Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant: the food review here comes from TWO visitations that my family and I made. Family here refers to the husband, two children, and my mother-in-law.

For both visitations, I used vouchers from American Express to get a 30% discount. Slight disclaimer: of the two visitions, one was actually in late 2022, and the other in early 2023 – so this is a WAY overdue post. Apologies to my readers; this blog is run by a busy full-time working Mama with two kids.

Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant

Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant is the Chinese dining establishment at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza hotel.

Entrance

Inside, it is adorned with the atmosphere of a high-end chinese restaurant: round tables draped with white or ivory tablecloths, chairs with oriental touches, and walls with chinese calligraphy.

Seating Area

It can get really busy; reservations are almost always needed, especially on the weekends. In fact it isn’t uncommon for people to reserve a weekend spot over 2-3 weeks in advance.

Ready to order

American Express voucher: 30% off

With the American Express Platinum Charge card, every year, upon payment of the annual fee, American Express sends card holders a lovely stack of vouchers, and this voucher is among the stack.

American Express Violet Oon voucher

30% off voucher

The voucher offers a flat 30% off on the entire bill. 

Usually, since Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel’s dining establishments participate in Love Dining, I normally use those benefits. However, this time was a bit of an exception because: we wanted to eat dim sum.

The usual Love Dining benefits do not cover dim sum items; however the voucher covers almost all the items – only with the exception of some Premium selections from the Menu (e.g. Peking Duck). Most other items (including Dim Sum!) qualify for the voucher.

Inspired by this post and want to apply for an American Express credit card? Apply through one of my referral links and receive either bonus Membership Rewards points or statement credit:

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for each credit card's application and usage may be subject to change by American Express. Therefore, readers are recommended to check any matters with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.

Dim Sum

A good range and quality of dim sum is available at Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant.

THIS was what we came for.

Ba Xian review tower club

Ta dah

Not to be missed is the Steamed Charcoal Bun with Salted Egg Custard.
Ba Xian review tower club

Steamed Charcoal Bun with Salted Egg Custard

Velvety rich, savoury, and sweet all at once – this sinful delight is worth all the calories. 

So Very Runny: there is much Salted Egg Custard goodness here

A perennial favourite among dim sum lovers: Baked Egg Tarts. Smooth in the inside but flakey on the outside, this was a hit with both adults and kids alike.

Baked Egg Tarts

And there was Steamed Siew Mai. The ones here are made with Iberico pork. 

Steamed Siew Mai

Everyone loved the pork Xiao Long Bao too – oh-so piping hot and liquidy inside. Absolute joy in a bite.

Xiao Long Bao

Same for the Chives Dumplings. Thin skin with a flavourful filling, just the way it should be.

Chives Dumplings

Do note that, as with all dim sum – the food content tends to be meat-heavy. Not that being protein-rich is necessarily a bad thing, hehehe.

Steamed Iberico Spare Rib with Black Bean Sauce

One of the more unique items was the Deep fried Taro Dumplings with Mini Abalone. Usually, fried taro dumplings tend to be filled with pork or char siew, but this one has braised (i think) abalone. Seafood goodness = Taro = Da Bomb.

Deep-Fried Taro Dumpling with Mini Abalone

Not adventurous? There are always the normal dim sum varieties. Chicken feet, anyone? 

Steamed Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce

My husband’s favourite has to be the Deep Fried Prawn with Avocado Vermicelli Roll. Usually, prawn and avocado is already a divine combination in itself. Add on deep-fried crispiness to it, and the extra crunch makes it even more unhealthy special.

Deep Fried Prawn with Avocado Vermicelli Roll

Generally, all the dim sum was good quality. It’s much better than the ones I’ve had at Tower Club’s Baxian – in fact, if I happen to have guests from overseas, I’m probably going to bring them here.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore

The Spread

Rice and Noodles

Ah, what’s a chinese restaurant without the carbs?

Ba Xian review tower club

Wok Fried Mee Sua with assorted Seafood in XO sauce

I’ve tried the wok-fried mee sua with assorted seafood in XO sauce, as well as the Ee-Fu Noodles with Wild Mushroom in Black Truffle Sauce. The noodles are as good as wok-fried noodles can be: served piping hot, their flavourings are adquate without being too overpowered by the surrouding ingredients or sauce.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Wok-fried Ee-Fu Noodle with Wild Mushroom in Black Truffle Sauce

The same goes for the Fried Rice varieties here. Simple but well-fried and not overly greasy, you know that the restaurant’s good when they do a simple and common dish so well.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Wan Hao Fried Rice with Diced Scallop, Shrimp, Crab, Conpoy and Diced Vegetable

In the dim sum section, there were a few predominantly-carbohydrate dishes worth mentioning.

Steamed Glutinous Rice with Dried Shrimp, Chicken and Mushroom

Such as the Glutinous Rice; wrapped in a giant lotus leaf, it absorbed all the flavours of dried shrimp, chicken and mushroom and was a ball of sticky goodness.
Ba Xian review tower club

This was very filling

My favourite carb-intensive dish is the Rice Noodle Roll – stuffed with prawns and crispy dough stick in the inside, it rests upon a bed of salty savoury sauce. Salty, but in a good way!
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant review

Crispy Prawn Rice Noodle Roll

Mains: Seafood, Meat, Vegetables

To REALLY splurge on something special, try the Live Seafood at Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant. Here, the Live Seafood options range from several species of fish (e.g. soon hock, tiger garoupa, red garoupa) to live crustaceans (e.g. prawns, lobster and crab).

