Park Palace (樂宫) @ Grand Park City Hall

Lunar New Year is always a time for gathering. Some will choose to cook up a feast at home while some will prefer to dine out saving the trouble to wash and clean up. If you are planning to dine out with you family, here is a glimpse of the offering that will be available at Park Palace (樂宫), Grand Park City Hall during the Lunar New Year period 14 January 2014 to 14 February 2014.

Imperial Five Treasures Shunde Yu Sheng 4.2/5

Doing away with the usual salad of radish, carrots and pomelo, the Imperial Five Treasures Shunde Yusheng ($888++) replaces the tradition with crispy fried vermicelli in a savoury sauce. The Yusheng is tossed in a special concoction of peanut oil and premium soya sauce, giving it a refreshing twist from the usual overwhelming sweetness. Slender slices of ginger, spring onions, crunchy capsicums, finely grounded peanuts can be found in the Yusheng as well as crispy silver fish for the extra crunch.

Imperial Five Treasures Shunde Yu Sheng 4.2/5

The five treasures are Abalone, Lobster, Geoduck Clam, Salmon and Hamachi topped with caviar and fish roes. The luxury Yusheng is an ultimate indulgence with finishing touch of gold dust and gold flakes. If you are keen to try the savoury Shunde Yusheng, there is a more reasonable priced Hamachi & Silver Fish Golden Shunde YuSheng ($88++). Please note advance order of a day is needed for the Golden Shunde Yusheng and seven days for the Imperial Five Treasures Shunde Yusheng.

Imperial Whole Roasted Suckling Pig 4.2/5

The Imperial Suckling Pig was enjoyed in 2 ways. First we have the crispy skin thinly sliced and served with a soft bun. The contrasting texture allowed us to appreciate the crispiness of the pig skin.

Oven Baked Imperial Suckling Pig with Lemongrass 4/5

The remaining of the suckling pig is brought back to the kitchen to be oven baked with lemongrass. The delectable Oven Baked Imperial Suckling Pig with Lemongrass was subtly fragrant by the lemongrass, giving the succulent pork a nice flavour.

Double Boiled Pot of Fortune 4.5/5

The Doubled Boiled Chicken Soup with Shark's Fin and Wanton was packed with lovely flavours after hours of simmering. The wantons looked like floating ingots in the soup which was huge and delectable.

Auspicious Lobster Gems in Dual Style 4/5

The Auspicious Lobster Gems in Dual Style comes with live lobster sauteed with lily bulbs, wood fungus and asparagus and deep fried balls with cheese. Preferred the sauteed lobster as I could taste the sweetness of the luxurious lobster flesh.

Fortune Filled Reunion Pen Cai with Pig Trotters 4.5/5

The Fortune Filled Reunion Pen Cai at Park Palace boasts a total of 18 luxurious ingredients plus pig trotter. Digging into the pot of gold, there are layers after layers of the rich flavours waiting for you to indulge in.

Crispy Ingots of Good Fortune 4.5/5

If you are a durian lover, you will be delighted with this dessert. The Crispy Ingots of Good Fortune is a crispy puree durian fritters stuffed with delightful premium durian pengat and encased in a nice crispy light batter. I definitely don't mind go back for a few more of this.

More information of the Lunar New Year menu at Park Palace, click here.


Park Palace (樂宫)
Grand Park City Hall
Level 2
10 Coleman Street
Singapore 179809
Tel: +65 64325888
Website: http://www.parkhotelgroup.com/cityhall/
Nearest MRT: City Hall (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 230pm, 630pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at City Hall MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn left onto North Bridge Road. At the traffic junction of North Bridge Road and Coleman Street, cross the road to Peninsula Plaza. Walk down Coleman Street and turn right into Coleman Lane. Journey time about 5 minutes.

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh (順發肉骨茶) @ Simpang Bedok

Food has this magical power of bringing people together and through this food blogging I have met a lot of new friends who shared the same interests. Recently I have learnt that food can also change a person. During one of the makan sessions, the foodie friends brought me to Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh at Simpang Bedok which opened in April 2013. I was introduced to a ex-criminal turned entrepreneur, Mr Jabez Tan who is the main chef/owner of Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh. It was through the love of food he has found a new aim in life and in a good cause he is also giving ex-offenders a second chance in life.

You can read about Jabez's inspiration story at the restaurant on how he turns over a new leaf and worked from ground zero washing dishes all the way up in the prison kitchen. Sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment, he found a new lease of life in God. Coming up with his own Bak Kut Teh recipe, he started his F&B business in 2011 and employs mainly ex-convicts to work at the restaurant giving them a second chance in life. The current restaurant at Simpang Bedok is his own venture after parting ways with his previous business partners.

Bak Kut Teh 4.2/5

I have not tried the Bak Kut Teh in the previous food establishment but accordingly to my fellow foodie friends, it was quite bad then. However just like giving ex-offenders a second chance, he tried the Bak Kut Teh ($5.90/$11.90/$22.90) again after 2 years. This time the recipe has been fine tuned and improved. Soon Huat uses Argentine pork for the Bak Kut Teh. The pork ribs was nicely cooked until it fell off the bone with ease. The soup is a in between of the peppery and herbal versions, in a way creating his own style. Judging from the crowd when I was there 2 times, the soup is well received by the customers.

Braised Trotter 3.8/5

Whenever I have Bak Kut Teh, I will usually ordered Braised Trotter to go along with my bowl of rice. The Braised Trotter ($6.90) here was nicely braised with the meat absorbing all the lovely flavours. The meat was still a tad tough to my liking but my second visit was much better.

Braised Tau Kee 4.5/5

Jabez shared with us that the Braised Tau Kee ($3.90) was not originally in the menu. A customer has requested for the dish and he was very apologetic that they did not serve it at the restaurant. With an open mind and listening to customer feedback, he experimented and introduced this delectable braised Tau Kee dish into the menu. Now the sheets of crispy beancurd skin have become one of their popular dishes.

Dried Bak Kut Teh 4.5/5

The signature item at Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh has to be there Dried Bak Kut Teh ($6.90). Using the same soup from the Bak Kut Teh, it was reduced in a concoction of soy sauce and oyster sauce coating the pork ribs with its sweetness with the dried chilli giving it a nice kick in spiciness. The whole enjoyment is rounded off with the aromatic topping of the fried cuttlefish. This is a must try.

Just a note not to be confused with another Bak Kut Teh chain with a similar name with the character Xin in front. Jabez's new Bak Kut Teh restaurant, Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh (順發肉骨茶) is located at Simpang Bedok.


Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh (順發肉骨茶)
Bedok Shopping Complex (Simpang Bedok)
302 Bedok Road
Singapore 469460
Tel: +65 62733338
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soonhuatbakkutteh
Nearest MRT: Tanah Merah (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 930pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tanah Merah MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Tanah Merah MRT station (Stop ID 85091). Take bus number 2 or 9. Alight 2 stops later. Cross the road at the traffic light and turn right. Walk towards the end of the shop houses or Jalan Chempaka Kuning and turn left. Walk all the way in to the back row of shop houses to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]