Dim Sum @ Casa Imperial

This post is an amalgamation of two dim sum meals that I had at Casa Imperial. The second one was a lot better than my first. Of course, one won't be expecting cheap prices at this extravagant mansion, so I only come here for an occasional treat.

From my first meal, the cuttlefish tentacles with salted spice was my favourite. The tentacles are nicely fried and had great flavours.

The veggie dumplings were presented in a creative way, but the taste was unremarkable. I didn't enjoy the filling that much, but the dumpling skin was pretty delicate.

Liver siu mai with mushroom, crab stick and quail egg. It was too meaty for my liking. The quail egg didn't really add much to the siu mai.

Shanghai style meat dumpling with crab meat. Not an exceptional execution, but it was decent and enjoyable enough.

Moving on to the better meal, the honey pan fried short rib was quite delicious. The beef was very flavourful, albeit a tad too chewy.

Har gow was nicely executed. The shrimps were plump and juicy, and the dumpling skin was delicate and moist. I was thoroughly enjoying it until...

...I found some mysterious substance in one of the dumplings. Not a very good sign. But at least the restaurant graciously offered us another basket of har gow. 

Another of my favourite was the deep fried taro dumpling, one of my dim sum staples. This version had an interesting filling.

I also loved deep fried shrimp dumpling with salad dressing. Once again, the shrimp was very plump and tasty.

Casa Imperial's version of deep fried dough with rice noodle roll is refined with the addition of conpoy, but I thought the peanut dip was not nutty enough.

On to the desserts. The milk and papaya puff was lovely with a rich, luscious filling. The puff pastry itself was delicate with a nice and flaky texture. 

But even better was the crispy mango and taro roll. The sweet taro filling was wonderfully fragrant, punctuated by the addition of mango. The delectable filling was enclosed by a crispy, deep-fried casing. This dessert was neither light nor healthy, but it was very tasty and satisfying.

All in all, the dim sum here show a lot of promise. The food is generally executed well, and I would definitely want to re-order some of the dishes that I had.