Shiang Garden 敘香園

I haven't been to Shiang Garden for ages, but decided to go for dim sum since they have 20% off before 11 am. The seating area for dim sum is on the 3rd floor in the crystal room, aptly named because of the 16 crystal chandeliers. The ceiling is quite high, so the space is very comfortable and roomy. No wonder so many people choose Shiang Garden for holding banquets. The chair covers are a nice touch, but unfortunately they're old and frayed with food stains on them. It would be nice if they were washed or replaced every once in a while.

I think my camera makes the food look a bit better than it does in reality, because the chicken and seafood dumplings (白玉水晶賣) ($4.50) did not look this colourful. They looked really mushy and all of them stuck together because the skin was super sticky. The filling consisted of chicken (which I couldn't really taste) and seafood. Apart from a small bit of not-too-fresh scallop, I couldn't distinguish what other seafood was in there.

The pumpkin pancake (南瓜薄撐) ($4.50) was tasty but very oily. There were bits of Chinese sausage, green onions and Chinese mushrooms in the pancake. There wasn't much pumpkin flavour, so I think the pumpkin was probably mixed into the dough. But I have to say the portion was huge for the price.

Unlike the pumpkin pancake, the dry bean curd and fish maw in soup (上湯花膠鮮腐扎) ($4.50) was quite bland. The ingredients used in this dish are expensive though, so I suppose it was still worth it.

The egg tarts (酥皮雞蛋撻) ($3.80) were a bit small, but they were piping hot which doesn't happen all that often at dim sum restaurants. The custard was done very nicely with a soft texture and a strong egg flavour.

Out of all the dishes, the only one I really enjoyed was the egg tarts. Prices were great with the 20% discount, but I can't say the food was impressive. Service was also not up to par. When we walked in, the hostess didn't even acknowledge our presence. She just grabbed a couple of menus and walked off, expecting us to follow her. But if you're looking for a cheap dim sum restaurant with decent ambiance, then this might be the place for you.