After hearing all the rave from Jimmy and Cheryl about how good ganglamedo is, and how friendly the service is, I decided to head down – just when they released a new, much more affordable dinner menu.
Located in Chinatown along a quieter alley, Ganglamedo appears to stand out as the one fine dining eatery amongst cafes and pubs. It is easily accessible and only a max of 5min walk from the nearest bus stop, though heading back was more of a hassle if you were thinking of returning to the Chinatown MRT station.
The interior was what awed me the most. As a newly opened eatery with a concept rare to Singapore, the design is very intricate, and the waiters are proud to show us around. Every seat is like a single dining room on its own, with sofas as seats, individual chandeliers hung over the dining table, and separated from other seats with partitions for optimum privacy while dining.
Passageways are lined with beautiful ornaments and antiques imported from China, with one wall draped over with the art of a Buddha. Many of the decorations can be purchased, according to Cheryl.
The second floor is also accessible for public seating, with a large window overlooking 2 sets of seats at the first floor, from which the view is pretty amazing. The stairs are lit up by electrically powered candles instead of lights, which added a layer of modest elegance.
The VIP lounge is a whole new level (literally), upstairs with its very own resting area, and a private toilet (apparently for “showering”). It is located at the attic, with its own air con which isn’t usually turned on unless someone has booked the room. Like most VIP seating areas, it is catered for large events and therefore has a large table in the middle, more extravagantly designed than the smaller non-VIP counterparts.
Back to food before I start sounding as though I’m introducing a museum: we had a 5-course meal with appetisers, sides, drinks, a main course, and dessert. Not all their dishes are vegan, so you will need to specify before going about your dietary requirements as the dessert will need to be preprepared specially for you (lest you would like to settle with a fruit platter)
First to appear, as for all Chinese restaurants, was the drinks. The set came with a complimentary pot of tea – after which free flow tea will require a payment of $3. The other drink we got was something like sparkling grapefruit – clearly not drunk by me, as I don’t usually like fizzy drinks. This tea is well brewed and smooth, with a slight barley fragrance. Not an uncommon drink in China, and famed for its health benefits of lowering cholesterol etc., it was a thoughtful addition to the feast that is about to follow.
The appetisers included a fruit platter with candied walnut, which is literally caramelised walnut. This came along with an enoki mushroom and cucumber roll, garnished with a side of thin carrot slice also made into a roll. For the reason that it is merely an appetiser, it is very mild tasting – with only the natural taste of the ingredients and not much seasoning added.
Special shout out to their homemade chilli sauce, which is also on sale. It is extremely fragrant, with 2 types – one that is more nutty and made of mainly a variety of nuts and seeds, and one that is more of the kind of chilli that we are used to, yet again with a slight nutty fragrance.
Then came the panfried button mushroom, which replaced what would otherwise be the homemade pancakes (not vegan). And oh. My. Goodness. Was the dish good. The mushroom was fried to a point where it is extremely succulent on the inside, yet still firm on the outside, and the fragrance of mushrooms literally burst in your mouth upon biting in. As they are still in the process of constantly improving their menu, specks of salt was sprinkled onto the dish, in case customers (ie us) found it too bland. I found that really thoughtful, because not all customers have the same taste, and allowing them to choose their own level of saltiness ensures that all taste preferences were accommodated for.
The star of this trip was the main course – a hotpot with steamed rice (their noodles are not vegan). The rice came in a cute little claypot, steamed with carrots. Due to its steaming, the rice was rather fragrant and reminded me much of when my Grandmother would steam rice in the traditional bamboo container, to which she claimed made rice taste the best and have the best texture – slightly harder on the outside, and slightly chewy on the inside.
As the only 2 soup bases are mushroom and tomato soups, we ordered one each to sample. The soups came with a small envelope to detail what the benefits are – something which definitely satisfies those who are extremely health conscious. All the soups are cooked by the Chef himself with tedious steps – the tomato soup (my favourite) was made by first steaming, then frying with homemade mushroom oil, then blending and finally slow-boiling the tomatoes, to ensure the consistent permeating taste of tomatoes regardless of when you visit.
(Part 2 coming up soon – stay tuned!)
Neko's Life Story 