From classic Hokkien-style dumplings to Peranakan-inspired creations, we tried every rice dumpling from Pan Pacific Singapore’s award-winning Cantonese restaurant, Hai Tien Lo.
With Dragon Boat Festival 2025 coming up, we’re ready to feast our heart out on delicious glutinous rice dumplings. Wrapped in bamboo leaves, each comes stuffed with indulgent ingredients and will leave you satisfied, carb lover or not. Every year, restaurants and hotels dish out traditional favourites and creative renditions to keep things exciting – and we love to see it. A blend of well-loved classics and new creations, the 2025 rice dumpling collection from Pan Pacific Singapore’s Hai Tien Lo stood out from the crowd. We had a taste of everything, so keep scrolling to see if they’re worth your calories!
Perk alert: from now till 31 May 2025, place your orders on Pan Pacific Singapore’s website to score discounts of up to 15% off.
1. Hai Tien Lo Supreme rice dumpling ($45)
Decadent simply doesn’t cut it when describing this glorious rice dumpling from Pan Pacific Singapore. The Hai Tien Lo Supreme rice dumpling comes chockful of premium ingredients, including whole abalone, pork belly, roasted duck, whole dried scallops, chestnuts and more. With an optimal rice to ingredient ratio, each bite boasts a flavour and texture explosion.
Every ingredient was done well, with standouts being the juicy and tender abalone, melt-in-the-mouth pork belly, and dried scallops that easily shredded into fine strands. The addition of a whole salted egg yolk and chestnuts also provided a welcome contrast to the richness and helped to cut through the grease.
Rating: 8/10. The impressive size makes it gift-worthy, but overall, it leans towards an indulgent experience best saved for special occasions.
2. Salted fish and preserved meat rice dumpling ($24)
I’ll be honest. With an unassuming name and visuals, this rice dumpling didn’t strike me as a standout. But spoiler alert: it turned out to be my top pick. My first bite was an instant umami burst, thanks to the bold flavours of the salted fish, preserved meat and Spanish pork. While there were hints of salted fish in every bite, it didn’t feel overwhelming. Instead, it gave the dumpling a moreish taste that kept me wanting more.
The ingredients were just as generous, featuring well-marinated meat, juicy mushrooms, chunks of salted fish, and cubes of preserved meat. This rich and savoury rice dumpling is bigger than the typical pyramid-shaped ones, which I reckon is good for sharing among at least two people.
Rating: 9/10. A crowd-pleasing, moreish creation that doesn’t go OTT.
3. Hokkien rice dumpling with pork and salted egg yolk ($18)
Think of the quintessential rice dumpling and the Hokkien-style version will spring to mind. Fried with dark soya sauce, the dark brown pyramid-shaped dumplings feature simple yet classic ingredients like pork belly and salted egg yolk. This rendition from Pan Pacific Singapore comes with five-spice pork belly and its strong marinate was the first flavour to hit me.
The good? It wasn’t overly salty, while the silky pork belly contrasted pleasantly with the firmer bite of the green beans. But here’s my gripe: the taste became one-dimensional after a while, and I would love it if there were additional flavours to contrast the five-spice marinate.
Rating: 7/10. You can’t go wrong with a classic, but it’s not my top choice.
4. Black glutinous (pulut hitam) Nyonya rice dumpling ($22)
If you’ve been riding the high from Mediacorp’s Emerald Hill drama, you might find this Peranakan-inspired creation intriguing. It’s a distinctive sweet-savoury combination that puts the nutty, earthy flavours of black glutinous rice centrestage. Inside, you’ll find common Nyonya fillings like lean pork, Japanese mushrooms, shallots, garlic and candied melon for sweetness.
As someone with a penchant for all things savoury, the touch of sweetness surprisingly worked for me. Neither the candied melon nor the savoury bits upstaged each other, creating a well-balanced flavour profile. Plus, the use of black glutinous rice added interesting textures and gave the dish a chewier bite.
Rating: 8.5/10. A highly palatable choice with well-balanced flavours and textures.
5. Teochew rice dumpling with yam paste, chestnuts and gingko nuts ($15)
I’m a firm believer that there’s always room for desserts, so trust me when I say my eyes lit up at this rice dumpling in Pan Pacific Singapore’s line-up. This Teochew-style creation is inspired by one of my favourite traditional desserts, orh nee. It’s an irresistible combination of creamy yam paste and luscious coconut milk.
Sink your teeth into coconut milk-infused glutinous rice, peppered with soft and sweet gingko nuts, chestnuts, corn kernels, and thick, creamy yam paste. I liked how the corn kernels added bursts of juiciness in every bite, and the flavours were anything but one-dimensional. It was also not overly sweet – a major draw for Singaporean palates!
Rating: 8.5/10. My first time trying a dessert-style rice dumpling, but definitely not the last.
Order up a storm from Pan Pacific Singapore’s rice dumpling collection
All this talk about rice dumplings got you craving some? Get your fix at Pan Pacific Singapore’s award-winning Cantonese restaurant, Hai Tien Lo, this year.
Order your favourites a la carte-style, or opt for the indulgent rice dumpling sets. Perfect for gifting or cosy celebrations at home, each set features an assortment of six rice dumplings, along with a bottle of sauce.
The Premium rice dumplings set ($158) comes with a bottle of Hai Tien Lo signature homemade XO chilli sauce (tried and tested by us, it’s an addictive condiment that packs a spice punch and strong dried shrimp fragrance). Meanwhile, the Classic rice dumplings set ($118) includes a bottle of sweet and sour spicy bean paste sauce.
From now till 31 May 2025, place your orders on its website, through email, or via mobile (+65 6826 8240). Opt for fuss-free delivery, or self-collection at Pacific Emporium’s deli counter on level 1 of Pan Pacific Singapore (available daily in May, from 10am till 8pm), and get ready to unwrap these delicious goodness!
This post is in partnership with Pan Pacific Singapore.
