The mythical, eccentric Doc Cheng Soo Wen is a compelling figure who has always been a draw for this elegant, colonial-style restaurant. The food, however, has sparked off mixed opinions, so when we heard that a new chef was taking over the kitchen we trooped back to see how things were faring. And things are the best we have experienced here in a while. Doc Cheng’s unique brand of fusion cuisine is still very much the order of the day—our BBQ pork with pineapple and ginger confit starter was a delicious homemade char siew, and the smoked trout was tender and light, almost like sashimi. Both our mains, beef tenderloin and lamb patties with potato masala, were great, with good and surprising combinations of flavors that characterize Doc Cheng’s food. The service was top notch, with servers keeping up even though the restaurant was busy. Adding to the ambiance created by whicker furniture, colonial art and painted china, was the restaurant’s signature list of prescriptive cocktails that the old Doc swears by. The elegant and exotic package of Doc Cheng’s gives this restaurant novelty value and makes it an especially good place to entertain guests.
