PUTIEN Restaurant @ Ion Orchard Singapore

Putien Restaurant @ Ion is located on the 4th level of the mall, opposite the large Crate and Barrel furniture store. The Putien Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant chain which took its name from a coastal suburb, Futian, in Fujian, China. They have quite a few branches in Singapore but our lunch at Putien Restaurant @ Ion Orchard was our first time. First impressions were good –  they had differentiated themselves from other restaurants by their contemporary decor and a menu which contained more than the usual dishes.

The decor of Putien @ Ion was clean and comfortable. The use of light coloured wood and  beige hues made it look attractive. Although there are many restaurants in the Orchard Road area, most of them are Cantonese and serving the usual predictable dishes. We were pleasantly surprised to see quite interesting dishes in the menu at Putien which was like a glossy coffee-table book.  They also have some set menus that look quite attractive, especially if you have a DBS or POSB credit card. Here are some pages from the set menus.

Our meal started with a Starter Platter ($15.50). It was a group of four small appetizer items – finely sliced cold bitter gourd, bean curd, chicken and duck slices. The steamed chicken was expertly prepared. It was as good as those served at the best chicken rice stalls. The sliced bitter gourd was icy cold and sliced so thinly that it was translucent. The slight bitter hint was actually quite pleasant. The other two items were ordinary.

We also tried the steamed prawns with garlic ($21.50). The prawns were not very big but were very sweet. The combined flavours of Chinese wine and generous amounts of garlic was very good. This dish gets high marks for taste but low marks for prawn size.

There was one dish in the menu which caught our eye – the 100-second stewed yellow croaker ($12). This is a small fish so everyone should get their own. It was very delicately cooked, presumably for only 100 seconds. The meat was tender and smooth. The down side is that it is has some fine bones. Eating it takes some surgical skills but it was worth the effort.

Our final dish was the Putien Lor Mee ($9.50 ). The small portion that we ordered was enough for two persons. This version of lor mee was very lightly coloured. The soup was flavourful but not heavy. It was a different taste from the usual Chinese restaurant noodles. Quite good.

All in all, lunch at Putien Restaurant @ Ion was an enjoyable meal. We tried out some dishes which we don’t see often elsewhere.  The total cost for two persons was about $80 after taxes, GST and the ‘usual’ overheads – towels ($0.50 each), appetizer ($2.50 per head) and tea ($2 per head).

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

Putien Restaurant
2 Orchard Turn,
#04-12, ION Orchard,
Singapore 238801

Tel: +65 6509 4296

Nearby Stations: Orchard

Putien Website

The Ordinary Patrons
a Singapore food blog by ordinary people looking for places to eat