Mother's Day Celebration 2014 @ Imperial Restaurant
Indeed, it is the biggest headache of all especially our mother is a culinary expert. She has high expectations towards the quality of food and also as an elderly, she has health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Hence dining out can be a chore as she can only eat plain, healthy food.
After doing some research on the internet, we decided to treat her to the Imperial Restaurant (Imperial Herbal) as the ingredients used are mainly Traditional Chinese Medicinal herbs.
Posing @ the Entrance |
Restaurant Name: Imperial Restaurant (Imperial Herbal) 宏仁堂御膳厅
Website: http://www.imperialherbal.com
Location:
Riverview Hotel Level 2
382 Havelock Road, Singapore 169629
Tel: 6337 0491
Le' Ambience
We were greeted by the herbs displayed at the glass cabinet at the entrance and intrigued by the gold tap which was suspending in midair.
Traditional Chinese Medicinal herbs displayed in the glass cabinet |
Le' Mystery of the suspending gold tap... |
Dishes displayed in the cabinet... |
The furnishings are filled with oriental opulence and our parents were pleased with the ambience.
Le' Menu
You can browse their main menu on their official website but we would be focusing more on the Mother's Day Special Menu provided.
We chose the Mothers' Day Set Menu 3 as there were 6 of us.
Mothers' Day Set Menu 3 (SGD268++) |
Le' Food
#Dish 1: "Fu Rong" (Fluffy Egg White) with Dried Scallop
We love the fluffy texture of the egg white and it blends really well with the crispy base.
Dish #2: Shark's Fin Soup with Crabmeat
We get Shark's Fin in every spoonful of the soup. Ultra value for money!
However, Mother Hen was complaining that this soup tasted a tad too saltish to her liking.
However, Mother Hen was complaining that this soup tasted a tad too saltish to her liking.
Dish #3: Roast Chicken with Sliced Almond and Chicken Floss
Loved this dish too! You can either eat this with the sauce provided or dip it into the sweet chilli sauce.
Kriston said it tasted like the upscale version of Kentucky Fried Chicken!
Dish #4: Stewed Prawn and Frogs with Yellow Rice Wine in Clay Pot
Starting to taste a little starchy with the gravy. There is a light fragrance from the yellow rice wine and the frogs tasted like chicken meat.
Dish #5: Fried Broccoli with Wild Mushroom
Gravy is starchy too. I dislike this dish :(
Dish #6: Noodle with Preserved Sliced Chicken and Mushroom
Gravy used to stir-fry the noodles is starchy too.
I did not complete this dish.
Dish #7: Walnut and Red Date Cake
This is the most unexpected food to be served as dessert. After all the carbs and starchy dishes, the dessert is a steamed cake!
Although they looked like muffins, they taste nowhere like muffins...
We were all so disappointed by the dessert and yes, it tasted very similar to those steamed cakes (发糕)which Chinese use to worship their gods or offer to the hungry ghosts during the hungry ghosts' festival. How distasteful!
Please at least serve us some herbal jelly / mango sago after what we paid for the set LAH.
Overall
Dishes #1-3 tasted good. The rest of the dishes are too starchy and mediocre. The deal-breaker is the Walnut and Red Date Cake served as desserts.
Mother Hen was complaining all the way starting when Dish #4 was served. And when the dessert was served, she exclaimed: "I HATE Steamed Cakes the MOST" even before putting it into her mouth. She did not touch the cake ultimately anyway and vowed not to return to this restaurant again. Meh :(
In conclusion, the restaurant did not blend the dishes well for their Mother's Day Set Menu. The food overall is too starchy and jelak (means satiated by a food, particularly a food that is too rich, to the point that one feels repulsed by it in Malay) for us to feel the goodness in their ingredients - they are supposed to be healthy?
Happy Mother's Day!!! |
Sweetie Muffin and I! |
Sweetie Muffin tried to be Flying Dutchman with that antique Jade Ship |
Pricing: ★★★☆☆
Food: ★★◐☆☆
Ambience: ★★★◐☆
Service: ★★★☆☆
P.S.
Find this post amusing?? Please stay tuned to my future musings by clicking the icons below:
Find this post amusing?? Please stay tuned to my future musings by clicking the icons below: