I have forgotten when my first visit to Singapore was, but it was at least 25 years ago. One thing I still remember, however, was going to the Mandarin Hotel for chicken rice. It was very expensive, but I did not regret the decision. While I did visit a few times afterwards, more recently it was no longer on my list, but knowing they are having outlets in HK, today I came to Kai Tak Airside to see how it compares.The design is casual and fun, with rattan chairs and banquette seats, a cartoon style mural on one wall depicting the Singapore neighbourhood and signature dishes like laksa and chicken rice. The restaurant is quite big in size, with even some private rooms which can accommodate groups who want more privacy.We ordered the signature Mandarin Chicken ($188 half). The Hainanese chicken is very tender, and paired with the homemade chili, ginger, and dark soya sauce. However, compared with my memories I found the chicken here having less flavours, not sure because of the marinade or the time of cooking. Still quite good.We also had the Double the Yum promotion, offering at a special price of $128 we are able to choose two snacks, picking Pan-Fried Carrot Cake and Otah-Otah. The carrot cake is pan-fried together with sweet soya sauce and prawns, good in savoury taste. Personally, I would like to add some chili sauce to stimulate the palate even more.The Otah-Otah is a Malay dish, essentially seared spicy fish cake wrapped in banana leaf. The patty is made to a thin sheet, nicely seasoned, and served with white toast on the side. Tasty but is quite spicy, so need to consider whether you can take that before choosing.We finish with Char Kway Teow ($128), with the wok-fried rice noodles nicely cooked at high temperature, with prawns, scallops, squid, Chinese sausages and crispy silverfish. The amount of sweet soya sauce is also appropriate to make a good balance of savoury and sweetness. Service is decent, and the bill on the night is $488. Compared with the price at Mandarin Hotel here is more affordable, but the overall experience is much better in Singapore. Perhaps next time when I visit the country, I should revisit the restaurant again to compare. Hope that will be soon……Read More
