Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant

It has been almost a year since Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant opened on the 2nd floor of Capitol Piazza, which has seen the closure of Phô Tai and Zaku. Within a month of its opening, London Fat Duck opened at Scotts Square, another quiet mall where Crystal Jade Pristine and Marukin Ramen have since closed while Sushi Ichi moved next door. Both claim to be serving the popular roasted duck from London's Four Seasons though only the former is by the original eatery. With presence in Shanghai and Bangkok (at Siam Paragon) too, it was brought in by the Royal China Group. According to its website, the ducks are "thoroughly dried before being marinated with a special mix of herbs and spices". They are then air-dried, roasted and air-dried again.

Took me so long to find my way to Four Seasons as items on the menu are priced on the high side and the restaurant always seems empty when I walked by. There can only be two reasons, either the food sucks or it is too expensive (or worse, both). Finally visited for dinner on a weekday and ordered a 2-combination barbequed meat – its signature roasted duck with crispy pork belly, and stir-fried French beans with scallops that is not on the menu. Loved the sauce poured over the de-boned duck, but not the sliced pork belly with a 1:1 ratio of fats to meat. There was wok hei in the stir-fried dish with straw mushrooms and carrot slices, topped with coriander leaves though my dining companion lamented about the scallops which used to be thicker. Found all its dishes too oily and salty for my liking.

Update: The restaurant has closed.