Kai Garden (嘉苑) @ Marina Square Shopping Mall

Kai Garden at Marina Square Shopping Mall, specializing in fine Cantonese cuisine, is opened by Owner and Executive Chef Fung Chi Keung, who has over 30 years of culinary experience. Owner and Executive Chef Fung is the former group executive chef of Paradise Group as well as the founder of Xin Yue Modern Chinese Restaurant. The 200 seater restaurant comprises of three main sections - Dim Sum, Roasts and the Main Kitchen. The 200 seats includes a function room for up to 60 seats, and 4 private rooms for 4 to 16 people.

Chilled Cherry Foie Gras 4/5

The Chilled Cherry Foie Gras ($24 per servicing) gives us a glimpse into Chef Fung interpretation of fine Cantonese cuisine. The foie gras is skillfully hand shaped into cherries, arousing one's curiosity with the priced ingredient.

Chilled Mini Tomatoes with Sweet Plum 4.5/5

The Chilled Mini Tomatoes with Sweet Plum ($10.80 per servicing) will whet one's appetite with its sweetness and tanginess. It kept going back for more, it was really very addictive.

Double Boiled Japanese Matsutake Served in Hot Pot 4.2/5

The Double Boiled Japanese Matsutake Served in Hot Pot ($38 per pax) is a light, sweet and nourishing  soup. Matsutake mushroom, priced for its rarity, is only found in the wild and is hand harvested from the foot of pine trees.

Braised Whole Ya Jian Shark's Fin in Supreme Collagen Stock 4.2/5

The highlight is the supreme collagen stock that is used to braised the whole Ya Jian Shark's Fin ($34.80 per pax). The collagen stock was rich and sweet, which was an excellent broth to pair with the shark's fin, for a luxurious enjoyment.

Signature Crispy Peking Duck 3.5/5

The signature dish at Kai Garden is the Crispy Peking Duck ($88 whole duck) served with 5 unique warps and 5 dipping sauces. The five different wraps are original, pumpkin, spinach, bamboo charcoal and beetroot.

Besides the colorful wraps using natural ingredients, the crispy Peking duck also comes with 5 different sauces for the wrap to enjoy the duck skin. These sauces are traditional, black pepper, sesame, seafood and special mixed sauces.

Signature Crispy Peking Duck 3.5/5

For a more textural enjoyment of Chef Fung's crispy Peking duck, he has introduced corn crackers into the wrap. I actually preferred to have the crispy duck skin without the cracker, the duck skin got lost and over shadowed by the corn crackers when eaten together.

Garoupa in Lobster Soup 4.8/5

As you can see from the picture, the fresh garoupa is sliced into slices. It is then briefly poached in a pot of rich lobster stock. The fish slices is then served with the broth which tasted like lobster bisque. The Garoupa in Lobster Soup (seasonal price) is an exquisite combination that is packed with richness but yet very comforting.

Sweet & Sour Pork On The Rocks 3.8/5

It is quite a sight when the Sweet & Sour Pork On the Rocks ($22 per servicing) is served to the table. It is quite an interesting presentation of the classic Cantonese dish with all the fundamental components and ingredients. The sweet and sour sauce is really good, nicely balanced to complement the balled shaped pork. However I felt that the pork was a bit too minced if to compare with the traditional execution, which I prefer the later.

Deep Fried Vegetable Roll 4.8/5

The Deep Fried Vegetable Roll ($22 regular) comes with mixed vegetables and mushroom with tofu encased in a crisp net of bamboo fungus. The bamboo fungus is the star for me in this dish for its soft, crunchy and spongy texture that lifted the whole enjoyment.

Pan Fried Charcoal Pork Bun 4.5/5

Mentioned earlier that Kai Garden also served dim sum on the menu. One of the dim sum items we tried is the Pan Fried Charcoal Pork Bun ($6.80 for 3pc). The black colour comes from the use of charcoal powder and squid ink, giving it a twist to the traditional pork bun. The bun is then pan fried for an exterior crispiness while retaining the fluffiness and juiciness of the pork filling inside.

Chilled Fresh Coconut Puree 3.8/5

Last but not least, we wrapped up the fine Cantonese cusiine at Kai Garden with the Chilled Fresh Coconut Puree ($6.80 per pax). I felt that the kitchen should replace the fresh milk with something sweeter to complement the coconut puree. Maybe it is a personal preference. Nevertheless, the refreshing puree of fresh coconut is a perfect ending to the sumptuous meal.

While the food at the Kai Garden is commendable, the price tag is not cheap. Compared to many other shopping mall, the crowd is quite thin here. There are also a few Chinese restaurants in the vicinity, hence business can be quite challenging. Nevertheless, I hope their business will pick up and continue to serve delicious fine Cantonese cuisine.


Kai Garden (嘉苑)
Marina Square Shopping Mall
6 Raffles Boulevard
#03-128A/B
Singapore 039594
Tel: +65 62504826
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Website
Nearest MRT: Esplanade (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 330pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sat-Sun & PH: 11am - 4pm, 6pm - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit B. Take the escalator to level 3. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

db Bistro & Oyster Bar @ Marina Bay Sands (MBS)

By thirty I was independent; by forty I could resist doubts…
-- Confucius

I am suspicious of restaurants bearing names, and have always been. It is possible that the namesake has really put work and thought into a new province of their empire, appointing skilled proteges to be his proconsuls. But even then there’s no guarantee of quality, and especially not given the distance between the European or American home bases of many of the name-bearers in the Sands, and the Singaporean outposts. If the Great Sweary One can mess up in his Midlands endeavours, what can he do from half the world away?

