Dim Sum brunch at Madame Fan
Updated on 2 Mar 2021
Prosperity Pufferfish Yusheng with Bitter Gourd and Fresh Greens
(可爱牛仔河豚银鱼凉瓜捞)
Known for its quality Sichuan and Cantonese fare, Si Chuan Dou Hua has outdone itself again with its meaningful and delicious Chinese New Year menu inspired by the very idea of 扭(牛)转乾坤, meaning to radically turn things around.
Si Chuan Dou Hua’s Trio of Yusheng Collection is worth looking forward to given that each outlet has its yusheng special and 2021 is the Year of the Golden Ox which comes along once in 60 years. While the rules of a silent lohei have been set – mask on, no lohei cheer – these inspired creations will have your chopsticks dancing to the stroke of each character (牛转乾坤).
Headlining this year’s specialty treats is the Prosperity Pufferfish Yusheng with Bitter Gourd and Fresh Greens (可爱牛仔河豚银鱼凉瓜捞). Long known for its penchant for using fugu, this year’s rendition sees pufferfish sashimi shaped like an endearing ox. Consultant Chef Peter Tsang’s yusheng dish comes with translucent jade-coloured bitter gourd petals, presented on ice, lends some crunch to the dish and is well-balanced with honey. Available at $198 at the TOP of UOB Plaza outlet.
Executive Cantonese Chef Leung Wing Chung of the newly refurbished Si Chuan Dou Hua at PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road crafted a healthy toss titled Prosperity Exotic Garden with Bolete Mushroom in Homemade Bolete Mushroom and Osmanthus Sauce (金牛发财大捞生). An ensemble of more than 10 types of fresh vegetables such as green and red lettuce, red and yellow beetroot and more, it whets the palate with Japanese matsutake, cordyceps flowers and bolete mushroom (牛肝菌) air flown from Belgium. Add fish, abalone or lobster sashimi if you wish to add some flash to the toss. Available from $98, only at Si Chuan Dou Hua at PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road.
Over at Si Chuan Dou Hua at PARKROYAL on Beach Road, Executive Sichuan Chef Zeng Feng is offering a Prosperity Beef Tongue Yusheng (大吉大利椒麻牛舌捞起) – a huge bloom shaped by braised beef tongue as well as the pseudo ones – celtuce sliced thinly and nicely curled up at the base of the plate. Available at $98 per order only at Si Chuan Dou Hua at PARKROYAL on Beach Road.
Consultant Chef Peter Tsang’s Crispy Noodle with Lobster in Egg Gravy (滑蛋龙虾飞天面) is a highly-instagrammable piece of work that calls for ingenuity in delivering taste and style in a dish. Individually prepared by drenching hot oil reaching up to 180 degrees celsius on sheng mian, this crispy noodle dish, served with chopsticks in mid-air, stands sculpted like a piece of edible art. This is an endlessly fascinating conversational starter. Exclusively served at TOP of UOB Plaza outlet.
The visionary Executive Director of Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurants Wee Wei Ling says, “2020 has been challenging for a lot of people. But no matter how hard it is, the days are still there for us to put our best forward. Chinese New Year is an important occasion and like any other year, Si Chuan Dou Hua is committed to serving our guests, whether they are dining in, taking food out or have entrusted us to deliver food to their homes, relatives or friends.”
To experience Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental Singapore is to experience one of the most sophisticated and innovative Chinese restaurants in Singapore.
One is lulled into believing that she may have entered the residence of a taipan’s luxe interiors informed by rich textures and even fengshui. Walls are adorned with a combination of sheer ivory voile and charcoaled teak panels, while wooden tables are paired with comfortable, upholstered chairs. For guests looking for a bit more intimacy, there are four private dining rooms available.
A sumptuous weekend dim sum brunch presented in exquisite and modern custom-made steel baskets is also popular with MO’s fans. MENU
Celebrated by Singapore Tatler as one of Singapore’s best Chinese restaurants and recipient of the Michelin Plate, Man Fu Yuan is a gem of a Chinese restaurant known for refinement and wonderful flavours.
