Imperial Herbal Restaurant & Tcafe

1 Harbourfront Walk
Vivo City #03-08
Singapore 098585
Tel: 63370491

November 08, 2006

Imperial Herbal is always mistaken as part of Imperial Treasure Group. Pls note that they have no relations at all. And coz of this, read from the papers, Crystal Jade purposely opened an outlet at Vivo City as they heard rumours that Imperial Treasure, their greatest competitor is opening an outlet at Vivo too. But to their dismay, it was all the wrong info.

Imperial Herbal Restaurant has been quite famous in the late 90's, when it was previously located in Metropole Hotel near Seah St. People patronize here frequently for the healing powers of the food served here, which are enriched with herbs and other secret ingredients prescribed by a trained Chinese herbalist.

The herbalist, who is also trained in Western medicine, will ask for the symptoms of what ails you and take your pulse. He is in-house every day from 6.30pm-9.30pm. It is always good to call ahead for reservation as this place is always packed due to the Herbalist's presence, the greatest attraction. When you leave, present him with a small 'ang pao' - a gift of cash in a red envelope.

My first visit here was a treat given by my colleagues, as a reward for our hard work on some projects. Sadly, I got this chance to fill in as my GM wasn't free that day. Wait... I did create an email address for them :).

Anyway, this rejuvenating place is designed with a mixture of modern and traditional look. Strong aroma of herbs surround us as soon as we stepped in which reminds me of the chinese herb store; too bad the herbalist wasn't on duty that day.

We ordered the Spare Ribs in Flower Sauce(must try), Braised Seaweed Beancurd with Mushrooms, Stir Fried Vegetables with Chinese Wolfberries, Cauliflower with Fresh Scallop Paste, Siao Long bao, Guo Tia, and Brewed Pear for Dessert. For each of the dishes that were served, the manager gave brief explanations on the food attributes to our health.

You definitely have to try their traditional soup. It ranges from Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken, Cordyceps, Porkribs and even Buddha Jump Over the Wall. I had the Brazilian Mushroom Soup and it tasted very good.

Their pricing is on the average scale. Food portions wise, those served per pax are small :p, but I'll definitely give them thumbs up for their professional explanations. Overall the food was good, but it could be too healthy for my likings.

I would like to thank my colleagues for this treat! Thanks, Ms Wang, Teri and Lai Lee!! *Hopefully the for next visit, I could get the Herbalist to diagnose my health.

Rating: 6/10