Li Bai Restaurant

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so, li bai's this cantonese restaurant located at the basement (i dont know why the address says GF) of sheraton towers - the decor and furnishings are pretty simple but echo an understated luxurious sense. mind you, the staff benefits here must be pretty awesome because some of the waitresses/captains have been working here for more than 7+ years since we first patronized this place. and as you can expect it, service is pretty darn excellent and personalized.

come here for their dim sum, which is intricately made and packs some serious nuanced flavor. the actual look of the dim sum might seem ordinary but the taste is nothing but. we ordered sui jing gao (water crystal dumpling - essentially different chopped vegetables wrapped in a crystal clear dumpling sheet), pan fried turnip cake, abalone spring roll and har gau (prawn dumpling).

i think har gau can be used as a standard to judge a dim sum restaurant's worth since it is found everywhere, and boy does li bai come out with flying colors. the prawns are fresh and have that additional oomph and flavor locked within that really negates any need for additional chilli sauce or the likes. its also perfectly executed as the skin doesn't flake or stick to the sides.

spring rolls are often the de facto dish of lousy american chinese food often really greasy and stuffed with semi-stale vegetables. so it came as a pleasant surprise that this humble dish was transformed at li bai to be a delicate, nuanced and utterly flavorful piece of confectionery, not the least bit oily. having abalone stuffing within didn't hurt of course. =)

the other two dim sums similarly had such nuanced flavors locked within them and i'll be willing to say that they taste much better than the average dim sum you can find here or even in hong kong (someone is gonna kill me.. hee).

we also ordered a noodle dish, that being a seafood crispy noodle - this is a must try at chinese zi char stalls or restaurants by the way - crispy wok-fried noodles that are immersed into a rich flavorful broth just before being served such that the noodles maintain their crispness by also soak up the broth. li bai's rendition was well balanced, and what surprised me was how delicious the seafood ingredients within were. in particular, the cod fish was utterly flavorful and melted in your mouth - i'd seriously be willing to pay quite a bit for an entire dish of that cod. other ingredients like scallops and prawns were also juicy and well executed.

seriously, come to li bai for a great dim sum and cantonese feast. it's not cheap, but its worth it. a small crispy noodle dish that serves 3 - 4 goes for $20, whilst the dim sum dishes are between 5 - 8 bucks for a plate of 4. (nice thing is also that they allow you to customize it to be say a plate of 3 or 5, depending on how many people you have, which removes the last piece syndrome eh?)

We came here really for hairy crabs. Not being a local, I do struggle to find out where to eat, specially Chinese food. Anyhow, we ended up coming here and it was my 1st time ever in the Sheraton.

It's a Friday night and I was a bit surprised the restaurant was quite busy. It wasn't full but busy enough. I never know if people eat in hotel chinese restaurants here given the hawker stall culture being so strong and there are plenty of chinese restaurants outsides of hotels. 

Hairy crabs were fine. I had better ones before. But my friend said they were better than the ones he had in Beijing last week. The ginger tea served after the crabs was yum indeed. Just what I needed to get rid of the "coolness" nature of the crabs. Other main dishes we had were XO sauce stir fry with clams, scallops and asparagus, then half a roast crispy chicken and some choy sum with garlic. All were very good. I actually thought to myself whilst I was eating "wow, it's tasty and I really am enjoying eating this food."

The service was strange at time though attentive. Whilst I was still biting my chicken pieces, with all the dishes almost finished, one waitress came and asked if we wanted dessert! I asked her if they were closing soon as I was still eating my food. She said no, then I said we would think about that after we finished the food. 

In the end, we had almond paste soup and red bean soup. 

Overall, I did enjoy the dinner here and thought the price is not too bad given it's in a hotel. The quality is certainly up there. Will I come back for dinner. I certainly will!

For pictures, please visit foodmakespeoplehappy.blogspot.com thanks!

