The Stylish Gloss on Chinese Food

After a lunch of grazing on a few communal plates at The Majestic Chinese restaurant, I had some thoughts about modern Chinese food in Singapore today.

The idea of modern Chinese cuisine was initiated in Singapore by Club Chinois, Tung Lok Group of Restaurants. Nouvelle chinois cuisine painted a stylist gloss on Chinese food. Individual portions and stylish platings alongside a ‘fusion’ style of cooking incorporating ingredients from other cuisines that were traditionally not used in Chinese cuisine. More restaurants have taken on this label of modern Chinese, innovating and pushing the flavour boundaries. That, however, has also lead to a near duplication of some dishes, such as the now ubiquitious wasabi prawns.



Nouvelle chinois cuisine has also caused a minor revolution in Chinese restaurant décor. Forks and spoons were no longer just serving utensils, they made their way to the standard table setting alongside the soup spoon, chopsticks and the nifty holder that prevented them from making any contact with table. As Humble House, which was designed by Zhang Jin Jie, an established artist, Majestic Restaurant finds its home in the über chic restored Majestic hotel. The much talked about décor here and the swimming pool ceiling did not do much for me, but what I liked was the huge kitchen window that allows you to privy into the matters of the kitchen and to watch the cooks dancing to their own kitchen rhythm.

The food although elegant and delicious, read Chubby Hubby’s and colin's mouthwatering review here, lacked some sort of distinctive identity. My case in point is the foie gras and Peking duck skin pairing served with a wasabi prawn, which was a well executed combination of rich sweet flavours and crisp textures did not really offer any interesting interpretation. The strength of this restaurant lies in the mix of contemporary and classic offerings that can be paired and served without much confusion.


Foie Gras with Wasabi Prawns, Taste Paradise

Another modern Chinese restaurant that I have recently dined at is Taste Paradise, where I thought the food was excellent. We started off with a similar rendition of foie gras with wasabi prawns as the one in Majestic Restaurant, it was just as indulgent even without the extra silver of crispy Peking duck skin.


Homemade carrot cake, Taste Paradise

Our next plate was their signature homemade carrot cake. I don’t have a clue how Chef Fong made it, but its texture was exquisite—soft, smooth and slightly springy. I’ll agree with Wong Ah Yoke that to date the best plate of carrot cake I’ve had, and at that point in time, I was sure I was going to come back for more.

A plate of Thai-styled deep fried white bait arrived next. It was an interesting hybrid of a Thai mango salad and the conventional deep fried white bait served as a dim sum or appetiser in a Chinese meal. I liked this for its refreshing flavours and its play on the cold and hot crunchy elements on the plate.

From the meat department, we sampled the popular baked lamb rack in red wine and beef cubes cooked French style, which were tasty and tender. The only disappointment was very unfortunately the finishing bowl of homemade mee sua with seafood in superior broth that was too starchy. But other than, Taste Paradise offers some creative sounding and interesting tasting dishes, while others such as the homemade carrot cake in particular, are simple and refined that taste like paradise.

Majestic Restaurant
31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: 65114718

Taste Paradise
48-49 Mosque Street
Tel: 62262959

You say private dining, I say Xi Yan.

Xi Yan
38A Craig Road
Singapore 089676
Tel: 9695-4957
(By reservation only)
www.xiyan.com.hk

Xi Yan, the first of its overseas branches from Hong Kong, has been the talk of the town since its opening. This private-dining, reservation only restaurant, has taken our little dining city by storm, and is fast becoming one of the harder places to get a reservation. By a sheer stroke of chance, I managed to chance upon a table. I called to find out if there were anymore tables open for December as a surprise dinner for a friend who was coming home from Europe. Unfortunately, they were fully booked out for December and for most of January, but they just had a cancellation for the next day, and it was mine if I was interested, “yes!” was my reflex answer, following which, all I had to do was gather eaters. Gathering eaters was not too difficult a task, I made a few calls, and in an hour or so managed to gather a dozen other interested diners and dinner was set.



There is only one menu per night, depending on what fresh produce is available, and so if you have food allergies, you should probably tell them beforehand, especially since liberally use peanuts for one of their house specialities. The dinner averages 3-3.5 hours, and they serve you 13 courses. The menu does change to a certain extent, but the house signatures – Japanese Tomato in Sesame Sauce, Spicy Sichuan Chicken and Xi Yan Tang Yuan more or less are permanent features in each daily menu.

Despite the banquet fashion and nazi-styled menu, the atmosphere is rather laid back and the food is not too pretentious. The exquisite food comes in huge serving plates and bowls, placed on the lazy susan, leaving you to portion out your own food. Here’s the dinner, course by course.

PRANCING LOBSTER WITH DUAL SAUCES
This Australian baby was gently cooked to retain its natural sweetness. The sweetness of the lobster was also contrasted with the mint sauce and belachan sauce that it was served with. The dips were milder than they sounded, but the flavours complimented and brought out the sweetness of the lobster.