On the other hand, if and when the chef is actually here, the calculus changes. So when Derrick told me that Daniel Boulud is coming out to Singapore, for the fifth anniversary of db Bistro Moderne and the Singapore International Film Festival, and that he was having a little do for the bloggers, I leapt at the opportunity. Right move, as it turns out - for what we get is a lengthy and warm reception from M. Boulud and his team.

Oyster from Kumamoto 3.5/5

The bistro, all intimate shade and subtle gleam, has been moving towards the sea as of late, a change made obvious on entry with an iced display of oysters sourced from France, the States and Japan among others. And after a very pleasant basket of focaccia and soft pretzels, the first course is an Oyster from Kumamoto dressed with yuzu. It is a demure mollusc, sweet with plenty of brine.

Hamachi Tartare 4/5

The Hamachi Tartare - actually more inspired by the Polynesian poke - is another demonstration of the contrast between high, lilting citrus and marine depth. Diced and succulent hamachi has just a little of the yuzu coating it, reclined on a cooling mattress of avocado cubes and puree; below that, fronds of wakame taste far more intensely of the sea. A squeeze of lime helps bring everything to life, nudges of cream and fruit and the tender yellowtail. That it’s wearing a daikon fascinator doesn’t hurt either.

Mariniere of Clams and Crudo 3.5/5

With the first warm dishes come the theatrics, such as with the Mariniere of Clams and Crudo - the jade green broth drizzling on an assembly of tuna, crunchy bursts of salt and flavour that are littleneck clams, and then osetra caviar on top of it all. It looks like a painting, and tastes as vivid with little nudges of anise in the sauce.

Dover Sole and Truffles 3.8/5

If the mariniere is a colourful painting, the next dish of Dover Sole and Truffles is chiaroscuro in edible form. Fish is tightly rolled around the black stuff, then served with more whites - the sauce, slices of button mushrooms - and flakes of black truffle that Boulud himself comes out to shave on the plates. The contrast of tastes - firm sole standing up to the pungency of truffle - is as bold as the contrast in colour.

Canard a l’orange 4.2/5

Just before dessert, Andrew tells us that M. Boulud is preparing another dish for us - perhaps out of fear for our unsated appetites, or concerned that the dinner has been all seafood. Or perhaps he simply intends to show his skill, in which case the extra dish is a rousing success. It is that French classic, Canard a l’orange - but it brings to mind Monet’s paintings of the Houses of Parliament. It is a sketch of the general outlines of both duck and citrus, rendered in different conditions.

There’s the strip of duck breast, smoke and fissure on the skin and still cherry-red within, murky and forceful. Below that, a dollop of duck confit with a distinct Chinese hue, like classic braised duck with sea cucumber that has been refined and clarified; to one side, a meltingly rich lobe of foie gras. The little Asian twists carry on in the use of tangerines as sweetener, and also the candied orange peel.

Buche de Noel 4.2/5

The Buche de Noel also has its own twisty elements, being a variation on a Mont Blanc. After a relatively light-tasting meal, this is a hand-tipping exercise with the strong flavours - chocolate, cream, starchy and brightly sweet marrons glaces. A dollop of ginger ice cream with stem ginger bits is a well-placed note of warmth and sharpness in a dish that is all round and full.

Bugnes 4/5

At the end of the meal, M. Boulud himself makes another appearance, and there is a little more insight when he bears gifts of Bugnes, or Angel Wings. Simple, thin strips of egg dough that have been shallow-fried to puffiness, they wear nothing except a breath of icing sugar, and have the light, alluring fragrance of oil without its burden. The chef jokes that he had to call his mum in Lyon to get the recipe for us, but there is a glimpse here into the environment from which young Daniel emerged to begin working in kitchens, for the likes of Vergé and Guérard. ‘Her children, and then now their children - there’s about thirty two of us, and she cooks for us all. So it’s like a restaurant!’

And that’s what it is, right? Forty-plus years of cooking and serving meals, and yet with constant glances and nods to one’s own history. Besides the childhood bugnes, Boulud also speaks proudly of one dish or another as recalling ‘the first days of Daniel’, or ‘something new I liked’. There’s an easy, smiling assurance as to his ability, and then the goods themselves, which are both traditional - we know duck and orange fit, as do fish and avocado - but still manage to bring out new effects. Stumbling out with newly met friends and plenty of wine, some of which are made for Boulud’s restaurants exclusively and all of which are carefully paired, I feel more grateful than I’ve been about a meal in a long while.

Guest Writer: Wilson’s perfect day consists of a good meal and a laptop, on a table, next to a window, overlooking the sea, in a rainstorm. You can see more of his reviews at his blog, Dear Babette.


db Bistro Moderne
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS)
2 Bayfront Avenue
#B1-48
(opposite Mastercard Theatre)
Singapore 018596
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Website
Nearest MRT: Bayfront (CC Line, DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon: 12pm - 5pm, 530pm - 10pm
Tue-Fri: 12pm - 5pm, 530pm - 11pm
Sat: 11am - 5pm, 530pm - 11pm
Sun: 11am - 5pm, 530pm - 10pm

Direction:
Alight at Bayfront MRT station. Take Exit D. Walk towards the Theatre. Walk to destination opposite the Theatre. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]