Ba Xian review tower club

Live Crab – Steamed in Chinese Wine and Egg White

My family and I had ordered the Live Crab.
Ba Xian review tower club

Not obvious in pictures, but the crab was HUGE – 800 grams approximately

Simmering in chinese wine (hua diao jiu) and egg white, the nearly drunken crab had the best aroma. The egg white, cooked to a soft solid, possessed the intoxication of wine and was dangerously addictive overall. 

off with the garnish

I’m personally not a huge fan of crab – but even then, I had to admit that this was pretty well done. The rest of the family loves crab and everyone else devoured it fervently.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Spot the crab eggs

Another seafood dish that I highly recommend is the Deep fried Prawns with Black Truffle Mayonnaise and Yam Nest.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Deep fried Prawns with Black Truffle mayonnaise and yam nest

A twist on the traditional mayonnaise prawn type of dish, the black truffle mayonnaise here really sealed the deal. Suddnly, the dish was more sophisticated and had an extra layer of complexity added; perhaps truffle really is that magical.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

the nest is super crunchy

We were thoroughly spoilt by the high standards of cooking at Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant. Even when we randomly picked a beef dish – the Wok fried Beef Tenderloin with Chilled Marinated Sour Plum Pear and Light Wasabi Sauce – the meat became something almost to-die for.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Wok fried Beef Tenderloin with Chilled Marinated Sour Plum Pear and Light Wasabi sauce

Super tender and soft – even a small child could easily chew the meat without problem. Both kids were literally fighting over the meat; it was THAT good.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

bonus: light garlic chips

At this point, the attempt to include vegetables in my diet is almost a joke. But for the sake of a bit more fiber, we ordered the Poached Sharp Spinach with Shredded Top Shell in Superior Broth. I can attest that the broth was indeed superior; we happily lapped it up as a soup.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Poached Sharp Spinach with Shredded Top Shell in Superior Broth

Desserts

“Life is too short to not have desserts.” – my twisted wisdom.

Ba Xian review tower club

Chilled Coconut Pudding with Purple Glutinous Rice Puree

As a coconut freak, I had to try the Chilled Coconut Pudding with Purple Glutinous Rice Puree. This was rich in coconut aftertaste and flawlessly smooth. It’s a close fight with the coconut panna cotta that I’ve once had at Yan Ting (at St.Regis Singapore), so it is really good!

Very smooth

The elderly mother-in-law was craving for herbal jelly (or whatever that resembled herbal jelly), so we got her one of these black jelly things with chia seeds. It’s not outstanding, but it isn’t bad. 
Ba Xian review tower club

Loquat with Chilled ‘Xia Gu Cao’ Jelly and Chia Seed

More impressive was the Chilled Mango Sago Pomelo. Creamy and sweet! The kids actually wanted more. Lol.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Chilled Mango Sago Pomelo

For those who prefer hot desserts, go for the Deep Fried Crispy Pancake with Red Bean Paste.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

Deep Fried Crispy Pancake with Red Bean Paste

Sweet. Crunchy. Thickly flavoured with red beans. Having it hot just makes it all the more comforting and warm. 
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant dim sum Marriott tang plaza Singapore cantonese cuisine

So good. I want more.

Prices with American Express

For this review of Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant, the family and I made TWO visitations to the restaurant. As a holder of the  Amex Platinum charge card –  I received the following dining discounts via the 30% off Amex Voucher: 

Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant: First visitation

  • x4 Har Gao @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • x4 Charcoal Custard Bun @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • x4 Egg Tart @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • x4 Chives Dumpling @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • Crispy Rice Noodle Roll – $6.50
  • Glutinous Rice – $5.00
  • Poached Spinach in Superior Broth – $22.00
  • Wok Fried Beef Tenderloin – $30.00
  • Ee Fu Noodle – $24.00
  • Live Crab (0.8 kg @ $120/kg) – $96.00
  • Red Bean Pancake – $12.00
  • Mango Sago – $12.00

– Subtotal: $247.50

– Applied 30% discount voucher: $247.50 – $74.25 = $173.25

– 7% GST: $13.85 (Note: as this dine-in took place in 2022, GST was 7%. From 1 Jan 2023 onwards, GST in Singapore has increased to 8%).

– 10% Service Charge: $24.50

– Total Bill: $211.60

Violet Oon review
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant: Second visitation

  • x4 Xiao Long Bao @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • x4 Har Gao @ $2.75 each – $11.00
  • x4 Siew Mai @ $3.00 each – $12.00
  • x4 Custard Bun @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • x2 Char Siew Bao @ $2.50 each – 5.00
  • x2 Carrot Cake @ $2.75 each – $5.50
  • x2 Avocado Prawn @ $3.75 each – $6.50
  • x2 Abalone Taro @ $6.00 each – $12.00
  • x4 Egg Tart @ $2.50 each – $10.00
  • Vegetable Dumpling – $2.40
  • Fried Rice – $32.00
  • Pork Ribs – $6.00
  • Chicken Feet – $5.50
  • Truffle Prawn – $38.00
  • XO Mee Sua – $28.00
  • Coconut Pudding – $12.00
  • Chilled Jelly – $10.00

– Subtotal: $215.90

– Applied 30% discount voucher: $215.90 – $64.77 = $151.13

– 8% GST: $13.82

– 10% Service Charge: $21.59

– Total Bill: $186.54

Violet Oon review

Apply for an American Express credit card and get bonus points!

American Express Platinum Charge Card (Image source: American Express)

Inspired by this post and want to apply for an American Express credit card? Apply through one of my referral links and receive either bonus Membership Rewards points or statement credit:

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for each credit card's application and usage may be subject to change by American Express. Therefore, readers are recommended to check any matters with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.

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