Henry Tham

Description:

• Dining at this exclusive eatery makes you feel like royalty, beginning with the red-velvet thronelike chairs that extend several feet above your head. Take your pick from the numerous set menus in different price ranges (cheaper at lunch). Dishes on the set menu have fancy names. Some of our favorites include: Liquid Gold, a superb miso soup with seaweed and squares of tofu; Splash of Joy, delicately steamed grouper with a hint of scallion; and Drifting on the Yellow River, king prawns marinated in rice wine and yellow soybean paste and grilled. Vegetarians are also spoiled for choice. If you're going a la carte, give the soups a miss and order a bunch of the flavorful appetizers (bacon-wrapped prawns, Mongolian chicken, assorted dim sum) -- it will leave you feeling quite sated. Follow this with not more than two dishes from the extensive menu (helpings are substantial), and the finale should be the "tree of life," which gets full marks for presentation -- it's really only freshly cut fruit served on a bed of crushed ice with two flavors of soufflé. Overall, this is a classy affair -- perfect for a celebration dinner or a special treat. Downstairs is the lounge and bar area, which is packed to the hilt (and very loud) from Thursday to Saturday night (Thurs is live music night). Even if you're not at the bar, do try some of the excellent cocktails; we loved the cosmopolitans (the sugar cane is superb) and the Caipiroskas.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010