October 07, 2007 (Sunday): I finally managed to squeeze my name into the list of reservations for lunch on Sunday. I was asked to turn up at 1:30 pm. Well, not too bad, I thought;at least I could still eat till three.
I went slightly earlier, at 1:15 pm. A couple was waiting to go in but they were told that they had another 20 - 30 minutes. I was also told to wait. The time went beyond 1:30 pm. I patiently sat on the sofa outside. More people came. Some went off disappointed; they had not made any appointments.
I was delighted when it came to my turn. When I stepped into the restaurant, what greeted me was a spacious, warmly lit room with a quiet crowd. It was a far cry from my lunch at Crystal Jade Golden Palace in Paragon last Sunday which was dark, crowded, noisy, and there were frowning waitresses brushing past you all the time. There, we were told in advance that we could only dine from 12:30 pm to 1: 30 pm -- obviously for table-turnover reason. But the food was served late then and the dishes terribly oily.
On the contrary, Hua Ting embraces you into its sturdy woody and tranquil interior. There were Vietnamese Bat Trang tea pots, bright Chinese embroidery framed in wooden frames on the walls with corner tables perched with pots of orchids. It was what most Japanese would say, ochitsuku.
After the long wait, compensated by the smiles of waitresses and the usher nonetheless, I didn't want to go through the dim sum list. Very quickly, I pointed to Set B on the set lunch menu. Before the first dish came, I saw a cook book resting on the glass wall panel shelves written by Chan Kwok, the chef, entitled A Culinary Genius. I really hope so he'd be, I told myself.
The first dish arrived: a seafood roll with nori, a steamed dumpling and another yam and shrimp paste cake. They were served the French way.
I liked the last piece of cake best. The last few bites were fresh garlic chips and it imparted some notes of healthy assurance. The other two morsels tasted ordinary but what impressed me was -- they weren't oily.
The second dish was a delicate bowl of soup with a lid. The lid was removed to reveal a fresh stalk of Chinese mustard green, fish bladder and chicken topped with two burgundy fragrant Yunnan ham. The combination was mildly fragrant, rather "unCantonese".
The next dish was one that accounted for the handsome price tag of the meal: SGD 170 for two. It was stewed sea cucumber (namako), abalone, and mushroom. They didn't fill up an inch of my stomach, however.
I thought the dish that arrived next was a huge abalone, but it was a piece of tenderloin topped with two soft Chinese mushroom (shiitake). It was succulent and tender, but it just couldn't beat Keyaki's fantastic kebabs. It seemed like that was the climax, and I prepared myself for fried rice. What a pleasant surprise when I discovered that only egg white was being used and skilfully whipped into fluffiness. It was still oilier than Keyaki's version though very fragrant.
Mochi were the last item and they were far from being delicious - although rare desserts to be served at Chinese restaurants. After sinking my teeth through the skin, I thought I'd rather have real Japanese mochi or just mundane almond jelly on crushed ice. Anything icy, cold and light would score better than these somewhat uncooked chilled dough with a light cream that was not easy to index on the scale of tastes. They were just balls of distressed flour.
However, overall, I'd send kudos to its healthy and elegant version of Cantonese cuisine minus those disastrous glutinous rice balls. But I am still wondering if the food here deserves all that reputation... (December 6, 2007: Until now, I haven't heard from the F & B Manager of the Hotel despite having written him an e-mail to complain about that dessert. I think this is just one of those not so reputable hotels in Singapore.)
Here's the report card:
Food: 3.8/5; service: 4.5/5; ambience: 4.5/5.
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