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| Cherry Garden Luxurious Pen Cai |
Pen Cai (Pooh Choi / Peng Chai) which literally means “Basin
Vegetables” is a traditional Chinese New Year dish from the old
days. It was first created for the Emperor and has been passed down
to the current generation. In the olden days, Pen Cai is normally
served in wooden basin where it is assemble with the dishes from the
festive praying offerings. In modern time, Pen Cai is served in
claypot as it is easier to reheat and retain the heat as well.
In
Singapore, Cherry Garden is known for its amazing Cherry Garden
Luxurious Pen Cai (豪华盆菜).
Singapore's largest traditional 'basin dish', weighing more than 25
kilogrammes and measuring up to 45 cm in diameter. Knowing it is
Cherry Garden, you can expect the best ingredients are used for this
Pen Cai.
This
auspicious basin shown here is enough for 10 pax or more. It will
take three rounds of serving to finish all the ingredients inside.
1st
serving was lobster, braised four-head abalone, scallop and prawn.
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| 1st serving: lobster, braised four-head abalone, scallop and prawn |
2nd
serving was dried oyster roll, meatball with tangerine skin, cabbage
and black moss
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| 2nd serving: dried oyster roll, meatball with tangerine skin, cabbage and black moss |
3rd
serving was sea cucumber, roasted duck, roasted pork belly, and
mushroom. Not seen in the photos are conpoy (dried scallops), dace
fillet, lotus chicken and waxed sausage.
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| 3rd serving: sea cucumber, roasted duck, roasted pork belly, and mushroom |
It was definitely a superb dish, where all ingredients are cooked
just right before it was assemble. Other than the ingredients, the
highlight for me was the gravy. It is slightly thick but not sticky
till overpowering. It tasted like a solid robust broth, flavourful
and it is the key ingredient that binds the rest of ingredients
together. Absolutely Delicious!!
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| Prosperity Yu Sheng with Salmon and Crispy Fish Skin |
Of
course not to be missed is Prosperity Yu Sheng with Salmon and Crispy
Fish Skin (风生水起鱼生).
A nicely decorated Yu Sheng. Crunchy, refreshing intertwined with
bold flavours from the pickled ingredients. It is slightly sweet, but
it was just addictive as you feel like you wanted more.
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| Yu Sheng - Serving Size |
Balancing
the heavy meal were Stir-fried seasonal vegetables with black garlic
(黑蒜时蔬)
and Wok-fried mushrooms and celery with XO sauce (XO
酱芹香炒珍菌).
The mini bok choy is stir-fried with black garlic exudes a similar
fragrance like truffle. The wok-fried mushrooms and celery with XO
sauce has a nice crunchy feel to it. I do wish their XO sauce has a
bolder taste to it.
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| Wok-fried mushrooms and celery with XO sauce |
The staple food was Braised
Shanghai Nian Gao with Kurobuta pork and mixed vegetables (黑豚肉焖上海年糕).
Came in a mini portion, which was good after such a heavy Pen Cai
meal. The Nian Gao (rice cake) is chewy in a good way as you will
take your time to appreciate the well-absorbed pork flavour in the
dish.
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| Braised Shanghai Nian Gao with Kurobuta pork and mixed vegetables |
Dessert
was Cherry Garden Trilogy dessert delight: Organic
black bean pudding with Japanese sesame ice-cream (黑珍珠);
Chilled cream of mango, sago pearls, pomelo, lime sorbet (青柠雪芭杨枝甘露);
and Cherries in nue er hong and aged kuei hua wine cocktail jelly
served with refreshing lychee sorbet (樱桃红).
Each one of them has it own unique characteristics, but my main pick
remain as the Chilled cream of Mango.
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| Desserts: Chilled cream of mango, sago pearls, pomelo, lime sorbet; Cherries in nue er hong and aged kuei hua wine cocktail jelly served with refreshing lychee sorbet; Organic black bean pudding with Japanese sesame ice-cream. |
The
dishes that I tasted above is based on the menu of $138 per pax (min
6 pax). In which the dessert offered Chilled cream of mango, sago
pearls, pomelo, lime sorbet (青柠雪芭杨枝甘露).
Overall, it was a memorable dining experience. The Pen Cai definitely
got my Yummy and my Die Die Must Try tick. So for this Chinese New
Year Dining, definitely must consider Cherry Garden. Cheers!
Usher
in the Year of the Fire Rooster at Cherry Garden
When: 05 January – 11 February 2017
Where: Cherry Garden (Dine-in & Take Away)
Reservation:
Call +65 6885 3500 or e-mail mosin-dining@mohg.com
For
Festive Takeaway: Call +65 6885 3081 or e-mail mosin-festive@mogh.com
Thank you very much to Mandarin Oriental Team for the tasting
Invitation.
Food
& Drink: 9/10
Value:
7.5/10
Service:
N/A (Tasting Invitation)
Ambiance:
9/10
Budget per Person: $81 and Above
Cherry
Garden
5 Raffles Avenue
Level 5, Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Singapore 039797
T: +65 6885 3500
IG: @MO_Singapore
OH:
Lunch, Mon – Fri: 12.00 – 14.30
Brunch,
Sat, Sun & PH: 11.00 – 13.00 (1st
Seating), 13.30 – 15.30 (2nd
Seating)
Dinner: Daily: 18.30 – 22.30
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