Man Fu Yuan

Ma Fu Yuan (满 福 苑) is a chinese, specifically Cantonese restaurant located at Intercontinental Hotel Singapore.
My brother made a reservation for us today for dim sum. I do not remember if I had dined here before. I have definitely stayed in this hotel as well as had afternoon high tea here at their lobby lounge eons ago. My memory is getting fuzzy in recent times, I might have eaten in this chinese restaurant but anyhow that would be a long long time ago.
So this review is the same like heading to an establishment which I do not know much about, not sure what to expect especially when the restaurant has a current standing of 3.5 stars on Unilocal.Not a good sign :(
Oh well, I did tell myself if the lunch turned out to be bad, I can blame it on my brother, hehe even though I love my little brother very much.
So how was the lunch? This restaurant definitely deserves more then a 3.5 stars. I am giving it a 4.
The staffs were all very attentive. Service was top notch. The staffs even went and returned with tiny chairs so that some of us could sit comfortably with purses next to our plush chairs. Service would definitely earn this restaurant a 5 stars but how about the food.
Let’s see.
Prawn & mango roll — A+ Definitely my favorite! It’s crispy on the outside, prawns and mango were fresh)
duck meat spring roll with yam — B+ The combination was rather odd to me. My brother likes it though but since I am the one writing this review, this will be a B+ dish
Prawn dumplings — A. A dish no respectable restaurant in Singapore should messed up. Prawns were fresh and dumpling skin thin and soft (what a good dumpling should always be.
Minced pork dumplings with scallops — A. Like the prawn dumplings, they were good, as expected.
Rice roll with BBQ meat and coriander — A+ This would be my #2 favorite dish. The meat was so tender, the rice roll was so soft. The coriander brought everything together. It cost a little more than other dishes but totally worth it.
Honey glazed BBQ pork buns — A. The buns were fluffy, the meat inside was savory. Maybe my expectation is too high, or simply, if any decent Cantonese restaurant cannot produce good bbq pork buns, they should close the restaurant and maybe sell shoes. Why shoes? Errr. I don’t know. Perhaps, shoes just go by sizes and perhaps width too. Ok, my jet lag is still lingering, can’t think properly but any smart person will understand what I am trying to say here.
Yam Croquette — A. They were good, but not enough to make me want to return and order the same.
Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo — C. Usually a dessert at the end of any meal would made me very happy, just not this one. The dessert had too much sugar in it, not much mango purée. I declared at the table I could make this at home and taste a whole lot better, that would just mean this dessert completely failed. I still could not understand why the dessert turned up to be so disappointing.
I left the restaurant feeling unsatisfied and that was the reason why I took off one star here.

Very had the black pepper beef and chili chicken. Have to say I wasn’t all that thrilled with chicken but the beef was outstanding, couldn’t get enough. For a starter we had the pork and duck. Both were a great way to get it started. It was the only night we stayed and ate in the hotel and we weren’t disappointed.

Man Fu Yuan is one of Singapore’s finest Chinese restaurants, serving classic Cantonese cuisine created especially for the restaurant by a Hong Kong Master Chef. From now till 31 May 2014, Man Fu Yuan is serving some glorious dishes from the good old days, made using good quality ingredients and special and laborious techniques.
Now here are some favorites from the Nostalgic Menu. The flavourful Mixed Beef Stew with handmade beef balls 牛什牛丸煲 ($ 28 per portion). I love how the meat is tender and savory. The beef balls were succulent and had nice chunks of water chestnut in them. This is the perfect comfort food.
Tea-​smoked Pork Belly Char Siew 脆皮叉烧 ($ 24 per portion) takes centre stage, featuring pork belly marinated in a combination of Chinese rose wine and barbecue sauce. It’s fatty and decadent but hey YOLO.
I loved the Hong Kong Style Steamed Pork Belly in Shrimp Paste 港式咸虾酱蒸花肉 ($ 28 per portion). This is another comfort dish and i can fully identify with the flavors though i’ve never had this dish before. Salty, stinky and oh damn delicious. Give me another 2 bowls of rice.
Pig Trotters with Vinegar 猪脚醋 ($ 28 per portion). The meat was well braised in plum vinegar and you can smell the sour perfume from far. The dish is on the oily side though.
Ended dinner with some Hashima. It typically comes served in a coconut but Chef wasn’t too pleased with the coconut that day.
If you find these flavors familiar and are craving for it now, Man Fu Yuan’s A Taste of Nostalgia Menu will be available as part of a rotating a la carte menu available daily till 31 May 2014. Do call the restaurant to find out if they’ll be serving your favorite dish before heading down!

