Imperial Restaurant @ Riverview Hotel

Imperial Restaurant Hong Ren Tang has relocated to Riverview Hotel from Vivocity and much to my surprise, in the first few days of opening it was so packed - I've never quite seen it so crowded before. Decor is thankfully more cohesive this time round - no fancifully coloured chairs that stick out like a sore thumb. They adopted a more medicinal hall approach with a chest of drawers with chinese inscriptions.



At least the setting looked familiar.



Loved their braised nuts cooked to a lovely texture - not too soft!



Poached spinach with wolfberries albeit ordinary looking was a tasty dish to start with.



Another vegetable dish with a bevy of mushrooms to adorn, liked this enough to make this my favourite vegetable dish for the night.




Nai Bai with root vegetables, I particularly enjoyed the yams here.



Pumpkin prawns, a healthier option to salted egg prawns. The thick pumpkin sauce may come across as too sweet for some but I thought it was a good alternative - walnuts provided a nice crunch too.



Full marks for theatrics, the foiled parcel had to be kept aside for a while before the flames were completely extinguished before it was served. Succulent cod chunks in this soupy parcel.



Steamed Garoupa was undeniably fresh but the non-fish person preferred something so many glaring bones.



A unique dish of braised duck in hawthorn and snow pear. The hawthorn was a hit for me, the tanginess of the fruit went well with the firm duck meat. Snow pear was a refreshing addition too.



As exotic as it looks, this is actually the paw of a crocodile.



 

Made less intimidating with the herbs and mushrooms used for this dish. I am always game for creative dishes but this tipped the envelop way over boundaries of comfort. Gelatinous in texture and mostly sticky without a distinct taste, while it was loaded with collagen I found it hard to stomach.

Decent food at affordable prices, expect more than prawn paste chicken and coffee ribs here.

Imperial Restaurant
Riverview Hotel Level 2