Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza - lunch at this new Chinese restaurant

Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza is a new Chinese restaurant to open at this small shopping mall annexed to the Capitol Theatre. It takes over the space formerly occupied by the Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant which was famous for their duck dishes. We were told that there is a Famous Treasure restaurant in Sembawang and this is their second outlet which is more posh and upmarket. We must admit we have not heard of this famous restaurant when we decided to check it out. We were glad that we did so and that they had decided to set up shop in a more accessible part of Singapore.

Based on our fading memories and some photos we had taken from our visit to the former Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant (you can read our post on it here), the restaurant premises have remained mostly intact. One area which seems to have changed is the row of booth seats along the side to provide for small dining parties. We do not remember them from our past visit. It is a nice addition.

From first impressions, the Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza has made a seamless leap from suburban family restaurant to a smart city restaurant. The decor was befitting an upmarket Chinese restaurant and the service was more friendly and efficient than some existing famous Chinese restaurants. The wine list also deserves special mention. There is certainly a wide selection. For French wines alone, the possibilities range from a $48 bottle of Chablis for ordinary patrons to thousand-dollar Bordeaux First Growths for those who have a generous expense account.

Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza Menu

The Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza Menu also offers a wide selection for its diners. Here are pictures of just some of the pages from the menu.

These were the dishes that we ordered: salted egg fish skin ($10), braised sliced duck ($24), beef fried in bean sauce ($22), KL Hokkien mee ($18), lettuce with shrimp paste in claypot, steamed rice ($1.50 / bowl) and Jasmine tea ($2 / person).

Famous Treasure Salted Egg Fish Skin — Salted egg fish skin

The salted egg fish skins were enjoyed by all. The enjoyment was only tempered by the concern of whether all those egg yolks were going to add to our increasing cholesterol levels.

When we saw the large platter of sliced duck we sought a confirmation that this was indeed the small portion that we had asked for. The server confirmed that it was so. It was a generous portion of duck and bean curd. This was done Teochew style with the nice dark gravy and a dish of white vinegar with chopped garlic. It was a good duck dish but not exceptional.

The fried beef was good. The meat had good texture and taste and did not have the over-tenderized feel sometimes experienced at some Chinese restaurants.

The dish that over-performed was the lettuce with shrimp paste in claypot. We basically selected a vegetable dish to balance all the meat we were having. It surprised us by its complex flavours and the vegetables being perfectly cooked – just enough for parts to be soft and some parts crunchy.

The KL Hokkien mee was also an enjoyable dish. Oily and tasty. Probably another dish that we should avoid, but we will start our diet another day.

Famous Treasure Restaurant KL Hokkien Mee

Overall, lunch at the new Chinese restaurant, Famous Treasure Capitol Piazza turned out to be better than we had expected. The helpfulness and enthusiasm of the serving staff are qualities seldom seen these days.