[dropcap size=small]I[/dropcap]t seems like a far trek over to Capella at Sentosa, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue if you have time to spare on weekends. If you want to get away from crowded city restaurants, Cassia is a great option. Housed in a colonial heritage building surrounded by lush greenery, the plush restaurant serves Cantonese cuisine consistently executed with finesse.
Dim sum here is sublime. Fine quality ingredients are used in the steamed bites. The char siew pau is one of the best we’ve had; encased in the fluffy white bun is sweet-savoury barbecued US kurobuta pork scented with black truffle. The soft morsels of fried carrot cake are spiked with an addictive spicy-savoury XO sauce, and elevated with the addition of whole prawns and scallops. We easily polish off the delicate crystal dumplings whose translucent skin is wrapped around fresh mushrooms, vegetables and black truffle.
Dining in a Cantonese restaurant is not complete without the quintessential Hong Kong-style barbecued meats platter. Cassia’s team has upped its game with premium ingredients such as five-spice roasted Yorkshire pork belly, honey-glazed barbecued Iberico pork char siew, and roasted duck with the crispiest skin. Though the char siew may not be fatty enough for some, the pork belly and roast duck are exemplary.
Moving on to mains, the signature wok-fried Australian wagyu beef cubes with black pepper sauce are superbly tender and balanced in flavour. We can’t decide on which carbs to order, so the friendly waiter recommends two types of noodles for us to share: fish paste noodles with springy texture partnering pan-fried Japanese scallops and a deeply flavoured sauce, and stewed ee-fu noodles in superior stock crowned with succulent lobster meat. Both are excellent.
If you’re in no hurry to head back to town, linger over a nourishing double-boiled Tianjin pear dessert infused with tangerine peels, paired with premium tea or chilled bubbly (the list of non-vintage and vintage champagnes is pretty extensive).
CASSIA
Capella Singapore, Sentosa Island, S(098297)
T 6591-5045
