Lan Yuan - Launch Party
>> Location: Level 1, Top Ryde Shopping Centre
>> Dined as guests
>> #lanyuanrestaurantlaunch
>> Diners: Tommy H, Leeloo
Leeloo and Tommy H joined a throng of guests attending the launch party of Lan Yuan Restaurant in Top Ryde recently. It was abuzz with activity, with what appeared to be hundreds of guests lining up inside and out.
Situated on the upper floor of the shopping centre, Lan Yuan is a modern, atmospheric restaurant offering traditional Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, the dishes that it’s offering include food from a variety of areas in China, including Cantonese and northern style flavours. It calls itself a “Restaurant and Bar” which is something that we’ve noticed a lot more of recently, incorporating the benefits of great sit-down food for families and serious diners, and bars for those who want to have a casual bite. As our photos reveal later, a lot of its offerings do lend the restaurant to such a model.
The interior of the restaurant was notably cleared of much of the furniture to accommodate all of its guests. We were offered some drinks at the door, including its signature beers, and a variety of wines and sparkling.
We started off with some spring rolls - and might I say it was blazing hot! It’s really great to have food that comes out fresh. The spring roll appeared to be like a “yum cha” style, which was slightly flatter, rather than perfectly round and cylindrical. We had the vegetarian spring rolls, which were very nice. We had a side of sweet and sour dipping sauce, which was a natural complement.
Following this, we were served some dumplings. It’s a very northern style Chinese dish, but interestingly had some corn filling inside as well. It gave it a lovely crunchy texture, with the natural moisture of corn kernels, which enhanced the pork flavour. Vinegar is given as an extra condiment, which we highly recommend.
There were also individual baskets of Siu Mai and Har Gow, a Cantonese yum cha dish. The Siu Mai were also pleasantly steaming hot - a recurring theme for the night. It was probably the most average dish of the night, tasting good, but without anything to make it stand out from other restaurants’ dumplings.
On the other hand, the Har Gow were excellently made. The prawn inside was perfectly cooked, and every mouthful was substantial. The skin was of the perfect thickness, and steamed just enough so that it wouldn’t stick to the teeth. It would have been nice to have some chilli sauce, but each item had bundles of flavour on their own regardless.
We also had some small Peking duck pancakes, with the classic additions of Hoisin sauce and shallot. It was a pleasant bite sized treat, but it would have been good to experience the whole portion instead. The balance of flavour, however, was excellent.
There were a few speeches that followed. Indeed, we must thank Wasamedia for the invitation, and owner Shawn Ren for the night. MC Robert was entertaining and eloquent, launching the buffet dinner.
The buffet dinner was served, and all of the guests (big shoutout to them) were extremely orderly, lining up to get little bits of each dish. They offered a number of staple foods in the buffet. Their fried rice was a like a “fried rice lite” for the night, likely because there were so many other more meaty and substantial dishes, such as the roast duck and sweet and sour pork. The vegetables in XO sauce were a particular highlight.
Overall, Lan Yuan was able to exhibit some of their staple dishes, what we regard to be “safe” dishes. We got a snapshot of the variety of cuisines that the restaurant offered, including southern and northern style dishes. We hope to have the opportunity to try more of their sophisticated dishes in the future, to see what their true capabilities are.