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Singapore, April 25, 2010 Eats Fans of Metropole Herbal Restaurant in Clarke Quay who were dismayed to find it closed three months ago can rejoice. It is back, but with a new name and a new concept. It is now called Restaurant Ten, which opened a week ago in Purvis Street as a modern Chinese herbal restaurant. But the faces behind it are the same, including general manager Dorothy Tan, business development manager Doris Ho and chef Chai Ngen Kin. Ms Tan and Ms Ho had also worked at the old Imperial Herbal Restaurant in Metropole Hotel until it closed with the hotel in 2006. The latest move, they say, is prompted by rising rentals at Clarke Quay while the new image is to update the concept of a herbal restaurant for a younger generation. So far, it looks promising. Unlike the previous restaurant, which resembled a traditional Chinese brick house, this is furnished with contemporary white furniture and light turquoise sofas. On the tables are stylish glass teacups and white porcelain. The restaurant is divided into three floors. The ground level holds the big tables while the second storey has smaller tables for two to four people. Up in the attic are a couple of private rooms for big groups. The new menu is a lighter version of herbal cuisine. Nothing tastes medicinal and most of the herbs used are what you already find in many Chinese restaurants. Ingredients such as wolfberry seeds and ginseng are used in cooking more for their nourishing qualities than to treat ailments, and that seems to be the direction Restaurant Ten is taking. Therefore, the sinseh who was stationed at Metropole Herbal to advise diners on what herbs they should take is gone. The emphasis now is on good cooking rather than the medicinal qualities of the dishes. I usually give a new restaurant anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month to settle in before I review it. But the food at Restaurant Ten is already so good that I just cannot wait to tell readers about it. It was quite by chance that I stumbled on the restaurant last Saturday on its opening day. Liking what I saw of the interior and the menu, I decided to lunch there and was impressed. My lunch companion and I ordered a set lunch each, one priced at $28 and the other at $38. The first comprised a starter of egg white with dried scallop in potato nest, a double-boiled black chicken soup, a main course of steamed cod fish and a deep-fried stuffed chicken wing served with fried pearl rice, and double-boiled pear for dessert. The more expensive set had the same starter and dessert but the soup was double-boiled duck with pear and the main course a more classy abalone and shark’s fin rice in stone pot, served together with a stir-fried dish of lotus root and apple. Everything was lovely, and the $28 menu was especially of good value. The fried egg white is a popular dish that has been on the menu since the Metropole Hotel days and it is still good. You should eat the soft egg white and the crispy potato strips together to experience the different flavours and textures. Add a few drops of apple vinegar and you will be amazed at how the it perks up the taste even more. The steamed cod fish was another stand-out dish. The fish was fresh and cooked just right and it came in a slightly tangy sauce of chopped celery and parsley that was great when paired with the fried rice. The abalone and shark’s fin rice for the $38 menu had little fin and the abalone was tiny, but the beautiful thick gravy blanketing the rice like shiny lacquer was so delicious that one could overlook its faults. When I returned for dinner a few days later, I picked from the a la carte menu and was again impressed by the standard of the cooking. The only dish that needed to carry a cautionary note was the braised duck with Chinese yam and ginseng ($25). Those who do not like the strong taste of ginseng may find the herb overpowering here. The braised pork belly with cinnamon ($8 a piece) is one of the best versions of Dong Po pork I have eaten recently. It had perfect texture and amazing aroma. For something healthier and with more subtle flavours, go for the house special steamed beancurd with Japanese yam ($12). The purity of the beancurd topped with yam mash was not diminished by the sauce, which reminded me of vegetarian oyster sauce. For dessert, chef Chai whipped up a marvellous plate of candied sweet potato and yam ($12). This northern Chinese dessert had the tubers covered in caramelised sugar which, when dunked in ice water, turned into a thin, brittle coat. Few places do it well these days, as poor skills often result in a thick coat of hard sugar. But this one was crisp to the last piece, and the contrasting softness of the boiled sweet potato and yam under the sugar made it more delightful. Though Restaurant Ten bills itself as a Chinese herbal restaurant, you will not find such exotic food as fried scorpions and ants on toast that the old Metropole was known for. What you get instead is great-tasting food. And if you get any health benefits eating it, that is a bonus.
More photos of Restaurant Ten
