The Place I have been back Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro a few times in the past year. After trying their dinner service and private dining room service, I finally made time to check out their weekend brunch. The One Michelin starred Chinese restaurant is gorgeous in the day, with ample natural light through the window and the whole space just looks elegant.  

The Food The weekend brunch menu is available exclusively on weekends and public holidays from 11:30am to 3:15pm, with the last seating at 1:45pm. It is priced at S$88++ per person, and each dining experience is limited to 90 minutes, where the entire table must order from the brunch menu. 

It is somewhat a buffet style where you order from the menu and each dish will be served to your table. Most dishes are unlimited in orders, while some can only be ordered once, and some dishes like the Foie Gras Chawanmushi will require an additional top up.  

For a start, I had the Shisen Hanten Trio Appetiser (Served Once) which features Szechwan-style Sweet and Sour Jellyfish; Chilled Steamed Chicken with Spicy Sesame Sauce; and Szechwan Sliced King Mushrooms with Spicy, Mouth-numbing Mala Sauce (Vegetarian). 

Soup is up next where each diner can choose one Choice of Soup (Served Once), with options like Dried Scallops, Crab Meat & Fish Maw Soup or the Szechwan Hot and Sour Soup. 

Dim Sum is a main part of the brunch menu, and I must say the variety is quite good. I like the Steamed “Siew Mai” with Tobiko, and you can’t go wrong with the sinfuly but delicious Pan-fried Chinese Sausage Radish Cake. 

I usually avoid buns for buffets, but the Steamed Okinawa Barbecued Pork Bun is too good to pass. The pork meat is so tender. 

If you love chilli oil dumplings, then the Szechwan-style Poached Pork Dumpling will be up your alley. 

From the BBQ section, just try all the three available options since it all come in relatively small servings – Pan-seared Peking Duck; Barbecued Honey-glazed Hokkaido Shirobuta Pork Char Siew and the Crispy Roasted Pork Belly. 

For Main Courses, each one I tried below are good on its own. The addictive Deep-fried Diced Chicken with Szechwan Chilli Peppers is not too spicy and easy to digest. 

One of the signature mains, the Chen’s Original Spicy Dry Noodle (Dan Dan Mian) is a huge serving where even me and The Rantee struggled to finish. It is nonetheless very good. 

The Simmered Inaniwa Noodles with Chicken Soup is a nice soupy option if you want to wash down the oil from the earlier dishes. Similar to the dry noodle, the portion is huge. It took some time for this order to be served for me as I understand from the staff it is freshly made in the kitchen upon order.  

And the absolute must try dish? It is none other than Chen’s Mapo Tofu with Hokkaido Rice. We all know how good the Mapo Tofu is already by now and I just want to say, do not discount the rice too which is equally good on its own. I know it is not intuitive to have too much rice in a buffet but the mapo tofu definitely tastes better with some rice.  

Lastly, for Desserts, there are three options on the menu. Nothing too mindblowing for me here where you get the choice of Chilled Mango Pudding; Chilled Almond Pudding and Szechwan Jelly with Seasonal Fruits. 

Rants 90 minutes might be a tad rushed for some diners.  

Will I Return Again? Overall, I think this is a good value buffet for a One Michelin starred restaurant in the heart of Orchard Road. Service is excellent, food quality is good, and the dining ambience is elegant.  

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

Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro 
Level 35, Hilton Singapore Orchard 
333 Orchard Road 
Singapore 238867 
Tel: +65 6831 6262 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Friday: 12.00pm to 3.00pm; 6.00pm to 10.00pm  
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays 12.00pm to 3.00pm; 6.00pm to 10.00pm 

Ranted by The Ranter