Wan Hao recently underwent a complete refurbishment to give it a more modern feel. The new layout provides for more private dining in rooms of varying sizes strategically placed throughout the restaurant. As for the food, the new menu put together by Executive Chinese Chef Brian Wong is light with a slightly modern twist. It is not fusion but what he was trying to achieve was giving old traditional dishes a new breath of freshness. Chef Brian strives to elevate the rich culinary excellence of Cantonese cuisine to new heights. Has he succeeded?
We had dinner recently at Wan Hao compliments of our dear friend, Peter Shiau, fellow parishioner of Holy Spirit Church. Peter is a faithful patron of this restaurant and so we let him take charge of ordering the food.
Peter's choice for dinner for three included claypot beef brisket with bamboo shoot and mushroom, steamed marble goby in premium soya sauce, steamed prawn in garlic and stir-fried asparagus in spicy XO sauce.
The first dish to arrive was the claypot beef brisket. The bite-size chunks of beef brisket were braised to tender perfection and I simply love it. What I personally liked about this dish is that the beef brisket was well marinated and stewed long enough for the meat to fully absorbed the flavours of the Chef's home-made sauce. The mushroom were soft and chewable, on the harder hand, the strips of bamboo shoots were pleasantly crunchy.
The steamed prawn in garlic was delicious but somewhat missed the mark for me. I would have preferred more garlic and perhaps a dash of ginger to give the dish more ommph. And the use of a more delicate tasting sauce would have done more justice to the prawns.
For greens, we had stir-fried asparagus in a spicy XO sauce. Overall, a good dish but I would have preferred the asparagus to be blanched a tad longer. The XO sauce was tasty but lacked the level of spiciness I was expecting especially for a dish that was described as 'spicy'.
For me, the highlight of the meal had to be the steamed marble goby in soya sauce. More commonly known to Singaporeans as 'Soon Hock', this is a favourite fish for steaming especially when they are caught fresh from the tank. Soon Hock has a huge demand among the Chinese in our region because its white-opaque flesh is highly delicate in both texture and taste. The one we had was certainly fresh - the meat was firm and the flakes stayed intact when cut into bite-size pieces. The Chef used premium soya sauce which was a very important consideration for preparing this Hong Kong-style dish. I enjoyed this dish very much and give it very high marks for freshness of ingredient, presentation and skill in its preparation. It is priced at $12 per 100gm and our 800gm specimen was $96 before taxes.
The brilliantly executed claypot beef brisket and steam marble goby are enough to convince me that Chef Brian has achieved his strife in culinary excellence.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Marriott Hotel Tang Plaza
320 Orchard Road, Level 3
Singapore 238835
Ambiance: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Pricing: $$$
Recommendation: Steamed marble goby Hong Kong Style, Claypot beef brisket
We had dinner recently at Wan Hao compliments of our dear friend, Peter Shiau, fellow parishioner of Holy Spirit Church. Peter is a faithful patron of this restaurant and so we let him take charge of ordering the food.
Peter's choice for dinner for three included claypot beef brisket with bamboo shoot and mushroom, steamed marble goby in premium soya sauce, steamed prawn in garlic and stir-fried asparagus in spicy XO sauce.
The first dish to arrive was the claypot beef brisket. The bite-size chunks of beef brisket were braised to tender perfection and I simply love it. What I personally liked about this dish is that the beef brisket was well marinated and stewed long enough for the meat to fully absorbed the flavours of the Chef's home-made sauce. The mushroom were soft and chewable, on the harder hand, the strips of bamboo shoots were pleasantly crunchy.
The steamed prawn in garlic was delicious but somewhat missed the mark for me. I would have preferred more garlic and perhaps a dash of ginger to give the dish more ommph. And the use of a more delicate tasting sauce would have done more justice to the prawns.
For greens, we had stir-fried asparagus in a spicy XO sauce. Overall, a good dish but I would have preferred the asparagus to be blanched a tad longer. The XO sauce was tasty but lacked the level of spiciness I was expecting especially for a dish that was described as 'spicy'.
For me, the highlight of the meal had to be the steamed marble goby in soya sauce. More commonly known to Singaporeans as 'Soon Hock', this is a favourite fish for steaming especially when they are caught fresh from the tank. Soon Hock has a huge demand among the Chinese in our region because its white-opaque flesh is highly delicate in both texture and taste. The one we had was certainly fresh - the meat was firm and the flakes stayed intact when cut into bite-size pieces. The Chef used premium soya sauce which was a very important consideration for preparing this Hong Kong-style dish. I enjoyed this dish very much and give it very high marks for freshness of ingredient, presentation and skill in its preparation. It is priced at $12 per 100gm and our 800gm specimen was $96 before taxes.
The brilliantly executed claypot beef brisket and steam marble goby are enough to convince me that Chef Brian has achieved his strife in culinary excellence.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Marriott Hotel Tang Plaza
320 Orchard Road, Level 3
Singapore 238835
Ambiance: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Pricing: $$$
Recommendation: Steamed marble goby Hong Kong Style, Claypot beef brisket
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