Restaurant Ten 十养

Remember Metropole Herbal at Clarke Quay? It has shifted to 7 Purvis Street (+65-63339901). Back where it started (Seah Street), but this time, it has reinvented itself as a modern restaurant in a shophouse.

If you want to avoid the crying babies at the large round tables on the first floor, head up upstairs for cosy seats.

Apart from the Chinese characters in the restaurant's name, there is nothing else in it to visually suggest that this started as an ultra traditional Chinese HERBAL restaurant.

While we crushed the pickled radish in our mouths and sipped chilled boiled chrysanthemum with honeysuckle, we ordered from one of the 3 set lunches.

And our favourite Eight Treasures Tea 八宝茶.

Despite its ugly appearance, this mini abalone is fragrantly infused with 当归. I usually dislike braised stuff. But this is not disagreeable at all.

Eggwhite with scallops in Potato Basket. One of its signature dishes since its Seah Street days, and this is better than it was during its Clarke Quay days.

Hashima Chicken Soup. I love this soup. It's light, favourful, yet not overcompensatingly salty. A difficult realm to achieve in the world of soup boiling.

Of course, the cod fish dish is a must. Instead of the white steamed or deep-fried buns, we were surprised by these as we popped opened the bamboo steamers.

The Cod Fish tastes better at Purvis Street.

The chef has found a way to get rid of excessive fish fat, yet preserving the delicate flavours of the cod.

So far so good...

Until, we were served with this deep-fried tofu. At first glance, there are so many things so wrong about this dish. It's purely vegetarian, it's fried, and most uncomfortably, it's damn yuppie-wannabe-looking. *check out the shot glass and the silly table spoon??? Something I couldn't bring myself to forgive.

One is supposed to cut open the tofu, sprinkle the dragonfruit and pour the carrot in egg sauce over it. How poser is that???

What's in the tofu? Mushrooms, water chestnuts etc... I was about to give up on this dish... Gimme back the traditional Metropole Herbal!!

But wait a minute... Keep an open mind... and an opened mouth... Mmmmmm... The strange combination is counter-intuitively YUMMY?!! What??? How can this be possible???

It's quite obvious that the chef knows what he's doing and is trying to push the boundaries.

Next, up another yuppie-looking mutation served.

With newfound confidence, I pressed my fork through the jelly substance... and popped some in my mouth. Mmmmm... The light fragrance of coconut filled my mouth... And the gritty translucent pear puree in the shot glass glided down my throat, completing the meal on a refreshing, cleansing note.

A strange end to what I'd envisaged as a traditional Chinese HERBAL meal, but curiously satisfying.