Peony-Jade
Blk 3A Clarke Quay, #02-02
6338 0305 / 6538 3849

The family celebrated Sis's 25th birthday at this restaurant recommended by Wendy Auntie. All 8 of us had the ala carte buffet ($30++) which gave us unlimited orders of 50 dishes. The advantage to dining with such a large group is that we can try many different varieties without overstuffing ourselves.

Instead of the usual peanuts served at most chinese restaurants, we had complimentary roasted walnuts coated with honey and sesame seeds. These were extremely addictive as they were crunchy and not too sweet.


Since I'm not a chinese food lover and bound to be biased against them, I won't comment too much on the dishes we had. The following 6 items are limited to only one order per table. All of us were also limited to a bowl of braised shark's fin soup with crab meat and conpoy. The Poached Prawns in Red Wine were fresh but lacked the fragrance of red wine.


This was my favourite: Deep-fried Scallops with Shredded Taro. I liked everything about this! The scallop was fresh and juicy; taro shreds were crispy and not oily; and the mango sauce lent a sweetness to the whole dish. A pity that we could only have one order of this!


We were served 2 crabs since there were so many of us. The Stir-Fried Chilli Crabs were not spicy at all and though fresh, I faulted them for being too small.


Everyone liked the buns served with the crabs. Soft inside but crisp outside, they were a perfect compliment to the chilli crab sauce.


The Chilled Mini Abalone with Chef’s Sauce were really miniscule! They looked almost too cute to be eaten. The "Chef's Sauce" tasted like a mixture of tomato and sweet chilli sauce which covered the taste of the abalone. But since I don't like abalone in the first place, I don't agree with the general consensus that the abalones were good.


I didn't try all the meat dishes so I'll just show you what the family ordered. This is Sliced Fillet of Smoked Duck with Szechuan Hot and Sour Sauce. The layer of white fats turned me off completely.


Everyone seemed to like the Baked Kurobuta Pork Spare Ribs in Grandma’s Homemade Sauce.


Before we knew it, all 7 items were served. So, we started ordering from the ala carte menu. I had the Braised Sweet Corn Soup with Fresh Crab Meat while the rest had the Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup. I liked this! Thick and not too sweet, there was a chockful of ingredients in it. However, the soup started to thin and became watery after it cooled.


The Jellyfish and Clams with Szechuan Hot & Sour Sauce was decent enough.

I also didn't try the Deep-fried Vietnamese Spring Roll which I thought looked quite ordinary and not special enough for me to warrant a try.

This was another dish I liked: Pan-Seared Prawn Mousse in Sugar Cane. It's interesting as the prawn mixture was wrapped around a sugar cane and the flavour of sugar cane compliemented the prawn mousse well, giving it a slightly sweet instead of savoury taste.




We had two orders of the Braised Sea Cucumber and Fish Maw, both of which are said to have collagen. Collagen is very good for the skin! A perfect excuse to eat more of it.




The Stir-fried ‘Kung Po’ Eel was different from what I had in mind. I thought that the eel would be similar to the unagi I always have in japanese restaurants. This eel was much more tough and lacked the tenderness and softness I was looking for.




I didn't like the Stir-fried String Beans with Dried Shrimps as it was too bland, too oily and the dried shrimps were almost nonexistent.




This was another hot favourite which warranted a second order. The Steamed Seabass with Lemon Jus was very fresh and flavourful. We had to wait for 30 mins as the seabass was steamed upon order but it was definitely worth the wait.




We were very disappointed with the Wok-fried Egg Omelette with Prawns and Chives as it was way too salty. The only saving grace was the prawns which were very plump and juicy!




I didn't like the Stewed Bean curd & Fish Fillet in Claypot as frozen fish fillets were used instead of fresh ones.




Here are 2 more dishes which I didn't try. The general consensus among the family was that the Marinated Egg-Plant topped with Chicken Floss was interesting and delicious.



This is the Stir-fried Almond Cappuccino Pork Spare Ribs.

Labels: Buffets, Chinese

1:44 PM

Chinese New Year

The family always gathered at my grandma's house on Chinese New Year's Eve for a steamboat session. Knowing I am the most fussy eater among all, grandma would ask me to "plan the menu" and prepared them in advance. This year, we had codfish, scallops with broccoli, prawns, po-piah, yam, Japanese mushrooms, pork and many others.

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! May the new year be filled with joy and laughter, good health and safety!

Labels: Chinese

7:06 PM

My Humble House
#02-27/28 The Esplanade Mall
6423 1881

Since Mom always accommodate me and eat European food whenever we go out, I decided to bring her for a good Chinese meal this time round.



There was a wedding reception at the restaurant when we got there so the maitre d directed us to Space@My Humble House next door. We were given menus from both restaurants as he assured us that the kitchen at My Humble House will still prepare the food for us.

The Claypot Rice in Consommé ($12++) smells really good and fragrant! The jasmine rice is simmered with crabmeat, shrimps, scallops, straw and shiitake mushrooms, and quail eggs in a chicken consommé, sprinkled with fried onions and coriander. The ingredients used are really top quality. I love the scallops which are so fresh and not rubbery at all. The star though is really the consommé which is very sweet and aromatic.

The Braised Spinach Tofu with Mushrooms ($18++) is my favorite dish of the meal. The tofu is fried with the spinach filling on top first before braising it in gravy. The tofu is soft yet firm and I like the subtle taste of spinach. Both complement each other very well. This is a very homey and simple dish. My only grouse is that it’s crazy to charge almost $10 for a piece of tofu.

The Crispy Soft Shell Crabs with Green Mango Salad ($20++) is clearly a dish with Thai influence. The mango silvers are tangy enough and the Thai chili sauce gives a mighty fiery kick. The crabs are meaty and the light batter covering them is light and not dripping with oil. However, I expected a more generous portion for the price we are paying.

Service was prompt but rather clinical and cold. I don’t like the manager (who was serving) at all. He doesn’t smile and looks so stern and unfriendly. This is also the first restaurant that doesn’t allow me to note down the items on the menu. Hello, like I’m going to open a competing restaurant and serve exactly the same dishes?

Admittedly, My Humble House is a bit of a misnomer for a fine-dining restaurant which was voted among the world’s 100 top restaurants last year. But the food here is certainly top notch. After all, the place is helmed by celebrity chef Sam Leong. One amusing thing I find is that all the dishes have supposedly poetic (but cheesy) names like the soft shell crabs dish is called “A Sleep in the Petals” and the tofu “Rhythm of the Earth”. Can anyone tell me the meaning?

Labels: Chinese

6:06 PM