Executive Chinese Chef Edward Chong of Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin has prepared special Hakka dishes reminiscent of his home-cooked meals as part of the Flavours of Home promotion till 31 August 2019.
Highlights include the Hakka Tea Cake “Cha Kwo” made with ingredients that are not readily available in Singapore. There is a savoury white cha kwo with dried shrimp, jicama and yam; a savoury green mugwort cha kwo filled with preserved vegetable and pork belly; and a sweet black cha kwo filed with peanut, sesame and brown sugar. The Cha Kwo skins are soft and pleasantly chewy, just the right texture that makes it easy to swallow.
The traditional kampong style dish of Deep-fried Frog Leg with Ginger and Garlic (S$38) is prepared is an absolutely delight.
A lot of work has been put into the Pan-fried Minced Mackeral Fish Paste served with Homemade sauce (S$48). The dish is served like a deep-fried fish that has been sliced up and ready to be eaten, just like any whole fish.
But when you take a closer look, the fish meat has already been removed so that the skin remains unbroken and structure remains intact. The fish meat is blended with prawn and lemon leaf before being stuffed back into the fish.
The Barbecued Lemon Grass Quail Legs (S$48) served with Pickled Daikon Radish is presented in a very photographable display that resembles roast meats hung up on display at food stalls. The quail legs are barbecued over binchotan, slathered with a special sauce of lemongrass, curry powder, garlic, shallot, peanut butter and sesame sauce.
The Braised Pork Belly Noodles (S$28) are served in very beautiful bowls that were sourced from Vietnam. Pork belly, five spicy and crispy pork lard are served with Taiwan Ribbon noodles. Chef Chong has created this noodle dish with the same sauce from the traditional Chinese braised pork sliders, affectionately known here as kong bak bao. Black soya sauce and shallot oil are also added for more flavour.
A new dish for Chef Chong is his Stir-fried Rice Cake with Squid in Squid Ink Sauce (S$28). The dish features french bean, squid, prawn and rice cake and is exceptionally tasty. It may not look appetising, but this dish actually tastes perfectly balanced.
I don’t get to eat Hakka cuisine much. When I was served the Hakka Yam Abacus Seeds with King Prawn and “Lala” Clams in Chinese Rice Wine (S$48), I learnt that Abacus seeds actually taste good in soups too. Chef takes a different approach to the traditional stir-fried style abacus seed. He chose prawns for the soup base to create an umami flavour to complement the abacus seed.
Other dishes on the Flavours of Home menu at Peach Blossoms include Stir-Fried Cockles (S$28) with curry leaves, dried shrimp and curry powder and Deep-Fried Radish and Duck Meat Cake (S$28) served with Barbecued Sauce.
For enquiries and reservations, visit www.meritushotels.com/marina, call +6568451118 or email peachblossoms.marina@meritushotels.com.
