Alluring Autumn Feast at PUTIEN

Maureen
Maureen
October 02, 2013

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It’s autumn time in Putian again! Complementing the season, PUTIEN serves up its rendition of an alluring autumn feast. The ala carte menu has a few starters, main courses and dessert, as well as the quintessential delicacy of the season: Taihu Hairy Crabs. These dishes featured ingredients that are unique to the season and can be found in the coastal region of Fujian province.

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We started our lunch with a plate of refreshing Shrimps tossed with Vinegar ($6.90). Imported directly from Putian, the shrimps are not fan dried, they are sun dried till it gets the crispy texture and not dry. Being a traditional favourite of rustic autumn charm, the dish whets the appetite with a savoury-sour mixture of shrimps and vinegar.

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Something more unique is the Poached Mutton ($12.90). There was a folklore that inspired this dish. It was said that during the ming dynasty, there wa a butcher who had just slaughtered a huge goat and ready to sell it. Just then, he heard about the news of robbers invading his village. He hurriedly put his mutton into a huge barrel of boiling water, covered with some straws, and escaped with the family. The next day, when the robbers retreat, he came back home with his family and cooked the pot of mutton for everyone. The flavour of the meat was so wonderful.

I was afraid that the mutton will have a strong odor but I was wrong. The fresh mutton is lightly roasted, stewed in spuerior stock for hours then skilfully sliced. Served with the unique blend of garlic sauce, this autumn delicacy is infused with the original essences of the Putian wilds.

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Braised Yam and Duck ($16.90 small, $25.90 medium) has a unique chinese name – 老鸭下蛋. In days of yore, yam harvests were the livelihood of Putian’s rural folk during autumn. They carved the smallest of the season’s harvests into the shape of duck eggs to be simmered with purltry stew. It was NO REAL EGG, of course, but it is sure to put a smile on every child’s face. This is a simple dich but very pure and delicious. You can taste the savouriness and richness from the baby yam.

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Stir fried Chestnut and Mushrooms ($13.90 small, $20.90 medium) consists of straw mushrooms, chestnuts and lean pork slices stir fried into a savoury sweet burst of flavours. A true blue farmer’s dish of days past, Putian’s hardy people paid tribute to the mid autumn’s blessing by suing ingredients most abundant during the season.

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Fortune Tea ($3.90/pax) is the dessert served for the autumn menu. This celebratory drink is always available in Putian in every joyous moment, be it in a wedding, homecoming or the birth of a new family member. The tea clears the gullet and sober the senses with its refreshing sweetness of autumn fruits. It is an acquired taste, I would say, for I am not a big fan of plum juice.

PUTIEN’s autumn menus is available in all outlets till 30th November 2013.

PUTIEN
Address: Kitchener Road, 127 Kitchener Road
Tel: 6295 6358
Lunch: 11.30am-3pm; Dinner: 5.30pm-11pm