Qin Restaurant
10 Cross Street
Level 5, The Clan Hotel
https://www.qin.com.sg/
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| Childhood Memories Textures Of Milo (SGD $18) |
Culinary Adventures With Quaint City Views
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 9
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $50 per person.
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Opening in March 2021 as the in-house dining restaurant of The Clan Hotel, and under the TungLok Group, Qin Restaurant is their modern luxury dining concept. With a team of professionals gathered from the best restaurants under the Group, and serving exquisite Modern Singaporean, Western, and Asian cuisine, Qin Restaurant is a great place to visit, one that I feel in love with from my first visit; a lovely restaurant I crave to return to. If ever there was a hotel restaurant worth dining at in 2021, it's this one right here.
Ambience at Qin Restaurant is fantastic. The dual levels with loft concept boasts elements of Chinese medical hall cabinets along one wall, while the other has elevated views of the city from its floor-to-ceiling windows. Brightly lit by ample natural light during the day, and warm spotlights at night, the comfortable cushioned chairs and sturdy gleaming marble-topped tables are functional, though with the large serving plates, a wider table would be better. A bar flanked by wine cabinets occupies a corner of the upper level, while an open kitchen occupies the same corner but on the lower level.
Service at Qin Restaurant is attentive and personalised, staff actually remembered and greeted me by name. They display good knowledge of the daily specials and regular menu, being able to describe dishes with sufficient detail. Staff take the effort to ensure your drinks are refilled, and they proactively offer to clear finished plates throughout the meal, as well as clean up efficiently when diners leave. For guests of The Clan Hotel, the restaurant also prepares your room service, with detailed menus accessible in-room, and order fulfillment within 30 minutes.
Food at Qin Restaurant is primarily Modern Singaporean, but also features American, British, French, Italian, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese cuisines and cooking techniques. Dishes are hearty, wholesome, and delicious, made using fresh ingredients. Each plate is a memorable work of art, visually appealing; yet taste isn't neglected, with bold flavours that are either familiar or exciting. Portions are large for individuals, and very filling. Prices are reflective of the consistently high quality and premium positioning, budget about SGD $50 per person for a meal without drinks here.
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| Qin Restaurant Signage |
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| Dining Hall |
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| Medicinal Hall Cabinets Decor |
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| Kitchen Counter |
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| Seating Square |
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| Seating Square |
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| Seating Circle |
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| Seating Circle |
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| Table Setting |
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| Bar |
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| Bar |
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| Meal Flat Lay |
A refreshing glass of Water (SGD $Complimentary) is served with every meal.
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| Water (SGD $Complimentary) |
The Latte (SGD $Set) from the instant coffee machine has fairly decent strength of body, with a mild aromatic fragrance. It's alright, nothing to shout about.
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| Latte (SGD $Set) |
Served as part of a breakfast set, the Artisanal Fruit Bowl (SGD $Set) is a lovely start to the meal. A medley of diced seasonal fruits feature, during my visit, we had watermelon, honeydew melon, strawberries, black grapes, white dragonfruit, goji berries / wolfberries, and chia seeds. Garnished with elderflower petals and served in a mild fruit syrup, this has lovely fruity sweet herbal floral flavour, uniquely refreshing and lovely. Highly recommended!
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| Artisanal Fruit Bowl (SGD $Set) |
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| Artisanal Fruit Bowl |
Served as part of a breakfast set, the Traditional Brioche Toast With Kaya & Butter (SGD $Set) features a toasted brioche bread with a crisp exterior and soft interior, with natural bready buttery sweet flavour. Served with smooth salted butter, and creamy Chinese Hainanese kaya / coconut egg jam, which is the version without pandan / screwpine leaf, but still has bold earthy sweet floral flavour. Spread everything on the toast bread, and enjoy. Best eaten quickly as it's served hot. Highly recommended!
