Peach Blossom @ Marina Mandarin – CNY 2012

I know Christmas has yet to pass, but I can’t help but look forward to Chinese New Year. Let’s be honest here: the season of receiving (red packets) is always better than the season of giving. In light of preparation for this auspicious festival, Six&Seven was fortunate to be invited down to the newly revamped Peach Blossom @ Marina Mandarin to try out their Chinese New Year 2012 menu.

Peach Blossom recently underwent a facelift to mark the hotel’s upcoming 25^th anniversary. Although I am unable to comment on the new design of the restaurant (due to a lack of knowledge, rather than being polite), the restaurant resounds of a traditional Chinese feel with its rosewood furniture.

Like every other traditional Chinese-Singaporean, we began the meal with the Yu Sheng ($68 for 4-6 people/$118 for 10 people). Instead of the conventional raw slices of salmon, the Peach Blossom has opted to have charcoal-grilled Wagyu Beef in its place. Traditionally, the slices of salmon symbolized the Chinese proverb 年年有余; I am unsure how the beef is able to replace the fish in this proverb. (年年有牛? Or perhaps its Happy 牛 year!). Nevertheless, the beef was perfection, though I think it did not go that well with the sesame dressing.

The next dish we had was the Double boiled chicken broth with gingko nuts and cordycep flower ($35 per person). The soup was not bursting with flavours as I hoped that it would be. The chicken on the other hand, must have absorbed all the flavours from the soup as it was rich in taste. If not for the medicinal value of the cordycep flowers found in the soup, I didn’t think this dish justified its hefty price tag.

Before the dish arrived, I could smell the aroma of the coveted truffle that filled the room. I was definitely excited about the Baked lobster with sliced garlic and white truffle oil (Available in Harmonious Set Menu at $1488 for 10 persons). I had such high hopes for the dish, till I began on it.

It is kind of feeling you get when you finally ascend the MBS – you had high hopes for it till you actually got up there. While I give credit to the aromatic usage of truffles, taste wise was lacking somewhere (garlic might have killed it). I looked around the table, and it seemed I was not the only one that fighting to get the lobster meat out with my knife and fork.

Next up was the Peach Blossom abalone treasures pot ($398 for a serving up to 10 people). The dish was a massive pot that was filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures – abalones, fish maw, roast duck, roast pork, etc. The broth was bursting with flavours of rich complexity from all the treasures. (I had to restrain myself from making the embarrassment of asking for some bread to dip).  The roast pork’s skin amazingly retained its crisp despite soaked in the broth. The only let down was the prawns, which were a tad overcooked. It seems the restaurant has crustacean problems.

Our final dish was the Steamed marble goby with fragrant and raw minced garlic (Available both a la carte and set menus starting from $388++ for 4 people). At that price, you will be guaranteed the freshness of the fish. I was a tad disappointed though that this was the second dish where I felt the Chef’s choice of garlic killed the dish. While it did add a nice flavour to the fish, I felt the Chef could have taken the usage of garlic down a notch. Or two.

To end of the sumptuous meal, we got to try 2 new Nian gao creations – Water chestnut cake with osmanthus and red dates cake with coconut milk ($28.80 each). The former was interesting, as the tiny bits of chestnuts that offered a slight crunch to the dish gave it a new perspective. The latter was good, but really difficult to tear apart. It was oddly glued together to the extent it would be easier to just pop the entire piece into my mouth.

With its rather lackluster menu, Peach Blossoms did not impress me as much as I hoped it would. While there were a couple of saves in some dishes, it is not enough for me to consider Peach Blossoms as my personal first choice – especially during a celebration that demands nothing less than perfection. As Chinese New Year is still more than a month away, perhaps the Chef should take this time to return to ‘Crustaceans 101′ and further refine some dishes before embarking on higher complexities.

Did it turn us on?
Erm..

Peach Blossoms  鸿桃轩
Level 5, Marina Mandarin Singapore
6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
Singapore 039594

Telephone: (65) 6845 1111 / 6845 1118

Operating hours:
Daily Lunch: 12pm to 2.30pm
Daily Dinner: 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday, 11am to 2.30pm

The Chinese New Year offerings will be available from 16 January 2012 to 6 February 2012.