Asia Grand makes a comeback with familiar Cantonese cooking

NEW RESTAURANT

Asia Grand Restaurant #03-22B Fairmont Singapore (South Tower) 252 North Bridge Road Singapore 179103 Tel: 6887 0010 Open daily for lunch and dinner: 11:30 am to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10 pm.

SOME say “old-school”; some say “out of touch”. Some say “classic”; some say, “did not get memo to upgrade”. Some say, “I’ve been coming here since the 80s”; some say, “You still have clothes from the 80s – how is that a good thing?” Some say, “They have a Peking duck deal for S$58”. We say, “Wait – what Peking duck deal?”

Where Asia Grand Restaurant stands on the heritage-renewal spectrum, we can’t decide. For one, it has the kind of story everyone likes: a history dating back 40 years to its Tsui Hang Village days; a longevity gene that’s seen it outlast the buildings it’s been in – Asia Hotel and Odeon Towers; a menu of familiar Cantonese favourites; and if all else failed, it had a (then) S$48 Peking duck deal. 

Yet, for all the comforting familiarity and “my grandparents/parents took me to eat there” endearments, the food at its newest location is largely underwhelming – but that’s what happens when memories taste better than what’s on your plate. 

Expectations vary, so we hope it’s just a case of the kitchen team still getting the hang of the new woks at Fairmont Singapore – where Asia Grand replaces the short-lived House of Wei. Between its Odeon Towers closure in February and the soft opening in October, stuff happens, so there’s a lot of catching up to do. 

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One thing they’re good at is not changing, so the decor still manages to look dated – at first glance it almost looks Wah Lok era-ish, with brighter lights but without the bo lo bun.

Where the kitchen lags, service helps to compensate because the staff here are top-notch when it comes to attentiveness and geniality. The main dining room is packed so we’re shunted off to a private room with other straggling diners, but there’s always one server stationed there, so we’re never waiting for tea or plate changes. 

It lightens the disappointment from the generic double-boiled soups – the most basic test of a Cantonese restaurant’s mettle. The soup of the day (S$15) is hairy melon and pork – a basic brew, tepid with no taste of melon until a little defiant sliver pops up as proof. Hotter and a little more finesse is a clear chicken broth steamed in a coconut shell (S$20) that adds a subtle fragrance to the weak broth.

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If there was any S$58 Peking duck deal, we didn’t know and it wasn’t offered, else we would have ordered it even if it meant renting a cow’s third stomach to fit it all in. Instead, we go with a combination roast platter (S$48) – a trio of char siew, duck and siew yoke. If you ignore a faint chemical whiff and taste on the pork belly skin, you’ll get a satisfying crisp crunch and pretty tender meat. The duck has an adequate juicy bite and the char siew follows up as an obedient third wheel. 

Dim sum is run-of-the-mill, with har kau (S$8.80) that lacks bounce and skin resilience; siew mai (S$8.80) that’s better with juicy fat in the stuffing and mushrooms you can taste; and char siew pao (S$7.80) that’s more dense than fluffy. But we would take run-of-the-mill over attempts at creativity anytime. Like the baked char siew so (S$7.80) which is a makeover other char siew sos should not attempt. Sweet pork filling is stuffed into an awkward mini flaky curry puff-like pastry and showered in crispy floss – perhaps made by someone who used to work at BreadTalk and couldn’t shake off his pork floss bun-topping muscle memory. 

Some flashes of credibility give us hope for the kitchen. Braised garoupa fish head (S$42) is home cooking in a clay pot – chunks of deep-fried moist fish and pork belly stewed in a salty-savoury brown sauce infused with pleasantly pungent salted fish. 

An off-menu noodle dish has mee pok (S$33) absorbing the goodness of a robust seafood broth laced with XO sauce and generous chunks of prawns. The challenge is to wolf it down before it gets cold and gluey. 

Desserts are basic. Hot double-boiled peach gum with red dates (S$14) is your best bet as it’s a no-fail cheng tng served in a coconut shell so you get the added milky scent as a bonus. 

Order the mango cream and sago (S$10) only if you are an activist campaigning against cruelty to fruit. We’re pretty sure no mango was harmed in this goopy, artificially flavoured pseudo cream with some speckles of sago and fake pomelo shreds. 

At Asia Grand, clinging to its past is not a bad thing. Plus it’s got an unshakeable loyal base to depend on. But classics done well will give it stronger staying power, so let’s see if their woks start banging with more enthusiasm soon.

Rating: 6