Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine @ ION Orchard - How Did It Get a Michelin Star?

Together with a group of foodie friends, we met for lunch on a Saturday afternoon at the newly awarded 1 Michelin Star restaurant, Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine at ION Orchard in the latest Michelin Guide Singapore 2017

Steamed Teochew Pork Dumpling 3/5

From the dim sum menu, we tried the Steamed Teochew Pork Dumpling ($5.60). What exactly is Teochew siew mai? Apparently it comes with only minced pork and bamboo shoot, without the sweet and crunchy prawn. I have to say it tasted rather pedestrian, so ordinary that someone in our group associated it with those dim sum items we can get at food court.

Pig Stomach Soup 4.5/5

Fish Maw Soup 4/5

For the soup, we tried both the Pig Stomach Soup ($12) and Fish Maw Soup ($15). The pig stomach soup has a good peppery kick to it. I like the fact that it comes with salted vegetables giving it an extra layer of flavour. On the other hand, the fish maw soup was rather different from what I used to have. It comes with minced pork and seaweed. It felt more like having a bowl of bak chor mee soup.

Teochew Braised Platter 3/5

Teochew cuisine is known for the braised items, so we ordered the Teochew Braised Combination ($51). We picked the duck meat, duck tongue, pig ear and pork knuckle to form our platter. While the meats are cooked to a nice tender and enjoyable texture, I though the braising sauce was rather bland and lacked the aroma from the spices such as star anise, cinnamon etc.

Sauteed Small Oyster with Green Onions 3.5/5

The Sauteed Small Oyster with Green Onions ($42) which is recommend by the manager turned out to be quire good and interesting. I have eaten fried egg with shark fin wrapped in cabbage but the sauteed small oyster with green onions is new to me.

Pan Fried Flour Omelette with Taro 4/5

Usually I will ordered oyster omelette whenever I visit a Teochew restaurant. However I noticed something interesting on the menu which I have not tried before, Pan Fried Flour Omelette with Taro ($33). The crispy omelette comes with chunky taro cubes which was very fragrant. Have it together with the accompanying fish sauce for a lift in enjoyment.

Steamed Promfret  4.2/5

The Steamed Promfret ($132) is another classic Teochew dish which I always order. Unlike other steamed fishes, promfret does not come cheap. Putting the price aside, the timing in steaming the promfret is spot on with the nature jus of the ingredients flavouring the soft and moist promfret's flesh.

Cai Po Hor Fun 3.5/5

The Cai Po Hor Fun ($27) was decent but not wow. I have had better one elsewhere. It would be nicer if they have used the stem of the kai lan, diced it to get the rice noodle an extra crunch bite.

Three Treasure 3/5

I would advice skipping the dessert. The portion was really small and expensive. The Three Treasure ($6) I had comes with a sweet potato cube, yam cube and some ginkgo nuts. For the price, I probably can get a bag of sweet potato and yam.

After lunching at Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine, we left the restaurant rather puzzled and confused with one thought in our mind. How did the restaurant get a Michelin Star this year?


Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
#03-05
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 67362118
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sat: 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Sun: 1030am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 mins. [Map]

Nasi Lemak Kukus @ Selegie Road - Free Flow Coconut Rice

My intend trip to Selegie was to check out Chef Kang's Kitchen after he got a Michelin Star. However the restaurant was fully booked for the next 2 months and I was told to make a reservation instead. Leaving the place disappointed, I made a detour to Nasi Lemak Kukus around the corner.

Nasi Lemak Kukus is somewhat similar to the Chinese Chap Chye Peng (Economic Rice) but nasi lemak with items such as fried fish, chicken wings, sausages, egg, mutton rendang, chicken rendang, curry chicken, sayur lodeh and more. Customers can help themselves to the free-flow coconut rice and only charge for the food they picked to go with the coconut rice.

You may wonder what is Kukis? Apparently it meant steamed. This is because the coconut rice at Nasi Lemak Kukus is cooked using a traditional method of steaming the rice instead of boiling. Coconut milk is also added after the rice is cooked and it goes back to the steamer again allowing the coconut milk and rice to be infused together.

Nasi Lemak 3.8/5

For my plate of nasi lemak, I had the fried chicken, egg, fried fish and mutton rendang. I could not remember how much I paid for it but it should be around $7-8. It is not cheap at all. If you want to keep your cost down, just go for the Chicken Wing Set at $4, which comes with a chicken wing, an egg, a fish and ikan bilis. Not forgetting the sambal chillis. Nasi Lemak Kukus offers two versions. One is sweeter while the other is really fiery. I prefer the latter which is really shiok.

Dining at Nasi Lemak Kukus is quite an unique experience. At 12 noon, the staff will hit the gong, maybe it is to signal opening or lunch time and the shutter will be pulled up to allow customers to enter. It's all DIY here. You scoop your own rice, pick the food you want and pay at the end of the line. The standouts for me are their the fragrant coconut rice and sambal chillis. Food is average though.


Nasi Lemak Kukus
229 Selegie Road
Singapore 188344
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Little India (DT Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 12pm - 1030pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction:
1) Alight at Little India MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk straight to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]