Usher In The Year Of The Earth Dog At Cherry Garden, Mandarin Oriental Singapore

For this Lunar New Year, visit Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental from 1 February to 2 March 2018 as part of your celebrations to usher in the Year of the Earth Dog. There are 7 CNY set menus to choose from - Success, Joyous, Harmony, Auspicious, Longevity, Prosperity and Wealth, catering to your preferences. Here is a peek at some of the dishes offered.

Each set menu has its own Yu Sheng and they are available for takeaway too. There are 5 different types to bring home and you can even add on side dishes to make it your own. One of these is the 风生水起鱼生 Prosperity Yu Sheng with Salmon and Crispy Fish Skin.

Double-boiled Spring Chicken Soup 4/5

Nourish your body for the new year with 松茸干贝炖春鸡汤 Double-boiled Spring Chicken Soup (Joyous menu). Deeply flavoured with simple ingredients - earthy matsutake and umami dried scallops, a genuine taste that is meant to be slowly savoured sip by sip. Not to forget the collagen rich snow fungus for the skin.

Steamed Dragon Spot Garoupa Fillet 4/5

菜甫蒸龙虎斑件 Steamed Dragon Spot Garoupa Fillet (Joyous menu) has a homely taste to it. Tender with a slight chewy texture, I enjoyed every bit of the delicate meat. As a finishing touch, the piquant preserved vegetables and earthy mushrooms bring out the sweetness of the fish.

Baked Tiger Prawn 3/5

From the ala carte menu, we had a Baked Tiger Prawn with Yunnan Black Garlic and Egg White ($22 per portion). I was half expecting the sauce to be sauteed egg white but instead, the prawn was drenched in a starchy and garlicky gravy. While I really like the sweet and plumy taste of the cloves in the steamed prawn dumpling with black garlic (available in their Dim Sum menu), the black garlic here didn't quite fit in in this dish.

Steamed Jasmine Rice with Cantonese Pork Sausage 4.5/5

Never mind if my crispy suckling pig is not available for takeaway. I'm more than happy to bring home one of its 生财聚宝盆 ~ 沙煲腊味饭 Steamed Jasmine Rice with Cantonese Pork Sausage in casserole ($128 for 6 pax), which satisfies me just as much. I was surprised by myself on how much I enjoy and appreciate these lap cheong. Glistening with what's remaining after months of drying and curing, the sausages were plump, juicy with fats and chewy with a bite. Sweet-salty, smokey, intensely flavouring the fluffy jasmine rice, this dish echos a sense of nostalgia and the spirit of a lavish Lunar New Year dish.

Organic Black Bean Pudding 3.5/5

Our dessert, in contrast, encompasses the modern's notion of guilt-free dessert - Organic Black Bean Pudding with avocado and sesame ice cream 黑珍珠 (Joyous menu). The black bean taste was actually quite subtle but managed to come through and go really well with the creamy avocado.

Exquisite spring goodies, takeaway dishes and gift hampers at Cherry Garden will be available from 1 February to 2 March 2018. For the ultimate, you can go for Cherry Garden's Luxurious Pen Cai – Singapore's largest traditional basin dish; weighing more than 25 kilogrammes and measuring up to 45 centimetres in diameter. Topped with premium ingredients, the pot symbolises overflowing goodness, featuring four-head abalone, lobsters, scallops, sea cucumbers, prawns, dried oyster rolls, conpoy, dace fillet, roasted duck, lotus chicken, roasted pork belly; Cantonese pork sausages, mushrooms, wolfberries and black moss.

For online orders, please visit mandarinoriental.oddle.me. To place orders for festive goodies, please email mosin-festive@mohg.com or call +65 68853081. For restaurant reservations, please email mosin-dining@mohg.com or call +65 68853500

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. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Cherry Garden
Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Marina Square
5 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039797
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Promenade (CC Line), Esplanade (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Weekday Lunch: 12pm - 230pm
Weekend Dim Sum Buffet: 11am - 1pm, 130pm to 330pm
Dinner: 630pm to 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Promenade MRT station. Take Exit A. Cross the road. Walk to Marina Square. Follow the signage to destination. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit B or D. Walk to Marina Square. Follow the signage to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Hwa Yuen Porridge (华园粥品) @ Tiong Bahru Food Centre - A Comforting Bowl Of Porridge For The Chilling Weather

The weather has been rather chilling this few days, dropping to as low as 22 degree celsius. This is rather rare in Singapore. With just a cooling weather, it is perfect for a bowl of porridge to warm the body. This brought me to Hwa Yuen Porridge (华园粥品) at Tiong Bahru Food Centre.

Mixed Pig's Organ Soup 4/5

I am not sure how long Hwa Yuen Porridge (华园粥品) has been operating but it seems that it dated back to the old Tiong Bahru market days, which means it has over 50 years of history. From my research online, it seems that after the founder has passed away, the younger son has taken over the stall at Tiong Bahru while the the elder one has moved on to open Tiong Bahru Wah Yuen Porridge at Telok Blangah Drive.

The porridge here is the Cantonese congee style, which is smooth and creamy type. I had the Mix Pig's Organ Soup ($4) which comes with pig's offal, pork slices and pork balls. It is sprinkled with chopped spring onions and topped with fried rice vermicelli strips for the extra crunch. It may looked rather plain but the congee has been seasoned and quite tasty, there is no need to add any addition soy sauce etc.

Due to the Group B streptococcus (GBS) bacteria outbreak in 2016, National Environment Agency (NEA) has banned food outlets from sell raw freshwater fish which is usually eaten with porridge. With the new regulation, Hwa Yuen has also taken it off the menu. It is actually quite a pity because it means the lost of hawker dish from our food scene.


Hwa Yuen Porridge (华园粥品)
Tiong Bahru Food Centre
30 Seng Poh Road
#02-74
Singapore 168898
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru (EW Line), Outram (EW Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 7am - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Head east on Tiong Bahru Road towards Jalan Membina. Walk down Tiong Bahru and turn right onto Kim Pong Road. Turn left onto Lim Liak Street. Walk to end of Lim Liak Street and turn right onto Seng Poh Road. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Outram MRT station. Take Exit A or C. Walk to bus stop opposite Outram MRT station (Stop ID 06011). Take bus no. 33, 63, 75, 851 or 970. Alight 1 stop later at Blk 55 Tiong Bahru Road. Continue on Tiong Bahru Road and turn left onto Seng Poh Road. Continue on Seng Poh Road until destination. Journey time 8 minutes. [Map]