This restaurant situated on level 2 of Orchard Hotel is known for its authentic Cantonese cuisine, winning multiple awards and even earning a spot in the Michelin Guide. Despite having stayed at Orchard Hotel before and hearing many good reviews about the food here, I didn’t think my husband and I would be able to order and finish a sufficient variety of dishes to fully experience what they had to offer.
As such, when there was an AMEX cashback promotion of $50 for a minimum spend of $250, I thought it was timely to bring my family out for a meal here. In addition, since it was my birthday month, I managed to stack another 20% discount from the free-to-join My Millennium membership (although this couldn’t be applied to our tea order).
- Our order:
- Signature roasted London duck – half ($48++)
- Poached dragon tiger grouper fillet with salted mustard green ($88++ for 4 pax)
- Wok-fried kurobuta pork with asparagus and XO sauce ($32++)
- Wok-fried rice with wagyu beef – medium ($72++)
- Spinach with trio eggs ($26++)
- Jasmine tea ($15.20++ for 4 pax)
- Spent: SGD$268.36
The restaurant was almost empty on the weeknight we were there and it was nice to have an abundance of personal space as a result. However, manpower was also understandably reduced so the handful of staff were still busy rushing around servicing the occupied tables. Meng Chue was the sweet auntie attending to us and she was very helpful with the dish recommendations.
They didn’t have their usual Peking duck that day so we were offered the signature London duck instead, which we unanimously voted as the best dish of the night. The meat was succulent, the skin was wonderfully crispy and the flavourful sauce elevated and brought the entire dish together.
Shortly after, the individually portioned tiger grouper dishes were served. The hearty broth was unexpectedly spicy but we relished the moderate kick it delivered, along with the tender fish texture.
Next up, we had the remaining three dishes arrive at our table all at once. I liked the extra crunch from the chopped capsicums and asparagus in the wagyu beef fried rice dish, but the portion of actual wagyu beef was meagre. The spinach egg trio wasn’t on the menu but it was available upon request. This was probably the most average dish of the night.
Unfortunately, we had a bit of a situation with the kurobuta pork and asparagus dish. We initially requested for it to be non-spicy and reasonably expected the asparagus to be included nevertheless. However, when the dish arrived, it was cooked in ginger scallion sauce without the asparagus (according to the staff, it was “either-or”). This was a higher priced dish likely due to the asparagus and XO sauce in it as compared to a much cheaper alternative of one with just mushrooms, so I thought it was rather ludicrous to still charge the original price despite removing the ingredients we were supposedly paying a premium for. Anyway, ignoring the ethics of pricing, the pork was objectively fragrant and well-cooked.
Our last course was a complimentary chef’s choice dessert, which we were told was only available during dinner service. That evening, it happened to be a mango mochi (soft with cold mango bits inside) and a cookie (buttery and crumbly). Both were delicious (:
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Pretty much all the food we ordered tasted great, especially the signature London duck dish. Staff were also courteous and helpful even though they appeared to be shorthanded during that particular dinner service. In addition, the restaurant’s environment was clean and comfortable with an open view of the street below via the floor-to-ceiling windows. I guess the only thing I’d do differently if I were to dine here again is avoid requesting for non-spicy alternatives, lest they change the ingredients to less premium ones while still charging the same prices.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
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