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| Traditional Brioche Toast With Kaya & Butter (SGD $Set) |
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| Traditional Brioche Toast With Kaya & Butter |
The Breakfast Pancake Set (SGD $21 Set) features freshly made pancakes, and while these were rather flat in shape, the trio stack makes it look decent. The pancakes have natural bready sweet flavour, with a fluffy soft texture. Garnished with a juicy seasonal fruit compote (during my visit we had strawberries, peach, and blueberries) and a raspberry sauce, both contributing a bold fruity sweet flavour. Dressed with airy whipped cream and sticky maple syrup, which combine to lend a floral milky sweet flavour. Feels rather fun eating this. Good!
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| Breakfast Pancake Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Breakfast Pancake Set |
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| Breakfast Pancake Set |
The Continental Breakfast Set (SGD $21 Set) is their cold cut platter. There's tender applewood smoked salmon fish with bold woody salty savoury flavour, tender shaved pork ham with meaty savoury sweet flavour, and a duo of cheeses including semi-firm cheddar and creamy camembert, both of which hold cheesy salty sweet milky flavour. These are plated around a fresh crunchy salad (including rocket leaves / arugula, lettuce, chard, baby spinach, corn kernels, pickled gherkins, pearl onions) with vegetal bitter sweet sour herbal flavour, crunchy croutons with bready sweet flavour, and juicy red grapes with fruity sweet flavour. There's a glass of yoghurt parfait with milky sweet fruity sour grainy nutty flavour, made with creamy plain Greek yoghurt laced with thin raspberry sauce, garnished with crunchy granola and a juicy strawberry slice. Finally, this huge meal is completed with a side bowl of crisp cornflakes with grainy sweet flavour, and a mini jug of milk. Worth ordering!
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| Continental Breakfast Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Cornflakes |
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| Cold Cuts, Salad, Cheese, Yoghurt |
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| Cold Cuts, Salad, Cheese, Yoghurt |
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| Continental Breakfast Set |
With The Qin Breakfast Set (SGD $21 Set), you get a choice of eggs, but the rest of the ingredients remain the same. What I like is the consistent quality of execution across the board, not an easy feat. For vegetables, there's bouncy sauteed button mushrooms with earthy savoury sweet vegetal flavour, and juicy roasted vine tomatoes with smoky vegetal sweet flavour. For meats, there's soft hickory wood smoked pork bacon with fatty salty savoury flavour (though it lacks the smoky aroma), and snappy juicy grilled pork sausages with robust meaty savoury sweet salty flavour.
Completed with warm baked beans in tomato sauce with vegetal grainy sweet flavour, and crisp fluffy potato hashbrowns with starchy sweet savoury flavour. The Qin Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Set (SGD $21 Set) has fluffy soft scrambled eggs with eggy milky sweet flavour. The Qin Breakfast Omelette Set (SGD $21 Set) has a juicy egg omelette filled with button mushrooms and red bell peppers / capsicum which combine for an eggy sweet vegetal earthy flavour. The Qin Breakfast Sunny Side Up Set (SGD $21 Set) has a beautiful duo of sunny side up eggs with straightforward eggy sweet savoury flavour. Highly recommended!
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| The Qin Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| The Qin Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Set |
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| The Qin Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Set |
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| The Qin Breakfast Omelette Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| The Qin Breakfast Omelette Set |
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| The Qin Breakfast Omelette Set |
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| The Qin Breakfast Sunny Side Up Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| The Qin Breakfast Sunny Side Up Set |
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| The Qin Breakfast Sunny Side Up Set |
The hearty Home Brewed Porridge Set (SGD $21 Set) features a large claypot congee with strips of chewy chicken, crunchy fried shallots, and crisp spring onions, all of which combine to offer thick grainy sweet savoury vegetal salty flavour. Over the top is laid a strip of crisp airy fried dough fritter, which has beautiful bready sweet flavour. Accompaniments include; soft soy braised peanuts with nutty salty grainy flavour, bouncy century egg with crunchy pickled ginger having eggy sweet herbal flavour, soft salted black beans with grainy salty flavour, crunchy juicy pickled mustard greens with vegetal salty flavour, crisp crunchy fried anchovies and roasted peanuts with grainy nutty salty savoury flavour, and finally a creamy sesame sauce with nutty sweet flavour. Highly recommended!
