Review: Spring Court

Sometimes it seems like the Chinese food market here is dominated by just a few names, like Crystal Jade, Imperial Treasure or the Tung Lok Group.


Search a little harder, however, and you will find that there are plenty of other Chinese restaurants, some with very illustrious histories, which still exist and continue to serve very fine food. Sometime last week, I went to just such a place: Spring Court was founded in 1929 and is still a family-run business that now operates out of Upper Cross Street.


Although pretty unassuming from street level, the restaurant is actually huge, occupying a towering four floors, and on a Sunday night, the place was packed. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that Spring Court is currently celebrating its 82nd anniversary, so there are a number of promotions going on, making it extremely value for money. The promotion we enjoyed, for instance, lasts till the end of September, and allows you to order a Peking duck for only 82 cents if your bill comes up to $82 or more. It's hard to think of a better deal than that, if you ask me.

What's really special about Spring Court, however, is the fact that you can still tell it's a family-run restaurant from some of the food it serves, because some of these dishes are like something out of someone's (very professional) kitchen.


The scallop porridge, for instance, is a nice bowl of congee (a little thinner than I am used to) with plump, sweet scallops lurking within. With a sprinkling of freshly-cut chives, this is probably one of the healthier things I've eaten in a Chinese restaurant.

Speaking of eating healthy, I really enjoy eating popiah, but it's not something I get to eat very often because it's so tedious to grate the ingredients and stew them into the sweet, juicy filling they have to become. Why don't I just buy popiah from food courts or hawker centers then? Well, for one thing, I'm quite particular about my popiah, and I find that most commercial sellers don't do a very good job, because the filling tends to be bland, mushy, and not very generous in terms of what you get.


At Spring Court, however, I was happy to see that there was no such problem. The popiah rolls were enormous, and stuffed so full with ingredients that they were virtually bursting at the seams. In fact, they're so large that it's probably difficult for one person to finish one all by him or herself, so you can imagine how we had a slight problem with 8 rolls for 7 people.

Although Upper Cross Street may be a little inconveniently located, it should be said that parking is a breeze as a result of two public car parks located across the road from the restaurant. Service is brisk and pleasant enough, so if you're getting a little tired of the same old Chinese cuisine, maybe it's time to try something more homely at Spring Court.

Spring Court
52-56 Upper Cross Street
Tel: +65 6449 5030
Website

Review: Jade

Disclaimer: This meal was generously sponsored, but the content of the following review is entirely my own.


Despite the Fullerton Hotel being one of my favourite hotels, I must confess that I have very rarely dined there, and so I was thrilled to have been invited to a special Peking duck food tasting at Jade, a classy Chinese restaurant located on the second floor of the hotel, and one of the 10 restaurants featured in TimeOut's inaugural Dine Out Tasting Event.


As it was a Sunday night, we had the restaurant virtually to ourselves, and we were able to drink in the beautiful setting: the delicately restored finishings of what used to be the old colonial Post Office; the carefully embroidered, virgin white tablecloth; and the tasteful use of verdant bamboo shoots all contributed to serene surroundings. It felt as if I was having dinner on the opulent set of the movie The Banquet.


Our meal commenced with an amuse-bouche of chicken mousse, which was a small pyramid of chicken pate that had been slightly browned, served atop a slice of celery, which had been blanched and refreshed to preserve its emerald green hue. The celery was therefore fresh and crunchy, with the unmistakable tang providing a good counterfoil to the rich chicken mousse.


Our first course was a roasted Peking duck with marinated orange peel, hoisin sauce and cucumber wrapped in a Chinese pancake. Clearly an attempt to combine both such Oriental and Occidental classics as Peking duck and canard a l'orange in one dish, I felt this was let down by the dryness of the Chinese pancake, which tasted floury and chalky, rather than the smooth and elegant wrapping Peking duck is famous for. The zestiness of the orange, however, was an interesting tough, which worked better than I thought it would, cutting through the sweetness of the hoisin sauce and giving the dish an added complexity.


The next course was a luxurious silky chawanmushi with diced duck meat, wild mushrooms and black truffle slices. Sadly, Chinese truffles were used, so there wasn't the same sort of aromatic pungency, but the chawanmushi was excellent. It is always a great pleasure to eat a chawanmushi so smooth it feels like you're drinking a liquid rather than eating a solid, especially when it's flavoured with a rich, tasty duck stock and packed with cubes of wild mushrooms.


Our soup course was a duck bone consomme with duck meat dumplings, lemongrass, chilli, coriander and fresh porcini mushrooms. I was very impressed that Jade uses fresh porcini mushrooms, as these are extremely difficult to find in this part of the world. The consomme would have been better, I think, if the chef had not attempted to inject a Thai influence - drinking a spicy soup that was reminiscent of tom yam was somewhat disconcerting in a Chinese restaurant, and I didn't think the combination was successful. Nonetheless, the dumplings were exceptionally good, for they were full of meat, and the skin was so delicate and supple that it was a wonder they didn't simply disintegrate in the soup.


