Everybody eats like the Emperor of China at Orient Palace!

Suki Group has recently unveiled the latest addition to their chain of restaurants, Orient Palace!

Located at the Annex in Furama Riverfront Hotel, the 180-seat Chinese restaurant has a unique dining concept that combines food, entertainment and relaxation all into one.

Just above the restaurant is Spa Nes, an affiliated spa and wellness sanctuary run by Mary Chia Group. This go-to place is great for diners to unwind after a scrumptious and filling dinner.

To keep diners entertained, the restaurant offers nightly live band performances. The 5 VIP rooms, which can fit up to 10 diners each, come equipped with a karaoke set, so diners can belt it out while feasting. A minimum spending of $1,200 is required for VIP room reservations.

Orient Palace boasts an open kitchen concept, with live counters that line the perimeter of the restaurant. Each of these stall-kitchens features a signature item on their menu. Diners are able to witness their meals being cooked right in front of them!

The five feature counters showcase suckling pig, 24-head dried abalone, dragon ribs bak kut teh, an assortment of fresh seafood, and finally, the deep sea giant garoupa fish.

Charcoal-roasted suckling pig is hard to find nowadays, and even more so if it’s roasted by hand. In the recent years, the traditional way of roasting suckling pig has been replaced by mechanical roasters due to the lack of trained chefs.

With 33 years of experience, the chef in charge of roasting the suckling pig believes that hand-roasted suckling pig has an evener roast as compared to machine-roasted ones.

Served with pickled Japanese leeks and sweet sauce, each rectangle of meat had a good mix of crispy skin, lard, and meat that carry a signature smoky aroma ($258, whole).

Abalone connoisseurs will know that dried abalones are never cheap. Orient Palace serves up its famed 24-head Middle Eastern Dried Abalone with La Mien ($98).

For those who are not as well versed in abalone, like me, the number of heads makes up the size of the abalone. The bigger the number of heads, the smaller the abalone and the more prized it is.

These dried abalones are imported directly from Hong Kong and have been preserved for at least 11 years to ensure that all its richness and goodness have been kept concentrated. The abalones are braised for 48 hours prior to serving, which results in them having a captivatingly smooth and springy texture.

Order the dry version of the noodles, if you’d like, and you will get a bowl of collagen-rich shark cartilage broth with it!

Orient Palace has their own rendition of our local favourite, bak kut teh. Expect a lavish bowl that comprises back-loin ribs, also known as dragon ribs in Chinese ($23.80). These ribs are cooked in a light and peppery broth, which incorporates Sarawak black peppercorns that are famed for their warm, mellow and spicy flavours.

Opt for the version with sea cucumber ($43) or giant grouper fish maw ($63) if you’re looking for something even more nourishing.

Served with homemade dough fritters, salted vegetables and a bowl of steamed rice, the bak kut teh takes us back to yesteryear as we reminiscence the good old times.

Another feature of Orient Palace is the use of giant grouper in their fish porridge. Diners can pick and select their favourite cut of fish for their porridge – from the lips, all the way to the tail ($9.80 onwards).

The giant groupers that are used in the restaurant weigh a minimum of 30kg, with the heaviest, so far, standing at 41kg! Unbelievable!

The porridge is cooked in a fish bone broth which is adapted from the famed Long Ji Fish Soup store in Xiamen, China. We were told that the chefs flew over to Xiamen to train for 2 weeks in their kitchen to master the steps to creating the signature fish soup.

What is a Chinese restaurant without seafood? Diners can indulge in the restaurant’s Nanyang Steamed Crab with Chili Dip ($8.80/100g), which is their version of the local favourite chilli crab. The crab is steamed on its own and served with a flavourful and spicy chilli sauce dip on the side. We liked their version of the spicy chilli sauce which uses Bentong ginger to give it a strong, lingering heat. The sauce is also much spicier than it is sweet, which we feel caters to Singaporeans’ love for spicy food.

We loved the variety of Chinese cuisine offered at Orient Palace. The concept of having a dining, entertainment, and wellness hub all in one is refreshing and we definitely wouldn’t mind coming back again!

This post was brought to you by Orient Palace.