A Gastronomic Journey of Sichuan Delights @ Si Chuan Dou Hua Parkroyal Beach Road

Was staying at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, and it was opportune to try out Si Chuan Dou Hua for lunch. Reservation is encouraged. This was before stabilisation phase where dining in groups of five was still allowed.

entrance

After all the necessary Safe-Entry check-in, and vaccination status verifications, we were led to our table.

table setting

The tea cup with the leaves are available on every table and the staff will enquire if you are having tea. Once affirmed, hot water would then be poured into the tea cup.

蒙顶黄芽 (Meng Ding Huang Ya Tea) @$6++ per pax

The tea was mild and pleasant, much like Long Jing tea. It is said that Meng Ding Huang Ya tea (a type of yellow tea 黄茶)  is from Mount Meng in Ya'an, Sichuan. Used to be drunk by the royals, now is available for us to enjoy.

QR Code menu

By default, the QR Code menu links to the ala-carte menu. Hence if you are there for the buffet, do request for the buffet menu.

Sichuan Buffet Menu

The thing about ala-carte buffet, we weren't sure of the portion served but reckoned, it would be similar to dim sum buffet dishes, meaning everyone can try a piece that kind of portion.

The premium item on the buffet menu is the baby lobster 小龙虾 (one serving per pax). Four flavours to choose from, so we got one each. There were 2 spicy and 2 non-spicy flavours.

Sichuan buffet menu arrangement, by flavours

Our strategy is to order at least 10 items each round, as the preparation takes time and staff informed that each order will probably need at least half an hour to be served.

To order, just state the reference number of the item. Quantity is determined by total pax of the guest table.

first round of appetisers

The appetisers:

• Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce 夫妻肺片
• Chilled Chicken with Spicy Bean Paste 口水鸡
• Marinated Black Fungus with Preserved Chili 泡椒木耳
• Sliced Beef with Five Spice 五香牛肉
• Sea Clam in Garlic and Chili Sauce 蒜泥鲍贝
• Diced Cod Fish Deep Fried with Sichuan Pepper 椒盐鳕鱼丁
• Fresh Scallops in Sichuan Peppers and minced Spring Onions Sauce 椒麻带子

All the above I liked, except the five spice beef and the cod fish as these two were somewhat lacking in flavours. We re-ordered the black fungus and fresh scallops. So good!

Fresh Scallops in Sichuan Peppers and minced Spring Onions Sauce 椒麻带子

Marinated Black Fungus with Preserved Chili 泡椒木耳

Chilled Chicken with Spicy Bean Paste 口水鸡

Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce 夫妻肺片

The beef tripe and salivating chicken (口水鸡) were both pretty spicy, so get ready with your drinks when enjoying these.

Baby Lobster 小龙虾

flavour is indicated on top with a small sticker

reveal

Steamed Baby Lobster with Minced Garlic

Stir-fried Baby Lobster with Spring Onion and Ginger

Baby Lobster with Chili and Peppercorn

It was quite troublesome to eat the Baby Lobsters, so gave away half my portion but the noodles inside were enjoyable.

let's eat~

After two rounds of the food, we sort of know which one would be good and which wouldn't. For example, prawns and scallops were good and consistent. Though the sizes differ even when we chose another sauce/flavour to try.

Chilled Shelled Prawns with Plum and Sichuan Peppers

Fresh Prawns in Tomato Sauce and Stir Fried Prawns in Garlic and Chili Sauce

Actually, doesn't matter which flavour/sauce, just get the prawns (and the fresh scallops).

And, how can we not eat tofu when we are at Si Chuan Dou Hua? It is a must-have. Slurpingly good.

Beancurd in Spicy Minced Meat Sauce

Beancurd with Sichuan Minced Peppers

For meat dish, I'd say our favourite was the beef. Lovely tender texture and not too spicy. But hor, the cubes was rather smallish.

Stir fried Diced Beef in Sichuan Pepper

Pork dishes, was more misses than hits. Tried the pork knuckles, stir fried loin, pork belly and braised sliced pork. 

Can't count the braised sliced pork because I actually thought the star of the dish, was the rice bubble and the assorted vege in it. Hahaa!

The best from this lot, is the Stir Fried Pork Loin in Sweet and Sour Sauce. Well fried, and meat had a nice chew but not tough.

Braised Pork Knuckle with Sichuan Bean Paste

Braised Pork Belly in Honey Sauce

Stir fried Loin in Sweet and Sour Sauce

Braised Sliced Pork with Crispy Rice Bubble

For chicken dish, I enjoyed the chilled chicken (salivating chicken) and the diced chili chicken (辣子鸡).

Chong Qing Diced Chicken with Dried Chili 

For finale, we ended our meal with soups, noodles and dessert.

Hot and Sour Vermicelli

Sichuan Noodle in Onion Oil

Sichuan Minced Meat Noodle

Chuckled when we saw the size of the scallion pancake. This is a super mini version, so cute!

Scallion Pancake

For dessert, the serving was one piece and if you say 3 dumplings, then it will really be 3 dumplings served together. One piece per serving.

Glutinous Rice Ball with Sesame Red Bean Paste

Crispy Glutinous Rice Ball with Sesame Red Bean Paste

Sichuan Glutinous Pancake

My favourite is the Sichuan Glutinous Pancake which was a fried item and inside was so mochi. Not too sweet and not too oily.

