Hua Ting @ Orchard Hotel

My family came here for dinner to celebrate my mother's birthday. Hua Ting is located at Orchard Hotel and serves Cantonese cuisine. It is helmed by Chef Chan Kwok, a rather well-known culinary master who has been with the restaurant since 1997. 

Roast duck, $70

Hua Ting is well known for its roast duck, but I have been here several times and there have been hits and misses. Tonight's was definitely a hit, and was the best I have tried so far. The skin was delightfully crispy, but not to the point of being too dry. And the meat was tender and succulent. Definitely one of the best roast ducks in Singapore! Now, if only they can maintain this standard consistently...

Braised homemade emerald beancurd with local spinach,
topped with fresh crab meat and roe, $10 per serving

My mother liked this because it was quite light, but that was the reason why I didn't really like it. The crab sauce looked rich, but it was too bland and the distinct sweetness of crab was definitely lacking. The beancurd was still quite good, though.

Baked pork ribs with lemon grass, $9

Somehow, I don't think that this dish is special just because they inserted one piece of lemon grass into the pork. It was pan-fried quite well and rather tender, but... something was missing from the dish, and I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Stir fried dou miao with bamboo and prawn roe

The dou miao was fantastic. Unfortunately, that was all. The bamboo chunks had a sour tinge to them, and the prawn roe... wait, what prawn roe? I totally couldn't taste the prawn roe at all.

Braised minced venison with fish belly and egg white soup, $12 per bowl

This was quite disappointing. There was nothing special about it, and the minced venison did not really taste good. The soup could use a bit more salt, and the taste should be richer as well.

Seafood hor fun

After the roast duck, this was the best dish tonight. The hor fun had just the right amount of 'smoky' taste, and the ingredients (scallops, fish, prawns) were all very fresh.

Chilled aloe vera with fresh fruits in whole young coconut, $12

This was a wonderfully refreshing dessert that was deceptively filling. Dragonfruit and mangoes were cut into small cubes and added into a small young coconut, along with aloe vera. The coconut was delightfully tender and delicious, but as I mentioned earlier, it was extremely filling.