Mouth Restaurant was first established in the 80s in Chinatown Point to serve the increasing number of Hong Kong immigrants leaving the territory for Singapore as a result of the impending 1997 handover from Britain to China. I remembered when I was young, my parents would bring me to queue at Mouth Kitchen for their dim sum. There was always a long queue outside the restaurant and I would grumble because I was hungry.

The Chinese name of Mouth Restaurant, Di Mao Gua（地茂馆）, was derived from the Cantonese phrase “Tae Mow Tong – a reference to the street food stalls in early Hong Kong popular with labourers who were used to squatting while having their meals. In Cantonese, Tae means “ground”, Mow means “squat” and Tong refers to “stall”.

Due to major retail renovation at Chinatown Point, the first Mouth Restaurant which has been operating there for past 25 years pulled down its shutters last October. Subsequently, Mouth Restaurant opened other outlets at City Square Mall and China Square Central. In mid November, they are opening their third outlet in Plaza Singapura.

What began as a teahouse, which catered to the Hong Kong community in Singapore serving up freshly made dim sum and unique clay pot dishes, has evolved to become an all-inclusive Chinese restaurant offering exquisite cuisines at an affordable price. To cater to the younger crowd, Mouth Restaurant has revamped its menu and has introduced many new and exciting dishes.

While some other Chinese restaurants create different flavours of Xiao Long Bao, Mouth Restaurant decided to be creative to create 6 different Har Kau flavours instead.

The traditional prawn dumplings come in multiple colors ranging from the more adventurous, Squid Ink, Spinach, Sweet Potato flavors to the novel Pumpkin, Carrot and Original flavors. These colourings are made from natural food ingredients, which creates delicious oriental taste with a twist.

No no, this is not charcoal bun. This is squid ink char siew bun. Because it was found that squid ink has many health benefits, owners of Mouth Restaurant, Stevie and Daniel, came up with many interesting squid ink dishes.

Squid ink is added into the dough, and wrapped with sweet and yummy char siew fillings. It tastes pretty good! The buns are very fluffy and there is only a very very mild squid ink taste.

Besides Squid Ink Har Kau and Squid Ink Char Siew Bun, there is also Squid Ink Chee Cheong Fun. This is a must try. Squid Ink is added to the rice flour to create the skin. Homemade sweet sauce, peanut, pork floss, sesame oil and spring onions are then added to the Chee Cheong Fun. Very colourful dish, isn’t it?

With the aim of creating more interesting dishes to attract the younger diners, Mouth Restaurant has come up with many savoury soup specialties. Egg whites are first steamed in the glass cup before pouring the different soup flavours.

I initially thought this black and white combination is sesame paste, but it is squid ink seafood soup. There is pieces of scallops and prawns in the soup.

If squid ink is not your favourite, how about this cup of lobster bisque? Very creamy and rich soup base, creating a contrast with the egg white.

I enjoy the spinach soup most. The soup is served with crabmeat and roe, very flavourful!

Asian Four Delights feature four different specialties of Mouth Restaurant. The bosses of Mouth Kitchen believe in creating quality dishes using healthy ingredients. One such example is the Desert Prawns (top left) which they used in this platter. These prawns come from crystal clear water from the Red Sea and feeds on leading edge marine agriculture phytoplankton, hence it is antibiotic free and has very superior natural flavour. Just eat it in sashimi style by dipping the prawns into homemade pomelo infused soya sauce with wasabi, it brings out the taste even better.

In the platter, there is also Silverfish with Truffle Oil, Wu Xiang with Foie Gras and Drunken Chicken. These chicken are made from using Sakura Chicken. These chicken are not given any antibiotics, hence it has a much tender and silky texture, with a healthier meat.

Featuring the Red Sea Desert Prawns, Mouth Restaurant has created 9 different dishes. These prawn balls are fried to crispy golden brown and coated with delicious flavours such as Japanese Mayo and Salted Egg Yolk.

Using flour batter to fry it to a peacock shape, Mouth’s Peacock Fish tastes not only great, but also culinary “crafted” by our Hong Kong chefs. The soon hock is deep fried and coated with their superior stock.

Again, another very intricate design. Doesn’t all these resemble Gardens by the Bay? They are carrot cake with (from top to bottom) salted egg with pork; with rojak sauce; with fruits.

I enjoyed Lion’s Head Stew Rice totally. Combining Shanghai and Hong Kong style cuisines, the meat ball is well marinated and looked like lion’s head. The rice comes with superior stock which is like mui fan. Simple yet very comforting.

Low in fat and calories, Japanese sweet potatoes provide valuable health benefits from their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. So how can we not love the chilled Japanese sweet potato paste with sago seeds? The sweetness in the dessert is created by the Japanese sweet potatoes.

I also enjoyed the flowing Custard Bun. The crust is crispy and sweet and texture of the custard is smooth and flowing. Lunch ended with a D24 Durian Snowskin Ball.

The two directors (from left) Stevie and Daniel.

Mouth Restaurant at China Square Central is an elegantly decorated restaurant, which offers 22 tables and VIP rooms, in a modern and plush setting, it is probably a good choice for wedding banquet.

These dishes are available in both outlets.

Mouth Restaurant

BRANCH 1: China Square Central #01-61, 18 Cross St.
Tel: +65 6438 5798

BRANCH 2: 68 Orchard Road, #02-01 Plaza Singapura
Tel: +65 63377446

Website: http://www.mouth.com.sg

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