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It is not often that a new independently operated Cantonese restaurant can challenge established groups such as Imperial Treasure, Crystal Jade, TungLok and Paradise.
But judging by two recent lunches, the Blossom, one month old, seems to be able to do it.
The upscale restaurant is located in the middle of the Marina Bay Sands lobby and picks up the premises vacated by Jing Shan Lou, another Chinese restaurant that was moved to Park Regis Singapore in March. However, while he is new to the scene, one of the chefs at the kitchen is a very familiar face.
Chef Fok Kai Yee is a veteran from Hong Kong who has worked at renowned restaurants, including Lei Garden and, in particular, the Summer Pavilion at Ritz-Carlton, Millenia. He is now Culinary Master at Blossom and collaborates with Executive Chef Jason Lau – another Hong Konger who previously worked with the Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck – to design the menu.
While browsing the many pages, you will notice many classic Cantonese dishes with a number of high-end items served in individual portions. But spend a little more time browsing the menu and you will find that there are also a number of sharing plates at more affordable prices.
And although the expensive dishes are good, the family dishes are what would make me come back for meals with friends.
The dim sum, for example, is excellent. And what I ordered was also rather surprising.
Fun Cheong, called Steamed Red Rice Roll packed with crispy rice and scallops ($ 7.80 per plate), is not your usual white sheet soaked in soy sauce .
Instead, the scarlet rolls are cut into pieces and served dry, resembling strange sausages. But they were really good. The crispy rice gave a good crunch in the mouth and the steamed scallop pieces were sweet.
The har-gau, called "Steamed Shrimp Ball Blossom Signature" ($ 7.80 for four), was also not your usual white package, it had a nice palette of gray on the translucent skin . It had a taste of ordinary har gou, and a very good one too.
I tried the Royal Secret Smoked Duck ($ 40 for half) at my first lunch and I was captivated by the tender and tasty meat. At the second visit, I ordered the Chicken, Pu-Er Tea and Chrysanthemum 15-year-old Chicken Chicken version ($ 25 for half), and that was good too – with a juicy and tender meat.
What made the two dishes more memorable was that they arrived at table, and when the lid was removed, puffs of smoke burst to greet dinner. The smoke also lingered on the meat, providing a powerful head note in the mouth.
Sliced pork necklace sautéed with lettuce in shrimp sauce ($ 28) is a home-style dish that I did not expect to see on the menu here. But it was there, in the Meat and Poultry section, and I could not ignore one of my favorite Hong Kong dishes.
The secret lies in the fermented shrimp sauce, an acquired taste that fans find irresistibly scented. Sizzled in a hot clay pot, it was the perfect flavor for crisp meat and crunchy vegetables.
I also could not stop myself from ordering the jumped bird's nest and the fresh Blossom Signature crabmeat ($ 88 per person), which corresponded to a classic shark fin dish, but a wild bird's nest replacing the more controversial Chinese delicacy.
What was amazing, is that the nest of the jumped bird had an aspect that reminded me of that of the shark fin. In this case, I did not complain about the swop. He came with a bowl of superior broth, just like the original dish.
It was delicious and if you find the price too hard to swallow, the serving is enough for two people.
If you have room, order noodles. I tried two and both were excellent.
Fish noodles filleted with Garoupa filet ($ 12 per person) came with two pieces of fish perfectly pan-fried, which justifies the price of the dish. The noodles were firmer than expected and probably contained a little more flour than fish paste, which suited me perfectly. Pure fish noodles sometimes turn out too soft for my taste.
The pasta for angel hair sautéed with scallops in XO sauce ($ 12) was also good, with creamy noodles and two pan-fried scallops topped with a gravy sauce. garlic and spicy.
The layout of the restaurant is not very different from that of the Jin Shan Lou, with the main dining room divided into two sections – one under the slender ceiling of the hotel and the Another in a more closed space leading to private rooms.
But there are now more natural wood tones and the look is more contemporary. What is totally new are two semi-private rooms designed with modern Chinese characteristics, ideal for family meals.
It is still early and the restaurant was not full at each visit. But I'm sure it will not stay long.
Follow Wong Ah Yoke on Instagram @wongahyoke
The Sunday Times paid for its meals in the restaurants examined here.
FLOWER
Hotel 2, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Marina Bay Sands Tower 2, tel: 6688-7799
Open: 11h30 to 23h (Monday to Friday), 11h to 23h (Saturday, Sunday and holidays)
Food: 4 stars
A service: 3.5 stars
atmosphere: 3.5 stars
Price: Starting at $ 70 per person, but be prepared to pay a lot more for luxury dishes
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