Having been wowed thoroughly by their hairy crab meal last year, my family and I decided to come back to Li Bai for their hairy crab feast! (:

We ordered the hairy crab meal with additional hairy crabs each! (: Here's what the menu features:

Hairy Crab Xiao Long Bao





Topped with a thick creamy layer of hairy crab roe. Delicate bao skin of the right thickness that went so well with the filling. could be a little bit more generous with the roe though. other than that, it was a good start to the meal. 4/5

Birds Nest Soup with Hairy Crab Roe/Sharks Fin Soup with Hairy Crab Roe

Actually, the menu states sharks fin soup, but last year, the waitress changed it to birds nest for me and I rmb all of us were wowed over how yummy it was, so this year we asked the waitress to change it for us again (: Exquisite, elegant food/art. Classic gold and yellow dish to showcase its superiority. Imagine a bowl of cream of mushroom. but now, replace all the cream with hairy crab roe and the mushroom with birds nest. Lots of roe, lots of birds nest! A smile comes right after every spoon of the soup :) I'd say this is a MUST-TRY! 5/5

Hairy Crab





To make sure we enjoy every single strand of the crab meat, we asked for our crab shell to be removed when served to us. The waitress was really great! As my mom finished her sharksfin soup first (our birds nest took a little longer), hence she asked my Mom to start on her crab first and helped my mom peel the shell off her crab legs. Then as we started eating out crab, she helped us peel ours as well, while we were eating! Great service (: The crab meat is sweet and really yummy. Only disappointment was that the crab turned cold very quickly (should be due to the air con) which made it less appetizing (tasteless, cold) as we eat. The roe was super duper awesome when hot though! Recommend eating the roe first (: 4/5

Ginger tea!





Felt that theirs was quite good! Hot and spicy plus not overly sweet (: The Chinese believe that we have to drink ginger tea after eating the crab to ease the "coolness" of it! My dad and the boy thought it was spicy enough though!

Cod Fish with mushrooms





Initially, we were uncertain of what fish it was as the meat was a tad too tough to be a cod. After confirmation with the waitress, it was confirmed to be a cod. The fish went well with the condiments (spring onions, chye por, soy sauce). However, the sauce was too salty to our likings. Too wasted to soak the cod in so much soy sauce. Plus the chef really overcooked this one, all of ours were hard which made us doubt whether this was cod fish or not because even my maid at home can steam the cod fish just nicely till it melts in our mouth so we were rather disappointed with this. The mushrooms were yummy though! 3/5

Springy noodles with abalone and mushroom





My mom remembered how wonderfully springy and awesome the noodles were from last year's meal and we werent disappointed with the noodles this time round either! Its like a d*** good plate of wanton mee! The mee is very springy and chewy, its like a perfectly al dente wanton mee haha. Each bite makes you want to slurp up more of it! The mushroom was the softest and most flavourful mushroom I've ever eaten in my life!! Abalone was great too, the stock they cook their stuff has so much depth in flavour and I can tell they really let the mushroom and abalone absorb the broth fully to present the best taste and texture to their customers! MUST-TRY once again! 5/5





Fresh Longjing Tea





They changed our long jing tea to this prior to dessert

Hashima with black sesame tang yuan in ginger tea





I'm not sure how a good hashima should be but personally, i like this dessert a lot. The rice balls were well made. The skin will not stick to your tongue or to the roof or bottom of your mouth. The skin and filling ratio was just right. The ginger soup tasted very much like the ginger tea except that it is slightly stronger and a lot sweeter. 4/5





Personally, I feel that Li Bai really dishes up quality dishes, no wonder its a veteran in the Cantonese food scene here. Actually, not just Cantonese, in the Chinese food scene! I really applaud the wonderful service we got at Li Bai (esp with the waitress patiently picking out the crab meat for us!) and their friendliness + quick response! Overall, dining at Li Bai is a joy and they were fully booked the night we went (no surprises) so I'd recommend making reservations!

Li Bai

Sheraton Hotel

Li Bai had been keeping good standards on its food and service. Do try this place . :)

I went to Li Bai a few times, their hi-tea dimsum, didn't really attracted me, what enticed me is their fine dining dinner. 

