Madam Fan
지난주에 우리 결기 9주년기념 이었어요. 세월 참 빠르다! 결혼날 제일 행복하다고 생각했는데 지금은 전보다 더 행복해요. 모두 내 남편 덕분이에요. 여보가 날마다 나를 행복하게 해주기 때문이야. 오늘까지 어떻게 그렇게 행운을 가져왔는지 모르겠어요.
우리는 축하하기 위해 특별한 저녁을 먹으러 나가지 않았어. 우리는 집에서 있었는데 닭고기 감자탕을 같이 요리했어. #소확행
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It's been a crazy December (Christmas cannot arrive soon enough!!) and both andmorefood and I have been buried under an impossible mountain of work. So when our schedules both aligned like the much feted great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn's "Christmas Kiss", we took the opportunity for a little respite from our crushing deadlines, have a languid meal and catch up with one another.
We were mulling lunch venues and I remembered The Big Kahuna waxing lyrical about Madam Fan; and as his previous recommendation of Dempsey Cookhouse panned out marvelously, I was more than inclined to heed his suggestion.
Fans of Hakkasan in London (including andmorefood who remembers having splurged many a year-end bonus at said restaurant during her tenure in the English capital) would find Madam Fan strikingly familiar. The food, contemporary, luxed-up interpretations of Chinese classics, as well as the boudoir-like, conspicuously Chinoiserie design and the Old-World Shanghai lounge-y feel of the restaurant, are characteristic of each and every Hakkasan scattered across the globe.
Service was stellar: attentive, candid, and enthusiastic. That, I felt, was Madam Fan's forte; because the food, while commendable, fell just short of unforgettable. And in a sea awash with dozens of noteworthy, Michelin-caliber Chinese restaurants, Madam Fan ebbs into indistinguishable pedestrianism.
The crispy Soft Shell Crab ($28) tossed with curry leaves, and dried red chilli, was fragrant and punchy.
The decadent "Bridges" Lobster Wine Soup ($38) was heady with copious splashes of 20-year old Gu Yue Long Shan Rice Wine. Heart and tummy-warming, but I would have liked a little spice to counter the slight cloying sweetness of the soup.
The Crispy Aromatic Duck ($48), a modern take on Peking duck, was a standout. A Chinese version of French duck confit, this was unexpectedly delightful. 
Lazy buggers like us rejoiced when the duck was shredded by our pampering server table-side.
The preserved beancurd was a wee too imposing in the Claypot Braised Morel Mushrooms ($28). Otherwise, I liked the juxaposition of textures, from the chewy beancurd stick, to the soft black moss, springy vermicelli and crunchy sugar snap peas.
The Steamed Soon Hock Fillet ($48) slathered in a black bean sauce and topped with soft tofu, a melange of mushrooms, and julienned carrots, was executed with finesse.
A must try, the Braised King Prawn Ee Fu Noodle ($48) was balanced and cohesive. I would return just for this.
A deluxe rendition of the foregoing eefu mee, the Lobster Cantonese Wanton Noodles ($119) was just as fantastic, but as a matter of preference, I'd opt for the far more economical prawn noodles over the lobster. The Husband says this illustrates how cheap a date I am, and I concur 😁.
The Chocolate Cremeux ($9) was a beautifully constructed gold-flaked mandarin orange-accented dessert. Not the most comforting, but gorgeous nonetheless.
Madam Fan
32 Beach Road
The NCO Club
Tel: 6818 1921
Open weekdays from 12noon to 2.30pm for lunch; 6-10pm for dinner
weekends from 11am to 3.30pm for lunch; 6-10pm for dinner
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