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Chancing upon an intimate Chinese restaurant offering authentic Cantonese cuisine at the heart of the Craig Road and Tanjong Pagar enclave in Singapore led to a delightful dining experience. Helmed by Executive Head Chef, Kelvin Sim, who has honed his skills under Master Chef Sam Leong, the restaurant’s food was up to expectations.
Pavillion’s interior is adorned with rich draperies and crystal chandeliers. The restaurant has a total seating capacity of 130, including three banquet rooms, while the main dining room can accommodate 90 diners.
Pavillion serves good dim sum dishes. One of the signature dim sum dishes is the Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao (four pieces for S$5.80). Each had a fine and smooth translucent skin and was bursting with ingredients.
The chicken glutinous rice (two pieces for S$5.00) also made an impact. The rice was soft and full of flavour. There were pieces of well-marinated chicken wedged in between the rice.
Another dish worth mentioning was the deep fried banana roll with shrimp (three pieces for S$4.20). The shrimp was crunchy and tasted fresh.
We were not impressed with the smoked duck and chives spring roll (two pieces for S$4.00). There was hardly any taste of the smoked duck. As a result, it tasted flat and was just like eating plain deep fried spring roll.
Most, if not all, Chinese restaurants will serve the pan-fried carrot cake (three pieces for S$4.00) as one of the dim sum dishes. The chef did a good job here as the carrot cake was good. We finished off the carrot cake in double quick time.
We also ordered the century egg porridge with minced pork and fine strips of ginger (S$6.00 a bowl). The porridge was a little too gluey for our liking.
The spinach beancurd ball (three pieces for S$4.00) was worth mentioning. It looked like siew mai sitting on a bed of spinach. The rich gravy stock made us crave for more.
What we liked about this restaurant is the freshness of the ingredients in all of its dishes. The deep fried prawn dumpling is a good example, with the sweetness of the prawns standing out ostensibly.
The desserts offered by Pavillion merit highlighting. The custard bun (three pieces for S$4.50) was a winner. One bite and the creamy custard flowed out, which titillated the taste buds.
The restaurant manager also recommended their two signature desserts – the chilled avocado puree with vanilla ice cream (S$8/-) and the home-made beancurd ice cream with grass jelly and aloe vera (S$8/-). The latter dessert is also called black and white cat (hei mao, bai mao) in Mandarin.
The chilled avocado puree was smooth and creamy. When eaten with the vanilla ice cream, it was a sheer delight. Our initial scepticism of the home-made beancurd ice cream was immediately put to rest when we put the first scoop into our mouths. It was light and yet, there was a perfect contrast to the taste. There was a tinge of bitterness in the grass jelly and yet, there was sweetness in the beancurd ice cream. Kudos goes to the chef for his creative ways of presenting the dishes.
The serving staff, especially the restaurant manager, were friendly and polite. He was chatty and put us at ease immediately when we took our seats. This is one restaurant that is worth a repeat visit.
Address:
Pavillion Restaurant
20 Craig Road
#01-02
Singapore 089692
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Dinner: 6 pm – 9:30 pm (Last order)
Tel: +65-6557-2820
