The Place After a few months of renovation, Jiang-Nan Chun has finally reopened in February this year. Located in Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, I can’t say how much I love the new Jiang-Nan Chun. The revamped interior has interesting nuances of the Jiang-Nan region, like the sky blue tiles of the entrance is akin to the Yangtze River, while the fish net inspired lights lined the main dining area if the restaurant, symbolic of the fisherman’s life along the river in Jiang Nan.

The other impressive point is the well-thought private rooms, which can hold private events and some even come with its own bar. The whole restaurant exudes an elegant ambience, yet it does not come across as intimidating.

The Food We started with Jiang-Nan Chun Signature Peking Duck ($98/whole duck), which the chef will personally slice it at your table in its “full glory”. The first thing which caught my attention was the arresting aroma, largely attributed to the 14 hours of roasting the duck over the rare Mesquite wood-fired oven.

Moving on to the luxe factor, this is probably the only Peking Duck in Singapore served with caviar! I found it best to have the crispy skin on its own, with a tinge of sugar and generous caviar serving. I’m not kidding when I said to the table I can have this everyday.

For the traditionalists, there is a choice of dark (Beijing style) and light sauce (Cantonese style) to accompany the plain and scallion wraps.

Good news if you love Dim Sum, only because it’s available all day at Jiang-Nan Chun. We tried the trio of Char Siew Sliders with homemade Pickled Green Chili ($15/serving)., Steamed Shrimp Dumpling with Mushroom ($2/piece) and Crispy Flaky Pastry with Black Pepper Beef ($3/piece).

My favourite of the lot is the crispy Black Pepper Beef Pastry, with the right texture that encapsulate the aromatic beef. I equally enjoyed the tender char Siew Sliders too, made from Japanese Kurobuta pork and prepared over the same Mesquite wood-fired oven as the Peking Duck.

That said, I can’t bear to discount the classic ‘Har Gow’, a dim sum dish we spot in every Cantonese restaurant yet few does a good rendition like this.

One of the appetisers we tried was the Soft Shell Prawns with Sliced Almond and Crispy Rice ($15/serving). This is my second favourite dish after the Peking Duck. The prawns had faint hints of spice, which was extremely addictive to munch on. The crunchy almond and rice added the extra touch to the prawns, and I can safely say it was a powerful combination.

Double-boiled Soup of Sea Whelk, Maka, Dried Scallops and Pork Ribs ($38/person). This is one nourishing soup we all need in our hot climate, which has a cooling effect. It’s the first time I heard of Maka, a type of Peruvian ginseng. There was no shortcut in the preparation of this rich soup, as it was first boiled over 8 hours before the ingredients were added, and subsequently boiled for a further 8 hours. Needless to say, I polished off the whole bowl including the tender pork ribs and scallops.

We had one of the seafood dish, the Baked Sea Perch on Egg Custard, Ginger and Supreme Broth ($25/person). I was totally eggcited over the egg custard, which literally laid the foundation for the fish.

If you love claypot dishes, the Wagyu Beef Oxtail with Lemongrass-infused Oil ($32/serving) is worth considering. The sauce was so good that I couldn’t resist having it with the fragrant rice. As for the Wagyu beef, expect fall-off-the – bone tenderness as it was slow-cooked for over 40 hours.

Even the desserts here are not the usual ones you will spot – Crispy Salted Egg York Puff Pastry with Almond ($12), Avocado Cream, Coconut sorbet, Osmanthus Jelly and Cocoa Nibs ($14), and the Yoghurt Cream, Mung Beans, Longan, Chia Seed, Sour Plum Granite ($14).

At the moment, there is a 25% promotion off Peking Duck (guests have to call Jiang-Nan Chun and quote “25% off Peking Duck” to book it), and a special wine-pairing promotionat $65++ for 3 glasses of wine curated by the wine experts at Jiang-Nan Chun. I really enjoyed the wine myself, and I am not even a big wine drinker. I guess it helps when you have professional service crew to explain the different types of wine paired with different dishes.

Rants Frankly, there’s not much we can rant about the new Jiang-Nan Chun. Almost full marks for both food and ambience, only that you do have to pay it up to dine here, just like every other fine dining Chinese restaurant – but well, at least the food here is definitely worth your money!

Will I Return Again? Jiang-Nan Chun has almost all the makings of a top end Chinese restaurant in Singapore. The service is polished, ambience befitting of comfort cosiness which resonates with its 享乐 theme, and most importantly, food which makes me crave for my next return visit.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Overall Experience: 4.5/5

Jiang-Nan Chun
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
190 Orchard Boulevard
Singapore 248646
Tel: +65 6831 7220

Opening Hours
Lunch – 11.30pm to 2.30pm (Daily)
Dinner – 6pm to 10.30pm (Daily)

Ranted by the Ranter