Having recently stayed at JW Marriott Hotel South Beach, I was intrigued by this restaurant that serves up modern Cantonese cuisine in a gorgeous lush setting. As the stay included club lounge access, all meals were already provided and there wasn’t an opportunity to dine here. Thus, I was hoping to try it out a few days after.
However, when I attempted to make a reservation, they were fully booked (it might’ve been due to it being the Mothers’ Day weekend). Thankfully, the very helpful restaurant manager, Swee Boon, was able to offer my husband and I a later time slot (which was a little too late for dinner, truth be told) and placed us on the waitlist for an earlier slot should anyone cancel. Amazingly, someone did cancel and we were able to secure a regular dinner timing to dine here!
- Our order:
- Sweet and sour kurobuta pork ($26++)
- E-fu noodles ($16++)
- Minced wagyu beef fried rice with XO sauce ($28++)
- Kyoto matcha lava cake with vanilla ice cream ($16++)
- White peony tea ($20 for 2 pax)
- Spent: SGD$99.81
Located in The NCO Club, the restaurant takes up the entire second level of the building. Its interiors convey an old-world elegance with a modern twist and although it didn’t have much natural light coming in, that actually played up the sense of mystery and charm this place seemed to embody.
We were seated in a separate space away from the noise and chatter in the main dining area, which I really appreciated. I also liked how the low ceiling and mood lighting there made it feel super cosy and inviting. It was as if we had our very own private dining space (:
As we sat down, we were asked for our tea orders. I generally prefer lighter teas so I chose the white peony tea which had floral accents. Sadly, it wasn’t as light as I would’ve liked and it left a bit of dryness after each sip.
The first dish that arrived at our table was the sweet and sour kurobuta pork. This was my favourite dish of the night as the pork was slightly crispy on the outside but tender and succulent on the inside. It had a nice balance of sweet versus sour too!
Our second dish was the tasty e-fu noodles cooked al dente, which is much firmer than what I’m used to. Relative to the ones we’ve had at other Chinese restaurants, this was on par and pretty good.
Next up was the wagyu beef fried rice with XO sauce. I imagine it must be quite a challenge to make fried rice taste interesting but this one truly nailed it. We savoured the various flavours and textures in the dish – from the popping fish roe, to the crunchy bits of beef, to the surprising coat of spiciness with every bite. It was so good that we scraped the bowl clean!
Lastly, we had the Kyoto matcha lava cake for dessert. I absolutely adored the cake and felt it was executed to perfection. I usually avoid ordering matcha dishes as its taste tends to be quite overpowering (and sometimes a little “fake”). However, I was so glad I gave this a shot! The matcha was light but fully present, plus the cake was wonderfully moist as well.
One minor letdown was the crumble. In my husband’s words, it tasted like the broken bits of an ancient ceramic jar from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang (don’t ask me where he plucks these abstract analogies from). Anyway, the moment I ate the crumble, I concurred wholeheartedly with his description. For those of you who can’t envision what that might taste like, think old and stale with a hint of storeroom mustiness, as if the flavour and crunch had completely seeped out.
In terms of service, it wasn’t over-the-top fanfare and boisterous greetings. Instead, it was a quiet and supportive affair that still entailed genuine, heartfelt interactions. Even though we were not really within waving distance to get the staff’s attention, there’d always be someone walking into our area to discreetly check if our plates needed clearing or our tea needed topping up ❤
Leon, in particular, made an impression. He took the time to ask us how things were and was sincere in his responses. Upon me asking, he also shared how they’d timed our dessert so that we didn’t have to wait for it (it typically takes 25 minutes as they prepare it à la minute). Superb planning!
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. To be honest, our experience here was just a hair shy of a perfect 5-star rating. The ambience was classy and alluring, the quality food was delicious (I can still taste that glorious wagyu beef fried rice) and the service was thoughtful and personalized. The only oddity was that strange, almost musty-tasting crumble in our dessert which my husband described so aptly and amusingly. Other than that, it was a fantastic dinner. Prices were comparable with other Chinese restaurants of similar calibre so it was nice to enjoy a 20% discount with the Marriott Bonvoy membership. Huge shout-out to Swee Boon for his willingness to explore options and assisting us to secure a reservation here!
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 