Had loads of fun with some of the Omy bloggers over at Grand Mercure Roxy today! I arrived a bit late for the event, but was just in time for the poolside refreshments! Having renovated their building, the pool side now looks snazzy! You may book their deluxe poolside rooms and have your room right next to the pool. It's really quite awesome sitting next to the pool, sipping a cool glass of something while you get a suntan.
Finger food at the poolside, featuring the mini wagyu beef burger, codfish, crabmeat, mushrooms...
The mini wagyu beef burger up close and personal, with a mini sunny side up on top with runny yolk that slips right down your throat.
After enjoying the view and snacks at the pool, we were ushered down by our lovely staff from Grand Mercure Roxy Jennifer and Tika down to Jia Wei restaurant for our six-course dinner. The restaurant makes mainly Cantonese dishes and also feature local delights such as laksa and a fabulous durian cake.
Jia Wei restaurant, with various Chinese cake molds at the entrance on display.
Fellow bloggers trying to remember which molds are for what cakes...
Really pleasant setting in the restaurant, classy and welcoming. Really good and courteous service staff too, who serves the ladies first.
One of the bloggers Madeline brought her little one with her, and everyone were very tickled with her little antics.
First dish: Dim sum! The prawns are really big and crunchy. The skin melts in your mouth. Need I say more?
So good, it deserves a second picture.
I am Cantonese myself, and this soup is a pass with flying colours. The soup has been cooked long enough with the ingredients to make a fine broth, yet the abalone, scallop and meat doesn't lose all its taste to the soup. Everyone were just busy slurping down their soup to bother with a second picture.
Dish three: Peking duck skin
Cucumber and spring onion to go with the peking duck skin
The fantastic butter prawns in pumpkin sauce. The prawns are HUGE. And if you are worried about dirtying your hands in such a classy restaurant, no fear, for they have been split in half so that you can eat them easily with a fork and knife. The big tiger prawn even had roe in it. Awesome.
So beautifully presented, it deserves a second shot.
Fellow blogger William managed to make his way through the long claw and that was his proud moment! (We all gave up.)
Toufu. With some roe on top, I think. The gravy tastes like a thicker version of egg soup.
Local favourite - LAKSA! Too spicy for me but we all enjoyed it anyway!
DURIAN CAKE THAT'S SO FLUFFY YOU WANT TO SLEEP ON IT. Ok, just kidding, but it's really really really light and I guarantee you won't feel sinful eating it. It comes with durian puree which I licked up, and then some from Paula, our ang moh friend who claims that she doesn't take durian in large quantities.
The durian puree (not pictured) is so carefully prepared that you don't catch any hint of fibre in it, as we usually do at home made ice cream shops or durian puffs. The chef probably had the top layer of skin on the durian removed before scooping out the good stuff.
We were also served very good red and white wine, which went really well with the food. I had the Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. The white, I heard, was equally good, and the waiters served it in a pre-chilled glass. All in all, the service at Grand Mercure Roxy is very good (did you know: they have a nanny service available?), considerate to the needs of the guests and food at Jia Wei restaurant is really good. Even if you're not staying the night, consider going there for some authentic Cantonese cuisine! (the chef only speaks Cantonese)
