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2013-01-01
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Marina Bay is becoming a hip & happening zone, perhaps already surpassing Orchard Road. Thankfully it is still possible to find restaurants that serve hearty, satisfying meals at down to earth prices on New Year's Eve. This new branch of the popular Paradise Inn chain of Chinese family restaurants is indeed a welcome addition to the plethora of predominantly Western restaurants in Marina Square.We beat the dinner crowds to order four dishes to go with rice to share among the four of us. The di
Marina Bay is becoming a hip & happening zone, perhaps already surpassing Orchard Road. Thankfully it is still possible to find restaurants that serve hearty, satisfying meals at down to earth prices on New Year's Eve. This new branch of the popular Paradise Inn chain of Chinese family restaurants is indeed a welcome addition to the plethora of predominantly Western restaurants in Marina Square.We beat the dinner crowds to order four dishes to go with rice to share among the four of us. The dishes arrived within 10-15 minutes of placing our orders. We liked the restaurant's crew for not pressing us to order the higher priced seafood dishes and for regularly topping up our glasses of Chinese tea.
The double boiled pork rib with winter melon soup ($15.90++ per pot, enough for 5-6 servings). The soup was hearty, flavorful and not too salty to be drunk on its own. The pork ribs were cooked till tender and the meat fell off the bone easily. We asked for a plate of sliced red chilli with soya sauce to go with the pork ribs. I liked the soft melon and wished there were more of the gourd in the soup.
The Homemade Tofu with Seafood & Pork Floss in Mini Wok ($10.90++ for small) was my favorite dish. The creamy soft tofu had a generous topping of pork floss and was submerged in a concentrated, savoury gravy with lots of diced fresh prawns & some diced fresh scallops. If I am to order just one dish to go with plain rice, it will be this seafood tofu dish, which epitomizes Paradise Inn's winning formula of using staple ingredients like tofu & turning it into a different dish from what/how we usually consume it at home.
The Imperial Pork Rib ($10.90++ for Small) was another well executed, popular 'zi-char' dish. The Small portion contained six pieces
of boneless pork loin (four big & two small pieces) which were very tasty, and was tempted to order a second plate of it for sharing.
The eggplant with minced meat in spicy sauce ($10.90++ for small) was served in a claypot. It was rather salty and greasy. It was prevented from being too 'over the top' when scooped sparingly into a bowl of piping hot plain rice.
We were glad to have chosen Chinese tea to go with what would be our last meal for 2012. We were satiated enough to pass the dessert; anyway the dessert selection was run off the mill and it would be better to save the money for a late night supper. The bill for four of us was just shy of $70, which is less than the average cost per head of a New Year's Eve meal in one of the three swanky hotels above Marina Square.
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