Exquisite Cantonese Cuisine in Toa Payoh

Who would have thought that unassuming Toa Payoh estate has a Cantonese restaurant that would give the Big Boys of Cantonese Cuisine a run for their money? We checked out this latest venture and give you our verdict.

Tucked away in an obscure corner of the Toa Payoh Safra Club is the new kid on the block in exquisite Cantonese dining. Just over five months old, the restaurant has already been attracting a steady flow of clientele, most of them faithful regulars of Master Chef Chan Chen Hei.

The layout of the restaurant reminded us of a typical teahouse found in most Chinese Kung-fu shows, though its interior is thoroughly modern. It exudes a charm of its own with its well-balanced mix of oriental charm and the ever-popular slick Zen look. Being an avid antique collector himself, Chef Chan has an eye for details and everything you see in the well-renovated restaurant, from the antique armchairs to the plates and chopstick rests had been painstakingly picked by him. We thought the use of divination sticks to display the menu was both creative and practical.

Chef Chan, who hails from Hong Kong, was formerly from Pan Pacific's Hai Tian Lou. Together with his partners, he now runs his own restaurant and tantalises with his superb culinary skills, especially his three signature dishes - Chef Chan's famous crispy roast chicken ($28 for a whole chicken), braised shark's fin with superior stock ($24 per person) and crabmeat and sautéed beef tenderloin with sliced garlic and black pepper sauce ($18).

To whet our appetite, we had the deep fried prawn balls ($18), which arrived nicely fried to a golden brown. The coat of little breadcrumb cubes gave it a delightful crisp and blended in well with the chopped celery, minced pork and fresh prawns. The overall taste was good although it was a tad bit salty and oily.

Then we embarked on Chef Chan's three specialties. We were won over by the crispy skin of his famous roast chicken. It was browned to perfection with the meat still retaining its juiciness. The secret to its crispiness was to 'bathe the chicken in hot oil' instead of merely deep-frying. The shark's fin tasted as good as it looked. The generous addition of crab roe lent it an unusual orange colour. We love the chunks of freshly peeled crabmeat and could really taste the rich stock. Chef Chan's third secret weapon was his black pepper beef cooked to perfection. The meat was succulent and simply melt-in-your-mouth-tender while the use of ginger torch (or known locally as 'rojak flower') gave this dish an unexpected but welcomed twist. Thumbs up all round!

What you must not miss is the fried oyster ($25). The well-marinated mini oysters were coated with a thin batter and mildly sweetened. Its slightly 'chao-tar' taste went well with the bits of ginger, bitter gourd, capsicum, celery, chilli and onion. This sinful indulgence left us craving for more and was unanimously voted our hot favourite. (*This is a daily special and subject to availability)

For the vegetable dish, we opted for sautéed vegetables with egg, salted egg, century egg and shredded scallop. Chef Chan transformed the humble 'nai bai' vegetable into a wonderful dish with rich gravy that went so well with rice. The use of three kinds of eggs might sound threatening if you are cholesterol conscious. Otherwise, the winning combination is a 'must-try' if you want to sample a vegetable dish.

For dessert, we had the sweetened cream of Chinese almond and the mango pudding ($4). The warm almond cream had a soothing effect though some of us found it quite bland, as it's not sweetened. It was a bit nutty but thankfully no powdery aftertaste. The mango pudding however received a better rating. The firmness and its nice aromatic taste of mango made this a better choice if you have a sweet tooth. But mind you, this dessert can be pretty inconsistent in taste as it was badly done when we popped by on another occasion.

Be prepared to pay about $30 per head and about $55 if you include shark's fin. The price is still at least 30% cheaper than what you can expect to pay at other high-end Chinese restaurants.

The classy ambience, good service and great food makes this an ideal place to impress your corporate clients. You definitely must bring your mother-in-law to Chef Chan's if you want to be in her good books!