Peony-Jade Restaurant, Clarke Quay
Peony-Jade consistently ranks as one of the best Chinese fine-dining restaurants around. They serve Cantonese and Sichuan classics, in a traditional setting filled with vivacious red hues, sophisticated dark woods and hanging Chinese lanterns and grand chandeliers. In addition, the restaurant's location on the second floor of a converted godown along Clarke Quay ensures gorgeous views of the Singapore river and hence cements this place as one of the go-to places for entertaining business guests or friends from out of town.
We were therefore a little surprised when we arrived at 9.30pm on a weekday night for dinner and saw that we were the only other diners in the restaurant. Admittedly, it was a weekday night and it was a little late for dinner. I hear that weekends are a full house though, so it's best to make reservations on weekends. The food's a bit pricey but it's undeniably delicious. Plus you get a good 15% discount with an OCBC credit card.
We started off with the Braised Fish Maw & Dried Scallop Soup ($15) which arrived in an unusual but pretty cocktail glass. The portion was small but it was comforting and yummy.
Although there were just 2 ingredients in the thick flavoursome broth, it was still delicious. The springy bouncy fish maw was plentiful and conpoy was shredded finely, which I noted and appreciated. Sometimes, when dried scallops aren't shredded properly, it clumps together and has a chewy texture and that strong fishy dried seafood taste that lingers in the mouth.
The Stir Fried String Beans with Minced Pork ($18) wasn't the best I've tried (Zi Yean and Tien Court are still the best at this), but this was commendable. The string beans were perfectly fried to a smoky fragrance, and wilted just right, while the chunky minced meat was tasty without being salty. A little spice would have enlivened this dish.
I particularly liked the Braised Homemade Beancurd with Golden Mushroom and Dried Scallops ($18), silky soft and wobbly beancurd, with a nicely browned exterior, and a generous slathering of rich gooey mushroomy gravy, accented simply with conpoy.
I also liked the Braised Ee-Fu Noodle with Prawns and Golden Mushroom ($22), noodles were braised just right, soft, not limp, with beansprouts lending crunch and mushrooms adding texture. My only gripe was the somewhat artificial crunch and slightly alkaline quality of the prawns.
We were astonished at how tiny the Sea Perch Fillet Steamed with Crispy Soy Bean Crumbs ($17) was. Good as it was, and moist as the fish was, this still totally wasn't worth its $17 price-tag. I could have finished it in 2 mouthfuls, and contrary to popular belief, I don't have that big a mouth. :) Tien Court's version is a lot more worth it.
We were somewhat mollified when we were served this complimentary dish. Apparently, from 4-27 April 2011, you get a free Szechuan Roast Crispy Chicken with minimum spending of $80. And this was finger-lickin' good. Chicken was moist and tender, skin was roasted to a delectable crisp, but the best part of this dish was the sweetish garlicky aromatic sesame seed-infused garnishing.
The Roasted Candied Cashews ($4) appetizer was quite addictive, crunchy and sweet, with a hint of smokiness.
The Sambal Chili is pretty similar to Imperial Treasure and Crystal Jade Golden Palace's versions but it's sweeter and has a hint of plum.
Peony-Jade Restaurant
3A Clarke Quay
#02-02
Tel: 6338 0305
Open daily from 11am to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm
Website: www.peonyjade.com
We were therefore a little surprised when we arrived at 9.30pm on a weekday night for dinner and saw that we were the only other diners in the restaurant. Admittedly, it was a weekday night and it was a little late for dinner. I hear that weekends are a full house though, so it's best to make reservations on weekends. The food's a bit pricey but it's undeniably delicious. Plus you get a good 15% discount with an OCBC credit card.
We started off with the Braised Fish Maw & Dried Scallop Soup ($15) which arrived in an unusual but pretty cocktail glass. The portion was small but it was comforting and yummy.
Although there were just 2 ingredients in the thick flavoursome broth, it was still delicious. The springy bouncy fish maw was plentiful and conpoy was shredded finely, which I noted and appreciated. Sometimes, when dried scallops aren't shredded properly, it clumps together and has a chewy texture and that strong fishy dried seafood taste that lingers in the mouth.
The Stir Fried String Beans with Minced Pork ($18) wasn't the best I've tried (Zi Yean and Tien Court are still the best at this), but this was commendable. The string beans were perfectly fried to a smoky fragrance, and wilted just right, while the chunky minced meat was tasty without being salty. A little spice would have enlivened this dish.
I particularly liked the Braised Homemade Beancurd with Golden Mushroom and Dried Scallops ($18), silky soft and wobbly beancurd, with a nicely browned exterior, and a generous slathering of rich gooey mushroomy gravy, accented simply with conpoy.
I also liked the Braised Ee-Fu Noodle with Prawns and Golden Mushroom ($22), noodles were braised just right, soft, not limp, with beansprouts lending crunch and mushrooms adding texture. My only gripe was the somewhat artificial crunch and slightly alkaline quality of the prawns.
We were astonished at how tiny the Sea Perch Fillet Steamed with Crispy Soy Bean Crumbs ($17) was. Good as it was, and moist as the fish was, this still totally wasn't worth its $17 price-tag. I could have finished it in 2 mouthfuls, and contrary to popular belief, I don't have that big a mouth. :) Tien Court's version is a lot more worth it.
We were somewhat mollified when we were served this complimentary dish. Apparently, from 4-27 April 2011, you get a free Szechuan Roast Crispy Chicken with minimum spending of $80. And this was finger-lickin' good. Chicken was moist and tender, skin was roasted to a delectable crisp, but the best part of this dish was the sweetish garlicky aromatic sesame seed-infused garnishing.
The Roasted Candied Cashews ($4) appetizer was quite addictive, crunchy and sweet, with a hint of smokiness.
The Sambal Chili is pretty similar to Imperial Treasure and Crystal Jade Golden Palace's versions but it's sweeter and has a hint of plum.
Peony-Jade Restaurant
3A Clarke Quay
#02-02
Tel: 6338 0305
Open daily from 11am to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm
Website: www.peonyjade.com
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