I have to admit that this post is an amalgamation of several visits in one, since I do have a habit of having dim sum on my own, it was necessary for me to return a number of times so that I could try something new each time.
Situated on level four inside Miramar, patrons need to cross the footbridge in order to reach the renowned Chinese restaurant Sun Tung Lok. Initially awarded three Michelin stars in 2011, it unfortunately lost a star this year, however with what I have tried so far, it definitely ranks quite highly for me in terms of taste and quality of food.
First impressions of the restaurant, the dining area is not large with several tables comfortably spaced out, but I came to realise that there is another section to the dining area on the far side which is half hidden by a wall. I am usually seated in the first section of the restaurant inside one of the couched areas on the side and I find the atmosphere to be quite comfortable with a hint of casual elegance.
As a pre-meal appetiser, a small saucer of plum dust coated guava is usually served. I really enjoy this as the guava is always pleasantly sweet and the slight sourness of the plum dust enhances the flavour of the guava which never fails to open up the appetite.
The XO sauce braised ox tongue seemed to be quite a signature appetiser and had been praised in many reviews. The ox tongue was cut into perfectly bite-sized cubes and presented pyramid style. The tenderness of the ox tongue varied pending on which parts of the tongue you pick up. Generally I find that the center of the tongue is the softest and most fatty area while the outer parts tend to be more meaty and slightly tougher. The cubes of tongue were quite flavourful from the marinade and the XO sauce was spicy enough to give a mild burn. I would say it was decent, but I have had better ox tongue elsewhere.
On one of my visits, I had a big craving for ‘phoenix claws’. I wanted to order them with the traditional black bean marinade, but Sun Tung Lok only offered them braised in abalone sauce so I had to make do instead. It was served piping hot in a small claypot and there were around seven small sized chicken feet. The texture was perfect. Braised until silkily soft, the skin and tendons were so easily sucked from the bones and all the collagen goodness just melted in the mouth. It was an absolute pleasure to eat~
The steamed minced beef balls were also very good. Two generously fist sized balls of finely minced beef had a pleasant bouncy texture with the occasional crunch of water chestnuts. The addition of 15-year aged mandarin peel gave off a heady fragrance as it reached the table, and served to enhance the flavour of the beef. On its own, the beef was already tasty enough, but a small spoonful of the slightly sweet vinegar sauce ‘git jup’ gave it an extra oomph especially since they added pepper to it. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this.
Steamed dim sum, well dumplings to be exact are always a must order for me at any dim sum outing. Aside from the fillings meeting the requirement of being fresh and of quality, the outer glutiinous skin needs to be of the perfect thickness where it is translucent enough to glimpse the filling and it must be soft yet retaining a slight chewiness. Sun Tung Lok excelled at this. Of the four types of dumplings I have sampled so far, none have disappointed.
The scallop and shrimp dumplings were pleasantly plump with filling providing a meaty mouthful with each bite. Even though I am not a fan of mentaiko, it was good to see that they added it after the dumplings had been steamed saving them from being overcooked and becoming rubbery in texture
Vegetarian dumplings are my standard. Whenever I see this on a menu it is almost an automatic response for me to order them. I quite liked the version here as the mushrooms and bamboo shoots were nicely diced and still retained shape unlike some other restaurants where the filling is just mushy. The filling also emanates ‘wok hei’ which adds more flavour to the dumpling in general.
The shrimp dumplings were chubby in appearance with pretty pleats and showed the slight blush of the shrimp beneath the skin. The freshness of the shrimp was evident from the crunchiness in texture and the juiciness of the dumpling was pleasant, no doubt from the pork fat used.
The steamed garoupa and vegetable dumplings were part of their specials menu. Appearance wise they were quite interesting, but a little odd with the addition of the black glutinous skin. As with the trend, they were generously filled with a mixture of garoupa and what I assumed was garlic chives. They were decent, but I think I would have liked them better if they used another type of vegetable.
So far so good, I have yet to be disappointed 🙂
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