Summer Pavilion - Dim Sum

What's better than a sumptuous Sunday lunch Dim Sum. The Summer Pavilion is located at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and they serve dim sum at lunchtime. Their menu is traditional yet innovative, offering relatively cheap ($30 dollars per person) and delicious dim sum in an elegant setting.

Tapioca crisps - This is what you will find ready at your table as you sit down. It's a snack to keep you busy while you order and wait for your food. It's a well presented snack that sets the theme of the restaurant: innovation within tradition.

Pan-fried shredded yam with pumpkin - I haven't seen this dish elsewhere and I love it as much as I love pumpkin. The crunchy texture of the outer layer is interleaved by two layers of soft shredded yam and one of sweet shredded pumpkin. A must try.

Steamed Lily bulbs dumpling with water chestnut, snow pea and mushrooms (left) - This dumpling has a very delicate flavour, with spikes of sweetness when you bite into the lily bulbs. Water chestnuts just add that crunchiness to the otherwise uniform texture.

Steamed rice skin roll with vegetarian ham, assorted mushroom and vegetable (right) - This is a rather original version of the traditional chow-fun. The unconventional filling is interleaved by vegetables and topped with a crunchy decoration.

Pan-fried crab meat dumpling with prawn, chicken, chives and mushrooms (left) - I didn't think that the ingredients composing the filling were particularly recognisable, but a pan fried dumpling adds variety to your dim-sum selection.

Steamed Squid with XO sauce (right) - This squid is as soft as it can get, delicately engraved to enable the savoury sauce to permeate its slippery surface. Highly recommended to squid lovers.

Steamed lobster dumpling with mushroom, Chinese parsley and onion - This was by far the best steamed dumpling. The meaty lobster texture is quite pronounced, while the shiitake mushroom flavour is quite dominant.

Baked chicken puff with onion in curry sauce (front) - The pastry is quite rich and thick, while the filling lacks of body. This wouldn't be my first choice overall, being quite filling and less rewarding than the other dishes.

Pan-fried chicken dumpling with dried shrimp, mushroom, preserved vegetables and chives (background) - An original version of the dried dumpling, with a string flavour of chives and mushrooms. The dough is dry on the outside but it reveals a moist, soft inner body when bitten into.

Overall, I highly recommend the "summer pavilion" as a dim-sum venue. the luxury of being properly served at a 5 stars hotel standard is accompanied by delicious, inventive food at an affordable price. It's definitely the kind of place that I would love to patronise regularly.