Dumpling Festival 2020: Luxurious, treasure-filled dumplings to try

While the verdict is still out on whether there will be any dragon boats for this year’s Duanwu festival, one thing’s for sure: the yearly dumpling appreciation is in full swing. These handcrafted delights from Chinese restaurants and eateries are filled with luxurious ingredients like Irish duck, whole abalone and conpoy. Whether you’re partial to the sweet or more traditional savoury variety, these restaurants are continuing to provide you with the dumplings necessary to make this month a festive one.

The actual date of the Dumpling Festival falls on Jun 25, or the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. By then, we still aren’t sure whether Singapore would’ve moved onto Phase 2 of reopening: though we can be sure that either way, dumplings taste just as good delivered. Just make sure not to look too closely at the calories in each of these goodie-filled dumplings. We’re especially sedentary nowadays, and it’d take more than a Zoom workout or two to undo the damage from a batch of these.

Crystal Jade Group
Innovative new offerings from the group include a beautiful purple quinoa rice dumpling that sticks to the trend of offering healthy - but just as decadent - dumplings. Familiar hints of preserved radish, or chai poh, and dried shiitake mushrooms ensure that you won’t be missing out on any classic Duanwu flavours. Then again, Crystal Jade has also come up with hei bi hiam (spicy dried shrimp) dumplings – diced chicken tossed with the fiery house-made shrimp paste along with Hokkaido conpoy in a dumpling that deliciously blends local tastes with tradition.

Order here.
Jade
Headed by executive chef Leong Chee Yeng, Jade restaurant has offered diners authentic Cantonese cuisine for the past eleven years. This year is no exception: look forward to a luxuriant traditional Hong Kong style abalone treasure glutinous rice dumpling packed with goodies like ten-head abalone, roast duck and pork belly and dried scallops along with all the usual stuffings. Else, opt for their Golden Treasures or Auspicious Celebrations tray (that includes the abalone treasure dumpling) - these feature an assortment of eight different dumplings, including a vegetarian-friendly Omnipork, millet and five-grain rice dumpling as well as their brilliant 24-hour braised turmeric pork with black-eyed pea dumpling that’s flecked with crimson from fermented red yeast.

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Yan Ting
Yan Ting’s stalwart selection of glutinous rice dumplings returns again this year with nothing but the classics - from its indulgent, Cantonese delicacy-filled rice dumpling stuffed with abalone, roasted duck and pork belly, as well as the classical version filled with luscious fatty pork, salted egg yolk and more. Finally, they’ve also got an earthy black truffle infused vegetarian dumpling. Though Yan Ting hasn’t come up with any novel dumplings for the year, you’ll be guaranteed to get some great Cantonese dumplings from one of Singapore’s best Chinese restaurants.

Order here.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Wan Hao’s dumpling menu this year is filled with a mix of old and new flavours. We’re particularly fond of their white pepper crab rice dumpling: a rich, fiery dumpling stuffed full of the aromatic local favourite. Speaking of aroma, their wild mushroom five-grain vegetarian rice dumpling employs the heady pungency of black truffle, along with a litany of ingredients rich in fibre and vitamins, for a fusion-style dumpling that’s a welcome respite from the indulgence of the season. Purists will be pleased with their signature pork and salted egg rice dumpling that contains everything you’d expect from the classic dish - as well as their luxuriant double-boiled ten-head abalone and chicken-stuffed rice dumpling.

Order here or call 6831-4605.
Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant
This year, Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant draws inspiration from homely Teochew meals for its newest dumpling, courtesy of executive chef Chung Yiu Ming’s childhood memories. The Teochew rice dumpling contains braised Irish duck, pork belly and beancurd in a house-made Teochew style lor packed with herbs and spices, along with salted egg yolk, Chinese mushroom, chestnut and more. Along with the new addition come old favourites like the simultaneously healthy and indulgent abalone and pumpkin rice dumpling (stuffed with a whole abalone) and traditional rice dumpling stuffed with Cantonese classics like roast duck and pork.

Order here or call 6839-5623.
Man Fu Yuan
Man Fu Yuan’s dumpling offerings this year include a Korean-inspired kimchi dumpling, lending a bit of fiery spice to the traditional dish along with a blend of five grains. Their other offering melds succulent roasted duck with acerbic and incredibly fragrant black gold garlic into a final shape that resembles the precious ingredient. Along with these novel items, Man Fu Yuan offers a mix of sweet and savoury dumplings to satisfy any cravings this Dumpling Festival.

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Shang Palace
Shang Palace’s Mok Kit Keung, who previously helmed the two-Michelin-starred Shang Palace in Hong Kong, brings luxurious new flavours to this year’s Dragon Boat Festival. Their Buddha jumps over the wall rice dumpling contains a decadent mix of black truffle and organic French chicken, while their sweetened purple glutinous rice dumpling with custard brings some sweet novelty to the stalwart dumplings you’d typically expect during Duanwu. Of course, their old favourites have returned as well: look forward to their signature barbecued pork and yunnam ham rice dumpling. Also available as a gift set with an assortment of dumplings and a canister of tea (great for sending love to siblings that you can’t meet just yet).

Order here or call 6213-4473.
Hai Tien Lo
Hai Tien Lo’s selection of fine handcrafted dumplings come courtesy of executive chef Ben Zeng and dim sum chef Ho Kam Fai: including their novel take on the dumpling for the health-conscious diner that incorporates cordyceps flowers, black sesame and other grains for a nutritious take on the favourite. Else, their glutinous rice dumplings are also available as a set - which include perennial favourites like the jumbo rice dumpling that feeds up to six, as well as the salted fish and pork belly dumpling. Included in the premium dumpling set is a bottle of Hai Tien Lo’s signature house-made XO chili sauce - the perfect piquant, umami-filled accompaniment to heartwarming rice dumplings this festive season.

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Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant
Chef Zeng Feng’s sticking with the classics this Dumpling Festival, with rice dumplings that feature either the traditional fatty pork or roast pork. Instead, he’s bringing a six-course set menu full of Si Chuan and Cantonese flavours to accompany the dumplings. It features dishes such as deep-fried silved cod in teriyaki sauce and a hearty double-boiled chicken soup and lingzhi mushrooms.

Order here or call 6505-5722.
Yan
Look forward to chef Ng Sen Tio’s elevated rendition of his childhood memories, using premium seafood as the centrepiece of his glutinous rice dumplings for the Duanwu Festival. The oceanic morsels featured include eight-head abalone, as well as stewed sea cucumber and fish maw that have been stewed for five hours in an abalone broth. Else, there’s always the surefire combination of Yan’s signature XO sauce with - well, anything really. The umami-filled accompaniment pairs perfectly with the Australian scallops, wild-caught prawns and unctuous braised pork belly made fragrant with garlic and dried shrimp. Yan also offers meat-free dumplings that feature Heura chicken and mei cai, which also come as a make-your-own rice dumpling set if you’d like to relive traditions and learn the age-old technique of wrapping glutinous rice dumplings.

Order here or call 6384-5585.