Few of us think of Christmas feasting at a Chinese restaurant. So we were intrigued when Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel invited us to preview their special Oriental Christmas menus at Jia Wei. We were very glad we went. The food was delicious! Behold, the Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine. I don't know how the chef managed it, but there is very little of that strong, gamy flavour that turns most people off this meat. Even hubby who takes to lamb/mutton like a vampire does to garlic, enjoyed this. We loved the sauce too. To borrow Rachael Ray's phrase, YUM-O! I am so coming back for this (hurrah, it's available as a regular item on the a la carte menu).
But all right, I am getting ahead of myself. Basically there are two six-course menus offering a festive salad, premium soup, main, vegetables, noodles, dessert and a glass of red/white wine.
The grilled lamb is the highlight of the Festive Cheers menu (S$98++ per pax). The Christmas Glow menu (S$79++ per pax) features Pan-fried Fillet of Pork Spare-rib with Special Sauce as its main. A rich, fatty slab with juices seared in, and flavoured a most unusual seasoning - I can't quite figure out what it is. Hubby liked this a lot.
Both sets share the same starter of Turkey, Ham and Fresh Fruits Salad. The cream lashings had a hint of wasabi. I'm not a fan of turkey but the crisp pieces of fruits were very refreshing.
The Festive Cheers menu gives you a huge, bubbling, hot stone pot of Jia Wei's superior shark's fin soup. Generous combs of gelatinous shark's fin in delicious stock, dotted with crab roe. This alone would probably cost a tiny fortune in other restaurants.
The Christmas Glow menu is superior shark's fin soup with conpoy. Served on a regular soup plate with a dumpling. Nadine and Jolie both loved the soups.
Braised Bai Ling Mushroom with Broccoli for Festive Cheers. Very well-executed. The mushrooms absorbed the rich flavours of the stock.
Braised Dry Scallop with Sea Cucumber and Bamboo Pith from the Christmas Glow menu. The vegetables are very fresh.
Both sets also share the same noodle dish - Homemade Noodles with Prawn and Conpoy. The prawns were huge and succulent, the noodles pristine and clear-tasting. The gravy seems a little bland, though.
The chilled lemon jelly is a great palate cleanser. The intense lemon sorbet paired well with the gentle sweetness of the jelly and aloe vera cubes. This dessert comes with the Festive Cheers menu.
The creamy, chilled mango pudding has real cubes of sweet mango embedded within. I could eat tubs of this. Both desserts are sprinkled with colourful, dried fruits that are so customary of Christmas.
Both menus will be available from 15 Dec 2008 until 4 January 2009. Diners enjoy a whopping 30 per cent discount from Mondays to Thursdays (except on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January, of course). You'll also enjoy 10 per cent off Yuletide Specialties at the Lobby Cafe when you present your Jia Wei bill.
Incidentally, Feast@East, the buffet restaurant upstairs (tel: 6340-5665), is also giving discounts Mondays to Wednesdays this festive season - 30 per cent for lunch and 40 per cent for dinner (except 24 and 31 Dec).
Jia Wei has pretty good dim sum too. Chef Lee Tuck Seng has over forty years of culinary experience, predominantly in Cantonese cuisine, and has won awards in the FHA International Salon Culinaire. They have an extensive wine list and have started featuring wines of the month. However, if you prefer to BYO, corkage can be arranged. Service? Always impeccable.
Most residents in the Marine Parade area are familiar with Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel and its restaurants. Its recent renovation into a four-star hotel has made it a very pleasant place to stay and dine. We'd like to thank Marcoms Manager Keane Sua for being a wonderful, fabulous host, and Marcoms Assistant Seow Shu Ling for helping to arrange this lovely meal.
JIA WEI CHINESE RESTAURANT
Level 2 Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel
50 East Coast Road (opposite Parkway Parade)
Call 6340-5678 for reservations
Lunch: 12noon - 3pm
Dinner: 6pm - 11pm
Update: You can read Ladyironchef's review here. I finally met Brad in person!
wow..wat an invite.!
ReplyDeleteWoow.... didn't know got such a nice restaurant there. and the food looks so tempting...
ReplyDeleteThe food looks really good. I noticed chinese restaurants can do lamp chops pretty well.
ReplyDeleteyou are so fast! haha i like the rack of lamb and the pork ribs. the taste was very good, especially the sauce which enhanced the flavour greatly. but didn't quite like the turkey.
ReplyDeletei just got my post out too! : )
thanks for the link! i have finally met catherine in person too! haha
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos... the food really leaps off the plate and jumps right into one's mouth... uhm. Oops. Just a fantasy. Sighs. :P
ReplyDeleteSo nice to be invited :)
ReplyDeleteThe food looks yummy...
That looks like good eats. We'd be stuffed, but we'd get it all down!
ReplyDelete