Mouth Restaurant 地茂館: Singapore Restaurant Review

“Treasure Pot Feast (九大簋) only at Mouth Restaurant”

mouth restaurant china square singapore

With humble beginnings that can be traced back to the early 80’s in Hong Kong, Mouth Restaurant has been serving up authentic Cantonese cuisine to Singapore diners for the past 25 years.

Mouth Restaurant all began as a teahouse which serves quintessential Dim Sum to the Hong Kong community in Singapore, now evolving to become an all-inclusive Chinese restaurant offering modern Cantonese food at approachable prices.

mouth restaurant singapore

Presently as of this writing, Mouth Restaurant has two outlets – one at China Square Central as pictured above and the other at Plaza Singapura. The China Square Central branch is conveniently situated beside Great Eastern Insurance building and is easily accessible via Chinatown MRT.

The restaurant’s interior reminds me of a typical Hong Kong old school dim sum teahouse; yet when you take a closer look, you will notice that the restaurant is quite elegantly designed with some slight modern interpretations as seen from their floral wallpaper and lamps.

mouth restaurant treasure pot feast

For a limited period only (6th Sep 2014 – 30th November 2014), Mouth Restaurant is offering a 9 course set which includes many Chinese delicacies such as suckling pig, sharks’ fin soup and braised sea cucumber. This “Treasure Pot Feast” ( 九大簋)is available at both of the Mouth Restaurant outlets and  retails at an unbelievable price of only $23.80 per pax, with a minimum requirement of 6 people per booking.

mouth restaurant braised sharks fin

Traditional Braised Sharks’ Fins. The starter for the Treasure Pot Feast is a traditional braised sharks fin. Honestly, the flavour was nothing to rave about but I guess it would be nostalgic for Hong Kong descendants and also for those who frequently visit the country known for shopping and eating, as this dish is reminiscent of the famous Hong Kong roadside sharks fin dish (碗仔翅).

I belong to the latter group and having this dish does bring back many fond memories of my childhood where I first tasted roadside sharks fin with my mother.

mouth restaurant baked suckling pig singapore

Baked Suckling Pig. To me, a Chinese feast is never complete without a juicy crispy suckling pig. Mouth Restaurant serves a baked suckling pig (the usual version is roasted) with no added oil hence making this dish a healthier and less oily version.

This pig is baked thoroughly from the natural oil of the animal itself. The skin is relatively crispy and crunchy whilst the meat is tender and tasty. If you have read my previous reviews, you may know that I am thoroughly a pork meat lover and that I enjoy the “Porky” smell and taste. This dish is perfect for my taste buds but might not be agreeable with others.

mouth restaurant pipa prawns

Pipa Prawns (琵琶虾). This dish is very interesting and something different. You know it’s a prawn dish by sight but only after you take your first bite then you realise its a whole prawn deepfried with bread. This is a traditional and very early days Cantonese style Hong Kong dish; you will most probably not be able to taste this dish elsewhere.

This specially imported ‘desert’ prawn is deep fried with bread to golden brown perfection, making it extremely crispy but not oily. I am pretty sure even kids who are fussy eaters will give 2 thumbs up for this dish.

mouth restaurant braised sea cucumber

Braised sea cucumber & fish maw in superior sauce. This is yet another typical chinese dish always served at wedding dinners and other auspicious gatherings. Sea cucumber and fish maw are very healthy ingredients with many benefits. They are both excellent source of collagen hence can help improve plumpness of our complexion and also improve general blood circulation.

Mouth restaurant serves up a very savoury and not too salty version of this dish. The sea cucumber and fish maw are soft and chewy; definitely a dish that even your grandparents with weak teeth (or lack of them) can also enjoy.

mouth restaurant longhu grouper singapore

Longhu Grouper SanPei style (三杯龙虎斑). Longhu grouper is a cross breed between the longdan (龙胆石斑)  and tiger groupers (老虎斑). This dish is served in a sizzling hot pot with the fish deep fried and cooked in sanpei style with lots of spring onions, chilli and sweet basil.

I really quite enjoyed this dish because the fish meat is tender and with hardly any small bones. The basil gives the fish a fragrant kick and the chilli adds some extra zing to the taste.

mouth restaurant-09110023

Truffle infused asparagus with assorted mushrooms. This dish is only available for the ‘Treasure Pot Feast’ promo and not on the ala-carte menu. The asparagus is cut to perfect bite size portions and complements very well with the assorted mushrooms such as shitake, nameko and oyster mushrooms.

The dish is garnished with truffle flakes and ebiko; on the whole  making this a pretty well executed modern vegetable dish. It’s a bit odd though, suddenly having a western influenced dish amongst all the traditionally Chinese dishes, although the owner probably wants to capture a younger generation with all the truffle rage going on.

mouth restaurant-09110024

Claypot rice. Honestly, this dish was quite lackluster. The rice was rather bland and lacked the distinctive claypot wok hei smell and flavour. I was later told by the managing director of Mouth restaurant that this dish is cooked the non traditional way.

The rice and ingredients are steamed till half cooked then further heated up and cooked in a claypot; presenting a much healthier version of this dish. I presume health conscious people will prefer this cooking style, but really lacks the umph of true claypot rice.

mouth restaurant baked salted egg yolk bun liu sha bao

mouth restaurant baked liu sha bao

Baked Custard buns (流沙包). Gosh! I’m left speechless after taking a bite. This is an OMG total “mouthgasm” dessert/dimsum dish! I do not like or normally eat custard buns but after much coaxing from editor Seth to try their signature baked liu sha bao, I sank my teeth into one of these golden babies. The filling inside was bursting with salted egg yolk flavour, it was thick but creamy smooth- love at first taste to me! A definite double must try if you are dining at Mouth restaurant.

Mouth Restaurant at China Square Central boasts 22 tables and also have VIP rooms suited for business meetings and other corporate gatherings. I will also recommend this restaurant for family lunches and dinners or even traditional chinese weddings. Their food variety and selection is wide and is value for money. The 9-course ‘Treasure Pot Feast’ promotion at just $23.80++ a person is also insane value too good to pass up.

Expected Damage: $30 – $40 per pax

Mouth Restaurant 地茂館: 22 Cross Street #01-61 China Square Central South Bridge Road Court Shop House Singapore 048421 | Tel: 6438 5798 | Website

Newest