The Centrepoint – 5 New Restaurants Opened in Orchard Road + GIVEAWAY

After the major revamp at The Centrepoint, we had our first round of makan in August where we tried Ollie Kitchen & Bar, Chicken Up (closed), Dapur Penyet, Souper Tang (closed) and Ministry of Food (closed).

Just two weeks ago, we invited 5 lucky readers with their plus ones to join me on a food trail to savour another 5 new restaurants at The Centrepoint’s brand new food precincts, Gastro+ and Food Hall, which offer over 30 new food concepts across five levels. The trail was a mix of local, Cantonese and Japanese cuisine. We had such a good time eating sooooooo many dishes at different outlets! Which is your favourite?

Tendon (天丼) is the new Japanese food trend in Singapore. It is a type of donburi where crispy tempura is laid over freshly steamed Japanese rice and topped with a delicious light soy dressing. Riding on the wave, MOF has opened Tensho – a Japanese specialty tendon restaurant with wholesome and quality tempura donburi at affordable prices.

They currently only have two items on the menu – Mixed Tendon ($14.90) or Vege Tendon ($13.90). For seafood lovers, go for the Mixed Tendon featuring crispy prawns, dory fish, Onsen egg and vegetable tempuras served on Japanese rice, served together with Chawanmushi and Miso Soup. Made upon order, the batter is crispy but fluffy, and the sauce offers a good balance of sweet and salty.

Vegetarian friends can choose otherwise which works equally well. The addition of soft boiled eggs kind of gels everything together. Especially when you dip the vegetables into the egg yolk, we went like “oooomph!”. You can also help yourself to the pickles on the table. For their opening special, enjoy a free drink with any tendon order!

Kyoaji means “taste of Kyoto”. Newly opened at The Centrepoint, the restaurant exudes a warm Japanese ambience with fresh Japanese cuisine.

Freshness is ensured here because the seasonal seafood is air flown. They even have their own vessel to catch the fish and each supply is stored at an ultra-low temperature storage facility in Singapore. Its Sashimi Moriawase ($88) features a plate of premium assorted raw fish that is fresh. We also had the Shiro Maguro Aburi Maki ($22) with seared white tuna roll which has a subtle sweetness and smoky aroma.

Kani Tofu (Crab Meat Bean Curd, $6) is a Japanese style cold dish which features a soft handmade cold tofu, drenched with a generous dollop of creamy century egg yolk and wrapped with crab meat. The generous amount of Tobiko adds crunch to this dish. Zuwai Kani Tama Mushi ($16) is a smooth bowl of steamed egg served with snow crab meat and salmon roe.

The star of the meal is Gyuniku Fagura Sauce ($35) where the chef pan fried cubes of Australian striploin beef with goose liver sauce. Tender and succulent beef cubes are drizzled with the rich and creamy goose liver sauce. It was so good that we couldn’t stop!

If you wish to enjoy classic Cantonese cuisine with your family at The Centrepoint, the newly opened Crystal Jade Kitchen is a good option. We shared a whole table of dishes including dim sum, HK roast, congee, noodles and classic wok dishes.

Its Roasted Meat Combination ($18.80 for 2 combination; $23.80 for 3 combination) lets you choose from a variety of meat – signature pork belly, roasted pork belly, roasted honey BBQ pork, roasted duck, kampong chicken or soya sauce chicken. The roasted honey BBQ pork is slightly charred, and beautifully caramelized.

The congee is smooth and silky. We had the Classic Ting Zai Congee ($8.80) with sliced fish, cuttlefish and shredded pork. We liked the Handmade Pork Meatball Congee ($9.80) that was incredibly juicy.

Fortune 5 Chicken ($20.80 for whole; $12.80 for half) features paper crisp skin and succulent meat, served with five sauces to enhance the flavours. It was the favourite dish on the table. On top of that, we also had Smoked Chinese Yam with Whole Garlic ($14.80) and Braised Beancurd with Vegetable ($12.80), which went well with rice. I like the crunchy strips of Chinese yam!

From now till 31 October 2016, enjoy 10% off a la carte food bill at Crystal Jade! This promotion is valid on weekday dinners and weekends, full day. T&CS applies.

With a humble beginning since 1969, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh is well known for their peppery and aromatic soup. Today, under the stewardship of the founding family’s second generation, the brand has since expanded significantly with a new outlet in The Centrepoint! The interior of this outlet provides a unique experience, inspired by Glutton’s Square, the popular hawker street of Orchard in the 1960s.

As with all Pork Ribs Soup ($7 / $9), the quality of the dish depends strongly on the quality of the pork. Keeping this in mind, Song Fa uses good quality pork that is carefully simmered with garlic and pepper to achieve the clear and peppery soup. The peppery kick is not overpowering, balanced off with the sweetness from pork ribs. Another signature dish is the Braised Pig Trotters ($7 / $9) stewed with a range of spices to achieve the intense flavour and mouth-watering tenderness.

Song Fa has also launched new dishes in their menu, including the Spicy Pork Belly ($8) cooked with dark soya sauce, and enhanced with dried chili, dried cuttlefish and lady’s fingers. What makes this dish stand out are the strips of dried cuttlefish that gave the depth and a lovely punchy flavour that pleased our palates. They also serve handmade prawn roll ($8.50) filled with marinated minced prawn, meat and vegetables wrapped in beancurd skin. Don’t forget to have some King’s Garden Tea to complement the bak kut teh.

Honolulu Café at The Centrepoint is their first international outlet. Originating from Hong Kong, it is famous for its egg tarts, pineapple buns as well as Hong Kong Milk Tea.

Their egg tarts are famous for its flaky pastry and soft egg custard center. The dough is frozen overnight so that they can fold a total of 192 layers. That is a lot because usually normal egg tarts only fold 100 layers. That’s probably the reason why the pastry is so flaky. Baked fresh everyday, I am more intrigued by its soft and smooth egg custard. Don’t forget to pair it with Honolulu Coffee (Hot $3, Cold $3.20).

In addition, they also serve a range of classic Cantonese dishes such as Curry Fish Ball ($3 for 5), Chicken Wings with Sweet Sauce ($6 for 4), Beef Brisket Soup ($6) and Fish Fillet Curry Rice ($8.50). We like the curry fish balls because they are deep fried before serving with curry, hence creating that bouncy texture. The curry is imported from Hong Kong.

REDEEM $10 DINING VOUCHER AT THE CENTREPOINT’S DINE.POST.REDEEM CAMPAIGN

Surprise! There’s yet another chance to win a $10 Dining Voucher at The Centrepoint! Simply post a picture of your delicious meal when you dine at The Centrepoint’s food precincts called Gastro+ and Food Hall and redeem a $10 Dining voucher! Hashtag with “TCPGastro” or “TCPFoodHall”, “TheCentrepoint” and lastly, don’t forget to hastag the restaurant’s name.

Redemption at Customer Service Level 3 and limited to first 1,000 diners only. Terms & Conditions apply.

A big thank you to The Centrepoint for hosting us! I am giving away another $10 worth of The Centrepoint F&B dining vouchers to FIVE LUCKY READERS!

All you have to do is:
1. Like The Centrepoint and Frasers Centrepoint Malls on Facebook
2. Share this post on Facebook.
3. Share with us any memories you had with The Centrepoint.

Closing date: 29 October 2016, 23:59. Good Luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Congratulations Rebecca Sim, Goh Hui Peng, Tan Li Ling, Daphne Fong, Muhammad Irman for winning the vouchers!