Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine Puts A Creative Twist on Cantonese and Teochew Classics in Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Singapore

PUBLISHED October 7th, 2021 06:00 am | UPDATED October 15th, 2021 01:09 pm

You’ll find authentic Chinese restaurants tucked round every corner in Singapore, but one that brings its own creative touch to the classics? Not so much. Set in Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine stands out with subtle twists on time-honoured Teochew and Cantonese dishes, producing creations that both your grandma and your younger siblings can happily savour.

Having carved out a name for itself with elegant yet dollar-value fare, the one-year old restaurant launched a sister hotpot concept – Empire Hotpot – as well. If you’re looking for a cosy spot for your next family meal, these are the highlights to tuck into:

Traditional Flavours with A Fresh Spin

Head Chef Chan Ka Chun has over 30 years of culinary experience helming top restaurants in Hong Kong and Singapore, and he brings his long experience to elevating the classics with unexpected flavour combinations. Case in point: the Empire’s Signatures on their à la carte menu.

Kick off your feast with surprising bites like Deep Fried Chicken Wing Stuffed with Shark’s Fin & Bird’s Nest (S$19.80 per pax) and Deep Fried Scallop Stuffed with Pear (S$32), each offering a delicious contrast of crisp and silky textures. The classic Pan Fried Cod Fish Fillet gets an indulgent upgrade with caviar and creamy pumpkin sauce (S$28 per pax), while the Barbecue Kurobuta Pork (S$25 for small portion) pairs the prized pork with nourishing New Zealand honey.

Fresh Seafood

The seafood-packed signatures here are no less satisfying. Relish the Baked Crab with Chicken in Homemade Sauce Served in Claypot (S$88), cooked to juicy and smoky perfection. Another belly-warming crowd-favourite to share with your fam is the Crispy Rice in Baby Lobster Soup (S$28 per pax) – it’s rich, swimming with tender lobster chunks, and oh-so-comforting.

If you’re serious about your seafood, you’ll find plenty of other live seafood dishes to make it a full-fledged feast. The Alaskan Crab served cold offers a refreshing way to savour the crustacean’s delicate sweetness, while each bite of Scottish Bamboo Clam steamed with XO sauce is an umami explosion in the mouth.

Special Anniversary Set Menus

Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine marks their one year anniversary on 17 October 2021, and they’re launching a pair of limited-time dinner set menus to celebrate. From 1 October to 31 December 2021, you can sit down to luxurious curations of Empire’s signatures for two and five people, complete with complimentary wine.

Treat the gourmet in your life with their Classic Menu For Two (S$118++). This four-course feast starts off meaty with a trio of appetisers – including barbecue pork belly and pear-stuffed scallops – and progresses through homely dishes like steamed cod fish and e-fu noodles tossed with shrimp roe. To pair, you can enjoy a complimentary glass of red or white wine per pax – either a citrusy South Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or a cherry-ripe Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir.

Meanwhile, the Grand Feast for Five (S$388++) takes the decadence up a notch with delicacies like double-boiled chicken soup with prized yellow morel, sautéed scallops fragrant with black and white truffle oil, and fried rice topped with foie gras. This menu comes with a complimentary bottle of South Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir for wining and dining in style.

Dim Sum Treats

The restaurant’s dim sum staples are no slouch either. Come lunchtime, raise your chopsticks to signatures like Steamed Pork with Black Truffle Dumpling ‘Siew Mai’ (S$7.80) and Baked Dried Abalone Tart in Oyster Sauce (S$12.80) featuring a whole abalone cradled in a buttery crust. If you love your chee cheong fun, Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine gives it a luxe, umami spin with the Steamed Crispy Rice Roll with Shrimp and Foie Gras (S$10.80). And to round off your meal, you couldn’t do better than melt-in-the-mouth bites of Baked Egg Tart (S$5.80).

Extensive Wine List

Curated by an in-house sommelier, the restaurant’s sprawling cellar of Old World vino deserves special mention. Celebrating a special occasion? Their fine bubbles will get you toasting in style, from by-the-glass options like the Philipponnat Royale Reserve Brut Champagne (S$16/glass) to coveted vintages such as the 1992 Dom Perignon Brut Champagne (S$680/bottle).

For meal pairings, you’ll find a wine list dominated by French reds and whites from Burgundy and Bordeaux, including prestigious Grand Cru vineyards the likes of Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne and Château Fombrauge. Folks who favour New World wines, they offer a small selection from Australia and New Zealand, and you can count on their friendly sommelier for expert recommendations.

Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine is located at 391 Orchard Rd, #05-30 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872, p. +65 6970 7997. Open Mon-Fri 11.30am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm, Sat 11am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm, Sun 10.30am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm. 

** During this heightened restriction period from 27 September to 24 October 2021, Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine will be offering 15% off takeaway for selected à la carte and dimsum items. Order online here. 

Bonus: Hotpot Heaven

Some days, all we really need is some piping hot broth to warm our souls and bellies, and that’s when we head to Empire Hotpot. Recently launched this July, Empire Hotpot is a few doors down from its sister fine-dining restaurant in Takashimaya, and helmed by Head Chef Chan Ka Chun as well.

A quality hotpot experience begins with the broths, and their eight proprietary soup bases pack a serious flavour punch. The Empire Supreme Lobster Broth (S$38) is the ultimate indulgence – a silky broth that’s sweet with Boston lobster, pumpkin, and golden bamboo shoot. If you want something nourishing, there’s the collagen-rich Fish Maw & Shark’s Cartilage Soup (S$38) or the American Ginseng & Angelica Root Fish Head Soup (S$28) infused with Chinese medicinal herbs. And for a light yet heady broth, how about some sake-laced Japanese Rice Wine Clam Soup (from S$14/half pot)?

Next, get your hotpot bubbling with the restaurant’s array of premium fixings. Meat lovers can simmer high-grade cuts of Kagoshima A4 Wagyu Beef (from S$33) and Premium Japanese Kurobuta Pork Belly (from S$14), then dip them in up to 16 tasty sauces. Or get your fill of handmade pastes and dumplings, including the Empire Four Treasure Ball (S$12) – a platter of eight meatballs in four juicy flavours from beef to cuttlefish. As for carbs, we love that they’ve got a wide range of unusual noodle options, including Inaniwa Udon (S$6) and Beetroot Noodle (S$6).

Empire Hotpot is located at 391 Orchard Rd, #05-13/14 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872, p. +65 6908 0606. Open Mon-Fri 11.30am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm, Sat 11am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm, Sun 10.30am–2.45pm & 6pm–9.45pm. 

This post was brought to you in collaboration with Empire Fine Chinese Cuisine. 

Top Image: Baked Crab with Chicken in Homemade Sauce Served in Claypot