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The name “Cassia” certainly does not resonate with a Chinese restaurant. You may think that it is either a Western or fusion restaurant. Cassia is actually a high-end fine dining Chinese restaurant located at the six-star luxurious Capella Singapore in Sentosa.
Perhaps a reason for the name was that Cassia is also the bark of several species of cinnamon grown in China. According to the hotel, it takes inspiration from the spices that were brought in by the early traders and how their chefs now use the freshest ingredients to serve diners authentic Cantonese cuisine.
You have to go up a short flight of dimly-lit stairs to reach Cassia. Once inside the restaurant, you will be impressed with the interior, which is chic and elegant. The soft and lush sofas at some tables add to the comfort factor. The lush fabrics and the tones of lilac and grey of the room create a chinoiserie mood.
We decided to try the dim sum at Cassia for lunch. The steamed abalone siew mai dumpling (S$12 for four pieces) is certainly not your ordinary siew mai. It came with a small abalone sitting on top of the siew mai. The pork and prawn filling was substantial, while each bite of the dumpling was sensational.
The wok-fried carrot cake with crisp garlic in Pi Fong Tang style (S$5.80 for two persons) was another winner. The crisp garlic added an extra kick to the carrot cake. We polished the plate clean.
The other outstanding dim sum dishes were pan-fried beancurd rolls with prawns and foie gras (S$6.80 for four pieces) and baked barbecued pork pastries (S$4.80 for four pieces). We could taste the foie gras in the beancurd rolls. The chef was able to infuse the Western ingredient foie gras into the common beancurd roll to make it an outstanding dish. In addition, the beancurd skin was fried to a perfect crisp.
The fragrant taste of butter came out strong when we took the first bite of the baked barbecued pork pastries, while the filling inside was moist and succulent.
Subsequent dim sum dishes that we ordered were the steamed vegetables dumplings with mushrooms (S$5.80 for four pieces) and crispy prawn dumplings with wasabi mayonnaise (S$6.80 for four pieces). Both dishes were passable. But we could taste the freshness of the prawns in the crispy prawn dumplings. Also, the wasabi mayonnaise was an addictive dip for the dumplings.
We opted for a plate of crispy noodles with assorted seafood and garden greens (S$22 for two persons). The serving for two was actually sufficient for the four of us since we had the other dim sum dishes. The seafood was fresh and when the gravy was added to the noodles, the dish was not soggy.
To round off our meal, we ordered three types of desserts. They are the steamed custard buns with creamy salted egg yolk (S$6.80 for four pieces), homemade mango pancake (S$8 a person) and the chilled cream of pumpkin with lily bulbs (S$6 a person).
The steamed custard buns were good. They were served piping hot and the runny creamy salted egg yolk oozed out when we sank our teeth into the buns. The creamy salted egg yolk had a tinge of saltiness and sweetness in it, which combined well to delight the palate.
However, the other two desserts were a disappointment. The mango pancake was rolled like a poh piah filled with cream and small pieces of mango. The sight of so much cream in the poh piah put us off. Also, the chilled cream of pumpkin with lily bulbs did not go down well with us. It was just like the Western creamy pumpkin soup except that it was sweet. The taste of the lily bulbs was flat and did not add any flavour to the cream of pumpkin.
For Chinese tea, we had the Pu’er Tea Imperial (S$6) and Pu’er Tea Vintage (S$12).
Cassia is the perfect place for corporate entertaining except that it is usually full especially during the weekends. Reservation is necessary as the seating capacity is only for 94 guests. The serving staff are attentive and the service is good, which is expected of a top luxury hotel since it recently won the “Most Indulgent Hotel” Award 2011 by HotelClub. The winners were selected based on genuine guests’ reviews posted on www.hotelclub.com and through reviews by HotelClub’s on-the-ground hotel experts.
Address: Capella Singapore
1 The Knolls
Sentosa Island
Singapore 098297
Opening Hours (Monday – Sunday):
Noon – 2.30 pm (lunch)
6:30 pm – 10:30 pm (dinner)
Tel: +65-6591-5045
Special Lunch and Dinner Entrance Fee to Sentosa (Monday – Friday):
Noon – 2 pm: S$2 per car
5 pm onwards: S$2 per car