An intermezzo followed, in the form of a black sesame lemon sorbet. Clearly, the kitchen in Jade enjoys using exotic or unusual ingredients in surprising combinations, for this is one of the very few occasions I have seen sweet granadilla used as an ingredient. The fruit, which is closely related to the passionfruit, resembles frogspawn, but is mellow and sweet (though less so than passionfruit), and a little crunchy. The sweetness complimented the earthy nuttiness of the black sesame very well, while the hint of lemon, and the icy coolness of the sorbet, did much to cleanse the palate, in preparation for the next dish.


Sauteed Peking duck with pan-seared foie gras, roasted garlic and green asparagus was artfully cooked and presented, with a crispy, inverted basket adorning the dish. Pairing duck with foie gras is perhaps a bit rich, but I suppose that is not really a relevant consideration when eating a six course dinner.


I was by this time rather full, but managed to find some space for the pineapple fried rice with diced duck meat, crab meat and nyonya chilli served in a crispy money bag. Here again, I felt that the creativity of the chefs had not been put to its best use: the strong taste of the nyonya chilli was not appropriate for the fried rice, which was otherwise extremely appetising, for crabmeat had been supplied in abundance, and the sweet fragrance of the pineapple had permeated the rice grains.


Dessert did not, unsurprisingly, feature any more duck. Instead, we were treated to a bowl of shaved coconut ice with fresh strawberries and mango cream. I always enjoy the heady scent of coconut, and when it is made into cream (or better yet, ice cream) without losing any of its allure that is even more remarkable. The strawberries were a little too tart for my tastes, but the mango sauce was satisfyingly sweet.

Overall, Jade's Peking Duck menu was not perfect, but at $58 per person, it is very reasonable for the generous amount of food you get, and one can't help but admire the chef's attempts to reinterpret some classic dishes. If duck is not your thing, Jade also offers a host of other set menus, with prices ranging from $48 to $98 per person, as well as a la carte dishes that are fairly affordably priced.

Jade
Fullerton Hotel
1 Fullerton Square
Tel: +65 6877 8188
Email

Review: Tung Lok Classics

Curiously, despite the fact that the Tung Lok Group has been around for quite some time, I don't seem to have reviewed very many of their restaurants. Thankfully, that is beginning to change, beginning with the rather epic meal at Chinois.


So it came to be that a table of ten gathered to celebrate a birthday dinner at Tung Lok Classics in Orchard Parade Hotel. First impressions were marred by the difficulty of negotiating the cramped carpark, as well as the challenge of actually locating the restaurant itself, but the rest of the dinner was truly memorable.


Although Tung Lok Classics looks like any ordinary Chinese restaurant, I was greatly impressed by the level of service, which was both friendly and professional (although to be fair we did book a private room), as well as the quality of the food, which was of a consistently high standard.


We started with a duo of prawns cooked in two ways: lightly fried and coated with wasabi mayonnaise, as well as deep-fried with salted egg yolk on Chinese lettuce. Wasabi prawns are done to death these days, but these not slathered with the stuff, and so they were slightly heady without being cloying, while the deep-fried prawns were richer and tastier thanks to the egg yolks. In the middle of the prawns was a scoop of watermelon, which had been excavated and filled with diced mango - a fruity and juicy intermezzo to refresh the palate in between the two prawns.


The soup course featured a double-boiled pork soup that was liberally seasoned with wolfberries, resulting in a deeply intense consomme that was also pleasantly sweet and invigorating, notwithstanding its heat.



The steamed soon hock with minced garlic was a behemoth, but very fine: the flesh of the fish was exquisitely delicate, and its natural sweetness was enhanced by the slightly more robust notes of the garlic. I've often wondered why only Asians discovered the beauty of eating fish that has been simply steamed with some soy sauce, vinegar, Chinese wine and spring onions - the natural taste of fresh fish is infinitely preferable to grilling or frying.


Some of the food at Tung Lok Classics borders on the tonic: such as the boneless chicken braised with shiitake mushrooms, red dates, ginger and spring onions. Juicy and tender, the chicken was brimming with the succulent savouriness of the mushrooms, and the mild saltiness of the light sauce. I don't know how to explain it, but eating this just makes you feel healthy, and unlike some Chinese herbal foods, the dishes at Tung Lok Classics do not taste fustian or unpleasant: quite the opposite, in fact.


This beautiful dish resembles an enormous pearl, but the lustrous cabbage leaves in reality conceal a ball of mushrooms and water chestnuts, which, when freed from its nacreous shell, and paired with the verdant broccoli, created a sensational array of colours, tastes and textures.




