I must confess that I have a weakness

for

Char Siew Baos. Not just any Char Siew Bao, but the Steamed Barbecued US Kurobuta Pork Bun with Black Truffle from Cassia, Capella Singapore, or Cassia’s signature Char Siew Bao with Black Truffle. The last time I ate at the restaurant was about 7 weeks ago. I went back to the restaurant immediately after my 3-week vacation in Russia and the United States.

But this time, I was here to try the new weekend Dim Sum High Tea introduced this afternoon. In the past, the English High Tea was served at The Knolls in Capella Singapore.  With the introduction of the Dim Sum high tea, high tea is now served at Cassia.  The best part is, you don’t have to decide where to eat should your dining companion decides to have the English set. This is because both the English and Dim Sum high tea menus are now served at Cassia.

At just SG$39.90++, I consider the weekend Dim Sum high tea a steal and good value-for-money especially when you are dining in a truly luxurious hotel. The weekend Dim Sum high tea set consists of the following – 9 individual portions of delicately prepared dim sums, a trilogy of dessert, and a selection of top-grade Chinese teas. And list of heavenly dim sums are: Baked Black pepper Beef Pastry with Seaweed; Deep-fried Taro Box with Chicken, Prawn, Scallop, Mushrooms in White Sauce; Deep-fried Beancurd Roll with Goose Liver and Mozzarella Cheese; Steamed Barbecued US Kurobuta Pork Bun with Black Truffle; Steamed Chicken Dumpling with Prawn, Peanuts in Chiu Chow Style; Steamed Lobster Dumpling with Fish Roe; Steamed Siew Mai topped with Abalone; Steamed Vegetables Dumpling with Black Fungus and Mushrooms (vegan); and Steamed Crystal Dumpling with Vegetables and Wild Mushrooms (vegan). Even though diners are given only one portion of each dim sum, the portion is just nice for an afternoon tea.

Have you started drooling yet?  Wait – you have not heard the dessert selection! The dessert is a trilogy of Steamed Custard Bun with Creamy Salted Egg Yolk; Homemade Cream of Avocado; and Crispy Water Chestnuts Strip. Ohhh!!! If the Char Siew Bao is air, then the Steamed Custard Bun with Creamy Salted Egg Yolk is water to me. I cannot live without either. I simply adored the Steamed Custard Bun with Creamy Salted Egg Yolk or Lao Sau Bao (in Cantonese). It is magical when the creamy salted egg yolk filling bursts in your mouth as you bite into the bun. I was so delighted to know that the Chef Lee had reinstated these precious darlings back into the weekend brunch menu and the dessert menu.  Now, I can have these delightful baos even during dinner!

And to thoroughly appreciate these exquisite dim sums, you have to have a pot of top-grade Chinese tea. Cassia offers a selection of Vintage Puér, Xihu Dragon Well, Jasmine Winter Flakes and Chrysanthemum.

Something I really appreciate about Cassia is that the management doesn’t shortchange its guests. Unlike some luxury hotels in town where they position themselves as luxury hotels and charge you ridiculous high prices but serve you mediocre food, Cassia is different and sets itself apart from the rest.  That’s because the hotel, Capella Singapore, is in a different league.

Yes, I’m addicted to Cassia and I know it. To date, I haven’t really found a place in Singapore that matches this exquisite modern Chinese restaurant yet.

Cassia, Capella Singapore
1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island
Singapore 098297
www.capellahotels.com/singapore