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| Home Brewed Porridge Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Condiments & Garnishes |
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| Claypot Chicken Congee With Fried Dough Fritter |
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| Home Brewed Porridge Set |
The vegetarian NoChicken Bagel Burger Set (SGD $21 Set) is a rather healthy meal. It's served with bouncy sauteed button mushrooms with earthy savoury sweet vegetal flavour, a fresh crunchy salad (including rocket leaves / arugula, lettuce, chard, baby spinach, corn kernels, pickled gherkins, pearl onions) with vegetal bitter sweet sour herbal flavour, and crunchy croutons with bready sweet flavour. The thick and chewy bagel buns have good bready sweet flavour, and sandwich juicy tomatoes and crisp lettuce with vegetal sweet flavour. There's a creamy homemade avocado and corn kernel guacamole with vegetal sweet grainy flavour. The nochicken patty has a tender bouncy chew to texture, with mild savoury salty sweet flavour, and is dressed with vegan sriracha ketchup which has spicy sweet flavour. Feels so clean and healthy. Good!
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| NoChicken Bagel Burger Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| NoChicken Bagel Burger Set |
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| NoChicken Bagel Burger Set |
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| NoChicken Bagel Burger Set |
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| NoChicken Bagel Burger Set |
Conflicted about the Chef's Daily Special Dim Sum Set (SGD $21 Set). The house made items were really good; from the crisp gooey corn potato croquette with starchy milky grainy sweet flavour, to the sticky lo mai gai / glutinous rice with chicken and shiitake mushrooms with earthy savoury sweet herbal flavour. The siew mai / pork and shrimp dumplings were bouncy and juicy, with the filling of minced pork, deshelled prawns / shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms lending earthy savoury sweet flavour. But the factory-made chicken char siew bao bun looks suspect, and tasted terrible. Polished everything else off though, pity about the 1 item which was a let-down. Could be improved.
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| Chef's Daily Special Dim Sum Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Corn Potato Croquette & Lo Mai Gai |
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| Corn Potato Croquette & Lo Mai Gai |
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| Siew Mai / Pork And Shrimp Dumplings, Chicken Char Siew Bao Bun |
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| Siew Mai / Pork And Shrimp Dumplings, Chicken Char Siew Bao Bun |
The Chef's Daily Special Oyakodon Set (SGD $21 Set) was the first breakfast meal I had at Qin Restaurant, and set the stage for expectations of likewise consistent high quality for the rest of the meals I had here. The miso soup is filled with strips of crunchy seaweed and soft silken tofu beancurd, which pick up the savoury earthy salty sweet flavours of the soup so well. The deep-fried chicken gyoza dumplings have a crisp exterior shell, with tender juicy fillings of minced chicken and chives that hold vegetal meaty sweet savoury salty flavour. The healthy and crisp salad (including lettuce, chard, curly endive / frisée) dressed in sesame sauce has vegetal sweet nutty flavour, while the crunchy pickled daikon radish has bright sour sweet vegetal flavour. Loved the bouncy soft tamago / rolled egg omelette with its bright eggy earthy sweet flavour. The oyakodon / oyako donburi / chicken rice bowl has a base of sticky fluffy white rice with grainy sweet flavour, topped with tender bouncy chunks of chicken with natural sweet savoury flavour, completed with strips of tender shiitake mushrooms with vegetal earthy flavour, and flakes of dried seaweed to garnish. Highly recommended!
