imperial treasure teochew cuisine, ngee ann city

long before we discovered imperial treasure shanghai, we had already learnt to love this place here. the dishes are different, but the accolades are the same.

while the previous restaurant was rather exotic, this place does it for us when we want truly good, refined cantonese food – which is all at once classy and nostalgic at the same time. gorgeous space, fantastic food; I’m really just repeating myself here, aren’t I?

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the restaurant is here a little differently laid out from shanghai cuisine – it’s predominantly booths (spacious for four, probably tight for six), dark furnishings and well-placed white light. it’s a little more intimate, but still very much in a posh-family sorta’ way.

when you’re in a cantonese/ teochew restaurant, always start with a bowl of soup – it opens the palate in a clear, savoury manner that entices but never overwhelms. and while I don’t have a picture for you here, any of their double-boiled clear soups would do you well (I like the melon one).

jellyfish is always a must-order, and definitely when the imperial treasure restaurants serve the delectable crunchy head. we tried something new with this braised beancurd and belly pork laid over with mildly-chewy slices of squid (very nostalgically tinted orange on the exterior), and it was pretty darn good.

they’ve got some serious food cred here, with skills to the sky in expertly sauteing meats and seafood (like those shell-on prawns that are well-worth the peeling effort – or just eat them whole, eh?).

our utter favorite: the diced beef cubes topped with crispy slivers of garlic. impossibly tender like filet mignon, proper browned outside with a good sear, and sauced with a dark brown savoriness, it’s really rather amazing.

fried rice comes well-seasoned and expertly fried till moist but loose and tender, strewn between with slivers of egg and sliced asparagus, and those free-form patties were tender with tofu and prawn.

I’m trying not to be too bombastic with praise – I rather worried I might have over done it in the last post – but this restaurant truly is a family favorite. we return nearly every month and a half at least (if we make effort to try new things), go through as much of the menu as we possibly can, and always have a great time.

props for awesomeness.

Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine
#04-20A/21 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
391 Orchard Road
Singapore 238872
tel +65 6736 2118
$$$: 50-60 per person