Its new menu, conceptualised by Executive Chinese Chef Aaron Tan (陈健倫), is made up of exquisitely crafted creations that showcase an artful balance of spices and flavours, uplifted by modern interpretations and quality world-sourced ingredients.
Start off the meal with Kung Fu Soup featuring double-boiled sakura chicken, abalone, maca, morel mushrooms served in a tea pot; the broth is best enjoyed poured into and sipped from the accompanying tea cup. Chilled Fanny Bay oysters, on the other hand, are steeped in hua diao wine and dotted with ikura and bonito. A glass funnel-shaped lid is lifted tableside to reveal billowing tea-infused clouds.
The poached marble goby with mala green peppercorns, chilli and salted vegetables broth is a real palate teaser with its interplay of mala flavours and piquant tang. Your tastebuds will thank you later.
“These new creations focus on innovation without losing tradition, and reinvention while retaining taste”, says Chef Aaron. “Elements of these signature dishes allow guests to experience their food with multisensory delight. I also believe the root of Chinese cuisine is in comfort and family bonding over food, which is an inspiration for flavours presented, which are warming to the heart and palate.”
Peach Blossoms at the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay recently reopened with a fresh, contemporary energy and new menu. Award-winning Chef Edward Chong breathes new life into traditional Cantonese cuisine, creating signature dishes that tell stories and evoke the senses. Expect the use of seasonal produce, modern culinary techniques and artful presentation – it’s an experiential journey enhanced by the rejuvenated space that features light woods, nature-inspired palette and a touch of oriental. Vacant tables are thin on the ground though we hope to visit as soon as we can snag a reservation!
With views of the iconic Marina Bay and natural light streaming in through the windows, Peach Blossoms offers a warm and inviting ambience for a culinary discovery into a whole new world of Chinese dining.
Goodwood Park Hotel celebrates 120 years of timeless elegance and legacy and one of the celebratory highlights this year is the highly-anticipated unveiling of Min Jiang‘s brand-new interiors. Architect and interior designer Ernesto Bedmar was enlisted to reimagine the 38 year old icon and the result is a stylish vibe that hints at the Chinese heritage of the restaurant. As we enter, we are greeted by a host behind a reception space that is shaped by wood, curves and on-point lighting. The main dining hall – which runs parallel to the outdoor terrace with views of the swimming pool – has a colour scheme that is a ravishing combination of warm honey, silver grey and even teal. Wooden chairs are adorned with either patterned or mustard fabric upholstery while table tops are made of white polished marble. The refinement achieved by Bedmar continues in the six individual private dining rooms; foldable sliding panels open up to reveal a pillarless space for larger events.
Master Chef Chan Hwan Kee 主厨曾繁基 always gives us a reason to return. We are particularly fond of his inspired offerings that are new on the menu (from left to right):
Deep-fried Stuffed Dough Sticks with Shredded Abalone and Enoki Mushrooms 锦绣鲍丝酿油条: dough fritters may belong in comfort food zone but when passion meets artistry, they are perfect for holding together minced seafood paste; strips of Australian abalone, carrot, mushrooms as well as deep-fried julienned leeks lend good flavour and texture.
Roasted Chicken Skin with Prawn Paste in Sesame Pockets 麻袋金笼百花鸡: we love the way a yakitori shokunin handles chicken skin with deft hands so we find the same joy in roasted chicken skin, amongst other fillings, in baked flatbread.
As with all proper Chinese meals, we finish with rice or noodles. Chef Chan has two options on offer made all the more interesting by the use of premium ingredients: Stewed Wanton Noodles with Argentinian red prawns 阿根廷红虾云吞面 and Braised Noodles with Spring Onions and Ginger featuring yabbies 姜葱小龙虾面.
The joy of having dim sum is in being able to select baskets of treats from pushcarts as the heart pleases – just like in Hong Kong. Ming Pao, Apple Daily or South China Morning Post in hand optional.
