Restaurant Week Lunch at Summer Palace (Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road, Level 3) Singapore 249715.

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!

Visited on 20 March 2015 (Fri) during Restaurant Week Lunch.

Restaurant Week Price: $40++ per person.

We ordered additional chrysanthemum tea at $6++ for 2 persons.

Summer Palace is an authentic Cantonese restaurant with two Hong Kong chefs, whose inspired menus are complemented by a collection of fine Chinese art and antiques. Two private dining rooms are available for business and private functions.

This is the waiting area if you're early...

Reception area 

Oriental touch with silk gold and red wallpaper...

A very traditional type of classic chinese restaurant settings..

Window seat with some greenery and pool view...

Complimentary Appetizer: Fried Fish Skin

Barbecued Pork Bun with Pine Nuts, Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Bird's Nest, Deep-fried Prawn Roll with Mango

The pork bun was decent..

Fresh prawns inside the dumpling - Looks like a beautiful flower..

This is my favourite dim sum here! The exterior was like crisp noodle, it was so flaky that every bite on it will make the plate messy but I like it so much! As this was a fried item, the mango filling inside became dried up and shrank, which is why we couldn't really savour the mango. Otherwise this  be perfect!

Double-boiled Ginseng with Fish Maw, Conpoy, Bamboo Pith

The soup was clear and tasted rich with boiled goodness, as though all the essence of ginseng were infused within. A healthy soup to savour!

Stir-Fried Cod Fish Cubes with Asparagus in Teriyaki Sauce

I like the taste of the sweet teriyaki sauce with tender cod fish cubes!

The glass vermicelli was fragrant and peppery, adorned with chunks of crab meat. But the glass vermicelli was too clumpy. It's next to impossible to pull a smaller portion out.... Furthermore, by this time we were already quite full and the serving was quite big, so we weren't really interested in chewing through large clumpy mouthful of vermicelli...

Trio of Dessert

Osmanthus Jelly, Aloe Vera Jelly and Mango Pomelo Sago. I like the way they used the crepe placed underneath the trio dessert for presentation. I'm always very delighted to see 3 types of dessert rather than 1 dessert. Indeed these trio really made me end the meal with a  smiley face especially the center dessert (Aloe Vera jelly) The Aloe Vera was so aromatic!

Overall Impression: Their service was very good, our tea was always refilled promptly. Food quality was between average to slightly above average for the restaurant week that day. Heard that Summer Palace is a favourite among Singaporeans, they offer extensive dim sum selection during lunch! If you're looking for authentic Cantonese restaurant with good service, this is the place for you!

Restaurant Week Lunch at Violet Herbs (81 Tras Street, Singapore 079020) Reservation: 6221 3988

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!

Visited on 14 March 2015 (Sat) during Restaurant Week Lunch.

(No 7% GST Charge Here!)

Violet Herbs is a new age semi-formal fine dining restaurant, serving modern european cuisine in Singapore’s well known business district, Tanjong Pagar from Jan 2015. Fine dining is often perceived as luxurious and extravagant. Violet Herbs aims to reach out to more people to enjoy fine dining cuisine without burning a hole in their pocket. Now you don't have to go to fancy restaurant to enjoy good food!

The restaurant was opened by Chef Edward Hoe, who previously held executive roles in Fish Market & Bistro, Restaurant Ember and The American Club Singapore with 19 years of experience. In preparation for Violet Herbs, Chef Edward challenges himself to re-invent European cuisines with the combination of varied herbs.

Violet Herbs houses a 2-storey, 70 seater restaurant where the colour theme of the 2-storey are totally different. Ladies will definitely be attracted by this purple themed ground floor, including myself! Haha.. Feel like a royal without having to be too classy in their purple themed ground floor OR 

Take the flight of stairs up to their more nature themed second floor.

We started with warm Rosemary bread and we loved the bread so much. The rosemary was so aromatic and I regretted not asking for 1 more.. 

Appetizer: Scallops infused Lemon Verbena
(With Purple Potato Puree, Pomegranate,  Bacon Beurre Blanc)

I enjoyed the lightly chared exterior of the scallops. Purple potatoes and pomegranate made an interesting contrast of soft and crunchy textures too. 

Appetizer: Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute
(With Crispy Duck, Truffle Oil, Micro Herb)

This dish was very interesting as it was the first time I've tasted artichoke done in a cream style. The texture was creamy but a little bland. But that also made the hints of truffle oil and crispy duck slices stand out. A unique creation :-)

Main Course: Sous Vide 36 Hours Duck Confit

(With Baby Spinach, Herb Potato, Duck Jus Reduction)

Duck was very tender, with crispy skin and the meat slides off the bones! Sitting on a bed of soft baby spinach and herb potatoes, dressed with flavorful reduced duck sauce. This dish tasted as good as it looks. 

