One of the eateries under the Vien Tai group, Teahouse The Asian Kitchen is inspired by the ancient inns in China. The eatery is small and cozy, with red chairs and wooden tables creating a warm and homely ambience. One can see the kitchen area from outside - the rows of roasted ducks and meats in the clear display window should be tempting enough to lure any duck lover into stepping in and ordering a bite.

Teahouse The Asia Kitchen prides itself on its roasted duck, which is served in three ways - original crispy, sour plum and herbal. I tried all three, and decided that the 'original' Teahouse Crispy Duck ($9.70 for the small serving) tasted the best. It was fragrant and the skin was slightly crispy. The Herbal Crispy Duck ($10.70) smelled wonderful, thanks to all the herbs, but wasn't crispy enough to my liking. My dining companions loved the Sour Plum Duck ($10.70, pictured), which had a lovely sweet sauce.

We tried...

Teahouse Crispy Duck ($9.70) Herbal Crispy Duck ($10.70) Sour Plum Duck ($10.70) Soup of the Day ($7.70) Baby Cabbage with Century and Salted Eggs ($10.00) Crispy Garlic Ginger Ribs ($11.70) Ginger Chicken ($9.00)

The Soup of the Day ($7.70) we tried was a thick and delicious vegetable soup. It tastes like something your grandmother would cook, and would be good comfort food on a rainy day.

A must-try dish is the Baby Cabbage with Century and Salted Eggs ($10.00), which was served in a small claypot. I don't particularly enjoy eating vegetables in restaurants but I found this dish a real joy. The baby cabbage was tender and soaked up the flavour of the century and salted eggs. The eggs themselves were wonderfully tasty, and would have been good with white rice.

The Crispy Garlic Ginger Ribs ($11.70) were tasty too. The texture of the meat was nice and not too tough. However, I preferred the Ginger Chicken ($9.00, pictured above), which was nicely tender and coated with finely grounded ginger. The ginger coating gave each piece of chicken a slightly spicy kick. One dining companion remarked that it was reminiscent of Hainanese chicken rice, and I quite agree. If only chicken rice came with such large chunks of meat!

Teahouse The Asian Kitchen serves reasonably-priced dishes in a homely setting. This is definitely not fine dining, but if you are looking for a well-prepared hot meal in the city when you have no time to cook at home, Teahouse The Asian Kitchen is worth checking out.

Teahouse The Asian Kitchen
252 North Bridge Road
B1-15 Raffles City Shopping Centre
(S) 179103
Rating: 6.5/10