Restaurant HOME

There's no place like home, and there is no greater pride than having our very own local Gordon Ramsay in Singapore. Award-winning Chef Tan Yong Hua is not only the FIRST Singaporean chef to emerge triumphant in Iron Chef Thailand, but also a winner of a gold and 2 silver medals at the prestigious 6th World Championship of Chinese Cuisine in China. Now, he has his very own Restaurant HOME brand on his shoulders at The Rail Mall. Is his craft comparable to that of non home-grown brands? Let my tastebuds tell you more. (Read till the end of the post for an ongoing promotion at Restaurant HOME)

Chef Tan Yong Hua with his signature smoky, tantalising duck!

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Barbecued Peking Duck with Lychee Wood

炭烧荔枝木烤鸭 — SGD $68 (Whole Duck)

The Peking Duck is Chef Tan's signature dish! If you order a whole duck, you get a three-in-one dish presented to you. First, the skin from the breast is served together with palm and white sugar. Chef Tan knows his duck really well, and pointed out that this part is the prime cut of the duck. Indeed, it was extremely crispy even while retaining much of the duck's juices. It's best eaten with the mixed palm and white sugar so that the varied flavours melt evenly in your mouth.

Meat from the whole duck

Next, the sliced duck meat is served together with cucumbers, leeks, sweet hoisin sauce and crepes. I was surprised we had to put the ingredients together ourselves as most Chinese restaurants serve up ready-made Peking duck crepes. Chef Tan explained that upon exposure, the crepes lose moisture quickly and turn hard. They were thus served in a dim sum steamer which we could cover to retain the moisture.

Warm and soft freshly-steamed crepes.

The dish was perfectly balanced and had a therapeutic yin-and-yang feel to it. The cucumber and leek formed the yin food, while the yang food was the meat and hoisin sauce. Combined into the crepe, the dish was both richly savoury and sweet at the same time. Just as Chef Tan pointed out, the crepe was satisfyingly chewy, probably because it was thicker than most other crepes.

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Baked Marble Goby in Claypot with Chef Tan In-house Recipe 

炭烧焗鼎锅笋壳 — $9 per 100g

Initially stir-fried with lemon grass, galangal, spring onions and oil, the fish is then steamed in Chinese white wine, ginger and parsley for about 7 to 9 minutes. The taste is extremely compact; the fish packs some strong flavours without any unpleasant fishy smell. I would highly recommend this as a sharing portion for about 4-5 people.

Chef Tan explains the intricacies of cooking up a perfect dish

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Homemade Egg Bean Curd with Shrimp Paste, Crabmeat and Roe in Pi Pa Style 

珊瑚琵琶豆腐 — SGD $18

My first reaction to this dish was: Where is the tofu? It seemed as though it was drowned in shrimp paste, crabmeat and roe, but lo and behold, looks are deceiving! The egg bean curd almost melted in my mouth without any vigorous chewing and I thought I could slurp the entire dish down all by myself! It was really fragrant and extremely fresh and soft. Visually, the dish doesn't appear that pleasing but it is victorious in the sensory realms of taste, smell and texture. Contrasted with some other tofu dishes with rough skin and partly burnt edges, this dish was evenly cooked. I couldn't pick out the individual elements of shrimp paste, crabmeat and roe because they had fused into a thick and rich gravy, and one that was absolutely sumptuous.

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Three Kinds of Vegetables Wok-fried in X.O. Chili Sauce 

酱皇烧田圆 — SGD $18

A trio of broccoli, asparagus and snow peas wok-fried in X.O. sauce

Crunchiness defines this dish. The vegetables were sweet and fresh, with a spice kick from the sprinkling of chili flakes. However, I thought the portion was smaller than average. The X.O. chili sauce provides the flavour that unites the dish. This is clearly not for you if you don't like spicy flavours in your food!

