I don't think I can say enough how much I loved my dining experience here, but I am going to try. I should start by saying I was lucky enough to meet Chef/Restaurant owner, Jimmy Lee, who came over said hello and told us all about the menu. One of the perks of coming into a restaurant late on a weekday evening when it is a bit slow, you may meet the owner and said owner may actually have time to chat. Jimmy even ended up taking our order! Honestly he may be one of the nicest people I have ever met. If I could give a sixth star for that I would; it made the whole dining experience so much more personal to see how excited the chef was about his creation!
Our group decided to share a bunch of items off the menu since we couldn't decide and we were starving. We ordered 3 starters, 3 mains and ended up with dessert...oh and let's not forget the cocktails!!
We started off with two of the signature cocktails: The Lychee Daiquiri. It did not disappoint and was a very well-balanced, unique drink. Make sure to eat the alcohol soaked lychee at the end!! My next drink was the Singapore Sling and as expected it has quite the kick of alcohol, definitely not meant for the light weights, but again fabulously prepared.
To start we had the Dim Sum Platter and personally it was my favourite, but I also just love dim sum! The dish was beautifully presented, though it did not last long as it was devoured by the table! The mushrooms in Garlic and wine sauce were amazing, even if you don't like fungus! If I ever order a steak, I am having it along with it! And last, but definitely not least, was the crispy duck rolls. They are what you would expect, but you really can't go wrong with a deep fried duck rolled up into a delicious little morsel!
The mains were the Monk Fish, the sweet chilli chicken, and one of the sizzlers. I did not eat much of these as I was pretty full...but of course I had to try a bit of each. All the flavours were wonderful and each dish was quite unique. For me the Monkfish won the flavour award and the sweet chilli chicken had a lovely presentation. Honestly I don't think you can really go wrong with anything in this restaurant. All of the food we had was absolutely delicious, and beautifully prepared.
For dessert we were waffling, literally and figuratively. It was late, around 1030, we knew the kitchen was closed for the most part, so we figured we should probably pass so the staff should go home. And Jimmy wasn't going to have it, so we ate the Waffle with maple syrup, ice cream and chocolate. Yum yum YUM! Yes, that plate might as well have been licked clean. We also had the banana fritter and the Cheese cake. To be fair I am biased, love chocolate and waffles, so that won for me!
The decor here is nice and modern, with an airy ambient feel, as opposed to the kitschy Chinese restaurants filled with lots of gold, red, dragons and Budas. The prices are a bit high but it fits; this is definitely not Chinese street food, and what I would call fine dining.
Chinese food is not generally one of my 'go-tos' that I crave, but I would definitely come back to Lychee! read more