Tired of mala? Head to these Singapore restaurants for new Chinese flavours

SINGAPORE – From true Hainanese chicken rice to Beijing-style grilled lamb to Dongpo ribs, the owners of new Chinese restaurants here are seeking to widen and deepen diners’ knowledge of Chinese food.

Yes, mala restaurants serving the numbing cuisine of Sichuan still proliferate, but choices have opened up for people who prefer not to set their tongues on fire.

As with Japanese and Korean restaurants, the Chinese restaurant scene here is maturing, with regional Chinese cooking coming to the fore.

Earlier in 2025, Imperial Treasure Huaiyang Cuisine opened at Ion Orchard, serving food from the cities of Huai’an and Yangzhou in Jiangsu province.

The Black Pearl at Odeon 333, which opened in January, showcases Yue cuisine, with flavours drawn from Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chaoshan, Dongjiang and Shunde.

Hakka Yu, serving dishes such as

salt-baked

chicken

, stuffed tofu and steamed mugwort dumplings, opened at Jewel Changi Airport in December 2024. Its food seems to be resonating with diners here. Its second outlet opened at Northpoint City in Yishun on Aug 27 and a third will begin operations at Jem mall in Jurong at the end of October 2025.

And even with a popular cuisine like Cantonese food, operators have found fresh ways to inject nuance and fun. Here are some new Chinese flavours to enjoy.

Mr Hainan: From Sanya to Singapore

Where: 02-116 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk
Open: 11.30am to 9.30pm daily
Info: Call 8060-7116; @mrhainan (Instagram)

The Hainanese dishes Singaporeans are familiar with – chicken rice, pork chop and curry rice – are different from the food in Hainan.

Mr Dong Haideng, 50, owner of Mr Hainan, which opened on Aug 22, says Hainanese cuisine has a “milder profile that highlights fresh ingredients, natural sweetness and subtle seasoning rather than strong spices or heavy sauces”.

He adds: “In Singapore, Hainanese cuisine took on a unique identity shaped by the British influence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many Hainanese men worked as cooks, butlers and ship stewards for the British, which led them to incorporate Western elements into their cooking.

“Hainanese cuisine places importance on fresh ingredients and natural flavours, allowing the essence of each ingredient to shine through.”

The 60-seat restaurant serves dishes such as Luffa And Glass Noodle In Chicken Broth ($18.80), Threadfin With Black Bean Sauce ($29.90), braised Hainan Jiaji Duck ($25.80), Hainan Wenchang Chicken ($28.80 for half) and Wenchang Chicken Rice ($1.60).

Mr Dong, who is from Hainan, used to manage Yan Jiang Hainan Cuisine, a restaurant group there, before opening his restaurant in Singapore.

He imports ingredients such as black soya beans, tamarind and fish from Hainan.

The free-range chickens are from Malaysia and bred for the restaurant. Fed an antibiotic-free diet, they are farmed 180 days before slaughter to produce firm and flavourful meat, he adds.

The chicken rice is made with old crop rice that more fully absorbs the chicken broth it is cooked in.

Mr Dong says: “While many Chinese restaurants here emphasise Cantonese or Sichuan food, we focus on Hainan’s coastal heritage and its lighter, clean-tasting dishes.”

Peking Chamber: Beijing specialities

Where: 01-212/213/214 Weave at Resorts World Sentosa, 26 Sentosa Gateway
Open: 11am to 3pm and 5 to 10pm daily
Info: Call 6993-1600;

www.pekingchamber.com.sg

One of the go-to places in Beijing for Peking duck has opened in Singapore. Peking Chamber, with 116 seats, launched at Resorts World Sentosa’s Weave in August.

The brand was established in Beijing in 2008, and there are now 24 restaurants in the Chinese capital and Shanghai.

The signature Roasted Tender Duck (from $68 for half) is hung in the oven and roasted over fruit wood.

Diners eat it three ways. The first involves enjoying the skin and meat separately. The skin is dipped in sugar, and the meat in mashed garlic, before eating. Then they savour the dish with pancakes.

In the second way, diners dip slices of duck with skin in begonia plum sauce, then fold them into a pancake with strips of Hami melon and cucumber. The last way is to have the duck in a pancake with sweet bean sauce, pickled cabbage and shredded scallions.

A spokesman for Peking Chamber says Beijing cuisine is more than Peking duck, adding that it is based on northern Chinese culinary traditions and includes influences from the northern coastal province of Shandong, imperial court cuisine and halal cuisine from its Muslim community.

The restaurant showcases these other aspects of the cuisine. Offerings include Selected Grilled Lamb With Scallion ($45), with meat from the hind legs grilled and served in a copper pot; Braised Sea Cucumber With Scallion ($78 a person), with sea cucumber from Dalian; and Sweet And Sour Deep-fried Yellow Croaker With Garlic ($109 for a whole fish), where the fish, from the East China Sea, is deep-fried without a batter and served with a sweet and tangy sauce.

Longjing: Taste of Zhejiang cuisine

Where: 01-384 Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard
Open: 11.30am to 10pm daily
Info: Call 6348-6523;

en.china-greentea.com.cn

The operator of Longjing, which opened on Aug 30, is looking to take Zhejiang cuisine international. Later in September, it will open a restaurant in Bangkok, followed by another in Kuala Lumpur in December. It is also eyeing other countries in South-east Asia, plus Japan, South Korea and the United States.

The brand, under the Green Tea Group, was established in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province in 2008. It has more than 500 outlets, called Green Tea Restaurant, in China, and picked Singapore for its first international offshoot with an eye to expanding in the region.

