Mandarin Oriental, Singapore

Siobhan’s godparents had their ROM back in April, & their traditional wedding dinner’s just around the corner.

But before the actual event, it’s pretty customary to put the service provider through a grueling taste test, & who better to tag along then $ingapurr’s finickiest gourmet?

Mandarin Oriental Lobster & Prawn with Seafood Roll: Perchance the prawn served to me was the worst of the lot; I felt that it wasn’t all that fresh enough, mayonnaise or not. The lobster was a tad overcooked, but the chef justified by saying that he didn’t want to cause any tummy upsets.

Double-Boiled Shark's Fin in Clear Chicken Soup: A refreshing change from the usual braised variety; vinegar ain’t the condiment of choice for this version. I found the stock slightly weak for my purrsonal preference, but Siobhan gave it two thumbs up!

Stir-Fried Scallops with Spicy Sauce & Deep-Friend Yam Pear: The scallops were pretty fresh & sweet, but what really blew my mind was the deep-fried yam pear. Look, you’re reading the review of a dude who nominally wouldn’t touch yam products with a thousand-foot pole... but the interplay between the grounded scallops & yam within the ‘pear’ totally changed my weltanschauung.

Stewed Duck with Five Treasures: As always, the breast tends to be a tad dry. Seeing as to how the five treasures consist of chestnuts, red dates, sea whelk, taro & lotus seeds, I doubt many amongst those of my generation can fully appreciate this dish... I did discover a newfound appreciation for taro, though.

Braised Baby Abalone & Dried Mushrooms with Seasonal Vegetables: I love eating (certain) vegetables, so the 小白菜 really hit the spot. The presence of the baby abalone (looked more like a limpet, really... same difference) didn’t really make much of a difference, & was a little bit tough as a matter of fact.

Steamed Garoupa in Superior Soya Sauce: It’d take a pretty amazing chef to screw this one up, so no prizes for guessing how it turned out... all the same, IMHO, the only true ‘superior soya sauce’ comes from Ipoh, Perak.

Stir-Fried Topshell with Seasonal Vegetables in XO Sauce: I usually enjoy topshell with beer as a late night snack, but in this instance the topshell came out all wrong (might’ve been the XO sauce), & didn’t complement the broccoli well.

Fragrant Fried Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf: ‘Fragrant’ my furry behind, this dish was totally tasteless except for the infrequent bit of Chinese sausage & the scent of the lotus leaf.

Sweet Passion: & that’s what it basically was – SWEET! I was halfway through mine when I suddenly realise that I forgot to take a photo of the dessert intact... it was that good!

Overall, it was a pleasant but not outstanding dining experience. A couple of dishes did hit the sweet spot, but there were those which disappointed as well.

Besides, dishes are served freshly prepared during menu tasting sessions, & you can’t expect the same standards during the actual wedding dinner itself.