Today I had a family dinner at Szechuan Court. With Feed at Raffles we had 50% off the total bill. The restaurant isn’t the most popular among all Chinese restaurants so the whole place was rather empty save for a few tables.
They serve both Si Chuan and Cantonese cuisine here. The food here was never famously good, but for tonight nothing was terribly awful so I guess it’s alright. There are a few hits and misses so I’ll specify them.
Peking Duck – $88.00++
Hit.
Fans of the egg crepe skin, you’re in luck as this restaurant serves this sort rather than the white variation. For $88, the duck isn’t very big, but quality wise the duck skin was rather good. It was properly glazed and crispy, which distinguishes it from the normal roasted duck. However, if you’re going to spend $88 on a duck, I rather you go to Paradise Pavilion where you get a freshly roasted duck from the apple wood oven. This duck here is definitely not freshly roasted as we did not need to wait 50 minutes for it or place an advance order. However, if you’re going to get a 50% off for this, for $44, this is a rather good peking duck.
Sze Chuan Cold Combination – $40.00++(S), $60.00++ (M), $80.00++ (L)
Hit.
There are 4 types of appetizers on this plate. I only tried the sliced pork and top shell and the taste was just perfect, not too sweet nor salty. Si Chuan dishes tend to be strong in flavour but this was acceptable by my taste buds.
Roast Pork
Miss.
This roasted pork resembles the hawker sort rather than the sort you get at restaurants. So far, Imperial Treasure serves the best roast pork I’ve eaten, not that I’ve eaten many. The skin for this was not very crispy and the meat was quite tough. It wasn’t awful but it’s just not outstanding.
Braised sliced pork with organic leek in Sze Chuan broad bean chilli paste – $28.00++ (S), $42.00++ (M), $56.00++ (L)
Hit.
The marinade for this sliced pork was stronger in flavours than the one from the appetiser, but this was delicious. The meat absorbed all the flavours of the marinade.
Braised eggplant with minced chicken and chestnut in sweet chili sauce – $24.00++ (S), $36.00++ (M), $48.00++ (L)
Miss.
The sauce for this was too sweet. I had a better one at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei.
Sautéed diced chicken with dried chili and peanut – $28.00++ (S), $42.00++ (M), $56.00++ (L)
Miss.
For the same price I’d rather get another of the sliced pork dish. About half this plate was left untouched. The sauce was too salty and the meat wasn’t well marinated.
Poached vegetable with three type of egg in superior stock – $28.00++ (S), $42.00++ (M), $56.00++ (L)
Miss.
Again, this is really a waste of money. The version from Thai Village was much better! They used the wrong type of spinach for this and it just didn’t blend well with the stock.
Pan-fried Szechuan pancake with red bean paste – $18.00++
Hit.
Now this one’s really a hit. It’s my first time trying this dessert. It’s a hot dessert. The outside was crispy but the inside remains soft and slightly chewy. They were very generous with the sesame topping and it made the pastry very fragrant. The whole combination went well together.
The total price factoring the discount worked out to be around $30/pax, which is very reasonable considering the number of dishes, and that we had peking duck. If you’re going to try this, bear in mind the Hits and Misses I’ve mentioned, and order only the Hits and leave out the Misses! Do come equipped with Feed at Raffles too.
*****
Ambience: 7/10
Food: 7/10
Value: 7/10 (with discount)
Overall: definitely not the best Chinese food around but it was a decent meal for $30/pax with some hits.
*****
80 Bras Basah Road
3F Fairmont Singapore
Tel: 6431 6156
*****
Mon–Fri: 12pm – 2.30pm
Sat–Sun & PH: 12pm – 3pm
Daily: 6.30pm – 10:30 pm
*****
Getting there:
By Car:
Parking available at Raffles City Shopping Centre
Monday – Friday
8am to 5pm: S$2 for first hour
S$0.50 for subsequent 15 minutes
5pm to 8am (the next day):
S$2.50 per entry per day
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
8am to 8am (the next day):
S$2 for first 2 hours
S$0.30 for subsequent 15 minutes
By Bus:
Bus stop located at Bras Basah Road
14, 16, 36, 77, 106, 111, 128, 130, 131, 133, 140, 162, 162M, 167, 171, 190, 502, 502A, 502B, 518, 518A, 518B, 578, 579, 581, 587, 590, 598, 700, 700A, 857, 960, NR7
Bus stop located at North Bridge Road
32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 195, 851, 961, 980, NR2, NR5, NR7, NR8
Bus stop located at Stamford Road
7, 14, 14e, 16, 36, 77, 106, 111, 128, 131, 162, 162M, 167, 171, 175, 190, 700, 700A, 502, 857, NR7, NR8
By MRT:
City Hall MRT interchange station (EW13/NS25) along the East West Line/North South Line.
Hungry Bird 