The Place One of the most established Chinese restaurants in Singapore has quietly reopened with a new identity. I checked out the revamped Cherry Garden located in Mandarin Oriental Singapore, which has reopened this month with a new branding as Cherry Garden by Chef Fei. While the previous Cherry Garden focused on Cantonese cuisine, Cherry Garden by Chef Fei is a Cantonese-Teochew concept in collaboration with Chef Fei who has earned Two Michelin Stars for six consecutive years, and One Diamond for eight consecutive years in the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.

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Having collaborated with several Mandarin Oriental properties including Jiang by Chef Fei in Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou, The Bay by Chef Fei in Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen, and most recently Yan Garden by Chef Fei in Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing, Chef Fei is no stranger to Mandarin Oriental. 

I love the new look of Cherry Garden by Chef Fei. It looks more contemporary with nice modern touches, yet it still retains that bit of oriental design to remind you that this is a Chinese restaurant.

Other than the elegant main dining area, there are also four well-appointed private dining rooms for different dining sizes. 

The Food Set menus and ala carte menu will be available for lunch and dinner, where Cantonese-style dim sum items will be available for lunch. For dinner, there are two set menus – Lotus at S$198 for 6-courses and Peony at S$268 for 8-courses. Chef Fei is very particular about the ingredients he use, from the type of fish for his signature congee to the condiments served. 

I had the 6-course dinner set menu and here is what to expect: 

Appetiser Trilogy 
A trio of appetisers to start the meal – Chaoshan-style smoked and chilled threadfin fish; Marinated fennel bulb and Japanese cucumber salad; and Rose sea salt cured scallop and sea urchin.

The smoked threadfin fish is amazing.     

Double-boiled pork tripe soup with fish maw and white pepper 
Soup is a staple in Chinese cuisine, and this is one of the courses I really enjoyed. Served and prepared tableside, the flavourful and wholesome soup here is brimming with collagen from the gelatinous fish maw.

The broth is slightly peppery and is extremely comforting to drink. 

Sautéed diced Wagyu beef with Sichuan peppercorn and chilli 
What seems like a normal beef course here is cooked with Sichuan peppercorn to lend it a mildly spicy flavour but not too overbearing for the palate. As expected, the beef is juicy and delicious. 

Blanched geoduck with basil and chilli in chicken broth 
This is probably my first time having geoduck this way. I love the subtle hint of spiciness in the chicken broth which really elevates the geoduck. 

Boneless crucian carp congee 
One of Chef Fei’s signature dishes in his other restaurants as well, it was also my first time hearing of a fish called crucian carp which Chef Fei is persistent on using for his congee. Cherry Garden is possibly the only restaurant using crucian carp, and this type of fish is known for its numerous small bones which requires deft skills from the chef to handle it such that it is served boneless.

Served tableside, the congee is comforting and each grain of rice is so soft in texture.

The crucian carp has a slightly fatty taste and is not at all fishy. To complement the taste of the congee, you can also add on condiments like peanut and ‘cai poh’ (preserved radish). 

Braised bird’s nest with ginger and Hetian jujube 
The meal ends off with a custard-like dessert of milk pudding topped with bird’s nest and a tinge of ginger flavour. 

Rants If you are thinking about the weekend dim sum buffet which Cherry Garden used to have on its menu, unfortunately there will not be a dim sum buffet menu for now, but rather as dim sum ala carte menu during lunch hours.

Will I Return Again? It is a lovely revamp for Cherry Garden be it the space or the new cuisine direction. Chef Fei has a strong style of presenting and preparing his dishes and it is definitely much more elevated now as compared to what it used to be. 

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4.5/5 

Cherry Garden by Chef Fei 
5 Raffles Avenue, Floor 5, Mandarin Oriental Singapore 
Singapore 039797 
Tel: +65 6885 3500 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 12pm to 2.30pm; 6pm to 10pm 

Ranted by The Ranter