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Deep-Fried Duck with Dried Chili, Roasted Minced Garlic and Capsicum Pepper Fine Salt

桥低避风塘鸭件— SGD $10

This dish is created from the meat left over from the Peking Duck. For an additional $10, the remaining meat can be prepared in one of three ways: as a stew with vegetables, beancurd and mushrooms, wok-fried with ginger and onion, or deep-fried with garlic and chili. The latter version provided a huge contrast to the flavours experienced earlier, and I was surprised at the various ways in which duck meat could be cooked. I thought the capsicum pepper fine salt was slightly overpowering though, and so I didn't really fancy this dish.

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Stewed Golden Noodles with Lobster and Spring Onions wrapped in O Ba Leaf 

乌巴叶姜葱龙虾焖黄面— SGD $12.50 / 100 gm

The lobster is great enough to be a dish on its own. The huge chunks of briny crustacean made it extremely satisfying to devour, and I didn't think lobster paired with stewed noodles would make such a winning combination. I really loved the creative presentation of this dish, and coupled with the tantalising flavours, it definitely deserves high praise.

Stewed Golden Noodles

While I thought the noodles looked like bee hoon, they actually had a bouncier texture, and the strands were easily separated. In other words, it's easy to divide the noodles into serving portions because they are not clumped together.

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Soup of the Day (Old Cucumber Soup)

老黄瓜汤 — SGD$20

Have you ever had a dish which gives you a heartwarming feeling of home and family? This old cucumber soup is a familiar favourite of mine, and I would say there is a sweet finish to every spoonful. It was only later that I realized the usual pork ribs were replaced with chicken, and this little twist certainly did no harm at all to the taste of this ubiquitous traditional favourite.

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Homemade Ramen with 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone 

8头网鲍拉面 — SGD $26

We had a sampling portion of the 8 Head Quality Amidori Abalone, and oh my goodness! The abalone had a really chewy texture and I truly enjoyed the dish. The abalone itself is the star and highlight of this dish, and the simple, pared-down presentation allows it to truly shine.

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Crispy Roast Pork with Homemade Yellow Noodles

干捞烧腩仔肉黄面  — SGD $24

The roast pork is extremely crispy because it is initially boiled before being placed in the steamer and then dripped dry. The layers of pork were almost fused into one, with no visible signs of fat at all. It was indeed very crispy, and there was a slight hint of saltiness cutting through the various flavours.

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Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood served with Homemade Yellow Noodles 

干捞荔枝木烧鸭黄面 — SGD $24

This dish wasn't as good as the earlier Peking Duck portions as it was a tad too dry. If you are looking for a simple single-portion meal, this should cut it, though my personal preference would be to order the Peking Duck over this dish.

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Chilled Japanese Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice Served in Pumpkin 

金盅南瓜紫米露— SGD$10

Another thoughtful presentation that looked like a dish for Halloween. The pumpkin puree with black glutinous rice was heavenly as I could taste the simple pureness of the dessert. It almost gave me goosebumps because I felt it was really light and pleasantly satisfying. I would highly recommend this.

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Chilled Rosella Flower Jelly with Diced Mango 

洛神冻 — SGD $6

This chilled Rosella Flower Jelly makes a great takeaway for sleepyheads, in particular those who encounter after-lunch drowsiness. It really perked me up because of the shocking flavours of extreme sourness, though my friend who is used to the taste of Rosella thought it was perfect. My shoulders and arms trembled with each bite as I tried to suppress my equally sour facial expressions, but I guess the health benefits of this dish make it a great conclusion to the feast. 

Restaurant HOME is currently offering a 1-for-1 Set Lunch promotion (min 4 pax) on top of the lunch set menu. This consists of:

• Barbecued Duck with Lychee Wood
• Double-boiled Shark's Fin, Chicken with Japanese Jyounsai and Wolfberries
• Braised Flower Mushroom with 8 Head Quality Abalone in Abalone Sauce
• Fried Rice with Prawn and Barbecued Pork Loin in Yangzhou Style
• Chilled Rosella Flower Jelly with Diced Mango

Promotion is valid until 31 December 2014. More details found here.

Restaurant HOME
The Rail Mall
No. 392 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 678046