Grand Majestic

I don’t really buy the PR rhetoric that the décor of Grand Majestic Sichuan took inspiration from an old “ritzy supper club” in the 60’s, but the setting did remind me a little of those “grand” Chinese restaurants/banquet halls common in Hong Kong in the old days with the same festive red color tone and touches of gold for the flamboyant feel. There’s always an appetite for high-end Chinese restaurant in the middle of the business district so the restaurant, centrally located inside The Landmark’s Alexandria House building, is a welcoming addition despite we are still in the middle of the pandemic lockdown. 

I was there for a lunch tasting recently, and Chef Robert Wong prepared for us a long menu of some of their signature dishes based on traditional Sichuan cooking. We began with a series of cold and warm appetizers, all of them with strong flavors. The “Bang Bang Ji” was served chilled with local “three-yellow” chicken poached, shredded and then tossed with the nutty sesame sauce with a hint of numbing spiciness. The chicken was juicy and tender and I love the complexity of the sauce. The “Hong You Chao Shou”, or wontons in chili oil, was done with pork dumplings smothered in an aromatic red chili oil with a hint of sweetness and acidity. 

We moved onto with a few more courses served in more substantial portion. The Mapo Doufu, which our host insisted as being the “best in town”, was great, with huge chunks of silky soft tofu sauteed with chopped beef and smothered in a sauce made with Sichuan pepper, chilies and fermented soy paste. The spicy kick was done just right and the dish went perfectly well with a bowl (or two) of steamed rice. 

The “Suan Cai Yu”, or Fish with Pickled Vegetables, was another dish I enjoyed most. Thick slices of “golden pomfret” fillet was stewed with a brothy sauce with pickled mustard greens and topped with chilies, peppers and cilantro. It wasn’t served with the flat cellophane noodles like how the other Sichuan restaurants would have done but it was still great without. The cabbage with chicken oil was the “mildest” dish of all, but it was perfect to end our meal with, with the aromatic chicken oil rounded up the flavor nicely even with a hint of sweetness to balance with all the other richer dishes we had right before. 

We finished with a bowl of Dandan Mian, or noodles with spicy sesame sauce which was another Sichuan classic. The dish was prepared in front of us with the egg noodles tossed in a big bowl and mixed with condiments such as meat, mushrooms and chopped vegetables – think those table-side Caesar Salad show common in steakhouses in yester-year. The timing and technique left room for improvement (some noodles were stuck together because of under-tossing) but the flavor was on-point, nutty and spicy with the hand-chopped Kurubuta pork well marinated. 

Spicy food went well with champagne and that’s what we had. And oh, there’s also the complimentary champagne service outside the bathroom – more of a gimmick I must say but who cares when one could fill up with a glass of bubbly every time after a loo visit. 

When? February 22 2022
Where? Shop 301, Alexandra House, The Landmark, 18 Chater Road, Central
Menu Highlights? Mapo Doufu - Tofu with Hand-chopped grass-fed beef with Sichuan pepper
Web: grandmajesticsichuan.com