Auspicious Abundance At Park Hotel Clarke Quay To Usher In The Year Of Rat

Park Hotel Clarke Quay is ready to usher in the Year of Rat with an abundance of auspicious dishes specially created by the hotel's banquet chef, James Wong. With four decades of experience in Asian and Cantonese cuisines, Chef James introduces new and scrumptious dishes in every Chinese New Year feast, but embedded within the different dishes are the same thoughts and affection he has towards his family, of how he would want his loved ones to enjoy Chinese New Year feasts. The festive fare presents four set menus of six, seven, and eight courses that cater for four to ten diners.

Auspicious Abundance Yu Sheng 4.8/5

For all set menus, including our 8-Course Ultimate Success Menu ($768/table), it commences with Prosperity Tuna Yu Sheng Platter. For a more luxurious starter, opt for the Auspicious Abundance Yu Sheng at a supplement of $38 nett per table.

Symbolising good luck, abundance and fortune for the year ahead, the dish is vibrant with white and green radish, purple cabbage, carrot, alfalfa, encircled by pan-seared United States scallops crowned with red caviar.

To mark the Year of Rat, replacing the usual crackers are Silver Needle Noodles 老鼠粉 (Lao Shu Fen) crackers! These crispy silver needle noodles proved to be even more moreish. What I appreciate is the home-made plum sauce, which is naturally tangy with lemon juice, sour plum sauce, apple sauce, and vinegar. Along with zest of lime, pomelo and kaffir leaves, this is definitely one of my favourite Yu Sheng till date.

Sea Treasure soup 4/5

The 2nd course is Pumpkin Soup with Braised Shark’s Fin. An alternative soup for all set menus is available on request with advance notice. We had in place a very nourishing Sea-Treasure Soup - savoury chicken soup prepared with superior stock (ingredients include chicken bones, pork bones, and jinhua ham), crab meat, fish maw, sea cucumber and fish lips.

Steamed Red Garoupa 3/5

Next up is Steamed Red Garoupa with Yellow Bean Paste, something different from your usual steamed fish. The yellow bean sauce is a punchy house-blend of minced ginger, red chilli, and garlic. It can be a little highly flavoured; hence a bowl of rice is recommended to complement the sauce and complete the enjoyment.

Baked Prawn 2.5/5

Next up we had Baked Prawn with 2-Style Potato Salad and Golden Almond Flakes. The baked prawns are stuffed with potato mash spiked with bacon bits and almond flakes and placed atop a potato salad. With the buttery mash and tangy potato salad, this dish was a nice break from all the traditional flavours, but the prawns were too mushy for my liking, especially in combination with the mash.

Braised Baby Abalone 4/5

Symbolising good fortune is the Braised Baby Abalone with Chinese Mushroom, Sea Cucumber and Chinese Spinach. To allow each of their individual flavours to develop fully since no two ingredients are the same, each component of the dish is braised individually before being assembled into one dish. The efforts are worth it.

Steamed Chicken 4.8/5

The Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage, Lily Buds, Black and White Fungus is the highlight of the menu. Marinated overnight before being steamed with black and white fungus, which are first poached in superior stock, and fried Chinese sausage and lily buds, the meat was exceptionally tender. The resulting broth is like a soy version of a rice wine chicken, and secretly you may wish to have some mee sua to sop up the soul-warming broth.

Tossed Egg Noodles 3/5

The final course before dessert is Tossed Egg Noodle with Crabmeat, Ham, Onsen Egg & Egg White. I find it somewhat similar to braised Yee Mee, but in place you have Wantan noodles being deep-fried then blanched. While the texture of the egg white gravy was impressive, which is a mixture of blanched crabmeat, prawns, egg white, and milk, and delicious as a dish on its own, it didn't bind well with the noodles, and the noodles sauce didn't quite bring the ingredients together either. A simple plate of E-Fu noodles might have sufficed me better.

We started the feast with a very appetising Yu Sheng, the dessert didn't disappoint with a refreshing Chilled Mango Pudding with Lychee Pearls.

CNY Set Course Menus 10 January to 8 February 2020
8-Course Ultimate Success ($768++ per table of 9 to 10 diners)
8-Course Prosperity ($698++ per table of 7 to 8 diners)
7-Course Longevity ($648++ per table of 6 to 7 diners)
6-Course Harmony ($388++ per table of 4 to 5 diners)

For more information and reservation details, please refer to: https://www.parkhotelgroup.com/en/clarkequay/promotions/cny

Written and photography 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.