Don’t leave without revisiting Chef Chan’s signatures such as barbecued meats starring the Honey-glazed Barbecued Ibérico Pork 蜜汁黑豚叉烧. Other dishes that are a nod to Min Jiang’s Sichuan heritage include Hot and Sour Soup 岷江酸辣汤 and Spicy Sliced Red Garoupa Soup with Preserved Cabbage 酸菜红斑鱼片汤 – both are wildly appetising.
Ever since The St. Regis’ arrival in Singapore, sophisticated Cantonese dining has found a home in our city state. Yan Ting – or 宴 (Yan) 庭 (Ting) – brings to mind an imperial courtyard where royalty eat and drink at lavish banquets.
Yan Ting serves up exquisite yet hearty dishes like Peking Duck wrapped with Pancake (pictured) and Choice of Sautéed Duck Fillet with Spicy Sauce or Wok-fried Duck Meat with Bamboo Shoot. We also love dishes like the Double-boiled Sea Whelk Consommé with Black Garlic as well as Steamed Alaskan Crab Meat with Beer.
Modern Cantonese dishes like the Specially Braised US Supreme Beef with Watermelon and Golden Almond, Poached
Bamboo Clam with Lobster Broth, and the Pan-seared Wagyu Beef Fillet with Wild Mushroom Truffle are a reminder of the possibilities of Chinese fine dining.
On weekends, Yan Ting does a roaring trade with its Weekend Dim Sum Brunch. We recommend going to town by enjoying brunch with free flow of house champagne “R” de Ruinart Brut NV.
Cantonese restaurant Hua Ting has been an icon in Singapore’s Chinese fine dining scene for over two decades. Following a multi-million dollar refurbishment, the award-winning restaurant, set in a brand new sophisticated space, has taken on a new sparkle. The team of accomplished chefs led by Hong Kong Masterchef Lap Fai continues to innovate new signature dishes while keeping with its enduring tradition of serving authentic Cantonese classics.
We love the new signatures such as Chilled Marinated South African Baby Abalone with Japanese Sake, Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk, Spike Sea Cucumber and Organic Black Garlic, Steamed Fresh Crab Claw with Egg White, Spring Onion and Ginger Puree and Baked Empress Chicken Drumstick, Abalone, Fungus and Chinese Herbs.
Orchard Hotel Singapore’s Hua Ting has a loyal following that returns for Cantonese classics executed with masterful panache – the must-try being Hua Ting’s Signature Crispy Roasted Duck. Other firm favourites include Braised Australian Green Lip Whole Abalone with Supreme Oyster Sauce, Flamed Japanese Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom in Hot Stone Bowl, Charcoal-grilled Iberico Pork ‘Char Siew’ and dim sum. A well-curated tea collection offers a unique tea-pairing experience at Hua Ting.
Regent Singapore has built a reputation as being best in class in every food and drink category – think Manhattan, Dolcetto by Basilico and Tea Lounge – so it comes as no surprise that its Chinese restaurant Summer Palace has a Michelin star and for the third year running. The classy space provides just the right setting for classical Cantonese fare served up with a contemporary twist.
Summer Palace is headed by Hong Kong chef Chinese Executive Chef Liu Ching Hai who has over 20 years of experience in fine Chinese cuisine under his belt. It all started when the young Liu watched his grandmother cook, developing an interest that would place him on the path of training under Master Chinese Chefs Fok Wing Tin and Peter Tsang. Chef Liu’s Cantonese fare has also been experienced by some heavy weights such as international dignitaries, diplomats, Hollywood and Hong Kong celebrities.
Chef Liu’s life and illustrious career has been beautifully-captured in a five course celebratory menu. Three in Cantonese translates to saang, which sounds similar to 生 or life. Inspirations behind each dish were drawn from iconic moments, such as when he first learned the intricacies of stir-frying, right down to his early dates of fatherhood when he attempted to wean two fledgling gourmets. The Double-boiled Seafood Soup served in Golden Pumpkin (pictured), for example, is a reminder of how Chef would train his two young sons to always eat well. The earliest foods were rice stirred in mashed pumpkin puree. Over time, the puree became a double-boiled stock, infused with the mineral and gelatinous goodness of chicken and pork bones.
