From 30^th June to 10^th July 2011, there will be a Guest Chef at Feng Shui Inn. He is Chef Mak Kwai Pui from Hong Kong.

“Michelin-Starred Hong Kong Chef Mak Kwai Pui, one of the rare few dim sum chefs awarded with this culinary honour, presents exquisite dim sum specialties together with Feng Shui Inn™’s skillful chefs.”

Michelin star; dim sum; Hong Kong – what a perfect combination!

I’m glad I seized the chance to try it out today as it was the best dim sum I ever had in my life.

It was the best decision ever! I never knew that dim sum could taste that unique until today.

The restaurant was kind of hard to locate. If you’re a Gold Card member, you can park your vehicle at B2 car park and there’ll be a direct elevator to G2 level of Crockfords Tower, where the restaurant is hidden. They certainly do not expect passer by visitors given how secluded the restaurant is. It’s located next to the casino gantry on level G2, which is meant for VIPs, and I suppose no one would ever go to that level unless they’re a VIP at Crockfords Tower, VIP to the casino, or someone intending to dine at Feng Shui Inn. I belong to the third catergory.

The other restaurant at Crockfords Tower was Crockfords Grill, which unfortunately was located behind the gantry to the casino. Guess you definitely would have to spend a minimum of $100 to dine in there.

The restaurant setting was not as classy as I had expected. It was just like a regular old fashioned chinese restaurant. You won’t walk in there feeling like you’re a descendant of some ancient chinese emperor but probably just a regular chinese merchant.

I digress.

The ceiling was rather low too.

Service wise, it didn’t meet my expectations. There weren’t many guests and the restaurant was half filled at most, but the serving of our dishes was very slow.

The wait staff wasn’t as attentive as we expected. Our water was not refilled promptly and from warm water initially it somehow became iced water when they refilled our glasses.

We noticed that other diners were served with hot towels but we didn’t get any.

You could ask me if you want the original PDF file of the Guest Chef Menu. The staff kindly sent me a copy of the menu when I called to enquire last week.

爽心悦目 Heart’s Desire 爽菜腐皮卷 $6.80 每份 

Hearty combination of beancurd skin accompanied with fresh vegetables in a roll and deep fried to golden brown perfection

The bean curd skin didn’t fall short of my expectations. It was light and crispy, without being too oily. There was plenty of skin for me to enjoy. However, the filling was a mixture of vegetables and mushrooms instead of the usual prawn. I didn’t quite fancy the filling, though it wasn’t bad.

齿颊生香 The Perfect Match 香芒海鲜卷 $7.80每份

A perfect match of fresh seafood and delectable mango in deep-fried crispy rolls

It looks like popiah but it’s not! This was one of its kind! The pastry was so light and crispy (yes, I know that’s how I described the beancurd skin, but it’s really comparable) and not thick and hard like most fried popiah you get. At the same time, it wasn’t too oily (no.1 thing on my checklist as I hate sick oily chinese food taste).

The mango oozed out upon the first bite, and it was of perfect ripeness. The prawns were chewy and present in a generous amount.

包罗万象 Golden Treasures 酥皮叉烧包 $4.80 每两粒

Baked Barbecue Honey Pork Pastries

I’ve never had a Char Siew Bao like this in my life and this has really set the standards. The first bite was enough to tell me why this was the “培哥一绝Star Chef’s Main Highlight” and has really put all regular char siew baos to shame.

I’ve never seen a fried chinese bun like this. I’m not sure how he did it but it was not oily at all, but crispy enough to make a difference! The dough of the bread was tasty too. It wasn’t bland. The char siew fillings was one of the better ones out there, but honestly I was overwhelmed by the uniqueness of the bread that I couldn’t be bothered to scrutinise the filling.

画龙点睛 Fury of the Dragon Eye 培哥烧卖皇 $8.80 每笼

Chef Pei Ge’s signature ‘Siew Mai’ – Minced tender pork loin mixed with fresh shrimps, delicately wrapped into bite size goodness

Not too impressive, but I must say that skin there is thin enough and the meat was chunky. I dislike siew mai with thick skin and minced meat.

