Town Restaurant at
The Fullerton Hotel, will be hosting Guest Chef Chia-Mo Chen, who will be bringing an extensive range of authentic Taiwanese dishes to their dinner buffet selection from 8 June to 17 June 2016.
Fresh Squid with Five-Spice Sauce 3.5/5
Pumpkin with Passion Fruit 3.5/5
Beginning with appetizers, I went for their
Fresh Squid with Five-Spice Sauce (五味鲜鱿) and
Pumpkin with Passion Fruit. The smoky five-spice sauce made an ideal companion to the mild tasting squid, and its crunchy texture made it even tastier. Along the same line, the thinly sliced pumpkin was exceptionally crunchy and refreshing with the tangy passion fruit.
Pineapple Spare Ribs with Orange Sauce 4/5
From the hot dishes, you get to try a range of selections specially executed by Chef Chia-Mo Chen. One of my favourites is his
Pineapple Spare Ribs with Orange Sauce (橙汁凤梨骨). Under a thin coat of batter, the spare ribs remained juicy, and I hardly tasted any porkiness. The orange sauce dressed the meat with a mild sweetness, with chunks of pineapple to cut away any greasiness, not that there was any actually.
Three-Cup Chicken 3.8/5
Their
Three-Cup Chicken (台湾三杯鸡) is definitely a crowd pleaser. Cooked with soy sauce, sesame oil and Chinese rice wine, I find the taste pretty balanced without being overly sweet.
Fried Rice with Sakura Shrimps 4/5
When there are so many sumptuous looking dishes, many might just give this unassuming pot of
Fried Rice with Sakura Shrimps a miss. I'm glad that I didn't miss this pot of gem. Imported from Taiwan, the sakura shrimps gave punches of flavours to the fried rice, akin to our commonly used dried shrimps but minus away the salt. The rice was single-grainy and fragrant with wok hei.
Taiwanese Deep Fried XL Chicken 3.5/5
Other than fried rice, I would recommend their
Fried Bean Noodles. I enjoy the lightness of the noodles, like I would of an egg pasta. It carried a mild sweetness lent from the pumpkin which was not at all overwhelmed by the dried shrimps.
Deep Fried Spring Roll, Deep Fried Shrimp Patties, Fried Bean Noodles with Pumpkin 3.5/5
At the buffet spread you also get to savour the
Taiwanese Deep Fried XL Chicken in a dainty fashion. Equally delightful fried snacks would be their
Deep Fried Spring Roll and
Deep Fried Shrimp Patties with Sugarcane & Almond. The stuffing and patties, filled with fresh shrimps were lightly seasoned allowing me to appreciate the sweetness of the shrimps.
Barbequed Pork Belly and Hakka Salted Pork Belly 4/5
At the carving station, the stars are the pork bellies. Instead of having the
Barbequed Pork Belly with Bun, I decided to try their
Hakka Salted Pork Belly sandwiched in the steamed bun.
Hakka Salted Pork Belly 4/5
There was a lot of visual calories just by looking at the chef slicing up the crispy salted pork belly. The pickled bamboo shoots accompanying the meat balanced the meatiness and fats, and added to the shiok factor with its crunchiness.
Oyster Vermicelli 3.8/5
From the Live Station, a must-try is the
Oyster Vermicelli (蚵仔面线). According to Chef, vermicelli from Taiwan is brown in colour and more resilient than those used locally. Local vermicelli is cream in colour and more prone to turning soggy after being cooked. I like the addition of bamboo shoots strips and mushrooms in the dish, and that its consistency is much less gluey than those commonly available.
Fried Sesame Balls, Taiwan Mochi 3.8/5
Though their western desserts' station was extensive and alluring, but for me, it is the Taiwanese Dessert station that won me over. The
Taiwan Mochi (Glutinous riceballs 台湾麻糬) was pillowy, sweet and comforting. What is also popular here is the
Jiu Fen Taro Ball (九份芋圆), a signature dessert that hails from Jiufen in Northern Taiwan. You can spruce up your bowl of blissful sweetness with the side ingredients lined up for you, such as lotus seeds, greenbean, redbeans, crushed peanut etc.
I learnt that Chef Chen's passion for culinary also extends to writing, where he published several
cookbooks featuring a collection of recipes that honour the flavours of traditional Taiwanese food, oil-free cuisine and homemade dishes. Its no wonder that the dishes which I had tried, be it stir-fried or deep fried, I didn't feel overloaded at all.
Town Restaurant’s ‘Tastes of Taiwan’ Dinner Buffet
Date: 8 - 17 June 2016 (Sun to Tue)
Time: 630pm to 1030pm
Price:
Sun to Tue
Adult $56 Child $26
Adult $69 Child $34 (with seafood selection)
Wed to Sat
Adult $89 Child $44 (with barbecue buffet and a free flow draught beer and Singapore Sling)
*Prices are subject to service charge and prevailing government. Children age between the ages of 6 and 11 years old
Written By Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.
Town Restaurant
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
1 Fullerton Square
Singapore 049178
Tel: +65 68778188
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Website
Nearest MRT: Raffles Place (EW Line, NS Line)
Direction:
1) Alight at Raffles Place MRT Station. Take Exit H. Turn right and walk towards the river. At the river, turn right again and walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes.
[Map]
