Grand Mandarina Restaurant in Singappre 御华庭

Grand Mandarina Restaurant at New Bridge Road Singapore has risen quickly in prominence since it opened 6 months ago (in May 2014), thanks to their proactive and savvy social media efforts. Almost every Singapore food blogger has been invited to their regular food tasting sessions.  

Grand Mandarina serves Cantonese cuisine with Western influences and Head Chef Nicky Ng's personal touches.

Chef Nicky Ng boasts an impressive resume of Michelin-starred Hakkasan in New York City, and 5-star hotels in Shanghai, Macau and Singapore. (We didn't have a chance to meet Chef Nicky as our lunch tasting was on a very hectic Saturday.)



Inside Grand Mandarina, the compact interior was well appointed and comfortable though not lavish or opulent.

There were also two private rooms on level two.



Honey glazed barbequed pork loin or char siew 蜜汁叉烧 (SGD15++ per order).

The thick meaty chunks were like sweet savoury, juicy candy. Very likable and popular, though some found it a tad on the sweet side.



Deep fried prawn coated with creme lemon sauce (SGD32++ per order).

Fresh pawn wrapped in crispy batter enveloped with a syrupy sweet slightly zesty lemon sauce.



Steamed silver cod with pink ginger topping in bonito sauce (SGD22 per person).

Thick chunk of flaky snowy white Norwegian cod. Slight meek tasting flavours, the pink ginger was also too mild for my liking.

(My personal preference for cod is baked with skin on.)



Roast duck with perigord truffle (SGD28++ per order).



The duck skin was crispy and savoury while the meat was moist and rich with deeply infused truffle earthiness.

This roast duck and the char siew were my top two favourites at the tasting.



Tofu with crab meat and egg white in carrot broth (SGD24++ per order).

This dish didn't appeal to me. Though the bi-colour broth was eye catching, the crab meat, egg white, mushrooms and parsley was piled untidily on the tender sticks of tofu. The commercially supplied tofu tasted and felt generic.



Stir fried crystal vermicelli with pork collar in X.O. chili sauce (SGD22++ per order).



I love the tender smooth texture of pork collar and the rich porcine flavours from the meat and fat.

The "crystal" vermicelli which reminded me of clear rubber bands had little taste as it did not absorb the chili sauce's flavours (which was itself slight) well.



Double boiled chicken soup with cordycep flower (SGD9++ per person).

Wholesome classic tonic sweetened with dried red dates and wolfberries. 



Steamed custard bun with salted egg yolk is always a crowd pleaser. The blend of savoury sweet flavours in the golden "molten lava" that oozed from the prised open sweet bouncy snowy bun seduced the eyes and then conquered the taste buds. 



Steamed custard buns are so photogenic, people could not resist reaching for their handphones.



Green apple jelly with lime sorbet (SGD8++ per person).

Cold, sweet and tangy round up of the day's scrumptious tasting. 

Thank you Jiaxin for the invite and hospitality.



Restaurant name: Grand Mandarina Restaurant 御华庭
Address: 325 New Bridge Rd, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/GrandMandarina
Hours: Lunch 11:30 am – 2:30 pm | Dinner 6:30 – 10:00 pm
Tel: +65 6222 3355
Non Halal

Date visited: 8 Nov 2014

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