It is such a privilege to participate in Chef Liu’s journey, tasting the passion and hard work that comes with every bite!
For authentic and elegantly-presented Cantonese fare, look no further than Jade. The eleven-year old restaurant went through a revamp in 2017 and emerged with a palette of colours that reflect the glow of jade. Specially commissioned wallpaper and overhead lantern lighting add to the sheer beauty of this Chinese restaurant.
Simmered Egg Noodles with Live Boston Lobster and Housemade X.O. Chilli Sauce and Sautéed Diced Kagoshima Wagyu Beef with Crispy Garlic in Cambodian Black Pepper Sauce are just some of the best dishes you will taste at Jade.
Jade’s Roasted Peking Duck with Marinated Orange Peel is a well-executed dish with wonderfully-crispy duck skin that crackles with each bite.
To know why food at Jade is so beautifully-presented, one has to understand Executive Chinese Chef Leong Chee Yeng’s passion for art. He is a skilled ceramicist, Chinese painter, and calligrapher, and even hosted his first personal art exhibition, ‘Ceramics Indulgence’ in 2015, featuring more than 30 pieces of artwork at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. Chef Leong believes cooking and pottery are transformative arts, where skilled hands, precision and sensitivity transform everyday food and objects into a thing of beauty to delight the senses. A collection of his ceramics adorns Jade Restaurant.
Celebrity MasterChef Jereme Leung helms Raffles Hotel Singapore’s contemporary Chinese restaurant yì. Yì means art in Mandarin and it’s evident in every touchpoint at this fine dining restaurant from the modern sophisticated detailing of the design to the food. While restaurants typically focus on a regional specialty such as Cantonese, Sichuan or Huaiyang, Jereme takes the road less travelled. For those who remember Jereme’s venture in Shanghai – Whampoa Club at Three on the Bund – in the early 2000s, his approach of referencing broadly the breadth and depth of ancient Chinese cuisine comes from his time living in Mainland China.
Jereme said, “While I have lived abroad for most of my career, the formative years which I spent working in Singapore and Hong Kong were so important to defining my approach and style of cooking. Opening yì by Jereme Leung at Raffles Hotel Singapore is an honour and I am excited to beable to work with some of the best minds in the Singapore industry and present my personal take on Chinese cuisine. These dishes reflect what I believe the future of Chinese cuisine should be 20 years from today. It is not fusion, not ‘east-meets-west’; rather, it is about capturing the essence of provincial ethnic Chinese cuisines. With careful focus being placed on healthy and seasonal food produce, it will create authentic taste profiles that are enhanced by modern culinary techniques.”
From L to R:
Brined Duck Breast, Beef Tripe & Ox Tongue dressed with Sichuan Chilli Dressing
Crispy Egg Noodles with Shrimp, Crab Meat and Scrambled Eggs
Satay-Spiced Ice Cream with Peanut Dust, Fruits & Nuts
Fried Rice with Char Siew, Pork Belly & Pickled Long Beans
Although Shangri-la Hotels & Resorts is headquartered in Hong Kong, the urban oasis that is the Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore is the group’s flagship property so it’s easy to see how Shang Palace, launched together with the property back in 1971, is the forerunner of an international chain of 38 Shang Palace restaurants worldwide. Cantonese cuisine expert and veteran chef Chef Mok Kit Keung runs the restaurant – otherwise known as the talented chef who led Shang Palace Hong Kong to score its second Michelin star in 2011.
“Joy comes from seeing my guest smile,” says Chef Mok, “when I cook from the heart.”
Chef Mok brings together the harmony of old and new, including ‘lost’ dishes, his award-winning signatures, and a selection of innovative creations inspired by his travels.
There are three menus – Nostalgia, Signature and Innovation.