嬉哈大笑 Playful Laughter 冬笋鲜虾饺 $9.80 每笼

Steamed ‘Ha Kau’ – Juicy whole shrimp dumplings suffused with tender bamboo shoots giving this favourite its unique fresh crisp taste

I actually felt that this was better than the siew mai! The skin was good, filling as good, and that’s probably all that’s important. Try it.

温馨家庭 The Warmth of Home 培哥爱心糯米鸡 $8.80 每粒

Chef Pei Ge’s specialty ‘Lou Mai Gai’ – Tasty glutinous rice with chicken tenders wrapped in infused lotus leaves

I’m not a fan of lou mai gai so I didn’t try much of this and I won’t comment about it. My dining partner claimed it’s good though.

游龙封皇 Rolling Tides of the Dragon 豉汁龙虾蒸肠粉 $18.80 每份

Paper thin rice rolls wrapped over lavish servings of lobster meat, immersed in a rich black bean sauce

The rice rolls were really paper thin! But the hype about it ends about there. the rice roll was good and there was really lobster meat in there, but the sauced spoilt it all. It was too salty. The price tag for this is really unjustifiable.

浓情蜜意 Fields of Gold 香酥忌廉 蛋挞 $3.80 每粒

Puff pastry egg tart with a golden custard centre and a crispy crust to provide a luxurious finish

The egg tart was miniature and for the price it’s the most expensive egg tart ever. But the taste fell short of expectations.

珠联璧合 Divine Intervention 脆皮吉士酿荔枝 $3.80 每粒

Savoury custard cheese and sweet lychees combined to produce a taste simply divine

This was really simply divine. Whatever this is, just try it. I’ve not really seen nor tasted a duplicate of this before so I can’t compare this with anything. But if you’re deciding between egg tart and this, this wins.

蜜语仁心 Whispers of Love 晶莹杞子桂花糕 $6.80 每份

A lush combination of wolfberries and osmanthus flowers in a transparent gelatin cake perfected by our chefs

Our second time having osmanthus cake. The first was at Shang Palace. The key difference is that Shang Palace uses Konnyaku jelly (my taste buds say so) while this version is obviously gelatin. Konnyaku is firmer than gelatin. Personally I prefer this version as I like my jelly to be wobbly and soft.

The total bill for 2 was $99.81

*****

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Food: 9.5/10

Value: 6.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Overall: I’m not sure how the usual standard of Feng Shui Inn is, so don’t use this as a 100% guide for normal meals at Feng Shui Inn. I believe the credit goes to Guest Chef Mak for this wonderful meal. Please stalk him in Hong Kong, after 10^th July.

*****

Feng Shui Inn

8 Sentosa Gateway

Basement 1M,

Crockfords Tower

Tel: 6577 8899

*****

Lunch: 11:30am – 3pm

*****

Getting there:

By Car:

If entering via RWS B1 car park, only car park charges apply.

Monday – Thursday (excluding PH):

7am to 7pm : $6 for 1st hr, $2 subsequent hr or part thereof

12pm to 2pm : $1 for 1st hr, $2 subsequent hr or part thereof

After 7pm : $6 per entry

Maximum : $26 per 24hrs

Fri/Sat/Sun/PH:

7am to 7pm: S$7 for the 1st hr, subsequent S$2/half an hr or part thereof

After 7pm: S$8/entry

Max: S$26/entry (per 24 hours)

By Bus:

Outside VivoCity and HarbourFront Station bus stops RWS 8– S$2.00(round trip)

By MRT:

Take a North-East line MRT rail system, alight at HarbourFront Station. Go to the 3rd level (Lobby L) of VivoCity shopping mall to transfer to Sentosa Express to enter the resort. A flat fee of S$3.00 applies.

By Foot:

The Sentosa Boardwalk, featuring canopy-covered travellators, F&B and retail will let you take leisurely strolls to Sentosa. A S$1 fee applies.