Dinner at Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant @ UOB Plaza

Been hearing about the good view and nice food at Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant @ UOB Plaza for quite some time.

hungrygowhere put it at 7.2 and yum.sg put it at 6.1. should be quite safe i thought. Is it? let me pen down my experience.

The place is just a stone throw from Raffles MRT station. Though i find it a hassle to switch lift to get to level 60 but the way up is pretty smooth. not much people in the building on a sunday evening.

View from the window is actually pretty good though today the weather is a little too foggy/misty for taking photos.



















I always like to bring my family during occasions to try out Cantonese and other good food. Cheap or expensive, no harm trying for once.

Here we were served with pickles while we browse through 1 set of menu for the 4 of us. er... how come only one set? no money to print because of recession? well, just joking. looks like the 'feel good' feeling is not there already. we were given ample time to go through the menu though.

First thing, i asked what tea do they served? knowing that my dad's habit of ordering "tie guan yin" tea, i asked if i can order one pot but was told they don't have serving in pot. i thought that this is very strange but never mind. 1 "tie guan yin" and 3 "ba bao cha" then. i worry that the drink might become a nightmare.
























What they didn't say was that the guy with the special kettle will refill you tea cup. I like the "ba bao cha". the fragrance is balance and calming. The guy with the special kettle did refill our cups a few times, each time never fails to amaze me. Pardon for the rather weak camera in the phone.

Ordered chiken with mushroom in claypot. The chicken is tender and not too oily. Surprised that the garlic smell and taste is somewhat plain. mum says that the chef could have done something to prevent the garlic breath from us later. haha...
























Now i see something. How come the pot is chipped? Feel that this is not right as the restaurant should be a fine chinese dinning place right? Would germs or other stuff get absorbed into the claypot? yucks!

See below for a closed up.



















Next up is the celery with black fugus. The cooking is average. not too oily and the fried mee basket is done just crispy.




















we also had some ee-fu noodle and yang chow fried rice. This 2 dishes, i find is quite good. nicely done and the ingredients are just right. in my opinion, the fried rice tasted better than the din tai fung restaurant i tried in Taiwan. i have not eaten any din tai fung in Singapore since the experience in din tai fung. Those who know me will know why. :P

After the food's eaten, the plates get collected one by one, what's left on the table are the 4 tea cups. What's next? i'm clueless on what to do next. Shouldn't the waitress ask me if i need deserts or more tea?

As i have reserved the table with informing them that we are celebrating a birthday there. They have a nice gesture of offering to give birthday cake if you pre-inform them. I asked if the birthday cake is ready. The waitress didn't know. asked my name, my phone number and checked. wasted more time. Then the cake comes.

They had a nice little chocolate cake. Surprise! The cake is purchased from Hans. Then another wait. we had out own singing of birthday song by ourselves, then wait. no plates. Asked for plates. Then one of the waitress offered to cut the cake for us. ok... but yet another surprise. we each received a small slice of the cake and never see the rest of the cake ever again. i'm like, huh? only a slice? what do they do to the rest of the cake? supper for the staff tonight? hahaa....
























I'm fed up with the service rendered so far. While being served the cake, i asked for the bill to be served when we finish the cake. Didn't even want to order desert. Do inform that you can using your UOB card to enjoy 15% discount. Only for ala-carte.

oh yes. remembered that we were served pickles before ordering? The waitress actually took back one plate of the pickles that we didn't touch, leaving the one we have touched. emm.... does it mean that the pickles are kept and will be served to another customer? cost-saving measure? shouldn't it be left on the table in case we eat it during the meal? how unprofessional.

Overall, I think given the price point, the service given is very lacking. The good is just nicely done but not special nor very good. i have experienced much better Cantonese food else where at similar pricing. The waitress serving you don't even know that you have made a reservation with the birthday celebration.

Also given the rather nicely decorated place, the chipped claypot and the worn-out table cloth shouldn't be occuring here. Another thing, there is only one pathetic cheap serviette on the table for each one of us. If this is in some cafeteria, i'm fine. But since this is a posh restaurant, i expect higher level of service. All these doesn't appear to attract me to return for another meal.

I would rate the food at 6 / 10.
Service at 3 / 10.
Grand overall at a lousy 4 / 10 since my emphasis is always slight more on the service.