Experiencing dishes from the Nostalgia menu is like a trip down memory lane. The Sautéed Fresh Milk, Crabmeat and Egg White accompanied by Deep-fried Pork Rolls with Preserved Bean Curd, which replaces buffalo milk with fresh milk and wraps the pork rolls with hand-sliced pork fat is a delicious and time-consuming dish that would not look out of place in a traditional household in the Pearl River Delta.
The Boneless Quail Filled with Bird’s Nest in Supreme Broth, which replaces shark’s fin with bird’s nest, reflects Chef Mok’s mastery of culinary techniques that allows such a tiny game bird to appear resolutely plump when served to the table.
The Signature menu showcases dishes that Chef Mok has made famous over the years such as the Deep-fried Whole Boneless Chicken Filled with Fried Glutinous Rice, a deboned kampong chicken stuffed with glutinous rice wok-fried with preserved Chinese sausage, dehydrated prawns, dried scallops and dried shiitake.
Cassia, Capella Singapore‘s Cantonese fine-dining restaurant, whose interiors are designed by André Fu is a subtle articulation of historic spice routes of Southern and Western China.
Executive Chef Lee Hiu Ngai’s Signature Set is a good way to experience his finesse in handling ingredients and celebrating the contrast and combination of flavour. The Double-Boiled Rich Chicken Broth with Fish Maw Dried Scallop, Sea Cucumber and Flower Mushroom is prepared with fresh and premium collagen-rich ingredients and slow cooked for hours on end. Both the Wok-Fried Lobster and Wok-Fried Australian Wagyu Beef dishes are testament to the team’s deft handling of wok and fire. The Steamed Glutinous and Jasmine Rice with Preserved Chinese Sausage Topped with Pan-Fried Scallop is a nice elegant rendition of glutinous rice as we know it and flavours combine so well together one would ask for second helpings.
Housed inside the NCO Club, an important landmark in Singapore’s colonial and post-independence heritage, Chinese-inspired dining establishment Madame Fan is restaurateur Alan Yau’s first Southeast Asia venture.
London-based Yau (left) needs no introduction. He is known for having conceptualised and taken establishments like Wagamama, Hakkasan and Yauatcha global. Yau’s visionary approach has even earned him the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in the 2006 New Year Honour’s List for services to the restaurant industry in the UK. Chef Mike Tan (right) and his team are also instrumental in delivering well-executed Chinese food at the establishment.
Madame Fan turns up the old-school glamour, bringing back the cathedrals of grand hospitality where craft, service and ambience come together in an experiential gourmet journey for guests. The glamour is also evident in the French Art deco design and diva-led approach to music.
Jasmine Tea Smoked Ribs
A Madame Fan re-invention of the smoked ribs, this delicious sticky-glazed pork ribs with a perfect hint of smoky Jasmine Tea flavor is perfectly paired with Alan Yau Classics.
Double Boiled Four Treasure Soup with Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw, Dried Scallop
and Crabmeat
A masterpiece by Chef Mike, the invigorating use of fresh coconut in the extraordinary flavours and depth of the soup base further enhances its soulful profile.
Lobster Cantonese with Ginger, Spring Onion and Wanton Noodle
A London Chinese Special, Alan Yau believes that the flavour constructs of ginger and spring onion play better with seafood than meat, and lobster is no exception to this formula.
Get together four other friends for a boozy weekend brunch at Madame Fan’s Cocktail Dim Sum Brunch – enjoy unlimited servings of over 40 types of dimsum and classic Cantonese dishes and signature cocktails. Available at $126++ per person on every Saturday & Sunday between 11am and 3.30pm.
Herald the year of the Ox with Golden Peony’s Fortune Ox Yu Sheng at the Conrad Centennial Singapore. Pan-fried wagyu beef, along with seasonal greens, is the star of the toss designed to bring good fortune and abundance.
Other niu-year highlights include Baked Spare Ribs with Red Glutinous sauce as well as Steamed Sliced Giant Grouper, topped with a secret Capsicum and Preserved Chili Sauce.