Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro

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See pictures @ http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2016/04/shisen-hanten.htmlAlthough touted as a purveyor of Japanese-Sichuan cuisine, the fare at Shisen Hanten is very simply, Sichuan fare, made just a little more refined and nuanced by the quintessential Japanese precision.The extensive menu is a tad daunting, and while we loved almost everything we ordered, it wasn't a 100% hit-rate, but a tip is to stick to the traditional stuff for a slamdunk meal.We had:1) Cold Steamed Chicken ($22) - seasoned with sesame and leek oil: incredibly aromatic, and despite subtle kick of the chilli pepper spice, was clear and refreshing. This was like Hainanese chicken, but all shredded up and given a spicy twist. Absolute must try.2) Grilled Wagyu Beef ($30): beautifully burnished and glossed with a delicate garlicky spice blend. Sumptuous, albeit forgettable. The earlier starter really stole the limelight.3) Hot & Sour Soup ($12): exceptional, punchy and robust, but finished with an exquisite polish4) Braised Corn Soup with Crabmeat ($12): skip this, it was insipid and clunky.5) Roasted Crispy Chicken ($46 for whole and promotionally half-priced on Thursday lunches): outstanding. For once, I actually only ate the breast meat, which was wonderfully moist and flavoursome6) Sweet & Sour Pork with Black Vinegar ($26): A galfriend thought it was "too porky", but I thought it was acceptably full-bodied. The one thing we all could agree on, was that the heady, sweetish, piquant glaze was absolutely delightful.7) Chen's Mapo Doufu ($22): hearty but restrained. I liked the complex nuance finessed into this.8) Rice Vermicelli with Crabmeat ($28): The noodles were lush with stock, but managed a light elegance; and it was generously piled with scallops, shitmeiji caps, freshly shredded crabmeat and egg white scramble continue reading

This is our first time to dine in at Shisen Hanten restaurant at 35th storey of Mandarin Orchard Hotel. We occupied the sofa seats & we must say the view outside was spectacular. We tried a few dim sums such as fry carrot cake, custard buns, fry prawn dumplings & char siew soh. We think the fry carrot cake is really awesome, full of flavours & paired with their special shallot oil, wow.. they are really to die for Custard buns are prety good, the fillings just 'burst' out as you bite into them. So fragrant & flowly, best eaten while they were hot! Fry prawn dumplings are piping hot & crispy when served to our table, pretty good as well though a bit oily. Char Siew soh pastry skin is a bit too thick, we still prefer canton Paradise version with fragrant butter pastry skin. We ordered Pipa duck, wagyu beef & fry mee as main. Wagyu beef was cooked medium rare which is really perfect for our taste buds, so tender & juicy. We highly recommend this dish Pipa duck is another awesome dish. It was all sliced up nicely on a big plate when served to us. The duck meat was tender & juicy with crispy skin attached. The flavour of the duck meat is enhanced as you dipped them into the sweet sesame sauce. Yummylicious we would say for this signature dish! The fry mee was pretty good & flavourful with fresh big prawns, scallops & fish. The only flaw is that this dish is a bit too salty.Its not a good meal without dessert. So we had fry red bean pancake as finale. Highly recommend this red bean pancake! Very crispy as you bite into them, bursting with smooth & sweet red bean paste. Really make you want to eat one piece after another. Overall, the food are really good but the prices are not so 'friendly' to our pockets. Its still a good dinning experience. Staffs are very friendly & attended to our needs promptly. Superb services rendered! =) continue reading

The restaurant had recently built in a wheelchair access elevator, thus making it easier to dine here with mummy who was in wheelchair. As usual the staff are very helpful and friendly. They welcomed us warmly everytime we dine here.As my family are tim sum lovers, we deicded to go for the tim sum. One of the must order is the steamed custard cun. (3 pcs per tray @ S$5.20) You would not regret it. The bun may not look appetizing outside. However, one small bite into the bun, the custard will be flowing into your mouth like hot larva.  The next must order dish is carrot cake. Remember to ask for the restaurant signature shallot oil. This dish tastes awesome with the shallot oil as recommended by the staff. For that, we have requested 2 servings of the shallot oil. Personally i feel that the shallot oil goes well with any tim sum.. it is so awesome!!!!My mummy likes that Deep fried prawn dumplings the best. You can actually see the fillings are full of prawns! My sister loves the grilled wagyu beef as recommended by the staff. Though the portion was small, every slice of wagyu is soft and melts in your mouth. The restaurant staff really knows their dishes very well. Very good recommenation indeed.As usual we have a pleasing experience and er definitely will go back again! continue reading

