Royal Si Chuan Cuisine....

I'm pretty amazed with the power the media has nowadays. From time to time, we will be exposed to video's or documentaries on different types of cuisine from all over the world. Been a big fan of spicy food, there's always a cuisine that never fail to amazes me and that would be 'Si Chuan' cuisine. Here's a fact, the genuine 'Si Chuan Ma La' steamboat can really numb and burn your tongue. The best part is the 'Si Chuan' locals can consistently frequent a good quality 'Si Chuan' steamboat restaurant for more than 3~4 times a week and that is complete madness for me.

Here comes the Chinese appetizer, also known as 'Cold Dish'...

'Marinated Spicy Baby Octopus'(麻辣八爪鱼)
I love to eat Baby Octopus. Wherever I go, regardless whether
it's a Chinese or Japanese restaurant, I would definitely go
for this. How spicy can this be? Just by looking at the amount
of spicy oil, I think that should more or less answer your
question. But as for myself, I loved it. The plate was emptied
within minutes. (By the way, most of the photos that was taken
that day turned out to be pretty bad. Wondering whether I'm
shaking with excitement or I'm just giving excuses... :P)

'Marinated Jelly Fish'(凉拌海蜇)
As quite an number of the items on the menu are spicy stuff,
this is one of the most harmless yet delicious appetizer.
Grabbing a few bites from this dish after giving some of
the spicy stuff a try is remarkably good. The feeling is
pretty much the same like Winter?

'Chong Qing' Chilled Chicken in Spicy Bean Paste(重庆口水鸡)
This sets as the starting point for all the spicy dishes.
Though it's spicy, but it's served cold. The meat of the
chicken is pretty much similar to those that can be found
in a plate of Chicken Rice, but once it's surrounded with
a pool of Spicy Bean Paste, it's a different kind of story.

Soup wise....
I have completely forgotten to take photos of the soup that I have tried. I have tried 3 different types of soup and they are 'Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Bamboo Pith'(红烧竹笙鱼翅), 'Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup'(四川酸辣汤) and 'Eight Treasures Seafood Soup'(海鲜八宝鱼翅汤). For the soup that comes with Shark's Fin, the looks of the soup might look ordinary but the taste is definitely there. Oh by the way, one good point about the soup of this place, would be the fact that they are pretty generous with the ingredients. You can easily find all the ingredients inside the soup. As for the 'Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup', probably too much ingredient was added into the soup, therefore the taste of it is very different from Thai 'Tom Yam' Soup. If you like Thai 'Tom Yam' soup, you might not like this. By the way, always remember to place an order for the 'Eight Treasures Seafood Soup' at the very end else the look of it might disturb your appetite.

Next stop... animals from the sea...:P

'Boiled Sliced Fish in Sichuan Pepper Sauce'(水煮鱼片)
This is suppose to be a speciality of this place, but we
think that it isn't as good as the 'Diced Chicken'(below).
Though the texture of the sliced fish is pretty good, but
it isn't as 'shiok' as the 'Diced Chicken'. Probably the
'Diced Chicken' was served first and therefore...

'??? Fish'
I don't quite remember what's the name of this dish, but
it has proven me right. One good reason why I love ala-carte
buffet would be the generosity. You can place an order for
one big plate of cooked fish without the need of sharing it
with the other customers. Though the taste is pretty normal
but it has given me sufficient self satisfaction.:P
(If you know the name of this dish, please help me out here.)

'Fresh Scallop & Cuttlefish with Garlic & Chilli'(鱼香带子花枝片)
Probably because everyone was pretty full when this dish
arrive, therefore we ended up finishing all the Scallop
and Cuttlefish only. Though the vegetables look pretty rich
in colour but I don't remember anyone touching it. :P

By the way, we have also given some of the prawn dishes a try, but I guess that only the 'Deep-fried Prawns with Wasabi'(日式炸虾) turned out to be the best. Though the prawns isn't very big in size but I think everyone enjoyed it.

Next stop... animals from the land...:P

''Chong Qing' Diced Chicken with Spicy Dried Chilli'(重庆辣子鸡)
This would be my second encounter with this dish. It's
like burying all the crispy diced chicken in a mountain
of spicy dried chilli. If you are a hard core fan of spicy
food, this is a must try. (Drop me a message if you want
a even more spicier version of the same dish. :D)

Time to be healthy...:P

'Braised Egg Plant with Minced Garlic & Chilli'(鱼香茄条)
I got to admit that I'm not a big fan of Egg Plant.
Especially when most of the hawkers out there will
ended up serving a soft and ugly version of it. But
as for this dish, the Egg Plant are crunchy and this
is my first encounter with a red coloured Egg Plant.
Though the look of it looks kinda scary and spicy, but
looks can be deceiving. (Or maybe after all the spicy
dishes, my tongue has attain a higher level...?)

'Braised Seasonal Vegetables with Bamboo Pith'(竹笙扒时蔬)
There isn't a lot of places that are willing to use
Bamboo Pith as one of the ingredients for cooking,
especially when the amount of time needed for it to
soften quite be a big hassle. Though vegetables can be
good to our body but the portion that was given was too
big. Rice was also used in preparing this dish and trying
trying to finish up the whole dish is a disastrous act. ==""

One of my favourite topic... Noodles... :D

'Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles'(四川担担面)
Luckily all the noodles come in a small bowl and it's
probably the size of 3~4 bites only. Though the texture
and the taste of the noodles are pretty good but there
isn't sufficient ingredients to go with it. :(

Desserts coming your way...

'Fresh Mango Pudding'(芒果布丁)
Just by looking at the colour of the Mango Pudding, it
already appears to be pretty dull in colour. Probably they
have used a minimum amount of water in preparing this,
therefore the taste of the Mango is pretty strong and
I love it. (It's so good that I wanted to go for the
second one and it's already sold out... =="")

'Fine Beancurd with Wolfberries'(枸杞甜豆花)
By adding or combining Beancurd and Wolfberries together,
it's like pushing the sweetness of this dessert to another
level. Though I loved Beancurd but I still thinks that this
is too sweet for me. But in overall this is still much tastier
than putting Beancurd and Glass Jelly together. (>.<)""

So what's the name of this restaurant?
The name of this restaurant would be 'Si Chuan Dou Hua'(四川豆花飯莊). They currently have 3 branches in Singapore. They are 'Parkroyal (Beach Road)', 'Level 60 of UOB Plaza' and 'Parkroyal (Kitchener Road)'.

Notes:

• You probably want to make a reservation in advance if you want to have your dinner there. Making a reservation a week earlier will be highly recommended.
• One of the better ways to try most of the items that are listed on their menu would be the ongoing '60 Dishes Deluxe Feast' promotion. I have tried going for the normal ala carte meals and it can cost twice as much as the '60 Dishes Deluxe Feast' promotion. ==

* Click here for the website of this restaurant 'Si Chuan Dou Hua'(四川豆花飯莊).
^ Click here for the promotions of this restaurant 'Si Chuan Dou Hua'(四川豆花飯莊).
~ Click here to find out more about 'Si Chuan Dou Hua'(四川豆花飯莊).
# Click here for some recommendation on 'Si Chuan' steamboat.
! Click here to find out more about Parkroyal on Kitchener Road.