Feng Shui Inn: Singapore Chinese Restaurant Review
Exquisite Cantonese Dining
Feng Shui Inn might be a little hard to locate, hidden within the basement of Resorts World Sentosa at Hard Rock Hotel’s side, but provides that intimate and private setting away from the hustle and bustle of a regular restaurant.
Feng Shui Inn features authentic fine-dining Cantonese cuisine intricately prepared by experienced Hong Kong chefs, namely Chinese Head Chef Li Kwok Kwong.
Chef Li Kwok Kwong has spent 21 years honing his culinary skills at the famous Wah Lok Chinese restaurant before joining Resorts World Sentosa to scale greater heights and to push his limits. His numerous restaurant awards under Wah Lok are testament to chef Li’s culinary prowess during his tenure there.
The main a la carte menu designed by Chef Li features popular favourites like Chinese roasted meats and a wide range of dim sums as well as seasonal harvests from the sea.
Chef Li is always reinventing his dishes, and I was fortunate enough to be invited for a tasting session comparing some of the more classic creations with his newer innovations. Most of the ingredients will now be served in dual styles for contrast as 1 dish, so guests can experience tradition as well as the next step in culinary progress.
Canadian Geo-duck clams Sashimi & Poached Canadian Geo-duck Clams in Preserved Vegetable Broth (market price). Fresh with a bouncy texture, wasabi and shoyu is served at the side to fully relish the simplicity of this sashimi dish.
A more Thai-inspired methodology, this new poached style of preparing the Geo-duck has Thai-infused spices, coconut cream and that hint of sourness so as to still retain the sweetness of the Geo-duck without being too overbearing.
Hong Kong Crispy Fish Skin & Crispy Fish Skin with Slated Egg Yolk & Calamansi ($18/portion). Overall, the fish skins are crispy without being too oily, while the salted although complimenting the heavy taste tends to lessen the crunch quite rapidly if left alone too long. Better to eat it fast!
The calamansi is meant to lessen the heaviness of the salted egg dish, but wasn’t quite significant enough to be tasted.
Stir-fried Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk & Crispy Prawn with Golden Threads served with Mashed Potato Sauce ($36/portion).
Prawns with salted egg is a pretty common Chinese dish, which also comes with a hint of heat. Savoury with that sandy texture, you can’t go wrong with this classic combination.
The prawns with ‘Golden Threads’ of potato had leek enclosed within which added a more refreshing flavour rather than just being monotonous with starch. Still, the potato sauce on potato threads seemed a bit of an overkill – kudos to the threads having contrast in texture with the sauce.
Stir Fried Grouper with Fresh “Huai Shan” and Luffa & Special Pan-fried “East Star” Grouper Fillet ($36/portion).
According to Chef Li, the preservation method he used on the fresh stir-fried grouper is typically reserved only for cured fish, but employed it on this fresh catch to infuse a more unique taste. It was still a tad bland to me though.
The Pan-fried Grouper on the other hand was more aromatic and crisper with flavour which appealed to me more than the subtle classic way of Cantonese cooking.
Fried Rice with Fresh Crab Meat and Egg White ($26/$39/$52) & Hong Kong “Tai O” Style Fried Rice ($20/$30/$40). The fried rice is sold as separate dishes unlike the pairings before.
Special mention has to be given to the shrimp paste from Tai O, a fishing town in Hong Kong, which is heavier and more fragrant than its usual counterparts. This fishing town is where Chef Li visited with his family and he would frequently bring back the local produce which includes this Tai O shrimp paste to be used in his cooking.
Combined with the rice, it creates more rich layers to the rice rather than the usual plain fried rice, creating a mellow crimson hue.
The fried rice with crab meat though is as one would expect for the ending staple to a good Chinese course meal. Not too heavy in taste, but filling enough.
Double-Boiled Almond Cream with Glutinious Rice Balls ($8/portion) & Steamed Red Dates Cake ($6.80/portion).
The steamed red date cake had texture more like a ‘kueh’, being stickier and denser than expected from its presentation. The longan flavour overshadows the red dates a tad too much but overall still pretty favourable since I favour longans as well. If the texture were softer and jelly-like, I would have enjoyed it more.
The almond cream here is grounded by hand without any cream added. I’m surprised it’s still so thick despite not having any cream to add fats, which went well with the sweet and chewy black sesame glutinous rice balls.
Serving predominantly Cantonese dishes that are more on the subtle side, Feng Shui Inn would definitely appeal to the elder Chinese generation who enjoy its flavours steeped deep in tradition. Classic-styled, and perhaps could be bolder and more daring to attract the younger crowd.
Expected Damage: $70 – $100 per pax
Feng Shui Inn: 10 Sentosa Gateway, Level G2, Crockfords Tower Singapore 098270 | Tel: 6577 6688 | Website
The post Feng Shui Inn: Singapore Chinese Restaurant Review appeared first on SETHLUI.com.
