Located in Intercontinental Hotel Singapore, this restaurant underwent a facelift late last year and I’ve heard good reviews about it. The opportunity to try it out came when we received some dining vouchers.

The interior of the restaurant was a lot smaller than I had imagined. It wasn’t a restaurant with huge capacity like Taste Paradise and could probably only fit about a hundred people.

I made the reservations via Chope, which is very convenient with instant confirmation and I was able to amend it anytime, even in the wee hours of the night. This is great for people do dislike calling up.

The restaurant had more diners when 1pm approached so we were glad to arrive at noon as it was obvious that our food got served slower when more diners filled up the place.

In summary, everything here was good. There was no unpleasant experience like sick oily taste, undesirable temperature when served or bad tasting etc. the service was prompt, polite and professional too, so all was good. Just that it wasn’t necessarily unforgettable.

5 Element Tea

I’ve done my research about what’s good here and I’ve heard about this so it was a no brainer when asked what tea to have. It was very fragrant and not bitter, unlike most Chinese teas.

Barbeque Chicken & Pork Pastry – $5.20++/3

Har Kow – $6.80++/3

At $6.80 for 3 this is definitely one expensive basket of har kow. However, it’s quite big and the quality is good, though not unforgettable.

Roast Pork – $10.00++

The skin was very crispy, but it was more like the keropok kind of crispy than the potato chip kind of crispy. The crispiness was kind of thick rather than just a thin layer. The taste was good overall, but I still prefer the thin kind of crispy from Imperial Treasure.

Siew Mai – $6.80++/3

My comments for this is the same as that for Har Kow, good but not unforgettable.

Rice Rolls with Dough Fritter – $8.80++

I ordered 2 types of chee cheong fun, as I heard the dough fritter one was really good but was afraid the others will not be accustomed to the unusual. Usually people order prawn, scallop or char siew chee cheong fun. However, the dough fritter one was really good! The prawn one was very ordinary and pale in comparison. They provided some sauce for the dough fritter one and it went perfect with it! I might consider returning if I have chee cheong fun craving.

Rice Rolls with Prawn – $8.80++

Even the appearance wasn’t as appetizing as the dough fritter version.

Chili Crabmeat Tart – $6.80++/3

I heard this was one of their specialities so I ordered it. The pastry was very soft, brittle and flaky which was good, but I found the filling to be quite ordinary. Like any chili crab.

Mini Egg Tarts – $5.20++/3

Nothing to complain about for these. Any egg tart lover can order this with confidence! It wouldn’t soil your image of egg tarts.

Peking Duck – $60.00 (Whole)

Again, there’s nothing to complain about this, but it wasn’t unforgettable. If you have simple peking duck cravings this would do the trick.

The wrap is quite unusual, however.

Osmanthus Pudding – $8.00++

This is one of their signature dishes but honestly I didn’t think it was good. The pudding was very very soft though, so I give them credit for that. Think along the Lao Ban beancurd kind of soft. However, it just tastes like a cup of tea with instant jelly powder added.

Cream of Avocado with Sago – $8.00++

I super loved this one and would love to have this again! It beats all avocado milk shakes I ever had.

Mango Pudding – $8.00++

Cream of Pumpkin with Ice Cream – $8.00++

Custard Bun – $12.00++/6

Again, this was pleasant but not the best bun. The bun was rather dry and the custard wasn’t exactly very smooth, though it flow wells. Rough bits can be detected.

Pan Fried Red Bean Cake – $12.00++/6

*****

Ambience: 7.5/10

Food: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Overall: A pleasant experience, but among the many choices available for Chinese food for this price range, this will not among the top of the list.

*****

Man Fu Yuan

80 Middle Road,

2F Intercontinental Hotel

 

Tel: 68251062