A Bite of Heaven

WE'VE all tried Chinese food at one time or another, and probably the most familiar Chinese food for Filipinos is the shaomai, or siomai, as called by most of us. Falling under the generic name of dim sum, which means “small bites of heaven” or “touching the heart” (according to some sources), siomai is but one of the many kinds of dim sum available at Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa’s Chinese restaurant, Cheon San, where I was invited to have lunch one day.

Prepared by chef Kenny, one of the best Chinese chefs to ever hit Cebu, the siomai at Cheon San may be some of the best you’ll ever taste without ever having to go to Hong Kong. Each bite-size piece is full of flavor and needs nary a drop of soy sauce to enhance your eating pleasure. While Chef Kenny served practically a banquet of
dim sum, several dishes stood out.

The shrimp dumplings, commonly called har gao, was a hit with me and my dining companions. Delicate looking, with a translucent wheat flour wrapper, it contained whole shrimps and was a delight to eat. Be careful while eating har gao when hot, because a little steam is trapped inside the dumpling. You wouldn’t want a scorched tongue to spoil the rest of your meal.

Another highlight of the meal was the fried tofu roll, very similar to the lumpia most of us know. However, tofu sheets are used to wrap the ingredients, instead of the more common lumpia wrapper. The tofu sheets give the spring roll a somewhat more “refined” taste, doing away with the usual smoky flavor we typically associate with lesser versions of the dish.

The best item among the dim sum dishes chef Kenny served was perhaps the prawn balls wrapped in almond chips. Surprisingly, the flavor of the prawns was not overcome by the taste of the almonds. On the contrary, the saltiness of the almonds actually served to enhance the subtle flavor of the prawns, emphasizing the richness of the meat. The outer layer of nuts also gave the dish a little “crunch,” making the experience of eating prawn balls a bit noisy.

Dishes such as taro puffs, chili-garlic shrimp, cod with mayonnaise sauce and Peking duck were also served. However, the dim sum feast we had partaken of as “appetizers” made a lasting impression on everyone, and we ended up asking for second helpings of the dim sum.

As far as Chinese restaurants go, you can bet on it that Imperial Palace’s Cheon San is one of the best in Cebu, especially with chef Kenny at the helm. And their dim sum? We can put it this way: They are definitely small bites of heaven that touch the heart.