Royal China at Raffles

Another Sunday opportunity to go out with grans, post friday (very good passive) call. with the new ho I was free for the Sunday, and having slept since 230pm till 8 am the next day I was fully rested to go out. Supposed to spa with kels for the last day of her leave but I guess tiredness set in for her !! (and massive inertia, I suppose). Turned out to be a real rainy day. Gran being the cell group leader, was tasked with buying fruits for one of their house warming (lucky got her grandaughter around to do the saigang) and we very lazily drove even though it was just a block away. The house warming was great - flats these days are really simple but chic; lotsa plants around. Glutinous rice, curry, beehoon and cheng tng galore - old ladies have simple taste indeed. But of cos we left space for lunch/tea. Gave a ride to her fren to Tiong Bahru so she could meet her grandson for Mac Dor Nar (in her own words damn kewt). We headed to Royal China at Raffles (Level 3, Raffles Hotel) thereafter. Parking there on Sundays are a very affordable $6 per entry - didnt know but was forced to park there cos it was raining dogs.

Wanted to go there 2 weeks ago but reservations are a must here. Plus last wk grandma didnt allow me to company her cos I prob looked like a ghost when I woke up. So this time, though I'm post post call I must bring her cos I've been postponing this date!!

Prawn and Chives Dumpling - a veggie twist to the normal har gao - the crystal skin is super sticky ! It sticks onto whatever it touches; including its neighbour dumpling (and to tease them apart after that) and my tea cup.

Thousand layer cake with salted egg; this is like layered liu sha bao (below). Even better balance of egg/custard than the bun itself. This was grandma's favourite.

Slight overkill with the custard/egg thing. I ordered the Liu Sha Bao - Salted Egg and Custard Bun with Mango; Yes this has the mango twist to it - purists (like the very loud group of 3 girls and a guy) will not like it as the mango taste just overwhelms the egg and custard. I guess if you do pay attention the mango is quite a complement to the salted egg and sweet custard. Its got a fruity twist to it.
Chee Cheong Fan with Dough fritters, Hong Kong style - this version is gooooood...but you must eat it early when its still crisp, for when we left for long, the youtiao just got soggy. Everytime I eat these I'm reminded of the good ol elective days with Kels.
Abalone Dumpling - loved the contrast of crisp strings of flour around the soft filling.
Sesame Prawn rolls - the aroma from the sesame seeds makes this very delicious.

Beancurd roll in pumpkin sauce - sounds nicer than it looks and tastes ;P Its got crunchy bits of vegetables within.

Taro roll with scallop - love this! The crisp pastry gave in to mashed taro and topped with a scallop.

As you can imagine, we were VERY FULL when it came to this dish......the chef recommended Shredded Duck with Crystal dumpling skin in chilli oil. Honestly, we forgotten all about this dish cos it was hidden from our sights behind some basket.....this is extremely SPICY!! Loads of Sichuan spices within. The shredded duck was mighty salty, the dumpling skin super smooth, and spices super killer!! gran couldnt take it... haha.

We left to walk to Raffles City where I took her to New Asia Bar to gai gai (love the sights there, as always). Prob my first during daytime too. We browsed around and saw lovely pearl rings and a very very gorgeous watch at Thomas Sabo (more to add to my black/diamonte watch collection). Loved the paintings at the Art gallery at Raflles city too. The extension from Raffles City to Esplanade is spanking new....much much to explore for the next non-rainy day ;) Btw the Xmas tree at Raffles city........can be entered!