Food Picks: Chinese fare at Si Chuan Village and farm-to-table dining at Stamford Brasserie

Si Chuan Village

Appetising cold dishes

It is not often that I find an eatery which can maintain a consistent standard in food quality, much less improve on it - especially in a time of labour woes and rising food costs.

Si Chuan Village in Mosque Street is one exception. It is my favourite among the many Chinese restaurants offering north-eastern Chinese and Sichuan cuisine that dot Chinatown, and I dined there often in 2019 and last year.

Instead of coming up with new dishes, the eatery improves on its existing offerings with exacting standards of food preparation. The food tastes better than I remember and still offers much value for money.

Owner Cai Bing, 54, has managed to retain her original kitchen team of seven from before the pandemic and insists on using premium-quality products, such as Zhenjiang vinegar.

Even the nuts used in dishes such as Mixed Salad With Vinegar ($8+) and Grilled Sea Bass ($33+) are of premium quality from Shandong, a province in eastern China, and deep-fried in a batch every two days so they remain fragrant and crispy.

The Grilled Sea Bass is cooked using chilled fish and the fiery aromatic gravy is prepared from scratch with more than 20 ingredients.

The spices are so expertly balanced, you get aroma and flavour from cumin and fennel without them overwhelming the dish. There is also woodear and enoki mushrooms, soya bean sprouts and beancurd skin in the dish.

The mixed salad comes with spinach, jellyfish head and century egg tossed in a vinegar dressing.

For those who do not like century egg, go for the jellyfish with vinegar dressing ($9+), which is prepared in the same style of vinegar and light soya sauce dressing.

It is a joy to bite into the crunchy and slippery pieces of jellyfish head that are well seasoned in the tangy dressing.

What I like most about Si Chuan Village is that the cooking style is more accommodating to the local taste, with a more palatable balance of spicy, sweet, sour and savoury flavours.

A big hit for me is the underrated Crystal Jelly With Pig Skin ($7+). Usually, only customers from China order this dish as locals do not quite appreciate it. But I find the collagen-loaded dish better than some of the local versions of Teochew pork trotter jelly.

No setting agent such as gelatin or agar agar powder is used in the preparation. The chefs painstakingly remove all fat from the pig skin before slicing it into strips. The skin is then slow-cooked until it turns into a liquid, then chilled to form a jelly.

The jelly - blanketed in garlic and a soya sauce dressing - is tender, but has a chewy bite from the added pig skin strips.

Preserved Spicy Chicken Feet ($8+) is so tantalising that I order a second helping. The chicken feet are so carefully cleaned and blanched that they are free of odour.

They are packed with flavour from being soaked in an infusion of pickled pepper and spices such as white nutmeg. There is also plenty of heat from chilli padi.

For dessert, try the deep-fried sweet potato and yam with caramel ($15+), which comes with a bowl of iced water. Dip the piping hot caramelised wedges of sweet potato and yam in the water, so the caramel does not stick to your teeth. The dish is best eaten hot.

It is time-consuming to make, so expect to wait at least 15 minutes if you order it during dinner rush hour.

Where: Si Chuan Village, 2/3 Mosque Street
MRT: Chinatown
Open: 10.30am to 1am daily
Info: Call 6226-3316

The Stamford Brasserie

Farm-to-table dining and elevated classics

Multi-concept restaurant and bar The Stamford Brasserie is back with classic favourites and new dishes, such as the gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly Corn Pasta ($26++).

The Parisian-style bistro at Swissotel The Stamford closed its doors in March 2020, when the luxury hotel was turned into a Covid-19 quarantine facility.

It reopened in July with an updated menu that includes revamped versions of signature dishes, such as its farm-to-table Aquaponics Tilapia ($30++).

The fish is bred in-house at the hotel's Aquaponics Farm. Aquaponics combines aquaculture with hydroponics.

Executive sous chef Noel Ng, 40, does an excellent job of ridding the freshwater fish of muddy smells through a lengthy process of allowing the fish to rest before and after dispatching. A marinade of garden dill, olives and lemon zest ensures no pond water odours linger.

The fish is coated in cayenne pepper-seasoned bread crumbs and a lemony salsa verde made with basil, chervil, parsley, olive oil and garlic. Crispy fried curly kale chips and rockets add shades of green and texture to the dish.

TSB Salmon Gravlax ($24++) is cured in-house and the salmon slices have a lovely fruity flavour from the use of cold-pressed apple juice. Dill is added just before serving to prevent the herb from overwhelming the dish. Housemade dill oil mixed with yogurt is served at the table.

Meat lovers must order the TSB Baked Pork Ribs ($33++). The dish uses the meaty part of spare ribs, which are brined overnight before being slow-braised for three hours in pork jus. The Grand Marnier-infused sauce is punchy and torched segments of mandarin oranges give a citrusy lift to the dish.

TSB Chicken Wings ($18++) are made using fresh chicken wings marinated in beer. A dry rub of smoked paprika and spices infuses the meat with flavour and aroma.

The Corn Pasta offers the nostalgic taste of corn-in-a-cup, but is an elevated version of the pasar malam offering. The pasta is made from corn, which makes it slightly harder in texture. I prefer it to be cooked a little longer.

The dish derives flavour from a housemade corn stock which takes 24 hours to prepare. You catch a whiff of truffle oil when the dish is served, but it does not interfere with the sweetness of corn.

For dessert, go for Isapahan ($14++), inspired by French pastry chef Pierre Herme's famed rose-flavoured macaron of the same name.

The Stamford Brasserie's take has a bottom layer of almond sponge cake with cream of lychee and raspberry jam, and rose-flavoured milk foam, topped with rose petals.

Where: The Stamford Brasserie, Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road
MRT: City Hall
Open: Tuesdays to Saturdays, noon to 9pm. Closed on Sundays and Mondays
Info: Call 6431- 6156 or e-mail dining.singapore@swissotel.com