Peach Garden @ 33

Dim sum was on the cards again and this time it was at Peach Garden at OCBC building. Peach Garden appealed with its location, promise of a great view as well as its stellar reviews for dim sum.

Interior & Menu

Perched on the 33rd floor of OCBC building at Chulia Street, Peach Garden offers a birds eye view of the surrounding area if you manage to get a window seat of course. The interior oozes class with its traditional Chinese wooden decor complete with thick carpets for that touch of exclusivity.

Appetiser

This was really weird tasting to me because it had cordyceps in it, which reminded me of maggots. I shall not attempt to elaborate more.

Steamed Siew Mai with Phoneix Prawn

A staple in any dim sum offering, the siew mai was quite different in the sense that there was alot of prawn in it and though fresh, it overwhelmed the taste of the pork. I'm not really complaining though. What I didn't appreciate was the prawns not being fully de shelled, with the tip still showing. I guess the purpose was to show that it was a whole prawn in the siew mai.

Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumpling

You can't really go wrong with Har Gao and Peach Garden wasn't just about to challenge that notion. The skin, though a little too thick for my liking, was rather chewy and enveloped a dollop of nice crunchy prawns.

XO Carrot Cake

Okay this wasn't exactly very good, with the carrot cake a tad too soft and salty. Portions were very small as well for the price ($8). On the upside, it wasn't too oily and came across as rather fragrant.

Baked Spare Rib with BBQ Sauce

I've actually eaten this quite a few times from Peach Garden so it was no surprise that it was good as I remembered it to be. Crisp along the edges with a nice sweet aftertaste from the BBQ sauce while succulent and naturally sweet on the inside. But at $7 a pop, I don't exactly find it value for money.

Steamed Rice Roll with Prawn & Steamed Rice Roll with Char Siew

I hate to say this but both the steamed rice rolls aka chee cheong fan, were substandard. For one, the cheong fan's texture tasted rather coarse, not silky and smooth as I would have expected. To put it in perspective, there are a lot of hawker stalls out there that sell the same quality of chee cheong fan.

Boiled Porridge with Century Egg and Pork

The porridge was salty and between the 8 of us, we almost couldn't finish 4 bowls of it. That probably says alot. And strangely enough, the pork tasted more like chicken.

Steamed Xiao Long Bao with Conpoy

Average average average. The final verdict that most of us handed down. The skin was a tad too dry and thick while the juice within wasn't flavourful enough. Probably the only saving grace was that the pork taste wasn't too overwhelming.

Baked Mini Egg Tart

Flaky with a nice and not too sweet custard filling, the mini egg tarts were rather decent but not outstanding. For one, the crust was tasteless and at $1.30 each, its a total rip off.

Steamed BBQ Pork Bun

I personally thought that the flour was a little too thick for the bun, which made it quite a chore to eat. The char siew filling was decent though but it wasn't enough to make me write this dish off.

Steamed Yolk Cream Bun

A signature dish of Peach Garden and rightly so. The delicious smooth molten custard gushed out as soon as an opening was made in the moist bun skin, making for a messy but delightful dish. However, as with the BBQ pork bun, I did find the flour a little too thick as well. One thing I also found lacking was the presence of egg yolk sediment in the molten custard, which would have given it a slightly salty taste and a rougher texture. But all in all, an excellent eat nevertheless.

Baked BBQ Pork Pastry

After the excellent BBQ pork pastry aka char siew sou I had at Yan Ting, nothing else comes close. And Peach Garden's rendition was in no position to contest that claim. Though decent, the char siew did seem a tad too sweet for my liking while the pastry came across as flat.

Bill

An uninspiring dim sum session for 8 cost to the tune of $178 after a 15% discount. Service overwall was rather terrible save for a few rather nice gestures by 2 ladies who I presume to be the owners. Prices are still rather reasonable and if you can look past the hits and misses and generally slightly above average dim sum, you will probably like Peach Garden. As for me, I'll be happy to stick to my regular haunts.



Likes: Great view, not too expensive
Dislikes: Food quality only a wee bit above average, service wasn't up to par

Final Verdict:
Ambience:8/10
Service:6/10
Food:6.5/10
Value for money:6.5/10

Overall:6.75/10

Address: #33-01 OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street

Contact: 65357833

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sat: 1130am - 230pm & 6pm - 10pm

Sundays & PH: 10.30am - 3pm & 6pm - 10pm

Website: http://www.peachgarden.com.sg/index1.html