Dancing with delice

Steaming affair

One doesn’t need to shout from the rooftops for it to be heard — the food of ‘Yauatcha’ speaks for itself. Nestled in a cosy corner of 1MG Road Mall, the Cantonese dim sum and tea house, which is known for its variety of dumplings and brews, won’t let you down, whether you’re in for a light meal or a heavy dinner.

Their selection of dumplings is so detailed that you might be left staring at the menu for a while. If so, ask a staff member for suggestions and they will point you in the right direction with a fair amount of accuracy. There are steamed dim sums like the delicately made shui mai, paper-thin har gau or char sui. Or one could go for the cheung funs. A ‘Yauatcha’ speciality, the ‘Crispy prawn cheung fun’ is a must try; the gentle crunch of the prawns adds a whole new flavour to the seafood. It has prawns and black fungus rolled in a rice sheet, and is served with sweetened soya sauce.

Another special is the ‘Truffle edamame dumpling’. As the name suggests, it’s a perfect concoction of truffles and edamame (a type of soyabean that can be eaten fresh) and is accentuate when eaten with chilli oil or chilli sauce. The baked and pan-fried dim sums add more variety to the already vast menu. Try the ‘Shanghai dumpling’ — a pan-fried dish with chicken and prawn. You could also try the ‘Poached Peking dumpling’ with Japanese barbecue sauce.

Now for the main course! If you aren’t tucked by this time, go for the ‘Ho fan noodles’ — flattened rice noodles with mock meat, bean sprouts, coloured peppers and black seasoning. Along with noodles, they have a selection of rice items, meats, soups, salads and vegetable preparations. Neatly divided, the menu will ease one through the entire process.

If one gets a bit thirsty and want a cooler, try the in-house specials like ‘Lime and passion ice tea’ or the ‘Orange and chilli’ drink. But it’s the warm and fresh teas to lookout for — jasmine tea, blue tea, blue roasted tea, camomile flower tea and a host of green teas like ‘Taipei san xia green tea’.

Make sure to not leave the eatery without trying their desserts. Known for their dessert bar, the ‘Chocolate hazelnut mousse’ is absolutely heavenly. The sinfully chocolate makes for a perfect ending. The ‘Raspberry delice’, another ‘Yauatcha’ special, is a mixture of raspberry, dark chocolate and hazelnut brownie, served with raspberry ripple ice cream. These sweet delights are the perfect way to end the evening. ‘Yauatcha’ is located at Level 5, 1MG Road Mall, MG Road; for more details, call 92222 22800.