If you are at Orchard Road and want to experience iconic Singapore style Chinese food in a comfortable environment with attentive service at reasonable prices, I believe the fully revamped Dining Place by Fei Siong Group at Mandarin Gallery is the right place for you.
The Dining Place's decor is simply elegant - simple, minimalist, contemporary Chinese chic. The restaurant has a welcoming, cosy feel. If that is not enough to bring you in, the warmth of the friendly staff might draw you in. For me, I found the aroma of simmering stock from the kitchen quite captivating as I stood at the entrance.
Without ceremony, we launched into lunch right away with the iconic Singapore Chili Crab.
At Dining Place, the all-important chili crab sauce hit all the right notes - it's thick and heavy with layers of savoury, tangy and spicy flavours. The sauce had a soft nutty feel as it was thickened with crushed peanuts. The spiciness was mild and it lingered pleasantly in the mouth for a few moments.
The live crab meat had a mild briny ocean taste and natural crustacean sweetness.
At $8++ per 100 grams, I felt it was good value for money.
Premium Crab Bee Hoon.
Crab bee hoon (rice vermicelli) is a very popular crab dish among Singaporeans and is one of the Must Try Singapore dishes, if you are a visitor.
The creamy rich savoury sweet sauce was loaded with crustacean savouriness and sweetness. Plenty of umami kick to score goals with any crab lover ๐
The meaty live crab tasted great in the live crab way.
Claypot Porridge with Superior Broth (price $18++ small serving).
Not a simple porridge this - loaded with flower crabs, prawns and scallops - like that "win already lor" as we say in Singapore.
This dish is a complex blend of sweet savouriness in a whole stack from the rice, crab, prawns and scallops. It's an indulgent comfort dish.
Oh... I love chewing and sucking out loudly that sweet briny goodness from the juicy flower crabs body (not much of anything in the pincers ๐ ).
Steamed Prawn with Garlic (price $20++ small serving).
Sweet fresh large prawns steamed with a thick sweet savoury blanket of mashed black garlic. It's an interesting sweet savoury flavour with an underlying subtle sourish zing like balsamic vinegar.
Stir Fried Asparagus with Scallops ($22++ small serving).
Sweet scallops and crunchy sweet asparagus with savoury garlicky sauce.
The Special Soya Chicken come smothered in a thick gooey black coat of soya sauce blend.
The chicken was tender and juicy but the flavour was dominated by the sweetish savoury sauce.
Fried Egg with Black Fungus (price $12++ small serving).
Tender eggy omelette studded with strips of crunchy black fungus. Quite an enjoyable dish because of the crunchy bite.
If you are visiting Singapore, Seafood Hor Fun is one dish you must not leave without trying (price $10++ small serving).
Many Chinese restaurants in Singapore have seafood hor fun in their menu, but memorable ones are hard to come by.
I enjoyed Dining Place's rendition as the hor fun (rice ribbon noodles) were well seared giving it a toasty tasting caramelised surface. Have "wok hei" we say here. The thick smooth creamy gooey sauce tasted eggy sweet savoury. The prawns, fresh grouper fish slices, squid and clams added more textures, flavours and sweetness to the dish.
At $10++ for a small serving sufficient for two small eaters, it is really great value - a price point that compares very well even with suburban coffee shops.
๐ Overall, I enjoyed the fully revamped Dining Place's new menu by a new chef with a back to fundamentals approach to food - fresh ingredients, lovingly prepared, well executed. No gimmicks. I especially love the three crab dishes which I tried today. And, you gotta try their deluxe seafood hor fun ๐
If you like to give Dining Place a try, you can just walk in with no reservations. If you like to have your favourite dishes which you like to try, you can call Agnes at 9487 3618 to arrange. She can even arrange with the kitchen, the dishes you like but are not in the extensive menu. I
Dining Place has a couple of private rooms, open for booking on an availability basis. No minimum spending. Just give Agnes a call. Great for get togethers and meetings in the middle of Orchard Road. Good food at reasonable prices and served by earnest, enthusiastic staff.
Disclosure: Please note that this was an invited tasting.
Restaurant name: Dining Place (by Fei Siong Group)
Address: Level 4, #04-21, Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, 238897
GPS: 1°18'08.0"N 103°50'12.0"E | 1.302225, 103.836653
Nearest MRT: Somerset
Waze: Mandarin Orchard
Tel:
Hours: 11:30am to 10:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 2 Mar 2018
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