HK classics back in favour

Second chances. One has to believe in them.

That is why when HSBC suggested that I include Yan Ting at the St Regis Singapore in this Life! New Creations series, I said yes, despite having given the restaurant a thumbs-down review when it opened in December.

It was a qualified yes though. I had first to be satisfied that the cooking has improved enough to be part of the series. But eight months have passed since the restaurant opened and perhaps it was time to revisit it.

So it was with a wide open mind that I went for a tasting of chef Chan Siu Kong’s menu for the promotion two weeks ago. And the reason you are reading this review is that I was impressed enough.

Falling back on the tried-and-tested, he had come up with a six-course set meal of classic Hong Kong favourites that mostly worked well.

Dishes such as the starter, a duo of marinated conch with Thai salsa and wok-baked lobster with salted egg yolk, are safe stalwarts from the Hong Kong chef’s kitchen, but to call them classics was a bit of a stretch. They could not have been around for more than two decades.

Nonetheless, they were worthy dishes. The conch was fresh and cooked light enough not to be leathery, and the piquant sauce did a good job of rousing the appetite. The lobster was good too, with the fresh and succulent meat coated in a light layer of smooth yolk.

The next dish was a true classic: slow-brewed Cantonese soup of carrot and water chestnut with spare ribs. There were gingko nuts and dried fruit peel in it too.

It had obviously been simmered for many hours, as there was no other way to get such intense flavour into the soup. It was sweet from the carrot and water chestnut, but the sugariness was balanced by a strong taste of pork from the ribs, which were so well-cooked that the meat had fallen off the bone.

This was a soup that would win over any Cantonese and I succumbed.

Next up was a dish I do not get enough of in Singapore. The traditional Cantonese braised mutton with star anise and cardamom in claypot was done in typical Hong Kong style, with a dark and rich gravy that would be perfect with a bowl of steaming hot white rice. bar

It was heated up with bean curd sheets in a claypot beside the table and, after the meat was served, the leftover gravy was used to cook lettuce leaves, which soaked up the flavours very nicely.

The mutton came with a dip of fermented bean curd sauce, which added a new dimension to the taste. But even without the fermented bean curd, the mutton would have been fine.

More Hong Kong classic fare followed in the stir-fried Hong Kong kai lan with hand-beaten dace fish cake. Hong Kong kai lan is well appreciated for its thick, crisp stems which are remarkably fibreless, but it is the dace fish cake that truly gets a Cantonese all nostalgic.

Dace is a freshwater fish from southern China that can be found outside a can here only in the past decade or so. Fish cake made from its meat has a soft texture and a distinctive taste, and chefs like to add a bit of dried fruit peel into the paste to combat any hint of fishiness.

Yan Ting’s version was good, except that it was a bit too salty when eaten without rice. I don’t know if the chef was over-compensating because I had complained about his cooking being bland before, but the next dish was overly salty too.

The baked rice with fresh scallops and prawns in creamy Portuguese sauce had a lovely aroma that hit you immediately, but was less than yummy because of that problem.

The desserts were a divided pleasure too. They were presented as a duo: fresh fruits and sago in mango juice and a piece of baked Chinese cashew nut pastry.

The fruits and sago were not remarkable and the mango juice was too sour for my liking, but the cashew nut pastry was excellent. The pastry was light and not overly sweet, and the cashew nut on top had an appealing fragrance of freshly roasted nut.

There is nothing very fancy about this menu and not every dish is great, but if you want a taste of old-fashioned Hong Kong, there are flavours here that are certainly worth taking the walk down memory lane.

Marinated conch with Thai salsa, wok-baked lobster with salted egg yolk

Slow-brewed Cantonese soup of carrot and water chestnut with spare ribs

Traditional Cantonese braised mutton with star anise and cardamom in claypot, served with homemade fermented bean curd sauce

Stir-fried Hong Kong kai lan and hand-beaten dace fish cake

Baked rice with fresh scallops and prawns in creamy Portuguese sauce

Fresh fruits and sago in mango juice, baked Chinese cashew nut pastry

The Life! New Creations menu of classic Hong Kong favourites, priced at $78 per person, is available till Oct 31. Complimentary for HSBC cardholders dining with a minimum of three paying guests.

Yan Ting
St Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road, tel: 6506-6888
11.45am to 3.30pm, 6 to 11pm daily