Peach Blossoms marks new chapter with revamped menu, refreshed interiors and focus on local flavours - The Straits Times

Crisp Air Roll with Spanish Mackerel and Caviar.

SINGAPORE – With so many new restaurants serving Chinese cuisine across various budgets, how does one stand out from the pack?

In the case of newly renovated Chinese restaurant Peach Blossoms at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay hotel, it is leaning into its executive Chinese chef Edward Chong’s expertise in Singaporean and South-east Asian flavours and fresh interiors.

It is high time, too, for the talented Malaysia-born Hakka chef – based in Singapore for 20 years – to showcase his roots in a revamped a la carte menu launched on Oct 15.

A few of his signatures remain, including smoked duck (from $48), sweet and sour Kurobuta pork ($38) and a seasonal favourite of Hakka salted chicken with kampachi and julienned salad ($108) – now a permanent fixture on the menu for diners to enjoy lohei the whole year round.

For starters, the Chicken Rice Tart with Six-Hour Cured Kampachi and Caviar (part of a $48 four-combination platter) ties the familiar flavours of Singapore’s Hainanese chicken rice with inspiration from Chong’s travels to Shunde in Guangdong, China, which is known for its raw fish dishes.

Chicken Rice Tart with Six-Hour Cured Kampachi and Caviar.

A delicate and crisp tart shell holds the rice cooked with chicken fat and aromatics, finished with housemade peanut oil. Kampachi, fried shredded ginger and Kaluga Queen caviar complete the refined bite.

Chong’s signature Crisp Air Roll ($88 a person) gets a new spin with encased Spanish mackerel alongside crab meat, konjac jelly, hairy gourd and dried shrimp cooked in a seafood broth. Think of it as an elegant meeting of popiah and otah.

Another highlight takes inspiration from the humble chye poh (preserved radish), cleverly used in a braised Boston lobster dish ($268 for four people) for added crunch and flavour.

The lobster is dry-braised in a claypot with basil and Japanese shiitake mushroom sauce, and served with the chye poh and pieces of chwee kueh.

Looking to splurge? Go for the bak kut teh-inspired Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($98 a person) – the most elevated take on the peppery version of the pork soup with prized seafood ingredients such as Jeju abalone, Kanto sea cucumber, South African fish maw and giant king grouper stomach.

Bak Kut Teh Buddha Jumps Over The Wall.

Where: Level 5 Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, 6 Raffles Boulevard MRT: EsplanadeOpen: Noon to 3pm (weekdays), 11.30am to 3pm (weekends), 6.30pm to 10.30pm dailyTel: 6845-1118Info: str.sg/en23

Eunice Quek is STFood online editor at The Straits Times. She covers all things trending in the food and beverage scene.