They received recognition for the wrong reason – for a dinner bill that came to $239,000. Mr Wu of Room 30368, I hope you enjoyed it.

I’ve never stepped into Feng Shui Inn (風水廷) until now as I had heard that the food at this restaurant isn’t cheap. Helmed by Hong Kong veteran chef Li Kwok Kwong, this elegant restaurant decorated with gold leaf ceilings serves up Cantonese masterpieces that are exquisite in presentation and taste.

The Lunch

The extensive menu features perennial favourites like Chinese barbecued meats and dim sum, as well as nourishing double-boiled soups that are a staple in Cantonese cuisine. I am not Mr Wu, we were much more modest in our order.

Well, this “complimentary” braised five-spice peanuts with jellyfish was forced upon us for $20 as a Chinese otoshi.

1/ 北京片皮鴨伴墨西哥包 Beijing Roast Duck served with Mexican buns and condiments

Mexican Coffee Bun is a bun stuffed with butter and has a very crispy coffee pastry topping. It is made popular by this Malaysian bakery called Rotiboy and now this bun is commonly known as “Rotiboy” in Malaysia and throughout Asia. RWS is a Malaysian casino group. So the chef made a nod to the owners with this “Made in Malaysia” bun without coffee.

The very buttery soft bun with crispy top, a bit like Hong Kong “pineapple shaped” bun 菠蘿包, was a bit too much for the duck. Gimmicky but didn’t do justice to a really good Beijing duck.

2/ 四川水煮鱸魚 Szechuan chilli-pepper see bass

Strange to have a Szechuan dish in a Cantonese restaurant? These days, all restaurants will serve whatever the customers want. But this attempt was not good. The chilli-pepper oil used to drench the fish on was too thick and groopy. It was no wonder that this item was off the menu pretty soon after this visit.

3/ XO醬蘆筍炒帶子 Sautéed fresh scallops with asparagus in XO sauce

Mislabeling here? No, we asked for the no XO sauce version because our little Princess could not handle spice then, and she loved this course.

4/ 脆皮風沙雞 Crispy roast chicken with garlic chops

Half a chicken, it was really taste, the skin was so crispy yet the chicken was still tender and moist. The popped rice crispy was redundant and fought for attention with the deep fried garlic that was done to perfection.

5/ 波士頓龍蝦燜伊面 E-fu noodles with Boston lobster

Another of my princess’ favourite – the e-fu noodles, not the Boston lobster. I ate the lobster, she had the noodles.

6/ 乾炒澳洲牛柳河 wok-fried hor fun with sliced Australian beef

There are three courses that would test the mettle of the Cantonese chef – sweet and sour pork 咕噜肉, Yangzhou fried rice 揚州炒飯 and this one, wok-fried beef hor fun 乾炒牛河.

A good wok-fried hor fun must have that 鍋氣 wok-hei. The soy sauce must be caramelised and coats every bit of the hor fun. And it must not be too oily. Oil, yes, but not too oily to a state which the connoisseur calls 乾身 gon-shang. 

The chives and beansprouts were still raw, a sign that it was not fried long enough. The hor fun lacked the wok-hei. The taste was too monotonous of soy sauce. Fail.

Perhaps they were used to much bigger spenders, the front floor staff were not enthusiastic or attentive, except for the manager. Maybe we were dressed like we just came back from a swim (which we did), or the combination already said we were not tipping, the service was not warranted for a classy, fine dining restaurant like this.

The second time I came here was with the executive staff of RWS for a work lunch and we had a great lunch. The service was so much better. So there people, you are capable of good service, you just need to take away the prejudice.

Feng Shui Inn 風水廷
26 Sentosa Gateway #B1M-125-127, via Crockfords Tower Level G2 Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore 098138
Tel : 6577 6599

https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/restaurants/feng-shui-inn

Date Visited : Jun 2016