My first encounter with Chef Melvin Lim's creation of Ah Hood Burger was during the Ultimate Hawker Festival 2014. It was a combination of Savoury Kong Ba Bao and Salted Egg Yolk Lobster Crab Cake with Curry Mayonnaise. I was impressed by its creativity and the tastiness of its creation.
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| Savoury Kong Ba Bao and Salted Egg Yolk Lobster Crab Cake with Curry Mayonnaise - during UHF 2014 |
So when
we were looking for a place for a friends' gathering, we decided to
give Flavours of Zhongshan a try. The Chef had just recently came out
with a Semi Buffet Zichar. In case you are confused, it is a
combination of buffet spread with some ala minute zichar dishes. It
is also a fusion style of cooking where the some of the dishes are
the meeting between East and West style of cooking.
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| Table Setting with the Zichar Menu. |
For
starters, we decided to attack the buffet counter. The cold seafood
selection have salmon sashimi, prawns, scallops and mussels. The
sashimi are fresh and decent. Although the sashimi are not the top
of the line, it is good enough. The scallops, mussels and prawns are
fresh as well. For the papaya salad and glass noodle salad, Little
Devil (LD) feels that it has been toned down to suit the common
folks. Unlike the original Thai version.
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| Cold Seafood, Salad and Salmon Sashimi |
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| Salmon Sashimi |
In the mix salad sections you can choose from the local version of DIY Rojak or the Ceasar Salad, the western version. We tried the local version, we find the Rojak paste is quite tasty. There was even an oven to toast the you tiao. On that day, they have western version of suckling pig. Although the meat is tender, the skin was very disappointing. It has become 'lembek' (Indonesian word soft, chewy and tough).
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| Rojak Station |
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| The final outcome |
The
pre-cooked dishes are combination of local flavours such as beef
rendang, babi pongteh, Bak Kut Teh, steam pork ribs, scallops
dumpling and kueh paitee. The one that impressed me the most is the
Beef Rendang. It basically melts in your mouth and rich in flavour.
So far it is the best dish for the night. The BKT is not far behind,
the peppery broth provide a good wake up call for the appetite.
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| From Top Left Clockwise: Suckling Pig, Beef Rendang, Scallops Dumpling, Kueh Paitee, Bak Kut Teh & Babi Pongteh |
Now, for
the ZiChar part of the meal. For entree, we were served Crispy Beer
Marinated Pork Belly, Deep Fried Scallops Tofu with Seaweed Salad and
Baked Miso Cod. The pork belly was tender and well flavoured by the
beer marinate, however the skin was not crispy, instead it was chewy.
The scallops was moist internally, really complement the light and
crispy batter. Meanwhile the cod fish was just tasty and cooked just
right.
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| Crispy Beer Marinated Pork Belly, Deep Fried Scallops Tofu with Seaweed Salad and Baked Miso Cod |
Next we
can choose two out of three for beef, pork and chicken. We decided on
Black Pepper Beef and Pork in Red Wine Honey Ginger. The beef was
just tender, succulent with a little bit of heat coming from the
black pepper sauce. Although the pork was considerably tender but the
taste was just quite ordinary for me.
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| Black Pepper Beef |
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| Pork in Red Wine Honey Ginger |
For
seafood, we have Butter Cereal Prawn and Fish in Flavours Signature
Sauce. The prawns were fresh and the dish was just fragrant. It will
be better if the prawns are more crispy, so we can just ate the skin
without peeling it. The signature sauce was good, however there was
slightly unpleasant taste in the fish.
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| Butter Cereal Prawns |
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| Fish in Flavours Signature Sauce |
Sauteed
Kailan with Hae Bee Hiam was the pick for vegetables and Fried Rice
with “Stoccafisso” Salted cod to round up the CiZhar dishes. I
did not manage to try the vegetables, but from others they commented
that the Hae Bee Hiam lacks of punch. The fried rice got a decent wok
hei, it has a subtle saltiness from the cod fish.
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| Sauteed Kailan with Hae Bee Hiam |
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| Fried Rice with “Stoccafisso” Salted cod |
Desserts
from the buffet with choices of soft serve ice cream, Peranakan
desserts & Shots, cakes, French Pastries and Tau Suan. I was
totally stuffed, so I end up with only with Durian pengat shot, which
was packs with durian flavours and well-balanced with gula melaka;
And some fresh fruits. One of our friend commented that the soft
serve ice cream tasted more like a full whipped cream instead of ice
cream.
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| From Top Left Clockwise: French and Peranakan Pastries; Fresh fruits, Jelly Shots and Durian Pengat; Soft serve ice cream; And Durian Pengat Shot |
The décor
of the place is bright with a combination of modern with Peranakan
flair. Lots of flower were used to decorate the table or divider
between seats.
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| Normal Table Set Up |
Service
was very good. The service staff was friendly and attentive. Although
we have a bit of mix up during the reservation, the restaurant
gracefully corrected the mistake.
Overall,
Flavours at Zhongsan Park provide a good spread for its ZiChar semi
buffet. While it is good trying to impress customer with ZiChar
dishes, but most of the dishes are ordinary and lacks a 'ohm' taste.
With the exception for the beef rendang, baked cod fish from amuse
bouche and durian pengat shots, the only other memorable thing for me
are the friendliness of the service staff. There are lots of room for
improvements, I do hope it can be done soon. Cheers!!
Food
& Drink: 6.5/10
Value:
6/10
Service:
8/10
Ambiance:
8.5/10
Budget per Person: $26 - $50, $51 – 80.
$40++ per adult, $20++ per child (4 - 12 years of age)
$48++ per adult, $24++ per child (4 - 12 years of age)
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