Saturday, May 14, 2011

Sichuan Dou Hua Restaurant - revisited

The first time i ate here, was when i was still a young teenager, so the only memory i have of here is that it is high (literally), food is ok, and very expensive. Oh, and of course the infamous China guy pouring hot water from a teapot with a long sprout into your cup of tea leaves. Many years later, i am back here with a group of friends to try their Deluxe 60-dishes Ala-carte buffet to celebrate a friend's birthday. As there are too many dishes to be featured, i will just give a short opinion about the individual dishes.



Sharksfin #1: Braised Sharksfin soup with bamboo pith - not too bad, we had 2nd helpings of this to make our money more worthwhile. Sharksfin given is the smaller variety, not those huge ones you see in lavish dinners.

Sharksfin #2: Braised 8-Treasures Seafood soup - kind of misleading, we didnt expect to see a spinach soup base. didnt really count if there are 8 treasures though, but overall, a lighter soup than the 1st one. Non-vegetable lovers will not like this, as the spinach taste is quite evident

Deep-fried soft shell crab - not bad, not very oily, pretty light

Marinated jellyfish - i didnt try this, but friend said it was very spicy

Sliced pork with minced garlic and chilli sauce - didnt like this, garlic taste was too overpowering, quite spicy

Roasted crispy chicken with onion sauce - average restaurant-style roast chicken

Prawn dish #1: Prawns with cashew nuts and dried chilli - prawns were fresh and succulent, a little spicy

Prawn dish #2: Cereal prawns - prawns were nice and fresh too, but cereal lacked the fragrance

Fish dish #1: Steamed red tilapia with minced garlic sauce - fish was quite bland, but pairing it with the sauce is much better. friend feels that the "mud" taste of this fish is too strong, but i couldnt feel it as i grew up eating this fish so its fine for me. overall, not a recommended dish.

Fish dish #2: Crispy fried soon hock fish - a much better dish than the 1st one, fish was quite fresh, meat was softer. Clearly a more popular dish among my friends.

Stir-fried seasonal vegetables with crabmeat - didnt like this dish. vegetables were not very fresh, and slightly over-cooked. crabmeat was chunky, but no taste at all.

Braised beancurd with seafood - your normal cze char dish that you can find in many restaurants, pretty average, but at least much better than the vegetables.

Oriental fried rice - this is quite nice for those who like their rice grains separated and slightly drier (like me), quite flavourful too, but it fills up tummy space!


Dessert #1: Crispy fried sesame ball - i personally quite like this as it is not very oily, and has a distinct sesame fragrance, with the muah-chee-like filling providing a chewy and sticky texture to it. if not because i was too stuffed by the time dessert came, i would have taken more of it.

Dessert #2: Fine beancurd with wolfberries - one of their signature desserts (hence the restaurant name), the beancurd was smooth and silky, and the syrup was sweet enough to add taste, but not cloyingly sweet. a must try!

Dessert #3: Mango pudding - quite bland for a dessert, no evident mango taste

Dessert #4: Sichuan Red Bean pancake - maybe it is because i don't like red bean, i didnt really like this dessert, and found it a little more oily than the sesame ball, but not as oily as other restaurants elsewhere.

Overall, the standard of dishes are pretty ok, but i feel it is over-priced on weekends at $42++, the most i would pay for this standard would probably be their weekday (Mon-Thurs) price at $38++, considering the location, and that it is a fine-dining restaurant. I won't mind coming back again to try the rest of the dishes though.


Sichuan Dou Hua Restaurant
Lev 60, UOB Plaza 1

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