The food was awesome especially the mango duck, it's a must try. The sweetness and sourness of the mango complements the peking duck really well. 

The pan fried cod fish was still tender and juicy. 

The sharkfin soup was rather normal. 

The fried ee-mee is very different from the zi char  stalls outside, IMO I lik it better this way.

Other than that, the other pictures I'm going to post tells it all.

A worth going chinese fine dining restaurant, elders would love it as well. 

As my friend has been strongly recommending, finally we decided to go for it.  It was a posh Chinese restaurant with one or two private rooms and limited tables outside. There are ala-carte and set meals.  We have opt for the ala-carte, as my friend has been here before.

After eating afew dishes especially the Foie Gras, the whole dinner meal caused me to feel uncomfortable with so much oily stuff that I have ate into.

Perhaps the choices that we have ordered was wrong, for one taste is difference from another.  As for the service there is really friendly and warm-heartening, which makes one feels eased while waiting for the other people to come and gather together.

Another year has passed and yet another Mother's day celebration. And sticking to the tradition of Chinese restaurants, we settled on Li Bai, the flagship Chinese restaurant of Sheraton Towers Hotel and where I once had a pleasant dining experience at.

Shark Bone Soup - A specialty of Li Bai, the shark bone soup was very light and tasty without the usual nausea inducing factor. The bamboo pith in the soup had a nice crunch to it whilst the fish maw's fishiness was minimal with a mild chewy texture. Sweetness of the soup was enhanced through the use of wolfberries.

Asparagus with Coral Clam and Scallops - Well stir fried, the asparagus retained its crunchiness but the scallops, though big, weren't really firm. I'm not exactly a big fan of coral clams but these were chewy and flavourful from the XO sauce. Definitely a great dish to go with steamed rice.

Homemade Spinach Beancurd - Another signature dish of Li Bai and rightfully so. Silkily smooth and savoury, topped with plentiful mushrooms and dried scallops shreds for that extra taste and texture. Great!

BBQ Pork Combination - We opted for the combination of suckling pig and soya sauce chicken. The chicken had me craving for more with its firm yet tender meat but I couldn't say the same for the pig, which had crackling crisp skin but less than adequate salt level. But maybe I am just used to a heavier salt intake.

Tea Smoked Duck - Fragrant, tender and succulent meat coupled with a tinge of smokiness from the tea, what's not to like? Throw in the crackling skin and a dip of sweet sauce to round up an excellent dish.

Cod Fish - A most interesting dish with the firm cod both sweet and sour from the lemon juice and brushed honey. I personally liked the taste but thought it was a pity that the natural sweetness and richness of the cod was masked over. Topped with pine nuts and chipped ginseng from the extra health boost.

Jellyfish with Topshell - Not my cup of tea so I shall reserve my comments on this save for the fact that the jellyfish was springy and the topshell, chewy.

Fish Paste Noodles with Prawns - I absolutely love fish paste noodles and not many places in Singapore sell it so it's quite a bonus for me if a restaurant happens to have it on the menu. The noodles here were first stir fried, as evident by the little burnt marks on them, then simmered in broth. Deliciously full of bite. However the only gripe I had was that the accompanying prawns didn't have their intestines cleaned out, which really isn't something I would expect from a reputable restaurant like Li Bai.

Mango Sago - Nothing too fancy, coming across more like your average bowl of mango sago with sourish mangoes.

Red Bean Paste Pancake - I was utterly disappointed in the red bean pasta pancake, which sported many layers of flour, excessive oil and a darker than acceptable surface colour from over deep frying. On the upside, at least it was very crisp and not overly sweet, but never again.

An above average dinner for the 5 of us amounted to $419, which wasn't expensive but not exactly cheap either. Quality of food was definitely above average ( save for the desserts) and service was good with our tea constantly refilled and the wait staff ever eager to accede to our every request. I wouldn't say that this ranks amongst the top few Chinese restaurants in Singapore but I would be more than happy to return for its consistency of food.

