Clam and shrimp dumpling. Pretty. Rating: 5/6
House Special Chow Mein. Rating: 4/6
Kind of heavy with the sauce. It turned watery after a while.
Shrimp and Sharksfin Dumpling. Rating: 5/6
Shrimp dumpling (har gow). Rating: 5/6
I’m coming clean and pronouncing my dislike for Durian prior to rating this dessert that won raves reviews from everyone else and for which people come from afar to order. This famous signature dish won some awards, but it still didn’t win me over to durian.
Don’t hate me because I don’t like Durian. I found the pastry flaky, but the filling kind of cheesy in texture and lightly scented with durian (ew) and if you like that kind of thing, you will love this. It was majorly rich and I found it difficult to choke back more than half a piece. And I LOVE dessert, as you know. The rest Stomach had to stomach and he doesn’t like dessert. He thought it was okay but said he wouldn’t order it again. We took the remaining pastry home in a box which he ate later. Rating: 4.5/6
Panfried Rice rolls with Soy Sauce and Bean sprouts. Rating: 4/6
The rolls were hard and burnt. Not so good.
Egg tarts. Rating: 5/6
These aren’t particularly pretty, are they? But they’re good.
This was my “let’s try something new” dish. Lobster puffs. Boy what a disappointment.
The lobster was like the surimi fake lobster stuff that you get that’s been made to resemble fishcake. It was served with a sweet and sour dip which was necessary because the puff didn’t hold much lobster flavour. Rating: 4/6 (because I like deep fried anything)
Really resembling a fish ball, the Lobster Puffs have a crispy deep fried coating.
*************
2ND VISIT:
Shredded salted pork with century egg congee. The congee was good and served with little fried bits with nuts and scallions on the side.
Rating: 5/6
Chinese donut. Rating: 5/6
Har gow. Rating: 5/6
Stirfried bok choy. Rating: 5/6
Panfried Rice Rolls in soy sauce with beansprouts. Rating: 5/6
We ordered these again to give them another chance since the girls like rice rolls. These rice rolls held together well this time and weren’t burnt and hard unlike the first time we had it (above).
Black sesame and coconut pudding dessert. Rating: 6/6
Unique take on coconut pudding. I liked the layers.
Steamed Beef Balls on Beancurd sheet. Rating: 5/6
Seafood Salad Spring Roll. Rating: 5/6
I would have liked to see honking big prawns and seafood in here rather than canned fruit cocktail and mayonnaise. Perhaps I got one prawn altogether.
Beancurd sheet Roll (vegetarian spring roll). Rating: 5/6
Shan Tung Beef cake (onion and beef pastry). Rating: 5/6
Rainflower Restaurant is located near Yaohan Shopping Centre. Good luck finding parking at lunchtime on a weekend! There should be ample parking if you go earlier in the morning, around 10a.m.
You’re not supposed to park at Yaohan and eat at Rainflower because that’s a different complex. There are some security guards around and I hear people check to see where you’re walking from your car.
We usually have parking luck, so we got a space. Too bad we don’t have 649 luck! We always get a space right in front or really close to the door, but hey, you can’t win ‘em all.
Upon entering, you will be struck by the awesomely tacky furnishings, the over-the-top gilded furniture, the high ceilings and pretentious over-stuffed chairs. In the foyer, there is an amazingly large “grandfather” clock made of plexiglass columns, gold-coloured trim adorned with a huge eagle with its wings open. There is a plaque there as well, which I didn’t read. I sat the girls on the huge sofa and taught them the word “gaudy”. They learned it quite quickly as there was ample evidence in the restaurant. The decor is a fusion of Chinese-inspired wall paper depicting an emperor’s courtyard, grand European crystal chandeliers, ornate gilded trim and decor and overstuffed seating. I think they were gunning for “high class” or expensive and this is what they come up with. You must go in just to see that clock though. It doesn’t actually work. It’s a piece of work. I couldn’t stop giggling. Contrast that with the huge flat screen t.v.’s in the eating area running through images of their food and award-winning signature dishes. So not sublime.
Tacky and gaudy do not deter me when seeking good food, dear friends. So I shut my eyes to the surroundings and focussed my senses on the food. I had my fill of “classy ambience”.
The service was pretty good and the food was pretty good. You pay a premium for eating in this high end restaurant though. I would like to see a few more "knock 'em out of the ballpark" dishes and more consistency for that premium. How else will they pay for maintenance of that clock?
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