To celebrate one of my bestie's birthday, I brought her to a fancy Szechuan restaurant sitting 35 levels above ground at Mandarin Orchard Hotel. I took the lift from the Orchard Wing through the Mandarin Gallery to level 35. I was greeted with a warm decor and posh surroundings. I exceptionally loved the restaurant for the high ceilings and pretty lights. High ceilings added a taste of grandness to the place and I found myself getting comfortable quickly.An introduction of the restaurant:Akasaka Szechwan Restaurant, or Shisen Hanten as it is popularly known in Japan, was started in 1958 by the late Chen Kenmin who is regarded as Japan’s “Father of Szechwan Cuisine.”Born in the Szechwan province of China, Chen Kenmin perfected his craft in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China before settling in Yokohama, Japan. Capitalising on his expertise in Szechwan cuisine, he established Shisen Hanten with the vision of “making customers truly appreciate Szechwan food through all the five senses.” He passed down his legacy to his eldest son, Chen Kenichi, who himself earned wide acclaim as one of Japan’s most celebrated iron chefs.Chen Kenichi then passed down his love for the Szechuan cuisine to his son, Chen Kentaro. Shisen Hanten at Mandarin Orchard Hotel Singapore is the chain's debut outside of Japan. Osmanthus pipa duck 琵琶鸭 (Half, $34)To have this dish, pre-ordering at least a day before your visit is required as they need time to prepare the duck. My friend was allergic to nuts and seafood, so she couldn't take the sauce as it contained traces of peanut powder in it.Even without dipping the duck in the sauce, the duck was good enough to eat on its own. It had a special flavour through marination and was roasted to perfection. Even better, it was 98% boneless, so there's no need to worry about spitting out bones.Those who can eat the sauce should totally have it together with the duck. It was a wonderful combination when dipped into the sauce and gave it an overall deliciously unique flavour. This dish is highly recomended!Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣湯 (Small, $10)The Hot & Sour soup is also different from the original Szechuan type Hot & Sour soup as the spiciness and sourness was well balanced but not overpowering, unlike the original version of the dish. The soup was well done, with simple ingredients (mushrooms, meat, finely sliced beancurd) infused perfectly into the gooey broth. Stewed fish fillet in super-hot Szechwan pepper sauce 水煮魚 (Small, $26)If you've seen the original version of this Szechuan dish, you would probably be worried to order this dish. Would it be dripping with chilli oil? Spicy to no end?Thank God, no.I also asked them to not have it too spicy, and while retaining the flavour of the dish, they have managed to do this dish well without veering off the taste of the dish totally. I was bracing myself for an upset tummy after this (cos of the sheer spiciness of the original dish that I tried before), but fortunately, it wasn't that spicy and the peppery broth was still a pleasure to slurp. I was quite shocked that the dish came with all the red chilli peppers on top, but thank goodness it turned out quite fine. The fish was nicely done and it was really tender and smooth.Sautéed chilli pepper and chicken 辣子雞 (Small, $22)This chilli pepper chicken is one of their most recommended dishes - at least by their wait staff. They weren't wrong. The dish was really nice and a surprising amount of crisp has made the texture of this dish very interesting!Trio of egg poached with seasonal vegetable 金銀蛋滚时蔬 (Small, $20)One of my favourite Chinese dishes. While it is nothing to rave about here, but I do like the broth of this dish and the vegetables were lovely too!Chen’s original spicy soup noodle 担担麺 (Small, $12)I have nothing to say about this dish other than to stick up both my thumbs. The texture of the noodles were really well done and bouncy.The soup was not very spicy, just mildly, and it went very well together with the noodles. I recommend this dish to anyone who visits this restaurant.Mango Pudding 芒果布丁 ($8)I do not usually order Mango puddings in Chinese restaurants. But I'm glad I did, at this one. The pudding was really creamy and fresh. It was also worth it as you will find huge slices of mango in it. Topped with a little whipped cream and a wolfberry, it was a lovely and light dessert to end the meal with.Hokkaido Green Tea Ice Cream 绿茶味北海道雪糕 ($8)There are 3 flavours in total for this dessert, but I went with the Green Tea one. 2 others include Sea salt and Vanilla, but I didn't order that as the wait staff had recommended the green tea one. It was a good recommendation because the ice-cream was really creamy and tasty. It also came with some dried fruits, like raisins.Overall, the meal was really good and satisfying. I would say that it was really worth the spend and here, I wish highlight the wait staffs' service, which really created a wonderful dining experience for us. Thanks to Doris, Danny and Yu Ting who had helped make the entire dining experience perfect. When I just casually mentioned that it was my friend's birthday, they surprised us with a complimentary slice of chocolate birthday cake during dessert time as well! My friend was really happy and we enjoyed our time here!Menus can be viewed on their website and fans can follow them on their facebook for latest updates of their new creations. Average spending per pax: $70 - $90Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro 四川饭店Location: Orchard Wing Level 35, Mandarin Orchard Singapore, 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867Ratings: 8 / 10 continue reading