The noodle course was fairly unusual: fried Japanese noodles with snow peas and prawns, resembling an Oriental pizza, over which a thick, hot, luscious broth was poured, softening the noodles and serving as a sort of soup/sauce. I have to admit I didn't really enjoy this, not least because by this time I was rather full, but also because the noodles were still semi-hard and crispy (rather like uncooked instant noodles), while at the same time they were not dry. I suppose when it comes to noodles my palate is still somewhat conservative: they should either be wet or dry, but not something in between.



Where the restaurant truly excels is in its presentation of its desserts. The birthday cake was ours and the sesame balls were theirs, but the real star is the handwritten Chinese calligraphy in squid ink, with a personalised birthday poem from the restaurant staff. As if that wasn't awesome enough, they even gather round to sing you a birthday song (in two languages), and clap their hands while the head waitress reads out the poem in a sonorous cadenza. Now that is service.


After that performance, the fruit platter isn't quite as impressive, but it is still quite a sight, the fruits nestling on a bed of ice, in which boiler tubes have been thrust, containing a chilled, vividly purple liquid which turns out to be a remarkably refreshing drink of kiwi and mango juice, with what appears to be some beet juice for colour.


Finally, we round off with an unusual dessert of avocado jelly (more like a mousse, really) with soya bean cream. I'm not really a fan of either avocado or soya bean, but the other members of my family are, and they seemed to enjoy it greatly. I suppose it's a healthy alternative, as it offers all the creamy richness of traditional puddings, but without too much of the sugar.

Despite this being my maiden visit, I was suitably impressed with what Tung Lok Classics had to offer. The food was at turns excellent and inventive, while the service was uniformly warm and engaging. At the end of the meal, you're even given a Tung Lok Membership (depending on how much you spend), granting you a discount off future meals in order to entice you to return. It wouldn't surprise me if we returned even without the membership.

Tung Lok Classics
1 Tanglin Road, #02-18 Orchard Parade Hotel
Tel: +65 6834 0660
Website

Review: Chinois by Susur Lee

With the introduction of the Integrated Resorts in Singapore, diners are eagerly anticipating the arrival of superstar restaurants such as Daniel Boulud and Guy Savoy at Marina Bay Sands, but there are also some pretty good restaurants at Resorts World Sentosa, such as Chinois by Susur Lee.


Chinois is, I believe, the latest addition to the Tung Lok Group's impressive portfolio (stable might be more appropriate) of restaurants, and is also celebrity chef Susur Lee's first restaurant outside North America. This collaboration aims to elevate Chinese fine dining by introducing elements of modern Western cuisine. It is, in a sense, "fusion", but that is a term that is no longer in vogue, and it would do the restaurant a disservice to so label it.


Resorts World Sentosa is not the most impressive of venues: the facade of the resort and the various hotels is very tacky, and you have to make your way past hordes of tourists, children and gamblers. Sometimes they're even all the same people. Parking was also a problem: although the electronic signs indicated that there were thousands of parking lots available, I had considerable difficulty in locating a free lot, and that was after being directed to turn the wrong way by various parking attendants. Once you get to the restaurant itself, however, it's a different story: the lights are dimmed, and there is generous use of burgundy and black, which evokes a contemporary, almost seductive ambience. Straight lines and pronounced edges contribute to the mystique.


The restaurant boasts large bay windows which look out into a covered courtyard, which is a nice touch as it allows you to feel close to some natural greenery. Periodically, a laser show might be performed, lighting up the artificial roofing with incandescence.

Chinois has a very extensive menu, and it therefore took us a while before we were able to decide what we wanted, which turned out to be a number of appetisers and main courses, leaving us far too full for dessert.


The whitebait was extremely crispy, and accompanied by a spicy, tangy sauce, it was a delightful start to a big meal.


I fancied the ox tendon rather less: it had been cooked for quite long and tasted like jellyfish - bodiless and slippery. I like cartilage, but only when it is firm and crunchy, though I suppose tendon is not exactly cartilage and cannot therefore be prepared any other way.


The next appetiser was a cold dish that consisted of finely shredded cucumber strips wrapped by a thin piece of pork and slathered with a spicy peanut sauce. I did not enjoy this, as the sauce was overwhelming - it filled your mouth and overpowered everything else. A more delicate, soy or miso-based sauce would have been much more complementary.


The grilled eel served atop little squares of toasted yam cakes was delectable: the eel was sweet and umami, while the sesame seeds lent a delicate smokiness, which was then overlain by the refreshing coolness of the cucumber strips. Rounding it all off was the sensation of biting down into the supple, chewy, starchy yam. For an appetiser, this dish was beautifully complex and very well-executed.


