Hai Tien Lo, means literally Stairway to Heaven and is headed by Chef Lai Tong Ping with more than 10 years of experience in Cantonese cooking. The restaurant sprouts traditional design of Chinese architecture in red and black and occupies level 3 of Pan Pacific Singapore

Platter of Trio Dim Sum $5.20 – $6.20 per portion (3 pcs)

Steamed Spinach with Prawn, Fried Beancurd Skin with Prawn and Steamed Prawn Dumplings

We had some dim sum to start. Usually dumplings with spinach in them don’t usually interest me but I like how thin the skin of the dumpling was, and with the combination of spinach and prawns that provided a balance to the overall dish. The rest of the platter was decent as well

Double Boiled Bamboo Pith with Fresh & Dried Scallops in Supreme Chicken Stock $18/pax

The soup was infused with a rich and deep flavour of chicken stock. The bamboo pith was well-cooked, soaked with goodness of the broth and you can still taste the sweetness of the scallop when you chew on it

Crispy Prawn with Watermelon $30/portion (Serves 4)

I believe there was supposed to be wasabi, no idea where it went. That aside, the prawn was well executed. The sauce might be a little too sweet for some, which is why the topping of wasabi will give the dish a rounded balance. Not sure if the addition of watermelon was necessary given this dish is pretty sweet by itself but it did give a refreshing aftertaste

Steamed Sea Perch Fillet with Shredded Ginger in Abalone Sauce $18/pax

Deep Fried Sea Perch with Fish Roe in Champagne Sauce $18/pax

The fish was nicely done with the texture smooth to taste and somewhat reminds me of cod fish. The sauce was a little too overwhelming for both, with flavours so rich that it was just a little too impactful

Braised Beancurd with Crab Meat and Enoki Mushrooms in Supreme Chicken Stock $24/portion (Serves 4)

The beancurd were deep fried and braised with the skin to a nice golden layer and the beancurd itself silky smooth. I like the combination of the crab meat and enoki mushrooms as well, that makes this beancurd a very homey dish

Stir Fried Pork Shoulder in Black Truffle Sauce $24/portion (Serves 4)

The pork shoulder was really tender and the black truffle sauce enhanced the overall flavour with its fragrance and sweetness without being too overpowering

Wok Fried Fish Noodles with Scallops and Sea Cucumber, Price Unavailable

The fish noodles required a long preparation time, from mincing, stuffing, slicing, boiling, frying and baking. The sea cucumber is soaked overnight before it is braised in stock and baked with the fish noodles for the flavours to fully bind together

The result? Pretty impressive. You can taste the sweetness of the fish and the wok-hei in it. Even though we were pretty full by then, we made an effort to clean off this bowl of fish noodles

Pan Fried Pancake with Red Bean Paste $12

A dessert which you can find in most Chinese restaurants. The uniqueness of this dessert was its exceptionally fragrant taste of sesame with the sweetness of the red bean paste that provides that crunch and texture

Generally the main dishes at Hai Tien Lo were pretty decent, with its use of superior ingredients. The place also serves weekday dim sum buffet and weekend dim sum brunch. Do check out Pan Pacific’s website for more details

Thanks to Dave and Pan Pacific Singapore for the invite!

Hai Tien Lo 海天楼

Pan Pacific Singapore

7 Raffles Boulevard, Level 3, Singapore 039595