7 September 2008 :: Sunday :: Dinner
Vivocity is home to numerous restaurants, many of which provide a scenic view of the sea. A wide variety of restaurants are available, from the economical Chicken Rice Shop to the higher end Tung Lok Signature for those with refined taste-buds.
Of all the restaurants, Imperial Herbal Restaurant stands out for providing healthy and exotic cuisine. Scorpions, crocodile meat and ‘Hai Tang Lang’ (loosely translated as Sea Praying Mantis), Imperial Herbal is definitely not for the weak-hearted.
I’ve been here once. Funny thing is, I don’t have much recollection of the food. I do remember the scallops being wonderful and the Sea Praying Mantis (whatever this is) looking all cockcroachy and disgusting (at least to me).
Brief Description:
Imperial Herbal prides itself in providing a unique dining experience where a resident herbalist is on hand to provide the best recommendations for adding the ideal herbs to the meal. Dishes are infused with chinese herbs to improve health and excite taste-buds. What’s interesting is also the cushion seats which are shaped as a palm.
Review
Enough of the weird food, we (4 of us) stuck to the normal food.
1) Beggar’s Chicken. This seems to be one of the more popular dishes. First impression is that the chicken is well cooked in a herb infused gravy, which is good, considering the amount of nourishment I need to cope with my hectic work life. As like most herbal chickens, the meat is well-cooked and easy to tear. Though a fair amount of herbs have been added, there isn’t a strong herbal smell. The meat is average but the gravy is wonderful. Point to note, the gravy goes well with plain rice. Nothing to shout about though.
2) Glazed Scallops. The scallops are served in a potato (I think) basket, with seaweed and savory sauce. This is the second time I’m enjoying this and it’s still as good as I remembered. The scallops and tangy and the seaweed is crisp and tasty. Definately a must try.
3) Fried Fish with ‘Rose’ Petals. When the dish was served, we realised….. that there are no rose petals?! After clarification, we are told that they have replaced rose petals with lily bulbs as rose leaves a bitter taste. Other ingredients include kiwi and celery. In all, the dish leaves a refreshing taste, with the kiwi providing the fresh sweet-sourish taste with the lily providing the fragrance. Definitely worth a try.
4) Yam Mooncake. The pastry mooncake comes with/without york. The price difference is a mere S$0.50. The flaky exterior complements the smooth fragrant yam. While not exquisite, the mooncake is worth a try. Do note that purchase of mooncakes is solely by cash terms only.
5) Lycee Black Tea. No Chinese dinner should go without Chinese tea. We had the lycee black tea, which is fragrant yet provides a relatively strong after-taste.
In all, after a 15% discount with Amex, the bill comes to about S$25/pax. Price-wise, it’s quite worth it. However, the service was quite bad. We had to constantly wave our hands to catch the attention of the service staff. To be fair, we were seated quite near to the entrance, but I firmly believe that no decent restaurant should allow their guests to be flapping their hands like a headless chicken just to ask for a refill of the tea. While the food was definitely above average, the same cannot be said about the service. Disappointing.
Ratings
Food : 3.5/5
Ambiance : 3.0/5
Service : 2.5/5
Value: 3.0/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Not anytime soon
Details
1 Harbourfront Walk
#03-08 VivoCity
Mon-Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11.30am – 11pm