Chilled momotaro tomatoes followed, with an unusual sauce that was laced with wasabi and diced fruits, such as mangoes and peppers, topped with a slice of Alaskan King Crab meat, and served on a bed of crispy rice.


One of the restaurant's signature dishes is braised vermicelli with mushrooms, served in an edible "nest" or "cage" or "basket" of fried yam. Not only is it visually stunning, but it makes for delicious eating too: the mushrooms are bursting with flavour, while the vermicelli soaks up the sauce and effectively multiplies the taste quotient along its entire length, and the yam basket adds an extra layer of complexity by providing a sharp, crunchy contrast to the gooey mushrooms and noodles.


There's not much that can be said about fried rice, but Chinois's version is excellent: it is not at all oily, and it contains such a surfeit of ingredients that it seems like the rice is actually outweighed by the amount of prawns, crabmeat, eggs, Chinese sausage, chives and onions it is cooked with.


Rather foolishly, at some point during the dinner, we thought we didn't have enough food, so we ordered some smoked duck with five-spiced sauce, which was a bit of a mistake on two counts: first, by the time the duck arrived, we were already rather full; and second, although the duck was enjoyably tender and meaty, the sauce was unbearably sweet - almost sickeningly so - and had to be mixed into a sizeable bowl of rice to dilute its effect.


The sauteed beef cubes were the clear favourite that evening, as they were perfectly cooked. Not only were they soft and supple, they were also cooked pink - juicy and bursting with a rich, almost smokey flavour, which of course went very well with the accompanying onions and green peppers. I must have eaten half the plate by myself, even though I was by this point exceedingly stuffed.


There was just enough space left in our bellies for one dessert to be shared, and so we chose a molten chocolate cake, which arrived in an exceptionally short span of time. Usually it takes about 15 minutes just to bake one of these things, but ours must have appeared on our table within 5 minutes of us ordering it. The cake boasted an exceptionally thin skin which, when broken with a spoon, released a torrent of melted chocolate onto the plate. A very credible offering and a delightful way to end the meal.

I've grown to become rather wary of restaurants helmed by celebrity chefs, especially when they are opened far away from the chef's hometown. I always feel that causes a loss of homeground advantage, in the sense that new suppliers have to be found, and new business relationships cultivated. New staff have to be hired and trained, and completely different expectations are brought to bear. Chinois by Susur Lee, however, does not compromise quality for reputation, nor substance for hype, making me cautiously optimistic about what the other celebrity restaurants will have to offer.

Chinois by Susur Lee
26 Sentosa Gateway, #02-142/143
Resorts World Sentosa, Hotel Michael
Tel: 6884 7888

Review: Imperial Treasure Super Beijing Duck

One of the new Chinese restaurants in town is the Imperial Treasuer Super Beijing Duck in Paragon. Their menu features the Beijing Kao Ya, or Beijing roasted duck, made famous in China's capital. I am a big fan of duck and make an effort to go for Kao Ya everytime I am in Beijing, so I was excited to see if this measured up.


The short answer is that it does, the duck here is actually not as fat (which is a good thing I guess) and it's smaller but it does have a tender, sweet taste and is very well cooked and presented. It's not cheap though, costs about $68 a duck but I guess that doesn't deter anyone because we saw at least 20-30 ducks go by in the time we were there! I would estimate that the restaurant might do 200 ducks a day.


The chefs will bring the duck to your table and carve it up, then leave you with pieces of skin to eat with a dip of sugar and dark sauce and a platter of sliced duck to roll in the pancakes. If you don't choose to have the remainder meat cooked into a noodle, remember to ask for the carcass to bring home, makes for very good porridge or noodles.



While the duck is the main focal point of the meal here, the other dishes are just as good, if not, I think, better. My favourites are the stir-fried shark's fin and crab with chicken consomme, which was a masterful combination of tastes and the slow-cooked egg white with a hint of truffle oil.


The first time we were here, we ordered dim sum and fried noodles, both of which were excellent. We had the works and ordered a full spread of Cantonese dim sum like char siew pastries and rice rolls, though nothing out of the ordinary. The dim sum was of an impressively fine quality and measured up to the usual, consistent Imperial Treasure/Crystal Jade standards.



The second and third times, we had the more substantial dishes, which were all very good. The only thing I would avoid is probably the sauted large prawns or hard-shelled yabbies fried in egg yolk- I found them tough, overcooked and over-salted. Also, I'm sure they were pretty pricey.



The restaurant is now so full, it can be hard to get a reservation but hopefully that will die down now that we are past Chinese New Year. They are clearly doing a brisk and affluent business and the managers told me that they had been receiving applications from staff from the Crystal Jade Golden Palace, also on the same 5th flor of Paragon. If you feel generous, or if you are fortunate enough to receive an invitation, you should definitely go!