See all my pictures here.

Actually I find kinda hard to describe Li Bai, since it is no doubt that I enjoy going to this restaurant on regular basis due to the quality good food and relatively good service which meet my expectations, though the food and the service varies from so-so to very good.  Some of service staffs are very meticulous as to make sure one is enjoying the meal but some just fulfills the basic requirements of service.

Though quality and fresh ingredients are used, some of the food taste ok but the texture is not fine enough to be memorable (example, the char Siu Sor, and the Chang Fun).  On the other hand, some of the foods are really outstanding, full of flavors, and with the right balance of taste (for example, their soups and some of the special dim sums).

The ambience is classy, great for family gatherings.

So basically, this place is a good choice for an enjoyable meal!

Went to Li Bai recently for lunch and then again dinner last Saturday so I reckon I am qualified to give this dining establishment a review.

This is apparently a restaurant named after a famous, influential Tang Dynasty poet.  The following thought crossed my mind: Is this some kind of marketing gimmick to leverage on the poet's fame or is this restaurant (and more importantly the food it offers) worthy of being associated with the legendary poet?  

Just as good poetry comes from a moment of inspiration, I think the food here is generally quite inspired.  

For me, Li Bai delivers in every aspect.  The food is imaginative, sublime and elegant.  The chef doesn't go overkill on the sauces to mask the flavours of the food, so the food comes out intense and thrilling rather than overwhelmingly contrived.  The ambience also makes for a comfortable setting for you to enjoy your food, though certain diners may not like the fact that Li Bai is actually located near the stairs below the hotel lobby.  Service, though, is nothing short of excellent.

However, just as not everyone appreciates literature and poetry, the food (and tea) here admittedly won't be everyone's cup of tea.  Some diners may find the food a little lacking in tastiness and perhaps a bit bland.  Myself and my fellow diners, though, find the food very  refined, and as I mentioned earlier, the chef doesn't go too heavy on the sauces, so you get to enjoy the freshness of the ingredients and at the end of it all, when you leave the restaurant, you will feel like you had a very healthy, satisfying meal.  And this is rather important because the whole point of eating is to enjoy and relax, rather than the overwhelming sense of guilt after having gobbled a tub of lard and monosodium glutamate. >.

We came here for dinner as a treat for a colleague.  We had a 8 course set dinner priced at $700 for 10 persons.  As there were about 16 of us, we were given a private room which was really private.  The room scored top point for being totally secluded from the rest of the restaurant.  In fact when I walked out to the wash room midway through the dinner I was surpirsed that the main dining area was almost fully occupied and we were totally unaware inside our private room.  2 waiters were assigned to serve us through the evening.  For the food, we had the following:

1.   Steamed live prawns in wine - the prawns were swimming fresh and the spicy dip sauce was excellent

2.   Sharks fin soup with fish maw and crab meat - not too salty and sticky with actual fins among the rest of the ingredients

3.   Sauteed scallops, squids and asparagus in XO sauce was excellent

4.   Steamed "soon hock"  with bean crumbs was nicely executed with well judged timing.  The fish was better red tilapia which is normally served this way in other restaurants.

5.   Roast chicken - this common dish was superbly done, with juicy meat and paper thin crispy skin

6.   Cabbage with bamboo pith and dried scallop provided the mandatory vegetable dish for the set

7.   Fried noodle with shredded chicken meat, duck meat and char siew was excellent.  There was also generous amount of bean sprouts to add to the texture of the dish.

8.   Mango cream with pomelo and sago provided the cool and refreshing end to the dinner.

When I first glanced at the menu (chosen by a friend days before the dinner) I was not particularly excited about the meal as the dishes were relatively common.  But the famed restaurant scored with excellent execution of fresh ingredients, carefully calculated timing of serving each dish, impeccable service from the staff and a wonderful ambience.  Of course the meal was not cheap but we had a most enjoyable dinner.