Dim sum at Man Fu Yuan restaurant, Intercontinental Singapore

Man Fu Yuan restaurant has been The Chinese restaurant at the Intercontinental Singapore since the hotel opened two decades ago. It was the place we decided to go for Chinese cuisine when we were in the Bugis Junction area.  As in the case of the better Cantonese restaurants in town, weekend lunch time dim sum is a popular event at Man Fu Yuan. It was full house soon after we were there recently. Reservations are essential.

The contemporary Chinese decor of the Man Fu Yuan restaurant was quite pleasing. Modern, yet having enough Chinese motifs to leave one in no doubt that this was a traditional Chinese restaurant. There were enough seating configurations to cater for everyone – from luxurious private rooms for big groups to cosy corners for couples.

Here are some pictures of the Man Fu Yuan dim sum menu and ala carte menu. There was also a “Culinary Ambassador Sam Leong’s Menu” and an Executive Set menu. The dim sum menu here is probably one of the most extensive in Singapore. There was certainly a wide range of dim sum items to choose from. We selected some of them and a couple of dishes from the Sam Leong Menu.

Man Fu Yuan Menu

Here is a picture of the table setting at  Man Fu Yuan.  Taking a leaf from their Western counterparts, an amuse bouche was served.

We had a couple of steamed dim sum items – crystal dumplings and prawn and crab dumpling (both $5.20 for a basket of three pieces, extra pieces can be specified). The crystal dumpling had nice fillings but was let down by its skin that was soft and not as taut as we would have liked. The prawn dumping was quite good.

We tried the pan-fried yam cake ($6.80). The taste was like regular yam cakes, not bad but not exceptional. The yam taste was concentrated – which made those who liked yam very happy.

The best dim sum dish of the day was the fried sugarcane wrapped with seafood and chopped scallops ($6.80). This was a dish of deep-fried sticks of sugarcane which had their tips wrapped with a mix of seafood paste. We could not really taste the sugar cane in the seafood, some of its sweetness may have been subtly imparted into the seafood mix. We would definitely eat this again.

Next was the barbecued pork puffs (char siew soh). This was the least-liked dish of the day. It was heavy with too much oil. The pastry was not crisp or light.  We would avoid this the next time.

Here are the two dishes from the Sam Leong menu. The signature wasabi prawn dish ($32) was a dish of six large prawns. Coated with a wasabi mix, the prawns were delicious. The wasabi seasoning was very mild, hardly spicy but rich and creamy. The prawns were meaty and with a firm texture. They reminded us of tempura prawns. Best eaten with the chopped mango to add some tangy sweetness to the taste.

The other Sam Leong dish was fried rice with crabmeat and XO sauce ($32). The dish was presented as plainly as the name of the dish. Which was a pity because a bit of decoration would have made the dish so much more attractive.

Tastewise, the fried rice was very good. Hidden within the mound of rice was a generous amount of crabmeat. Here is our attempt to make the dish look better after they were served into our individual bowls.

Our dim sum lunch at Man Fu Yuan was generally positive. A couple of the dim sum items were not as good as anticipated. The special Sam Leong menu dishes were good in terms of taste, but looked so plain. Service however was exceptionally good. Attentive and polite, all the waitresses were a joy to interact with.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 5
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall : 4 TOPs 

Man Fu Yuan Restaurant
80 Middle Road
Level 2
InterContinental Singapore
Singapore 188966

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11:45am-3pm, 6:30-10:30pm
Sun & PH: 11am-3pm, 6:30-10:30pm

 

Nearby MRT Station: Bugis

 

The Ordinary Patrons
Singapore Food Blog by Ordinary People looking for Places to Eat