There was a promotion with the buffet and one could get a glass of sake along with it, or if you are not into alcohol, then can swap it out for juice.

complimentary sake

The buffet is priced at $68++ per pax and there was a 20% discount for payment made via UOB credit card.

Thank you makan kakis for the quality time spent! See you in November for our next staycay!

Si Chuan Dou Hua Parkroyal Beach Road

Address: 7500 Beach Rd, PARKROYAL on, Singapore 199591

Website: www.sichuandouhua.com

Opening Hours

Lunch - 11:30am to 2:30pm

Dinner - 6:30pm to 10:30pm

[Tasting] Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang 李记串串香 @ 206 Jalan Besar

Was invited to a tasting session at Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang at its new outlet at 206 Jalan Besar. The brand originated from Chong Qing China with about 500 outlets and is renowned for its delicious skewers (串串) and hotpot. Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang flagship restaurant is in Chinatown Singapore since 2017.

For the uninitiated, its Jalan Besar outlet is just across the road of the famed pig's organ soup shop, and around the corner of the kopitiam with the well-known Amy Yip's buns.

interior

Was delighted to find out that one could enjoy private dining signature dishes by Chef Ng Sen Tio (黄胜潮) here. Now we can pair our comfort food with specialty Cantonese (粵) cuisine. Am liking this variety already!

If you prefer to dine in the comfort of a private room to celebrate special occasions, Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang at Jalan Besar has it.

hotpot with  soup bases setup

At Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang, one could do a single ($10), double ($13) or four flavours ($18) soup base. Looking at the price points, I'd say go for the four flavours soup base! 

Ahhh, but I need to tell you this first. My favourite is their 'Green Pepper Chilli Mala' (李记独特青一色锅底) soup base. Must order. However, need to top up $5, $3 and $2 respectively to the single, double and four flavours pricing to enjoy this.

For our hotpot's four flavours soup base, we had the following (arranged in the order of my preference~)

• 李记独特青一色锅底 Green Pepper Chilli Mala
• 三鲜鸡汤锅底 Chicken
• 番茄锅底 Tomato
• 麻辣锅底 （清油）Mala

Recommend to try the soup individually first before cooking and see which one you like the most. Let me know ya!

Let's take a look at the ingredients shall we? Starting with plates after plates of fresh looking produce.

梅花肉 Pork Collar @$8

玲玲卷 Ring Roll @$4

五花肉 Pork Belly @$8

油麥菜 Lettuce @$3

神仙牛肉 Signature Beef Slices @$8

肥牛片Fatty Beef Slices @$8

山药 Chinese Yam @$6

新鲜虾滑 Fresh Prawn Paste @$10

Of course, one can't leave without trying the skewers. Only 50cents per stick! Let's grab bunches of them!

香菜牛/猪肉 Beef/Pork with Coriander Skewer

土豆,海带,莲藕,冬瓜,西兰花 potato, seaweed, lotus root, winter melon, broccoli

秘制鸡肉 Special Recipe Chicken

Enough of the photo taking, and let's start cooking!

so hungry!

While waiting for the things to be cooked, let's fill our tummies with one of Chef Ng's Private Dining Dishes (私房菜) of Lobster Noodles. Impressive looking plate!

龙虾伊面 Lobster Noodle @$120 (1kg)

mine!

let's eat!

The friendly staff would enquire if you need any help with the sauces or if you prefer to concoct one on your own.

what would be your favourite hotpot dipping sauce?

For me, I asked for the shop's specialty and was presented with this bowl that seemed to have everything! I liked that the sauce wasn't too spicy.

shop's specialty dipping sauce @$2

I enjoyed in particularly the Signature Beef Slices (神仙牛肉) or should it be called heavenly beef instead? Haha! It is of a thicker cut, well marinated (spicy yes!) and gives a nice chew after cooking. Plenty of flavours. So good!

My favourite skewers would be the Corriander Skewer of Pork and Beef. Deceptively spicy too!

香菜猪肉 Pork with Coriander Skewer

香菜牛肉 Beef with Coriander Skewer

The best time to taste the Chicken (三鲜鸡汤锅底) and the Tomato (番茄锅底) soup again, was after all the cooking was done. Wahhhh... intense!

For dessert, we tried the 3 Treasures Dessert Platter which consists of a puff pastry, perched elegantly ontop a slice of watermelon and followed by a bowl of refreshing iced jelly topped with sweet hawthorn flakes.

三宝金典甜品 3 Treasures Dessert Platter @$8

delicious red bean and banana paste wrapped in pastry

Chef's recommendation is to have the pastry first, the fruit and lastly the iced bingfen jelly. 

iced jelly 冰粉 with hawthorn flakes

Overall, I enjoyed the variety and flavours offered at Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang plus there is now an option to order specialty Cantonese cuisine for celebrations and special occasions. Best of both worlds!

Thank you Jennifer of Jennifer Yeo Consultancy for the invite and Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to William and Chef Ng for the delicious meal.

Li Ji Chuan Chuan Xiang 李记串串香

Flagship restaurant： 295 South Bridge Road Singapore 058838 

Operation Hours: 12pm to 12am 

For reservations, call 6221 9629. 

NEW Outlet： 206 Jalan Besar Singapore 208892 

Operation Hours: 12pm to 12am 

For reservations, call 6291 2289.