Majestic Restaurant: Still good? Or getting old?

Chef Yong Bing Ngen is one of the local celebrity chefs. I have followed his cooking from his days helming Hai Tien Lo and Jade to now at the Majestic. My last visit was some 4 years ago, and I remembered the cuisine to be excellent. I don't know why I did not think of returning to the restaurant these years, such is the availability of choice in Singapore, even good restaurants are not frequented by those who love the food. But I digress. I returned recently...just before my trip to Hong Kong, so chronologically, this post is to have been the Grand Hyatt Dim Sum meal I posted yesterday.

Chef Yong is owner and chef of the restaurant, tucked within the electic and hip New Majestic Hotel at the artsy Bukit Pasoh area, just a stone throw's away from the traditional Chinatown.



We started with the appetizer platter of 4 of their most popular starters:



From top, clockwise: the sio bak, sharks fin with scrambled eggs, soft shelled crab, and wasabi prawns. The platter is good, and there is nothing to really complain about for it was well cooked, and tasted good. But I felt it did not soar to exhibit the deftness and creativity of the chef. I did not feel the spark of genius I had warmed up to in my last visit.

White asparagus was already in season, and we tried the giant asparagus.



I am a great fan of the huge Konig Spargel in Germany, and indeed this was the season. The asparagus served today at Majestic was tender, and not as fibrous. The cooking was milder than I would have liked, though this probably allowed the flavour of the asparagus to peek through. Another good, but not spectacular dish for me.

The beef tenderloin, pan seared lightly was next:



The beef was tender enough, and cooked just right - medium rare inside. Somehow the same feeling I had with the other dishes surfaced again. Competently cooked, tastes good, but no spark which I had come to expect coming out of Chef Yong's kitchen.

The main lobster noodles were next.



The same thread continues. The lobster, no doubt the fleshy Maine lobster, imported from the US or Canada was rather small. As there were three of us lunching that day, it was cut into thirds, and cooked with the noodles. The noodles were braised egg noodles, and was rather tasty - having absorbed the braising liquid and had a good flavour of crustacean. But I felt the noodles were slightly overcooked, as it was served very soft that all the texture and bite had left it. The lobster too, I felt was a tad over cooked.

For dessert, I had the durian ice cream in a deep fried crispy batter:



The novelty of fried ice cream is not quite there anymore, but this was a dish created during Majestic's heyday. And it still shines. The durian ice-cream was nice, rich, and just right in sweetness. The batter was light, and very crisp, and provided nice contrast to the ice-cream...not only in the texture: smooth, creamy vs crisp, but also in heat/cold. Nice.

Overall, this was a nice meal, but I felt a little let down. Perhaps I had worked up my anticipation of this meal due to my good memory of this restaurant from years ago. But I suspect, Chef Yong has perhaps a bit weary...perhaps burning out, and it shows in the lack of brilliance in the food. I hope he is just stuck in a rut which he will rise from soon, for it is a shame to see a talent like his go to mediocre.



Majestic Restaurant
New Majestic Hotel
31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089845

Tel: [65] 6511 4718
Fax: [65] 6222 3379
E-mail: restaurant@newmajestichotel.com

The Pierside, Singapore

While waiting to attend an event at Jing, Dr. Mycroft, Prof. Horolographer, SJX and I went next door and had dinner at The Pierside.

This is an old eatery which have been dishing up great eats to the beautiful people who show up at this trendy, fashionable area. The restaurant has a commanding view of the harbour...ok, this shot was taken about 60m away next to the Merlion...but the restaurant has an equally nice view...



We only had mains, as there was going to be finger food, champagne and single malt whisky at the event courtesy of The Hour Glass and Carl F. Bucherer later...in fact, where we sat, the drinks counter was just a few meters away, and we actually felt like getting our free champagne from there...:-)

We were immediately served very small buns of bread...bite sized...these were hot when we got them...and tasted great.

Mycroft chose the wagyu tatare...he could never resist wagyu or any kind of fully marbled beef. And we were a bit shocked when it arrived...the tatare patty was super small...a mould about 1 inch in diameter and the same height. Hmm, that's not going to work, but a quiet word with the excellent Maitre d settled that, and soon it was replaced with a more sizable portion.

The quail egg, and passion fruit provide a nice visual treat, and must have provided a nice counter taste to the rich wagyu.



He reported it to be quite good. Tasty! he proclaimed. Like me, he liked his tartare quite spicy, and remarked that it could stand with a little more spice. My personal favourite of steak tartare (not wagyu) is in a small restaurant in Paris, where they allow you to mix the spices yourself. Yum.

Young SJX opted for the rack of lamb, and when that arrived it was 2 rib cutlets.



The dish looked gorgeous...the lamb looked beautifully done, with what looked like charcoal charring at the side, and when he cut the meat, looked perfectly pink inside. He seemed to enjoy it.

The Professor had miso cod. The Maitre d recommend it as a hot favourite of the restaurant.



The chef did a good job at the plating. The cod looked exquisite. Horolographer was satisfied with the fish, the fish looked like it was nicely done. It came with new potatoes...by the time I shot the picture, he had already taken a bite of one of the spuds. The fish was perched on top a bed of sweet peas.

I had the pasta. But with a twist. Slices of succulent, juicy Maine lobster was quite generously sprinkled.



This dish, I can comment...it was delicious. Excellent balance and sweetness of the lobster made my meal. The tagliatale was nicely done. Flat noodles like tagliatale should be made fresh, and though I did not ask the wait staff, I suspect this one was...it tasted freshly made, and soft rather than chewy. Super.

The service was excellent. Cheerful...both the Maitre d and the waitress was smiling and happy to bring more bread, butter (yea, we did eat a lot of butter...as one might expect with Mycroft on the table). The setting of the restaurant was supreme, and the decor bright and cheery. Nice place. Really lovely. Enjoyed it.

Pierside Kitchen & Bar
Unit 01-01 One Fullerton
1 Fullerton Road
Singapore 049214


Photonotes: Shot with the usual 17-40L, but with 580EXII flash - indirectly using the white ceiling as a reflector.

The top shot of the durians of Esplanade was done with HDR. +2EV, 0EV, -2EV, combined using Photomatix HDR and Tone mapping.