Had the opportunity to visit Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Hotel recently — the restaurant is best known for serving up Cantonese cuisine, all that in a luxurious setting at the second level of the hotel. Guests can find Jiang-Nan Chun by entering Four Seasons Hotel via its main entrance, and then enter the restaurant by heading up via the stairs to the left upon entry from the main entrance — the restaurant is located to the right of the staircase landing. Whilst they do serve up different set menus here, Jiang-Nan Chun also has an ala-carte menu that works well for communal dining — the ala-carte menu for lunch service spreads across different sections such as Dim Sum, Appetisers, From our mesquite wood-fired oven, Bird’s Nest and Doubled-boiled Soups, Dried Seafood and Abalone, Live Seafood, Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Rice and Noodles and Dessert.

Being one of the few set menu options available at Jiang-Nan Chun, the Lou Tai Yan Yu 楼台烟雨 is a six-course set menu that comprises of the following:

1st photo: Jiang-Nan Platter — comprises of Crispy Silky Turnip Pastry with Dried Prawns and Ham, Steamed Crystal Mushroom Dumpling, Steamed Lobster Dumpling, and Crispy Pork Belly
2nd photo: Traditional Cantonese Soup (the soup we had features Cordyceps Flower, Chinese Figs)
3rd photo: Braised Spiny Lobster with Superior Stock
4th photo: Wok-Fried Australian Beef Tenderloin with Portobello Mushrooms
5th photo: Fried Rice with Prawns, Crabmeat, Butterscotch Mushrooms and Dried Scallops in Abalone Sauce
6th photo: Chilled Aloe Vera with Lemongrass Jelly

Not included in the carousel is the appetiser (shrimp, yuzu and cucumber), the palate cleanser (Calamansi shooter), and the Petit Four (Pineapple Tart and Osmanthus Jelly). Overall, the items served up in the Lou Tai Yan Yu 楼台烟雨 set menu were rather light and delicate in terms of flavour in general. There is, however, a level of intricacy involved with most dishes where texture is of concern. That is especially item in items such as the Crispy Silky Turnip Pastry with Dried Prawns and Ham and the Steamed Crystal Mushroom Dumpling which are part of the Jiang-Nan Platter — the former having a flaky and crisp exterior almost akin to that of the Shanghai-style mooncake, while the latter came interestingly with a chewy “netting” layer that accompanies the glutinous rice skin that doesn’t stick onto the teeth; all that with finely chopped mushrooms that provides for an earthy taste. Another item which has a play on textures would be the Wok-Fried Australian Beef Tenderloin with Portobello Mushrooms — the mushrooms providing a texture almost identical to that of the beef tenderloin which was wok-fried to perfection; so tender and melt-in-the-mouth, though would have worked better with more wok-hei. Speaking about freshness of the produce used, the Braised Spiny Lobster with Superior Stock was naturally sweet and bouncy; good even on its own. The only qualm was the Chilled Aloe Vera with Lemongrass Jelly; thought the portion of the dish was a little too large

Not many chances to give Chinese fine-dining a try so far, but Jiang-Nan Chun is one spot that seems to be rather refined — one that doesn’t seem to overly emphasise on the use of more fanciful ingredients such as truffle and caviar, but more towards serving up truly well-executed Cantonese fare whilst keeping things light on the palate. Looking forward to give some of their other dim sum items a try, as well as their ala-carte Chinese-inspired desserts such as the Anjou Pear filled with Almond-Chocolate and Jasmine Tea Mousse, and the Oolong Tea-infused Jivara Chocolate Sphere with Kumquat next time!