in mind and after a click or two, I've found Min Jiang @ Goodwood Park Hotel, a Oriental restaurant that fits my criteria at a relatively affordable price ($32++). 

Reservations are highly recommended as I've learnt my lessons from past experience when you're dining with a fairly large group. To me, anything above six people is large enough to make me call for booking. Besides, I always like to make my presence known, you know the life of a prince is all about glamour right?

Like most established Chinese restaurants, Xiao Long Bao or XLB as I call them, must always be made and served upon request. It was a good 20 minutes before they arrived onto our table piping hot. I pierced the soft skin and clear meat stock flowed out of the man-made dimple. I slurped and took my first bite of the gem within it, a sizable meat is all I see and the rest were made history...

Simply delightful though I would say that Min Jiang's rendition isn't as exquisite compared to Din Tai Fung's with their famous 18-folds XLB. Well, the taste makes up for the visual I guess. It's so disappointing that you could only try it once... Yea, they are served only once.

My family doesn't believe in formality. There's no need to wait. Everyone starts at their own leisure pace. For me, I just go ahead with a bowl of Century Egg Congee. The smooth texture of the congee, the taste from the fermented egg and the delicate slices of ginger. Plain and simple that's how I like my congee to be.

Prawn Dumplings or Har Gau as the Cantonese calls these pearl white treats are a must have for any Dim Sum meals. It would be plain weird if you don't have one of these on the tables but anyway, the prawns were fresh and the skins enveloping the pinkish seafood was of the right consistency. I love them so much that I didn't feel the need to dip them in red (chili) or black (soy) sauce. The sweetness from the prawn is more than my enough to excite my palette.

Another quintessential dumpling in Dim Sums, Siew Mai. Though I felt that there's no need to place a small abalone above each of them. It's simply too small to make any impact. I guess it gives the diners the wow factor that they used such an expensive ingredients?

Chee Cheong Fun were served in two forms. Either with scallops or roast pork. They were great though a bit too salty for me since it's douse in soy sauce. Sorry for the mess I've made. Mummy wasn't very happy with me playing with my food to get the perfect shot...

I dare say this is one of the better Char Siew Pao I had. The bun were soft and fluffy while the meat inside were sweet and tender. Signs that they were made by hand. I lost count of the number of basket we took just to justify the lack of Egg Tarts and Lian Rong Pao that ran out... Yea, we were disappointed about the lacks but that doesn't mean we weren't able to continue our high tea happily right?

There was nothing special about their desserts section. Mango Pudding, Cheng Teng, Mango Sago and a few mouse cakes. I can't really remember the name of this one but it was fascinating to see desserts that looks like salad. Pieces of sponge cakes and various fruits all mixed together in a bowl. It's pleasant to the eyes but that's all.

I thought I would walk away feeling disappointed with their desserts, until the staff came to our table and mentioned that they'll be serving durian pudding at 4pm promptly. You have no idea how excited I was when I heard the news. So excited that I begin explaining to my family members how famous their durian desserts were and I think I gave the staff a shock when I stopped her from doing the explanation because I basically said everything within one breath!

But it's true! The name Goodwood Park has been synonymous with the word durian. In my opinion, no patisseries or bakery or any other hotels can rival them in terms of quality and variety of durian desserts they have! I didn't call myself dessert prince for fun ok? Desserts are my eye-candies just to let you know ;)

It was four and as told, our Durian Pudding were served individually. The pudding itself was smooth and delectable but I tell you when they say it's durian pudding, it means there's real durian inside which comes in the form of strands, the fibers of the fleshy fruit. Don't be misleaded by the portion though, by the time I finished mine, I was so full that I wish I hadn't eat too much Char Siew Paos!

A typical scene of a boy who has overate... Awful feeling but totally worth it!

Like all buffets, there will always be hits and misses. I didn't try all their dumplings because they didn't look worth the extra calories. Some were doused in oil, some looked too daunting and some looked too spicy. What they lacked in variety, they make up in terms of quality. My mum still resent the fact that they didn't have Egg Tarts and Lian Rong Pao...

Service was a tad too slow. I guess the staffs had a hard time meeting our constant demands of refilling the tea pot or clear our mounting plates and baskets. At least they were friendly and approachable, always with a smile that's what I always see.

And there you have it. The Goodwood Park Dim Sum high tea experience...

Goodwood Park Hotel

22 Scots Road, Singapore 228221

Tel" +65 6737 7411