A rooftop restaurant that serves dim sum, Peking duck and Chinese seafood in a museum – Yan is perfect for both set lunches and family dinners
There’s something great about sampling Cantonese fine dining in Singapore, especially if you’re relatively new to Chinese food and don’t mind doing the touristy thing. Boasting an authentic menu and a prime rooftop location that attracts both locals and visitors, Yan at the National Gallery Singapore is the perfect spot for such an experience in Singapore. I was all game for it.
Nestled cosily on the fifth floor of the newly-revamped National Gallery, Yan sits just below the equally stunning rooftop bar, Smoke & Mirrors. It opened just last November, and exudes an air of a modern Chinese restaurant, while serving a medley of traditional and new dishes with a nod to Canto traditions.
We sampled the omakase lunch menu – at approximately $60 per head for six courses, it certainly wasn’t bad for value. The starters were a great mix of unconventional dim sum renditions – a truffle and prawn dumpling, a vegetarian dumpling, and my favourite, the pan fried chilli crab meat bun… Seriously, how can you go wrong with chilli crab meat in a bun?
The omakase menu followed up with a series of four savoury dishes. The standout dish was the golden pumpkin broth with fresh scallops – this had everyone at the table talking about how refined and smooth the broth was, and while it had a rich pumpkin colour, it surprised with a delicious umami seafood flavour. Yan’s Peking roast duck was also impressive, but a little light on the sweet and thick hoi sin sauce for my liking.
I was blown away with the dessert, however – a chilled mango cream topped with oats and vanilla ice cream, served in a coconut. There’s just something about desserts being served in a coconut that gives it that tropical holiday vibe, which is always a great way to end a meal – even a Chinese one.
Particularly, I loved the modern setting and the location, and could easily see how this could make a perfect lunch spot – especially when followed with a cocktail and a sunset view of the Padang at Smoke & Mirrors afterwards.
Yan, #05-02 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrews Road, Singapore 178957, p. 6384 5585. Open 11.30am-2.30pm, dinner 6pm-10.30pm.