aldora: Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆), China Square Central

Lunar New Year Lunch with Colleagues

Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆)
Website: http://www.mouth.com.sg
22 Cross Street
#01-61 China Square Central
South Bridge Court Shop House
Singapore 048421
Tel: 6438 5798
Operating Hours:
Weekdays, 11:30 to 15:00 and 18:00 to 22:00
Weekends and Public Holidays, 10:00 to 15:30 and 18:00 to 22:00

Ever wondered where to have your celebratory lunch with your loved ones, business partners and colleagues over the Chinese New Year? Why not try Mouth Restaurant for their Chinese Cuisine and also they Yü Shēng (Special Chinese Salad consumed during the Chinese New Year)?

My colleagues suggested that they wanted to "Lou Hei" (which literally means "tossing joy" in Cantonese - refers to many chopsticks tossing the Yü Shēng ingredients. According to traditional belief, the higher you toss the ingredients, the more prosperous you will be for the new year) this afternoon and hence made a reservation at Mouth Restaurant at the China Square Central branch.

This was the second time this year I had Yü Shēng. We had our first "Lou Hei" in Soup Restaurant previously on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Our working day began with somebody who "cosplayed" as the god of fortune (财神爷) walking around the office to present us with an Ang Pow (Red Packet) which contains a ToTo (Quick Pick) Ticket worth SGD1.00. I do not gamble and hence I disregarded the Ang Pow... I more appreciate it if he can give me an Ang Pow with a shiny golden SGD1.00 coin in it - that is indeed more practical.

However it was just hilarious seeing the fortune god parading the office in his costume. Further to that, you might be shocked that the person who acted as the fortune god is actually not a Chinese (an Indian to be precise)! That's the power of out-sourcing!

财神爷 distributing Ang Pows

Close-Up on my Ang Pow with the TOTO ticket worth SGD1 =.=||

Le' Ambience

booth to prepare Yu Sheng ingredients near the entrance...

The restaurant is not very big but the tables are all very big and round - the standard tables used for banquets and hence we will not have problems sharing the main dishes and tossing the Yü Shēng ingredients later on.

The décor would have been great if not for the sombre royal blue metallic chairs...

Tables all set up and ready :)

Le' Menu

As it is during the festive season, we were restricted to order only their Chinese New Year Set Menu which is not cheap either.

Chinese New Year Set Menu Page 1

Chinese New Year Set Menu Page 2

What We Ordered

We have all decided on the Mouth's CNY set G (SGD498++ for 10 pax) as it is the most economical set for the 9 of us. However we still ended up paying SGD48.80 per pax *HAIX*

Le' Food

Mouth's Salmon Yu Sheng (大展宏图)

Yes! Finally get to eat Salmon Sashimi! Their Yu Sheng tasted really yummy and I liked it lots!

Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆), China Square Central

The Manager pouring the ingredients in whilst uttering auspicious phrases. I quite liked her voice actually :)

*UPDATE: 6 February 2014 ~ Check Out our Departmental Lou Hei Video here ~ This is how the entire Lou Hei process should look like :)

Poached Live Sea Prawn with Chinese Wine (笑口常开)

Prawns (pronounced as "Har" in Cantonese) sounds like laughter (as in "Ha Ha Ha"). It is a common belief that eating prawns during Chinese New Year can bring your bounteous joy for the new year. After all, who doesn't like to be happy?

Close-Up on the Prawns

Braised Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat (羽凤展翅)

Braised Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat (羽凤展翅)

The broth is not very starchy (although it IS made of starch). Tasted great with a dose of red vinegar and white pepper :)

Braised Fish Maw with Superior Mushroom (锦上添花)

Braised Fish Maw with Superior Mushroom (锦上添花)

Now, this is the dish which I disliked the most. It IS super starchy that I stopped eating after ingesting a piece of fish maw :(

Check out the Starch!

Steamed Pa-Ting Fish with Minced Ginger (长年有余)

Steamed Pa-Ting Fish with Minced Ginger (长年有余)

Staff Cutting the fish for us :)

Mouth's Scallion Chicken (招牌葱油鸡)

Mouth's Scallion Chicken (招牌葱油鸡)

Ginger Sauce Served with Chicken :)

This is another palatable dish although I personally prefer the Samsui Chicken served by Soup Restaurant.

It feels spooky when they displayed the chicken's head together on the platter as well...

Glutinous Rice in Traditional H.K. Style (一团和气)

Glutinous Rice in Traditional H.K. Style (一团和气)

Whenever you are starting to feel bloated in a Chinese Restaurant, it will be the time they serve you more dishes that are infused with Carbohydrates (be it rice or noodles)! So this time round is the champion - Glutinous Rice~ I couldn't finish my rice at all because it is very jelak (an Malay adjective which means to be satiated by a food, particularly a food that is too rich, to the point that one feels repulsed by it).

Cream of Red Bean Soup with Glutinous Rice Ball (歌舞升平)

Cream of Red Bean Soup with Glutinous Rice Ball (歌舞升平)

The menu is so super mismatched. Why serve 2 similar dishes with glutinous rice content?! The red bean soup lacked substance - it is very watery and diluted. The glutinous rice ball came with black sesame filling and tasted mediocre.

Glutinous Rice Ball with Sesame Filling

Le' Service

We were impressed with the service. It was very prompt despite the peak period. Also, our teacups were refilled very promptly and the staff was very responsive in serving the dishes and the waiting time between dishes was minimal. Also, the timing of serving the dishes were well-controlled - dishes were cleared before the other dishes were served and hence our table was not cluttered with many different dishes as experienced in other restaurants.

Overall

Mouth Restaurant is a recommended place to visit during the Chinese New Year season for business lunches / dinners as its prompt service is very much appreciated for businessmen. After all, time is money :)

Last but not least, I wish you guys a very happy lunar new year and do stay tuned to my other muses soon!