Park Hotel Clarke Quay
1 Unity Street
Singapore 237983
Tel: +65 65938888
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Nearest MRT: Fort Canning (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Lunch: 12pm - 2pm
Dinner: 530pm - 730pm (1st seating), 830pm - 1030pm (2nd seating)

Direction:
1) Alight At Fort Canning MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk to junction of River Valley Road and Clemenceau Ave. Cross the road and turn left onto Clemenceau Ave. Walk down Clemenceau Ave. Turn right onto Unity Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant Presents Eight Festive Menus For An Auspicious Lunar New Year

Indeed, the period of Lunar New Year celebration seems to be a season to showcase chefs' creativity, and the team behind Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant at Holiday Inn Atrium shall show you theirs through their festive dishes specially crafted by Executive Chinese Chef, Chan Shun Wong.

While the ingredients of the Yu Sheng stay more or less the same, Chef plays on the dressing. Gone is the usual dense and sweet plum sauce and what replaces is a all natural, tangy Passion Fruit Yogurt Dressing. Yu sheng that has a slight tang and refreshing on the palate before a feast is always delightful and I feel Chef has managed to achieve that successfully.

BBQ Suckling Pig with Foie Gras, Yam and Japanese Cucumber 4.2/5

Foie Gras, being such a strong ingredient, can easily overpower others if the dish is not done right. However, when paired with Xin Cuisine's signature BBQ Suckling Pig, the result is surprisingly outstanding. The thin layer of foie gras underneath the crisp pig skin is almost like a layer of that luscious fats under a well roasted duck skin.

Festive dim sum selection 4.5/5

If you are in for a afternoon celebration, do have a go at their Festive Dim Sum Selection created by Dim Sum Chef Cheung Kin Nam. I'm not a dim sum person as I always feel I'm eating the same meaty filling that disguised itself in different skins. What I love about this festive selection is that I get to try three meaty snacks that stand out from one another. You get a Steamed Pork Dumplings with Truffle, Pan Fried Motel Mushroom & Pork Paste Bun and a Deep Fried Crab Claw Dumpling with Fish Roe wrapped in bacon. My favourite is the pan fried pork bun for its juicy filling and chewy bun.

Xin's Traditional Treasure Pot 4.2/5

While its refreshing to inject new elements into traditional dishes, old and familiar flavours remind you of the season. Xin's Traditional Treasure Pot is an all time favourite takeaway ($248 for small). It consists of 14-headed Whole Abalone, Fresh Scallop, Prawn, Dried Oyster, Soy Chicken, Roast Duck, Roast Pork, Pork Rind, Fish Ball, Dried Bean Curd Skin, Ling Zhi Mushroom, Lotus Root, Baby Corn, Flower Mushroom, Black Moss, Baby Chinese Cabbage and Radish

Fried Fragrant and Brown Rice 3.8/5

Somehow, the Asian part of my palate tends to call for a wholesome bowl of rice after all the meats and dishes. The Fried Fragrant and Brown Rice didn't disappoint with its dried-out yet chewy texture, flavourful with roast pork, diced shrimp and crunchy peanuts. The sweetness of the raisins balances all the savoury components of the dishes.

D24 Durian Nian Gao and Lemongrass Jelly with Lime Sorbet 3/5

Dessert is Xin Cuisine's latest creation D24 Durian Nian Gao, made with real durian flesh, accompanied with Lemongrass Jelly with Lime Sorbet. While it has a nice gooey texture, I still very much prefer the traditional nian gao taste. If you really love it, the D24 Durian Nian Gao is also available for takeaway ($58).

At Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant, there are 8 special menus available from 12 January to 3 March 2018 to usher in the Year of the Dog. Private room menus start from $1,298++ for 10 persons. For enquiries and reservations, please call 6731 7173 or email xin.sinhi@ihg.com.

Words and photos 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.


Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant
Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium
317 Outram Road
Singapore 169075
Tel: +65 67317173
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Website
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily 12pm - 230pm, 630pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Tiong Bahru MRT station (Stop ID 10169). Take bus number 123. Alight 4 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]