CANTONi - Singapore

New spot alert! It was my first time to eat at Canton-i in Singapore. Since we stayed walking distance from Ion, mom and I found ourselves eating there on more than one occasion. Dim sum is quite popular in the Grandidge family, so mom shared with me a place that she knew I'd enjoy. Canton-i specializes in Hong Kong style cuisine and everything we ordered (which wasn't so much in fact) tasted yummeh! While waiting for our dim sum to arrive, I explored the back end of the restaurant where they had bigger tables -that were still empty- and took a few pictures. Isn't the flowered wall precious?! Our section of the restaurant was full, you can see in the pictures that every table along the wall is taken. I'll take that as a good sign :)

Din Tai Fung | SINGAPORE

Dim sum, dumplings, or even yum cha... Whatever you wanna call it -though I'm sure there are slight differences between those three- you can't deny how amazing these little pockets of goodness are. Din Tai Fung is something I miss, I wish they had it here in Manila. It's a no-fuss, affordable chain of restos that churn out *hand-made* dumplings like a friggin' machine. I was SO excited to eat here in Singapore; Jon and I went for a mid-morning 11am meal at the Paragon branch. As usual, there was a line - since we expected it, we weren't bugged. They're very efficient though, you write down your order as you wait (which also builds up your appetite!). As soon as your number is called, you hand in your order and wait for the food - how easy is that :)

Throwback :: Din Tai Fung in LA

Imperial House Dim Sum | MACAU

My Dad hosted a little getaway trip to Macau -or Macoozy as we called it- last week... He was there for biz and decided it would be nice for the fambam to come along as well. (Thanks, Dad!) Gambling and clubbing is synonymous with the city, but we kind of steered in the opposite direction - we enjoyed the hotel's facilities and of course did our fair share of food exploration :) We stayed at the Venetian Hotel and all our meals were either there, The Grand Canal Shoppes or The Shoppes at The Four Seasons. Oh we fancy huh! Not really ;)

Jon and I arrived a day after everyone else. Our first meal was at the Chinese restaurant, Imperial House Dim Sum. We had been traveling since 5am Manila time; flight to HK and then ferry ride to Macau - so when we saw the dimsum... ATTACK!

Oh 'dem dumplings

[Hong Kong]

Din Tai Fung

'Dem some good dimsum!

I had so much fun on Sunday getting to do what my family -when we all lived in the same country- used to do every Sunday: Dimsum. Rich [my fellow NYC foodie] told me he found out about Din Tai Fung in Arcadia; as soon as I heard, I was all in. Din Tai Fung is a popular dumpling house in Singapore that brings me back to high school days. It tastes exactly the same here, I love that authenticity can still be preserved a few thousand miles away ;) We gathered up a crew, our friend Meg, Rich's cousin, Matt and his girlfriend Daniella and drove down together to Arcadia. Let's just cut the story short and say we took on lunch as we would a marathon - no rush, slow and steady finishes the meal, er, race. I think we ordered 50 dumplings in total, plus more dishes!

Tiny fact: all the dumpling tins pictured are *different* orders. They're not 2 pictures of the same dish. They may look the same on the outside, but inside is a whole new filling. That would explain why we rolled out of the restaurant and felt quite like dumplings ourselves :P

Shang Palace

My favorite FAVORITE place for dimsum at home --> Shang Palace

"Known for its exceptional ambience and unique furnishings, the authentic flavors of Cantonese cuisine come alive at Shang Palace."