proper good cantonese cooking at this old hotel standby in bugis. this place used to be a family favorite (we’re talking more than five or six years ago) — and then they switched chefs, standards dropped, and there was that case of food poisoning on the news — all of which meant we stopped coming here.
but we decided to give it a go recently — and I can’t be more pleased to tell you that the food is as good as it used to be, and it deserves its reputation as a cantonese stronghold reinstated.
the thing about these grand hotel-​located chinese restaurants (such as summer pavilion), is that they are judged against a more stringent yardstick — and allowed to charge higher prices for fulfilling that potential. so when they’re good, as in this case, it really is some fantastic cooking.
we started off with a bowl of winter melon soup each — intensely-​flavored consommé with a round of melon, crunchy prawns and bits of scallops. we always order this when we come here, though it used to be served as an entire small gourd with soup within — this is a smaller serve, but beautifully done all the same.
our mains started with a plate of sweet-​and-​sour monkey head mushroom: decent, and I suspect would have been impressive if we don’t often order a better rendition at lingzhi (where the larger cuts of mushroom have a meatier texture).
we were blown away by the sauteed beef with garlic chips though — so tender, and beefy, and that black pepper sauce just coating the cubes (without any of that gross gloppiness).
these were followed by a claypot of braised beancurd sheets and vegetables — I love vegetables anyway, but these were tender and more savory than you’d associate with meatlessness.
a plate of chicken steamed with wood’s ear and salty fermented beancurd was undoubtedly homey — and rather anaemic on the plate apart from that bright garnish — but delicious all the same.
a couple of us finished with dessert — hashima served hot in a coconut shell, as well as a bowl of cheery pumpkin served with black glutinous rice and ice-​cream.
good food doesn’t lend itself to much description — this place serves as up expert cantonese food, and its always-​posh décor makes it great for bringing the parents or impressing guests.

This is a review of a dinner with a friend at Man Fu Yuan.
The ambiance is that of a classic traditional Chinese fine dining restaurant. It is conservative and restrained with its fair share of large white tablecloth covered tables. It is a little hidden away on the second floor of the Intercontinental Hotel.
The staff was relatively friendly but they were not helpful. They were unable to answer questions about the rather sizable menu. They were unable to make suggestions. They were unable to answer questions concerning the wine list.
The food ranged from mediocre to good. However, there wasn’t any dish that was particularly outstanding.
Dinner Collage:
Dim sum — Out of the dumplings we tried, I would have to say their «special» dumpling was the one that stood out the most. The other dumplings were good but in a city that boasts a tremendous amount of fantastic dim sum none of these stood out. These included shrimp dumplings and vegetable dumplings.
Perch — I did not enjoy this dish. I thought the flavour of the fish was too strong. Plus, for some reason, the sauce was separating in a most unappetizing way.
Spicy kai-​lan — For me, this dish was very difficult to eat. It was extremely tough. There was also still a significant bitterness to the greens. It was also milder than I expected.
Chili Crab Dish — They offered a simplified version of chili crab. This was basically just the crab meat. However, it was overly sweet and lacked any real heat.
Price — My friend picked up the tab. I do not know the overall cost. However, this is a relatively expensive restaurant.
Overall — The ambiance is quite nice. The staff was friendly but not well prepared. The food trended towards mediocre. For this cuisine, there are far better options in Singapore.

First timer at Man Fu and the food & service were fantastic and the décor exudes high standards. Truly enjoyed the food and service they were on top of everything when it came to our needs. Would definitely recommend coming and experiencing everything they offer as you won’t be disappointed.

Man Fu Yuan, which means «Garden of Prosperity,» is one of Singapore’s finest Chinese restaurants, serving classic Cantonese cuisine. It is a perfect place to impress both your business associates as well as your grandparents.
Food: We really liked the trio of dim sum, which showcased both traditional handcrafted dim sum and novelty items with a twist. The old school «hum sui kok» (deep-​fried glutinous rice dumplings filled with meat) were delightful golden parcels that were both chewy and soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. The chilli crab tart removes the hassle of eating the popular crustacean dish by encasing its meat in buttery pastry crust, while the scallop rice roll is presented in a deliciously deconstructed manner.
One of Man Fu Yuan’s signature dishes is the stewed noodles with lobster, with good reason. Steeped in a flavoursome stock made from lobster, clams, and mussels, the al dente rice noodles are a perfect accompaniment to the juicy chunks of lobster stir-​fried with ginger and spring onion. Another favourite would be the deep-​fried salted egg yolk buns — the best we have ever tasted! Imagine biting into a deep fried mantou (bread) and having hot salted egg yolk oozing out like lava and filling your mouth. We were at a lost for words.
By the time dessert came around, we were stuffed, but we absolutely couldn’t resist the tantalizing hue of golden orange calling our names. The cream of Japanese pumpkin topped with coconut ice cream and black glutinous rice was surprisingly light yet velvety, providing a wonderful finish to our meal.
Ambience: Great for business lunches with its blend of modern and traditional Peranakan touches.
Service: Excellent!