I thought I was quite crazy to bring my Ah Ma to an all new Chinese fusion restaurant for dinner but I was attracted by the 30 per cent discount offer since the pricing of the dishes are quite high.
LÈ Restaurant & Bar is the latest concept under Paradise Group serving avant-garde Asian tapas and cocktails. Take for example a plate of cherries which are actually braised foie gras with red wine in cherry sauce ($26). A contemporary re-interpretation of Chinese dining is nothing novel but my concern was that the folks may not accept tapas style dishes which tend to not fill up the belly easily and taste unfamiliar to them.
But fortunately, the menu is still dominated by classic Chinese food that are similar to that of many fine-dining Chinese Restaurant. The menu is divided into Live Seafood/Fresh Seafood/Soup/Meat/Poultry/Tofu etc.......But we did order few item from "Small Eats and Salad" section--the Szechuan style poached chicken $12 四川口水鸡. The folks, who have been trying this dish whenever it is available, claimed it to be the best so far in Singapore. Unlike the version drenched in chlli oil and topped with crunchy peanuts at Paradise Dynasty, this one is crowded with flavours from the sweet-salty peanut sauce, some fiery blackish-red chilli and diced century eggs.
Meanwhile, we also gave unequivocal thumbs up to the Char Grilled Pork Collar with Lemongrass 炭烧猪颈肉 $22.
The pork was skilfully sliced to nearly the thickness of paper that we could barely distinguish between the fat and meat. Besides the accompanying Thai sweet chilli sauce, there was a slice of juicy caramelized pineapple which imbued this classic Thai grill dish with another dimension of sweetness.
It seems like the Crunchy Jellyfish with Thai Mango Salad $18 allows Chinese and Thai food fans to have the best of both world but the Thai Mango Salad was a bit of let down--sweet but lack the spice.
The Cream of Bak Kut Teh 特色肉骨茶 comes at an astonishing price of $12 per person. It is the Western counterpart of our Bak Kut Teh, and a huge relief that it does not taste much different from the usual hawker version. There are strong accents of herbs and cubes of vegetables. Part of the price tag definitely goes into the crispy slice of Italian Serrano Ham. I guessed this dish counts as rather gimmicky, but a successful one.
The tomatoes are boiled down into a sensationally gooey broth in this Lobster with purée of tomato soup $26 椰皇茄膏龙虾羹. It has a simple, clean flavor without much seasonings and you can invigorate your palates by digging on the sweet flesh of the young coconut.
I did not try the Mini "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" $88 per person 迷你佛跳墙 as it was a treat for my grandmother. But it must have been a good brew, for she commented that it was smooth and hearty.
The Dirty Duck--braised for at least 6 hours then fried--is the restaurant's signature dish. ($38 half/ $68 for whole) Like how a Beijing roasted duck would usually be served, the servers wraps them in pale green handmade scallion crepe with condiments in front of diners.
The prove of crispy, blistered skin is ascertained before we put the warm roll into our mouths as crackling sounds are heard when the servers sliced through the duck. This is one fantastic dish that one should not miss at this restaurant. Half a duck can make up till around 11 servings.
Besides the duck, my favourite dish of the day was this Braised Wa Wa Cabbage with Supreme Broth $26. Attention has been paid to the yellow stock, for it was rich and flavourful, unlike the diluted watered-down sauce which I chanced upon quite often in some Chinese restaurants or zi char places.
After having all the food, the Stir fried angel hair with Japanese dried ebi $28 樱花虾天使面 is more than substantial to feed 6 mouths. The taste was not as competent as the version from Saveur and could perhaps be intensified with hefty doses of garlic.
Desserts are not the restaurant's strongest suits--but would still be suitable for those inclined to close their meals with something sweet.
With the exception of the Homemade Almond Cream with Silken Egg White $9, the rest are served theatrically in billowing smokes of dry ice--Chilled Pumpkin puree in coconut milk ($8) Chilled Avocado purée with coffee ice cream(See Top Pic--$7).
The Sweet Temptation ($13) was a trio of dessert shooters which we had previously at Taste Paradise Ion. Sitting along with the familiar mango sago and avocado cream, the Yakult pudding in strips of black and white seems like an innovative creation but it was a let down because it had no traces of Yakult at all.
The custard lava bun which one usually get during dim sum hours at Paradise Group restaurants are deep fried and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream at $9. Nothing much out of the world so I would stick to the standard steam version for dim sum. Afterall, the latter is more value for money.
Step in this place and you feel that this is a chi-chi restaurant with a glowing Buddha Statue over watching the open kitchen (feng shui, maybe?) Service was caught up in a traffic when there was rarely a free seat during peak weekend dining hours but the waiters understood the meals they served. And surprisingly, one of the servers who attended to us was from Ukraine!
Overall, the food was not too far off the mark but the price is still a little too steep without the discount. Good for an occasion splurge for celebratory events or special gatherings. Otherwise, I believe one can still enjoy a equally satisfying meal at other Paradise restaurants.
The promotion of 30% discount is applicable for dim sum lunch/dinner till 30 Sept.
LÈ Restaurant & Bar
Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre,
#02-314 Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard
Tel: 63388775
Restaurant : 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm daily
Bar: 3pm to 11pm (Sun -Thu), 3pm to 12mn (Fri – Sat)