Main Course: Marinated Cod Fillet

(With Nameko Mushroom, Baby Spinach, Sesame Seed, Ginger Broth)

Marinating is a great way to intensify the flavour of food and this cod fillet was marinated so well! Honey-baked marinated cod that tasted not too sweet, just the right amount of sweetness.. the fillet was quite tender, but it would be perfect if it can be more tender.. Overall, I was totally obsessed with this cod fillet and just can't get enough of it... I'm a person who don't like ginger taste but thankfully the ginger broth here was quite light that I can consume it happily. :)

Dessert: Lemon Grass Panna Cotta 

(With Rosemary Ice Cream, Palm Sugar Coconut Sauce with Sago)

I was quite taken aback by the strong lemongrass taste in the panna cotta. And the rosemary ice-cream atop was too light that I can't really taste the rosemary. I felt that since the panna cotta was of a bigger portion than the ice cream, the bigger panna cotta should be lighter while the smaller portioned ice cream should have more taste. This would have balanced out the 2 flavors.. 

Dessert: Figs & Thyme Cake

(With Thyme Ice Cream, Mix fruit and Edible Flower)

My first time trying figs & thyme cake, the taste was not bad but not everyone will like this type of dessert so it's quite risky...

Overall Impression: As we arrived quite early around 11.30am, we did not receive a smiley-warm reception from the staff upon arrival (perhaps it was still early and the staff had not warmed up yet) But the service started to get better after that so not a big issue to us.. The staff will explain the contents of the dish when served and water was refilled promptly.

Their food quality ranged from average to slightly above average. But dessert has some room for improvement as their 2 dessert did not impress us. They seemed to be unique creations but just didn't win our hearts.. I'm a super dessert lover so was a tad disappointed in the last course. 

If you're looking for fairly good quality food at wallet-friendly prices with admirable semi-formal fine-dining ambience, this place would suit you to a tee!

The parking here are all roadside parallel parking lots so be prepared to bring enough parking coupons ya!

Note: The above menu and prices is only during Restaurant Week. Please refer to their website below for their different types of menu and prices.

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday

11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm

Website: http://www.violetherbs.com.sg/weekday-set-dinner/

Restaurant Week Lunch at The Royal Mail Restaurant & Bar (Ascott Raffles Place Singapore, 2 Finlayson Green, Level 2, Singapore 049247) Reservation:

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!

Visited on 2 Nov 2014 (Sun) - Last day of the Restaurant Week Lunch.

Restaurant week lunch at $25++ per person = Total bill of $58.85 for 2 pax.

The Royal Mail Restaurant & Bar is a 60-seat restaurant with three separate sections: The Bar, The Main Dining Room and a Private Dining Space that can be modified to accommodate groups of different sizes.  It was housed within the historical and culturally-rich Ascott Raffles Place Service Apartment and serves modern interpretations of Classic British Cuisine. 

Their bar counter at lobby level. You can take a seat here to wait first if you're early.

Reception at The Royal Mail

This is the place that we had our Restaurant Week Lunch!

Their open kitchen..

Soft warm bread was served with butter...

Starter: Pan-Seared Scallops

Love their scallops so much - Succulent and Crisp at the top!

Starter: Pan-Seared Foie Gras

We thought the size of the foie gras will be something like the scallops above. So we were really amazed by the generous portion of foie gras given. Probably it's a little too much and too rich, so we gotta share the portion with each other.. Overall it was mediocre.

Main Course: Pan Seared Salmon 

The salmon was cooked to perfection - very tender and the skin was crisp enough!

Main Course: Roasted Chicken Breast

Was expecting the meat to be tough but surprisingly it was quite tender. But this dish was unremarkable as the taste was not great.

Dessert: White Chocolate Mousse 

Dessert: White Chocolate Panna Cotta 

Overall the food and dessert here were decent, nothing to rave about. Service was good from the reception staff but not the server staff. If you want to find a slightly better restaurant with adequate food at Raffles Place area, you can consider this place.

It's such a hassle to make reservation through phone - Book now through Chope for Instant Reservations!

What is a Restaurant Week? 

Dining in a high quality restaurant is generally an expensive affair, but during the Singapore Restaurant Week (A short 1 week only), you get to enjoy an exquisite meal but at a more affordable price. High quality restaurants will serve a special 3-course set dinner for a fixed price of S$35++* and 3-course set lunch for $25++*. Note: Only available twice a year!

*For restaurants awarded with a DiningCity star, the additional charge of $15++ for lunch and $20++ for dinner is applicable.