Royal China Revisited @ Raffles Hotel

festive door

Royal China still remains one of my favourite Chinese restaurants for any occasion. CNY is one of them, despite the repetitive menu throughout the restaurants.

robin blue

The familiar robin blue never fails to elicit a smile.

nian gao design

Get greeted at the doorstep by an auspicious fish and ingot shaped nian gao.

royal china

Still charmed by the dreamy surroundings.
candied peel

The familiar festive appetizer...away with oily peanuts!
rainbow

The forth time tossing but who ever says no to extra luck?
the yusheng works

Salmon slices and crackers..all in the name of prosperity!
yu sheng

Bountiful Harvest Salmon Yu-Sheng

I've probably become so well-versed in tossing yusheng and "prosperi-fying" it with so many good phrases, I honestly can replace the waitress in each preparation. Nonetheless, Royal China's yusheng was delicious. Possibly the best of the four attempted though due to health reasons (given the mean age of the table was way and above by age), they opted for half the plum sauce. Crunchy, delightful...chinese salad could replace caesar salad as a staple.


sharks fin

Braised Shark's Fin with Fresh Crab Meat and Sea Treasure

It could be the proportioning but I received more crab meat and fish maw than fins. Barely present were the fans of fins, despite that..the level of gum and goo in this was well controlled. Hearty broth.

soon hock

Steamed Live "Soon Hock" Fish with Minced Garlic and Diced Chilli

Eternity of a lifetime for a festive meal like this is baffling, when the restaurants place so much emphasis on the number of table turnovers they can achieve within the limited lunch period. So much being said, there was at least a 20 minute interval before this arrived.

But, I was hardly disappointed with fish so fresh. Loved the marinated peppers that gave this both the dash of colour and added flavour.
king prawn

Wok-Fried King Prawns in Home-Made Western Sauce

Western sauce that tasted just like sweet and sour sauce. Tangy one which tickled the tastebuds quite well, paired with a succulent king prawn....finger licking good!
crispy chicken

Chef's Signature Barbequed Crispy Chicken in Sesame Sauce

Well executed by the kitchen...especially the skin. Light and crispy, I relished every bite. The same could not be said of the meat though. Uneven marination rendered this too salty at parts and bland at others.
hoe see fatt choy

Braised Golden Oyster With Japanese Mushroom, Sea Cucumber and Black Moss in Garden Greens

The long hours spent simmering this at low heat could be tasted with the full bodied tasty gravy. Always a feature in festive menus, I actually think this has become an overkill.
sticky rice

Looks just like a pudding!
glutinous rice

Wok-Fried Glutinous Rice with Diced Preserved Meat

Somewhat lacking in flavour, the sticky grains were chewy and coated with a lovely layer of oil. Saved by the saucer of X.O. Chilli paste infront of me.
mango sago

Chilled Fresh Mango Juice with Sago and Pomelo

More of mango juice than anything else, this was quite boring.
nian gao dish

 歩歩高升!
panfried nian gao

Pan-fried Royal China Chinese New Year Cake

Infused with sweet potato, the nian gao tasted alot like nonya kueh...missing in the stickyness of a traditional over the counter nian gao. Not too bad, I thought.

Yet another satisfying meal despite some misses, Royal China...I honestly cannot wait to be back for more!
$728++ per table of 10

Royal China
Raffles Hotel

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