JAPANESE TOMATO IN SESAME SAUCE
Wow, who knew tomatoes came in these XXL sizes. These huge organic Japanese tomatoes are grown on the outskirts of Tokyo and were the size of my fist. Here they serve it while the tomatoes while there are 90% ripe to retain some firm texture of the tomato. The simple combination is rather phenomenal, with a hint of natural sweetness, the firmness gives it a bite and the creamy sesame sauce and the visual presentation made me think about ice cream – giant scoops of tomato ice cream that is dripping with a caramel coloured sesame sauce.

COLD TOFU PORK FLOSS
This Chinese twist on the Japanese cold tofu dish was delightful. An interesting combination of a various simple ingredients created this delectable number. The pork floss provided balance a candy-like flavour to salty sauce and salted egg topping. Serving it on cold rather that hot tofu was a good way of keeping the dish light, simultaneously adding another dimension of texture.

SICHUAN SPICY PICKLED CUCUMBER
This was perhaps my least favourite dish. A little too spicy for me, and I might have just preferred it as a nibble at the start of the meal, rather than as a dish.

WHITE PEPPER SHRIMP
Cooked with kung pao sauce and fresh pepper corns, the taste was surprisingly delicate. Expecting something really spicy, the white pepper shrimp was nectareous with a gentle wisp of spice from the white pepper.

ZHENG JIANG RIBS
The sticky finger licking good glaze that covered the ribs was divine. The ribs were caramel sweet but had complex flavour from the vinegar based marinade. It was a like a hybrid between kung ba pao and stewed pigs trotters. Although not fall off the bone soft, the glazed Zheng Jiang ribs sticky sauce taste and aromas lingered on our lips.

SPICY SICHUAN CHICKEN
Before this dish is served, the wait staff will ask the level of your gung-ho-ness and how spicy you would like your Spicy Sichuan Chicken. At the pinnacle is the hellish hot tongue numbing chilli level followed by a medium level spice and the mild. The solution is to ask for mild or medium heat (if you are confident enough) and request for more sauce on the side. The chicken was succulent and the Sichuan sauce was laced with sesame oil making the dish extremely fragrant. The chicken is also served with konnyaku noodles which drinks up the sauce and provides another texture and century eggs to dowse the fire in your mouth.

SHRIMP SAUCE GROUPER WITH POMELO
The pungent and extremely aromatic prawn paste that is traditionally used on chicken and served as the ubiquitous ha chong kai in every tze char stall in Singapore, was appointed another purpose in the culinary world. The prawn paste (rather than shrimp sauce) gave made the skin crisp and fragrant. The smell arrests you before the fish arrives, and when it does, it is quite a sight, the gaping grouper resting on the bed of pomelo. The grouper was very fresh and cooked well, retaining its natural juices and the pomelo added some tartness to balance the strong prawn paste.

CRAB ROE WITH GLUTINOUS RICE
Although the crabs are the most visually striking thing about this dish, they are not the main attraction of the dish but what lies beneath. The glutinous rice that cushion the crabs that have been infused with Shanghainese crab roe and the crab’s sweet juiced during the steaming process. Making the roe enriched rice sweet and indulgent.

MIX FRUIT IN PLUM SAUCE
As a palate cleanser, this was a welcomed change. Despite the general consensus of “I’m so full already” around the table, when this fruit platter arrived, it was quickly consumed. Instead of having the conventional sour plum salt powder at the side as a dip, the fruits were soaked in sour plum syrup. The play of sweet and sour on the fruits was refreshing and calmed the palates down for the next course.

COCONUT CHICKEN SOUP
Judging from the name of the dish, I was expected a luxurious rendition of tom yum chicken soup. Instead, we were served a chicken consommé with floating wolf berries and a slice of mature coconut flesh. The soup was delicate in flavour, but the coconut flesh was just too hard, I just did not get how it worked together.

BRAISED MUSHROOM WITH PICKLED CUCUMBER
The mushrooms were a little disappointing, in comparison to the other dishes which were bolder in taste.

XI YAN TANG YUAN
Bobbing in a warm sweetened ginger soup, the signature Xi Yan tang yuan is perhaps the most extravagant tang yuan ever made. Visually symbolic and comforting, the tasty tang yuan is rather cheeky once in your mouth. With the multi-filling of peanuts, white sesame seeds, candied melon, salted egg and butter, the tang yuan danced on the tongue with a variety of flavours and textures, perfectly rounding off the long dinner.

With regards to the food, the main influences in the food are Chinese and Thai flavours and ingredients. The flavours are bold and there is a high level of commitment to fresh produce here. The dishes were fantastic, but among the spectacular, there were a few rather big question marks. The hard coconut flesh that was too tough to chew? The order of the menu seems rather particular as in our opinion (consensus between dining companions) that the mushroom dish seemed really out of place, making the dish less enjoyable and taking away from the fruit platter that came before. I just do not get it.

The other half of the success of this place is Mr. Tan Keng Siong and the wait staff that he heads. They work in perfect synchrony with the kitchen and with the one wait staff to one table ratio; they are attentive and friendly without being obtrusive. Together, the food and the service do make this place an interesting and decadent dining experience. I guess that pretty much explains the rather full reservation book for the next few weeks. If only all wedding dinners were this enjoyable.

Pay: S$88 nett a person.