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| Chef's Daily Special Oyakodon Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Miso Soup |
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| Chicken Gyoza Dumplings |
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| Tamago / Rolled Egg Omelette |
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| Salad, Pickles |
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| Oyakodon |
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| Chef's Daily Special Oyakodon Set |
The Chef's Daily Special Udon Set (SGD $21 Set) features a hearty bowl of slippery chewy udon noodles, wobbly onsen egg, soft inari / sweet beancurd sheets, crunchy seaweed, and tender narutomaki / fish cake, in a warm soup / broth. This has robust sweet savoury earthy flavour that is so comforting. The pan-fried pork gyoza dumplings have a soft exterior shell, with tender juicy fillings of minced pork and chives that hold vegetal meaty sweet savoury salty flavour. The poached spinach in sesame sauce is tender, with bold nutty vegetal sweet savoury flavour. Completed with bouncy soft tamago / rolled egg omelette with its bright eggy earthy sweet flavour. Good!
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| Chef's Daily Special Udon Set (SGD $21 Set) |
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| Chef's Daily Special Udon Set |
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| Chef's Daily Special Udon Set |
The Curry-Age (SGD $10) was the first ever meal (and first dinner meal) I had at Qin Restaurant, and it was amazing. The large rounds of chicken karaage are juicy and tender inside, crisp outside, with bold sweet savoury salty flavour. Spiced with a house special blend of spices, including curry leaves, which contributes a bold layer of savoury spice notes to this appetizer. Yummy. Highly recommended!
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| Curry-Age (SGD $10) |
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| Curry-Age |
The imaginatively named Thunderclap Roti Prata With Truffle, Eggs Mimosa (SGD $16) features the signature Indian flatbread, stretched, tossed, and smashed, then pan-fried till crisp flaky on the outside and doughy chewy on the inside, with bready sweet savoury flavour. The prata is garnished with creamy black truffle paste and fluffy bits of egg mimosa (an egg that has been fully boiled, shelled, then crumbled into itself), which lends robust earthy eggy sweet savoury flavour. Loved every bite of this, yum. Highly recommended!
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| Thunderclap Roti Prata With Truffle, Eggs Mimosa (SGD $16) |
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| Thunderclap Roti Prata With Truffle, Eggs Mimosa |
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| Thunderclap Roti Prata With Truffle, Eggs Mimosa |
The Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set (SGD $45) features a large, 400g bone-in pork rack, grilled over binchotan charcoal. Seasoned with black pepper, the pork rack is juicy, tender, and succulent, with a good ratio of fat to lean meat, and has bold smoky meaty savoury salty sweet flavour. It's served with crunchy sauteed brussels sprouts with smoky vegetal bitter sweet flavour, and a juicy tomato salsa with vegetal sweet flavour, so refreshing. Highly recommended!
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| Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set (SGD $45) |
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| Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set |
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| Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set |
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| Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set |
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| Kurobuta Sakura Pork Rack Set |
The Hot And Cold Orh Nee Set (SGD $15) is a modern deconstructed interpretation of the classic dessert. It features osmanthus infused mashed yam / taro, aerated pumpkin sponge, fried shallots, crisp yam / taro chips, and a warm soy and taro / yam milk which you pour over everything. The textures of crisp, soft, porous, crunchy, creamy, and milky didn't quite appeal to me, I found it really weird. That said, the taste of earthy sweet savoury remains passably familiar, albeit mild on the palate. Somewhat of an acquired taste with this. Could be improved.
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| Hot And Cold Orh Nee Set (SGD $15) |
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| Warm Yam Taro Soy Milk |
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| Deconstructed Yam Taro Paste Bowl |
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| Hot And Cold Orh Nee Set |
The Childhood Memories Textures Of Milo (SGD $18) is a fun, playful dessert that evokes nostalgia. It revolves around milo, a malted chocolate powder, forming the soil, wafers, and dinosaurs, served in a dinosaur egg shaped bowl, along with condensed milk blended with fresh milk. A surprise of popping candy is mixed in. This is aptly named, for it features crispy, crunchy, soft, popping, creamy textures throughout, with deep chocolatey milky sweet flavour. I had great fun eating this tasty dessert. Highly recommended!
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| Childhood Memories Textures Of Milo (SGD $18) |
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| Childhood Memories Textures Of Milo |
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| Childhood Memories Textures Of Milo |
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CONVERSATION