Club Chinois @ Orchard Hotel

And so they say December is a month of feasting...I lived that out, literally. My third buffet for the month! I flipped the paper one fine day and chanced upon the UOB 1-for-1 promotion...I HAD to go! Min 4 to enjoy the buffet.

I booked it way in advance...and according to forums, it's fully booked till end Jan09! I've been to Club Chinois just once, so many years back when the Dad was on a whim..then it was fusion food..in portions enough to feed a mouse and hefty price tags to match.

It offers cantonese cuisine now. 113 dishes they've got to offer, soups aren't allowed..and must I add, they look really tantalizing! Cantonese are famous for their soups, afterall.

The portions are accorded to the number of people on the table!




The table setting, I like the toothpick cover!



Interior..rather spacious

Appetizers



Savoury Marinated Pacific Clam

A great start to the meal! Sweet-sour-spicy with my favourite shellfish, double yums.



Spicy Marinated Jelly Fish

Another favourite appetizer!



Chicken Wing Marinated with Superior Soya Sauce

I found this on the bland side.



Crisp Skin Barbeque Duck

Oohlala, loved this. The skin's not as "crispy" as described but the meat's flavourful and tender.



Honey Glazed Barbequed Pork

Another stunner, arguably the best charsiew eaten! I love my charsiew without the fat though it's gonna sound like a gastronomical faux pas...well marinated and delightful on the tastebuds!



Stewed Duck Wing

Better in taste than the chicken wings.



Crisp Fried Silver Fish

Very light on the palette, the fish were overfried imo, couldn't quite taste the fish..just alot of crisp.

Seafood & Meat



Crisp skin crepes stuffed with salmon

This came on a huge plate, done up artfully...the food's concentrated in the middle of the dish. It's salmon in a springroll, simply...accompanied by a stuffed mushroom. Just o-k-a-y.



Poached Prawns

Simple yet well done. Prawns were fresh.



Crisp fried Prawn tossed in Wasabi Mayo

I like the side salad in most their dishes..the wasabi mayo prawns...weren't the best I've eaten..felt the mayo doesn't pack enough punch.



Wok-fried sliced beef with ginger and spring onion

Normal Tze char dish...



Savoury Honey Glazed Pork Rib topped with Sesame

I loved this!! A playful blend of honey and sesame that came across tasting alot like "Man ya tang" (a thick sugary coating). The honey bits got stuck in my teeth whilst eating but I like this recipe. For once, I gobbled the pork ribs with the fat! Delicious..I enjoyed it tremendously.



Braised Cod fish with Tanfu Sauce

Cod fish wasn't as fresh as I expected. Tanfu sauce is used in most of their dishes...which I haven't quite figured out what. Not a fan of this.



Crisp fried soft shell crab

Alot of crisp once again, I couldn't find the generous meaty bits I was expecting.



Steamed Smooth Chicken with Mushroom

My dad's jawdropped when it was served, a bland oily dish of chicken and mushrooms it is. Not the usual "ma yao" chicken we find in cantonese cuisine.



Deep fried Tempura Oyster

Wowzers! It's indian vadai and oyster in one! The tempura's done light, not too oily...yummers.

Beancurd & Vegetables



Sauteed French Beans with Homemade Spicy sauce and dried scallops

Nothing to shout about.



Poached Spinach with Century Egg & Salted Egg

A lil disappointed with this...it's more soupy than I expected..the century egg and salted egg were too "old"...



Stir Fried Kailan with Minced Garlic & Olive Leaf

Nice one! Pity the leaves were all removed.

Dim Sum



Har Gao

Chockfuls of prawns in the prawn dumpling..the skin's thin. Nice!



Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Tanfu Sauce

Just a meaty-vegetable blend with a thicker than usual crystal skin. Looks better than it tastes.



Crisp Fried Prawn Dumpling with Wasabi Mayo

Fried. Prawn. Dumpling. Yes, in that order. The wasabi mayo is once again almost non-existent in taste.



Pan-fried Carrot Cake with Crab Meat

It's just carrot cake in cubes with an omelette. I didn't taste the crab meat however...not a fan of this.



Steamed Custard Bun

I was expecting a molten bun, tasted quite like a steamed cake in a pau form, the custard-salted egg filling didn't spill out, was quite pasty and tasted more of salted egg than custard.



Honey Glazed Pork Pastry

Light, flaky, yummy. Their charsiew dishes are pretty good I must say!



Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Soft glutinous rice with chicken and fragrant mushrooms...a typical dimsum must order..



Steamed Rice Roll with fillet of Marble Goby

Flabbergasted I was. Bland rice roll with fish fillets that somehow just didn't go.



Crisp Fried Vegetarian Roll

Springroll, fried. I still adore the shredded cabbage that goes with their fried dishes.



Deep Fried Lotus Paste Bun

Fried buns! Like mantou, peeling it apart reveals a warm thick lotus paste.

Porridge, Noodles, Rice



Fragrant Porridge with Fish Fillet

The rice grains are cooked till it has the consistency of a gruel, you can drink it. I don't fancy porridge in that manner though. Just bland overall. The same applied to their century egg porridge as well.



Braised Mee Sua with Golden Mushrooms in Noble Tanfu Sauce

Highly recommended by the waitress, I wanted to try a noodle dish! She suggested their signature. It came in a egg broth and smooth easy to slurp jade noodles. The broth's either a love or hate affair..tastes like raw egg mixed with soya sauce. I didn't mind it too much.

Desserts



Doubleboiled Snow Fungus Red Date and Almond Seed

Traditionally cantonese. Not too sweet.



Chilled Mango Pudding

The mango pudding's too condensed for my liking, tastes like it's made from a powder mix.



Chilled Cream of Pumpkin with Purple Rice

Interesting how pumpkin cream tastes like...a slight hint of the fruit with purple rice. An oriental approach to Bubur Chacha.



Chilled Herbal Jelly

Bitter enough, jelly's wobbly enough. I like the dried flowers sprinkled on top!



Cream of Almond with Dumpling

Red bean glutinous rice balls with the creamy almond paste...I say, moreee!



Chilled Aloe Vera Jelly with Lime Syrup flavoured with lemon grass

I adored the yuzu ice-cream best. Enough zest to end the meal without feeling too over-the-top full!

The range of food is soooo diversified, you can really pick and choose a week's worth of food! Pity we didn't have the stomach space to try more...all in I think we tried 30 odd dishes...about a quarter of what they have to offer. Pity they don't allow soups as part of the buffet...that'd have completed the cantonese experience. Overall, pretty decent food!

Truly you can't fault their impeccable service, the young servers may have reduced the exclusivity of the place but I really don't mind smiley and friendly servers! They gently remind that tea is optional and the charges involved, rather than slapping you with a fee you can't refuse. I'll give them props for not removing the unfinished dishes to reduce wastage, we had to polish off the whole plate, literally!

$38++ for UOB, till January
$48++ for non-UOB cardholders

Club Chinois
Orchade Hotel