Dragon Bowl, Aperia Mall

This is the second time Dragon Bowl is treating us to their amazing Cantonese food. This time, we dined at its Aperia Mall outlet.

We started off with some festive offerings for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

This festive season, Dragon Bowl offers its customers with a unique gastronomic experience that is unlike the standard contemporary Cantonese cuisine. This time of year, customers can enjoy Dragon Bowl's specially curated value-for-money Fortune Package ($288 for regular and $468 for large), where they provide takeaway festive goodies for those who would like to spend a more intimate time with their loved ones at the comfort of their own home. The festive package comprises four dishes: Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng with Fish Roe, Prosperity Fortune Treasure Pot, Herbal Kampong Chicken with Cordyceps and the Yuan Yang Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf with Waxed Meat and Sakura Shrimp.

My favorite dish out of the lot is the Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng with Fish Roe ($38.80 for regular; $56.80 for large) as Dragon Bowl has spruced it up by switching the typical salmon slices for abalone and fish roe. As a big fan of abalone, I am very particular about the softness and rubbery taste of it and the ones here sure passed my test! The abalone alone makes this Yu Sheng a good value for your money too.

The use of kampong chicken in the Herbal Kampong Chicken with Cordyceps ($33.80) resulted in the chicken being tender but slightly dry. But this is quite expected with kampung chicken dishes. This dish is perfect for those who do not enjoy an overpowering herbal taste. However, I would have personally preferred a stronger herbal flavour.

Phone cameras around my table were whipped out with no hesitation for this dish! The Prosperity Fortune Treasure Pot ($238 for regular; $398 for large) was topped with 15 premium ingredients including 10 head abalone, sea cucumber, conpoy, dried oyster, top shell, prawn, fish maw, roast duck, trotter, tendon, dried beancurd sheet, lotus roots, yam, mushroom and black moss. I, however wasn’t a huge fan of the big pieces of oysters that were a tad bit too powdery for my liking, as well as the giant pieces of pork that left a gamey after taste.

Next, we had the Yuan Yang Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf with Waxed Meat and Sakura Shrimp ($26.80). It was not as flavorful as compared to the previous three dishes, in my opinion, but served as a good neutraliser for my taste buds to end off the feast. The festive packages are reasonably priced at $288 for regular and $468 for large; catering for 5 and 10 people respectively. Complementary $10 and $50 cash vouchers will also be given for every purchase of the regular and large fortune package respectively. The four offerings are available if you would prefer to dine-in, but of course at an a la carte pricing.

Dragon Bowl is bringing its patrons double the happiness this month! Apart from the Dragon Bowl Fortune Package, Dragon Bowl’s Aperia Mall outlet is bringing back eight all-time favourites from their original menu for a limited time until the end of this month (31 Jan).

The first dish I tried was the “Song Fish Head” with Special Homemade Sauce ($19.80), at first taste I could tell how fresh the carp fish was sans the fishy smell. The sauce was also tangy with a light spice that complemented the fish.

The next dish was the Wok Fried Three Cup Chicken ($16.80), which was a bit too salty for my liking. But I believe it would have made a nice dish to have with a bowl of rice.

The Wok Fried Coffee Flavour Spare Ribs ($16.80) was a little different from the rest as it has a good combination of sweet and savoury flavours, leaving a lasting but faint coffee aftertaste.

I was very excited to try out the Braised Claypot Eggplant with “Yu Xiang Sauce” ($14.80). It turned out to be very well done and really tasted as good as it looked. A fair warning though, this dish comes served piping hot! A few of us at the table even burnt our tongues trying to dig into this too fast, so make sure you give it some time to cool down before eating it.

I was lucky enough to have a chat with the chef, who explained that a great amount of effort was put into cooking the Baked Marble Goby with Garlic and Roast Pork ($48.80). The fish was first fried with garlic, then baked with pork. Personally, I found the fish had a stronger taste compared to the “Song Fish Head” and the pork tasting somehow tasted better than the fish.

If you are a fan of both Garlic and Pork then this is the dish for you. The Braised Pork Belly with Yam ($16.80) presents itself with a strong garlic taste. The pork belly was a little to fatty for my liking, but was really delicious.

The Wok Fried Milky Egg with Four Treasure ($18.80) is unlike any other. The chef went on to say that the oil must be especially hot in order to achieve its super fluffy texture. The “four treasure” part of the dish is a secret, which you would have to try out for yourself to figure out.

Finally, saving what I think was the best dish for last was the Claypot Black Pepper Prawn Vermicelli ($23.80). Among all the eight dishes this was my favourite as the peppery taste was just right and not too overpowering. The prawns were also fresh and quite big, which was a plus! It is no surprise that these eight dishes have won the hearts of customers who will be delighted to know they are back for this limited time.

Classic Cantonese cuisine has always served as comfort food for me. From now on, when I am in need of some comfort food, Dragon Bowl is sure to be my go-to place.

Dragon Bowl Aperia Mall,

12 Kallang Ave,

#02-09,

Singapore 339511

Operating Hours: Daily 11.00am - 9.30pm

#Chinesefood #cantonesefood #aperiamall #dragonbowl #lunarnewyear #chinesenewyear