Once Singapore’s finest Chinese restaurant that specialising in Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine, The Cathay Restaurant has stood the test of time. Through a delicate balance of its past and present, it has successfully transformed from a ‘Live’ band and songstresses dining establishment to suit the modern Singaporeans’ palate. Located on level 2 of The Cathay – a space that too straddles both the original heritage facade and new building, the restaurant continues to dish out delicious dim sum and exquisite set menu for its discerning diners.
Weekend dinner time was a busy scene at The Cathay Restaurant especially when a cozy wedding dinner was held at the same period within its premise. Regardless, we still enjoyed friendly and prompt service from the waitresses. After a quick browse through, we decided to pamper ourselves a little and go for their Quality Set Menu A (S$38++ per person). First to be served was their Double-boiled Shark’s Cartilage Soup with Fish Maw. Folks who loved their soup thick and creamy would love it. The double-boiled technique ensures no loss of the essences from the shark’s cartilage & fish maw so all the goodness and beauty benefits (collagen) had gone into the soup. Each serving also includes a sizeable morsel of the shark’s cartilage and the fish maw.
Next to be served was Steamed Live Prawns With Chinese Wine & Chicken Sauce. Beautifully presented like a fine dining entrée, there was a light hint of Chinese wine which complemented the sweet, creamy chicken base well.
I adore the Steamed Fillet Of Snapper With Black Fungus and Lily Bud for the excellent combination of Black Fungus and Lily Bud. The snapper however was a little too soft and mushy for my liking.
The Pan-fried Pork Chop With Special Sauce surprised me. There was nothing Chinese about this dish except for the pickled vegetables on the side (which I was rather besotted with by the way).
Fried Rice With XO Sauce was the last dish served before our desserts, a thoughtful gesture to make sure that we walk out feeling full and satisfied. The XO sauce wasn’t easy to detect hence we do not find the dish particularly outstanding. In case you are not able to visit for the amazing food here, you can indulge by ordering through Foodpanda. In fact, to make your indulgence more guilt-free, you can grab coupons and deals offering amazing discounts. Who said you need to burn a hole in your pocket to relish such delicacies!
Our Sweet Harmony Dessert for the evening was Double-boiled Spaghetti Squash With Red Dates & Longan. Sweet and extremely refreshing, this was actually my ever first encounter with the fruit, spaghetti squash. Its chewy strand texture does gives it a tiny similarity to that of shark’s fin.
There were some hits and misses but overall we felt pleased and contented with our evening feast. If you are keen to dine in at The Cathay Restaurant before or after your movies, here are the details:
The Cathay Restaurant
Address: The Cathay 2 Handy Road #02-01 Singapore 229233
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm (Mon – Fri) & 10am – 5pm, 6pm – 11pm (Sun & Public Holidays)
Tel: +65 67327888
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thecathayrestaurant.com.sg
You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places here
