This restaurant used to be quite popular, especially among the foreigner communities, when it was at the Fringe Club. After closing, the branch which opened later at the Galleria still offers dim sum and Chiu Chow delicacies. Today, we came here for dinner, to see how the Chinese cuisine fares under management of the Octavo Group.
It was a quiet evening, with only us and another table. Seated at a table on the lower floor, there were many Chinese décors featuring in the design, from lanterns creating a moody ambience, traditional Chinese paintings and partitions, to the tiled floors. The furniture was a bit dated though with some torn fabric and such.
We started with Salt & Pepper Chinese Noodlefish椒鹽白飯魚 ($125), a good appetizer to start and enjoyed with icy cold beer. The spicy salt was nicely done, infusing the noodlefish with good flavours without feeling excessively of MSG. The noodlefish was also dry and not greasy. Quite nicely done.
Next came Sweet & Sour Pork with Fresh Fruit 鮮果咕嚕肉 ($225). Using pork loin, this traditional dish was prepared with a slight twist, using fresh fruit to replace the canned pineapple, bringing an extra layer of acidity, together with some sesame for fragrance. There was not a paddle of sauce remaining on the dish too.
Then we both had Chicken Soup with Matsutake and Conch 姬松茸乾螺頭燉雞湯 ($135 each). The soup was rich in flavours, using matsutake mushroom, dried longan, pork, silkie chicken and conch head, to double boil the broth for long hours. The soup was delicious. A great value option.
The last dish was Steamed Chicken with Scallion Oil 霸王蔥油雞 ($275 for half). It took a while and was only served after we had finished the rest for some time. The chicken was also greasy, from the scallion oil poured on top. While the taste was decent, it was an overall disappointing dish.
For dessert, I had Chilled Mango Pomelo Sago 楊枝甘露 ($60) and Ivy had Layered Ginger Juice Steamed Cake 千層薑汁糕 ($60). The mango sago was decent in taste, but had too few fruit and sago in it. The ginger juice cake was more nicely done, having the intense ginger taste and giving a satisfying warmth to the stomach.
Service was decent, and the bill on the night was $1,199. Considering the overall food quality and dining experience, I would rate this restaurant a Good 65 points, worth trying. It was quite sad to see though the place was so quiet on a weekend evening. Hope the local dining industry could see some light soon.
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