A spokesman says: “Singapore has a large Chinese population and high acceptance of Chinese cuisine. Currently, there is almost no Zhejiang cuisine chain restaurant at the same price level as Longjing in Singapore.”

Zhejiang cuisine is made up of four styles of cooking, the spokesman adds. The Hangzhou style focuses on knife skills and heat control; Ningbo style showcases seafood; Shaoxing style blends fresh fish with preserved and dried ingredients; and Wenzhou food highlights knife work and seafood.

Offerings include Shaoxing Pork Buns ($6.80), Clams And Loofah ($14.80), Longjing Roast Chicken ($23.80 for a whole chicken), Dongpo Ribs ($20.80) and Steamed Yellow Croaker ($29.80). Diners can order Longjing Green Tea ($3.80 a serving) too.

Eye-catching desserts include Ice Cream Leifeng Pagoda ($4.80) and West Lake Lotus Flower Pudding ($5.80).

The Soup Expert: Double-boiled

Where: 03-316 Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard
Open: Opens in October 2025, 11am to 9.30pm
Info: @thesoupexpert (Instagram)

For those who believe in the power of soup, there is The Soup Expert, a brand from Shanghai that specialises in double-boiled soup. It is opening its first restaurant outside China at Suntec City in October.

Mr David Chen, 54, who is from China, started the brand in 2007 and now has three restaurants in Shanghai.

He says what sets his restaurant apart is that his double-boiled Cantonese soups are designed “for different wellness needs”.

Those needs include, he adds, “beauty and vitality for women, energy and stamina for men, immune support for those feeling under the weather, calming formulas for seniors, detoxifying blends, and brain-nourishing recipes for children”.

The soups are simmered for four hours in a special soup steamer that uses a steam-boiling method. Those same steamers are used in his Shanghai restaurants.

Offerings include Abalone Ginseng Soup ($14.90), made with abalone from Dalian, farmed ginseng, old hens, bamboo fungus and pork. Another signature is Wild Mushroom Bamboo Fungus Soup ($12.90), with mountain mushrooms and bamboo fungus.

Apart from soup, diners can order Cooker-Baked Dang Gui Chicken ($18.90 for half), the chicken infused with angelica root, astragalus, red dates and goji berries; and Five Harmony Prawn Cake ($18.90 for three), made with prawn paste and whole prawns.

Mr Chen plans to open five restaurants in Singapore, and is eyeing Malaysia for further expansion.

Singapore, he adds, was a natural first choice.

“Singapore diners are known for their curiosity and openness to authentic, quality food experiences,” he says. “Many are already familiar with the benefits of double-boiled soups, whether from Chinese heritage or a growing interest in wholesome eating.”

Xing Yue Xuan: Premium Cantonese

Where: B1-201 Weave at Resorts World Sentosa, 26 Sentosa Gateway
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm (weekdays); 11.30am to 3.30pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm (weekends)
Info: Call 8031-0096; @jumbogroup.singapore (Instagram)

The Jumbo Group, known for its seafood restaurants, opened its first Cantonese restaurant at Weave in Resorts World Sentosa in June 2025.

A spokesman for the group says it was “time to create something that reflects both the heritage and finesse of Chinese cuisine at a premium level”.

About half the 66 seats are in private rooms, and the restaurant is done up in the Chao Shan courtyard style, with warm timber, lanterns and stained-glass windows.

Leading the kitchen is Singaporean chef Khor Joo Wah, 54, who has more than 20 years of experience working in Chinese restaurants, including for the TungLok Group.

Amuse bouches include scallop and prawn salad in housemade kueh pie tee shells, and pickled cherry tomatoes. Diners are served Honeycomb Ruby Tea, a blend of jujube and Formosa oolong made for the restaurant.

Signatures include Double-boiled Fish Maw Kampung Chicken Soup ($38 a person), made with old hens, fish maw, scallops and morel mushrooms; Dong Po Pork Belly In Hakka Style ($38 a person), braised for six hours; and Xing Yue Xuan Fuss-Free Crab ($78 a person for half a crab). The shelled crab meat and claw can be had in one of three ways – Jumbo’s chilli crab style, in black pepper or steamed with egg custard and topped with caviar.

There is also live seafood and Duo Dim Sum Platter ($15 a person) with changing selections.

Canton Paradise+: Instagram-friendly Cantonese

Where: B2-37 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk
Open: 10am to 10pm daily
Info: @paradisegrpsg (Instagram)

Bolo buns shaped like turtles; pig and chick lava buns; and bear-shaped wobbly mango pudding. It is clear that Canton Paradise+ wants to populate Instagram with pictures of its food.

The new brand, which focuses on dim sum and Hong Kong-style congee, noodles and rice dishes, is part of the Paradise Group, which operates 66 restaurants in Singapore.

The first Canton Paradise+, a 76-seater, opened at VivoCity on Sept 1, and another is slated to open before the end of the year.

The group plans to open more outlets in 2026.

Ms Lin Sifang, 40, director of marketing and communications for the group, says the new brand is about offering “flavourful morsels in a stylish setting”.

She adds: “It brings a fresh, playful and convenient dining format that resonates with modern lifestyles.”

Prices are meant to encourage repeat visits. Signatures include Sugar Shell Turtle Bolo Bun ($4.90), Trio Lava Bun ($7.90), Signature Canton Jumbo Prawn Wanton Noodle ($8.90) and Steamed Rice Roll With Curry Pig’s Skin And Fish Ball ($7.50).

Asked if the new brand is a response to diners wanting to spend less, she says the casual vibe, friendly prices, food offerings and service “make it an attractive choice during cautious consumption periods”.